B R
I E F H I S T O R Y
(and other important facts)
OF
(1) Some important events and dates
(2)
Presidents and their photos
(3) State Capitals, areas, and population
(4)The Government of U S A
(5)
A.C.Sekhar
Some important events and dates in American History
1492:
possessions
were divided between
. Then more explorations followed even by
other European countries and gradually most of the
1607: The first permanent
English Colony Jamestown was founded
1681: William Penn received
from Charles II a charter granting proprietorship of modern
1754: The ‘Seven years war’
as called by the English was led by George Washington who gave the
ultimatum to French intruders and local Indians
in some of the northern areas.
!763: King George declared
proclamation line setting a boundary beyond which English settlers could not
go and that prompted some people to rebel
1767: Jesuits expelled from
1773:
and threw overboard more than 300 tea
chests to protest against British
parliament’s ‘Tea Act’
1774: The first Continental
Congress met in
and passed a resolution that British parliament ha no authority to legislate
on Colonial matters.
1775: The American Revolution
started with sporadic
battles between loyalists supported by British
troops on one side and colonists led by George
Washington on the other
1776: The first ‘Continental
Congress’ of English settlers, with
delegates from thirteen states met on July
4th and decided to become
free from British rule Thomas Jefferson from
committee
consisting of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and others drafted the famous
‘Declaration of
laid the foundation for rights of
life, liberty and property (later
changed to ‘pursuit of happiness’)
and to
secure these rights a government by the consent of the governed was considered
essential.
1777: The second Continental Congress
met and adopted the Articles of Confederation and the articles
were sent to all states for ratification .
1788: Finding some weaknesses
in the Articles of Confederation the founding Fathers in a convention at
Branches in the government, namely Judiciary, Executive
and Legislative branches for balancing
Power appropriately
1789: George Washington was elected the first President ,and John Adams
the Vice-President under the
new constitution. .New treaties were signed with European countries, a National Bank was
created
and George Washington was rightly called as the father of the country.
1791: Congress framed the
Bill of Rights which are the first ten amendments granting primarily the
freedom of
speech, religion etc, trial by jury,
rights of individual states, drafted by a committee
headed by
James Madison.
1812: A war broke out with
in the end a
status quo compromise was reached.
1823: President James Monroe
laid the foundation of U.S .Foreign policy popularly known as
Doctrine which restricted some
Russian claims on the west coast and European claims in Latin
political, economic, and territorial disputes in whole of the Western world
1828: Andrew Johnson, first common man elected
President of U S A.
1830: Slave abolitionists
established the famous
freedom.
Strong legislative moves were made on either side for their own rights
.Congress passed
Indian Removal Act to push local
Indians to areas now known as
1845:
there were
some border incidents between Texans and
Mexicans which escalated to a full scale war
between U S and
1846: U S declared war on
deals, and
payment of compensatory money etc. all the present
1849:
existence in the
ensuing commercial struggles .
1850: Congress reached several compromises with various states to
tide over the tensions whether new
territories should be admitted with or without slavery.
debts of
end of
their power in the Congress
1854: Kansas-Nebraska Act
passed by Congress throwing away the
decision on slavery back to
popular
will of
states had caused several border conflicts in
but it had
lost in elections.
1857: Supreme Court handed
down the Dred –Scott decision that slavery was
permitted with some
individuals of South even though they migrated
to North and thus a new unrest was created leading
ultimately
to Civil War.
1859: Oil was struck in
economy of U S A
1861: Civil War broke out
which lasted for nearly four years. With the final defeat of stubborn South the
healing of
wounds and re-uniting the nation an arduous and highly skillful task for
President
Abraham Lincoln.
1862: Abraham Lincoln signed
into Law authorizing any individual citizen or immigrant to select, possess
and improve
unclaimed land up to 160 acres and after five years to gain title to the same.
This had
come to be known as ‘Homestead Act’ and
proved to be beneficial to many in different ways
1863: Abraham Lincoln issued
‘Emancipation Proclamation” which committed armed forces of U S A to
liberate all
slaves. There were struggles in some areas regarding its application. All the
shortcomings
and
limitations of its application were overcome by 13th Amendment and
slavery was outlawed
throughout
the nation once for all for ever.
1865: Abraham Lincoln was
assassinated by a frenzy actor John Wilkes Booth, at Ford Theater while
watching a comedy ‘
Our American Cousin’. After a chase, the assassin was ultimately caught in a
barn in
died of a gun shot
by himself or by the army.
1866: (1)The
fourteenth amendment was ratified for reconstruction after the Civil war and
rehabilitation of
freed
slaves was bitterly opposed by South without success. Secret Societies like Ku
Klux Klan etc
came into
existence. Later after passing of fifteenth Amendment Supreme Court finally
provided
constitutional
authority to protect all civil rights
and expand individual freedom.
