1776 Signing of the Declaration of Independence 1781 U.S. banking begins when an act of Congress creates the Bank of North America. 1793 Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, which revives the slave economy in the South More >>

1808 Congress prohibits the importing of African slaves 1830 Indian Removal Act moves eastern Indians west of the Mississippi 1837 Depression begins with the Panic of 1837 More >>

1865 Civil War ends; reconstruction of the old South begins 1879 Women lawyers permitted to argue cases before Supreme Court 1882 The Chinese Exclusion Act prohibits Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. More >>

1901 Five Native American tribes granted U.S. citizenship 1920 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote 1929 Stock market crashes 1939 World War II begins in Europe More >>

1955 Blacks boycott buses in Montgomery, Alabama, and the Supreme Court orders school desegregation 1963 President Kennedy assassinated 1964 Civil Rights Act signed by President Johnson 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows gambling on reservations More >>