|
Pre-Colonial America
Main article: Pre-Columbian
Monk's Mound in Cahokia, Illinois, at 100 feet high is the largest man-made earthen mound in North America, was part of
a city which had thousands of people around 1050 AD
Monk's Mound in Cahokia, Illinois, at 100 feet high is the largest man-made earthen mound in North America, was part of
a city which had thousands of people around 1050 AD
Archaeological as well as geological evidence suggests that the present-day United States was originally populated by
people migrating from Asia via the Bering land bridge starting some 20,000 years ago.[1] These people became the indigenous
people who inhabited the Americas prior to the arrival of European explorers in the 1400s and who are now called Native Americans.
Many cultures thrived in the Americas before Europeans came, including the Puebloans (Aztec) in the southwest and the
Adena Culture in the east. Several such societies and communities, over time, intensified this practice of established settlements,
and grew to support sizeable and concentrated populations. Agriculture was independently developed in what is now the eastern
United States as early as 2500 BC, based on the domestication of indigenous sunflower, squash and goosefoot.[2] Eventually,
Mexican maize and legumes were adapted to the shorter summers of eastern North America and replaced the indigenous crops.
The first European contact with the Americas was with the Vikings in the year 1000. Leif Erikson established a short-lived
settlement called Vinland in present day Newfoundland. It would be another 500 years before European contact would be made
again.
Several medieval Arabic sources also suggest that Muslim explorers from Islamic Spain and Northwest Africa may have travelled
in expeditions across the Atlantic to the Americas between the 9th and 14th centuries.[3][4]
Colonial America
Main article: European colonization of the Americas
After a period of exploration by various European countries, Dutch, Spanish, English, French, Swedish, and Portuguese
settlements were established. Columbus was the first European to set foot on what would one day become U.S. territory when
he came to Puerto Rico in 1492. In the 15th century, Europeans brought horses, cattle and hogs to the Americas.
Spanish exploration and settlement
An anachronous map showing areas of the United States and other territories pertaining to the Spanish Empire over a period
exceeding 400 years.
An anachronous map showing areas of the United States and other territories pertaining to the Spanish Empire over a period
exceeding 400 years.
See also: New Spain
Spanish explorers reached the present-day United States. The first confirmed landing in the continental US was by a Spaniard,
Juan Ponce de León, who landed in 1513 at a lush shore he christened La Florida.
Within three decades of Ponce de León's landing, the Spanish became the first Europeans to reach the Appalachian Mountains,
the Mississippi River, the Grand Canyon and the Great Plains. In 1540, De Soto undertook an extensive exploration of the present
US and, in the same year, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado led 2,000 Spaniards and Mexican Indians across today's Arizona-Mexico
border and traveled as far as central Kansas. Other Spanish explorers include Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón, Pánfilo de Narváez,
Sebastián Vizcaíno, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Gaspar de Portolà, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Tristán
de Luna y Arellano and Juan de Oñate.
The Spanish sent some settlers, creating the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States at St.
Augustine, Florida, in 1565 and later Santa Fe, New Mexico, San Antonio, Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Most Spanish settlements were along the California coast or the Santa Fe River in New Mexico.
French colonization (1652-1803)
See also: New France and Fort Caroline
English/British Colonial America (1493-1776)
The Mayflower, which transported Pilgrims to the New World, arrived in 1620.
The Mayflower, which transported Pilgrims to the New World, arrived in 1620.
In 1607, the Virginia Company of London established the Jamestown Settlement on the James River, both named after King
James I
In 1607, the Virginia Company of London established the Jamestown Settlement on the James River, both named after King
James I
Main article: Colonial America
The strip of land along the seacoast was settled primarily by English colonists in the 17th century, along with much smaller
numbers of Dutch and Swedes. Colonial America was defined by a severe labor shortage that gave birth to forms of unfree labor
such as slavery and indentured servitude, and by a British policy of benign neglect (salutary neglect) that permitted the
development of an American spirit distinct from that of its European founders.
