The following aspects summarise the most important incidents in American history including the history of immigration and depicting the visions and nightmares concerning the American Dream. It is not necessary to know every date of every incident, but the thickly marked words should be known. To put incidents in context, it is helpful to know the most important dates.
| Year | Incident |
| 15th Century | Native Americans were living on the American continent |
| 16th & 17th Century | European colonies are founded on the East Coast |
| End of 17th century | Triangular Trade/Slave Trade |
| 1620/1630 | Puritans arrived in New England → Pilgrim Fathers |
| 1773 | Boston Tea Party |
| 1775 | War of Independence (American Revolutionary Wars) begins |
| 1775-1783 | American Revolution, 13 American colonies reject British government |
| 4th July 1776 | Declaration of Independence → independence from Great Britain |
| 1791 | Bill of Rights |
| From 1803 on | Westward expansion |
| 1820s | First rail lines were built |
| 1850s | First Asians immigrated |
| 1861-1865 | American Civil War |
| 1863 | Emancipation Proclamation |
| 1865 | 13th Amendment abolished slavery |
| 1870 | KKK → violent and racist organisation, which op-pressed black people |
| 1882 | Chinese Exclusion Act |
| 1896 | Jim Crow laws → Segregation is declared legal |
| 1917 | USA enters WW I |
| 1920s | Roaring Twenties |
| 1929 | Stock market crash on Wall Street |
| 1930s | The Era of Great Depression: at peak +20% of Americans unemployed |
| 9th December 1941 | USA enters WW II, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour |
| 1947-1991 | “Cold War” between USA (NATO) and USSR (Warsaw Pact) |
| 1954 | “Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka“ → the Supreme Court's unanimous (9–0) decision: "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" |
| 1954-1968 | Civil Rights Movement |
| 1965 | Selma to Montgomery marches → “Bloody Sunday” |
| 11th September 2001 | “9/11” → Terrorist attacks on the US (World Trade Centre & Pentagon) |
| 2008 | Inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African American president |
| 2016 | Inauguration of Donald Trump as president |
| 6th January 2021 | “2021 United States Capitol attack” → A mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump storm the capitol building and attempt to overthrow the government |
| 20th January 2021 | Inauguration of Joseph Biden as president (Obama’s former vice-president) |