-
The First Oil Well Drilled
Drilled in Drake Pennsylvania. -
First Transatlantic Cable
video First telegraph cable to connect continents across the Atlantic Ocean. -
Transcontinental Railroad
The railroad that stretched across the continent that was built by primarily immigrant Chinese workers. -
Boston-Chicago Fires
Boston and Chicago suffer devastating fires that in the long run give the cities a head start on new city technologies -
Bell Invents Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell invents first ever telephone. -
Battle for Little Big Horn
Where General Custer was defeated by a large army of 2,500 Native Americans. -
Edison Invents Electric Lightbulb
When Thomas Edison invented the first commercial incandescent light bulb. -
Garfield Assassinated
In Washington D.C., Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau. -
First Skyscraper in Chicago
The home insurance building was built in Chicago which was the first skyscraper in the world. -
U.S. Gains Pearl Harbor
The acquisition of naval base in Hawaii that is now home to the U.S Pacific Fleet. -
The Dawes Act
Provided the gradual elimination of most tribal ownership of land and the allotment of trusts to individual owners. -
Depression Begins
The great depression begins due to stock market crash. -
Coxey's Army Marches on Washington
Was a protest march by unemployed workers from the United States, led by Ohio businessman Jacob Coxey. They marched on Washington D.C. in 1894, the second year of a four-year economic depression that was the worst in United States history to that time. -
Boston Opens First Subway
Boston opens the first ever subway in America. -
McKinley Assassinated
Inside the Temple of Music on the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, new York. McKinley was shaking hands with the public when he was shot by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist. The President died on September 14th from the gangrene caused by the bullet wounds. -
Wright Brother's First Flight
The wright brother build first airplane that starts a world revolution. -
NAACP Founded
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The association is still in formation today. -
San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
A devastating earthquake in California that lead to several days of fires that burnt San Francisco to the ground. -
Sixteenth Amendent
Allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on Census results. This amendment exempted income taxes from the constitutional requirements regarding direct taxes, after income taxes on rents, dividends, and interest were ruled to be direct taxes. -
World War I begins
Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated and explodes the powder cage of Europe. -
Ford Introduces Assembly Line
Henry Ford creates assembly line that makes building cars faster and changes industrialization. -
U.S. Enters WWI
After three years of neutrality the United States is forced to enter World War one. -
Armistice Ends War
End of world war one the puts heavy burden on Germany. -
KKK Membershup Peaked
The clan peaks membership with over 10,000 members. -
Lindbergh Solo Flight Across the Atlantic
The first ever flight across the ocean without refueling. -
Stock Market Crash
Known as "Black Tuesday." Sixteen million shares of stock were traded; the industrial index dropped 43 points which wiped out all the gains of the previous year. This crash began an era of the United States called The Great Depression. This lasted for years and was one of the darkest times in U.S. history. Up to 25 percent of the American workforce was unemplyed. -
The Dust Bowl
During the Great Depression many people suffered because of the economy, but another big problem began in the beginning of 1930. In rural areas conditions were terrible, farmers were suffering and a huge drought hit the Great Plains. It stretched from Texas to the Dakotas. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt elected President
This was major because of the fact that Roosevelt was inheriting the Great Depression. He was a party favorite for the Democrats and even thought stricken with Polio, he still won the election and became president. -
New Deal Passed
FDR's first major plan to help the economy. Although the first New Deal did not end the depression, it did make some positive changes. The gross farm income increased by half in the firs three years of the New Deal. After the New Deal came under fire from critics, Roosevelt developed the Second New Deal to continue what the first New Deal had started. -
NRA Established
NRA or National Recovery Administration is established by congress. Hugh S. Johnson was in charge and called for a minimum wage to be set at 30 to 40 cents an hour. NRA experienced many difficulties from the beginning. It eventually failed because industrial production declined after the agency’s establishment. -
Prohibition Ends
The end of Criminalization of alcohol. During the Prohibition crime rose as well as delinquency along with a decline in drinking alcohol. The end of Prohibition allowed America to drink alcohol in a celebratory way again this was all helped buy the ratification of the 21st amendment. All thanks to Utah who voted to repeal Prohibition. -
World War II Starts
