Key Events of the Roaring 20's

  • Palmer Raids

    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.
    They were the U.S department of justice's attempts to capture and get rid of radical leftists (Left-Wing politicians), especially anarchists. The arrests and raids happened under the leadership of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer(to the left).
  • Versailles Treaty Rejection

    Versailles Treaty Rejection
    The Senate refuses to ratify the Versailles Treaty or authorize United States participation in the League of Nations.
  • Nineteenth Amendment

    Nineteenth Amendment
    The Nineteenth Amendment is ratified, granting women the right to vote.
  • Harding Landslide

    Harding Landslide
    Republican Warren G. Harding is elected to the presidency by a landslide. Harding wins 60% of the popular vote and 75% of the electoral vote; Democrat James Cox wins only a handful of states in the South.
  • Immigration Quota Act of 1921

    Immigration Quota Act of 1921
    Congress passes immigration restrictions, for the first time creating a portion for European immigration to the United States. Targeted at "undesirable" immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, the act sharply curtails the quota for those areas while retaining a generous allowance for migrants from Northern and Western Europe.
  • Fordney-McCumber Tariff Passed

    Fordney-McCumber Tariff Passed
    Congress passes the Fordney-McCumber Tariff, sharply raising tariff duties to protect the American market for American manufactures. The tariff boosts the domestic economy of the Roaring Twenties, but it also worsens the crisis for struggling European economies
  • President Harding Dies

    President Harding Dies
    President Warren G. Harding dies of stroke in a San Francisco hotel room. Vice President Calvin Coolidge ascends to presidency.
  • Spirit of St. Louis

    Spirit of St. Louis
    Aviator Charles Lindbergh completes the first solo transatlantic flight, landing his "Spirit of Saint Louis" in Paris 33 hours after departing from New York. Lindbergh becomes a national hero.
  • Immigrant Radicals

    Immigrant Radicals
    With all possible avenues of appeal now exhausted, Italian immigrant radicals Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are executed by electric chair.
  • Ending of the Silent Film Era.

    Ending of the Silent Film Era.
    Al Jolson's The Jazz Singer, the first "talking" motion picture, premieres, marking the beginning of the end of the silent film era.
  • Kellogg-Briand Pact

    Kellogg-Briand Pact
    Fifteen nations, including the United States, sign the Kellogg-Briand pact "outlawing" war.
  • Mickey Mouse

    Mickey Mouse
    Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie premieres, introducing the world to a new animated character—Mickey Mouse
  • Black Tuesday

    The American stock market collapses, signaling the onset of the Great Depression.