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Flu Epidemic
American Soldiers carried it to Europe, many had died, over 40 million deaths. -
18th Amendment Ratified
Sale of alcohol in the US is now prohibited anywhere. -
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Seattle Strike
Local trade unionists affiliated with both the mainstream American Federation of Labor and the radical Industrial Workers of the World organize a general strike, halting economic activity in the city for five days. The strike ultimately fails when workers, threatened with state violence and undermined by their own cautious labor leaders, return to their jobs. -
Palmer Raids
The Palmer Raids begin, launching a period of intense government persecution of radical political dissidents in response to the postwar Red Scare sweeping the nation. -
Garvey Conference
Charismatic Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican immigrant, convenes the first International Convention of the Negro Peoples of the World in New York's Madison Square Garden. -
19th Amendment
Women are now able to vote. -
Sacco-Vanzetti Trial
The Sacco-Vanzetti trial begins. Immigrant Italian radicals Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti will eventually be convicted of murder and executed.05 -
Book Published
The Great Gatsby is published by F. Scott Fitzgerald. -
Scopes Violates Ban on Teaching Evolution
Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes is arrested for teaching evolution, in violation of new state law banning the teaching of Darwin. The ensuing "Scopes Monkey Trial," pitting defense attorney Clarence Darrow against three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan in a proxy debate of modernity versus fundamentalism, captivates the nation. Scopes is eventually found guilty. -
Mickey Mouse Is Born
Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie premieres, introducing the world to a new animated character: Mickey Mouse.