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Seneca Falls Convention
Held over two days, the Seneca Falls Convention was one of the first women’s rights conventions. It was run by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Stanton. The convention ended in the publishing of the Seneca Falls Declaration on 1848, which outlined the women’s rights movement of the mid-19th century. The convention began the fight for women’s suffrage which lasted until the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. -
Commodore Perry Enters Tokyo Bay
Before 1853 Japan had very few trade partners. America had just decided to be imperialistic and decided Japan would be a good place to start. On July, 7 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay with several warships. He asked Japan to open trade relations with the US. Not surprisingly, Japan agreed to sign a trade agreement with America. -
Homestead Act Ratified
Signed by Lincoln, the Homestead Act of 1862 gave public land to American citizens. A head of a family or anyone of 21 could own 160 acres. A married couple could get two shares. The settlers had to live there for 5 years. The act helped poor families afford cheap land. -
13th Amendment Ratified
The 13th Amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865. It outlawed slavery (except as punishment for a crime) in all places under the jurisdiction of the USA. This was the amendment that freed the slaves, because the Emancipation Proclamation was only effective for the rebel states. Under the 13th Amendment, nobody can be held as a slave or indentured servant based on skin color, gender, age or any other characteristic (except as punshiment for a crime.) -
Seward Buys Alaska
Secretary of State William Seward arranged for the United States to buy Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867. The American people were not thrilled, calling the purchase “Seward’s folly” or “Seward’s icebox”. This attitude continued for 30 years until the discovery of gold, prompting the Klondike gold rush. Alaska also proved to be rich in fish, copper, timber, oil, and coal. -
President Johnson Impeached
President Johnson and Congress couldn’t get along. Johnson broke the Tenure of Office Act by firing a cabinet member with Senate approval. He was impeached on Feb. 24. He was tried by the Senate and acquitted by one vote. The trial took 11 weeks. -
14th Amendment Ratified
The 14th Amendment protects the rights of citizens. It guarantees the rights and securities of freed people. The 14th Amendment makes it illegal to deny citizens of the USA rights that they should have as citizens based on any characteristic that they possess. -
Transcontinental Railroad Completed
On May 10, 1869, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroad companies met in Promotory Point, Utah. They had a special ceremony to celebrate the completion of the transcontinental railroad. The railroad had taken 6 years to build. It made it possible to travel in a week what had before taken 4-6 months. The railroad introduced many new innovations, such as time zones. -
The Battle of Little Bighorn
Gold was found in the Black Hills, and Gen. Custer was sent to round up the Native Americans there. The Sioux leader Sitting Bull refused to move and gathered warriors to the Little Bighorn River, where they were joined by Crazy Horse and his men. Custer’s force of 250 men was completely wiped out by the 2,000 Native Americans. The army crushed the subsequent uprising and forced the Sioux onto reservations. -
The Compromise of 1877
The Compromise of 1877 ended the election of 1876 and Reconstruction. It gave Republicans/Hayes the presidency and southern Democrats the end of Reconstruction. The real losers were the southern Black population, who suffered after the removal of federal troops. They lost many freedoms that they had held during Reconstruction. -
Chinese Exclusion Act Ratified
The Chinese Exclusion Act was ratified on May 6, 1882. This act was passed due to growing xenophobia and the Nativist movement. The Chinese Exclusion Act effectively ended Chinese immigration. It also stated a “paper bride” business for people trying to sneak into the country. -
Brooklyn Bridge Completed
The Brooklyn Bridge was completed on May 24, 1883. It was designed by John A. Roebling, and completed by his son and his son’s wife after Roebling died. The Brooklyn Bridge was notable because it was the world’s first steel suspension bridge. Many people were concerned that it would collapse, but it didn’t. Today it is a notable landmark in New York City. -
Statue of Liberty Dedicated
The Statue of Liberty was sent to us as a cenntennial gift from France. It was designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. The statue is 151 feet and 1 inch tall from the feet to the torch. The statue was placed in New York Harbor and welcomed immigrants on their way to Ellis Island. -
Sherman Anti-Trust Act Approved
The Gilded Age was an age of big business. Corporations and “robber barons” used vertical and horizontal consolidation to control huge sections of America’s economy. It took the government a while to catch up to all these new developments and when it did, it passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The act outlawed all all conspiracies in restraint of trade and all monopolies. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
Sioux Native Americans turned to the prophet Wokova in a desperate attempt to recover their lost way of life. He told them they should try the Ghost Dance. The government got nervous and confronted the Sioux at a creek called Wounded Knee. A shot was fired and over 150 Sioux and 25 soldiers died. This was the last conflict between whites and Native Americans. -
Ida B. Wells Begins Crusade Against Lynching
