1400

By 1400, hundreds of Native-American tribes live throughout North America.

1524--1620

Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano explores New York Harbor. In 1565, the Spanish establish Saint Augustine, Florida. The English establish Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607 and Plymouth Colony, in Massachusetts, in 1620.

1775

The 13 colonies rebel against the British. The Declaration of Independence is signed in 1776, and the United States of America is formed.

1787

The U.S. Constitution is written. In 1789, George Washington becomes the first President.

1861--1865

The North and South fight the Civil War over slavery and other issues. In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation frees slaves in Confederate states.

1917--1918

The U.S. fights in World War I.

1929

The Wall Street stock market crashes. Fortunes are lost, and the Great Depression begins.

1941

Japan bombs the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. The U.S. enters World War II. The war lasts until 1945.

1950

The U.S. enters the Korean War to defend South Korea. Fighting lasts for three years.

1963

Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech, leading the civil rights movement.

1965

The U.S. begins air raids in Vietnam. The Vietnam War ends with peace accords in 1973.

1969

Astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the moon.

1991

The U.S. battles Iraq in the Persian Gulf War.

2001

Terrorists hijack four planes for a string of deadly attacks against the U.S.

2003

The U.S. and its allies go to war in Iraq. Fighting lasts until 2011.

2005

Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast.

2012

Americans vote in a presidential election.