-
Lincoln presents his “ten percent plan”
This “ten percent plan” was a three-part proposal that, most notably, required ten percent of the Southern voting population to sign an oath of allegiance to the United States. This also included a general pardon of all Southerners except for high-ranking Confederate officials. In addition, it required each state to create a new state constitution that included emancipation of freed slaves. -
President Lincoln is assassinated
While attending a play at the now infamous Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C., President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln was succeeded by his then Vice President, Andrew Johnson. This is often seen as one of the most notable and polarizing events in the near aftermath of the Civil War. -
The Transcontinental Railroad is completed
After seven years of construction, beginning after the passing of the Pacific Railroad Act, the First Transcontinental Railroad was finished. This railroad connected Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California, and ultimately connected the Western Frontier with the Eastern United States. -
The U.S. is Unified
With the final ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment by Georgia, the United States was now officially whole again. This was one of the most momentous occasions of the Reconstruction Era, as every state was now officially a part of the Union again. -
The Haymarket Affair
In this notable labor strike meeting, anarchist labor unionists gathered in Haymarket Square in Chicago after the death of a protester the day prior. After armed police officers arrived, a member of the crowd threw a bomb at the police, leading to a riot and the arrest (and eventual murder sentence) of the seven speakers of the meeting. -
How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis is Published
One of the most influential books of the time, How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis details the appalling conditions of the poorest neighborhoods of the Gilded Age in New York City. This book includes photographs taken by Riis showing these houses and apartments of the lower 50%. -
The Wounded Knee Massacre
In what was the final battle of the “Indian Wars,” the US 7th Cavalry had been chasing the fleeing Lakota members who had been practicing “Ghost Dances,” or a religious dance that told of a savior that would deliver their people from the white oppression. Upon catching the Lakotas at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, the soldiers arrested the Lakotas and, after a gun was fired, the soldiers opened fire and hundreds of men, women, and children were murdered. -
The Pullman Strike
In another disastrous strike for laborers, the Pullman Strike saw the blockade and stoppage of railroads across the country in response to the harsh conditions in the factory town of Pullman, Illinois. This strike ended on July 13, 1894 after President Cleveland attached U.S. mail cars to each train. If the workers continued to block the trains, they would be arrested because it was illegal to block the movement of American mail. -
The Atlanta Compromise
Booker T. Washington, a prominent leader of the early Civil Rights Movements, gave his “Atlanta Compromise” speech to a mixed race crowd in Atlanta, Georgia. This speech focused on betterment of African Americans within their own communities and proving their worth to white Americans. This was widely accepted by both black and white Americans, as they both saw it as an opportunity to better each other. -
The USS Maine
Mere days after the US Navy arrived in Cuba to observe the conflict between Cuba and Spain, the USS Maine warship sank because of an explosion, and it was speculated that the Spanish blew it up. This was the catalyst for the US’s involvement in the short-lived Spanish-American War. -
The U.S. Children’s Bureau is Created
With support of the National Child Labor Committee, President Taft signed into law the creation of the U.S. Children’s Bureau, the first agency in the world that was solely focused on the protections of children. This bureau, within the Department of Commerce and Labor, provided protections for children like workplace exploitation. -
The Panama Canal is Completed
Ten years after acquiring the canal project from France following the Panamanian uprising against Colombia, the Panama Canal was officially completed and the first passage by the SS Ancon was finished. -
The Zimmermann Telegram
A top secret message by German foreign minister Arthur Zimmermann was intercepted by British intelligence as it was en route to Mexico. This telegram asked Mexico to assist Germany in the Great War by attacking America in exchange for its former territories like Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. This was the final blow to the United States that eventually pushed President Wilson to ask Congress for a Declaration of War against Germany. -
Black Tuesday
On this famed Tuesday in October, the New York Stock Exchange, or the stock market, saw one of the most catastrophic crashes of its existence. This was one of the main issues that plummeted the US into the Great Depression. -
The Emergency Banking Act of 1933
This major legislation, signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was the first of the major acts associated with the First New Deal. This act took the US off of the gold standard which limited money circulation, forcing industries to spend money and causing a circulation of the economy. -
The Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Early in the morning of December 7, Japanese pilots entered Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and began attacking the US Naval fleet. This attack is ultimately known as the single most important event that brought the US into World War II. -
The Bombing of Hiroshima
On the morning of August 16, the American B-29 Bomber plane, Enola Gay, dropped the first live-atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This was the first time an atomic bomb was used outside of testing after it was created by Dr. Robert Oppenheimer. -
The Korean War
On June 25, 1950, five years after the end of World War II, the US entered into the first of their proxy wars with Russia during the Cold War. This war was fought between American-backed South Korea and Soviet-backed North Korea after North Korea crossed the 38th-parallel line, the dividing line between the two nations. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
On July 2, President Lyndon B. Johnson helped fulfill President Kennedy’s promise of providing civil rights for all Americans by signing into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This provided protection for African Americans by banning discrimination by race or gender in public spaces and in employment. -
The Watergate Scandal
During the campaign to re-elect President Richard Nixon, his Committee to Re-Elect the President, or CREEP, was found attempting to wiretap phones on June 17, 1972, at the Democratic National Convention in an attempt to sabotage the Democratic Party and its nominees. This scandal led to President Nixon’s resignation amid an impending impeachment trial; he was to resign the first in US Presidential history.