Timeline
1400 - 1492
Pre-Contact American cultures
A vast array of peoples and cultural groups inhabited the Americas, North, Central, and South and the Caribbean for millennia, with a population of between 40 and 70 million pre-European contact.
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/exploring-the-early-americas/precontact-america.html1492
Columbus's first voyage
Columbus's voyage was the beginning of European colonization of the Americas. The consequences of European contact for the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean were catastrophic and brutal: disease, violence and torture, abuse, enslavement, and exploitation.
https://www.americanheritage.com/columbus-and-genocide#11494
Treaty of Tordesillas
Following Columbus's voyage, the leading seafaring nations of the time, Spain and Portugal, attempted to divide the colonization of the non-Christian world between themselves.
https://www.thehistoryreader.com/medieval-history/treaty-tordesillas-1494-decision-still-influencing-todays-world/1519
Cortés's invasion of Mexico
Spanish control over the Americas was extended by Cortés's campaign to conquer the Aztec Empire.
https://www.npr.org/2019/11/10/777220132/500-years-later-the-spanish-conquest-of-mexico-is-still-being-debated?t=15818738685011524
Pizarro's invasion of Peru
The Inca Empire, covering large swathes of of the Andes and surrounding regions, was attacked by a group of conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro.
https://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/show/transcript2.html1552
Publication of the Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies
Bartolomé de las Casas published one of the world's first anti-colonial and pro-human rights tracts, outlining to the wider world the horrendous abuses and exploitations of the indigenous peoples of the Americas under the Spanish invasions and occupations.
https://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3208-bartolome1585
First English colonization attempt in North America at Roanoke
Led by John White, whose sketches are the first English depictions of North American peoples, natural history, and geography, the Roanoke colony was the first attempt at English colonization. Supply missions were frustrated by war with Spain and the colonists had disappeared by the time White returned.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/sketching-the-earliest-views-of-the-new-world-92306407/1607
Establishment of English colony at Jamestown, Virginia
After the founding of the joint-stock Virginia Company the first group of settlers arrived in Virginia. After near-failure of the colony, commercial tobacco production begins in 1610.
https://historicjamestowne.org/history/history-timeline/1613
Kidnap of Pocahontas
The daughter of Chief Powhatan is seized and brought to Jamestown, eventually marrying colonist John Rolfe.
https://time.com/5548379/pocahontas-real-meaning/1619
First enslaved African people brought to North America
A group of around 60 people enslaved in Angola are captured by British privateers from a Portugeuse slaving mission and transported as forced labourers to Jamestown.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-african-slave-ship-arrives-jamestown-colony1620
The Mayflower arrives at Plymouth , the beginning of the New England colony
Led by Puritans seeking religious freedom but also including many non-Puritans, an English colonial presence was established in Massachusetts.
https://www.ushistory.org/us/3.asp1637
The Pequot War begins
A major conflict between English settlers, the Pequot, and other tribal groups broke out, resulting in the dispersal or enslavement of the surviving Pequots.
http://pequotwar.org/2009/10/the-pequot-war/1655
English seizure of Jamaica from Spain
The conquets of Jamaica as part of Cromwell's "Western Design" established a major English Caribbean presence and growing importance of the sugar plantation economy.
https://www.historytoday.com/history-matters/imperial-designs-cromwells-conquest-jamaica1664
New Netherland becomes New York
After a series of Anglo-Dutch wars, the Dutch colonial presence in North America was ended with English conquest, although most Dutch settlers remained, now under English governance.
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/essays/general/the-united-states-of-america-and-the-netherlands/index.php1675 - 1676
Metacom's War
Increasing encroachment of New England colonists on indigenous land led to a large-scale and bloody conflict, resulting in the victory of Englsuh colonists.
https://www.historynet.com/blood-and-betrayal-king-philips-war.htm1676
Bacon's Rebellion
Economic, social, and land crisis on the Virigina frontier Nathaniel Bacon led an interracial militia to attack Native American groups, in open and armed opposition to colonial authorities.
https://www.virginiahistory.org/node/22921692 - 1693
Salem withcraft trials
A wave of witchcraft-related paranoia swept over Massachusetts, leading to the deaths of 25 people.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/09/07/the-witches-of-salem1702 - 1714
Queen Anne's War / War of the Spanish Succession
British, French, and Spanish forces and their Native American allies fought as part of a global conflict, ending in British victory and colonial territorial expansion.
https://historyofmassachusetts.org/queen-annes-war/1711 - 1713
Tuscarora War
Conflict between Carolina colonists, Indian allies, and Tuscarora tribe.
https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/tuscarora-war1715 - 1717
Yamasee War
Conflict between Carolina colonists, Indian allies, and the Yamasee that almost wiped out the colonists.
http://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/yamassee-war/1718
Foundation of New Orleans
French colonisers settle the strategically-important Lower Mississippi and attempt to establish a successful tobacco plantation.
https://www.historytoday.com/history-matters/new-orleans-bubble-and-big-easy1734 - 1742
The Great Awakening
Religious revival that swept the colonies, emphasising personal salvation and based around powerful sermons by charismatic preachers.
http://www.great-awakening.com/1739
Stono Rebellion
The largest slave rising in North America, whose participants were eventually caught and executed or transported to the West Indies. The shock to white colonists led to tightening of laws around race and enslavement.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p284.html1744 - 1748
King George's War
An extension of the European War of the Austrian Succession, French and British colonial forces and Indian allies fought a bloody war which eventually failed to solve outstanding territorial issues
https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/the-indian-wars/king-georges-war.htm1758
Pennsylvania Quakers prohibited from engaging in slave trade
Although it took another two decades for all Quakers to be banned from owning slaves, the early growth of abolitionism was promulgated in both America and Britain by Quakers
http://www.quakersintheworld.org/quakers-in-action/56/-Anti-Slavery-in-North-America1756 - 1763
Seven Years' War
Major global conflict resulting in major changes in the balance of power in North America as Canada became British and Louisiana was ceded by France to Spain.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-seven-years-war-1754-1763/1763 - 1765
Pontiac's War
A confederation of tribes attacked the British in the newly-conquered French territory, eventually having to accept British rule.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pontiacs-rebellion-begins1763
Proclamation Act
British government act to forbid any colonisation west of the Appalachian mountains, frustrating land speculators' and settlers' desires to seize land.
