Since obtaining independence in 1776, America has doubled in size, seen a Civil War, ended slavery, and legalized gay marriage. These 18 moments in American history forever changed the nation and still affect the lives of Americans today.
The Declaration of Independence
Britannica writes that “The Declaration of Independence, the founding document of the United States” of July 4, 1776, announced the separation of the 13 North American colonies from the U.K. The event marked America’s formal assertion of freedom from British rule and laid the foundational principles of liberty and democracy Americans enjoy today.
The Industrial Revolution in America
The Industrial Revolution drastically changed the U.S. economy in the late 18th and 19th centuries and saw it transition from farm labor, manual labor, and handicraft work to industrialized wage labor. Technological improvements massively improved overall production and saw an economic growth surge.
The Great Depression
The Great Depression began in the U.S. in 1929 and spread worldwide, starting the most prolonged and severe global economic downturn in modern history. It led to widespread unemployment, poverty, banking panics, and homelessness and prompted the New Deal, which reformed and stabilized the economy.
The Louisiana Purchase
History notes that the 1803 Louisiana Purchase added “828,000 square miles of territory from France, thereby doubling the size of the young republic.” The acquisition opened vast territories for exploration and settlement and significantly increased the nation’s diversity.
The Civil War
National Geographic explains that the Civil War of 1861–1865 “left the South economically devastated, and resulted in the criminalization of slavery in the United States.” The country entered the Reconstruction Era, and three amendments were added to the Constitution. Recently, the 14th Amendment has been argued to try to bar Donald Trump from holding office.
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation made by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War made the 3.5 million enslaved people in the secessionist Confederate States legally free. The National Archives notes that while it “did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war.”
Women’s Suffrage
Britannica notes that “from the founding of the United States, women were almost universally excluded from voting.” Their struggle for the right to vote began in the 1840s and culminated in the adoption of the 19th Amendment in 1920, demonstrating the power of peaceful protest and advocacy in the U.S.
World War II and the Home Front
During the first two years of the war, the U.S. maintained formal neutrality. But after the Japanese surprise attacks on December 7, 1941, infamously including Pearl Harbor, America entered the war. America fought alongside the Allies, mobilizing the nation’s economy and workforce and ushering in the atomic age with the nuclear bombing of Japan.
The Civil Rights Movement
Starting in 1954, the Civil Rights Movement sought to end racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement. Key acts of the movement included the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the August 1963 March on Washington, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Britannica notes that the “movement broke the entrenched system of racial segregation in the South and achieved crucial equal-rights legislation.”
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a prolonged conflict from 1954 to 1975 that saw the U.S. backing the South Vietnamese government and eventually sending American troops to fight against the communist North. The war was deeply unpopular with Americans, who protested the devastation and violence of the war, as well as the draft. The war changed how Americans viewed their government’s role on the world stage.
The Moon Landing
NASA notes, “The primary objective of Apollo 11 was to complete a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961: perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth.” America achieved that in 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon, winning the space race for the U.S.
The Watergate Scandal
This political scandal of the 1970s led to President Nixon’s resignation and highlighted the importance of government accountability. The Nixon administration’s attempts to hide its role in the break-in of the DNC headquarters in Washington, D.C., damaged public trust in the government and led to the suffix “gate” being added to subsequent scandals.
The End of the Cold War
The Cold War saw the USSR and its communist allies pitted against the U.S. and other Western democracies. History writes that the Cold War ended in 1989, symbolized by the Berlin Wall falling. Today, NATO and the U.S. are again at odds with Russia, funding Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion.
The Internet
The rapid development of the Internet from ARPANET revolutionized communication, commerce, and entertainment globally and in the U.S. The internet has changed work for Americans, allowing them to work from home and instantly communicate with friends and loved ones.
9/11
The September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks targeting the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were the deadliest ever terrorist attacks, killing 2,977 people. In response, America launched the multi-decade war on terror, invading Afghanistan and Iraq, conflicts that still reverberate today.
The 2008 Financial Crisis
The 2007–2008 financial crisis was the biggest since the Great Depression, caused by a mix of predatory subprime mortgages that targeted low-income homebuyers, excessive toxic assets within banks, and the housing bubble bursting. The Great Recession caused millions of Americans to lose their homes, businesses, and savings and fall into poverty.
The Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage
The Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, representing a landmark victory for LGBTQ+ rights and equality and making the U.S. the seventeenth country to legalize gay marriage.
The COVID-19 Pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic shut down the world and parts of the U.S. in 2020, profoundly affecting American life, disrupting work and schools, and killing one million Americans. The pandemic accelerated changes in work, making work-from-home commonplace.