-
On June 12, 1817, the first bicycle was seen being used. The bicycle played a big part in women’s rights movement. The bicycle provided freedom, new clothing, new opportunities, etc., for women.
-
On June 6, 1844, the YMCA was founded. It was founded in London, England, in hopes to help the current social issues within big cities. Like many other settlement houses, churches, and community organizations they only wanted to help people.
-
On November 25, 1846, Carrie Nation was born. Carrie Nation was a big supporter of temperance movement. She was known for carrying a hatchet and destroying bars.
-
The Pacific Railroad Act was an important part of the creation of railroads. After president Abraham Lincoln signed the act into a law, the federal government then gave the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad permission to start building railroads. The railroads later became one of the greatest USA technological achievements.
-
The Morrill Land Grant Act gave land to the western state’s government. This land was either sold(the money earned went towards the formation of education),or used to build schools. This provided opportunities to many different people, including farmers, working people, etc.
-
Freemen’s Bureau was an important factor during the reconstruction period. Freemen’s Bureau provided food, clothing, jobs, medical care, education, etc, to poor people or newly free slaves. This aid made a huge difference, especially for the African American people who were transitioning into American society.
-
The 13th Amendment was established to abolish slavery and involuntary services. The only exception to this amendment was punishment for a crime. But overall, the ban of all slavery was an important part of moving forward into a “reconstructed” country.
-
On January 1,1867 a clause was created which stated that you could get around the literacy test and the poll tax restrictions, if your grandfather could vote when he was alive. The grandfather clause was used to prevent freemen from voting and also help poor, illiterate white males to vote. In the state of Alabama, 83% of white males of voting age, registered to vote.
-
On March 30, 1867, the USA bought Alaska from Russia. America paid 7.2 million dollars for the land. It would later become a resourceful land with gold, oil, fish, copper, coal, and timber.
-
The 14th Amendment guaranteed the rights and security of all people. This amendment provided newly freed slaves or African Americans citizenship and equal rights. This was important because it included people, treated people equally, and brought the people closer together.
-
George Westinghouse helped make railway travel safer by inventing a brake system for the trains. Originally, the whole train was connected to the same brake which caused cars to run into each other. His invention, the air brake, gave each car their own brake which made trains safer and more efficient.
-
The Record of 10 Miles in 12 Hours was a big accomplishment for the Central Pacific. The group of Chinese workers set the best time for construction of railroad in history, at that time. In the end, winning the race against the Union Pacific Railroad.
-
On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty officially opened. The Statue of Liberty was gifted to America from France. This was in celebration of the 100th year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
-
On January 1, 1892, Ellis Island officially opened. People moved from all different parts of Europe, Chine, etc., to America. People came to America for multiple reasons, like new opportunities or escaping old situations, etc.
-
On April 15, 1892, General Electric was founded. It was founded by J.P Morgan, a financier. This consolidated the steel industry, in March of 1901 the U.S. Steel Industry was formed. In 2011, the U.S. steel industry was worth $103 billion.
-
On May 18, 1896, the September Court gave their verdict about the Plessy vs. Ferguson case. A man by the name of Homer Adolph Plessy, who was 1/8 black, sat the white people cart of the train. He let everyone know he was part black, in hopes to challenge the law and make a point. Plessy was arrested and on the final day of his case, the Supreme Court ruling concluded that segregation was legal as long as the public areas were kept equal.
-
On September 1, 1897, the first subway was opened in Boston. The Boston subways were a similar model to the subways that were in London. Soon after, New York also had this form of public transportation.
-
On February 15, 1898, the American battle ship by the name of the USS Maine, sank. There was an explosion caused by the materials that were held in the bottom of the ship. Even though this was not Spain’s fault, America blamed it on Spain and caused a spark for a war.
-
On April 25, 1898, Congress declared war on Spain. America was mad about the sinking of the Maine, the way that the Cuban people were being treated, and they were worried about their sugar plantations. All of these reasons caused America to declare war on Spain, which would end up being an easy win.
-
On July 1, 1898, the battle of San Juan Hill took place. Theodore Roosevelt led a volunteer group of people known as the Rough Riders to the battle. The victory of the Americans would be heavily known throughout history.
-
On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assonated. He was the Leader of the Austro-Hungarian's Empire. The event started World War I.
-
On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal was finished. This project cost more than $350 million. It was a big accomplishment, now traveling for ships would be a lot easier.
-
On May 7, 1915, the Lusitania ship sank. The sinking caused about 1200 deaths. This lead to the end of the "sinking on sight," even though it started up again two years later.
