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Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the very first woman’s rights convention and it took two days. It was from July 18 - 20, 1848. While at this convention they wrote a document that was very similar to the Declaration of Independence but making sure that women are included in it. -
Sand Creek Massacre 1864
This battle happened because the Cheyenne would raid the wagon trains and settlements. They wanted to move the Cheyenne but they wouldn’t. That is when Colonel Chivington attacked them on November 29. They didn’t count how many Native Americans were killed but they estimated around 150-500 were killed. After that the Cheyenne agreed to move. -
The “Invisible Empire of the South”
This was otherwise known as the KKK. they were “invisible” because people would chose to ignored and not notice that it was happening. This group was big but it’s greatest strength was in the 1920s when they had over 3 million members. -
Grandfather Clause
The south would pass laws that tried to stop African Americans from voting. This laws says that if a voter’s father or grandfather was eligible to vote on January 1, 1867, then they didn’t have to take a literary test or pay a fee to vote. This brought down the voting population of African Americans a lot. -
President Johnson’s Vetoes
In February 1866 Johnson vetoed the Freedmen’s Bureau and in March 1866 he vetoes the 186y Civil Rights Act. The Congress didn’t like his decision so they passed both of them anyways. Also they passed the 14th Amendment on July 9, 1868 which is the citizenship right amendment and it guarantees everyone the same rights and security. -
Transcontinental Railroad
They started building the railroad in 1863 and it ended in 1869. They laid 1,775 miles of track and over 2,000 men died making the railroad. The Big Four that helped the making of it was Collins P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, and Charles Crocker. It was a very dangerous thing but they got it done and it was a very good thing for the U.S.A. They met in the middle at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869. -
African American “Adjustment” in the South
They created something called sharecropping. Sharecropping is when they rent 40 acres and a mule. This was supposed to help freedmen get money and live a better life. The problem was that you could only buy supplies from the land owner and they would charge you a lot putting you in debt. Then the freedmen couldn’t go anywhere because they had to get out of their debt before they could go anywhere. Also the 15th Ammendment, ratified on February 3, 1870,allowed all races of men to vote. -
The Abandonment of Reconstruction
After awhile the Northern support started to wane. After the election of 1876 where Hayes and Tilden tied they agreed that if they let Hayes win then they also had to end Reconstruction. This was call the “Compromise of 1877”. In all of this the black population in the south lost a lot from this. -
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge was a major event in history being the first suspension bridge. It was finished being built on May 24, 1883 and was designed and built by John A. Roebling. -
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a major part in our history. It was a gift to us from France in 1876. It was designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. It was unveiled to the world on October 28, 1886. -
The Dawes Act of 1887
Congressman Henry Dawes wrote this act. It was important because they thought it would help the Native Americans. This act said that if they became good Americans and gave up their culture then the U.S. would help them out. They would own land, have their kids go to school, and they would need to become farmers. The Natives didn’t like this. -
The Sherman Antitrust Act
This act was passed in 1890 when Benjamin Harrison. This antitrust law was passed by Congress. It was the first law to stop monopolistic businesses. -
Wounded Knee
The Dawes Act changed the Native Americans lives but they didn’t like it. One of their prophets named Prophet Wovoka told them that if they did a dance called the Ghost Dance then they would rise again. Some of the officials saw this and got concerned and killed Sitting Bull. The Sioux gathered at a creek and the army surrounded them. They were trying to settle this when a shot was fired and 150 Sioux and 25 soldiers were killed. This was the last major conflict with the Native Americans. -
Ellis Island
Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892. This is a place where immigrants would come to see if they could enter the country. They would take test and get a medical check up to see if they were well enough to get into the country. They mainly focused on the eyes during the medical test. Ellis Island was finally closed on November 12, 1954. -
Plessy vs Ferguson
The Plessy vs Ferguson was when Supreme Court ruled that segregation was legal as long as facilities were “separate but equal”. The thing was no one cared about the African Americans and so they made everything separate but it was not equal. -
Destruction of USS Maine
This event in 1898 started the Spanish-American War. On February 15, 1898 the Maine explodes and kills 260 people. America blames Spain and declares war on them. Later they find out that the ship blew up from the inside not the outside, so it wasn’t Spain’s fault. -