Ida B. Wells had a newspaper in Memphis called the Free Speech. It was primarily a newspaper for African Americans. In March 1892, three black businessmen she knew were lynched. She began a crusade against lynching, speaking out against it in her newspaper. Even though her opponents burned her newspaper headquarters down, she continued to tour the world and speak out against lynching. -
Ellis Island Opens
Ellis Island was opened and began to process immigrants on January 1, 1892. It was open as an immigrant station from 1892-1954, and during that time 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island. The buildings on Ellis Island burned down on 1897 and was rebuilt in the current style. The peak years for immigrants passing through Ellis Island were 1892-1924. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
On May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court reached a decision on the Plessy v. Ferguson case. They ruled that segregation was legal, as long as the facilities that were separated were “separate but equal.” This allowed Southern whites to segregate public areas and amenities, schools, and public transportation. Although the court ruled that facilities had to be equal, in practice, they rarely were. -
USS Maine Explodes in Havana Harbor
The USS Maine was sent to be an American presence in Havana. When it exploded, the American public, lead by the publications of “yellow journalists” rallied around it with the cry of “Remember the Maine!” The explosion of the Maine was a primary cause of the Spanish-American War. In 1976, the US Navy explored the wreckage and discover that the ship blew out, not in, meaning the damage was most likely not caused by the Spanish. -
The Battle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill was a very important battle during the Spanish-American War. Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders charged up the hill during the battle. The battle was a decided American victory. Roosevelt became famous after this battle and ran and Mckinley’s Vice President in the 1900 election. When McKinley was assassinated, Roosevelt became the youngest president ever to hold the office. -
President McKinley Assassinated
President McKinley was assassinated by anarchist Leon Czolgosz 6 months into his second term. Theodore Roosevelt, his VP, became the nation’s 26th president and the youngest ever president at 42. Roosevelt was known for his “big stick” policy and for filing 44 anti-trust suits under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. He also supported the Pure Food and Drug Act and the National Park Service. -
Suffragist Parade in Washington, D.C.
On March 3, 1913, suffragists marched in a parade in Washington, D.C. The parade was organized by Alice Paul to draw attention to women’s suffrage. The parade route went down Pennsylvania Avenue. There was not enough police protection and rioters harassed the marchers. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassinated
On June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed by a Serbian rebel named Gavrilo Princip. The Archduke was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His assassination and the Austro-Hungarian retaliation trggered a series of complex alliances which lead to WWI. -
RMS Lusitania Sinks
The RMS Lusitania was a British passenger ship. She was carrying 128 Americans among her passengers when she was torpedoed by German u-boats 11 miles off the coast of Ireland. The Germans said she was also carrying cases of ammunition, which turned out to be true. That didn’t stop the American public from being outraged against the German’s unlimited submarine warfare. -
America Enters WWI
America decided to enter WWI late in the war. The factors of blockades, German submarine warfare, and the Zimmerman note pushed them to join on the side of the Allies. In order to get Americans to join the war, President Wilson had to convince them that this would be the “war to end all wars.” The US helped provide the Allies with the food, money, and fresh troops needed to win the war. -
Sedition Act Passed
The Sedition Act of 1918 was an extension of the Espionage Act of 1917. The Sedition Act made it a crime to speak against the purchase of war bonds or to write, say, or publish anything anti-government, anti-constitution, or anti-armed forces, or to interfere with the production of anything necessary for war. Many people thought this act was an infringement on their civil liberties, especially the right to free speech. -
WWI Armistice Signed
On November 11, 1918, an armistice was signed between the Central Powers and the Allies. This armistice stopped the fighting at 11:11 a.m. Later, the leaders of the countries at war got together to sign the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty ended the war, but it was very harsh towards the Germans. Wilson suggested his 14 points plan, which included freedom of the seas and a League of Nations. But when he took the treaty home, the US didn’t want it, and we signed a separate treaty with Germany. -
Prohibition Begins
Prohibition began with the passing of the 18th Amendment. It banned the sale, transport, and making of alcohol. Prohibition began because people thought it would solve moral problems such as domestic violence and crime. Instead it brought on an era of lawlessness and violence. -
19th Amendment Ratified
The 19th Amendment gives all citizens the right to vote regardless of sex. The amendment was added when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify it. The amendment passed largely in part to the efforts of suffrage groups such as the NWP, or the National Women’s Party. -
The Scopes Trial Begins
Tennessee passed a law that made teaching evolution illegal. John Scopes was a biology teacher who taught evolution in class. His trial began on July 10, 1925. The ACLU hired celebrity lawyer Clarence Darrow to defend Scopes. The state was represented by William Jennings Bryan, who was called to the stand as a expert on the Bible. Darrow asked him if everything in the Bible should be taken literally. Even though Scopes lost the trial, it was a big step towards evolution becoming commonplace. -