(2)
hundred
years of warfare with local inhabitants. India Reservations were established.
There were
several
reports of brutal treatment of Indians by the very soldiers employed to look after them.
1868: Radical Republicans
initiated impeachment proceedings aginst President
Andrew Johnson who was
carrying on
1870: J. D. Rockefeller
founded Standard Oil Company adding to the economical boom of U S A
1876: Alexander Graham Bell
invents the telephone
1877:
a countrywide
labor unrest and a series of strikes
came to be known as ‘Great Strike of
1877’
1879:
1881: American Red Cross was
founded by Clara Barton
1889:
unsettled
region to Homesteads
1890: Congress passed Sherman
Antitrust Act under which monopolistic tendencies and conspiracies were
curbed so
that any individual or organization affected may sue in a federal court
1892: Workers of Carnegie
steel Company in
between
labor and management which one again shocked whole nation.
1898:
refused to
annex
have bases
to intervene when necessary
1904: The U S Senate approved
Panama Canal Treaty, when
separated from
1914 but it was formally dedicated
to nation only in 1920
1909: An organization called
National Association for Advancement of Colored people, NAACP, was
formed to
champion the rights of African-
Americans. This became a very powerful and influential
body in
American History
1913: Sixteenth Amendment
becomes the Law
granting Federal Government to collect taxes on personal
income
1917: U S entered the first World War during the presidentship
of Woodrow Wilson. After observing
neutrality
for nearly three years how European Nations were fightingone
against another. At last
fourteen
points for peace were not favourably received by
American public for fear of their losing
their own interests..
1919: Eighteenth Amendment
was ratified and prohibition was introduced, However
this plunged
American people into some type of chaos with many
law breakers and illegal liquor traders growing.
1920: (1)Nineteenth
Amendment was ratified after decades of struggle, granting women the right to
vote.
However the women’s movement continued
for decades for equality in all areas of political.
administrative,
and social activities.
(2) U S Senate formally rejected the
superiority
and absolute sovereignty in some areas eventhough
President Woodrow Wilson strongly
pleaded
for support.
1924: Congress passed
Johnson-Reed Act which severely restricted immigration owing to scare of
communist
infiltration and stray assassination attempts on American leaders by some
disgruntled
immigrants.
Mostly southern and eastern
European immigrants were denied entry and quotas were
fixed for
different categories of immigrants
1929: The Great Depression
began with the lowest figure of Stock Market reaching on October 29, called
‘Black Tuesday’ Industrial
production improved but Americans did not have enough money to buy
all that
was produced. Many workers lost jobs; some banks failed; Even
agriculture had a set back
In this economic chaos and
consequent social unrest, F.D .Roosevelt, a Democratic presidential
candidate
came up with a ‘New Deal’ in 1932
1933: F D Roosevelt as 32nd President
of U S A announced the promised ‘New Deal’ which included old
age
pensions, unemployment insurance, public power programs, guaranteed bank
deposits, variety of
jobs , creation
of Tennessee Valley Authority and many socio-economic programs.. However the
Great Depression continued for some years. Though the wealthy
people despised him the common
people
elected him for four terms consecutively. The world events were however moving towards a
second world war
which in some ways helped to overcome
the difficulties of Great Depression and
shaped a new
and prosperous
1941: German invasions of European
countries turned into a
World War II with Japanese attack on
harbor and an excuse for
Many Japanese were detained in U S A
as internees but were paid some compensation later when
they were
released. World War II veterans enjoyed post war economic boom as a result
of G I Bill
passed in
1944
1945: Fifty nations met in
for peaceful
resolution of disputes among nations of the world.
1947: Marshall Plan was
prepared for European Recovery. However Cold War ensued ,
military alliances
‘NATO’ of the West and War saw Pact of the Communists were
formed which dominated world
politics for over
four decades. U S A had reorganized its Defense Department and created ‘Central
Intelligence Agency’ (CIA) under
National Security Act 1947.
1950: Korean War, with
communist backed North and U S Backed South Koreas startedThe
war ended
three years
later in 1953 with dividing
‘SEATO’ as an effort to contain the
spread of communism in
different parts of the world..
1956: Congress passed
Interstate Highway Act which marked the beginning of a large scale road
building
activity
connecting all major cities of U S A by road. This was the largest public
programs in history
1962: U S confronts U S S R over missiles in
bases were
being planned in
1964: Congress passed the
Civil Rights Act
barring racial discrimination in all public places and
withdrawing federal
funds fro state programs which discriminated
against minorities. This was a
real and
practical assurance to African-Americans
for their equal partnership in building up an
integrated
natural American Society which in many ways transformed the entire American
Culture.
