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United States of America
AD 1783 - Present Day
Government of the North
American colonies by
Britain was theoretically through
Parliament in the eighteenth century, but King George III did his best
to ensure a series of cabinets which looked to him for direction and policy.
In 1765, the leader of the cabinet, George Grenville, attempted to regain
favour with the king by lowering domestic taxes at the expense of the
British Colonies,
introducing the Stamp Act. The laws gave rise to widespread protests in
America where a small but well-organised radical element emerged. Even
so, this element was without general support even when the protests
boiled over into the first years of the War of Independence. Feeling
in Britain was also mixed, with William Pitt (the Elder) putting forward
the case that the colonies should not be taxed because they had no right
to representation in parliament (hence the later cry of no taxation
without representation).
Outside
of the colonised regions, the European settlers in North America coined
the phrase 'Indian' or 'Red Indian' to describe the
Native North American
tribes they found. To the north of this vast collection of varying regions
and climates and tribes were the native settlements of what is now
Canada, while to
the south were the various peoples of modern
Mexico. More background
information on these native tribes is available via the compendium link,
right.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Mick Baker,
from The Native Tribes of North America - A Concise Encyclopaedia,
Michael Johnson (1993), from the Atlas of Indians of North America,
Gilbert Legay (1995), from Confederation Congress 1781-1789, Carl E
Prince, from The Beginnings of National Politics: An Interpretive History
of the Continental Congress, Jack Rakove (New York, 1979), and from
External Links:
First Nations: Issues
of Consequence, Lee Sultzman, and
Legends of
America, and
Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Dictionary of American History
(dead link), and
Why does Liechtenstein use 'God Save the Queen' as its national anthem?
(Guardian Notes).) |
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Provisional Government of the United States
(Continental Congress)
AD 1774 - 1781
The Continental Congress was the provisional government of the
British Colonies'
rebellious subjects. The body of delegates which formed it spoke for the
people of the colonies. The First Continental Congress was formed in
September 1774, before the opening of hostilities in the war, with a
convention of delegates that was administered by a presidential position
which was largely impartial and intended to be ceremonial for the most
part. It was unrelated to the later post of
US president. The First
Congress met between 5 September to 26 October 1774 in Philadelphia
and consisted of delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies.
Georgia did not send a delegate.
However, the situation was already so tense that, before the Second
Continental Congress could assemble in the Pennsylvania State House,
hostilities had already broken out between Americans and
British troops at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. New members
of the Second Congress included Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson,
while John Hancock and John Jay were amongst the serving presidents.
The Congress 'adopted' the New England military forces that had
converged upon Boston and appointed Gneeral Washington as
commander-in-chief of the American army on 15 June 1775. |
1774 |
Peyton Randolph |
President of the First Congress, Sep-Oct. |
1774 |
After a meeting with the 'Patriots' of the Continental Congress at Boston
in April, Captain Hendrick Aupamut of the
Mahican decides not to follow
the advised path of neutrality in the approaching war and instead joins the
rebels. Nimham's Wappinger follow suit. The
Stockbridge Mahican
are one of the few tribes to support the independence cause during the war.
Between September and October, the First Congress considers its options and
petitions King George in
Britain for the redress of colonial grievances which had accumulated
since 1763. In an effort to force compliance, it called for a general
boycott of British goods and the eventual non-exportation of American
products, except rice, to Britain or the British West Indies. Its last act
is to set a date for another congress to meet on 10 May 1775, to consider
further steps.
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The First Continental Congress - the provisional government
of the colony's revels - began with prayer led by Chaplain
Jacob Duché at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia in September
1774
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1774 - 1775 |
Henry Middleton |
Oct-May. |
1775 |
Peyton Randolph |
Second term, May only. Died Oct 1775. |
1775 |
With the petition of 1774 having been ignored,
a Second Congress is confirmed for 10 May 1775 in order to organise
an armed resistance to the king's administration in the colonies. |
1775 - 1777 |
John Hancock |
May-Oct. |
1775 |
The first blood to be shed is at the Battles of Lexington
and Concord on 19 April 1775. The
British win both, as well as successfully defending West
Florida. General
George Washington is appointed commander of the Continental (rebel) field
army in July. The onset of open hostilities hobbles the growth of population
in British Florida and the expansion of trade that this might bring. American
privateers further hamper the flow of goods and immigrants to British
territories. |
1776 |
On 15 June, in anticipation of coming events, the colonial assembly of
Delaware declares itself to be separate from
British rule. On 4 July 1776, Britain's remaining twelve eastern colonies
in North America make a public declaration of independence, and in revenge for
the British seizure of Havana in
Cuba in 1762, the
Spanish
governor of Louisiana
supplies gunpowder to the revolutionary forces. The
Stockbridge
Mahican and Nimham's Wappinger
also join the fight on the Congress side.
The British urge the Ohio tribes to attack settlements because the American
revolutionaries are trying to take Ohio - a very obvious lie since the
Americans want everything and not just Ohio. Only the Detroit tribes, Mingo,
Seneca, and some Shawnee, side with the British at first, but their raids and
indiscriminate American retaliation are enough to start a downwards spiral
towards total war. The Delaware
remain neutral, and their head chief, White Eyes (Koquethagachton) of the
Unami, even addresses
the revolutionary Philadelphia Congress during 1776. |
1777 |
In July, delegates in Vermont declare independence from
Britain and from land claims made by New Hampshire and New York.
On 11 September 1777, British forces decisively beat General George
Washington at the Battle of Brandywine, which leaves the capital of the
revolutionary forces, Philadelphia, undefended and subsequently occupied.
The Battles of Saratoga in 1777 end first with a stalemate (on 19
September) and then a defeat for the British (7 October), a turning
point in the war. |
1777 |
Charles Thomson |
Acting president, Oct-Nov. |
1777 - 1778 |
Henry Laurens |
Nov-Dec. |
1778 |
After being visited by a deputation of American diplomats,
Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane,
France
declares war on
Britain in support of the rebellion, only too glad to make the most of
Britain's misfortune. In June the British forces pull out of Philadelphia
to help defend New York. Also in 1778, the apparent immunity of the West
Florida province
disappears when James Willing of the Continental navy launches a raid
through the province's back door, the Mississippi. Meeting almost no
resistance, his force of about a hundred men destroy many plantations in
the colony's western districts. Although his success is short-lived, and
Willing soon sees the inside of a British jail, his achievement alerts
the British crown to West Florida's vulnerability, and extra troops are
brought in.
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Fort Laurens was built by the revolutionary Americans at
Bolivar in what is now Ohio, in a failed attempt to use
it as a staging point to attack the British
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1778 - 1779 |
John Jay |
Dec-Sep. |
1779 - 1781 |
Samuel Huntington |
Sep-Mar. |
1780 |
In the spring, the
British launch an offensive to seize the Ohio valley, as well as St.