The first successful English colony was established in 1607, on the James River at Jamestown. It languished for decades
until a new wave of settlers arrived in the late 17th century and set up commercial agriculture based on tobacco. One example
of conflict between Native Americans and English settlers was the 1622 Powhatan uprising in Virginia, in which Indians had
killed hundreds of English settlers. The largest conflict between Native Americans and English settlers in the 17th century
was King Philip's War in New England. [1]
New England was founded primarily by Puritans who established the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629. The Middle Colonies,
consisting of the present-day states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, were characterized by a large degree
of diversity. The first attempted English settlement south of Virginia was the Province of Carolina, with Georgia Colony the
last of the Thirteen Colonies established in 1733. Several colonies were used as penal settlements from the 1620s until the
American Revolution.
Formation of the United States of America (1776-1789)
Washington's crossing of the Delaware, one of America's first successes in the Revolutionary war
Washington's crossing of the Delaware, one of America's first successes in the Revolutionary war
The presentation of the Declaration of Independence
The presentation of the Declaration of Independence
Main article: History of the United States (1776-1789)
The United States declared its independence in 1776 and defeated Great Britain with help from France and Spain in the
American Revolutionary War. As Seymour Martin Lipset points out, "The United States was the first major colony successfully
to revolt against colonial rule. In this sense, it was the first 'new nation.'" (Lipset, The First New Nation (1979)
p. 2)
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, still meeting in Philadelphia, declared the independence of a nation
called "the United States of America" in the Declaration of Independence, primarily authored by Thomas Jefferson.
July 4 is celebrated as the nation's birthday. The new nation was dedicated to principles of republicanism, which emphasized
civic duty and a fear of corruption and hereditary aristocracy.
The Boston Tea Party in 1773, often seen as the event which started the American Revolution
The Boston Tea Party in 1773, often seen as the event which started the American Revolution
The structure of the national government was profoundly changed on March 4, 1789, when the people replaced the Articles
of Confederation with the United States Constitution. The new government reflected a radical break from the normative governmental
structures of the time, favoring representative, elective government with a weak executive, rather than the existing monarchical
structures common within the western traditions of the time. The system of republicanism borrowed heavily from Enlightenment
Age ideas and classical western philosophy in that a primacy was placed upon individual liberty and upon constraining the
power of government through division of powers and a system of checks and balances.
The colonists' victory at Saratoga led the French into an open alliance with the United States. In 1781, a combined American
and French Army, acting with the support of a French fleet, captured a large British army led by General Charles Cornwallis
at Yorktown, Virginia. The surrender of General Cornwallis ended serious British efforts to find a military solution to their
American problem.
A series of attempts to organize a movement to outline and press reforms culminated in the Congress calling the Constitutional
Convention of 1787, which met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Westward expansion (1789–1849)
Main article: History of the United States (1789–1849)
Economic growth in America per capita income
Economic growth in America per capita income
Territorial expansion of the United States, omitting Oregon and other claims.
Territorial expansion of the United States, omitting Oregon and other claims.
George Washington—a renowned hero of the American Revolutionary War, commander and chief of the Continental
Army, and president of the Constitutional Convention—became the first President of the United States under the new
U.S. Constitution. The Whiskey Rebellion in 1794, when settlers in the Monongahela River valley of western Pennsylvania protested
against a federal tax on liquor and distilled drinks, was the first serious test of the federal government.
The Louisiana Purchase, in 1803, gave Western farmers use of the important Mississippi River waterway, removed the French
presence from the western border of the United States, and provided U.S. settlers with vast potential for expansion. In response
to continued British impressment of American sailors into the British Navy, Madison had the Twelfth United States Congress—
led by Southern and Western Jeffersonians — declare war on Britain in 1812. The United States and Britain came to
a draw in the War of 1812 after bitter fighting that lasted until January 8, 1815. The Treaty of Ghent, officially ending
the war, essentially resulted in the maintenance of the status quo ante bellum; however, crucially for the U.S., the British
ended their alliance with the Native Americans.
The Monroe Doctrine, expressed in 1823, proclaimed the United States' opinion that European powers should no longer colonize
or interfere in the Americas. This was a defining moment in the foreign policy of the United States. The Monroe Doctrine was
adopted in response to American and British fears over Russian and French expansion into areas of the Western Hemisphere.
