Directions / Teacher’s Guide / Answer Key

Introduction: Thanks so much for downloading this resource! This makes for a very engaging activity

for my classes. I will use it the first week of school – often on the first day – as a way to get to know

each other and also give me a good idea of their knowledge of US History.

First, cut out the events so that each student gets one. There are 33 here (hopefully you don’t have more

than that in your classes ). If you have less, you can take any away and the activity still works perfectly.

I always start with having students attempt to get in timeline order. First try they’re not allowed to get

any help. Then, I’ll ask if anyone wants to move where others are and we’ll have some great discussions

about why certain they perceive certain events to take place at certain times. We will also discuss the

events as we go through them. Then I will give them a chance to re-order before finally allowing the use

of textbooks or devices to confirm their order.

However, I love just how many other options it provides. After lining up chronologically, I’ll generally

have students line up:

From most important/impactful on history to least.

From being positive for American to negative

By where they happened geographically (by making each corner of the room Maine, Florida,

California, Washington)

Finally, this can also be used as an activity for students to get to know each other. With this

option, give students the table worksheet (page 4-5). Each student has to look up their event and

add it to the table. Then, they go around the room, introduce themselves to each other and

explain their events until everyone has their table completely filled (if you have less than 33

students you’ll have some blanks though).

I’m sure there’s even more ways that you might be able to think of!

ALSO – I started making a note of what student had

each event and putting that in my planner. When we get

to each event throughout the year, I ask that student a

question or remind them that they had the event.

They’re usually be shocked that you remembered.

After this activity, we’ll start getting into my US

History curriculum the next class! This is available at

StudentsofHistory.org and includes every single

resource you need for every day of the school year!

There’s PowerPoints, projects, interactive notebooks,

Google Drive resources, tests, and so much more.

There’s even free sample resources you can download!

Thanks for your interest!

The answer key for the chronological order line-up is found after this on the next page. The events were

chosen for their cultural and historical impact and also to include events from throughout American

History.

Obviously, there are an infinite number of possibilities for the other line-up options.

© Students of History - https://studentsofhistory.org

Answer Key

1. John Smith and settlers from the Virginia Company found the Jamestown settlement

within the country of Tsenacommacah, which was administered by the Powhatan

Confederacy.

2. The Mayflower Compact, the first governing document of Plymouth Colony, was signed

by the Pilgrims in what is now Provincetown Harbor.

3. The “shots ‘heard round the world” are fired at Lexington & Concord, marking the start of

the American Colonies rebellion against Great Britain.

4. The Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, announcing that the American colonies consider themselves

no longer under British rule.

5. Delegates from 12 states (all but Rhode Island) meet in Philadelphia to revise the Articles

of Confederation. However, they instead create a new form of government under the US

Constitution.

6. Thomas Jefferson authorized US diplomats to pay France roughly $15 million for the

Louisiana Purchase – about 828,000 square miles from the Mississippi River to the Rocky

Mountains.

7. The Lewis & Clark Expedition begins along the Mississippi River and would become the

first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States.

8. The Monroe Doctrine, named for President James Monroe, is proclaimed. It stated that

that any European intervention in the Western Hemisphere could be a potentially hostile

act against the US.

9. President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act into Law, forcing the expulsion

of tens of thousands of American Indians from their traditional homelands to the West

along the Trail of Tears.

10. The Battle of the Alamo takes place near San Antonio, Texas. The Mexican army, led by

General Santa Anna’s killing of all the defenders of the fort inspired others to join the

Texian fight against Mexico.

11. The Seneca Falls Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Elizabeth Cady

Stanton and Lucretia Mott helped plan the convention which would be the first public

women’s rights meeting in the United States.

12. The California Gold Rush begins when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill near Coloma,

California. News of the discovery would bring over 300,000 people west in search of wealth.

13. The first shots of the Civil War are fired at Ft. Sumter, South Carolina, starting a long, 4-

year war that would result in more American deaths than any other conflict.

14. Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Boothe while watching a performance of

“Our American Cousin,” at Ford’s Theater in Washington D. C.

15. Thomas Edison invents a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb.

16. Chinese Exclusion Act was signed by President Chester A. Arthur, prohibiting all

immigration of Chinese laborers into the United States.

1607

1620

1775

1776

1787

1803

1804

1823

1830

1836

1848

1849

1861

1865

1879

1882

17. The US wins the Spanish-American War and gains the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam,

and the Philippines from Spain.

18. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated in Sarajevo, triggering

the start of World War I.

19. Octaviano Larrazolo of New Mexico became the first Hispanic senator in American

History when he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

20. October 29th becomes known as “Black Tuesday” when panicked sellers on Wall Street

send stock prices crashing downward. The crash signaled the start of the Great

Depression.

21. The 102-story, 1,250-foot-tall Empire State Building officially opens in New York City.

22. Japan leads a surprise attack on America’s naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, resulting in

the deaths of 2,402 Americans and leading America’s entry into World War II.

23. A group of scientists, led by Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi, begin work on the

top secret “Manhattan Project” to develop the first atomic bomb.

24. Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers broke the color barrier and became the first

black athlete in Major League Baseball.

25. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested for

the crime, but conspiracy theories about what really happened still abound.

26. The Supreme Court overrules the prohibition of interracial marriage in the Loving v.

Virginia: case after Mildred Loving, a black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man,

had been sentenced to a year in prison in Virginia for marrying.

27. Civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was

assassinated by a sniper at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

28. The crew of NASA’s Apollo 11 lands on the moon, with Neil Armstrong being the first to

walk on its surface and stating, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for

mankind.”

29. President Richard Nixon becomes the first and only President to resign from office

following the Watergate Scandal and potential impeachment.

30. Sandra Day O'Connor is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, becoming

the first woman to serve on America’s highest court.

31. British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web as a tool to share

information among scientists at universities around the world.

32. On September 11th, Islamic extremists indoctrinated by Osama bin Laden hijacked 4

commercial airliners and flew them into the World Trade Center in New York and

Pentagon in Virginia.

33. Barack Obama is elected, becoming America’s first African-American president.

© Students of History - https://studentsofhistory.org

1898

1914

1928

1929

1931

1941

1942

1947

1963

1967

1968

1969

1974

1981

1989

2001

2008

Name ____________________________________

Major Events in American History

Event Year Significance

1607

1620

1775

1776

1787

1803

1804

1823

1830

1836

1848

1849

1861

1865

1879

© Students of History - https://studentsofhistory.org

1882

1889

1914

1928

1929

1931

1941

1942

1947

1963

1967

1968

1969

1974

1981

1989

2001

2008

John Smith and settlers from the Virginia Company found the Jamestown settlement within the country of Tsenacommacah, which was administered by the Powhatan Confederacy.

The Mayflower Compact, the first governing document of Plymouth Colony, was signed by the Pilgrims in what is now Provincetown Harbor.

The “shots ‘heard round the world” are fired at Lexington & Con0cord, marking the start of the A0merican Colonies rebellion against Great Britain.

The Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, announcing that the American colonies consider themselves no longer under British rule.

Delegates from 12 states (all but Rhode Island) meet in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. However, they instead create a new form of government under the US Constitution.

Thomas Jefferson authorized US diplomats to pay France roughly $15 million for the Louisiana Purchase – about 828,000 square miles from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains.

The Lewis & Clark Expedition begins along the Mississippi River and would become the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States.

The Monroe Doctrine, named for President James Monroe, is proclaimed. It stated that that any European intervention in the Western Hemisphere could be a potentially hostile act against the US.

President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act into Law, forcing the expulsion of tens of thousands of American Indians from their traditional homelands to the West along the Trail of Tears.

The Battle of the Alamo takes place near San Antonio, Texas. The Mexican army, led by General Santa Anna’s killing of all the defenders of the fort inspired others to join the Texian fight against Mexico.

The Seneca Falls Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott helped plan the convention which would be the first public women’s rights meeting in the United States.

The California Gold Rush begins when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill near Coloma, California. News of the discovery would bring over 300,000 people west in search of wealth.

The first shots of the Civil War are fired at Ft. Sumter, South Carolina, starting a long, 4-year war that would result in more American deaths than any other conflict.

Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Boothe while watching a performance of “Our American Cousin,” at Ford’s Theater in Washington D. C.

Thomas Edison invents the first long-lasting, practical electric light bulb.

The Chinese Exclusion Act is signed by President Chester A. Arthur, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers into the United States.

The US wins the Spanish-American War and gains the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines from Spain.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated in Sarajevo, triggering the start of World War I.

Octaviano Larrazolo of New Mexico became the first Hispanic senator in American History when he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

October 29th becomes known as “Black Tuesday” when panicked sellers on Wall Street send stock prices crashing downward. The crash signaled the start of the Great Depression

The 102-story, 1,250-foot-tall Empire State Building officially opens in New York City.

Japan leads a surprise attack on America’s naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, resulting in the deaths of 2,402 Americans and leading America’s entry into World War II.

A group of scientists, led by Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi, begin work on the top secret “Manhattan Project” to develop the first atomic bomb.

Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers broke the color barrier and became the first black athlete in Major League Baseball.

President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested for the crime, but conspiracy theories about what really happened still abound.

The Supreme Court overrules the prohibition of interracial marriage in the Loving v. Virginia: case after Mildred Loving, a black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man, had been sentenced to a year in prison in Virginia for marrying.

Civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a sniper at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

The crew of NASA’s Apollo 11 lands on the moon, with Neil Armstrong being the first to walk on its surface and stating, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

President Richard Nixon becomes the first and only President to resign from office following the Watergate Scandal and potential impeachment.

Sandra Day O'Connor is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, becoming the first woman to serve on America’s highest court.

British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web as a tool to share information among scientists at universities around the world.

On September 11th, Islamic extremists indoctrinated by Osama bin Laden hijacked 4 commercial airliners and flew them into the World Trade Center in New York and Pentagon in Virginia.

Barack Obama is elected, becoming America’s first African-American president.