Buck v. Bell Decided
Buck v. Bell was a Supreme Court case where the court ruled 8-1 that compulsory sterilization of the “unfit” including the mentally disabled was legal. The decision reflected the attitude of the time about eugenics. Eugenics is the idea that humans can create a better human race by choosing who can and who can’t reproduce. Buck v. Bell has never been overturned. -
Lindbergh Flies Across the Atlantic
Charles Lindbergh was a pilot. On May 20, 1927, he performed the first solo crossing of the Atlantic in his plane, The Spirit of St. Louis. It took him 33 and a half hours to fly from New York to Paris. -
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
On February 14th, 1929, 7 members of Bugs Moran’s gang were in a warehouse in Chicago. Bugs Moran was a rival of Al Capone, and the pair were two of the most notorious gangsters in Chicago. Suddenly, men dressed as cops entered the building and told Moran’s men to put their hands against the wall. Then they were gunned down and the fake cops drove off. Many people suspected Al Capone had ordered the killings but they were never pinned to him. -
Black Tuesday Stock Market Crash
The October 29 stock market crash was due to bad banking and money policies. The stock market allowed a practice called buying on margin, where only ten percent of the money you paid for a stock had to be your own. This practice allowed a lot of people to go into debt, and when the market crashed, many people were completely ruined. Even though the crash wasn’t a one day thing, this day was notable because losses exceeded 26 billion dollars. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Passed
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff was one of the biggest mistakes of the Hoover administration. Passed in an attempt to encourage local buying, it raised international tariffs by 50%. In response, foreign countries raised their tariffs or cut off trade entirely. This started a trade war which ground international trade to a halt. This was especially hard on American farmers, who lost 1/3 of their market. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt Inaugurated
Many Americans blamed Hoover for the depression. In the election of 1932, Hoover won the Republican nomination and Franklin Roosevelt won the Democratic. He ran on getting the US out of the depression and developing public works programs. His ideas for getting America out of the depression were known as the “New Deal”. FDR was also known for being the governor of New York and surviving polio. -
FDR Declares Bank Holiday
Two days into office, FDR declared a bank holiday. He closed all the banks in America temporarily until the health of each bank could be assessed. Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act and the Glass-Steagall Act, which created the FDIC. The bank holiday prevented more bank runs. -
Fair Labor Standards Act Established
The Fair Labor Standards Act was the last piece of New Deal legislation to be passed. It set up a national minimum wage. It also prohibits “oppressive child labor” and introduced a eight-hour day with a 40-hour work week. It was the last New Deal legislation passed because people were losing faith in the New Deal. They thought it wasn’t doing enough to help the economy, prevent discrimination or help old people. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Japanese wanted to expand their empire, but America stood in their way. The Japanese had intelligence that the entire American fleet was at Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii. On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. This act of unwarranted violence brought America into WWII on the side of the Allies. -
MacArthur Withdraws from the Philippines
The Philippines were an American territory at the time of WWII. General MacArthur took over the troops in the Philippines but they were not very well trained. Eventually the Japanese got so close that MacArthur had to flee the country. He promised, “I will return.” Unfortunately, many soldiers got left behind and were forced into the Bataan Death March, where the Japanese forced them to march 60 miles in the blazing sun. -
D-Day
On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces launched an invasion force of 3 million US, UK, and Canadian troops. The invasion was led by General Eisenhower and was officially named Operation Overlord. The Allies had fed the Germans false information so they thought the landing was going to be at Calais instead of Normandy. D-Day was the largest amphibious landing ever. -
V-E Day
By late April, 1945, the Allied Forces reached Berlin. On May 8, 1945, General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. The Allies celebrated Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day. There were celebratory parades and parties. Unfortunately, FDR had died a month earlier so he didn’t get to see the end of the war. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima
After Okinawa, MacArthur predicted millions of Allied deaths would be caused by an invasion of Japan. The Japanese were willing to fight to the death, even civilians. President Truman decided to use the atomic bombs made by the Manhattan Project instead. On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay, piloted by Paul Tibbets, dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese industrial city of Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. These bombings caused the Japanese to surrender. -
V-J Day
After the two atomic bombings, the Japanese Empire surrendered to the Americans. The Americans celebrated V-J Day, or Victory over Japan Day. After the war, the Americans occupied Japan for many years under General MacArthur. He helped the Japanese set up a new economy and constitution. -
