Timeline: The making of a nation

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Act enforced by Andrew Jackson sent almost 50,000 Native American Indians from the South on a Trail of Tears to live on reservations; this way land for white settlers/ expansion was provided. Ireland was a British colony at that time, and many farmers were obliged to grow potatoes for export to Britain. The Irish lived on potatoes too. When the potato bug destroyed the harvest, Irish farmers had to meet British requirements for potatoes, and many of them starved to death. The California gold rush began and attracted thousands of people; California became a federal state (31st) in 1850. Abraham Lincoln, 16th president, was assassinated after he had saved the Union. Year 1864 1872 1893 around 1900 since 1902 1920 1931 1950s- 1960s after 1965 since 1970 2000 Event Yosemite was established as a national park, the first of its kind, under President Lincoln. Waves of immigrants came from Southern and Eastern Europe. American women received the right to vote. James Truslow Adams coined the term 'the American Dream' in his book The Epic of America. The Civil Rights Movement took place. Immigration laws were changed; more non-European immigrants were granted permission to immigrate to the US. The percentage of Europeans decreased among the foreign population (1970: 60 %). The idea of a 'salad bowl' replaced the one of a 'melting pot'. Due to increasing immigration from Latin America and Asia, as well as the increasing difficulty in determining/reporting ethnicity, Europeans account for only 15% of the US population. Additional information from individual research Yellowstone National Park was established on 1 March 1872. Revival of Manifest Destiny and the Frontier Thesis by historian Frederick Jackson Turner. There was a gold rush in Alaska after Felix Pedro discovered gold north of Fairbanks; Alaska became an organised US territory in 1912 and, finally, the 49th federal state in 1959. The Seneca Falls Declaration of 1848 paved the way for general suffrage for women. Americans united in their fight to overcome the impact of Great Depression. Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a dream" speech in Washington on 28 August 1963. This demographic process was called 'the browning of America'. It occured partly on account of the influx of Hispanics to the US and intermarriage between people of different races. For the first time in US history African Americans were no longer the largest ethnic minority. At 12.5% of the population Hispanics comprised the largest minority.