1968: Martin Luther King was
assassinated that shocked the nation and there were also wide spread
protests
against Vietnam War and social injustices at home.. later
in the same year the rioters clashed
with
1969: Two Americans landed on
moon on July 20.
1972: During a presidential
campaign, police arrested
five employees of Nixon’s
campaign committee
who broke
into Democratic National Committees headquarters at Watergate and this scandal
finally
led to the
resignation of a president in American history but he was pardoned by the
successor
President Ford.
1973: OPEC ordered embargo on
oil exports to U S A and other countries who helped
against
1979:
support of Shah of
Iran, However they were released in Reagan administration. Soon fresh scandals
broke which
compelled Congress to investigate the Iran Scandal. The nation went through
horrifying
experience
of illegal foreign policies of the Government through CIA without due
authority.
1989: Cold War ends by
Germans breaking the Berlin Wall and reunification of
some
economic problems in rehabilitating the people.
1991--- : The last decade of 20 th
Century saw some interesting developments like Gulf War, U S S R break up, Confirmation of first African-American
Clarence Thomas as a judge of the Supreme Court,
Some racial uprisings such as
those that followed beating of Rodney King at Los Angels, impeachment
proceedings of President Clinton, Middle East struggles between Palestinians and
Israelis, September 11 incident of WTC, War against international terrorism,
War in Afghanistan to remove Taliban and Al Qieda
American role in South Asian affairs, several embarrassing incidents for F B I,
and increased home security.
( to be edited properly and continued)
Presidents of U S A.
1789-1797
George Washington
1797-1801 John Adams
1801-1809 Thomas
Jefferson
1809-1817 James
Madison
1817-1825 James Monroe
1825-1829 John Quincy
1829-1837 Andrew Jackson
1837-1841 Martin Van Buren
1841 William
H
1841-1845 John Tyler
1845-1849 James K Polk
1849-1850 Zachary Taylor
1850-1853 Millard Fillmore
1853-1857 Franklin Pierce
1857-1861 James Buchanan
1861-1865 Abraham Lincoln
1865-1869 Andrew Johnson
1869-1877 Ulysses S Grant
1877-1881 Rutherford B Hayes
1881 James
A Garfield
1881-1885
1885-1889 Grover
1889-1893 Benjamin Harrison
1893-1897 Grover
1897-1901 William McKinley
1901-1909 Theodore Roosevelt
1909-1913 William H Taft
1913-1921 Woodrow Wilson
1921-1923 Warren G Harding
1923-1929 Calvin Coolidge
1929-1933 Herbert C Hoover
1933-1945 Franklin D Roosevelt
1945-1953 Harry S Truman
1953-1961 Dwight D Eisenhower
1961-1963 John F Kennedy
1963-1969 Lyndon B Johnson
1969-1974 Richard M Nixon
1974-1977 Gerald R Ford
1977-1981 Jimmy Carter
1981-1989 Ronald W Reagan
1989-1993 George H W Bush
1993-2001 Bill Clinton
2001- George Bush
State Capital Area Population
(in thou sq.mls) (in millions)
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(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10) GEORGIA (GA)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)
(17)
(18) LOUSIANA (LA) Baton
Rouge 45
(33) 4.5 (19)
(19)
(20)
(21)
(22)
(23)
(24) MISSISSIPI (MS)
(25)
(26)
(27)
(28)
(29)
(30) NEW
(31)
(32)
(33)
(34)
(35)
(36)
(37)
(38) PENSYLVANIA (PN)
(39)
(40)
(41)
(42) TENESSE (TN)
(43)
(44)
(45)
(46)
(47) WASHINGTON (WA)
(48)
(49)
(50)
Total: 3500 243.2
(The figures in brackets under area and
population indicate rank)
The Government of U S A
Consists of
(1) The Executive Branch (2)The
legislative branch (3) The Judicial Branch
headed by the consists of Congress consisting of
President (1)
Senate of 100 members
one chief justice &
Responsible to (2) House of
Representatives 8
associate justices
enforce
federal laws
of 435 members constitutes
appoint and remove
federal officials
The Supreme Court
command
the armed forces
conduct
foreign affairs
recommend laws to Congress
appoint
representatives to
other
countries and
international
organizations.
The president also
decides what role his vice-president
will have in addition to his constitutional role to preside over the senate. There are 14 executive offices of the president besides several other areas of
governance. He also nominates justices who have to be approved by the senate
In the
senate there are two members from each state. Senaters srve six year
term. Senate sits as a court of impeachment after any official has been
impeached by the House. The senate also approve the
nominations made by the president for different offices and also approves
treaties of U.S.A with other countries.
When once
approved by the senate each justice holds the post for life. The judicial
branch also includes about 95 Federal District Courts and about 13 District
Court of Appeals, or Circuit Courts. The Supreme Court heads all courts.
The
various states of