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Naturalization Law
1790-Naturalization law was put in place. This law limits access to citizenship in the United States to white immigrants. Mainly western Europe, this sets the tone on immigration for public and political action taking place. -
Instituted for Colored Youth
The Instituted for Colored Youth was the first college dedicated for African Americans in The United States. Located in Pennsylvania, it was founded and funded by an abolitionist quaker. This was significant because schooling for African Americans was prohibited during this time. -
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush begins. A large amount of gold is discovered in California that brings a giant herd of people to the area in hopes of finding gold. We also see a large amount of Chinese immigrants come to America for the first time because of the gold rush. -
Irish Women Labor
Irish women work domestic service jobs. It was reported that 80% of domestic servant workers were Irish. These jobs included housework and sewing. This is significant because with the great migration coming in the next couple of decades, these jobs would be replaced by African Americans. -
Irish Prostitution in New York
William Sagner releases an expose on prostitution in New York City. He found in his data that 58% of the prostitutes were Irish. This is significant because oftentimes Irish immigrant women were sent to America because of their “purity” to earn money for their families. -
The Conscription Act
The Conscription Act passes. The Conscription Act or the Enrollment Act was a bill drafting new military reinforcements for the Union army during the civil war. A lot of anger arose and it led to the New York City draft riot. -
Ending of The Civil War
The Civil War ends. The bloodiest war America has seen comes to an end with the Union declaring victory over the confederate South. The first year after the war ends, many southern lower class individuals view South in a deceitful way. -
"The Lost Cause" is written
Edward Poland writes “The Lost Cause”. A book proclaiming that with the South defeat, their ideas would carry on. Meaning this formation of Confederate sympathizers backed by white supremacist values. -
Virginia Hypo-descent Codes
In Virginia, that congressional body recognized any individual with one fourth of “negro” blood shall be deemed a “colored” person. This notion was to further oppress black people and discourage intermarriage. -
Standard Oil Begins
J D Rockefeller starts what would soon be the mega corporation that is Standard Oil. This business became wildly successful primarily through their practices of horizontal integration. While standing as a monopoly, Rockefeller became extremely wealthy. -
Foundling Asylum Funding Cuts
The Foundling Asylum city funds were cut. Detractors pushed for funding cuts because they felt that the Charity would increase infanticide. However once the funding was cut off infanticide increased dramatically in New York. -
Childrens Law
This law based out of New York seeked to help and protect children regarding orphanages and homelessness. Catholic churches ran charities and orphanages funded by private donors, however this law provided state funds for the children who needed protection. -
The Socialist Labor Party
The Socialist Labor party was founded. The Socialist Labor party wanted industrial unionism to reorganize the structure of the working class. A lot of similar political parties came about during this time all looking to advance workers rights while still fitting in the capitalist system. -
J G Holland Releases a Book Justifying Poverty
J. G Holland writes a story where a nice rich man tries to help the poor and gets taken advantage of. However, after policing the beggars through discipline, they became workers. In this fantasy Holland was trying to say that those who do not work shall perish and that that is just. -
Progress and Poverty Written by Henry George
Henry George writes and publishes “Progress and Poverty”. The book is about how poverty isn’t a product of laziness like it was mostly understood at the time. This book was very influential at the time to a lot of working class individuals. -
The Greenback Party
James B Weaver runs under the Greenback party in the presidential election and gets three percent of the vote. The Greenback party was a political party that mainly stood for an increase in the money supply during the late 19th century. They also stood to break up monopolies through the power of the federal government. -
The Red Cross Organization was Established
It had come to be known as the official volunteer aid organization of the United States.Originally funded and staffed by private investment, during WW1 public funds amounted to the ARC receiving over 400 million in aid for the American population. -
Francis Galton and Eugenics
Francis Galton was the original creator of the eugenics theory. Eugenics is and was a racist theory that promoted anti interracial relations in order to “protect desirable heritable characteristics.” It was portrayed as scientific and used to promote racially biased legislation in the early 20th century. -
The Pendleton Act
The Pendleton Act was created. The Pendleton Act looked to get rid of the spoils system by stating that government positions would be filled by merit. It also made it so the president could assign such positions which in hand, expanded the federal government's powers. -
Grover Cleveland elected president
