History of the USA
Page last modified 9/11/2019
See also South-East Asia for early history of Hawaii
See Road transport for rising US auto production, early 20th century.
Click here for New York City Metro map 1948
USA Urban Evolution – Washington DC, 1785, 1795 and present-day
USA Urban Growth – Image of Colorado Springs – Denver here
USA Urban Growth – Image of Chicago, 1908 and 1970 here
US Bureau of Economic Analysis, https://www.bea.gov/
US Bureau of Labor, https://www.bls.gov/
US Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/
US population data, https://www.census.gov/popclock/
Start of Cold War/Marshall Plan
World War One
US-Spanish war 1898
US Civil War 1861-65
Mexican War 1846-48
Events leading to US independence
Amerindian nations – See Appendix 1 below
Hawaii – see Appendix 2 below
US Presidents born, nominated, elected, died – see Appendix 3 below
Alaska – see Appendix 4 below
California – see Appendix 5 below
Florida – see Appendix 6 below
As MarkTwain said: “Both politicians and nappies need to be changed often and for the same reason!”
26/2/2019, The longest US Government shutdown in history, 35 days, ended as President Trump backed down before opposition in (Democrat-controlled) Congress in a dispute over funding for a ‘wall’ (or, steel barrier) to keep out migrants on the Mexican border. However Trump later declared an ‘emergency’ so as to try and secure funding for the barrier by alternative means, by using emergency powers to take funding from other areas of government.
11/1/2019, The USA began to pull its forces out of Syria. Russia, ally of Syrian President Assad, welcomed the news, as Assad appeared to have won the Syrian Civil War. There were concerns that the US move could allow ISIS to regroup, or expose the Kurds to attacks from Turkey.
8/5/2018, President Trump of the US unilaterally pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Deal, arranged by his predecessor President Obama, under which Iran received financial aid in return for curbing its nuclear missiles programme.
2/10/2017, Early in the morning, a gunman opened fire in Las Vegas. Shooting from the Mandalay Bay Hotel, he killed 58 and injured over 500. He shot himself dead as policed closed in. The gunman was initially alleged to be ISIS related but in fact there was no link to any terrorist organisation. The motive remains unknown.
27/1/2017, President Trump of the US issued a controversial executive order instituting a temporary travel ban on the entry of people to the US from seven mainly-Muslim countries. The ban was challenged and overturned in the US Courts.
12/6/2016, An Islamist gunman, Omar Mateen, entered a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and killed 50 people. It was the worst massacre in recent US history.
7/12/2015, Donald Trump, contender for the Republican Presidential nomination, called for a ban on all Muslims entering the US, after an Islamic gunman shot 14 dead in San Bernardino, California, whilst the conflict with ISIS was still ongoing. There were widespread protests at his comments, and over 550,000 people in the UK signed a petition to ban him from Britain.
21/8/2015, Britain and Iran re-opened their embassies in each other’s capitals. This followed a nuclear agreement between Iran and the USA organised by US President Obama (but not yet ratified by US Congress).
15/4/2013, The Boston Marathon race was hit by two bombs, killing 3 and injuring 284.
17/9/2012, Occupy Wall Street protests began in the USA
16/8/2012, Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, was officially given political asylum by Ecuador.
4/4/2011, In the US, Barack Obama announced his intention to stand for re-election for a second term.
28/11/2010, Wikileaks released over 250,000 American diplomatic cables, of which 100,000 which were ‘secret’ or ‘confidential’.
19/9/2010, The BP oil well, Deepwater Horizon, was capped after spilling millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
25/7/2010, Wikileaks released 90,000 covert and classified documents relating to the US occupation of Afghanistan, 2004-2010.
20/4/2010, The Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mex