American History 2 Technology Project 3: American History from 1876 to 1941
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1876 Presidential Election
Rutherford B. Hayes lost the popular vote but won the White House, causing much political controversy. -
First Telephone call
By Alexander Graham Bell. -
Battle of the Little Bighorn
General Custer and the seventh calvary were defeated by Lakota Sioux tribespeople. -
Haymarket Riot
A misunderstanding between police thinking striking workers were anarchists led to multiple deaths and later hangings of innocent men. it was a severe setback for the union movement and was the nail in the coffin for the Knights of Labor. -
Sherman Anti-Trust Act is Enacted
This act worked against the massive trusts that dominated American industry spurring terrible working conditions and hours. -
Panic of 1893
A decline in the stock market led to an economic panic that brought America into the second worst depression besides the Great Depression. -
The Pullman Strike
Railroad workers across the nation went on strike in one of the nation's largest. President Cleveland ended the strike by sending Federal troops to break up the strike. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This Supreme Court trial essentially legalized Jim Crow laws and racial segregation in America. "separate but equal" -
William Mckinely Elected President
With Mckinely elected, the US began raising tariffs and became more imperialist. -
The Spanish-American War
The Spanish War began as tensions between the US and Spain were increasing in the Caribbean. The explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba spurred the US to intervene and help Cuba gain independence from Spain. The US emerged victorious and holding many of Spain's previous territories in the Caribbean and Pacific. -
Battle of San Juan Hill
Theodore Roosevelt's moment of fame, he led his "Rough Riders" in a successful charge on the Spanish base. A turning point in the war in Cuba. -
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The Progressive Era
This was a period of social reform in the US as more progressive/liberal ideas became more common and acceptable and women pushed for their own suffrage. -
Mckinely assassinated and Roosevelt President
President William McKinley is assassinated, and his vice president Theodore Roosevelt is inaugurated as U.S. president. -
Wright Brothers achieve flight
In Kitty Hawk NC. First successful flight that would usher the era of the plane. -
Panama Canal is started
The US purchases the Panama Canal strip for $10 million and begins construction later that year. -
The Jungle sparks a change in Food Safety
Muckraker Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" exposed massive errors in the meatpacking industry among others that brought about changes in legislation for better safety for workers and consumers. -
First Ford Model T
The car is a staple of the modern world and it all started here, with the Ford Model T. -
Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire
The fire, which took 500 lives, prompted massive changes and establishments of building codes and safety regulations for buildings. -
The RMS Titanic sinks
After striking an iceberg in the night, the massive cruise ship sinks, with over 1500 deaths -
16th Amendment
Income tax -
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World War 1
When war erupted in Europe, the US remained neutral, choosing to support the Allies with supplies instead of getting directly involved in the conflict. But in 1917 when Germany broke its agreement with the US to not sink US ships in the Atlantic, the US declared war on Germany and soon after sent troops into France. -
Lusitania sunk by German U-boat
The British ship, carrying many US citizens, was sunk with almost no survivors. This prompted the US to issue Germany a strong warning against any future attacks on merchant or cruise ships, to which it agreed, until it broke its agreement in 1917. -
2 Bloodiest battles of World War 1
At the Battle of the Somme, 1.5 million people were killed and Battle of Verdun, killed an estimated 1.25 million people. -
League of Nations founded
The league was the unsuccessful predecessor to the United Nations. -
The 18th Amendment
The legal prohibition of alcohol, leading to many underground societies manufacturing and selling alcohol. -
19th Amendment to the US Constitution
Women were granted suffrage with this amendment, allowing them to vote and allowing a vast proportion of the American Populus to have a real effect on their country. -
KKK resurgence
A massive nationalist movement was capitalized by the KKK, who made themselves out to be the true patriots of the country, trying to root out those who weren't. In reality the group was just as racist, prejudiced and violent as it was in decades past. This group worked against progressivism and the America of the future. -
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The Teapot Dome scandal
Government land was secretly being leased out to private companies. Harding was president and his administration's reputation tanked. -
Scopes Trial Verdict
The trial about whether it was legal to allow the teachings of Charles Darwin in public schools, but the trial evolved into being about fundamental Christians vs progressive Americans. Scopes was found guilty. -
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The Great Depression
Began with the crash of the stock market in 1929, caused by unfounded and unreasonably high credit. Soon multiple panics emptied the banks of their funds and 1000s went under. Demand fell and prices rose. Inflation rose and unemployment soared to 25%. -
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The New Deal
The New Deal was the group of organizations,financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939 to help combat the negative effects of the Great Depression. -
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World War 2
Began with Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939, the war soon was being fought in west and east Europe, Africa and eventually the Pacific. The Axis powers, Germany Italy and Japan, fought against England, France, Russia and later the US for the fate of the world. The Allies were victorious after 6 years of fighting and millions of lives lost. -
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The Pacific Theater
The Pacific Theater of World War 2 began with the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The US and Japan fought intense battles on the many small islands of the Pacific, with the US scoring critical victories at the Battle of Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway. Eventually the US was ready to invade the Japanese mainland, but instead of risking potentially millions of lives, the US dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese surrendered shortly after, ending World War 2.