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Fort Sumter is fired upon by Confederate forces, precipitating the American Civil War.
Emancipation Proclamation declared - edict issue that declared slaves of the Confederate states in rebellion against the Union to be free.
Civil War is going on. -
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Issued Proclamation of Amnesty and Pardon for the Confederate States.
Vetoes Civil Rights Act of 1866.
Fourteenth Amendment is ratified, over Johnson's objections, conferring citizenship on all persons born or naturalized in the United States and guaranteeing them equal protection under the law. -
Signed bill allowing for the redemption of gold for U.S. paper dollars.
Treaty of Washington is negotiated, providing for the settlement by international tribunal of American claims against Great Britain.
Treaty of London is negotiated to resolve controversies with Great Britain -
Federal troops withdraw from the South, ending Reconstruction.
Striking railroad workers and federal troops clash.
Bland-Allison Silver Purchase Act passed despite Hayes's veto. -
Shot by Charles J. Guiteau, a disappointed office seeker.
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Chinese Exclusion Act signed, which reduced the suspension of Chinese immigration to 10 years (from the proposed 20 years).
Pendleton Civil Service Act passed, which provided for the open appointment and promotion of federal employees based on merit rather than patronage, leading to a permanent federal civil service system.
Incresed funding for the U.S. Navy -
Dedication of the Statue of Liberty.
Interstate Commerce Act.
New Chinese Exclusion Act. -
McKinley Tariff Act, substantially raises duties on most imports.
Sherman Antitrust Act, outlaws “every contract, combination 25% or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce.”
Sherman Silver Purchase Act passed. requiring the government to buy 4.5 million ounces of silver every month. -
Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 repealed.
Federal troops are sent to break Pullman Strike.
First National Labor Day. -
Dingley Tariff signed, the highest protective tariff in American history to that time.
American battleship USS Maine suddenly explodes and sinks as it sits anchored in Havana harbor. Spain is blamed, eventually leading to the Spanish-American War. It was later found that the explosion was caused by an accident on board the ship.
Treaty of Paris is ratified, ceding Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States; Cuba becomes independent. -
Sherman Antitrust Act is strengthened by bringing a successful suit to break up a huge railroad probem, the Northern Securities Company.
Construction of Panama Canal begins.
Awarded Nobel Prize for Peace for mediating an end to the Russian-Japanese War. -
Payne-Aldrich Tariff of 1909 signed.
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Underwood-Simmons Tariff, passes reducing duties on imports for the first time in 40 years.
World War I starts.
Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending World War I. -
Peace between Germany and Austria declared.
Beginning of the Teapot Dome Scandal.
Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act. -
Congress overrides Coolidge's veto of a bill offering a bonus to veterans of World War I.
McNary-Haugen bill, calling for the federal government to purchase surplus crops, is vetoed for the second time.
