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The Great Merger Movement
Between 1895 and 1904, particularly between 1898 and 1902, a wave of mergers rocked the American economy. In nine years, four thousand companies, 20% of the economy, were folded into rival firms. In nearly every major industry, newly consolidated firms such as General Electric and DuPont dominated their market. Forty-one separate consolidations each controlled over 70 percent of the market in their respective industries. -
United States Steel Created
In 1901, financier J. P. Morgan oversaw the formation of United States Steel, built from eight leading steel companies. Industrialization was built on steel, and one firm—the world’s first billion-dollar company—controlled the market. -
James D. Phelan Publishes "Why the Chinese Should Be Excluded"
James D. Phelan, the mayor of San Francisco, penned this article to drum up support for the extension of laws prohibiting Chinese immigration. -
Up from Slavery is Published by Booker T. Washington
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The Socialist Party of America is Founded
Socialist mayors were elected in thirty-three cities and towns, from Berkeley, California, to Schenectady, New York, and two socialists, Victor Berger from Wisconsin and Meyer London from New York, won congressional seats.
Julius A. Wayland, editor of the socialist newspaper Appeal to Reason, proclaimed that “socialism is coming. It’s coming like a prairie fire and nothing can stop it . . . you can feel it in the air." -
William McKinley is Assassinated and Theodore Roosevelt Becomes President
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Eugene Debs Publishes, “How I Became a Socialist”
A native of Terre Haute, Indiana, Debs began working as a locomotive fireman as a youth in the 1870s. His experience in the American labor movement later led him to socialism. In the early-twentieth century, as the Socialist Party of America’s candidate, he ran for the presidency five times and twice earned nearly one-million votes. He was America’s most prominent socialist. In 1902, a New York paper asked Debs how he became a socialist. This is his answer. -
William Riordon Publishes, "Plunkitt of Tammany Hall"
In 1903, journalist William Riordon published a book, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall, which chronicled the activities of ward heeler George Washington Plunkitt. Plunkitt elaborately explained to Riordon the difference between “honest graft” and “dishonest graft”: “I made my pile in politics, but, at the same time, I served the organization and got more big improvements for New York City than any other livin’ man." -
W.E.B. Du Bois Publishes "The Souls of Black Folk"
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Synthetic Philosophy Sold Almost 400,000 Copies
Spencer’s major work, Synthetic Philosophy, sold nearly 400,000 copies in the United States by the time of his death in 1903. Gilded Age industrial elites, such as Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, and John D. Rockefeller, were among Spencer’s prominent followers. Other Americans such as William Graham Sumner, echoed his ideas. -
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Teddy Roosevelt Commissions Construction of 11 Battleships
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Theodore Roosevelt Wins the Presidential Election Again
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Thomas F. Dixon Publishes Novel "The Clansman"
In 1905, for instance, North Carolinian Thomas F. Dixon published a novel, The Clansman, which depicted the Ku Klux Klan as heroic defenders of the South against the corruption of African American and northern “carpetbag” misrule during Reconstruction. -
John D. Rockefeller Donates $100,000 to American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
In 1905, Standard Oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller donated $100,000 (about $2.5 million today) to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Rockefeller was the richest man in America but also one of the most hated and mistrusted. Even admirers conceded that he achieved his wealth through often illegal and usually immoral business practices. -
Roosevelt Wins the Nobel Peace Prize
When Japanese victories over Russia threatened the regional balance of power, he sponsored peace talks between Russian and Japanese leaders, earning him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. -
Upton Sinclair Publishes, "The Jungle"
a novel dramatizing the experiences of a Lithuanian immigrant family who moved to Chicago to work in the stockyards. -
The Hepburn Act is Signed into Law
Roosevelt signed the Hepburn Act, allowing the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate best practices and set reasonable rates for the railroads. -
Walter Rauschenbusch Publishes, "Christianity and the Social Crisis"
Walter Rauschenbusch, a Baptist minister and theologian, advocated for a “social gospel.” In this writing, he explains why he believes Christianity must address social questions. -
America and Japan compile the "Gentlemen's Agreement"
In 1907, the immigration of Japanese laborers was practically suspended when the American and Japanese governments reached the so-called Gentlemen’s Agreement, according to which Japan would stop issuing passports to working-class emigrants. -
Jack London Publishes "The Iron Heel"
“Never in the history of the world was society in so terrific flux as it is right now,” Jack London wrote in The Iron Heel, his 1908 dystopian novel in which a corporate oligarchy comes to rule the United States. -
William Howard Taft Wins the Presidential Election
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Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The doors of the factory had been chained shut to prevent employees from taking unauthorized breaks (the managers who held the keys saved themselves) A rickety fire ladder on the side of the building collapsed immediately. Women lined the rooftop and windows of the ten-story building and jumped, landing in a “mangled, bloody pulp.” Life nets held by firemen tore at the impact of the falling bodies. By the time the fire burned itself out, 71 workers were injured and 146 had died. -
Eugene V. Debs, Socialist Party candidate for president, receives almost one million votes
That is 6 percent of the vote. -
Woodrow Wilson Wins the Presidential Election
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United States Producing 1/3 World Industrial Output
