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Period: to
US History
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Signing of the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is signed on July 4, 1776 established the United States as an independent nation. -
U.S. and France Alliance
Just 4 days after France officially recogized the United States as an independent nation, the two countries signed a military alliance. This did not sit well with the British, and led to a war between France and Great Britain. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolution , therefore making America and unquestionable soverign nation. -
Treaty of Madrid or Pinckney's Treaty
Established boundaries with the Spanish colonies Florida and Louisiana and ensured navigation rights on the Mississippi River. -
Jay's Treaty
Averts war, and gives way to 10 years of peaceful trade with Britain. Alows U.S. trade ships to do business with British colonies in West Indies. British evacuate their western forts as well. -
XYZ Affair
A diplomatic conflict during the administration of John Adams, involving a confrontation between the United States and France that led to an undeclared war called the Quasi-War. -
Adams-Onís Treaty
Settled border disputes between the U.S and Spain and renounced any U.S. claim to Texas. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine was a U.S. foreign policy regarding domination of the Americas in 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression, requiring U.S. intervention. -
Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo
Ended the Mexican-American War and established the Rio Grande as the border of Mexico and Texas. -
Annexation of Texas
Texas becomes the 28th U.S state. Mexico disbnds all friendly relations with America. -
Lincoln Threat
Lincoln threatens war agaisnt any country that recognizes the Confederavy as an independent nation. -
Alaska Purchase
Alaska brought into U.S. -
McKinley Tariff
The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost fifty percent. This was intended to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. The tariff was replaced and lowered in 1894 by the Wilson-Gorman Tariff. -
William-Gorman Tariff Act
The William-Gorman Tariff Act slightly reduced the US tariff rates that the McKinley tariff had imposed. It then lowered the rate to a 2% income tax. This tariff was supported by the Democratic party, and its main purpose was to make up for the revenue that would be lost by tariff reductions. -
Hawaii Becomes a US Territory
Hawaii had been ruled by a native monarchy. In 1893 white sugar planters overthrew the Hawaiian queen. No blood was shed. The farmers did not want to have to pay the high tariff, so if Hawaii was part of the US they would not have to pay it. Grover Cleveland was told by the Hawaiians that they did not wish to join the US, so he did not annex Hawaii during his term. McKinley succeeded Cleveland and idmedietly annexed Hawaii on this day. -
Open Door Policy
The Open Door Policy came about due to Chinese trade markets because European powers were practically invading China to get the best trade with them, and China was struggling to maintain their sovereignty and territorial integrity. The U.S. on the other hand did not have any territory in China, so to equalize the playing field Secretary of State John Hay sent the Open Door Note to the major European Powers. The policy allowed for China to control their own trade and not be used by other powers. -
Platt Amendment Passed
The US amends the 1901 Army Appropriations Bill, and replaces it with the Platt Amendment. The Platt Amendment was passed one year after the US left Cuba. It declared that Cuba cannot get into debt, and if they do the US is allowed to intervene and force Cuba to pay the money. This was to protect Cuba from being attacked by angry European nations who wanted their money back. The US also got Guantanomo Bay, a naval base in Cuba, that the US still controls and uses today. -
Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary was an addition to the Monroe Doctrine added by President Theodore Roosevelt in his State of the Union address in 1904 after the Venezuela Crisis of 1902–03. The corollary states that the United States will intervene in conflicts between European and Latin American countries to enforce legitimate claims of the European powers, rather than having the Europeans press their claims directly. The corollary was the first step of the US becoming the policemen of the world. -
Panama Canal
In need of a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific went to Bolivia and offered $10 million for the land, but Bolivia rejected the offer. A french businessman proposed to the US that if they helped the Panamanian rebels get their freedom Panama would sell the land to the US for their original price. The US helped win Panama's independence, and the land was there's. On this day the Panama Canal's construction was complete and the US could now move their Navy and trade at a much faster rate. -
Zimmerman Telegram
An internal diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January, 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico in the event of the United States' entering World War I against Germany. -
U.S. Enters WW1
April. U.S. Declares war on Germany and Austria stays independent of Britain and France. -
Wilson's 14 Points
In this January 8, 1918, address to Congress, President Woodrow Wilson proposed a 14-point program for world peace. These points were later taken as the basis for peace negotiations at the end of the war. -
Isolationism
America moved towards Isolationism after World War 1 -
U.S. Refuses Entry to League of Nations
League of nations is created by the Versailles Treaty, but the United States does not join. -
Good Neighbor Policy
The Good Neighbor Policy withdrew the troops that had been stationed in Latin America due to the Roosevelt Corollary. The purpose was to create a good relationship with South America, and the US hoped to do so by withdrawing their troops. The US wanted to minimize fear in Latin America, and promote the US as being a "Good Neighbor." -
Neutrality Act of 1939
Also known as cash and carry, belligerents could buy weapons from the US with cash, and they had to transport the weapons on their own ship. This was open to all nations, although it was mostly used by the Allies. -
Destroyers for Bases
The US gave Great Britain 50 vintage American battleships in exchange for leases on British air and Naval bases in the Western Hemisphere. This was another step closer to war for the US. -
Lend Lease
Allowed the US to lend or lease money to any nation that was vital to American Security. This basically meant that the US was not going to lend money to the Allies because they wanted to, but because they had to. -
Atlantic Charter
