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The Great Upheaval
After the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company ordered a 10% pay cut on its workers, the workers went on strike by declaring that "no train would leave until the owners restored their pay." (37a) After the mayor, the police, and even the West Virginia national guard could not stop the strike, the President had to send in federal troops to make the trains leave. The strike then spread to Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, before it was stopped. It would go down as the first mass strike in America. -
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Timeline Description
This Timeline covers the major United States historical events and concepts from 1877 leading up until the near present. Fifteen are events, while five are concepts. -
The Wounded Knee Massacre
This massacre was the final confrontation between Native Americans and the U.S. Army. After the Sioux were forced to travel to Wounded Knee Creek, the U.S. Army demanded they give up their weapons. However, a shot was fired by the Sioux, and the U.S. army attacked, murdering almost all of the 300 Natives in Wounded Knee Creek. -
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance came after The Great Migration pushed African Americans north, before being segregated by northern whites. This pushed them into all-black communities, where a burst of various new arts and artists emerged and flourished, such as jazz music and the famous author Langston Hughes. -
The Pullman Strike
Lead by Eugene V. Debs, the Pullman Strike was one of the largest strikes in American history. The strike came to be after the Pullman car company fired 5000 employees for refusing to accept a pay cut. The strike was declared illegal by the court and Debs was arrested, leading to the strike's failure. -
The Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris occurred after the Spanish-American War, and heavily rewarded the United States. The war resulted in the United States gaining the Philippines and the Island of Guam and Puerto Rico. However, this created controversy in the U.S., because anti-imperialists argued that the war was supposed to be about aiding Cuba in its quest for independence, but instead resulted in the U.S. gaining new territories. -
The Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman Telegram was a message from the German Foreign Minister to Mexico, which promised Mexico lands that the U.S. had taken from it (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico). The British intercepted this message, leading to President Woodrow Wilson obtaining it and releasing it to the public. This sparked outrage within America, and lead to Congress declaring war on Germany, marking the end to America's isolation. -
The Treaty of Versailles
This treaty was drawn up at the Paris Peace Conference by the Big Four (Wilson, George, Clemenceau, Orlando) which blamed Germany for the war, punished them severely, and created the League of Nations. The League of Nations was a proposal from President Woodrow Wilson designed to prevent future conflicts with each other. However, the League was opposed by the senate, and so the Treaty was not ratified. -
Isolationism (Concept)
This was an American policy in which the U.S. would try to stay out of foreign affairs as much as possible. America did not want to get involved in any wars, and solely wanted to focus on domestic issues. This policy obviously changed after the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan which lead to America's involvement in the second world war. -
Social Security Act of 1935
This Act was one of the New Deal initiatives that FDR used to help the U.S. out of its depression. The concept of it was that workers would pay a monthly fund, while retirees would receive payment monthly. This act helped many in need and in time "would redefine the relationship between the American people and their government." -
Pearl Harbor
A day that lives on in infamy. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, dragging the U.S. out of isolation and into the second world war. The attack by the Japanese was as a result of increasing tensions between Japan and the U.S. after America demanded Japan stop its expansion while Japan refused. The attack was supposed to severely damage the U.S. fleet so that America would not be able to retaliate before Japan had taken American island holdings. However, this plan was unsuccessful. -
The Manhattan Project
This project was created after discovering German Physicists were attempting to build an atomic bomb. Albert Einstein alerted President Roosevelt that a program must be created, and so the Manhattan Project was born. This project was so secret that it employed over 120,000 workers, and yet only a very small inner group of scientists knew of the production of the bomb. Even Vice President Truman had no knowledge of it until his presidency. Eventually, the bomb that would end the war was created. -
