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Invention of safety elevators
Safety elevators where an important invention to allow for taller building to be built. They had brakes that would stop the elevator in case of an emergency. They were invented by Elisha Otis. -
Homestead act
Congress passed the homestead act. This act was meant to encourage people to move out west. This act would give 160 acres of land in the west to anyone who agreed to live and improve upon the land for 5 years. -
The battle of Antietam
The battle of Antietam was between the north and the south. The battle took place in Maryland. Antietam had a total of 20,000 casualties in a single day, making it the bloodiest day of the civil war. -
Emancipation proclamation
The emancipation proclamation said that all slaves in states in rebellion were free. The emancipation proclamation was given by Abraham Lincoln. The main reason for the proclamation was to make the civil war officially about slavery and to keep Britain and France from allying with the south. -
The battle of Gettysburg
This was the second attempt the south made to invade the north. The battle lasted three days and had 50,000 casualties. This battle is considered the bloodiest battle of the war. -
President Lincoln’s assassination
Lincoln was assassinated shortly after the end of the war. He was killed in fords theater while he was watching a play. The killer was John Wilkes booth. -
The 13th Amendment
This amendment abolished slavery. The amendment did however still allows slavery and involuntary servitude to be used as punishment for criminals. This was a major step towards equal rights. -
Purchase of Alaska
Secretary of State William Seward bought Alaska from Russia. It cost 7.2 million dollars to buy Alaska. Many people disapproved of the purchase calling Alaska a barren wasteland. -
The 14th amendment
This amendment guaranteed citizenship rights to all Americans. This gave former slaves equal opportunity to white people. This was an important amendment for black people. -
Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge
This was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its construction. It measured 1,595.5 feet long. It was designed by John Roebling -
Completion of transcontinental railroad
The central pacific railroad and Union Pacific railroad met in promontory point, Utah. This completed the transcontinental railroad. This was a huge step forward for settling the west. -
The battle of little big horn
This was a battle between the Indians and Americans. Americans discovered that the land that they had given to the Indians to live on was valuable so they offered to buy it back. The Indians refused the deal so the Americans decided to fight for it. The Indians were the victors of this battle. -
Building of the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal was built in panama. It greatly reduced the trip time it took to get from one side of the Americas to the other. America wanted control of the canal so they paid panama 10 million dollars and an annual rent of 250,000 dollars. -
Company v. Wells
This was a case were Ida B. Wells was arrested for refusing to move back to the colored car even though she had bought a first class ticket. She sued the railroad. She won in lower courts but it was eventually overturned in higher courts. -
The Oklahoma land rush
This was a race set up by the government to get the last bit of unclaimed land in the west. People started at the same place and then rushed to put their flag in a designated spot to claim that piece of land. This finished settling the west. -
First person through Ellis island
Ellis island was a place for processing immigrants. The first person through Ellis island after it opened was Annie Moore. She was a young girl traveling with her brother. Once she was through she was awarded a $10 coin. -
The grandfather clause
This was intended to be a loophole for white people who could not afford poll taxes or pass the literacy test. It allowed you to vote if your grandfather could have voted in 1867. This allowed more white people to vote but still excluded many black people since almost all of the time their grandfathers could not have voted. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This was a court case where Plessy was arrested for refusing to move from a white only section of a train. Plessy sued claiming that segregation was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled that segregation was constitutional so long as the facilities were equal. -
The sinking of the U.S.S Maine
The U.S. had sent the Maine to a harbor in Cuba. The Maine exploded while it was there and sunk. Americans blamed Spain and the sinking of the Maine became a catalyst for the Spanish-American war. -
The battle of San Juan Hill
This was a battle during the Spanish American war. The Americans were advancing up the hill and the Spanish soldiers were defending from atop the hill. The Americans won. -
Platt Amendment
This was an amendment drafted by the U.S. that was signed by Cuba. This happened after the Spanish-American war. The amendment limited Cuba’s right to make treaties and borrow money. It also allowed the U.S. to keep a naval base on Cuba. -