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/proclamation-line-of-1763/1764
Sugar Act
The British government attempted to raise income from the American colonies to pay the debts incurred in the Seven Years' War but were met with consternation among colonists.
https://www.masshist.org/revolution/sugar.php1765
Stamp Act
Further taxation attempts from the government anger colonists, this time on paper required for all official and licensed documents.
http://www.stamp-act-history.com/1766
Townshend Act
New taxes levied by the government on a range of imported items such as tea, glass, lead, paper, and paint.
https://www.masshist.org/revolution/townshend.php1770
Boston Massacre
following clashes between street crowds and British soldiers, kills five civilians. The Townshend Revenue Act is repealed.
http://www.bostonmassacre.net/index.html1773
Boston Tea Party
The Tea Act,keeps the tax on tea leading angry Bostonians “disguised” as Mohawk Indians to ditch £9,000 of tea into the harbor.
https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/boston-tea-party-facts1774
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts stripped Massachusetts of self-government and judicial independence as punishment for the Tea Party. The colonies responded with a general boycott of British goods.
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/the-coercive-intolerable-acts-of-1774/1774
Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress meets to organize opposition to the Intolerable Acts.
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-first-congress-meets-in-philadelphia-240-years-ago-today1775
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Battles of Lexington and Concord are the first engagements of the Revolutionary War between British troops and the Minutemen, who had been warned of the attack by a Boston silversmith, Paul Revere.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battles-of-lexington-and-concord1776
Common Sense by Thomas Paine published
Thomas Paine's Common Sense is published anonymously in Philadelphia.
https://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/primary-source-documents/common-sense/1776
Declaration of Independence issued
4 July, Continental Congress issues the Declaration of Independence.
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/stylistic-artistry-of-the-declaration1778
Franco-American Alliance
France signs the Treaties of Alliance and of Amity and Commerce, committing to supporting the colonists in the war effort again Britain.
http://www.benjamin-franklin-history.org/treaty-of-alliance-with-france/1780
British surrender at Yorktown
The last significant campaign of the war ends in British surrender and the decision in London to abandon the conflict, meaning the colonists had won their independence.
https://www.nps.gov/york/learn/historyculture/history-of-the-siege.htm1781
Articles of Confederation agreed
The first attempt at a U.S. constitution came into force in March 1781, but over ensuing years, it became clear that the articles were ineffective in organising a functioning federal state.
https://www.loc.gov/collections/continental-congress-and-constitutional-convention-from-1774-to-1789/articles-and-essays/to-form-a-more-perfect-union/identifying-defects-in-the-constitution/1783
Peace of Paris
The independence of the U.S. and the end of armed conflict is officially agreed in Paris.
http://www.benjamin-franklin-history.org/treaty-of-paris/1784 - 1787
Northwest Ordinances
A series of ordinances organised the appropriation of western land from indigenous groups and its reallocation to settlers, whilst also preventing the expansion of slavery into the Old Northwest.
https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/northwest-ordinance-and-slavery-white-supremacy-in-the-foundation-of-the-us-qK5ZLXIi3UOBoEroqX_2zg1787
Shay's Rebellion
Daniel Shays leads a rebellion by western Massachusetts farmers, adding urgency to debate concerning authority of the central government.
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/shays-rebellion/1787
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention assembles in Philadelphia to draw up a new governing structure.
https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/stories-constitutionalconvention.htm1787 - 1788
Publication of The Federalist
Publication of The Federalist featuring essays in favour of the Constitution by leading figures, including Hamilton, Jay, and Madison.
https://www.college.columbia.edu/core/content/american-revolution-and-founding-texts/context-01789
Bill of Rights proposed
To placate Anti-Federalists, 10 amendments were added to the U.S. constitution guaranteeing personal and state rights and limits to federal jurisdiction.
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights/what-does-it-say1789
George Washington elected first president
The only president to be unanimously voted into office.
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/presidential-election-of-1789/1789
French Revolution
Support for various factions and aspects of the French Revolution would challenge Americans on ideals of liberty, democracy, and oligarchy.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/french-rev1791 - 1804
Haitian Revolution
The successful slave revolution and establishment of the Americas's first black republic generated fear among American slaveowners and was not recognised by the U.S. government
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/haitian-rev1793
Invention of the cotton gin
Eli Whitney's patent for a cotton gin massively increased the speed at which raw cotton could be processed, leading to the rapid expansion and retrenchment of enslavement across the southern U.S. as planters raced to seize land from Native American groups and maximise their profits.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3narr6.html1794
Whiskey Rebellion
Western Pennsylvania frontier settlers rebelled at the imposition of a tax on spirits and threatened the stability of the new nation.