Louis and New Orleans. The result is a major escalation in warfare in the
west. That April, Captain Henry Bird leaves Detroit with six hundred
warriors to attack Kentucky. By the time he reaches the Ohio River there are
almost twelve hundred of them. Throughout the summer, the Americans take a
terrible beating in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. By this time, most of the
Delaware have joined Captain
Pipe at Pluggys Town (Delaware, Ohio), against the Long Knives. Only
Killbuck remains loyal to the Americans, who ignore his requests for a fort
to protect Coshocton. Threatened by Wyandot and Mingo warriors, he
relocates to Fort Pitt, and the hostiles take over the Delaware capitol. |
1781 |
On 1 March, the Continental Congress is succeeded with immediate effect
by the Congress of the Confederation. Samuel Huntington remains its
president and all other members remain in place. |
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United States of America First Republic
(Congress of the Confederation)
AD 1781 - 1789
The Congress of the Confederation was created with the ratification
of the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution for what was
becoming a new nation. Otherwise known as the United States in Congress
Assembled, the congress was the governing body for the thirteen North
American colonies during the last years of the war against
Britain
and the first years of independence. The capital was established in
New York between 1785-1790 but the congress excluded Vermont, which
remained independent until 1791. This congress consisted of the same
members as the previous one, and with the same limited powers - the
important powers of taxation and policy-making remained with the
individual states so that the weak congress presided over a decade
of economic instability, social unrest, and class conflict.
The Treaty of Paris in 1783 marked the end of the War of Independence
in the British Colonies.
In it, Britain agreed to withdraw from the thirteen colonies on the
lower eastern seaboard of North America and also cede its colony in
Florida
back to
Spain.
The Congress of the Confederation was replaced in 1781 by the United States
Congress which adopted the US constitution and began the form of US
governance which continues to the present day. Although the new nation
eventually chose a national anthem that is one of the hardest to sing with
any conviction, it also uses as a patriotic melody - 'My Country 'tis of
Thee/Sweet Land of Liberty' - to the tune of modern
Britain's 'God Save the Queen'. |
1781 |
Samuel Huntington |
Former provisional president, Mar-Jul. |
1781 |
Thomas McKean |
Jul-Nov. |
1781 |
The joint
French
and American army wins the Siege of Yorktown, Virginia, between 28 September
and 19 October 1781. It is the last major land battle in the War of
Independence, and the surrender of General Lord Cornwallis and his
Hessian allies prompts
Britain towards the path of a negotiated peace settlement. New York
remains occupied.
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French forces were present in large numbers at the Siege of
Yorktown, around 11,800 of them, added to 8,800 Continental
troops to face 9,000 British and Hessian troops
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1781 - 1782 |
John Hanson |
Nov-Nov. |
1782 |
In March, a Delaware war party
which is returning from a raid in Pennsylvania passes through Gnadenhuetten
on its way back to northern Ohio. Close on their heels are a hundred-and-sixty
American Pennsylvanian volunteers from Washington County, Pennsylvania, under
Colonel David Williamson. Finding the Moravians at Gnadenhuetten, Williamson
places them under arrest. In the democratic style of frontier militia, a vote
is taken as to whether to take the prisoners back to Fort Pitt or kill them.
The decision is to execute them.
The Moravians are given the night to prepare, and in the morning, two slaughter
houses are selected. Ninety Christian Delaware - men, woman and children - are
taken inside in small groups and beaten to death with wooden mallets. Word of
the massacre spreads to the other Delaware, and in June they join the Wyandot
to defeat a large force of Pennsylvania militia (at the Battle of Sandusky).
The commanding officer, Colonel William Crawford, suffers a slow, terrible
death (being burned at the stake) to atone for the Gnadenhuetten Massacre. |
1782 - 1783 |
Elias Boudinot |
Nov-Nov. |
1783 |
The Pennsylvania Mutiny in June 1783 involves revolutionary troops (known
collectively as the Continental Army) protesting at their lack of pay from
the government of the First Republic. The government refuses to listen and
instead withdraws from the city, heading first for Princeton, New Jersey,
until November 1783, and then Anapolis, Maryland. |
1783 - 1784 |
Thomas Mifflin |
Nov-Oct. |
1784 |
Thomas Mifflin signs the Treaty of Paris which recognises
the end of the American War of Independence and the sovereignty of
the United States of America.
Britain
withdraws its troops and
Hessian allied units from the thirteen former colonies but still
remains in control of various territories within the
British Colonies.
At the same time, while American merchant vessels had been protected from
raids in the Mediterranean by the Barbary pirates of
Algiers
during the war, thanks to its alliance with
France,
they lose that protection with the ending of the Treaty of Alliance.
Subsequently, US merchant shipping continually falls foul of
successive pirate raids in the Mediterranean, launched from
Morocco
and Algiers. Despite diplomatic efforts, large payments of tribute are
demanded for the release of captured American crews, and the US regularly
pays up to a million dollars a year to ensure the safe passage of its
ships. |
1784 - 1785 |
The government of the republic moves from Anapolis to
Trenton, New Jersey, in November 1784, before finding a new home in New York
City in January 1785. |
1784 - 1785 |
Richard Henry Lee |
Nov-Nov. |
1785 - 1786 |
John Hancock |
Second term, Nov-Jun. |
1785 - 1795 |
Although the Delaware war
faction dominates their affairs, the natural instinct of the 'grandfathers'
is for compromise and the resolution of disputes. This reasserts itself
within the alliance, and the Delaware become one of its more moderate
members. The new government of the United States also wishes to avoid
war and, if possible, settle the dispute through treaty. In January the
Delaware, Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Wyandot sign the Treaty of Fort McIntosh,
which acknowledges American sovereignty in Ohio and agrees to the frontier
boundary lying along the Tuscarawas and Muskingum rivers.
