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American Revolution begins
On April 19, 1775, British and American soldiers fired upond each other in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord. -
Constitution adopted
Constitutional Convention approved the documents over which they had labored since May.Before the Constitution could become the law of the land, it would have to withstand public scrutiny and debate -
Abraham Lincoln takes office as president and Civil War begins
Abraham Lincoln takes presidential office and Civil war starts. -
President Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. -
First Labor Day parade in New York City
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Industrial Workers of the World founded
In the 1910s and early '20s, the IWW achieved many of their short-term goals, particularly in the American west, and cut across traditional guild and union lines to organize workers in a variety of trades and industries. -
United States enters World War I
On April 6, 1917, the U.S. joined its allies--Britain, France, and Russia--to fight in World War I. -
19th Amendment to the Constitution gives women the right to vote
"Joint Resolution of Congress proposing a constitutional amendment extending the right of suffrage to women." -
Davis-Bacon Act provides for prevailing wages on publicly funded construction projects
The Davis–Bacon Act of 1931 is a United States federal law that establishes the requirement for paying the local prevailing wages on public works projects for laborers and mechanics. -
National Labor Union founded
"On August 20, 1866, the National Labor Union, made up of skilled and unskilled workers, farmers, and reformers, called on Congress to order an eight-hour workday."