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/whiskey-rebellion/1795
Treaty of Greenville
Following the U.S. victory in the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the treaty established Indian lands by law and ended conflict for a period, although encroachments by settlers began in earnest shortly after and intensified over time.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/a-long-legacy.htm1798
Alien and Sedition Acts
John Adams introduced acts in reaction to the Quasi-War with France which criminalized making false statements about the federal government and authorised the deportation of enemy nationals, fiercely opposed by Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans
https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1238/sedition-act-of-17981800
Gabriel's Rebellion
Information on planned slave revolt in Virginia led by Gabriel Prosser was passed to authorities and the ring-leaders were executed. Slaveowners reacted with harsher laws on free and enslaved black persons.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/02/06/gabriels-rebellion/33c9061a-e33d-4f18-bf02-fe3cd294f5df/1800 - 1801
Great Kentucky religious revivals
A series of evangelical Christian meetings sparked a Second Great Awakening, transitioning religious practice away from British traditions to new, American, forms.
https://www.ushistory.org/us/22c.asp1803
Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson purchases the claim to the entire Louisiana territory from France for $15million, sparking a huge westward expansion of the nation, and the instution of enslavement and cotton cultivation.
https://www.whitneyplantation.org/education/louisiana-history/slavery-in-louisiana/slave-trade-in-louisiana/the-domestic-slave-trade/1812
War of 1812 begins
British blockades, impressment, and arming of Native American forces led to an American declaration of war in June 1812.
https://www.pbs.org/wned/war-of-1812/essays/american-perspective/1814
British burn the White House
A British incursion attacks Washington and burns the White House and Capitol, among other buildings.
https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/august-19/1815
Battle of New Orleans
Andrew Jackson led the U.S. forces to victory over an invading British force, bolstering American pride and cementing his own reputation.
https://collections.libraries.indiana.edu/warof1812/exhibits/show/warof1812/the-war-18151815
American Colonization Society established
A group of abolitionists set off the colonization movement, in the belief that free African Americans would not be able to integrate into American society, and begun efforts to sponsor colonization missions to transport free black people to West Africa.
https://slavery.princeton.edu/stories/princeton-and-the-colonization-movement1817
Andrew Jackson invades Florida
Jackson takes it on himself to invade Spanish Florida to attack the Seminole people, eventually forcing defeat upon the Seminoles and Spanish withdrawal from Florida.
https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/seminole-wars1818
Erie Canal construction begins
The beginning of the era of transportation revolution, as the Great Lakes were linked to the Atlantic and New York City began to gain preeminence as a port.
https://www.history.com/news/8-ways-the-erie-canal-changed-america1820
Missouri Compromise
Tensions over the admittance of Missouri to the union as a slave state were solved by admitting Maine as a free state, retaining Senate balance between free and slave states and limiting the expansion of slavery to below 36˚ 30 latitude.
https://www.history.com/topics/abolitionist-movement/missouri-compromise1823
The Monroe Doctrine
James Monroe asserted that there should be no further European colonization in the Americas and that the U.S. reserved the right to intervene to prevent this. Although the U.S. relied on British influence to maintain this in the 1820s, over time it became a foundational American geopolitical doctrine.
https://www.cfr.org/blog/twe-remembers-monroe-doctrine1829
Andrew Jackson becomes president
Slaveholder, general, and victor over numerous Native American tribes, Jackson's victory ushered in the period of "Jacksonian Democracy".
http://www.americanyawp.com/text/09-democracy-in-america/#XI_Race_and_Jacksonian_Democracy1830
Indian Removal Act
Jackson passes act legitimising U.S. annexation of Native American territory, leading to a series of forced removals and transportations of thousands of people.
https://www.vox.com/2016/4/20/11469514/andrew-jackson-indian-removal1831
Nat Turner’s rebellion
Nat Turner led a slave rebellion in Southampton County which killed 55-65 white people before being defeated by armed militia. The rebellion sparked panic across the south and led to tightening of laws on enslaved and free black people.
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=3fd410c9878e4dcbbacbe404215e096c1832
Re-charter of the Bank of the United States vetoed
As part of his campaign against the Bank of the United States, Jackson refused to allow its re-chartering, leading to financial chaos.
http://projects.leadr.msu.edu/youngamerica/exhibits/show/andrew-jackson-real-or-fraud/the-bank-war1833
American Antislavery Society founded
The leading abolitionist society of the antebellum period was founded in New York, quickly growing to over 200,000 members in 5 years.
http://www.americanabolitionists.com/american-anti-slavery-society.html1835
Texas declares its independence from Mexico
Many U.S. volunteers flock to support American colonists in the Mexican province of Texas who rebel to create an independent slaveholding republic.
https://glasstire.com/2019/04/06/the-alamo-texas-independence-and-race/1838
Forced removal of the Cherokee (Trail of Tears)
Part of a series of forced relocations of Native Americans from the southeastern states to beyond the Mississippi, over 16,000 Cherokees were forced into a march that led to the deaths of over 4,000 people.
https://aapf.org/trail-of-tears1845
John L. O’Sullivan coins the phrase “manifest destiny”
O'Sullivan crystallised the idea that American expansion was part of a divinely-ordained plan, justifying continued westard settling and encroachment on Native American land
http://faculty.weber.edu/kmackay/manifest%20destiny.asp1846
Mexican-American War & Wilmot Proviso
As war for expansion broke out against Mexico, David Wilmot amended the war bill with a clause to prevent the spread of slavery into any seized land.
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/wilmot-proviso1848
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The war with Mexico concludes with huge territorial concessions, dramatically expanding the size of the U.S. and opening up the Pacific coast to settlement.
https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/the-treaty-of-guadalupe-hidalgo-who-is-a-citizen-of-good-standing/1854
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Congress breaks the deadlock over the accession of Kansas by ruling that popular vote will decide whether they are admitted as slave or free states, leading to armed conflict in "Bleeding Kansas".