It was not until the Presidential Administration of Teddy Roosevelt that the Monroe Doctrine became a central tenet of American
foreign policy. The Monroe Doctrine was then invoked in the Spanish-American War as well as later in the proxy wars between
the United States and Soviet Union in Central America.
In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which authorized the president to negotiate treaties that exchanged Indian
tribal lands in the eastern states for lands west of the Mississippi River. This established Andrew Jackson, a military hero
and President, as a cunning tyrant in regards to native populations. The act resulted most notably in the forced migration
of several native tribes to the West, with several thousand Indians dying en route, and the Creeks' violent opposition and
eventual defeat. The Indian Removal Act also directly caused the ceding of Spanish Florida and subsequently led to the many
Seminole Wars.
Mexico refused to accept the annexation of Texas in 1845, and war broke out in 1846. The U.S., using regulars and large
numbers of volunteers, defeated Mexico which was badly led, short on resources, and plagued by a divided command. Public sentiment
in the U.S. was divided as Whigs and anti-slavery forces opposed the war. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded California,
New Mexico, and adjacent areas to the United States. In 1850, the issue of slavery in the new territories was settled by the
Compromise of 1850 brokered by Whig Henry Clay and Democrat Stephen Douglas.
Civil War era (1849–1865)
The Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle and turning point of the American Civil War
The Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle and turning point of the American Civil War
Main article: History of the United States (1849–1865)
In the middle of the 19th century, white Americans of the North and South were unable to reconcile fundamental differences
in their approach to government, economics, society and African American slavery. Abraham Lincoln was elected President, the
South seceded to form the Confederate States of America, and the Civil War followed, with the ultimate defeat of the South.
In 1854, the proposed Kansas-Nebraska Act abrogated the Missouri Compromise by providing that each new state of the Union
would decide its stance on slavery. After the election of Lincoln, eleven Southern states seceded from the union between late
1860 and 1861, establishing a rebel government, the Confederate States of America on February 9, 1861.
The Union: blue, yellow, red; The Confederacy: brown
The Union: blue, yellow, red; The Confederacy: brown
The Civil War began when Confederate General Pierre Beauregard opened fire upon Fort Sumter. They fired because Fort Sumter
was in a confederate state. Along with the northwestern portion of Virginia, four of the five northernmost "slave states"
did not secede and became known as the Border States. Emboldened by Second Bull Run, the Confederacy made its first invasion
of the North when General Robert E. Lee led 55,000 men of the Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River into Maryland.
The Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest single day in American history.
At the beginning of 1864, Lincoln made General Ulysses S. Grant commander of all Union armies. General William Tecumseh
Sherman marched from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Atlanta, Georgia, defeating Confederate Generals Joseph E. Johnston and John
Bell Hood. Sherman's army laid waste to about 20% of the farms in Georgia in his "March to the Sea", and reached
the Atlantic Ocean at Savannah in December 1864. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox
Court House.
General Custer's last stand in the Battle of the Little Bighorn
General Custer's last stand in the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Reconstruction and the rise of industrialization (1865–1918)
Main article: History of the United States (1865–1918)
After the Civil War, America experienced an accelerated rate of industrialization, mainly in the northern states. However,
Reconstruction and its failure left the Southern whites in a position of firm control over its black population, denying them
their Civil Rights and keeping them in a state of economic, social and political servitude. The Reconstruciton era was followed
by the Gilded Age which included influential figures such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. Monopolies plagued the
United States and corruption within the oil, steel, and railroad businesses was vast. Many new inventions led to increased
productivity but also produced a fall in wages which in turn caused riots in many parts of America.
U.S. Federal government policy, since the James Monroe Administration, had been to move the indigenous population beyond
the reach of the white frontier into a series of Indian reservations. Tribes were generally forced onto small reservations
as Caucasian farmers and ranchers took over their lands. In 1876, the last major Sioux war erupted when the Black Hills Gold
Rush penetrated their territory.
Ellis island in 1902, the main immigration port for immigrants entering the United States in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries.
Ellis island in 1902, the main immigration port for immigrants entering the United States in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries.