By 1900 the United States was the world’s leading manufacturing nation. Thirteen years later, by 1913, the United States produced one third of the world’s industrial output—more than Britain, France, and Germany combined.5 -
The Socialist Party of America Claims over 150,000 Members
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The 16th Amendment is Ratified by Congress
The 16th amendment established Congress's right to impose a Federal income tax -
The 17th Amendment is Ratified by Congress
three-quarters of the states had ratified the proposed amendment, and it was officially included as the 17th Amendment to directly elect senators -
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Wilson Invades Mexico in Response to Arrest of American Soldiers
Mexican forces mistakenly arrested American sailors in the port city of Tampico, April 1914, Wilson saw the opportunity to apply additional pressure on Huerta. Huerta refused to make amends, and Wilson therefore asked Congress for authority to use force against Mexico, but before Congress could respond, Wilson invaded and took the port city of Veracruz to prevent shipment of arms from reaching Huerta’s forces. The government fell in July 1914, and the American occupation lasted until November. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Grand Duchess Sophie are Assassinated thus Beginning WWI
On June 28, 1914, after Serbian Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Austrian-Hungarian heirs to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Grand Duchess Sophie, vengeful nationalist leaders believed the time had arrived to eliminate the rebellious ethnic Serbian threat. -
Austria Declares War on Serbia
Austria declared war on Serbia for failure to meet all of the demands. -
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World War I
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Germany Declares War on Russia
Germany declared war on Russia to protect Austria after warnings directed at Tsar Nicholas II failed to stop Russian preparations for war. -
Great Britain Declares War on Germany
Great Britain declared war on Germany for failing to respect Belgium as a neutral nation. -
The Clayton Anti-Trust Act was Signed into Law
In 1914, with the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, did Congress attempt to close loopholes in previous legislation. -
David W. Griffith Adapts Dixon’s Novel into Blockbuster Film, Birth of a Nation
In 1915, acclaimed film director David W. Griffith adapted Dixon’s novel into the groundbreaking blockbuster film, Birth of a Nation. The film almost singlehandedly rejuvenated the Ku Klux Klan. The romanticized version of the antebellum South and the distorted version of Reconstruction dominated popular imagination.17 -
RMS Lusitania is Sunk by German U-Boats
Germans sank the RMS Lusitania. Over a hundred American lives were lost. -
The Naval Act of 1916 Was Passed
President Wilson declared that the national goal was to build the Navy as “incomparably, the greatest . . . in the world.” -
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Wilson Orders Pershing to Capture Poncho Villa
When Wilson supported Carranza, and his now-rival Pancho Villa, Villa and supporters attacked American interests and raided the town of Columbus, NM, March, 1916, and killed over a dozen soldiers and civilians. Wilson ordered a expedition of several thousand soldiers led by Gen. John J. “Blackjack” Pershing to enter Mexico and capture Villa. But Villa eluded Pershing for nearly a year and, in 1917, with war in Europe looming and great injury done to U.S.-Mexican relations, Pershing left Mexico. -
Woodrow Wilson Wins the Presidential Election Again
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The Regime of Tsar Nicholas II Collapses in Russia
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Wilson Signs the Espionage Act
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Woodrow Wilson Requests War
In this speech before Congress, President Woodrow Wilson made the case for America’s entry into World War I. -
Congress Declares War on Germany
President Wilson believed an imminent German victory would drastically and dangerously alter the balance of power in Europe. -
Selective Service Act is Passed by Congress
The new legislation avoided the unpopular system of bonuses and substitutes used during the Civil War and was generally received without major objection by the American people.8 -
Representative Dyer, Missouri, Introduces Federal Anti-Lynching Legislation
In 1918, Representative Leonidas Dyer of Missouri introduced federal anti-lynching legislation that would have made local counties where lynching's took place legally liable for such killings. Throughout the early 1920s, the Dyer Bill was the subject of heated political debate, but, fiercely opposed by southern congressmen and unable to win enough northern champions, the proposed bill was never enacted. -
Wilson Signs the Sedition Act
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Influenza Appears in America
In the spring of 1918, a strain of the flu virus appeared in the farm country of Haskell County, Kansas, and hit nearby Camp Funston, one of the largest army training camps in the nation. The virus spread like wildfire. It killed approximately 50 million people worldwide -
Wilson Shares His 14 Points With Congress
Before a joint session of Congress, President Wilson offered an ambitious statement of war aims and peace terms known as the Fourteen Points. The plan not only dealt with territorial issues but offered principles on which a long-term peace could be built. -
American University of Cairo is Established
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The Red Summer
In 1919, America suffered through the “Red Summer.” Riots erupted across the country from April until October. The massive bloodshed included thousands of injuries, hundreds of deaths, and vast destruction of private and public property across the nation. -
The 18th Amendment is Ratified
Ratified on January 16, 1919, the 18th Amendment prohibited the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" -
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The Chicago Riot
The Chicago Riot, from July 27 to August 3, 1919, considered the summer’s worst, sparked a week of mob violence, murder, and arson. -
W.E.B. Du Bois Publishes "Darkwater"
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The 19th Amendment is Ratified by Congress
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote. -
Warren G. Harding Wins the Presidential Election