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-law-that-ripped-america-in-two-99723670/1856
Preston Brooks assaults Charles Sumner
South Carolina congressman Preston Brooks brutally attacked Massachusetts representative Charles Sumner on the floor of the House in retaliation for an anti-slavery speech, bitterly increasing the political divide in the country.
https://theintercept.com/2019/09/29/sidney-blumenthal-book-all-powers-earth/1857
Dred Scott v. Sanford
The Supreme Court declares that people of African descent cannot be American citizens and that residence in a free state does not mean that they cannot be reenslaved.
https://www.pbs.org/video/american-experience-dred-scott-decision/1859
Harpers Ferry
Abolitionist John Brown led an unsuccessful raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in an attempt to spark a slave rebellion.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/history/the-raid-on-harpers-ferry/1860
Abraham Lincoln elected President
Election results indicated a deeply divided nation. Lincoln's victory, although not on an abolitionist platform, spooked southern leaders, leading to secession from the Union.
https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/United_States_Presidential_Election_of_1860#start_entry1861
Confederacy established
Seven secessionist states, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas formed the Confederacy in February 1861.
https://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war/photos1861
Confederates forces fire on Fort Sumter, and the Civil War begins
The Civil War began in earnest in April 1861 when Confederate militia in South Carolina attacked the U.S. Army base at Fort Sumpter.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/ng-interactive/2015/jun/22/american-civil-war-photography-interactive1862
Pacific Railroad Acts
Congress grants land and issues government bonds to railroad companies to build the first transcontinental railway, which opened up the West to settlement on a transformative scale.
https://www.history.com/news/transcontinental-railroad-changed-america1863
Emancipation Proclamation
Issued on 1st January 1863, the proclamation declared freedom for enslaved persons in Confederate-held areas and made abolition an unquestionable Union war aim.
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation1863
The Gettysburg Address
Over 10,000 were killed at the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Later that year, Lincoln crystalised the reasons for the Union war effort at the dedication of a cemetery to the victims of the battle.
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/videos/gettysburg-address1863
Homestead Act
Congress passed an act to allow the apportioning of land very cheaply to any settlers who promised to farm and develop the plot, incentivising mass migration westwards.
https://www.newspapers.com/topics/westward-expansion/homestead-act-of-1862/1865
Abraham Lincoln assassinated
Following victory over the Confederacy, Lincoln was assassinated, leading to former Democrat Andrew Johnson taking the presidency.
https://www.fords.org/lincolns-assassination/1865
Thirteenth Amendment ratified
Slavery was finally abolished by Congress by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=40#1865
Southern states pass Black Codes
Responding to abolition, defeated Southern legislatures created state laws severly limiting African American freedoms. Although Republicans initially overturned many of these laws, post-Reconstruction the legal system was used to enforce white supremacy.
https://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/black-codes/1866
Civil Rights Act
The act established the equality of all citizens before the law and made it illegal to deny citizenship rights on the basis of race or ethnicity.
https://www.thoughtco.com/civil-rights-act-of-1866-41643451867
Reconstruction Act
Congress formally organised the northern occupation of the south and the terms for states to return to the Union.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction1868
Fourteenth Amendment ratified
The amendment further strengthened the constitutional basis of equal civil rights for all citizens, limiting the ability of states to pass laws contravening equal rights.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/fourteenth-amendment1870
Fifteenth Amendment
Amendment to guarantee voting rights for all citizens.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-fifteenth/1875
Civil Rights Act
Act to guarantee equal right to public accommodations, transport, and jury service.
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/CivilRightsAct1875.htm1876 - 1877
Great Sioux War
Despite defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn, the U.S. army forced a Sioux surrender, seizure of tribal land and the setting up of Indian Reservations.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-battle-of-little-bighorn-was-won-63880188/1882
Chinese Exclusion Act
First law implemented to exlcude the immigration of a certain nationality or ethnic group.
https://newrepublic.com/article/149437/echoes-chinese-exclusion1883
Supreme Court invalidates the Civil Rights Act of 1875
The Supreme Court opened the door to legal segregation by striking down the 1875 Civil Rights Act.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?440864-1/supreme-court-landmark-case-civil-rights-cases-18831886
Haymarket Square
A peaceful protest in favour of an 8-hour working day was broken up by authorities before a bomb was throw and shots were fired by police, leading to at least 11 deaths and many injuries.
https://www.pbs.org/video/chicago-tonight-may-3-2011-haymarket-riot/1890
Wounded Knee Massacre
250-300 Lakota people, over half of whom were women and children, were killed by the U.S. Army in an attempt to disarm and forcibly move the group.
https://www.history.com/news/remembering-the-wounded-knee-massacre1890
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Widespread unhappiness with the power of monopolistic trusts led to the passing of an anti-trust act, to break up large conglomerates that fixed prices higher and wages lower than open competition.
https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Sherman_Anti-Trust_Act1892
Ellis Island opens
More than 12 million people arrived in the United States through the processing centre on Ellis Island, off New York City.
https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/ellis-island-history1896
Plessy vs. Ferguson decision
The Supreme Court rules that "separate but equal" services were legal, solidifying the legal basis of segregation.
https://www.pbs.org/video/slavery-another-name-plessy-v-ferguson/1896
Cross of Gold Speech
William Jennings Bryan wins the Democratic nomination for president with a speech which demanded an abandonment of the gold standard and an embrace of Populist policies.
