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The Invention of The Bike
The invention of the bike is arguably the thing that brought in change for woman. It was pretty much impossible to ride bikes with poofy skirts and corsets. The fashion changed to accommodate that. It also portrayed woman in a new light. If they were capable of riding a bike, then what else could they do? -
The Author of “The Gilded Age” Is Born
Mark Twain, the author of many American classics, wrote a book on the era of monopolies. The book itself is know for its satire and strong views on the state of the economy. The book became so popular that it became the name of that corrupt age. -
Alfred T. Mahn is Born
The man who had the idea for the Panama Canal was born. He was a military historian at the time, and he strengthened the military. His contribution to America is great. -
The Start of the Gold Rush
When settlers out west found gold, the word spread fast. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people moved out west for a shot at getting rich. All of this movement towards the west caused the building of booming towns around the mining spots. All of the fast paced settling lead to the settling of the western frontier and the tales of the Wild West. -
John Perry Sails To Japan
John Perry was a U.S. naval general. He was put in charge of setting up trade relations with Japan. The way he went about it was questionable, but it worked. He brought a war ship, and parked it in the port that belonged to the emperor. It sure did send a message. -
Fredrick Taylor Is Born
Taylor was know for his pioneering in efficiency. He always sought a way to make work more efficient. He did a lot of scientific experiments to help better society. He became so well know for his experiments that the term Taylorism as adopted. The term Taylorism was used for those who also pursued efficiency or were being efficient. -
The Creator of The Hull House Is Born
Jane Addams was a very important woman in her timeline. She created Hull house, a place for immigrants to get the help that they needed. She also got to second Teddy Roosevelt’s nomination. This was a big deal back then because woman weren’t supposed to be involved in politics. -
Thomas D. Rice Dies
The American play-write and creator of the infamous character Jim Crow, was famous for his blackface performances. The segregation laws were even named, unofficially, after his character. In that sense his legacy outlived him for over 100 years. -
The Attack On Ft. Sumter
South Carolina and six other states left the union, however; Robert Anderson and his men refused to leave Ft. Sumter, even though it was part of the states that seceded from the union. Lincoln sent supplies to them and a letter, knowing that it would be intercepted by the southerners. The letter told the men to stay in the fort and wished them well. This caused the south to open fire on the fort. -
Antietam
This battle was the single most bloody day of the whole war. In just one day there were over 20000 casualties. It was the first battle that attempted to take land from the north. It failed. The main spots where they had battles were: the cornfield, the bridge, the sunken/bloody lane. -
Appomattox
In the city of Appomattox, VA the civil war was finally ending. Inside of the parlor of the same man who’s yard the war was started on, Grant and Lee were discussing terms for surrender. The terms were very surprising. They basically just would let them back into the union once they pledged their loyalty. -
Ford’s Theater
Barely two weeks after the end of the war Lincoln and his wife were invited to go to see a play at Ford’s theater instead of Grant and his wife. John Wilkes, an actor at that theater, was part of a group of confederate sympathizers planning on assassinating some of the people in office that were watching the show. That included Lincoln. Wilkes shot him in the back of the head and jumped out of the box And broke his leg. He still managed to get away. Lincoln passed the next day. -
Andrew Johnson Gets Impeached
After Congress released the acts that took power away from the president, Johnson broke the Tenure off Office Act. This act prohibited the president from firing anyone in his cabinet with out consent from the senate. Johnson fired Stanton (member of his cabinet) and got impeached for it. He was, however; acquitted with one vote to spare. -
Alaska Becomes US Territory
Under William Seward, America conversed with Russia to get Alaska. At the time, everyone thought that this was a stupid idea. Russia and America came to an agreement on March 30, 1867, and the check was issued August 1, 1868. -
The Transcontinental Railroad Is Completed
After getting the funding for building this railroad in 1862, they started laying the track in 1863. People from all over the country came to help build it. The east coast started in Nebraska and the west coast started in California. They met in the middle in Utah. The two owners of each railroad building company hammered in the last spike (golden). -
Greeley Dies
Greeley was the person going Grant for the presidency. Everyone thought that he was a fool. He was a republican democrat. The funny thing is that he died shortly after Grant got elected. -
The land Rush of Oklahoma
Even though the Americans relocated thousand of Native Americans to Oklahoma to live free, the people wanted to claim some as there own. As a response the president set up a date where there would be a race to claim land. Of course there were those who cheated and claimed their land before the date, but most just showed up on time. -
Ellis Island Is Established
America is a melting pot of so many different races, cultures, and so much more. It was know as the land of opportunity, and attracted many immigrants to make a new life for themselves. To help make sure that immigrants could enter the United States Ellis Island was built. -
The Grandfather Clause Was Instated For the First Time
After passing a number of laws to make it extremely difficult for African Americans to vote, they realized that there were a number of poor white folk that couldn’t vote because of the laws as well. To fix this problem they passed the grandfather clause. This meant that if your grandfather was able to vote, then you can vote no matter what. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