Grover Cleveland gets elected president. This election broke a streak of republican presidents who stood for protective tariffs. Grover Cleveland belonged to the democratic party which at the time, stood for limited government. -
Irish Immigrant Population
Irish born New Yorkers accounted for 25% of the city's population. Irish women also far outnumbered Irish men 58% This was a product of the mass migration waves bringing a lot of Western Europeans over during the mid to late 19th century. -
Henry George Runs for Mayor
Henry George runs for mayor of New York City. Running under the United Labor Party, Henry George campaigned on the representation of the working class and the injustices imposed on them. He came in second in the runnings with 68,000 votes. -
The Dawes Act
The Dawes act shifted the reservation land held by Native Americans dramatically smaller. Native Americans were given very little to compensate for this stealing of land. With the Dawes Act, many Native Americans had no money and bad land. -
Lodge Force Bill
Lodge Force Bill- The last attempt by republican legislatures to defend African American voting rights. It was struck down by Southern Democrats, and concerned Midwestern republicans. -
Phoenix Indian School
The Phoenix Indian school was established. A famous boarding school located in Phoenix. It is the school where a famous Native American wrote about her diet and her experience with the new food traditions of western society. -
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The UDC (United Daughters of the Confederacy) is a southern based organization with the goal to shine a more positive light on the confederate south in the civil war. With monuments and other movements the UDC united the divided South on the pretext of heritage towards confederate soldiers. They went as far as influencing education by writing history books from their narrative. -
Protestant Try to Tear Down Catholic Charities.
Protestant movements tried to dismantle Catholic charity organizations. The New York State Constitutional Convention tried to completely cut off funding for these organizations which furthered this narrative, however did not come with complete success by the protestants. -
Populism as a movement falls apart
Populism sees a crushing defeat as it splits on its head that quickly leads to the party's downfall. -Southern populist wanted a strictly populist candidate, midwest and western populists alike opted for the Democratic candidate on the premise of implementing the silver coinage into the money supply. -
Daniel De Leon Speech at a Workers Strike
Daniel De Leon gives a speech to textile workers on strike. In his speech he depicted the owner of the factory vacationing in Florida while the workers worked. His point being that the capitalist will have to go to work, if the workers stopped working. (staying on strike) -
The Union Labor Party
The Union Labor party was founded. The Union Labor party at its core stood for working class individuals that wanted public ownership of utilities. With that, they also wanted to advance public works, through a U.S citizen only hiring process. -
J.P Morgan Buys Carnage Steel
J.P Morgan acquires Carnage Steel. By doing this, J.P Morgan further advanced his monopoly on the steel industry. With that, his already full control of the railroad industry. The total price of the transaction was $480 million. -
Theodore Roosevelt Becomes President
Theodore Roosevelt became president after the murder of Mckinley. While initially running under the Republican party, Roosevelt vouched for 20th century progressive initiatives that changed the landscape of American politics forever. -
Socialists Renters Union
1911-The Socialists Renters Union is formed. It is formed on the pretext that Southern farmers felt as if they were being treated unfairly. The lucrative business of tenant farming in the South lead to lack of social mobility for a large percentage of the population. -
Biracial Renters Union
In Texas, there was a rise in tenant and sharecropping among the working class of whites, Mexicans and blacks. Showcasing the the extent the poor farmers distain for the conditions they were under due to aggressive loans that kept them in debt. The union did not not stand, however the attempt is important in uniting race against the system. -
Woodrow Wilson Takes Office as President of The United States
Running under the party of the progressives, Wilson is most notable for residing during WW1, prohibition and his creation of the League of Nations which ultimately failed. Wilson being a controversial figure, his reputation has changed throughout American history. -
US declares war on Germany therefore joining WW1
WW1 had been going on on the other side of the Atlantic for nearly 3 years as America was posed in this state of isolationism. After a German telegram was intercepted by British intelligence that was asking for Mexico to invade America, Woodrow Wilson got support to join the war. -
Child Labor Laws in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Child Labor Laws in 1917 made it so children must go to public school until the age of 16. This had a large impact on the emerging youth culture as social interaction with diverse groups of people became more common. -
Tenant Farming in the South
In Texas, one third of all families traveled to new farms in hopes of a better year. Tenancy and sharecropping was rampant in the South and it caused many poor families to travel from farm to farm barely scraping by. Lucrative banks made it so they could never break event. -
Prohibition of Alcohol
