II. American history timetable

I. GEOGRAPHY AND SOME GENERAL FACTS

Fact file: the USA

Population: 307,212,123 (July 2009 estimate)

Capital: Washington D.C.

Covers an area of: 3,794,100 square miles (9,826,675 sq km)

Bordering Countries: Canada and Mexico

Coastline: 12,380 miles (19,924 km)

Highest Point: Denali (also called Mount McKinley) at 20,335 feet (6,198 m)

Lowest Point: Death Valley at -282 feet (-86 m)

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 July (1776)

 

Flag description: 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico

 

Although English is the most commonly spoken language used in the U.S. and is the language used in government, the country has no official language.

 

The US has a varied topography. The framework of America is built around a huge central interior, which is a vast plain is called the Great Plains region that has yielded some of the country’s greatest agricultural and mineral wealth. It contains a large portion of its population and is the heart of what politicians like to call ‘middle America’.  The region is drained by the Mississippi Rive r, one of the largest navigable rivers in the world. The Mississippi is the traditional dividing line between ‘East’ and ‘West’.

  The eastern regions consist of hills and low mountains, the Appalachians, which are set back from the Atlantic by a broad belt of coastal lowland. While this coastal region contains little in terms of mineral wealth, it was here that the American nation took root in the 17^th c. The original 13 colonies were all located in this belt. Six states of the region are called New England. It was not until the Revolution (1775-1781) that significant numbers of American settlers began to spill westward across the Appalachians into the interior lowlands.

To the west lies the mighty system of the Rocky Mountains. There is no coastal plain here. The mountains along the Pacific coast drop abruptly into the sea. This part of the country contains some of the highest mountains in North America. It has impressive scenery, considerable environmental variety and great mineral wealth. It is hardly surprising that much of this western part was settled by adventurous folk in search of quick riches, of freedom from the conventions and traditions of the long-settled East.

  Alaska also features rugged mountains as well as river valleys. Hawaii's landscape varies but is dominated by volcanic topography.

 

 Like its topography, the climate of the U.S. also varies depending on location. It is considered mostly temperate but is tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the plains west of the Mississippi River and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest.

 

 Because the major mountain ranges in the United States run in a north-south direction, they have a large impact on the climate of the country's various regions. The west coast for example has a milder climate than the interior because it is moderated by its proximity to the ocean, whereas places like Arizona and Nevada are very hot and dry because they are on the leeward side of mountain ranges.

 

The lowest temperature ever recorded in the United States was at Prospect Creek, Alaska on January 23, 1971. The temperature was -80°F (-62°C). The coldest temperature in the contiguous 48 states was at Rogers Pass, Montana on January 20, 1954. The temperature there was -70°F (-56°C).

  The hottest temperature recorded in the United States (and in North America) was in Death Valley, California on July 10, 1913. The temperature measured 134°F (56°C).

 

As it has already been mentioned, the Mississippi is the longest US river, and one of the world’s longest waterways. It flows to the Gulf of Mexico. The Missouri is its chief western branch. Like the Mississippi, all the rivers east of the Rockies finally reach the Atlantic; all the waters to the west ultimately flow into the Pacific. The line that divides these rivers is called the Continental Divide. The two great rivers of the Pacific side are the Colorado and the Columbia, which originates in Canada and drains the north. The Rio Grande is the foremost river in the southwest. It forms a natural boundary between Mexico and the United States.

 

North of the Central Lowland, extending for almost 994 miles, are the five Great Lakes which the United States shares with Canada (Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, Lake Superior and Lake Michigan). The only lake from this group entirely on the territory of the US is Lake Michigan.

  The deepest lake in the U.S. is Crater Lake located in Oregon.

 

Natural hazards:     tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the mid-west and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development

 

 Environment - current issues: air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification

 

 The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world based on population and land area. The United States also has the world's largest economy and is one of the most influential nations in the world.

The U.S. is comprised of 50 states and one district (Washington D.C.). Thosestates which border one another on the continent are grouped into 7 regions:

1) New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont);

2) Middle Atlantic States (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania);

3) Southern States (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia);

4) Midwestern States (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin);

5) Rocky Mountain States (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming);

6) Southwestern States (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas);

7) Pacific Coast States (California, Oregon, Washington).

In addition, Alaska and Hawaii are grouped separately.

The US claims 14 territories around the world. The definition of a territory as it applies to those claimed by the United States are lands that are administered by the United States but are not officially claimed by any of the 50 states or any other world nation. Typically, most of these territories depend on the United States for defense, economic and social support.