An unprecedented wave of immigration to the United States served both to provide the labor for American industry and to
create diverse communities in previously undeveloped areas. Abusive industrial practices led to the often violent rise of
the labor movement in the United States.
The United States began its rise to international power in this period with substantial population and industrial growth
domestically and numerous military ventures abroad, including the Spanish-American War, which began when the United States
blamed the sinking of the USS Maine (ACR-1) on Spain without any real evidence.
This period was capped by the 1917 entry of the United States into World War I.
Post-World War I and the Great Depression (1918–1940)
Main article: History of the United States (1918–1945)
Following World War I, the U.S. grew steadily in stature as an economic and military world power. The aftershock of Russia's
October Revolution resulted in real fears of communism in the United States, leading to a three-year Red Scare.
Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in Chicago, 1921
Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in Chicago, 1921
The United States Senate did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles imposed by its Allies on the defeated Central Powers;
instead, the United States chose to pursue unilateralism, if not isolationism.
In 1920, the manufacture, sale, import and export of alcohol was prohibited by the Eighteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution. Prohibition encouraged illegal breweries and dealers to make substantial amounts of money selling alcohol
illegally. The Prohibition ended in 1933, a failure.
During most of the 1920s, the United States enjoyed a period of unbalanced prosperity: farm prices and wages fell, while
industrial profits grew. The boom was fueled by a rise in debt and an inflated stock market. The Hawley-Smoot Tariff, the
Wall Street Crash of 1929, the Dust Bowl, and the ensuing Great Depression led to government efforts to restart the economy
and help its victims with Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. The recovery was rapid in all areas except unemployment, which
remained fairly high until 1940.
World War II (1940–1945)
Main articles: World War II and Homefront-United States-World War II
As with World War I, the United States did not enter World War II until after the rest of the active Allied countries
had done so. Its decision to declare war followed Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Until then,
the United States's isolationism had bound the country to neutrality. Any potential active contributions that the United States
could have made to the war would have been limited by its general unpreparedness for a conflict of such a magnitude; the American
armed forces were significantly smaller than the equivalent forces of France, Germany, Britain, the Soviet Union and Japan.
The United States's first contribution to the war was simultaneously to cut off the oil and raw material supplies desperately
needed by Japan to maintain its offensive in Manchuria, and to increase military and financial aid to China. Its first contribution
to the Allies came in September 1940, when the United States gave Britain 50 old destroyers in exchange for military bases
in the Caribbean. This was followed in December 1940, when the United States began a "Lend-Lease" program with Britain,
supplying much needed military equipment.
On 31 October 1941, less than two months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, an American destroyer escorting cargo ships
in the Atlantic was sunk by a German U-boat. War, however, was not declared on Germany. On 7 December 1941 Japan launched
a surprise attack on the American naval base in Pearl Harbor, citing America's recent trade embargo as justification. The
following day, Franklin D. Roosevelt successfully urged a joint session of Congress to declare war on Japan, calling 7 December
1941 "a date which will live in infamy." Four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 11, Nazi Germany
declared war on the United States, drawing the country into a two-theater war.
Battle against Germany
Upon entering the war the United States realized they could not fight both Japan and Germany at once. Thus it was decided
to concentrate the bulk of their efforts on fighting Hitler in Europe, while maintaining a defensive position in the Pacific
until Hitler was defeated. The United States's first step was to set up a large airforce in Britain to concentrate on bombing
raids into Germany itself. The American Air force relied on the B-17 Flying Fortress as its primary heavy bomber. Britain
had ceased its daylight bombing raids, due to heavy casualties inflicted by the Luftwaffe. The USAAF suffered similar high
losses until the introduction of the P-51 Mustang as a long range escort fighter for the bombers, allowing them continue with
daylight raids. Germany was thus bombed 24 hours a day from August 1942 to the end of the war in Europe.
The American army's first ground action was fighting alongside the British and Australian armies in North Africa, this
was important ground as it gave access to the Suez canal which was one of two crucial trade links that Britain relied on throughout
the war, along with the Atlantic. By May 1943, the British 8th Army had expelled the Germans from North Africa and the Allies
controlled this vital link until the end of the war. The American navy also played an active role in the Atlantic protecting
the convoys bringing vital American war material to Britain. By midway through 1943, the Allies were fighting the war from
Britain with unbroken supply lines, whilst at the same time Hitler's armies were very much on the back foot, with heavy bombing
taking its toll on production. The tide had swung dramatically from the grim days of early 1942.
