AMERICAN HISTORY
1800 - 1945
Tereza VARGOVÁ
Contents
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The Anglo-American War
The Monroe Doctrine
Indian Removal Act
Trail of Tears
Mexican-American War
California Gold Rush
Civil War
Contents
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Spanish-American War
World War I
World War II
Possibly Interesting Facts
Quiz
Louisiana Purchase
• acquired from France => US nearly doubles in size
The Anglo-American War
• 1812-1814
• US declared war on June 18, 1812
• reasons:
– trade restrictions
– the impressment of US merchant sailors into the
Royal Navy
– British support for Native American tribes against
European expansion
The Anglo-American War
• resolved by the Treaty of Ghent, signed on
December 24, 1814
– both parties returned occupied land to its pre-war
owner and resumed friendly trade relations
The Monroe Doctrine
• 1823
• James Monroe, 5th president
• goals:
– to free the newly independent colonies from
European interventions
– avoid situations which would make the New
World a battleground for the Old World powers
The Monroe Doctrine
Indian Removal Act
• systematic efforts to remove the Native
American tribes from the Southeast
• passed on May 28, 1830
• US territory west of Mississippi to be divided
into districts for tribes to replace the land they
were removed from
• strongly supported by non-native people in
the South
Indian Removal Act
• The Seminole Wars
– 1835-1842
– most tribe members killed, others relocated, a tiny
fraction allowed to remain
Trail of Tears
• series of forced relocations of Native American
nations
• relocated peoples suffered from exposure,
disease and starvation while enroute
• many died before reaching their various
destinations (2,000-6,000 out of 16,543)
Mexican-American War
• 1846-1848
• followed the 1845 annexation of Texas
• US declares war in hopes of acquiring
California and other territory in the Southwest
• resolved by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
– forced Mexican cession of California and parts of
the Southwest
California Gold Rush
• 1848-1855
• gold found at Sutter‘s Mill in California
• reaches its height the following year => ‚fortyniners‘
• after the boom: anti-foreign and racist attacks,
genocide on Native Americans
California Gold Rush
Civil War
the Union
the Confederacy
Civil War
• 1861-1865
• to determine the survival of the Union or
independence for the Confederacy
• cause: slavery
• January 1861 – seven slave states declared
their secession from the US and formed the
Confederate States of America
Civil War
Civil War
• ended with the surrender of Confederate
commanding genereal Robert Lee on April 9,
1865
• five days after the surrender, US president
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John
Wilkes Booth
• followed by Reconstruction (1865-1877)
– a period of readjustment
Spanish-American War
• 1898 (ten-week affair)
• result of US intervention in the Cuban War of
Independence and the mysterious sinking of
USS Maine
• resolved by the Treaty of Paris
– Spanish Empire surrendered control of Cuba and
most of its land in the Caribbean region
World War I
• US declared war on Austria-Hungary on April
6, 1917
• did not officially join the Allies
• major contributions in terms of supplies, raw
material and money
• US signed separate treaties with Germany and
its allies
World War II
• a series of Neutrality Acts was passed
• major contributions in terms of supplies, raw
material and money
• Pearl Harbor attacked while negotiations were
taking place => US entered the war against
Japan
• July 1945: Japan refused to accept
unconditional surrender
World War II
• August 6, 1945: an atomic bomb dropped on
Hiroshima, three days later another one on
Nagasaki
• August 14, 1945: Japan accepted the
surrender terms
• September 2, 1945: Japan and the Allies
signed the surrender agreement
Possibly Interesting Facts
• Homestead Act of 1862
– allowed settlers to claim 160 acres of unoccupied
public land after they have lived on it for five years
• 15th amendment (1870)
– prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on
race, color, or previous condition of servitude
• 19th amendment (1920)
– prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on
sex
Possibly Interesting Facts
• US acquires Alaska
from Russia
• March 30, 1867
Possibly Interesting Facts
• the Bureau of
Investigation
established in 1908
• name changed to
the Federal Bureau
of Investigation in
1935
Possibly Interesting Facts
• The Panama Canal
– ship canal connecting
the Atlantic Ocean to
the Pacific Ocean
– officially opened on
August 15, 1914
Possibly Interesting Facts
• The Star-Spangled
Banner
– made the national
anthem on March 3,
1931
Possibly Interesting Facts
• Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
– introduced 40 hour work week
– established a nation minimum wage
– prohibited most employment of minors in
oppressive child labor
Possibly Interesting Facts
• United Nations
established in 1945
• Headquarters in
Manhattan, New
York City
Thank you for your attention!
References
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infoplease.com
usahistory.info
history.com
various Wikipedia pages
Quiz
Quiz
• Indian Removal Act meant:
A) the removal of Indians from India
B) nothing, really
C) moving India to the US
D) the removal of Native Americans from the
Southeast
Quiz
• Indian Removal Act meant:
D) the removal of Native Americans from the
Southeast
Quiz
• The Monroe Doctrine said:
A) the US is no one‘s business
B) the US is everyone‘s business
C) everyone‘s welcome to colonize land
D) the land belongs to the Native American
nations
Quiz
• The Monroe Doctrine said:
A) the US is no one‘s business
Quiz
• Civil War was fought between:
A) West and East
B) US and UK
C) North and South
D) Midgard and Asgard
Quiz
• Civil War was fought between:
C) North and South