July 4, 1776: the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson. Not the day the Revolution started (1775) or ended (1783).
🏛️ US History
Bill of Rights = First 10 Amendments
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights — added in 1791, protects individual freedoms
Freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, petition
2nd
Right to bear arms
4th
Protection from unreasonable search and seizure
5th
Right against self-incrimination, double jeopardy
6th
Right to a speedy, fair trial
10th
Powers not given to federal government go to states
🏛️ US History
1861–1865 = Civil War
American Civil War Dates
Civil War: Fort Sumter to Appomattox — 4 years
Began April 12, 1861 at Fort Sumter, SC. Ended April 9, 1865 when Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, VA. Emancipation Proclamation: January 1, 1863.
🏛️ US History
New Deal = FDR's 3 R's: Relief, Recovery, Reform
The New Deal (1933)
FDR's New Deal — what it was in 3 words
Relief for the unemployed. Recovery of the economy. Reform of the financial system. Programs like Social Security, the SEC, and the FDIC came from the New Deal and still exist today.
The three slavery compromises that delayed the Civil War
3/5 Compromise (1787): slaves counted as 3/5 of a person for representation. Missouri Compromise (1820): drew line at 36°30'. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): overturned it, reignited tensions.
The structure of US federal government — and what each does
Legislative: House + Senate = Congress. Makes laws, controls budget. Executive: President, Cabinet, federal agencies. Enforces laws, commands military, conducts foreign policy. Judicial: Supreme Court + federal courts. Interprets Constitution, can strike down laws (judicial review since Marbury v Madison 1803).
Legislative
Congress — makes laws
Executive
President — enforces laws
Judicial
Courts — interprets Constitution
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny: belief that the US was destined to expand from Atlantic to Pacific
Manifest Destiny
The 19th-century ideology that drove westward expansion
Term coined 1845. Drove Louisiana Purchase (1803), Mexican-American War (1846-48, gained California/Southwest), Oregon Territory (1846), Gadsden Purchase (1853). Led to displacement and destruction of Native American nations across the continent.
Three amendments passed after the Civil War — the 13th, 14th, and 15th
13th (1865): abolished slavery. 14th (1868): granted citizenship to all born in US, equal protection, due process. 15th (1870): voting rights cannot be denied based on race. Reconstruction ended with Compromise of 1877 — federal troops withdrew from South.
13th
Abolished slavery — 1865
14th
Citizenship and equal protection — 1868
15th
Voting rights regardless of race — 1870
Progressive Era
Progressive Era (1890s-1920s): reform of industrialism. Trust-busting, women's suffrage, labor rights.
Progressive Era
The reform movement that responded to the excesses of industrialization
Muckrakers (Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell) exposed corruption. Trust-busting: Roosevelt broke up Standard Oil and railroad monopolies. Labor: child labor laws, 8-hour workday. 16th Amendment (income tax), 17th (direct election of senators), 19th (women's suffrage, 1920).
Great Depression and New Deal
Great Depression (1929) → New Deal (FDR). WWII ended the Depression, not the New Deal.
Great Depression and New Deal
The economic collapse of 1929 and FDR's response
Stock market crashed October 1929. Unemployment hit 25%. FDR's New Deal (1933): relief (food, jobs), recovery (economic programs), reform (banking regulations, FDIC, Social Security). WWII military spending finally ended the Depression by 1941.
Civil Rights Movement Timeline
Civil Rights Movement: Brown v Board (1954) → Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955) → Civil Rights Act (1964) → Voting Rights Act (1965)
Civil Rights Movement Timeline
Key milestones of the American Civil Rights Movement
Brown v Board of Education (1954): segregated schools unconstitutional. Rosa Parks/Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56). March on Washington (1963): MLK's 'I Have a Dream.' Civil Rights Act (1964): banned discrimination in public places. Voting Rights Act (1965): protected voting rights.
1954
Brown v Board — school desegregation
1955
Montgomery Bus Boycott
1963
March on Washington
1964
Civil Rights Act
1965
Voting Rights Act
Vietnam War
Vietnam War: 1955-1975. US involvement peaked 1965-1973. First televised war — turned public opinion.
Vietnam War
America's most divisive 20th-century conflict
US involvement: containment of communism. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) escalated US role. Tet Offensive (1968) shocked Americans — showed US was not winning. Nixon's Vietnamization — gradual withdrawal. Saigon fell April 30, 1975. 58,000 Americans killed.