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=956918001898
Spanish-American War
U.S. intervention in Cuba leads to war with Spain, and U.S. occupation of Cuba, Phillippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2019/03-04/yellow-journalism-role-spanish-american-war/1899
Philippine-American War
Filipinos expected liberation following Spanish defeat, however American occupation continued, leading to a war eventually won by the U.S. and the Philippines became a U.S. colony until 1946.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/02/25/the-water-cure1901
Platt Amendment
The Cuban republic was forced to accept the Platt Amendment, asserting U.S. rights to intervene in Cuban affairs, before U.S. troops left the island.
https://www.choices.edu/video/what-was-the-platt-amendment/1903
US purchase Panama Canal Zone
The U.S. presence in Latin America and the Caribbean was entrenched by the purchase and occupation of Panamanian (formerly Columbian) territory to construct and control the Panama Canal.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-panama-canal-took-huge-toll-on-contract-workers-who-built-it-180968822/1905
Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine
Roosevelt re-asserted American rights to use unilateral "policing power" in the Americas, warning European powers to keep out and justifying a string of U.S. interventions in ensuing decades.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ef29b755902a493b970af3274d0a47301908
Ford Model T launched
Henry Ford's pioneering production line techniques made complex production affordable on a radically new scale, kickstarting a consumer manufacturing boom.
https://www.ford.co.uk/experience-ford/history-and-heritage#assemblyline1911
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
146 female garment workers were killed in the fire, which led to massive public protest and impetus behind improvements in worker's rights and workplace safety.
https://aflcio.org/2018/3/25/lessons-triangle-shirtwaist-fire-are-still-relevant-107-years-later1915
German torpedo attack on Luisitania
The death of 123 American civilians on board the Lusitania strongly influenced anti-German attitudes and moved the U.S. onto the eventual path to war.
https://www.history.com/news/how-the-sinking-of-lusitania-changed-wwi1916
The Great Migration begins
Wartime labour demands helped to kick-start the movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North, the beginning of the decades-long Great Migration.
https://depts.washington.edu/moving1/map_black_migration.shtml1917
US enters World War I
On 6th April, following building tensions and the revelation of a secret German-Mexican proposal, the U.S. declared war on Germany.
https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/looking-back-100-years-u-s-enters-world-war-i-on-april-6-1917/1918
Influenza pandemic
Approximately 675,000 Americans, and 20-50 million people worldwide, perished in the global "Spanish Flu" pandemic.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/journal-plague-year-180965222/1919
Treaty of Versailles
The treaty to end the war with Germany ended with many of Wilson's aims, summed up in his 14 points, scuppered by the desire of allies to punish Germany.
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=621919
18th Amendment is ratified by the states
Prohibition of alcohol becomes American law, leading to the growth of speakeasys, bootlegging, and organised crime.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/prohibition-legacy-100-years-after-the-volstead-act/1919
19th Amendment passes Congress
Following decades of protest and unprecedented levels of female war work, women were granted the vote.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-19th-amendment1919 - 1920
The First "Red Scare"
Government raids and deportations on accused anarchists, communists, and revolutionaries as hysteria about potential revolution gripped authorities.
https://www.history.com/topics/red-scare/palmer-raids1920
League of Nations founded
Wilson was unable to convince an increasingly isolationist Congress to accede to American membership of the organisation whose creation he had led.
https://punch.photoshelter.com/image/I0000JMDAJHNJDn41924
Dawes Plan
A series of measures were taken to regularise the payment of debts owed to U.S. banks by the allies and Germany, as well as maintaining German reparations to the allies.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/dawes1924
Indian Citizenship Act
Citizenship of the U.S. was granted to all indigenous persons born in the U.S., partly as a result of entensive Indian service in World War One.
https://immigrationhistory.org/item/1924-indian-citizenship-act/1925
Alain Locke, "The New Negro”
Locke's essays and book collection brought together examples of a great flourishing of black artistic and literary expression centred around Harlem, New York.
https://archive.org/details/newnegrointerpre00unse/page/n17/mode/2up1927
Kellog-Briand Pact
The U.S. government signed an international treaty intended to ensure that nations used only peaceful means to resolve disputes and outlawing wars of annexation, which remains in force, although failed to prevent World War II.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/from-the-archive-blog/2018/jun/14/kellogg-briand-pact-outlaw-war-paris-19281929
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, Chicago
Unprecedental levels of violence became common as organised crime thrived under prohibition. The shocking murder of rival gang members by Al Capone's mob became symbolic of the era's lawlessness.
https://themobmuseum.org/exhibits/massacre-wall/1929
Wall Street Stock Market Crash
The Wall Street Crash marked the beginning of the Great Depression and extensive American and global economic and social upheaval.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p00z9sqt1929 - 1936
Mexican Repatriations and Immigration Restrictions
With heightened economic pressures and nativist sentiment, over a million people were removed from the U.S., 60% of whom were U.S. citizens by right.
https://www.npr.org/2015/09/10/439114563/americas-forgotten-history-of-mexican-american-repatriation1931
Scottsboro Boys Case
Eight African American teenage hobos were convicted with little evidence of raping a white woman and sentenced to death. The subsequent appeal campaign highlighted the grave flaws and racism inherent in the criminal justice system.
https://universitywildcats.edlioschool.com/apps/video/watch.jsp?v=1377051932 - 1939
Dust Bowl
Drought and exhaustive farming techniques led to extensive dust storms, erosion, and collapse of agriculture, resulting in extensive outward migration and severe economic problems and food shortages.