By early 1944, a planned invasion of Western Europe was underway. Germany fully expected this attack to occur, but brilliant
allied strategy and a complete lack of intelligence flowing to Germany from Britain following the efficient elimination of
virtually all German spies by British Intelligence allowed this attack to occur largely as a surprise. What followed on 6
June 1944, was Operation Overlord, or D-Day. The largest war armada ever assembled landed on the beaches of Normandy and began
the penetration of Western Europe that eventually overthrew Hitler and Nazi Germany. Hitler had fallen for the Allied bluff
and prepared most of his troops for an invasion at Calais, much further north than where the actual landing would take place.
It was not until the attack was well underway that the German army realised what was occurring and sent forces in defense.
It was too late. In all, almost 5,000 ships, 10,000 aircraft and 176,000 troops took part in the 6 week battle that ended
in a decisive victory for the allies.
Following the landing at Normandy, the Americans contributed greatly to the outcome of the war, with dogged fighting in
the Battle of the Ardennes and the Battle of the Bulge resulting in Allied victories against the Germans despite overwhelming
odds. The battles took a heavy toll on the Americans, who lost 19,000 men during the Battle of the Bulge alone. The allied
bombing raids on Germany increased to unprecedented levels after the D-Day invasion, with over 70% of all bombs dropped on
Germany occurring after this date. Germany was flattened, the country was physically and emotionally rubble. On 30 April 1945,
with Berlin completely overrun with Russian forces and his country in tatters, Adolf Hitler committed suicide. On 8 May 1945
the war with Germany was over, following its unconditional surrender to the Allied forces.
From a modest contribution in troops at the beginning of the campaign in Europe, by the end of the war approximately 66%
of all allied divisions in Western Europe were American.
Battle against Japan
Due to the United States commitment to defeating Hitler in Europe, the first years of the war against Japan was largely
a defensive battle with the United States Navy attempting to prevent the Japanese Navy from asserting dominance of the Pacific
region. Initially, Japan won the majority of its battles in a short period of time. Japan quickly defeated and created military
bases in Guam, Thailand, Malaya, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Burma. This was done virtually unopposed and with
quicker speed than that of the German Blitzkrieg during the early stages of the war. This was important for Japan, as it had
only 10% of the homeland industrial production capacity of the United States.
The turning point of the war was the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The United States Navy had broken the Japanese communication
codes which allowed it to strategically position its ships in order to deliver a comprehensive defeat to the Japanese Navy.
Following this, the Americans began fighting towards China where they could build an airbase suitable to commence bombing
of mainland Japan with its B-29 Superfortress fleet. The Americans began by selecting smaller, lesser defended islands as
targets as opposed to attacking the major Japanese strongholds. During this period, they inadvertently triggered what would
become their most comprehensive victory in the entire war.
After defeating Japanese troops and landing in the Mariana Islands, the Japanese retaliated by sending 6 aircraft carriers
carrying 430 planes to counter attack. The battle that ensued on June 19, 1944, became known as the "Marianas Turkey
Shoot". The American Navy pilots shot down 369 of the 430 Japanese bombers, fighters and dive bombers, and heavily wounded
many others. Only 36 Japanese aircraft remained operational after this battle, or around 8%.
The Pacific war became the largest naval conflict in history. The American Navy emerged victorious after at one point
being stretched to almost breaking point with almost complete destruction of the Japanese Navy. The American forces were then
poised for an invasion of the Japanese mainland, to force the Japanese into unconditional surrender. The decision to use nuclear
weapons to end the conflict has been one of the most controversial decisions of the war. Supporters of the use of the bombs
argue that an invasion would have cost enormous numbers of lives, citing the battle of Okinawa, where the death toll was higher
than that from the two nuclear bombs combined. They also point out that a conventional fire bombing campaign would have caused
enormous civilian casualties, as the bombing of Tokyo had done. Others argue that a military demonstration should have taken
place, or that footage of the test bomb in Los Alamos should have been sent to the Japanese along with a demand for surrender.