On this day the 18th Amendment was ratified. The 18th Amendment put a ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in The United States. A controversial law that would be repealed a little more than a decade later. -
Women Gain the Right to Vote
On this day, the 19th Amendment was ratified. The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote on state and federal levels. Specifically, it made it so US citizens would be given the right to vote regardless of sex. -
Junior Red Cross's Roster Declines
The JRC (Junior Red Cross) saw a massive decline in membership following the end of World War One. This followed the trend of the American public falling into a state of isolationism that detached people from international affairs. -
"Faithful Slave" is presented on the senate floor
A senate bill to fund a monument to the “faithful slave” that would be built in Washington D.C was struck down. As late as 1923 did America see national approval for such a monument just a year before the Lincoln memorial would be built. -
Immigration Restriction Act
Immigration Restriction Act passes. This was a major change in the American Immigration policy. It changes the landscape of how immigration works. It now turned into a quota system that limits the amount of immigrants, and heavily preferred Northern Europeans. -
Virginia Racial Integrity Act of 1924
The Virginia Racial Integrity Act of 1924 was enacted. This act was the first written law that defined what being white was. The point of the edict was to ban intermarriage between Whites and non whites in order to preserve whiteness. It also classified all documents to people as white or colored. -
Johnson-Reed Act
The Federal government passed the Johnson Reed Act which restricted immigration from eastern and mediterranean Europe. This was all part of the larger immigration reform that happened this same year. Immigration would then be based on a quota system that limited those who were not western and northern Europeans. -
Wall Street Crash of 1929
A major crash in the stock market located out of New York City occurred which plummeted the value of stocks all across the world. Often recognized as the beginning of the Great Depression in America, however, it is not how the great depression happened, but merely a product of the reasons how the Great Depression happened. -
Tenancy rising Texas
Between 1900-1930 the rate of renters in Texas exceeded 60 percent. These farmers, were considered ignorant and inefficient by many as to explain why there economic status got worse and worse. Many of the farmers even had to take on sharecropping which was even more lucrative and lacked social mobility access. -
Civilian Conservation Corps
As a response to the economic crisis now known as the Great Depression, FDR signed into law and created a government workforce in order to help get young men back to work. These men would go around the country working on infrastructure all while having these boys send money back to their families who were struggling. -
Public Works Administration
The PWA was a new deal program in order to counteract and stable the economy during the great depression. While never fully recovering from the Great Depression as a result of this program, it put numerous individuals back to work and allowed public work operations to prop up around the country. -
FDR Gets Elected
Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office for the first time. This was during the beginning of the Great Depression and the country was looking for someone new as Hoover’s administration was not capable of handling the economic crisis. Roosevelt would go on to have one of the most impactful presidential terms ever. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
On this day Japan launched a surprise attack on a Pacific military base in Hawaii. It killed 2,000 people and took out a number of military-grade ships and planes. This attack caused America to declare war against Japan. Because of a treaty between Japan and Germany, Germany declared war on America, therefore, getting America officially a part of World War II. -
Yalta Conference
In February of 1945 the head of the three superpowers on the Allies side of World War II, FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin discussed post-war Europe. While the war was still going on, the end was looking near, and the three leaders met to discuss what Europe would look like, and how it would be divided up. While official plans were not made, it served as a prelude to what would be the cold war and each side's territory. -
Atomic Bomb Hits Hiroshima
The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima Japan. On this day the United States dropped the first of the two atomic bombs that would eviscerate the towns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The death toll would reach six figures and have lasting diseases in the areas for decades. This bomb also had a major effect on warfare as the looming threat of an atomic bomb being dropped hung over the world. -
The Agricultural Act of 1949
The Agricultural Act of 1949 changed the way food was distributed to schools around the United States. Intended to implement school lunches across the country, for many, it created high carb diets with little nutritional value. -
Racial Integrity Act of 1924 was Repealed
The act originally changed the personal documentation classification system that categorized people into “white” or “colored” groups. Although it was repealed in the year 1967, it did irreversible damage to the history of Native American tribes and their identity.