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/photos/1932
FDR Elected President
Promising a New Deal for the Depression-hit country, Roosevelt presided over an expansion in government interaction in the labour market, public works, and welfare support, creating an electoral coalition and political consensus that would last for over 3 decades.
https://www.roosevelthouse.hunter.cuny.edu/seehowtheyran/portfolios/1932-fdrs-first-presidential-campaign/1933
First Alphabet Agencies Set up
A series of government agencies were set up to administer the various parts of the New Deal programmes, many known by their initials, referred to as alphabet agencies.
https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/pres10.socst.ush.dww.newdeal/fdr-new-deal-programs/1933
War on Crime begins and Prohibition ends
Public outrage at high profile criminal activities led to new powers for law enforcement to crack down on criminals, while the end of prohibition removed many incentives for bootlegging and smuggling.
https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/crime-in-the-great-depression1935
Social Security Act
FDR signed into law an act including old age pension provision and unemployment insurance.
https://edsitement.neh.gov/student-activities/social-security-act1935 - 1939
U.S. Neutrality Acts
A series of laws were passed to safeguard American non-intervention in international conflicts, whilst also leaving some room for government action.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/neutrality-acts1936 - 1939
Spanish Civil War
A Fascist coup against the Spanish Republic, supported by Germany and Italy tested the neutrality of democracies like the U.S., U.K., and France. Almost 3,000 American volunteers fought for the Republican forces in International Brigades.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/04/18/the-americans-soldiers-of-the-spanish-civil-war1939
Nazi invasion of Poland
Debate rages in the U.S. about level of involvement in the conflict, with pro- and anti-interventionist groups forming and campaigning.
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/great-debate1940
"Arsenal of Democracy" Speech
FDR promised to support the British war effort against Germany whilst keeping U.S. forces out of the conflict.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrv2gc82kvE1941
Lend-Lease Act
Despite Neutrality Acts, Lend-Lease allowed a large extension in U.S. finance and armaments to the U.K., and later the U.S.S.R. & China.
https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/october-23/1941
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan launches a surprise attack on the U.S. fleet in Hawai'I, ahead of a campaign of conquest in the Pacific and Asia, leading to American entrance into the war.
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/distance-learning/k-12-distance-learning/video-archive/clip-how-did-japan-attack1942
Battles of Midway Island and Coral Sea
Naval victories at Midway and in the Coral Sea forced the Japanese onto the back foot, beginning a long Allied push-back.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway1942
Operation Torch
Major Allied invasion of North Africa takes place
https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1942/operation-torch.html1942
Battle of Stalingrad
The turning point of the European war, ending in a Soviet victory after massive casualties on both sides. More Soviet soldiers died in this battle than Americans in the whole war.
https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/august-2017-stalingrad-75-turning-point-world-war-ii-europe1943
Zoot Suit Riots
A series of race and ethnic riots took place in cities across the U.S. as Hispanic, African American, and other minorities were targeted, ostensibly for wearing "zoot suits".
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/zoot/#film_description1943
Allied offensive of Italian peninsula begins
Another front was opened in the Axis "soft underbelly" by the Allied invasion of Italy.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/allies-invade-italian-mainland1944
D-Day Normandy landings
The liberation of Europe continues with the Allied invasion of northern France.
https://time.com/5595104/d-day-veterans-remember/1945
Battles of Iwo Jima & Okinawa
American forces make their way across the Pacific, facing fierce fighting, often to the death, of Japanese forces. At Iwo Jima, a photograph of U.S. Marines raising the flag over Mount Suribachi becomes an iconic symbol of the conflict.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/february-23-1945-united-states-flag-raised-on-iwo-jima-japan/1945
Potsdam Conference
The final "Big Three" conference of the war took place following German surrender as the U.S. and U.K. wrangled with the U.S.S.R. over the shape of post-war Europe and Soviet expansion.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-the-potsdam-conference-shaped-the-future-of-post-war-europe1945
U.S. drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Japan surrendered following the U.S. atomic attacks which heralded the end of the war but the beginning of the nuclear age, as the nature of Great Power conflict was transformed by unprecedented destructive power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wxWNAM8Cso1946
Kennan’s Long Telegram
U.S. diplomat to Russia, George Kennan, publicly advocated for a policy of aggressive containment of Soviet influence following WWII.
https://www.cfr.org/event/lasting-legacy-george-f-kennan-01947
Marshall Plan
The European Recovery Programme advanced large sums in state aid to shattered European economies, to aid recovery and rebuilding to ensure stability in the face of communist influence, and to provide markets for American goods.
https://www.marshallfoundation.org/marshall/the-marshall-plan/history-marshall-plan/1949
Formation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization formalized the political division of Europe between capitalism and communism and pledged members in a mutual defence pact against attack and to military coordination.
https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/formation-of-nato-and-warsaw-pact1949
Soviets test their first atomic bomb
The U.S.S.R. reached nuclear capability far more quickly than the U.S. expected, ushering in the atomic arms race, and increasing the destructive threat of an superpower conflict.
https://www.ctbto.org/specials/testing-times/29-august-1949-first-soviet-nuclear-test1949
Establishment of the People’s Republic of China
Mao Zedong's communists triumphed in the Chinese Civil War, leading to recriminations in the U.S. over whose fault was the "Loss of China" to communist.
https://www.npr.org/2014/11/08/362342377/answering-the-old-question-who-lost-china1950 - 1953
Korean War
After the U.S. and U.S.S.R. split Korea after WWII, the U.S. intervenes to prevent the communist North Koreans annexing the South, drawing Chinese communist forces into the war, that ended in stalemate at the original borders.
https://time.com/5360343/korean-war-american-history/1954
Joseph McCarthy receives Senate censure
McCarthy was the leading figure in the second "Red Scare", publicly denouncing individuals as communists and fuelling unwarranted paranoia about a communist plot.
