The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program) was an American initiative to aid Western Europe after World War II. The United States gave over $12 billion in economic support with the following goals in mind: to rebuild war-devastated regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, and prevent the spread of communism.

When British forces threatened New Orleans during the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson took command of the defenses, including militia from several western states and territories. His troops said he was "tough as old hickory" wood on the battlefield, and he acquired the nickname of "Old Hickory".

Social Darwinists tried to apply Charles Darwin's biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to human society, arguing that human societies progress through competition, since the strong survive and the weak perish.

Rosie the Riveter was an American cultural icon, representing women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women took many of the jobs formerly held by male workers who were serving in the military.

Black Americans were allowed to enlist in the armed forces, but Black and White soldiers did not serve in fully integrated units until after the Second World War.

Colonial tax rates had until this time been lower than those in Great Britain, so Prime Minister George Grenville sought the passage of the Stamp Act in order to spread taxation more evenly and generate revenue for the British government (that is, for the crown). This law prompted widespread protests in the North American colonies.

The French were interested primarily in developing positive relationships that would foster the fur trade.

When the children of Washington were banned from rolling their Easter eggs on the Capitol grounds, Lucy Hayes invited them to use the White House lawn instead.

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news brought some 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad.

Hillary Clinton served as the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001 and became the Democratic Party's nominee for President in 2016.