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The Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first woman’s rights conference. Approximately 300 people were in attendance including 40 men. There, they passed 10 resolutions on woman’s rights and wrote the Declaration of Sentiments. -
Macy’s
Macys is the first department store. Cities needed department stores that had everything instead of separate stores for hats or clothing because of the lack of space. -
Colorado and Nevada Gold Rush
100,000 people in search of gold flock to Colorado and Nevada. Towns rapidly appear and grow, these towns are named boom towns. -
The Attack on Fort Sumter
After South Carolina seceded, Union troops were asked to leave the fort, but they refused because the orders weren’t from president Lincoln. After some time, the confederates open fire on the fort, battering them with canon fire all night. In the morning, the Union troops surrender. This marks the beginning of the Civil War. -
Homestead act
The homestead act was put in place to encourage people to move west. It offered 160 acres of free land as long as you promised to live in it and improve it for 5 years. -
Little Round Top (Gettysburg)
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and his men were given the end of the Union line. The confederate troops tried to attack the sides so they could flank the middle. The Union troops get low on ammunition so they fix their bayonets and charge down the hill at the confederate troops. The Confederates get scared and surrender or run away. -
Battle of the Crater
The Union dug a large mine shaft and filled it with explosives in order to blow a hole in the confederate line. It look a month to dig and was ready on July 30th. The explosion took place at 4:45 am and killed 278 confederate troops. The crater was 170 ft long, 60-80 ft wide, and 30 ft deep. The Union fails and they lose 4000 men while the Confederates only lose 1500. -
The 13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment is ratified in December of 1865. This officially makes Slavery illegal. Many southern states don’t ratify this till later because they don’t agree with it. -
1866 Civil Rights Act
This Act passed by congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Freedmen’s Bureau provided food, clothing, shelter, jobs, and education to former slaves and poor whites. Many southerners resented this act. -
Transcontinental Rail Road meet
The transcontinental rail road meet at Promontory Point, Utah. It had 2 start points: Omaha and Sacramento and took 6 years to finish. -
Civil Rights Act of 1875
This act passed by Congress basically made it illegal to discriminate against race. Denying full and equal use of public transportation and public areas became illegal and was a crime. It prohibited discrimination in the jury. But one flaw was that no one was enforcing this act. There will be no more civil rights acts for another 90 years -
Brooklyn Bridge
Designed by John A. Roebling, this was the longest suspension bridge at the time. This bridge is 1595.5 ft long and is a symbol of American ingenuity. -
Statue of Liberty
Frederick Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue and chose where it went. The full name is Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World and commemorates the end of the Revolutionary War. -
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890
The Antitrust act, written by John Sherman, was an attempt to limit the activity of monopolies. Violations of the act include: price fixing, bid rigging, and horizontal agreements. This was the first action taken to prohibit trusts. -
Ellis Island Opens
Ellis island opens as an immigration center. It recieved mainly European immigrants. 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis island and only 2% were turned away. -
Grandfather Clause
The grandfather clause made it so that if your grandfather could vote as of 1867, you could vote. This was a way to give white people a way around the poll tax and literacy test. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Homer Plessy who is 1/8 black sat in the whites only car. He was arrested and so he sued. The case went to the supreme court in which he lost. The supreme court ruled separate but equal -
The U.S.S Maine blows up
The U.S.S Maine, an American, second-class battle ship, is sent to Havana, Cuba. It was sent to protect the American people during the building tension between the Cubans and the Spanish. One day the Maine blows up, killing 260 soldiers. This sends the US into war with the Spanish. -
The Battle of San Juan Hill
Roosevelt leads all the regiments in the battle of San Juan Hill. They endured heavy gunfire while climbing up the hill. At the top they were able to disperse the Spanish and brought in an important American victory in the Spanish-American War. -
Pure Food and Drug Act 1906
The goal of this act was to halt the sale of contaminated food and medicines. It called for all food and medicine to go through an inspection before it was put up for sale. This act lowered the chances of people getting food born illnesses. -
Angel Island Opens
Angel Island opens as Ellis Island’s sister island. It was an immigration station on the west coast, located in San Francisco Bay and recieved mainly Asia immigrants. It was more difficult to get through Angel Island than Ellis Island because it had longer interigations and harder questions. -
The 17 Amendment is ratified
Before this amendment, senators were chosen by state legislatures. This amendment allowed for people to cast direct votes for US senators. -
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie were visiting the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. As their car was turning around, a Bosnian Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, assassinates them both. This sparks the beginning of WW1 -
Panama Canal Finished
America finishes the Panama Canal. What was originally France’s idea, America buys the started canal for $10mil. The construction started in 1904, and ended in 1914. This canal made it so one wouldn’t have to travel all the way around South America. The trip was shortened by 8000mi. -
The sinking of the Lusitania
The sinking of the Lusitania is one of the many factors that brought America into the war. On May 7, 1915, a German u-boat torpedoes a British passenger ship and kills over 1000 people, 123 of which were American citizens. It was later discovered that the ship was carrying ammunition. -
National Woman’s Party
2 suffragettes, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, organize the National woman’s party. They adopted the British suffragettes’ tactics and campaigned for the first equal rights amendment. They were the first to do non-violent protests. They later picket the White House and it eventual ends with many getting arrested. -
The Zimmerman Telegram
One day in January, the US intercepts a telegram from Germany to Mexico. In it, Germany promised to give Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona back to Mexico if they formed an alliance and attacked the US. Obviously this was an outrage, so Congress declared war on Germany. -
The Battle of Belleau Wood
In late May, the Germans had pushed into France about 45 miles of Paris. This was an obvious concern, so the American Marines, under Pershing, attempt to halt German advance. The battle ended June 26th and was an allied victory. This was the first major battle the American forces fought in WW1. -
The 18th Amendment is Ratified
People believed that banning alcohol would solve many problems such as poverty, domestic abuse, liver failure and many of issues. So in 1919, the 18th amendment is ratified. This would later on prove to be a not so great idea. -
The 19th Amendment is ratified
After all the picketing, marching, and protests, the suffragettes finally get the write to vote. In 1919 both houses of Congress passed it, they just needed 3/4 of the states to ratify it. Tennessee was the last one. It seemed that it would just barely fail, but suddenly Harry Burns got a note from his mother to vote yes. So in 1920 the Amendment was added to the Constitution. -
Al Capone is caught
Al Capone was a famous bootlegger from Chicago. He took over the liquor business by killing off his competitors. Eventually he was caught because of tax evasion. He was tried and found guilty on 3 of 23 counts. He was sentenced 11 years in prison and had fines of $50000. He entered prison in May of 1932 -
The 21st Amendment is ratified
After many years of struggle with prohibition, the 18th amendment is repealed by the 21st. Law enforcement lacked the funds, willing to accept bribes. Speakeasies open up and smugglers are making fortunes. Organized crime skyrocketed and it’s impossible to keep people from breaking the law. Prohibition proved to be a bad idea. -
Hawaii becomes a state
After American business groups over through Queen Liliuokalani, Sanford B. Dole sets up a government and runs Hawaii. He wants President Cleveland to annex Hawaii, but Cleveland is against it. Dole refuses to give power back to the queen. Eventually, McKinley declares Hawaii to be a US territory. Later, Eisenhower makes Hawaii the 50th state of the US.