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=b7b0209e617f4d69b87d4d9f3222ea50#1954
Brown vs. Board of Education decision
The Supreme Court mandates desegregation of public schools.
https://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/resources/brown-v-board-documentary-clip-pbs1955
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The first mass protest against segregation began when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person, and ended with bus segregation being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/02/11/podcast-montgomery-bus-boycott-womens-political-council/1957
Launch of Soviet Sputnik satellite.
The U.S. was shocked by the Soviet achievement of sending the first satellite into orbit and the implications for military capabilities, leading to increased government investment in technology and military capabilities.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/sputnik-impact-on-america/1957
The Little Rock Nine
President Eisenhower dispatched the National Guard to protect black students at a desegregated high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, putting federal might against state and local government opposition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MDLJuLNxMc1959
Greensboro sit-ins
Protestors challenged segregation of lunch counters and canteens by sitting at "white-only" counters, generating huge media attention on the national companies who refused service.
https://snccdigital.org/events/sit-ins-greensboro/1961
Bay of Pigs invasion
CIA sponsored and trained Cuban exiles staged a failed attempt to invade and overthrow the communist Cuban regime, embarrassing the U.S. administration and drawing condemnation for the intervention.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?101118-1/bay-pigs-invasion-newsreel1961
Freedom Rides
Civil rights activists attempt to test enforcement of federal laws protecting interstate travel from segregation by formed interracial groups of travellers, meeting violent resistance and collusion of authorities in the South, ultimately proving successful.
https://www.npr.org/2006/01/12/5149667/get-on-the-bus-the-freedom-riders-of-19611962
Cuban Missile Crisis
The U.S. discovered that the U.S.S.R. were moving nuclear missiles to Cuba, partly as a reaction to the Bay of Pigs Invasion. A tense stand-off threatened full-scale nuclear war but diplomacy from both sides eventually found a compromise. The shock of how close nuclear war came helped lead to the first nuclear test bans and détente policies.
https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/cuban-missile-crisis-1962-missiles-october1963
March on Washington
Over 250,000 people converged on Washington to demand progress on civil rights - the day culminated with King's iconic "I Have a Dream Speech".
https://www.si.edu/spotlight/1963-march-on-washington1964
Civil Rights Act passed
Following JFK's death, Lyndon Johnson seized the political moment to pass comprehensive civil rights legislation to end segregation, assure voting rights, and prevent racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination.
https://www.npr.org/2015/02/16/385756875/the-politics-of-passing-1964s-civil-rights-act1964
War on Poverty
Johnson also passed a series of acts to ameliorate poverty, including the Economic Opportunity Act, Food Stamp Act, an education act, and a Social Security Act that created Medicare and Medicaid.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?317008-5/president-johnsons-war-poverty1964
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
A minor incident between U.S.S. Maddox and North Vietnamese ships was willfully misrepresented by the U.S. government to gain political support for direct military intervention in Vietnam.
https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2008/february/truth-about-tonkin1965
U.S. Ground Troops deployed in Vietnam
The first of 2.7million U.S. servicepeople to serve in Vietnam were deployed to the front line. Over 58,000 U.S. personnel would die during the war.
https://www.pbs.org/video/vietnam-war-stories-32frym/1965
Immigration and Nationality Act
Racial and national limits and biases were removed from U.S. immigration policy, which previously heavily favoured northern and western European migrants.
https://www.history.com/news/immigration-act-1965-changes1966
Establishment of Black Panther Party.
Many civil rights activists were becoming dismayed with the pace of change and perceived conservatism in the strategies of the movement's leaders. The growing Black Power movement saw the foundation of more radical groups like the Black Panthers.
https://rediscovering-black-history.blogs.archives.gov/2016/02/23/black-panther-a-news-reel-video/1967
"Long Hot Summer" Riots
Race riots broke out in 159 cities in reaction to long term issues around poverty, segregation, job opportunities, discrimination, and police brutality, following a series of local triggers.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/long-hot-summer1968
Martin Luther King Assassinated
King was killed in Memphis on 4th April 1968, following his prophetic "Mountaintop" speech. Riots ensued in cities across the U.S.
http://origins.osu.edu/milestones/april-2018-assassination-dr-martin-luther-king-jr1968
RKF Assassination & Democratic National Congress
Robert Kennedy, frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, was assassinated on 6th June. The nominating convention turned into chaos as anger over Vietnam and the deaths of King and Kennedy and threats to demonstrators from Chicago authorities led to deep divisions and aided Nixon's election victory.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-08-22/convention-chaos-democrats-wish-never-happened1969 - 1970
Vietnamization
Nixon began the long process of U.S. withdrawal with a policy of Vietnamization, providing funds and materiel to the South Vietnamese government so their forces could take the place of U.S. troops. Nixon also expanded the war into neighbouring Cambodia.
https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/vietnamization1969
Apollo 11
N.A.S.A. succeeds in beating the Soviet Union to the Moon in the space race, representing a huge reversal in fortune from the Sputnik shock and a propaganda victory for the U.S.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/apollo-11-moon-landing-space-race-timeline/1971
Nixon Shock
To deal with large inflation in the U.S. economy, Nixon announced that the U.S. was abandoning the Bretton Woods post-war global finance system that pegged currencies to the dollar and the dollar to the price of gold, leading to a global financial shock.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?301406-5/end-us-gold-standard1972
Nixon visits China
The process of recognising the People's Republic of China and easing tensions between the East and West led to Nixon's historic diplomatic visit to China in 1972.