The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, unexpected by the Japanese. The second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki
on August 9. The Americans then made a bluff suggesting to the Japanese that they had a limitless supply of atomic bombs.
On August 15, 1945, the Japanese surrendered unconditionally and the war was over, avoiding a bloody invasion.
Cold War beginnings and the Civil Rights Movement (1945–1964)
Martin Luther King delivering the I Have a Dream speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.
Martin Luther King delivering the I Have a Dream speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.
Main article: History of the United States (1945–1964)
Following World War II, the United States emerged as one of the two dominant superpowers. The U.S. Senate, on December
4, 1945, approved U.S. participation in the United Nations (UN), which marked a turn away from the traditional isolationism
of the U.S. and toward more international involvement. The post-war era in the United States was defined internationally by
the beginning of the Cold War, in which the United States and the Soviet Union attempted to expand their influence at the
expense of the other, checked by each side's massive nuclear arsenal and the doctrine of mutual assured destruction. The result
was a series of conflicts during this period including the Korean War and the tense nuclear showdown of the Cuban Missile
Crisis. Within the United States, the Cold War prompted concerns about Communist influence, and also resulted in government
efforts to encourage math and science toward efforts like the space race.
Alabama governor George Wallace attempting to stop desegregation at the University of Alabama in 1963.
Alabama governor George Wallace attempting to stop desegregation at the University of Alabama in 1963.
President Kennedy's address on Civil Rights, June 11, 1963.
President Kennedy's address on Civil Rights, June 11, 1963.
In the decades after World War II, the United States became a global influence in economic, political, military, cultural
and technological affairs. At the center of middle-class culture since the 1950s has been a growing obsession with consumer
goods.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960. Known for his charisma, he was the only Catholic to ever be President.
The Kennedy's brought a new life and vigor to the atmosphere of the White House. During his time in office, the Cold War reached
its height with the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. He was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.
Meanwhile, the American people completed their great migration from the farms into the cities and experienced a period
of sustained economic expansion. At the same time, institutionalized racism across the United States, but especially in the
American South, was increasingly challenged by the growing Civil Rights movement and African American leaders such as Martin
Luther King, Jr. During the 1960s, the Jim Crow laws that legalized racial segregation between Whites and Blacks came to an
end.
Cold War (1964–1980)
Main article: History of the United States (1964–1980)
The Cold War continued through the 1960s and 1970s, and the United States entered the Vietnam War, whose growing unpopularity
fed already existing social movements, including those among women, minorities and young people. President Lyndon Johnson's
Great Society social programs and the judicial activism of the Warren Court added to the wide range of social reform during
the 1960s and 1970s. Feminism and the environmental movement became political forces, and progress continued toward civil
rights for all Americans. The Counterculture Revolution swept through the nation and much of the western world in the late
sixties, dividing the already hostile environment but also bringing forth more liberated social views.
In the early 1970s, Johnson's successor, President Richard Nixon was forced by Congress to bring the Vietnam War to a
close, and the American-backed South Vietnamese government subsequently collapsed. The war had cost the lives of 58,000 American
troops and millions of Vietnamese. The OPEC oil embargo and slowing economic growth led to a period of stagflation. Nixon's
own administration was brought to an ignominious close with the political scandal of Watergate.
End of the Cold War (1980–1988)
Ronald Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate tells Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall in 1987, shortly before the end of
the Cold War
Ronald Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate tells Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall in 1987, shortly before the end of
the Cold War
Main article: History of the United States (1980–1988)
In the 1984 election, Ronald Reagan won 49 states in one of the largest ever election victories.
In the 1984 election, Ronald Reagan won 49 states in one of the largest ever election victories.
Ronald Reagan produced a major realignment with his 1980 and 1984 landslides. In 1980, the Reagan coalition was possible
because of Democratic losses in most social-economic groups.
"Reagan Democrats" were those who usually voted Democratic but were attracted by Reagan's policies, personality
and leadership, notably his social conservatism and hawkish foreign policy.