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A contemporary sketch of an unidentified tribe of Delaware
Indians, with the mass of European influences - especially
in terms of dress - suggesting that it may be from the mid
or late 1700s
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Fighting occurs the same year in Ohio and Indiana under the title of the
Old North-West War. Following two humiliating defeats at the hands
of native warriors, the Americans win a decisive victory under 'Mad Anthony'
Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1795. |
1786 |
Nathaniel Gorham |
Jun-Nov. |
1786 - 1787 |
The post is vacant between November 1786 and February 1787. Butat the same
time, despite having rendered valuable service to the American army during
the Revolutionary War, the Oneida,
Brotherton, and
Stockbridge Indians
slowly lose their lands to New York land speculators. The first capitol of
their Western Alliance is at the Shawnee village of Wakatomica, but this is
burned by the Americans in 1786. The council fire is moved in November to
Brownstown, a Wyandot village which lies just to the south of Detroit. |
1787 |
Arthur St Clair |
Feb-Nov. |
1787 |
On 17 September 1787, the constitution of the United States of America is
ratified. Almost immediately the first three of the former colonies of
Great Britain are admitted into the Union. On 7 December 1787, Delaware
becomes the first state to join the Union. On 12 December 1787, the
commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the second, while on 18 December 1787, New
Jersey becomes the third state. |
1788 |
Cyrus Griffin |
Jan-Nov. |
1788 |
Admitted to the Union are eight more of the thirteen former colonies of
Great Britain. On 2 January 1788 Georgia becomes the fourth state. On
9 January, Connecticut becomes the fifth state. On 6 February, the
commonwealth of Massachusetts becomes the sixth state. On 28 April, Maryland
becomes the seventh state. On 23 May, South Carolina becomes the eighth state.
On 21 June, New Hampshire becomes the ninth state. On 25 June, the commonwealth
of Virginia becomes the tenth state. On 26 July, New York becomes the eleventh
state. On 2 November, the Congress of the Confederation is abolished, no longer
required now that the new US constitution has been signed. |
1789 |
The Congress of the Confederation is succeeded by the United States Congress,
to be headed by a democratically elected president instead of ceremonial
presidents. It meets for the first time on 4 March. |
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United States of America Second Republic
(United States Congress)
AD 1789 - Present Day
During the Revolutionary Wars or War of Independence, ideas about
governance progressed rapidly. In 1789 the United States congress
replaced the 1781
Congress of the
Confederation. The new government was organised by a new federal
constitution, to be headed by a democratically elected president, unlike
the previous ceremonial presidents of the
Continental Congress
and the congress of the confederation. General George Washington was
sworn in as the first president of the United States on 30 April 1789.
His family name already bore an element of notoriety as his
great-grandfather, Colonel John Washington, had led an armed mob against
some of the
Susquehannock
survivors in Maryland, wrongly as it turned out and against the
governor's express orders.
The independent American government was returned to Philadelphia in
1790, replacing New York as the nation's capital. Immediately beforehand
it voted on the creation of a new city that would be known as Washington
in the District of Columbia, sited on the banks of the Potomac River
between the states of Maryland and Virginia. It took ten years to make
the new city ready for occupation, and on 14 May 1800 the US government
moved for the last time to its new and permanent home.
When
tracing the birth of the First Amendment to the constitution, the most
logical place to start is with Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the
other 'Founders'. The basis of religious liberty in America went back
much further than this, beginning in the early debates. The core idea
behind the First Amendment - that the government should never interfere
with an individual's freedom of conscience - came from Roger Williams.
He was the first to use the term, 'the separation of church and state'
(discussed in more detail in the linked feature).
Voting for a new president is carried out every four years, with
campaigning seemingly beginning earlier each time, often a year beforehand.
An increasingly archaic electoral system remains in use, with each vote
cast actually serving to select a representative of that candidate's party
who is known as an elector. There are five hundred and thirty-eight electors
(in 2020) who then vote for the president on behalf of the people in their
state. The system is cumbersome and slow, with a firm result often not
being delivered for days or even weeks. It is also increasingly being seen
as unrepresentative of actual voting, with the majority popular vote still
sometimes witnessing a less popular president being elected simply because
more electoral votes were gained (such as in 2016, for instance).
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward
Dawson and Bruce T Murray, from Theology in America: A Historical
Survey, Sydney E Ahlstrom (Princeton University Press, 1961),
from Pilgrims in Their Own Land, Martin E Marty (Penguin Books,
1984), from The First Liberty: Religion and the American Republic,
William Lee Miller (Paragon House Publishers, 1985), and from
External Links:
Electoral college explained (The Guardian), and
This day in history: NC voted to join the union November 21, 1789
(NC Spin), and
Congress certifies Joe Biden as president hours after storming of
Capitol (The Guardian).) |
1789 - 1797 |
George Washington |
Served two terms. Died of a throat infection 14 Dec
1799. |
1789 |
On 21 November 1789, North Carolina joins the union as the twelfth state
(making it one of the very last remaining former
British Colonies
to do so). The process was not easy, however. In 1788, North Carolina's
general assembly had declined to ratify the United States constitution,
suggesting many amendments and calling for a bill of rights which was
duly added.
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Although the USA had successfully forged a new nation from
the thirteen colonies, it still had to face internal
problems that were related to the native American tribes -
although the Algonquian-speaking tribes in the Virginia area
had largely been destroyed, there were always new tribes to
face on the western frontier
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1790 |
On 29 May 1790, Rhode Island and Providence plantations join the union
as the thirteenth state. These areas had first been sighted in 1524 by
the Italian explorer, Giovanni da Verrazzano, while in the employ of
France, but the area had subsequently fallen under the administration
of the British
Colonies.
In the same year, with the the Treaty of Fort Harmar (of January 1789)
proving worthless, the Americans decide to resolve by force the problems
with Native American
unrest in Ohio. Faced with another war, the Moravian
Delaware leave Ohio for
southern Ontario. Known as the 'Moravians of the Thames', by 1792 they
establish themselves in a peaceful community at Moraviantown (unfortunately
burned to the ground by an American army in 1813).
Little Turtle's War (1790-1794) begins with a series of disasters
for the Americans as they attempt to destroy the native American alliance
villages in north-western Ohio. Josiah Harmar's army of militia is ambushed
on the upper Wabash in 1790, and it suffers over two hundred casualties. |
1791 |
On 4 March 1791, the Vermont republic joins the union as the fourteenth state.
This territory had probably first been sighted by Jacques Cartier in 1541 as
he claimed Canada for
France,
Vermont had also been claimed as part of
New France in 1609, passing to
Britain in 1763 and then to the US.
In the ongoing conflict in Ohio, Arthur St Clair suffers an even greater
humiliation - the worst defeat ever to be inflicted on a fledgling American
army by Native Americans,
leaving six hundred dead and four hundred wounded. An enraged President George
Washington at Philadelphia finally calms down and sends 'Mad' Anthony Wayne to
Ohio.
Wayne establishes himself at Fort Washington (in modern Cincinnati) and,
during the next two years, he makes careful preparations to destroy the
alliance. While a line of forts is built which aims directly towards
north-western Ohio, Wayne trains a 'legion' of disciplined regulars to
back-up the militia. Meanwhile, the prolonged war is already causing the
alliance to disintegrate.