This Supreme Court case was one of the most famous of the time. Plessy was partially black, but you couldn’t tell just by looking at him. He purposely told the ticket collector on the train and was arrested. He challenged the moral standing of segregation and it went all the way to to Supreme Court, who deemed it okay to keep the races separate, as long as the facilities were equal. -
The Spanish-American War Starts
After hearing about the way the Spanish were treating the Cubans and how their plantations might be effected the Americans got anger and wanted to do something. Yellow journalism also played a major role in riling up the Americans. When the U.S.S. Maine blew the yellow journalists said it was the Spanish with no backing and everyone believed them. -
The Battle of Manila
This was one of the most important wins during the Spanish-American War. The leader in this battle was Commodore George Dewey. He and his men won the battle in six hours. -
The Spanish-American War Ends
This was a very short war that ended with the Americans winning. This win put America in the running to become a world power. The Fact that they could hold their ground against Spain, and win, earned them the respect of many of the other countries. America had also gained territory including the Philippines. -
Teddy Roosevelt Becomes President
After his great success in the Spanish-American war, he become very popular back home. He was so popular, McKinley asked him to be his Vice President. Unfortunately, McKinley was assassinated not too long after he won. That being the case, Roosevelt became the new President. He was famous for breaking up monopolies during his term. -
The Federal Mean Inspection Act of 1906
Before this act was passed people didn’t know how their meat was being prepared, and they definitely didn’t know how sanitary its conditions had been. President Roosevelt had been the one to push for this act. It required that all meat preparation had to meet a certain standard of cleanliness and that there be a list of what was in it. -
WWI Starts
At the time, this was was only called The Great War because no one could ever imagine another one like it. To think that making alliances is what ultimately caused this war. When Franz Ferdinand was Assassinated, it set off a bomb, and most of the world got involved. Originally, America wasn’t supposed join, but after numerous ships lost to German U-Boats and the sinking of the Lusitania, America waged war in 1917. -
The 14 Points Speech
WWI was happening while Wilson was President. He devised a plan for the world once the war was over. This plan was called the 14 points. This was the guideline that he wanted to follow when dealing with the losers of the war. Unfortunately, America got pulled out by its citizens, and France got to do it their way. -
The Start of The Battle of Belleau Wood
The battle of Belleau Wood was one of the most important battles of WWI. It was the first major battle, and it showed that the US was serious about joining the war full time. This battle lasted until Jun 26 of the same year. -
WWI Ends
After years fighting, the Germans finally realized that they were too tired to keep on. They asked to make peace, and the Allies agreed. The Central powers, however, were not apart of the discussion process, they were just told to sign the paper. America left the discussion, and some argue that if they had stayed, it might’ve prevented WWII. -
The 19th Amendment Is Passed
After pushing it for so long, the states were finally voting on whether or not woman should be able to vote. For it to be passed, there needed to be a 3/4 majority vote. The woman were just short one vote, but when Tennessee was called to cast their vote, they switched their view to for. The amendment was passed. -
The Scopes Trial
During this time, a lot of states made it illegal to teach evolution in schools. The ACLU thought that this wasn’t constitutional, so they put an ad out that told people to teach evolution. When they got in trouble, they’d defend them in court, and compensate them. Scopes responded to this ad. The trial, though not a Supreme Court trial, earned the attention of the whole country. -
Babe Ruth Hits His 60th Home Run
Now that people had more free time, they needed something to do with that extra time. Thus the birth of spectator sports. Babe Ruth was the most popular baseball player of the time. -
Black Tuesday
Though the stock didn’t crash in one night, this day was the most notable. Before this crash, people were blindly investing in the stock. To them, it was impossible for it to crash. The crash caused people to loose everything. -
The Smoot-Hawely Tarrif
This was a very miscalculated decision. The act rose taxes on imports up by 50%. This caused other countries to raises there’s as well, or stop doing business with America. -
The Start of the Empire State Building
The Empire State Building was revolutionary at the time. It was the tallest building the world for almost two years. With Otis’s invention of the safety elevator, it was now possible to make buildings that tall. -
The Revenue Act of 1932
This act was also miscalculated. It rose the interest rates on credit cards by a lot. People already could barely afford the regular credit interest. -
Hoover Leaves Office
The majority of Americans, at this point, blamed Hoover for the length of the depression, and the depression itself. So when he left, it was welcomed. Out went Hoover, and in went Franklin Roosevelt. -
FDR becomes President
This President was welcomed in warmly. People were happy to finally be rid of Hoover. He had a very effective first 100 days as well. -
The 21st Amendment is Ratified
The 21st amendment was made to repeal the 18th amendment (outlawing alcohol). People were sick of all the damage that it had done. It was the first, and currently only, amendment made to repeal another. -
Central Park was Established
With the rapid urbanization going on people realized that there was a need for urban planning. Their job was to plan out the city in an effective and efficient way. They also made parks in cities and added greenery. The most famous city park created was Central Park in New York City. -
Ellis Island Becomes a Museum
After it closed down in 1954 it was abandoned. It was years later when the country decided to refurbish the place and turn it into a museum. Once they got the funds they started work on it. The job was finally competed in 1990, and now millions of people visit it every year (before COVID-19).