 

 The following is an alphabetical list of the territories of the United States:

1) American Samoa

2) Baker Island

3) Guam

4) Howland Island

5) Jarvis Island

6) Johnston Atoll

7) Kingman Reef

8) Midway Islands

9) Navassa Island

10) Northern Mariana Islands

11) Palmyra Atoll

12) Puerto Rico

13) U.S. Virgin Islands

14) Wake Islands

 

II. AMERICAN HISTORY TIMETABLE

 

TIME PERIOD	HISTORICAL ERA
to 1630	Early America Pre-contact. Native American Origins and Cultures. Early Exploration. The Spanish. The French. The English. Roanoke Island. Jamestown.
1630-1763	the Colonial Period King Philip's War. Bacon's Rebellion. Mayflower Compact. Plymouth Colony. Massachusetts Bay Colony. Benjamin Franklin. French and Indian War.
1763-1783	Revolutionary America Stamp Act. Boston Massacre. Boston Tea Party. 1st Continental Congress. American Revolution. 2nd Continental Congress. War of Independence. Yorktown.
1783-1815	The Young Republic Articles of Confederation. Constitutional Convention. Louisiana Purchase.  War of 1812.
1815-1860	Expansion, Political Reform, and Turmoil First Industrial Revolution. Monroe Doctrine. California Gold Rush. Compromise of 1850. Lincoln-Douglas Debates
1830-1876	Sectional Controversy, War, and Reconstruction Slavery. Abraham Lincoln. Civil War. Radical Republicans. Reconstruction.
1871-1914	Second Industrial Revolution Railroad Era. Labor Movement. Sherman Antitrust Act. Spanish-American War.
1880-1920	Political Reform II Populist Party. Jim Crow Laws. Theodore Roosevelt. Woodrow Wilson.
1914-1933	War, Prosperity, and Depression Panama Canal. World War I. Stock Market Crash.
1933-1945	The New Deal and World War II Franklin D. Roosevelt. First One Hundred Days. Manhattan Project. War in Europe. Pearl Harbor. World War II. War in the Pacific. Harry S Truman and the Atomic Bomb.
1945-1960	Postwar America Marshall Plan. Korean War. Senator Joseph McCarthy. Cold War. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.
1960-1980	The Vietnam Era Bay of Pigs. Lyndon B. Johnson and Civil Rights. Martin Luther King Jr.. Henry M. Kissinger and Vietnam. Watergate. Jimmy Carter. Iran Hostage Crisis. Ronald Reagan and Conservatism.
1980-	End of the Century Iran-Contra Scandal. Fall of Berlin Wall. Persian Gulf War. Bill Clinton and Impeachment. Election Turmoil in 2000.

 

The original 13 colonies of the United States were formed in 1732.

 

Tensions between the American colonies and the British government began to arise as the American colonists were subject to British taxation but had no representation in the British Parliament.

 

The American Revolution was fought from 1775-1781.

Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

 

On July 4, 1776, the colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence and following the American victory over the British in the war, the U.S. was recognized as independent of England. In 1788, the U.S. Constitution was adopted and in 1789, the first president, George Washington, took office.

 

The Constitution

The Preamble

Article I: Legislative Branch

Article II: Executive Branch

Article III: Judicial Branch

Article IV: Relations among the States

Article V: Amendments

Article VI: National Supremacy

 

 

The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 nearly doubled the nation's size. The early to mid-1800s also saw growth on the west coast as the California Gold Rush of 1848-1849 spurred western migration and the Oregon Treaty of 1846 gave the U.S. control of the Pacific Northwest.

 

The U.S. had severe racial tensions in the mid-1800s as African slaves were used as laborers in some states. Tensions between the slave states and non-slave states led to the Civil War and eleven states declared their secession from the union and formed the Confederate States of America in 1860. The Civil War lasted from 1861-1865 when the Confederate States were defeated.

 

Following the Civil War, racial tensions remained through the 20th century. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the U.S. continued to grow and remained neutral at the beginning of World War I in 1914. It later joined the Allies in 1917.

 

 The 1920s were a time of economic growth in the U.S. and the country began to grow into a world power. In 1929 however the Great Depression began and the economy suffered until World War II. The U.S. also remained neutral during this war until Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, at which time the U.S. joined the Allies.

 

Following WWII, the U.S. economy again began to improve. The Cold War followed shortly thereafter as did the Korean War from 1950-1953 and the Vietnam War from 1964-1975. Following these wars, the U.S. economy for the most part grew industrially and the nation became a world superpower concerned with its domestic affairs because public support waivered during previous wars.

 

On September 11, 2001, the U.S. was subject to terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., which led to the government pursuing a policy of reworking world governments, particularly those in the Middle East.

 

III. ECONOMY

The US economy mainly consists of the industrial and service sectors. The main industries include petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber and mining. Agricultural production, though only a small part of the economy, includes: wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton, beef, pork, poultry, dairy products, fish and forest products.

 

The US has one of the largest and most technologically powerful economies in the world. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace.

 

US business firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits.

 

The response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy. The war in March/April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. The rise in GDP in 2004 was undergirded by substantial gains in labor productivity. The economy suffered from a sharp increase in energy prices in the second half of 2004. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups.

 

Labor force - by occupation: farming, forestry, and fishing 0.7%, manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts 22.7%, managerial, professional, and technical 34.9%, sales and office 25.5%, other services 16.3%