US HISTORY NOTES
Colonial America
• The 13 Colonies were divided into New England, Middle, and Southern colonies.
• New England: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire. Economy based on
shipbuilding, fishing, and trade.
• Middle Colonies: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware. Known for diversity and
farming.
• Southern Colonies: Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia. Plantation
economy with slavery and cash crops like tobacco and cotton.
• Mayflower Compact (1620): early form of self-government.
• House of Burgesses (1619): first representative assembly in the colonies.
American Revolution
• Causes: taxation without representation, Stamp Act, Tea Act, Boston Massacre, Boston Tea
Party.
• First Continental Congress (1774) met to protest British actions.
• Lexington and Concord (1775): first battles.
• Declaration of Independence (1776) written by Thomas Jefferson, declared separation from
Britain.
• Revolutionary War lasted from 1775 to 1783. Colonists won with help from France.
• Treaty of Paris (1783) ended the war and recognized American independence.
Constitution and Early Government
• Articles of Confederation (1781): first U.S. government, weak federal power.
• Constitutional Convention (1787): replaced Articles with Constitution.
• Great Compromise: created a bicameral legislature (House and Senate).
• Three-Fifths Compromise: slaves counted as 3/5 of a person for representation.
• Bill of Rights: first 10 amendments, guarantees individual rights.
Early Republic
• George Washington: first president, warned against political parties and foreign alliances.
• Federalists (Hamilton) vs. Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson).
• Louisiana Purchase (1803): bought from France, doubled the size of the U.S.
• War of 1812: U.S. vs. Britain, led to a rise in nationalism.
Westward Expansion
• Manifest Destiny: belief that the U.S. was meant to expand westward.
• Indian Removal Act (1830): forced Native Americans off their land (Trail of Tears).
• Texas annexation, Mexican-American War (1846-1848), U.S. gained Southwest land (Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo).
• California Gold Rush (1849): led to migration west.
Civil War and Reconstruction
• Causes: slavery, states’ rights, election of Abraham Lincoln (1860).
• Southern states seceded and formed the Confederacy.
• Civil War (1861-1865): Union vs. Confederacy.
• Emancipation Proclamation (1863): freed slaves in Confederate states.
• Union victory in 1865. Lincoln assassinated shortly after.
• Reconstruction (1865-1877): rebuilding the South, 13th (end slavery), 14th (citizenship), 15th
(voting rights) Amendments passed.
• End of Reconstruction led to Jim Crow laws and segregation.
Industrialization and Immigration
• Late 1800s: U.S. became industrial power.
• Big businesses and monopolies (Rockefeller - oil, Carnegie - steel).
• Labor unions formed to fight for better wages and conditions.
• New immigrants came from Southern and Eastern Europe.
• Urbanization increased; many lived in poor conditions (tenements).
Progressive Era
• Reform movement to fix problems of industrialization.
• Muckrakers exposed corruption (Upton Sinclair - The Jungle).
• Reforms included child labor laws, safer working conditions, and women’s suffrage.
• 19th Amendment (1920): women gained the right to vote.
World War I
• Causes: militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism.
• U.S. joined in 1917 due to German U-boats and the Zimmerman Telegram.
• War ended in 1918, Treaty of Versailles punished Germany.
• League of Nations created, but U.S. didn’t join.
Roaring Twenties and Great Depression
• 1920s: economic boom, jazz, flappers, Harlem Renaissance.
• Stock market crash (1929) led to Great Depression.
• Unemployment rose, banks failed, poverty increased.
• FDR elected in 1932, launched the New Deal to help economy recover.
World War II
• Causes: rise of dictators, failure of appeasement, invasion of Poland.
• U.S. entered after Pearl Harbor attack (1941).
• Allies (U.S., Britain, Soviet Union) vs. Axis (Germany, Italy, Japan).
• War ended in 1945 after atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
• United Nations created to prevent future wars.
Cold War
• U.S. vs. Soviet Union, capitalism vs. communism.
• Containment: U.S. tried to stop spread of communism.
• Korean War (1950-1953), Vietnam War (1955-1975).
• Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): closest to nuclear war.
• Cold War ended in 1991 when Soviet Union collapsed.
Civil Rights Movement
• Fought for equal rights for African Americans.
• Brown v. Board (1954): ended school segregation.
• Martin Luther King Jr.: nonviolent protests, “I Have a Dream.”
• Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) passed.
Modern America
• 9/11 attacks in 2001 led to War on Terror.
• First Black president: Barack Obama elected in 2008.
• Recent issues: climate change, healthcare, immigration, and political division.