Signed by FDR and Churchill it condemned agression, affirmed national self determination, and it endorsed the principles of collective security, free trade, and disarment. To summarize it said that what the Axis Powers were doing was bad, and what the Allies were doing was good. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a meeting of British prime minister Winston Churchill, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt early in February 1945 as World War II was winding down. Here they discussed plans for the post war world, for example, what to do with Germany once the war was over. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy created to counter Soviet aggression during the early Cold War. The US pledged to contain Soviet threats to Greece and Turkey. The money and supplies sent to Greece and Turkey prooved helpful, for the two nations were able to fend of communism. -
Marshall Plan
An American initiative that sent $13 billion to Western Europe to help rebuild after WWII. Help was given to both Allies and Axis powers to keep a neutral image, but most of the support went towards the Allies. The Soviet Union denied US support. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
After WWII Germany and Berlin had been split in half. The west was split amongst the US, France, and Great Britain while the east was given to the Soviet Union. When it appeared that the Allies were trying to change Berlin currency the Soviets created a blockade around West Berlin. The US was forced to airlift supplies into West Berlin for almost a year until May 12 the next year when an agreement was reached. -
Creation of NATO
To further tame communist aggression the US and 11 other western nations created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This was countered by the Soviet Union and eastern nations when they formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955. -
"New Look" Foreign Policy
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles announced that the United States would protect its allies through the “deterrent of massive retaliatory power.” The policy/announcement was evidence of the Eisenhower administration’s decision to rely heavily on the nation’s nuclear arsenal as the primary means of defense against communist aggression. -
Suez Crisis
Egypt becomes close with the Soviet Union. Egypt President Gamal Abdel Nasser wanted independence from Great Britain. Egypt then built a dam on the Suez River. Isreal, Great Britain, and France invaded Egypt to end Egyptian defiance. Eisenhower calls off the invasion in order to prevent a WWIII. This event made France, Great Britain, and Israel look very bad. -
U-2 Incident
A US U-2 spy plane was shot down while in Soviet airspace. The pilot was captured by the USSR after parachuting to the ground. At first Eisenhower tried to cover up the incident, but when the Soviet's came out with the fact that they had the U-2 plane and pilot Eisenhower had to admit the US' actions. Both sides knew they were spying on each other, but this was an embarassing situation were the US was caught spying. -
Flexible Response Policy
Called for mutual deterrence at strategic, tactical, and conventional levels, giving the US the capability to respond to aggression across the spectrum of warfare. In other words the US could respond to communist aggression in whatever way they deemed necessary. This was an updated version of Massive Retaliation. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Kennedy wanted to get Castro out of leadership in Cuba, so he arranged an uprising to happen. The CIA trained anti-Castro Cuban exiles to invade Cuba, and gain the support of the Cuban people. The first bombing raid failed, and no targets were destroyed. The US still went on with the plan. Cuba was ready for the invasion, and the exiles were arrested. Fidel Castro remains in power. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Khrushchev placed missiles in Cuba for strategic advancement in case of a Bay of Pigs Part 2. An attack from Cuba was seen as an attack from the USSR. Kennedy formed a naval blockade around Cuba and cut of their movement in and out of the country. The US and USSR then agree to remove the missiles from Cuba if the US promises not to try to invade Cuba again. Kennedy also takes US missiles out of Turkey after agreement. -
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
US, Great Britain, and USSR sign the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty which declared that the testing of nuclear weapons in outerspace, underwater or in the atmosphere was prohibited. -
Gulf Of Tonkin Incident
The Gulf of Tonkin incident, also known as the USS Maddox incident, involved what were originally claimed to be two separate confrontations involving North Vietnam and the United States in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. The US blamed North Vietnam for both incidents, but there is no proof that this event ever took place. Noneless it caused the US to send 150,000 troops to Vietnam. -
SALT I
Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty and interim SALT agreement on this day. This was the first time during the Cold War that the US and Soviet Union agreed to limit the number of nuclear missiles in their arsenals. -
Panama Canal Treaty
Carter declares that in 1999 the US will transfer the ownership of the Panama Canal to Panama and guarenteed its nuetrality. Carter took harsh criticism from conservatives for this move. -
Camp David Accords
With conflict imminent between Israel and Egypt Carter invited President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel to a summit conference at Camp David. After 13 days Carter got them to sign an accord that brought temporary peace to the two nations. This was the first time that Israel had ever been officialy acknowledged as a country. Carter won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work at Camp David. -
Recognition of China
Carter ends official recognition of Taiwan, and in recognizes the People's Republic of China. This was apart of the detente strategy with communism. Conservatives were against this decision and called it "sell out." -
SALT II
The renewal of the first SALT Treaty with Russia. This treaty once more sought to control the amount of nuclear weapons each country had. With the Soviet-Afghanistan War taking place the treaty was never ratified. Due to this SALT II died out in 1985. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
In the 1978 Iranian revolution the Shah of Iran was forced to flee the country. President Carter took the Shah in for medical treatment, and Iran was not happy. Because of this about 400 Iranians broke into the US Embassy in Tehran and took the occupants captive. Iran demanded the Shah be returned to Iran, and instead Carter established a trade embargo with Iran. This hostage crisis lasted for 444 days and past Carters presidency. It was on January 20, 1981 that the hostages were released.