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Arthur St Clair was suffering extensively from gout when his
militia was attacked, but he continued bravely to try and lead
his outclassed forces as they were butchered in battle
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1792 |
On 1 June 1792, the commonwealth of Kentucky joins the union as the
fifteenth state. This territory had originated as part of Virginia from
around 1750, but had gradually developed an identity of its own until
statehood now detaches it entirely.
The Wabash tribes (Illinois, Kickapoo, Piankashaw, and Potawatomi) make
a separate peace with the Americans, and the Fox and Sauk leave because
the alliance is having trouble feeding its warriors. Additionally,
although the
British are still encouraging the war, the Americans have opened
negotiations with them to end their support of the alliance and to agree
to abandon the forts they still occupy on American territory. Peaceful
overtures are also made to the alliance, but the Shawnee kill two of
the American representatives whilst they are en route to meet the
alliance council. |
1796 |
On 1 June 1796, Tennessee joins the union as the sixteenth state. This
territory had first been explored by the
Spanish in 1540, 1559, and 1567, but the first settlement had only
appeared in 1756 when
Britain constructed Fort Loudoun. |
1797 - 1801 |
John Adams |
Massachusetts delegate. |
1801 - 1809 |
Thomas Jefferson |
Virginia. Served two terms. |
1801 - 1805 |
Having recommissioned its navy in 1794, the USA is becoming increasingly
reluctant to pay tribute to ensure the safe passage of its merchant ships
in the Mediterranean. The pasha of
Tripoli
demands fresh tribute of the new government of Thomas Jefferson which is refused,
so Tripoli declares war on the USA.
Morocco
and Algiers
do not join Tripoli in the conflict. The small but highly modern American navy
defeats Tripoli's vessels in a number of naval skirmishes during the First
Barbary War, until Tripoli agrees peace terms and the US buys back its
captured seamen.
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The somewhat colourful view of the Barbary pirates masked their
relentless pursuit of captures and their accumulation of wealth
at the expense of innocent merchantmen
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1803 - 1806 |
On
19 February 1803, Ohio joins the union as the seventeenth state. This
territory had originally been entered by fur traders from
New France (which had resulted
in the Beaver Wars - see feature link). It had been passed to
Britain in 1763 and then to the US in 1783.
On 30 April 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte, first consul of
France, sells the New French territory of
Louisiana
to the United States for eighty million francs. While the USA also claims the
former French territory which has been part of West
Florida
since 1763,
Spain
refuses to hand it over. The following year the 'Orleans Territory' is
formed as a subdivision of part of it (later to become the state of Louisiana).
In 1806, the USA asks the viceroy of
New Spain to remove his troops
from New Orleans so that it can take possession of the area up to the River
Sabine. The Spanish agree and the troops are removed. |
1808 |
The
importation of slaves is banned by the 'Act Prohibiting Importation of
Slaves of 1807'. American slaveholders start breeding their own slaves
on the plantations in the south (see feature link). |
1809 - 1817 |
James Madison |
Virginia. Served two terms. |
1810 |
On 27 October, parts of West
Florida
are annexed by the USA, which claims the region as part of the 1803
'Louisiana
Purchase'. US forces take control of the republic of West Florida's capital
of St Francisville on 6 December, with Baton Rouge falling four days later.
Spain
continues to protest at the illegal capture but is unable to regain the
territory. |
1812 |
Louisiana is formally accepted as a state of the union on 30 April 1812,
the eighteenth to be created, and the first to officially declared as a
state. The War of 1812 begins as the US declares war on
Britain over the interdiction of trade with Napoleonic
France. The American push to colonise
Canada is repulsed
several times by British and
Native American forces,
leading to US defeat. In
Florida,
the area around Mobile (Alabama) is officially annexed to the Mississippi
territory (in 1814), and the captured region is slowly increased in size
over the next few years. In the north, the forty-ninth parallel is
established as the border between the Rupert's Land
British Colonies
and the US, heading west towards the Rocky Mountains. The Red River Colony
is ceded to the US and joint control of Oregon Country is commenced.
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The attack and burning of Washington in 1814 resulted from the
British operating from other flanks in support of the Canadian
border's defenders, and was a direct consequence of US forces
burning Government House and the parliament buildings in Toronto
(then known as York)
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1815 - 1816 |
The Second Barbary War is fought by the USA in response to renewed
pirate raids while it has been preoccupied with the War of 1812. A
squadron of US ships captures several
Algerian vessels and, after negotiations, the dey of Algiers
agrees to return American captives and vessels in return for a large one-off
final payment. Although this concludes the war, it does not conclude the
piracy threat, so the following year,
Britain sends a 'diplomatic mission' that is eventually forced to
bombard Algiers for nine hours on 27 August 1816. The dey loses
many of his corsairs and shore defences, and the threat of organised
Barbary piracy is ended once and for all. |
1816 |
On 11 December 1816, Indiana is admitted into the union as the nineteenth
state. This had been
New French
territory from 1679 to 1763, and then a territory of the
British Colonies
between 1763-1783. It had been handed over to the US to form part of the
'Northwest Territory'. In 1800, the Indiana territory was formed after
Ohio had been separated from it. |
1817 - 1825 |
James Monroe |
Virginia. Served two terms. |
1817 |
On 10 December 1817, Mississippi is admitted into the union as the twentieth
state. The
Spanish
had passed through it in 1540, but the first colony had been established
under the administration of
New France
in 1699 as part of the
Louisiana
territory, and this had then changed hands between the Spanish,
British, and
French
(up to 1763), before becoming part of the
British Colonies and
then the Mississippi territory of the US. |
1818 |
On 3 December 1818, Illinois is admitted into the union as the twenty-first
state. This territory had formerly been part of
New France
from around 1673-1763 and had then been a territory of the
British Colonies
between 1763-1783. It had been ceded by Virginia to the new US 'Northwest
Territory' in 1783, with the 'Illinois Territory' being created on 3
February 1809.
