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Period: to
United States 1900-1920
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The Socialist Party of America Founded
Eugene V. Debs founded the Socialist Party of America (SPA). American socialists carried on the Populists’ radical tradition by uniting farmers and workers in a sustained, decades-long political struggle to reorder American economic life. -
Theodore Roosevelt Becomes President
In 1901 Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th president of the United States. He served two terms as president, ending his presidency in 1909. -
Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act
In 1906, Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, a novel dramatizing the experiences of a Lithuanian immigrant family who moved to Chicago to work in the stockyards. This novel exposed the unsafe and unsanitary conditions of the meatpacking industry which led to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act. -
William Howard Taft Becomes President
William Howard Taft became the 27th president of the United States in 1909. Taft served one term as president, ending his presidency in 1913. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
In 1911 the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Manhattan caught fire, killing 146 and injuring 71 workers. This lead to Americans pushing for reform to fix business practices and corruption. -
Woodrow Wilson Becomes President
Woodrow Wilson became the 28th president of the United States in 1913, and served two terms (1913-1921) as president. -
RMS Lusitania Sank
The Lusitania was a British ocean liner also containing American passengers. The ship was sunk by a German U-boat. Over a hundred American lives were lost, and the sinking of the Lusitania contributed to the United States entering World War 1. -
United States Enters WW1
Due to continued unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany, economic interests in the outcome of the war, Woodrow Wilson’s idealism, allied propaganda, and America’s claim to world power the United States declared war on Germany. -
Lynching Outlawed
In 1918, Representative Leonidas Dyer of Missouri introduced federal anti-lynching legislation that would have made local counties where lynchings took place legally liable for such killings. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles officially ended World War 1. The United States never signed the treaty. -
Urbanization on the Rise
By 1920, a majority of United States population lived in cities and towns with a population of 2,500 or greater. The 1920 U.S. census revealed that, for the first time, a majority of Americans lived in urban areas.