Germany under the command of Hitler began taking control of Europe before 1939. Yet in September of 1939 Germany invaded Poland and the war was started, but people really didn’t consider it a war until the spring of 1940 when Germany launched their all out invasion on Europe called the blitzkrieg. -
Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
At 7:55am Japanese planes attacked The United States’ naval base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Before this Japan had been threatening an attack, but no one believed that they would do it. The attack really hurt the United States’ Pacific Fleet. -
The United States Enters World War II
The day after the attacks on Pearl Harbor President Roosevelt gave a truly inspiring speech to the nation. After this speech the Senate and the House voted 388 to 1 to approve a declaration of war against Japan and on December 11 congress reciprocated the Declaration of war from Japans allies. -
Internment of Japanese Americans
After Pearl Harbor propaganda about the Japanese were everywhere. In California Japanese Americans were rounded up and placed in “Relocation Centers” because of all the propaganda. -
United Nations Founded
In February 1945, Roosevelt joined Churchill and Stalin for a peace conference. During this meeting many things were discussed, but the major piece of business was the establishment of a new international organization. The United Nations charter was drafted April 25, 1945 and was ratified in July as a result the United Nations were born. -
United States Drops A-Bomb on Japan
In the U.S. scientists developed Atomic weapons during the Manhattan project. They eventually developed the atomic bomb and on August 6th an American B-29 bomber dropped the Bomb on Hiroshima and 3 days later dropped another bomb on Nagasaki. Both cities were completely destroyed. -
Japan Surrenders
on August 14, 1945 after the a-bomb attacks and the declaration of war from Russia Japan’s government announced that it was ready to surrender. On September 2 on the battleship Missouri Japan surrendered and a few days later Germany surrendered and with that World War 2 was over. -
Marshall Plan
Secretary of State George C. Marshall announced a plan to provide economic assistance to all European nations (including the Soviet Union) that would join in drafting a program for recovery. The plan was rejected, but accepted in February 1948. -
Korean War Begins
On June 24 communist North Korean armies invaded the pro-Western half of the Korean peninsula. Within a few days they occupied the majority of South Korea was under the control of the Communist North Korea. Immediately the United States involved itself in the conflict. The major reason for the United States involvement was to stop the spread of communism. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
took place on May 17, 1954 in Topeka. The Supreme Court rejected its decision from the case of 1896 Plessy vs. Feruson. The decision overturned the original decision of segregating schools in Kansas. This began the change in the civil rights movement. -
Sputnik Launched
The Soviet Union launched the space race with the news that they launched a satellite that was orbiting the earth. This increased the competition with the United States for control over space. As a result of this the United States released its own satellite in January 1958; its name was Explorer 1. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
It was the most dramatic crisis of the Cold War. American intelligence discovered Russian nuclear missiles in Cuba that was in response to the Americans putting missiles in Turkey. A naval and air blockade was set up around Cuba and as a result a standoff took place between the U.S. and the Soviet Union which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. -
"I Have A Dream" Speech
200,000 demonstrators marched down the Mall in Washington, D.C. and gathered before the Lincoln Memorial. Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the greatest speeches in history. His “I have a dream” speech was one of the major reasons for the racial movement in America. -
Civil Rights Act of 1965
It was better known as the Voting Rights Act. This act provided federal protection to African Americans attempting to exercise their right to vote. -
Woodstock
During the 1960s rock and roll became a main stream part of culture. Woodstock was a music festival that was a symbol of the fusion between rock music and counterculture. -
United States Leaves North Vietnam
On January 27, 1973 the U.S. and North Vietnam sat down for a conference to discuss ending the war. However, the peace talks broke down and in March of 1975 the North Vietnamese launched a full scale offensive as the United States began to pull their forces out. This lead to the fall of Saigon. -
America Lands on the Moon
although the United States were not the first to put a satellite in space they were first to put a man on the moon. On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong and “Buzz” Aldrin landed and walked on the moon. This was the beginning of the Apollo program at NASA and the Exploration of Space. -
Woodstock
During the 1960s rock and roll became a main stream part of culture. Woodstock was a music festival that was a symbol of the fusion between rock music and counterculture. -
Roe vs. Wade
One of the most controversial decisions in the Supreme Court’s modern history, it struck down laws forbidding abortions in the first three months of pregnancy.