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René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle ('Lord of the Manor'),
had explored the Great Lakes, the Mississippi and the Gulf of
Mexico in 1669-1670, claiming the entire Mississippi basin for
New France
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1819 |
With the USA keen to support the rebels in
New Spain, it signs the
Adams-Onis Treaty with
Spain
on 22 February 1819. This establishes the border between the two countries,
with the US gaining Alabama and
Florida
(the latter following a US 'invasion' in 1816 during the prelude to the
First Seminole War), and renouncing its claim to Texas, while Spain
renounces its claim to Oregon. On 4 July of the same year, the territory
of Arkansas is formally organised. |
1820 |
On 15 March 1820, Maine at the north-eastern corner of US territory is
admitted into the union as the twenty-third state. This had originally
been the location for the Roanoke and Popham colonies of the
British Colonies (in
1586 and 1607 respectively). The province of Maine had been created in
1622, and had passed into US hands in 1783. |
1821 |
On 10 August 1821, Missouri is admitted into the union as the twenty-fourth
state. The first Europeans to permanently occupy this region had been existing
settlers from
New France,
in place by about 1750, and it had remained part of the
Louisiana
territory which had been acquired by the US in 1803. |
1825 - 1829 |
John Quincy
Adams |
Eldest son of John Adams (1797-1801). Massachusetts. |
1825 |
King John VI of
Portugal, under pressure from
Britain, recognises the independence of
Brazil after the USA has
already done so. Republican sentiment is soaring in Brazil, but the country
immediately becomes entangled in a two year-long war against
Argentina. |
1831 |
The state house in Fayetteville in which the decision had been taken in
1789 to make North Carolina a state of the union is destroyed by a fire
that devastates much of Fayetteville. |
1829 - 1837 |
Andrew Jackson |
Tennessee. Served two terms. |
1836 |
Mexican troops
massacre the Texan garrison at the Alamo, an event that enters US mythology.
Despite the defeat, the north-eastern core of Texas becomes independent. The
following year a US army surprises the Mexican forces in an eighteen-minute
fusillade and charge, spurred on with cries of 'Remember the Alamo!' Also in
1836, on 15 June, Arkansas is admitted to the union as the twenty-fifth
state.
 |
The Battle of the Alamo was an heroic defeat for the Texan
defenders, but the Mexican victory failed to prevent Texas
from achieving independence
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|
1837 |
On 26 January 1837, Michigan is admitted into the union as the twenty-sixth
state. This region had initially been explored by the
French
in 1622. Subsequently drawn into
New France, it had
become a possession of the
British Colonies in
1763. |
1837 - 1841 |
Martin Van
Buren |
New York. A founder of the Democrat party. |
1841 |
William Henry
Harrison |
Whig. Died 4 April: pneumonia. First death in office. |
1841 - 1845 |
John Tyler |
Whig, Virginia. |
1845 - 1849 |
James K Polk |
Democrat, Tennessee. |
1845 - 1846 |
The US annexes the remainder of Texas and triggers the
Mexican-American War (or simply the Mexican War),
in which it is successful. Under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo, the US also gains Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New
Mexico, and Utah. On 29 December 1845, Texas joins the union as the
twenty-eighth state.
Britain, which still holds much of the disputed territory of Oregon,
is persuaded not to intervene by the 1846 agreement called the Oregon
Treaty which divides the territory along the forty-ninth parallel.
Britain keeps Vancouver to the north of the line
(British Columbia),
while the US gains Seattle to the south (Washington and Oregon), plus Iowa,
which is admitted into the union on 29 December as the twenty-ninth state. |
1846 |
The signing of the Bidlack Mallarino Treaty between
New Granada and the
USA ensures that
Panama will
remain within the South American 'Free State of the Isthmus' republic, with
both parties joining together to put down liberalist attempts to create an
independent state, and with the USA gaining rights to build railways and
roads through the isthmus in return. |
1848 |
Following plotting by several US politicians in the southern states to
annexe Cuba
in order to strengthen the pro-slavery bloc, a pro-annexation rebellion
is defeated. Several attempts to invade from
Florida
are subsequently also defeated.
On 29 May 1848, Wisconsin is admitted into the union as the thirtieth
state. This had first been explored by
Frenchman Jean Nicolet in 1634, and his Green Bay colony had been
settled mainly by fur traders. That had passed to
Britain in 1763 and technically to the US in 1783, although Britain
remained in control until the War of 1812. |
1849 - 1850 |
Zachary Taylor |
Whig. Died in office, 9 July 1850 after taking cherries
& milk. |
1850 - 1853 |
Millard
Phillmore |
Whig, New York. |
1853 - 1857 |
Franklin
Pierce |
Democrat. New Hampshire. |
1853 |
For some time, no US ship has been allowed to put in at
Japanese ports, and shipwrecked American sailors are regularly dispatched
to prevent them from polluting the isolated Japanese culture. Commodore
Matthew Perry is sent to Japan with a fleet of ships and arrives on 8
July to force Japan to end its period of isolation. This act leads
shortly to the ending of the
Shogunate
which governs Japan.
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After having forcibly ended Japanese isolation in 1853,
Commodore Perry's second visit to Japan in 1854 was recorded
on this hand scroll which is now part of the collection of
the British Museum
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1856 |
President Pierce recognises the legitimacy of the government of US
adventurer, William Walker, after he seizes control of
Nicaragua. In the
same year, Pierce is persuaded by Walker's enemies to withdraw recognition
of his government. He has already been defeated by
Costa Rican and mercenary
forces in the Second Battle of Rivas. He soon surrenders and is repatriated
back to the USA. |
1857 - 1861 |
James Buchanan |
Democrat, Pennsylvania. |
1858 |
On 11 May 1858, Minnesota joins the union as the thirty-second state. This
northern territory had first been entered by
French fur traders in the seventeenth century. Most of it had remained
part of New France
until the
'Louisiana
Purchase' of 1803, although the land on the eastern side of the Mississippi
had become part of the US at the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1784. It
is subsequently settled heavily by
Norwegians, lending its modern population a highly distinctive regional
accent. |
1859 |
On 14 February 1859, Oregon joins the union as the thirty-third state. The
first explorers here had been the
Spanish
in the late seventeenth century, with
British explorers following in the eighteenth century. The territory
had subsequently been passed onto the US under the terms of the Oregon
Treaty of 1846. |
1861 |
On 29 January 1861, Kansas is admitted into the union as the thirty-fourth
state. This region had first been explored by
Spain
in 1541. It had been transferred to US control as part of the
'Louisiana
Purchase' of 1803, and had formed part of the Missouri territory between
1812-1821.
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One of the earliest Spanish areas of exploration in North
America, Louisiana had provided more of a challenge than
New Spain, with native groups proving quite hostile and
New France eager to dominate there
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1861 - 1865 |
Abraham Lincoln |
Whig, Illinois. Assassinated. |
1861 - 1865 |
Within a few months of Lincoln's accession, the southern states break away
from the union, forming their own government under the name the Confederate
States of America. The American Civil War
breaks out, and Gettysburg, the largest battle ever fought on the American
continent, ends in victory for the union forces of the north in 1863, the
same year in which the US annexes the
Honduran Swan Islands.