Berlin Airlift Begins
In 1948, France, Britain and the United States merged their zones to make West Germany. The Soviets then blockaded land access to Berlin, cutting them off from supplies. The USA began a massive airlift that lasted for a year, until Stalin lifted the blockade in 1949. All necessities for the people of Berlin had to enter by air. the planes couldn't land, so they dropped packages down with parachutes attached. -
Korean War Begins
On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces backed by the soviets crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. the United Nations declared the North the aggressor and sent troops to restore peace under General MacArthur. Since war was never declared by America, it was considered a "police action." A truce was signed on July 27, 1953. The border was still at the 38th parallel. -
Greensboro Sit-in Begins
On February 4, 1960, 4 African American students went to the segregated lunch counter in the Greensboro Woolworth’s and ordered food. When they were refused service, they stayed sitting. More people joined them and the sit-in lasted for months, inspiring other sit-ins, read-ins, and wade-ins around the south. -
Yuri Gagarin- First Man in Space
On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. He was a Soviet, which meant that the USSR had won a victory in the "Space Race". However, the Americans would have the last laugh as they had the privilege of being the first country to send people to the moon in 1969. The Space Race was the name for the race to develop superior space technology between the USSR and the USA. -
Construction Begins on the Berlin Wall
on August 15, 1961, communist authorities in East Berlin began to build a wall around West Berlin. This wall sprang up overnight and divided families and separated people from their jobs. The purpose of the wall was to keep East Germans from fleeing to West Berlin. People still tried many daring ways of crossing the wall. The wall was taken down and Germany was reunited on November 9, 1989. -
Cuban Missile Crisis Reaches Worst Day
American reconnaissance discovered a build up of Soviet missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine of the island and demanded that the Soviets remove them and they returned with a counteroffer: they would only remove them if the USA promised they would never invade Cuba and that the USA would remove their missiles from Turkey. President Kennedy eventually agreed to these demands. The crisis caused a lot of fear for the American people. -
March on Washington
On August 28, 1963, 20,000 Americans organized a march on the National Mall. They were protesting prejudice against African Americans. One of the speakers was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. -
Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy while he was in a motorcade in Dallas. The President died instantly. They arrested Oswald after he killed another man, Dallas Police Officer Tippets. As Oswald was being transferred between jails, Ruby stepped out of the crowd and shot him. Oswald died of his injuries. Ruby shot Oswald on live TV. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Lyndon Johnson was convinced that America should be more involved in Vietnam. On August 2, 1964 tow american ships were attacked at separate times in the Gulf of Tonkin by the North Vietnamese. this gave LBJ an excuse to send troops to Vietnam. Congress gave a "blank Check", or broad war powers to LBJ. -
Selma March
The March 7, 1965 Selma to Montgomery March was for voter rights and also in response to a shooting of an African American protester. The Marchers made it all the way to the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the outskirts of Selma, before city and state police blocked them with chains, clubs, and cattle prods. The media caught all of it on camera, which sparked a lot of public outrage. -
Tet Offensive Begins
The Tet Offensive was a New Year's attack by the NLF. 100 major cities and bases, along with the US embassy were attacked. The US and South Vietnamese forces successfully fought back the attack, but it was presented to the American public as a defeat. This lowered American support of the war. -
My Lai Massacre
On March 16, 1968, around 500 civilians were killed by a company of US troops in the Vietnamese village of My Lai. When the American public found out about this there was instant outrage. Many people were tried, but only one lieutenant was found guilty. 3 soldiers were recognized for trying to stop the killing. -
Martin L. King Shot and Killed
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most influential civil rights leaders in the American civil rights movement. He had a lot of enemies even though he supported peaceful protest methods. On April 4, 1968, James Earl Ray shot him while he was standing on his balcony at the Lorraine Motel. The bullet hit his neck and he died from his injuries. -
U. S. Troops Withdraw from Vietnam
By the early 1970s, the American public did not support continued involvement in Vietnam. When Nixon was elected, he said he had a plan to end US involvement in Vietnam. His plan was called Vietnamization, and called for South Vietnamese forces to step up to fill the gaps left by the Americans. The Paris Peace Agreement allowed US forces to withdraw safely but didn't have any provisions for POWs or MIAs. Around 1,200 men were never accounted for. -
President Nixon Resigns
After the Watergate scandal, many people wondered whether Nixon knew about the burglary or not. Despite his protests that he didn’t know about it, the press continued to investigate. After the discovery of the tapes from the Oval Office came to light, with 18 minutes missing, Nixon knew he was going to be impeached. So instead, he resigned on August 9, 1974
