Historical Evidence for Major United States History Themes

Victoria Flores
Note: All topics were thought of on my own, but I used the Internet to retrieve precise dates and extra facts
on events for explanatory purposes.

1. American Diversity:
A. Immigration to U.S created a more diverse population with more nationalities.
B. Banishment of slave trade (Although, still existed)
C. Womens Rights (such as voting and equal pay) 1848-1920
2. American Identity:
A. Soldiers returning home from World War II
B. No other nation has unalienable right such as pursuit of happiness which is
listed in Declaration of Independence 1776
C. Slavery in South but no slavery up North (Around 1640)
D. Pro-peace and Pro-war opinions 1960s
3. Culture:
A. 13
th
amendment gives African Americans freedom (more diverse freedom)
B. Famous painting of American Gothic by Grant Wood 1930
C. Invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison 1877
D. After Industrial Revolution, people had increased leisure time to do other
social activities
E. Taking land from Native Americans (Indian Removal Act of 1830) &Trail of
Tears
4. Demographic Changes:
A. Polio Epidemic increases death rates 1940s-1950s
B. Immunizations increased life expectancy (started in 1792)
C. People move from rural to cities fore more opportunities increasing population
D. Able to hire immigrants for cheap labor (starting around 1892)
E. Ellis Island helped people migrate & each ethnicity generally lived closely
together
5. Economic Transformations:
A. Invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell (Technology) 1876
B. New York Stock & Exchange Board organized in 1817
C. U.S. unions for factory workers because of such harsh, dangerous work
conditions
6. Environment:
A. Hoover Dam created for hydroelectric power 1935
B. Depleting resources & need for more production
C. Creation of EPA 1970
D. Creation of more city government
7. Globalization:
A. U.S. allies in WW2 (Britain, France, USSR, Australia, etc.)
B. The 13 colonies being formed was the beginning of the United States 1607
C. Creation of market economy 1817
8. Politics and Citizenship:
A. Thomas Jefferson stated ALL men were created equal but ended up being
cut out because the South threated to leave the convention July 4,1776
B. The emergence of parties such as Tea Party or more commonly known, the
Democratic and Republican party
C. Thomas Jefferson purchases Louisiana Purchase from French 1803
D. The citizenship test immigrants went through at Ellis Island 1892-1954
E. As slaves are free, they struggle to be treated equally with the same rights the
average white man has 1954-68
9. Reform:
A. Rosa Parks bus movement angers many December 1, 1955
B. Prohibition in the 18
th
amendment was a direct consequence from the
temperance movement
C. Soldiers returning from war suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder) and are treated with therapy
10. Religion:
A. 9/11 because of religious beliefs because they were honoring their god (jihad)
B. In the Constitution and Declaration of Independence there are many
references to God although religion and government are to be kept separate
11. Slavery and Its Legacies in North America:
A. Native Americans had slavery as well such as the Lewis and Clark Expedition
because they bought Sacagawea as a slave 1804
B. African slaves are transported across the Atlantic & take a role in plantations
in the South
C. Developed through slavery & soon was relied on growing cash crops on
plantations with helped the economy greatly
D. Gettysburg Address by President Abraham Lincoln addressing slavery
November 19,1863
12. War and Diplomacy:
A. The right to bear arms given in Amendment 2
B. War of 1812- Monroe Doctrine base of U.S. foreign policy
C. After WW2 had to pay of our countrys economic debt 1945