Here is a brief review of key events, dates, documents, and people in United States history. Remember, there is always more to know!
Events and Dates
Very few dates are important for their own sake. Mostly, dates help you understand how an event, person, or document fits into the sequence of events in history.
1492 Columbus arrives in North America
1565 St. Augustine founded by the Spanish; it is the first European town in the present-day United States
1607 Jamestown founded by the English
July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence signed
June 21, 1788 Constitution of the United States ratified
1803 Louisiana Purchase
1861-1865 Civil War
1869 Transcontinental Railroad completed
1914-1917 World War I
1939-1945 World War II
1954 Brown v. Board of Education
1965-1975 Vietnam War
1989 End of the Cold War
1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took effect