Battle of Manila Bay
Commadore George Dewey went out to defeat Spain’s navy. He successfully beat them in 6 hours. This made the world notice that the US was a powerful country. The end of this war resulted in the US gaining Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines and Cuba was given independence. -
Carrie Nation Attacks Bar
On December 27, 1900, Carrie Nation makes her first attack on a Kansas bar. She was part of the temperance movement and she was active in trying to make it happen. She would attack bars with a hatchet and was very well known for it. -
Us buys Panama Canal
On January 22, 1903 the United States bought the Panama Canal. The US declared the “Canal Zone” for $10 million plus $250,000 a year. -
Pure Food and Drug Act 1906
The Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 halted contamination in our food. It also halted contaminated medications and called for truthful labeling. It was the first of many food and drug acts. -
Angel Island
Angel Island is like Ellis Island except it is on the west side of the country. It is located in San Francisco Bay. Most people that came here were from Asia. Later the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 ended Chinese immigration. Angel Island opened on January 21, 1910 and closed on November 5, 1940. -
Official Program Woman Suffrage Procession
This parade showed women as leaders riding on horses. They were dress up and had banners saying “Votes for Women”. It was lead by two women named Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. These two women went on to start the National Women’s Party. -
Sinking of Lusitania
The Lusitania was a passenger ship with 1200 passengers and crew on board. Out of this 1200 were 120 Americans. Germany sunk the ship claiming it was carrying ammunition. They found out later that it was in fact carrying ammunition. -
Joining the War
On April 6, 1917, America joined the Great War. They joined mainly because of three reasons. One was because of blockades. America couldn’t trade with the other countries because they were blocking each other. The second reason is Germany sinking a lot of our boats using submarines. The third reason is the Zimmerman Note. This note was from Germany to Mexico and it said that if Mexico joined Germany by attacking the US, then they would help them get Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona back. -
Selective Service Act 1917
This act was effective on May 18, 1917. This act let the US federal government raise a national army through conscription. This act was canceled at the end of the war on November 11, 1918. -
Espionage Act
The espionage act was effective on June 15, 1917. This act forbids actions that obstructed recruitment. The punishment for doing this was 20 years in prison or a $10,000 fine. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a treaty made between Germany and the Allied powers except for the US. The US had a different treaty with Germany. But the Treaty of Versailles made Germany take all the blame for the war when they didn’t even start it. -
18th Amendment
The 18th Amendment was finished on January 16, 1919. This amendment banned the making and selling of alcohol. Many people went against this amendment because they wanted alcohol. This is when speakeasies were made. -
The 19th Amendment
This amendment was ratified on August 20, 1920. Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify. This amendment allowed women to vote and was a big part in our history. -
Scopes Trial
This trial started on July 10, 1925 when John scopes decided to teach evolution to his class when it was against the law to teach it. ACLU hired Clarence Darrow to defend Scopes and William Jennings Bryan was against them. Both of these lawyer were the most well known lawyers at the time. At the end Scopes was declared guilty and it ended on July 21, 1925. -
Charles Lindbergh Flight
On May 21, 1927 Charles Lindbergh landed in Paris completing his flight. He flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean. It took him 33 hours. -
St. Valentines Day Massacre
In this massacre 7 men in the Moran gang were shot to death. A group of men came in dressed as the police and cornered them and then shot all of them quickly. -
The Crash
The Crash was officially on October 29, 1929. This day was called “Black Tuesday”. There wasn’t truly one day where the stock market crashed but this was the worst day. The crash wasn’t a cause of the depression but it was a symptom. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff
This act was signed into the law on June 17, 1930. This act raised taxes on imports by a lot. They raised tariffs on U.S imports up to 50%. This made other countries raise their tariffs or cut off trade all together. -
Revenue Act of 1932
The federal government decided that they needed to balance the federal budget. This is when they passed the Revenue Act of 1932. This act was the largest peacetime income tax increase. It raised 1% to 4% and 23% to 63%. -
Bonus Army Attacked
Over 20,000 jobless vets demanded their bonus early. They marched onto the captital when Roosevelt asked the Secretary of War to stop the troops but they attacked them instead. Four vets were killed and many were injured. -
New Deal
The new deal started when Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president. The new deal was his plan to end the depression. There were some limits to the new deal. It wasn’t a permanent solution and it permitted discrimination against African Americans, Hispanic Americans, women, and others. Also the level of government assistance varied by state. -
