Turning Points
The Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson's purchase of 828,000 square miles from France that doubled the nation's size and opened the West.
The Trail of Tears
The forced removal of the Cherokee and other Native nations from their homelands, killing thousands along the way.
The Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln's wartime order freeing enslaved people in Confederate states, transforming the Civil War into a fight for freedom.
The Transcontinental Railroad
The 1,900-mile railroad that connected the continent and dramatically accelerated westward expansion.
The Stock Market Crash
The catastrophic collapse of stock prices that triggered the Great Depression and reshaped American economic policy.
Pearl Harbor
Japan's surprise attack on the US naval base in Hawaii that brought America into World War II.
The Moon Landing
The Apollo 11 mission that put humans on the moon, fulfilling Kennedy's promise and winning the Space Race.
9/11
The coordinated terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans and launched two decades of war and security transformation.