American History Timeline

Built-in Glossary

Click on the underlined words to find out what the words mean

40,000 B.C– 11,000 B.CFirst people (called Paleo-Indians) cross from Siberia to Alaska and

begin to move into North America.

8000 B.C—1000 B.CNorth American Indians begin using stone to grind food and to hunt bison and smaller animals.

700– 1492 A.DMany different Indian cultures develop throughout North America.

1492Christopher Columbus sails across the

Atlantic ocean and found land on October 12th which he thought was Asia not

America.

1619The first African slaves are brought to Jamestown (Slavery is made legal in

1650)

1620Pilgrims from England arrive at

Plymouth Massachusetts, on the Mayflower.

1776The Declaration of Independence is approved and America was independent from Great Britain.

1789The new Constitution is approved by the states. George Washington is chosen as

the first President.

1861The Civil War begins.

1863President Lincoln issues the

Emancipation Proclamation, freeing most slaves.

1865The Civil War ends as the South surrenders.

1954The U.S Supreme Court forbids racial segregation in public schools.

1964Congress passes the Civil Rights Act, which outlaws discrimination in voting and jobs.

1968Martin Luther King Jr is

assassinated in Memphis.

2008Barack Obama is elected the first black President of the United States.