The civil war comes to an end in 1865, with the exhausted south unable to
fight on. |
1863 |
On 20 June 1863, West Virginia is admitted into the union as the thirty-fifth
state. Contested territory between Pennsylvania, Virginia, and various land
companies, it had remained a strongly secessionist western part of Virginia
until that succession had been formalised in 1863, followed swiftly by
incorporation. |
1864 |
On 31 October 1864, Nevada is admitted into the union as the thirty-sixth
state. Situated in the far west, in 1861 the [Sierra] Nevada territory had
separated acrimoniously from the Utah territory and its predominantly
Mormon population. |
1865 - 1869 |
Andrew Johnson |
Democrat, Tennessee. |
1867 |
The United States senate reluctantly votes to purchase Alaska from
Russia for just US$7.2 million. Czar Alexander of Russia allows this
because he fears that the
British in Canada
will invade and seize it. In Canada and Britain the act is seen somewhat
differently, as a threat to Britain's Pacific coast colony. Also in 1867,
on 1 March, Nebraska is admitted into the union as the thirty-seventh state.
Lying beyond the initial colonial settlement area, the Nebraska territory
had been created in 1854.
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The Signing of the Alaska Treaty by Emmanuel Leutze shows
Russian minister Eduard Stoeckl standing beside the globe and
pointing to 'Russian America', while the seated US secretary of
state, William Seward, prepares to sign the treaty (click or tap
on image to view full sized)
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1869 - 1877 |
Ulysses Simpson
Grant |
Republican. Ex-general. Served two terms. |
1869 |
The president of the
Dominican Republic bids to have his country annexed to the USA. He has
the support of the president, but the bid is derailed by the American
Senate, by just one vote. |
1877 - 1881 |
Rutherford Birchard
Hayes |
Republican, Ohio. Pledged not to run for re-election. |
1881 |
James Abram
Garfield |
Republican, Ohio. Assassinated 19 September 1881. |
1881 - 1885 |
Chester Alan
Arthur |
Republican, New York. Became a staunch reformer. |
1885 - 1889 |
Grover Cleveland |
Democrat, New York. First term of office. |
1889 - 1893 |
Benjamin
Harrison |
Republican, Indiana. |
1889 |
On 2 November 1889, both North Dakota and South Dakota are admitted into
the union as the thirty-ninth and fortieth states respectively. The area
had first been entered by
French
traders in 1738 but had not been settled by the time of the
'Louisiana
Purchase' of 1803. Much of the joint territory had been part of the Minnesota
and Nebraska territories until 1861.
On 8 November 1889, Montana is admitted into the union as the forty-first
state. This remote region had never been settled. It had been gained by
the US as part of the 'Louisiana Purchase', after which it had first been
explored by Lewis and Clark in 1804-1806, becoming the Montana territory
in 1864.
On 11 November 1889, Washington is admitted into the union as the
forty-second state. Again this region had never been settled until now.
It had been disputed territory between
Britain and the USA until the Oregon Treaty divided the region along
the forty-ninth parallel in 1846.
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Oregon headed towards statehood following meetings such as the
one at Champoeg which decided on the formation of a government
(a mural by Barry Faulkner which sits in the house chamber of
the Oregon Capitol building)
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1890 |
On 3 July 1890, Idaho is admitted into the union as the forty-third state.
This had been created as a partition of the 'Oregon Country' in the
north-west of the modern USA, it becoming undisputed US territory following
the Oregon Treaty of 1846. It had been separated as the Idaho territory in
1863 out of parts of the Dakota, Oregon, and Washington territories.
On 10 July 1890, Wyoming is admitted into the union as the forty-fourth state.
This region may have been entered by a few
French
fur trappers, but the region had not been properly explored until the Lewis
and Clark expedition of 1804-1806. |
1893 - 1897 |
Grover Cleveland |
Re-elected but badly damaged by the 'Panic of 1893'. |
1896 |
On 4 January 1896, Utah is admitted into the union as the forty-fifth state.
Situated in the far west, the Utah territory had lost the [Sierra] Nevada
territory in 1861 when the latter's populace decided to break away from
Utah's predominantly Mormon population. |
1897 - 1901 |
William
McKinley |
Republican, Ohio. Assassinated 6 months into second
term. |
1898 - 1902 |
Spain loses the Spanish-American War. With that it also loses
much of the Spanish Caribbean, including
Cuba,
Puerto
Rico, and the Spanish East Indies (including the Marianna Islands
and the Philippines). It has to sell the Philippines to the USA. The US
also supports the newly independent republic of
Cuba in 1899-1902 by
supervising its finances and foreign affairs, and reserving the right to
intervene in its affairs. Cuba also agrees to lease the naval base at
Guantanamo Bay to the US.
 |
The USA was seemingly goaded into war against Spain by feverish
claims by the press that the Spanish were behind the loss of the
USS Maine off the coast of Cuba, but it was a war that Spain was
unlikely to win
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1901 - 1909 |
Theodore
Roosevelt |
Republican, New York. Fmr vice-president. Served 2 terms. |
1902 - 1903 |
The USA decides to take control of and complete the abandoned
French
work on the Panama Canal. The
Colombian government is
naturally reluctant to allow that level of control to fall outside its hands
and refuses permission. The US decides to support
Panamanian demands for
independence and, in 1903, the isthmus separates and becomes the republic of
Panama, with a small US military force preventing Colombia from sending
troops by sea to regain the territory. |
1906 - 1908 |
The Cuban elections of
1902 are disputed and lead to a revolt and US intervention. US provisional
governors take charge of Cuba for three years (the first being William
Howard Taft, soon to be US president), before an elected government resumes
Cuban control of their affairs, but the US retains its right to
intervene. |
1907 |
On 16 November 1907, Oklahoma is admitted into the union as the forty-sixth
state. This had first been entered by
Spain
in 1541, and the region had been claimed by
New France
in the eighteenth century and passed into US hands in the
'Louisiana
Purchase' of 1803. |
1909 - 1913 |
William Howard
Taft |
Republican. Former first provisional governor of
Cuba. |
1912 |
On 6 January 1912, New Mexico is admitted into the union as the
forty-seventh state. This had first been explored by the
Spanish in 1540-1542, with most of it subsequently becoming the province
of New Mexico within New Spain
in 1598, and then an independent
Mexico before
being handed over in portions to the US between 1848-1853.
Following an insurrection in
Nicaragua, the
US asks the Nicaraguan president to ensure that all its citizens are
protected, something that he is unable to guarantee. As a result, US
marines occupy the country and remain there until 1933, apart from a
nine month period in 1925. Alaska becomes an organised territory on
11 May of the same year. |
1913 - 1921 |
Woodrow
Wilson |
Democrat, New Jersey. Served two terms. |
1914 |
The Panama Canal is opened by its US builders and owners, despite it being
signed over to them by a
French
citizen in Panama in 1903
who had no authorisation to do so. |
1915 |
A
German U-boat sinks the SS Lusitania on 7 May (see feature link),
killing 1,198 and inflaming anti-German feeling in the US. However, Woodrow
Wilson has no intention of leading his country to war and instead works
actively to bring the combatants to the negotiating table. There is a large
proportion of the US population which is of German descent and many of these
campaign through the German-American Bund to keep America neutral. Instead,
the USA occupies
Haiti in
the Caribbean in an attempt to stabilise the political situation there.