D-Day
This was the day when American, British, and Canadian forces stormed the beaches at Normandy. The attack involved lots of planning, espionage, and the largest armada ever assembled. The Germans were forced to retreat, creating a war on two fronts. This led to the defeat and surrender of the Germans, and the end of the war. -
The United Nations (Concept)
The United Nations was formed after World War II, and is a more effective League of Nations, which serves to provide a connection between nations in order to solve conflicts based on communication/foreign policy and not through war. The UN was made stronger than the League by creating a Security Council that must authorize any action, and is comprised of five nations: USA, Great Britain, France, China, and the Soviet Union. -
Rosa Parks Bus Boycott
In the 1950s, black people had to sit in the back of the bus, while whites got to sit in the front. So when Rosa Parks sat in the front of the bus, the driver tried to get her to move. She refused, and was arrested and fined. This inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott, in which 99% of the black community refused to ride the bus on December 5, causing the bus company to lose thousands. This then led to segregated busing to be ruled unconstitutional. -
Sit-ins
When 4 black students walked into a whites only restaurant and sat at the bar, they were refused service. So, they sat and waited patiently. They were abused by the whites in the restaurant but they stayed still and calm. This inspired a movement of peaceful sit-ins, which resulted in not just numerous arrests and abuses by the whites, but also restaurants in the south began to desegregate their restaurants. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred after JFK learned that the Soviet Union was attempting to arm Cuba with nuclear missiles. Kennedy responded by forming a quarantine around Cuba, creating a standoff with Khrushchev. Eventually, Khrushchev decided to turn his ships back, instead of attempting to fight through the blockade in order to arm Cuba. -
The Invention of the Internet
When the internet was invented by the Department of Defense, its sole purpose was in case of an attack. If an attack occurred, the internet would allow the government the ability to operate one computer from a separate terminal. The internet didn't become open to the public until 1984, and from there the uses for it expanded exponentially from just the one developed by the DoD. -
Trickle-Down Economics (Concept)
Ronald Reagan proposed his plan to fix the American economy by his theory of trickle-down economics. He proposed a 30% tax cut focused on the upper class, which would allow the rich to spend and invest more. However, Congress only permitted a 25% cut. This plan resulted in a two year recession in 1981 and 1982, before the economy stabilized and began to grow. -
Glasnost/Perestroika (Concept)
Mikhail Gorbachev introduced these two policies after becoming leader of the Soviet Union in 1985. Glasnost means openness, and meant that the Soviets would be more open to Western ideas and resources. Perestroika was a policy created to allow limited market incentives to citizens of the Soviet Union. While these policies were created to help the Soviet economy, they lead to a revolution causing the Soviet Union to fall. -
Americanization (Concept)
Americanization is a term used to describe the influence that the United States has on other countries, whether it be through culture, business, or politics. Americanization can be a potentially dangerous endeavor because the influence on other countries can lead to the destruction of certain cultures and traditions. -
Bibliography
Event 1: http://www.ushistory.org/us/37a.asp
Event 2: http://www.ushistory.org/us/37e.asp
Event 3: http://www.ushistory.org/us/40e.asp
Event 4: http://www.ushistory.org/us/44d.asp
Event 5: http://www.ushistory.org/us/45a.asp
Event 6: http://www.ushistory.org/us/45d.asp
Event 7: http://www.ushistory.org/us/46e.asp
Event 8: http://www.ushistory.org/us/49d.asp
Event 9: http://www.ushistory.org/us/50a.asp
Event 10: http://www.ushistory.org/us/51c.asp
Event 11: http://www.ushistory.org/us/52b.asp -
Bibliography 2
Event 12: http://www.ushistory.org/us/56c.asp
Event 13: http://www.ushistory.org/us/54b.asp
Event 14: http://www.ushistory.org/us/54d.asp
Event 15: http://www.ushistory.org/us/59b.asp
Event 16: http://www.ushistory.org/us/59e.asp
Event 17: https://courses.vhslearning.org/d2l/le/content/389552/viewContent/2722452/View
Event 18: http://www.ushistory.org/us/60d.asp
Event 19: http://www.ushistory.org/us/50e.asp
Event 20: http://www.ushistory.org/us/51f.asp