-
On January 29, 1919, the 18th amendment was ratified. This amendment banned the making, selling, and transportation of alcohol. Overall, this law was not supported by the people and was later unratified.
-
On June 4, 1919, the 19th amendment was passed. The 19th amendment allowed women the right to vote. This was a huge accomplishment for women in America.
-
On June 17, 1919, Illinois’s took a vote. This vote would late then grant the amendment that allowed women the right to vote. Illinois because the first state east of Mississippi to pass the amendment.
-
On August 8, 1925, the KKK had a parade in Washington D.C. This parade was nonviolent and consisted of about 30,000 people. The 1920s were the most popular years for the KKK, withholding the most member than any other years.
-
On March 4, 1929, the name Hooverville became popular. A “Hooverville” was a village of homeless unemployed people. The people named the villages this because they blamed president Hoover for the Great Depression.
-
October 29,1929 is known as Black Tuesday. On this day, America’s stock market collapsed. In result, the nation spiraling into the Great Depression.
-
On June 17, 1930, the Smoot Hawley Tariff Act was ratified. This act increased international trading prices by 50%. This act was know as Hoover’s greatest mistake ever made.
-
On March 9, 1933, the New Deal was reviewed and turned down. Though the act didn’t end completely until 1939, the overall support of the act was negative. Parts of the act were used to conduct laws that were to help America, like the Fair Labor Laws, but the act as a whole was turned down.
-
On December 3, 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified. This amendment repealed the 18th Amendment. Overall ending the prohibition and unpopular ban of alcohol.
-
April 14, 1935, was the first day of a period known as the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl was a time of drought, servers storms, and damaged land. This lasted for about six year, many people were unable to live in their homes and were forced to leave.
-
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Later on, France was taken over by Germany. This was to be said the start of World War Two.
-
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked US Pearl Harbor. This was the cause of 2887 US men’s death. And because of this event US felt compelled to join the war.
-
On August 1,1945, the US flew over Japan and dropped containers of warnings. The leaflet warnings stated that people who receive the note might be affected by the bomb. These people were encouraged to leave.
-
On August 8,1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The bomb was hoped to make Japan surrender. But Japan refused to surrender.
-
On August 9, 1945, the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Two days later, Japan surrendered. And the war was soon to be officially over.
-
On September 2,1945, the end of WWII was officially over. The victory over Japan was a success. And with time, people were put to trial for crimes against humanity, peace, and war.
-
On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began. This is often referred to as the forgotten war. This all started because North Korea invaded South Korea in hopes to spread communism.
-
On November 12, 1954, Ellis Island closed. Ellis Island allows 12 million people to pass through, into America, from 1892 to 1954. Today, about 100 million Americans can trace their ancestry back to Ellis Island.
-
On January 3, 1959, Alaska because the 49th USA state. Later on that year, August 21, Hawaii became the 50th USA state. This was a good thing for America, but many people were upset.
-
On April 12, 1961, the first man was sent into space. Yuri Gagarin was sent from the Soviet Union to space. He orbited the Earth once, then returned home.
-
On May 5, 1961, the first American was sent into space. Alan Shepard was send on the Freedom 7 spacecraft into space. Then, ten years later being the fifth man to walk on the moon.
-
August 13, 1961 was the starting date of the Berlin Wall. This was constructed in order to keep West Berlin enclosed from Germany and Eat Berlin. It took about three months for the wall to be built, but then was torn down in 1989.
-
The Civil Rights Act played a dominate role in ending segregation, in public, between people of all race, color, sex, or national origin. Equal opportunities were given to all people in schools, places of employment, etc. The act also prohibited discrimination during a jury selection.
-
On August 5, 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin Incident happened. This was a major event in the involvement of America in the Vietnam War. It occurred when North Vietnam attacked the USS Maddox and USSC ships.
-
On January 30, 1968, the Tet Offensive occurred. This was a series of attacks from Vietcong and NVA. Resulting in about 58,000 American soldier deaths.
-
On March 16, 1968, the My Lai Massacre occurred. This was a mass murdering of South Vietnamese citizens. American soldiers had killed unarmed and innocent women, children, and men.
-
On July 20, 1969, the first man walked on the moon. Neil Armstrong, from America, flew on the Gemini 8 mission to the moon. Famously saying, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
-
On January 27, 1973, the last recorded American soldiers left Vietnam. After ten years of the American troops present, the war was coming to an end. This was considered a loss for America and South Vietnam.