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The SS Lusitania listed to starboard and towards the bow before
sinking beneath the waves with the loss of nearly twelve hundred
lives after being torpedoed by an imperial German submarine
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1916 |
The USA occupies the
Dominican Republic in an attempt to stabilise both that and
Haiti and
impose lasting governments. US marines land on 19 May 1916 and within three
months they secure effective control of the country. In November the USA
proclaims a military government, but the marines soon find they have to
fight a determined guerrilla action in the east of the country, led by
Vicente Evangelista. |
1917 - 1919 |
In 1917, two events change the US stance on involvement in the First
World War. Firstly,
Germany makes a clumsy attempt to involve
Mexico by promising
Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico if the US joins the Allied side in the war.
Secondly, and more telling, is Germany's decision to return to unrestricted
submarine warfare, sinking American as well as Allied ships. Congress
agrees to declare war against Germany on 6 April 1917, with declarations
against
Austria-Hungary,
Turkey,
and
Bulgaria following soon afterwards. Mobilisation begins, but it is only
in 1918 that the American weight of numbers and materials begins to make a
difference on the Western Front in
France. More locally, between 1917-1919, the USA supports the deposed
government of Costa Rica
in the face of harsh repression by dictator Federico Tinoco Granados. |
1921 - 1923 |
Warren Gamaliel
Harding |
Republican, Ohio. Died in office while visiting
San Francisco. |
1921 - 1922 |
The Harding Plan effects a gradual withdrawal of US forces from the
Dominican Republic and a return to local control, but
Haiti
remains occupied until 1934. Unfortunately for President Harding, he
dies just a year later, and his vice-president has to take over.
 |
The US occupation of Haiti in 1912 in an attempt to provide
the fractious nation with a less brutal or unreliable level
of government included taking the Palace of Justice
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|
1923 - 1929 |
Calvin Coolidge |
30th president. Completed Harding's 1st term & served
2nd. |
1929 - 1933 |
Herbert Hoover |
Republican, New York. |
1933 |
When a new, liberal government is installed in
Nicaragua, the US
finally withdraws its troops who have been there since 1912 and who have
been targeted by guerrilla attacks during the last years of the previous
government. |
1933 - 1945 |
Franklin D
Roosevelt |
Democrat. 5th cousin of T Roosevelt. Served 3+ terms. |
1941 - 1945 |
The USA joins the Second World War on 8 December 1941, initially
against
Japan, then as an ally of
Great Britain against
Germany and
Italy,
with Mexico supplying
raw materials as one of the allied nations in opposition to the Axis powers.
On 6 June 1944 it is a major player in the allied invasion of
France
via the beaches of Normandy, with the sheer volume of its men and equipment
playing a major part in wearing down the weakening Nazi infrastructure. |
1945 - 1953 |
Harry S Truman |
Democrat, Missouri. Served two terms. |
1950 |
Demands for change by the
Puerto Rican
Nationalist Party result in a three-day revolt known as the Jayuya
Uprising which begins on 30 October. Martial law is declared by the US
authorities and the military is sent in to pacify the town. At the end of
the revolt, two nationalists attempt to assassinate the US president, Harry
Truman. One is killed, the other is taken alive.
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Harry Truman (left) meets David Ben-Gurion (right), Israel's
first chairman of the Provisional State Council in 1948 and its
first prime minister
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|
1953 - 1961 |
Dwight D
Eisenhower |
Republican. Ex-army general. Served two terms. |
1954 |
The elected president of
Guatemala
is overthrown in a coup which is backed by the USA. With the Cold War
between the USA and Soviet
Russia
at its height, the US government supports Guatemala with arms and funds. |
1956 - 1957 |
Israel occupies the Sinai peninsula as part of its efforts against
Egypt in the Suez Crisis. While its objectives are achieved as part
of an agreement with
France and
Britain, Israel is pressured into withdrawing by the United Nations
and even more especially by the USA, which fails to support any of its
allies in this affair. |
1959 - 1975 |
Alaska becomes the forty-ninth US state on 3 January 1959, while Hawaii
follows as the fiftieth state on 21 August. Also from this year onwards,
US forces help to prop up the local government during the
Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, but they
are unable to prevent communist forces from the north from gaining overall
control. |
1961 - 1963 |
John F Kennedy |
Democrat, Massachusetts. Assassinated 22 November 1963. |
1961 - 1962 |
An invasion of Cuba on 17
April 1961 by US-trained Cuban exiles, backed by the CIA, fails in the Bay
of Pigs when the force runs out of materials. One immediate result of the
Cuban-Soviet alliance had been the placement of ballistic missiles on the
island, and this precipitates the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The USA
'blockades' Cuba, and only a last-minute climb-down by the
Soviets avoids the spectre of nuclear war.
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Photographed together here, John F Kennedy and Nikita Kruschev
would, in 1962, play the world's biggest game of brinkmanship
as the USA and Soviet Union vied for supremacy
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|
1963 - 1969 |
Lyndon B
Johnson |
Democrat. Completed Kennedy's 1st term & served
second. |
1964 |
The issue of the US ownership of the Panama Canal has long been contentious,
but on 9 January it reaches boiling point on what becomes known as Martyr's
Day. The riots start after a
Panamanian flag is
ripped during a dispute between the Canal Zone Police and Panamanian students
about flying the flag alongside the American stars and stripes. Three days of
fighting follow, with the US military becoming involved in regaining control
of the canal.
The US congress approves the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on 7 August 1964,
increasing American military involvement in
Vietnam. Otherwise known as the South-East Asia Resolution, it is a
response to the eponymous fire-fight on 2 August 1964 between US naval
forces which have been engaged in clandestine attacks on North Vietnamese
installations and three Vietnamese gunboats which fail utterly to scare
them off.
The political spin of the incident is enough to win almost universal
backing for increased US action in what is now a war in all but name.
In contrast to the later President Carter years, this period is notable
in that the pro-intervention hawks are Democrats, and the anti-war doves
are Republicans. |
1965 - 1966 |
A revolt breaks out in the
Dominican Republic in 1965 and it takes a landing by US marines and
occupation by them and other states from the Americas to bring about a free
and fair election in 1966. The 'Dominican Intervention' is largely driven by
a fear of the communist threat.
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Following the 'Dominican Intervention' by US and other troops,
those same US troops now patrol the streets near a food line
in Santo Domingo on 5 May 1965, during the Dominican Crisis.
