United States of America

Historical overview

The history of the United States begins long before European colonisation. Indigenous nations developed diverse political systems, agricultural societies, trade networks and cultural traditions across North America. These included the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Pueblo communities, Mississippian societies and many other nations. European colonisation, beginning in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, brought territorial dispossession, warfare, epidemic disease, forced relocation and the expansion of slavery.

Thirteen British colonies declared independence in 1776. The Declaration of Independence articulated principles of natural rights and popular sovereignty, although those principles were not extended equally to enslaved people, Indigenous peoples, women or many others. The Constitution was drafted in 1787 and came into operation in 1789. The Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments, was ratified in 1791. National ArchivesThe nineteenth century was shaped by territorial expansion, conflict with Indigenous nations, slavery and sectional disagreement. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 accelerated forced displacement, including the Cherokee removal known as the Trail of Tears. The Mexican–American War of 1846–48 transferred a vast territory from Mexico to the United States. The Civil War began in 1861 after Southern states seceded, and ended in 1865 with the Union victory. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in December 1865, while the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments established citizenship and constitutional protections and prohibited racial discrimination in voting, respectively. National ArchivesThe Reconstruction period was followed by the establishment of segregationist laws and practices in many Southern states. African Americans faced racial terror, disenfranchisement and institutional discrimination. The civil-rights movement of the twentieth century challenged these systems through litigation, community organising, boycotts, marches and other forms of protest. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and employment, while the Voting Rights Act of 1965 targeted discriminatory voting practices. National ArchivesThe United States also experienced major political and social transformations through industrialisation, immigration, the two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Cold War and the expansion of federal social programmes. The Watergate scandal led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974. The end of the Cold War altered American foreign policy, while the September 11 attacks in 2001 led to major changes in national security and international military operations.

The modern archive should include both the country’s constitutional ideals and the historical record of their unequal application. Indigenous sovereignty, slavery, racial segregation, immigration restrictions, Japanese American wartime incarceration, civil rights, women’s rights and debates about executive power are essential subjects.

Key historical timeline

1. Before 1492Indigenous nations and civilisations flourish across North America.
2. 1607Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in what became the United States, is established.
3. 1619Enslaved Africans are brought to English Virginia.
4. 1776Declaration of Independence adopted on 4 July.
5. 1787US Constitution drafted.
6. 1789Constitution takes effect; George Washington becomes president.
7. 1791Bill of Rights ratified.
8. 1830Indian Removal Act enacted.
9. 1846–48Mexican–American War.
10. 1861–65American Civil War.
11. 1863Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in designated rebellious areas.
12. 1865Thirteenth Amendment abolishes slavery.
13. 1868Fourteenth Amendment ratified.
14. 1870Fifteenth Amendment ratified.
15. 1920Nineteenth Amendment guarantees women’s suffrage nationally.
16. 1942–45Japanese Americans forcibly incarcerated during World War II.
17. 1954Brown v. Board of Education rejects racial segregation in public schools.
18. 1964Civil Rights Act enacted.
19. 1965Voting Rights Act enacted.
20. 1968Fair Housing Act enacted.
21. 1974President Nixon resigns after Watergate.
22. 2001September 11 terrorist attacks.
23. 2008Barack Obama elected as the first African American president.Important historical documents to digitiseDeclaration of Independence (1776).Articles of Confederation (1781).Constitution of the United States (1787).Bill of Rights (1791).Indian Removal Act (1830).Emancipation Proclamation (1863).Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.Chinese Exclusion Act (1882).Executive Order 9066 (1942).Brown v. Board of Education judgment (1954).Civil Rights Act (1964).Voting Rights Act (1965).Fair Housing Act (1968).Civil Liberties Act (1988), including the formal apology and redress for Japanese American wartime incarceration.Congressional investigations and reports on Watergate and the September 11 attacks.Archives and research linksUS National Archives and Records Administration – federal government records, founding documents, photographs and legislation.Declaration of Independence – National Archives – original document and transcript.Founding Documents – National Archives Museum – Declaration, Constitution and Bill of Rights.Civil Rights Act of 1964 – National Archives – legislation and historical background.Voting Rights Act of 1965 – National Archives – original legislation and explanatory history.Library of Congress Prints and

Archive notes

Photographs – historical photographs, posters and visual collections.

National Archives – Native American records – Indigenous-related federal records.

Human-rights focus: Indigenous dispossession and sovereignty, slavery, segregation, racial violence, immigration exclusion, wartime incarceration, civil rights, voting access and the relationship between constitutional guarantees and actual government practice.