WWII Starts in Europe
War starts in Europe because Germany invades Poland. The Allies step in the help but Germany takes France too. Now Great Britain is fighting by themselves. -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941 Japan attacked the US navy. The USS Arizona was hit the hardest and over 1100 lives were lost. In all 2887 Americans were dead. But Japan still didn’t destroy as much as they would’ve liked too. -
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was also called D-Day. Eisenhower lead this invasion on June 6, 1944. It was the largest land-sea-air operation in military history. This war went on for months but they finally freed France in September 1944. -
VE-Day
VE stands for Victory in Europe. The war in Europe ended on May 8, 1945. Franklin Roosevelt died just a month before the war ended. Hitler took his life on April 30 because he knew he lost and didn’t want to be there when it ended. -
Hiroshima Bombing
The US sent planes to drop thousands fliers all over Japan saying that they needed to escape because they were going to bomb that area in a few days. Japan didn’t surrender so on August 6, 1945 the US dropped the atomic bomb Little Boy on Hiroshima. They still didn’t surrender so a few days later we drop the bomb Fat man on Nagasaki. -
VJ-Day
Japan surrenders on August 14,1945 but the official date of VJ-Day is September 2, 1945. VJ stands for Victory in Japan. The war is finally over. After the war is done Japan is occupied by the US. -
Truman Doctrine
This doctrine asked Congress for $400 million to go to Turkey and Greece to give them military and economic assistance. This was supposed to help rebuild places after the war. -
NSC-68
This increased the defense spending from $13 billion to $50 billion. This increased the taxes a lot. -
Stalin Dies
On March 5, 1953, Joseph Stalin dies in Moscow. He lead the Soviet Union since 1924. He died of a heart attack. This meant a new leader had to rise and take his place. -
Bus Boycott
On December 5, 1955 over 40,000 African Americans stop riding the buses to work. They represented close to 60-70% of the people who rode the bus. This made very bad business for the bus companies. After 382 days the boycott ended with the Supreme Court ruling segregation on buses unconstitutional. -
Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 was the first satellite in space. It was a Soviet satellite and was launched October 4, 1957. It orbited the Earth for 92 days and came back down on June 4,1958. -
Hawaii Becomes a State
On August 21, 1959, Hawaii was made an official state of the United States. People from Hawaii didn’t really like becoming a state and they still would like to be their own country. -
Sit-ins
Four black men decided to sit at a table they weren't supposed to but it wasn't illegal so they couldn't get in trouble but the restaurant wouldn't serve them. Soon many others joined them in sitting at the table and took up almost all the seats in the restaurant. They would take turns so that no one else could sit there. This went on for many days and it started in other places too. -
Freedom Rides
13 people board two buses in Washington D.C. and head down to New Orleans, Louisiana. The buses were filled with 7 blacks and 6 whites. These riders rode the bus to draw attention to the Boynton vs Virginia case. One bus was bombed and the other was attacked by a mob. -
Warren Commission
The Warren Commission was established on November 29, 1963 by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of John F. Kennedy. They found out that Lee Oswald acted alone. Everything that the commission found out have been very controversial and we don't know if it true or not. -
Gulf of Tonkin
In the Gulf of Tonkin, 2 American ships were sunk because the North Vietnamese fired at it. This brings the US into the war. The first ship was shot at on August 2, 1964. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
“Operation Rolling Thunder” started on March 2,1965. It was nonstop bombing on Hanoi and the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This went on for three years. -
Selma March
600 African Americans started the march. Police blocked their way and used clubs, chains, and electric cattle prods to stop them from going any further. They marched for voting rights legislation. -
US lands on the Moon
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. They were the first human beings to walk on the moon. Apollo 11 was the name of their spacecraft. -
Kent State University
On May 4, 1970 there was a protest on the Kent State University campus. This protest got out of hand and people started to fight. 4 students were shot dead and 11 students were wounded. -
Last American out of Vietnam
Early January 1973 the Paris Peace Treaty ended the US involvement in the Vietnam war. They pulled out their troops slowly and eventually on March 29, 1973 the last soldier was pulled out of battle. -
"I'm not a crook"
This speech was given by Richard Nixon on November 17, 1973. At one point in his speech he says, “"I have earned every cent. And in all of my years of public life I have never obstructed justice.” Awhile after this speech was given he resigned as president and pardoned by Ford because he saw that he would go down bad if they went through with the impeachment.
