American History

The History of the United States of America. Founded in 1776 by our Founding Fathers including and not limited to General George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton. George Washington wanted to be elected by the people and did not want to be King; he became the first president in 1789 followed by Adams (The only Founding Father who did not own slaves) and Jefferson (Penned the Declaration of Independence, buyer of the Louisiana Purchase.) Between 1776 - 1860, more states in the West entered into the Union while the North and South became separated due to economy & slavery. After Abraham Lincoln was elected, the South became their own country: Confederate States of America with President Elect Jefferson Davis. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation which freed the slaves. Civil War broke out at Fort Sumter, climaxed at Gettysburg and ended at the Alamo: 600,000 dead. The Union was preserved. Reconstruction followed. Following Events: 1914 - 1918 WW1 1920 - 1928 The Roaring 20's 1928 Stock Market Crash 1928 - 1941 - The Great Depression 1932 New Deal December 7th, 1941 - Pearl Harbor 1941 - 1945 WW2 Between the years of 1947 - 1988, the Cold War was fought as a chess game on the planet and even to the moon between the two superpowers: the United States and Russia. Both participated in the Nuclear Arms race and the space race. Both put their troops/weapons near each other aiming them at each other. Ronald Reagan was able to resolve the War in 1988. Other Key Events: 1959 – 1975 Vietnam War (50,000 American soldiers dead) 1961 - Bay of Pigs invasion 1962 - Cuban Missle Crisis 1963 - Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" Speech; Kennedy Assissinated 1968 – King Assassinated 1974 – Watergate, Nixon resigns 1988 – Cold War ends 1991 – First Bush, first Iraq War 2000 – Second Bush wins contested 2000 election. 2001 – September 11th Attacks; War in Afghanistan 2003 – 2009 Second Iraq War (4,000 – 5,000 American soldiers dead)