In foreign affairs, bipartisanship was not in evidence. The Democrats doggedly opposed the president's efforts to support
the Contras of Nicaragua. He took a hard line against the Soviet Union, alarming Democrats who wanted a nuclear freeze, but
he succeeded in growing the military budget and launching a costly and complicatd missile defense system (dubbed "Star
Wars") hoping to intimidate the Soviets. Though it was never fully developed or deployed, the research and technologies
of SDI paved the way for some anti-ballistic missile systems of today. When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in Moscow, many
conservative Republicans were dubious of the friendship between him and Reagan. Gorbachev tried to save Communism in Russia
first by ending the expensive arms race with America, then in 1989 by shedding the East European empire. Communism finally
collapsed in Russia in 1991, ending the US-Soviet Cold War.
1988–present
Main article: History of the United States (1988–present)
New York under attack in the September 11, 2001 attacks
New York under attack in the September 11, 2001 attacks
George W. Bush in a televised address from the USS Abraham Lincoln with the Mission Accomplished banner in the background.
George W. Bush in a televised address from the USS Abraham Lincoln with the Mission Accomplished banner in the background.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States emerged as the world's sole remaining superpower and continued to
involve itself in military action overseas, including the 1991 Gulf War. Following his election in 1992, President Bill Clinton
oversaw the longest economic expansion in American history, a side effect of the digital revolution and new business opportunities
created by the Internet (see Internet bubble).
In 1993, Islamic terrorist, Ramzi Yousef, planted explosives in the underground garage of One World Trade Center and detonated
them killing six people and injuring thousands, in what would become the beginning of an age of terrorism. Two years later
in 1995, Timothy McVeigh spearheaded a terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Buidling in Oklahoma City. The bombing
killed 168 people and injured over 800.
The presidential election in 2000 between George W. Bush (R) and Al Gore (D) was one of the closest in American history,
and helped lay the seeds for political polarization to come.
At the beginning of the new millennium, the United States found itself attacked by Islamic terrorism, with the September
11, 2001 attacks in which Islamic extremists hijacked four transcontinental airliners and intentionally crashed two of them
into the twin towers at the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. The passengers on the fourth plane, United Airlines
Flight 93, revolted causing the plane to crash into a field in Somerset County, PA. According to the 9/11 Commission Report,
that plane was intended to hit the US Capitol Building in Washington. As a result of the attacks, the twin towers of the World
Trade Center collapsed, destroying the entire complex. The United States soon found large amounts of evidence that suggested
that a terrorist group, al-Qaeda, spearheaded by Osama bin Laden, was responsible for the attacks. The attacks of that day
sparked patriotism throughout the country, the largest clean up effort in the nations history, and a global battle against
terrorism.
In response to the attacks, under the administration of President George W. Bush, the United States (with the military
support of NATO and the political support of most of the international community) invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban
regime, which had supported and harbored bin Laden. More controversially, President Bush continued what he dubbed the War
on Terrorism with the invasion of Iraq by overthrowing and capturing Saddam Hussein in 2003. Reasons cited by the administration
for the invasion ranged from the 'spreading of democracy', the 'elimination of weapons of mass destruction' (later proven
to be based on false or skewed evidence) and the 'liberation of the Iraqi people'. This second invasion proved to be unpopular
in many parts of the world and helped fuel a global wave of anti-American sentiment.
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded parts of the city of New Orleans and heavily damaged other areas of the gulf
coast, including major damage to the Mississippi coast. The preparation and the response of the government were criticized
as ineffective and slow. As of 2006, the political climate remains polarized as debates continue over partial birth abortion,
federal funding of stem cell research, same-sex marriage, immigration reform and the ongoing war in Iraq.
By 2006, rising prices saw Americans become increasingly conscious of the nation's extreme dependence on steady supplies
of inexpensive petroleum for energy, with President Bush admitting a U.S. "addiction to oil." The possibility of
serious economic disruption, should conflict overseas or declining production interrupt the flow, could not be ignored, given
the instability in the Middle East and other oil-producing regions of the world. Many proposals and pilot projects for replacement
energy sources, from ethanol to wind power and solar power, received more capital funding and were pursued more seriously
in the 2000s than in previous decades.
|