https://www.nixonfoundation.org/exhibit/the-opening-of-china/1972 - 1974
Watergate
Nixon was found to have broken the law in obstructing investigation and cover up a break-in at the Democratic National Committee by individuals linked to Nixon's staff, eventually ending in his unprecedented resignation from office and the nickname "Tricky Dicky".
https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/17/politics/watergate-scandal-look-back/index.html1973
First Oil Crisis
Opec refused to sell oil to the United States in response to the Nixon Shock and support for Israel, leading to energy shortages, price rises, impacts on manufacturing, and stagflation.
https://americanhistory.si.edu/american-enterprise-exhibition/consumer-era/energy-crisis1973
Roe v Wade
The Supreme Court ruled that a woman's right to privacy extended to her decision whether to have an abortion, dependent on length of gestation, polarising many Americans into pro-choice and pro-life camps.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/22/roe-v-wade-40-law-controversy1975
North Vietnam victorious
A rapid collapse of the South Vietnamese forces led to a hurried evacuation of the final U.S. servicepeople and diplomats as communist forces closed in on the city of Saigon and the South Vietnamese government surrendered.
https://time.com/3838802/fall-of-saigon-memories/1979
Iran hostage crisis
Following the Islamic Revolution, the Shah of Iran was given asylum in the U.S. When he was not handed over to the new regime in Iran, student supporters occupied the U.S. embassy taking 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.
https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/iran-hostage-crisis1979
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
The U.S. reacted to the Soviet invasion with economic embargos, a boycott of the Moscow Olympics, and covert support for anti-Soviet forces.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/soviet-invasion-afghanistan1982
Unemployment reaches 10.8%
Large spikes in inflation led to large rises in Federal Reserve interest rates, which combined to push unemployment to unprecedented post-war levels, forcing Reagan to raise corporation tax and run up large deficits.
https://www.pbs.org/video/american-experience-reagan-on-the-economy-the-1982-recession/1983
Reagan proposes Strategic Defence Initiative
Reagan ratcheted up the pressure on the U.S.S.R. by annoucing the development of an anti-missile defense system, sparking a new level to the nuclear arms race and undermining the stability of Mutually Assured Destruction.
https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/strategic-defense-initiative-sdi1986
Iran-Contra Scandal breaks
Whistleblowers revealed that the U.S. had provided arms to Contras in Nicaragua via Iran. Reagan denied that an offer to trade hostages had been involved only for it to become clear that it had.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccZkcFEyUyc1987
Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty
Reagan and Gorbachev reached a détente and signed a treaty which drastically reduced btoh country's nuclear arsenals.
https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/what-inf-treatys-collapse-means-nuclear-proliferation1989
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The demolition of the wall by East and West Germans represented the failure of communist regimes across Europe and the ideological victory of the West, described by Francis Fukuyama as the "end of history".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5SgwU27diw1991
Operation Desert Storm
Following Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, the U.S. led an international coalition which successfully defeated the Iraqi forces. A decade later the U.S. would return to topple Hussein.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/the-first-gulf-war-was-a-great-success-but-its-unintended-legacy-disastrous-for-the-middle-east-and-a6816771.html1991
Breakup of the Soviet Union.
Deep economic fissures led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the transition of Russia to a capitalist and democratic system, encouraged by the U.S. who supported President Yeltsin.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/yeltsin/policy/policy.html1994
NAFTA takes effect
Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement integrating the U.S., Canadian, and Mexican economies, with mixed economic effects, including reduced consumer prices but also U.S. job losses.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/naftas-economic-impact1999
U.S. airstrikes against Serbia
The U.S. intervened in Yugoslavia for a second time in five years, to prevent the government continuing an occupation of Kosovo.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nato-bombs-yugoslavia1999
Repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act
The Depression-era act was repealed by Bill Clinton, allowing the growth of very large banking corporations mixing a variety of banking and investment activities.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/14/448685233/fact-check-did-glass-steagall-cause-the-2008-financial-crisis2001
9/11 Attacks & Invasion of Afghanistan
Al Qaida terrorists committed the deadliest foreign attack ever seen on U.S. soil, hijacking 4 aeroplanes, 3 of which were crashed into the World Trade Centre towers and the Pentagon. The U.S. responded by declaring a War on Terror and invading Afghanistan, sponsors of Al Qaida.
https://time.com/5672103/9-11-history-curriculum/2003
U.S. and Allied invasion of Iraq
As an extension of the War or Terror, George W. Bush and allies invaded Iraq to topple to regime of Saddam Hussein on the premise of possession of illegal weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. became embroiled in a long and costly occupation.
https://www.chathamhouse.org/event/unintended-consequences-foreign-intervention-middle-east2008
Global Financial Crisis
A "Credit Crunch" in U.S. finance led to a crisis which threatened to bring global financial collapse as the U.S. and other governments raced to prop up banks with public money, followed by the Great Recession.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-the-2008-financial-crisis-crashed-the-economy-and-changed-the-world2008
Election of Barack Obama
The historic election of the first African American president, Democrat Barack Obama
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEo7lzfpdCU2010
Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
The legislation passed by Obama overhauled the regulation of the financial sector, preventing the problem of banks becoming "too big to fail".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xqQNbHrOTo2015
Obergefell v Hodges
The Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples possess the fundamental right to marry, overturning same-sex marriage bans in numerous states, making equal marriage federal law.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-marriage-is-a-fundamental-right-for-gay-couples/