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1969 - 1974 |
Richard
Nixon |
Republican, California. Resigned. |
1969 - 1973 |
Heavily involved now in
Vietnam, US forces also find themselves becoming involved in Laos and
Cambodia. The latter is plunged into civil war in 1970 when Prime
Minister Lon Nol mounts a successful coup against King Sihanouk and then his
new government is forced to fight against the Khmer Rouge guerrilla
forces. The republic falls after Phnom Penh is captured. However, the leader
of the North Vietnamese forces, Ho Chi Minh has already died (in 1969) and
President Nixon has begun to reduce US ground troops in Vietnam as domestic
public opposition to the war grows. US troops complete their withdrawal by
1975. |
1972 - 1974 |
The US hands back the Swan Islands to
Honduras on 1
September 1972. Then a US-backed coup deposes the democratically-elected
president of Chile on
11 September 1973, which allows the creation to take place in 1974 of a
dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet. |
1974 - 1977 |
Gerald Ford |
Republican. Former vice-president. |
1977 - 1981 |
Jimmy Carter |
Democrat, Georgia. |
1977 |
The US and Panama
agree the Torrijos-Carter Treaties which will eventually return ownership
of the Panama Canal to Panama itself. Torrijos himself steps down in the
following as military dictator of Panama, but pulls the strings of his
'elected' president.
 |
Building the Panama Canal was an immense project for its time,
but the USA's need for it was vital as it would allow them
coast-to-coast access on either side of their country without
having to sail all the way around the southern tip of South
America
|
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|
1981 - 1989 |
Ronald Reagan |
Republican, California. Ex-actor. Served two terms. |
1989 - 1993 |
George H W
Bush |
Republican. Ex-vice president. |
1989 |
Shortly after Manuel Noriega is indicted in the USA for drug trafficking
(in 1988), American troops invade
Panama on 20 December
1989 and remove him from office. He takes refuge in the
Vatican
diplomatic mission in Panama City. The US place intense diplomatic pressure
on the Vatican mission and blast the building day and night with extremely
loud rock-and-roll music, just to make sure. Noriega finally surrenders on 3
January 1990. He is detained as a prisoner of war and is tried for his
various offences. |
1990 |
The First Gulf War is triggered when
Kuwait
is occupied by
Iraq. A United Nations coalition army is assembled in
Saudi
Arabia under the overall direction of the USA to force them out, with
heavy Iraqi losses. |
1993 - 2001 |
William 'Bill'
Clinton |
Democrat, Arkansas. Served two terms. |
1994 - 1995 |
An exodus of people in 1994 to the USA follows problems in
Cuba. The fall of Soviet
Russia
has dealt the country a heavy economic blow, as this had been its only
source of oil and cheap foodstuffs. In the same year, the US lifts its
thirty-year trade embargo on
Vietnam, and the following year restores full diplomatic relations. |
1999 |
On the very last day of the year, as part of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties,
the US hands full control of the Panama Canal to
Panama. This time the
US is able to deal with Mireya Moscoso, the country's first female
president and the winner of a democratically-free and fair election.
 |
Washington DC, the capital of the United States, was
specifically constructed for the purpose between 1790-1800,
capped with what could be described as a 'shining beacon
upon a hill'
|
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|
2001 - 2009 |
George W Bush |
Republican, Texas. Son of George H W Bush. 2 terms. |
2001 |
Terrorist attacks take place on 11 September when four passenger planes are
hijacked. Two of them are crashed into and destroy both of the Twin Towers
in New York, while another plane hits the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashes
in open fields after the passengers fight back.
In
Afghanistan, the Taliban refuse to hand over terrorist leader and overall
organiser of the attack, Osama bin Laden, who is taking refuge there. An
invasion is launched, with some US forces being allowed the use of a base in
Uzbekistan. By November 2001 the Taliban have been pushed out of Kabul
and into the eastern fringes of the country by US and
British air strikes and a resurgent native northern alliance. |
2003 - 2008 |
An
Anglo-American-led action forces the collapse of
Iraq's dictatorial regime after just twenty-one days of fighting.
Fighting to make the country secure afterwards takes much longer, as
militant bombers and factional divides threaten to destabilise it
completely. |
2004 - 2006 |
There is a second exodus of
Cubans to the USA,
although not as large as previously. Conditions in Cuba are slowly changing
as the old guard ages and fades in power. President Fidel Castro is forced
by ill health to retire in 2006. |
2009 - 2017 |
Barak Husain
Obama |
Dem. Son of Kenyan man &
Anglo-
Irish US woman. 2 terms. |
2014 |
The last
British troops pull out of Helmand province in
Afghanistan, transferring all defensive duties to Afghan forces as the
fight against the Taliban continues. US forces in the country are also being
reduced to a minimum by the end of the year, although official combat
participation formally ends in line with the British on 26 October. |
2017 - 2021 |
Donald J Trump |
Republican. Non-politician. Divisive and ill-controlled. |
2020 |
Three years into a mismanaged and frequently farcical presidential term,
President Trump fails to act comprehensively during the world's first
pandemic in a century. Covid-19 sweeps through the country and, with the
presidential office offering little more than conspiracy theories and often
bizarre medical advice, reaction is largely left to individual states.
Responses at that level vary wildly, leaving the country with one of the
world's highest infection and death tolls before the year is out.
 |
Jo Biden, a Democrat moderate, was seen as a unifying force by
the varying wings of the party, and proved to be the preferred
option to Donald Trump's chaotic hard-right-leaning governance,
with Kamala Harris as his vice-president
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Trump's mismanagement of the pandemic in the USA, plus the onset of a
fresh economic depression and a failure to live up to many of his election
promises, results in an extremely tight election race in the first week of
November. The slow count of mail-in votes eventually turns the tide in
favour of a Democrat victory, especially in the key states of Pennsylvania
and Georgia. Joe Biden, former vice-president to Barak Obama, becomes
president. The Californian senator, Kamala Harris, whose father is
British Jamaican and mother is
Indian,
is his vice-president. Trump refuses to concede defeat - now or ever. |
2021 |
With two weeks left to an increasingly chaotic end of term, Trump encourages
the worst of his right-wing supporters to storm the capitol building during
the process of congress certifying Biden's victory. The chaotic insurgency
results in one police officer death as senators and staff are evacuated, and
four insurgent deaths, three of which appear to be due to natural causes.
With the scenes being viewed around the world, even the majority of
Republicans are now openly repulsed by Trump's apparent lack of regard for
order or human life, with calls for him to be impeached (again) or removed
under the terms of the twenty-fifth amendment. |
2021 - 2025 |
Joseph Robinette
Biden Jr |
Democrat. 46th president. Fmr vice-president. |
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