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was created. This organizations mission is too ensure the equality of minority group citizens of States. They were able to make good advancements. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The Lusitania was a British passenger ship. The Germans sunk this ship because they said it was carry ammunition. However people didn’t believe this was true and were outraged at the sinking. -
The great migration
The great migration was took place from 1910-1920. Many African Americans didn’t want to live in the southern states anymore. So they moved up north. -
Formation of national women's party
The NWP was formed by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. This organization campaigned for the first equal rights amendment. They had a large involvement in women's suffrage. -
The Zimmerman telegram
This was a telegram sent from the Germans to the Mexicans. It offered a treaty between them where if America joined the war Mexico would fight against them alongside the Germans. In exchange if the Germans won they would help Mexico get land from the US. -
America joins the war
America stayed neutral for most of WW1. The gave supplies and loans to both sides but they didn’t send any troops. America didn’t officially declare war and start sending troops until almost the end of the war. -
End of world war 1
This was a war with enough countries involved to consider it a world war. Most of these countries got pulled in because of alliances. This was one of the biggest wars ever. It was ended by the treaty of Versailles. -
The 18th amendment
The 18th amendment was added. This amendment outlawed the selling, making, or transporting of alcohol. This was also referred to as prohibition. -
The 19th amendment
The 19th amendment was added to the constitution. This amendment gave women the right to vote. It was the result of protests from women and men. -
Stock market crash
This day is referred to as Black Tuesday. The stock market crashed terribly. Losses exceeded 26 million dollars. -
FDR is elected president
Franklin Roosevelt ran in the election 1932. He was democratic party’s nomination. He won the presidency. -
AAA
AAA stand for agricultural adjustment act. This act was passed by Franklin Roosevelt as part of the new deal. This act paid farmers to stop growing crops hopefully stopping overproduction. -
The 21st amendment
The 21st amendment was passed. This amendment repealed the 18th amendment. It made alcohol legal again -
Roosevelt new deal ends
The new deal was president Roosevelt plan to bring America out of the depression. It did seem to accomplish some of that. However more republicans became critical of it so it lost its support. -
WW2 starts
The start for the WW2 was when Germany invaded Poland. Germany was trying to build a empire and the rest of Europe was trying to avoid war. However the invasion of Poland was the last straw for Europe. -
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese surprise attacked Pearl Harbor. This was damaging to America’s navy. This was also the event that brought America into the war. -
The battle of Stalingrad
This was a battle in Stalingrad. The Allie’s won. This was a huge victory for the Allie’s. -
D-day
This was when the Allie’s invaded Poland to take it back from Germany. It had a huge number of casualties. The Allie’s were successful. -
Battle of the bulge
This was a battle we’re the Allie’s we’re getting close to Germany. Hitler wanted to push the Allie's back. The Allie’s won though and took the first German town. -
Hiroshima bombing
The U.S dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This was an alternative to invading Japan. It was an attempt to get the Japanese to surrender. -
Truman doctrine
This was a plan made by President Truman. It was meant to help keep people out of communism. This doctrine helped give finiancil aid to turkey in Greece who were in danger of being taken over by communism. -
Election of 1948
This was a presidential election year. The candidates were harry Truman and Thomas Dewey. Harry Truman won the presidency. -
Closing of Ellis Island
After processing nearly 12 million immigrants Ellis Island stopped having immigrants travel through it. The island was turned into a museum. The museum is still open today. -
First object into space
The Russians sent an object into space. This object was called Sputnik and it was the first thing to ever make it into space. -
The Berlin Wall goes up
After WW2 to many people were leaving the communist side of Berlin and moving to the free side. The Soviet’s started thinking how to stop this and they came up with a solution. They built the Berlin Wall to separate the two sides of Berlin. -
Moon landing
The soviets beet America in the early stages of space exploration. However America was the first to get a man on the moon. This was a monumental step in the advancement of humankind. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The soviets eventually gave up trying to keep people in east Berlin. The wall was finally destroyed by the people in Berlin. This marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was a major world power during the Cold War. They wanted to expand their rule. When the Soviet Union fell it ended the Cold War.