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People: Native Americans, African Americans, and Native Whites
As the Transformation of the West began, the people of the west began evolving. Hundreds of Native tribes roamed looking for a place to settle because they faced conflict and required buffalo for survival. The African Americans, specifically exodusters, migrated west. Some became successful, while others settled on poor land. Because of this, many blacks relocated back to the South. Lastly, white Americans began expanding their farmland, some became miners, soldiers, and railroad workers. -
Period: to
Transforming the West
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Homestead Act of 1862 was passed
The Homestead Act of 1862, signed by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, encourages Western migration. The law grants 160 acres of public land to the to any citizen or intended citizen settler who was head of a household. Settlers were required to occupy the land for five years and paid a fee of $1.25 per acre before they were able to permanently own the land. After the Civil War, 15,000 homesteaders claimed land and 80 million acres of land were redistributed by the end of the 1900s. -
Department Stores opened
Department stores began opening in the United States in 1846. In department stores, items and goods were organized into departments/categories. The prices on items were fixed so there was no bartering or negotiation of prices on items. Department stores offered a money-back guarantee so that all their customers would be satisfied with the purchase or service. Department stores offered free delivery for their goods. At department stores, people shopped for the experience rather than the deals. -
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Becoming an Industrial Power
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The Knights of Labor was created
The Knights of Labor, the first national industrial union, was created in December 1869 in Philadelphia, PA. When it was founded by Uriah Stephens, the organization was a secret society of tailors. However, Terence Powderly took office in 1879 and flourished the Knights of Labor on a national level. The union focused on reforming harsh labor conditions like eight-hour day work days, abolition of child labor, equal pay for equal work, and political reforms including the graduated income tax. -
Transcontinental Railroad was finished
The Transcontinental Railroad was significant to American society by transporting goods from east to west of the United States. Two corporations, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, came together to create the railroad. The Union Pacific built the west half while the Central Pacific built the east half. The Chinese and Irish worked as wage workers to build it. By May 10, 1869, both corporations' railroads had met together in Promontory Point, Utah - this meant the railroad was finished. -
John D. Rockefeller
John Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1839 in Richford, NY. In 1863, he invested in an oil business refinery in Cleveland. Later in 1865, he bought out his partners so he could control the refinery. 5 years later, he established the Standard Oil and controlled almost 90% of the US' oil refineries and pipelines. After Congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the Supreme Court ordered the Standard Oil to be dissolved. Rockefeller also participated in philanthropic causes throughout his lifetime. -
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt was born on May 27, 1794 in Staten Island. He was a self-made multi-millionaire and one of the wealthiest Americans of the 19th century. At a young age, Vanderbilt worked at on a boat that ferried cargo between Staten Island, New York. Vanderbilt later became one of the nation's largest steamship operators. In the 1860s, Vanderbilt switched his focus from steamboats to the railroad industry. He built another empire and operated a railway line between Chicago and New York. -
Farmer's Alliance formed
The Farmer's Alliance was an organization formed by a small group of farmers in Lampasas County, Texas. The organization too ideas from the Granger Movement and consitsed of almost 5 million white farmers. This group was because the government began overcharging farmers on shipping crops causing high interest loans. As a result, they negotiated higher crop prices, better loan rates, and insurance. The Farmer's Alliance became a political union to fight monopolies. In 1890, they won their fight. -
The Telephone was invented
The telephone was created in March 1879 by Alexander Graham Bell, a Scottish-born American scientist. The telephone was significant because it allowed people to communicate quickly from different parts of the world. Instead of having to communicate through telegrams and Morse codes, the telephone allowed for communication through speaking. The telephone also allowed people to send messages from the comfort of their home instead of having to go to a telegraph office to deliver a message. -
Battle of Little Big Horn
The Battle of Little Big Horn was fought on June 25, 1876, near the Little Big Horn River in Montana territory. Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led the battle against the Native Americans over the discovery of gold. When the Native Americans refused to leave their land to the reservations, Custer and his 7th cavalry marched to confront them. There, Custer underestimated the amount of Native American forces and he and his force were slaughtered which angered the white Americans. -
The Phonograph was invented
The phonograph was invented by Thomas Alva Edison, an American inventor and businessman, in 1877. Edison was trying to improve the telegraph transmitter when he noticed that the movement of the paper tape created a spoken word-like sound at high frequencies. The phonograph was used to play and record sounds, ultimately altering modern music businesses. The phonograph was made of metal and foil. The stylus moved on a membrane that corresponded to sounds which transmitted through a mouthpiece. -
Political Machines
Political machines were established during the Gilded Age. Due to the massive amounts of immigrants migrating to the United States, organizations whose main goal was to keep the power within the white natives was created. The bosses would "pay off" immigrants for their political vote. In exchange for votes, they received jobs and services. On the top of the political machine pyramid were ward bosses, then precinct captains, then ward captains, then district captains, and lastly, immigrants. -
Tenements
As the cities in the North were booming and flowing with immigrants, areas in the slums began building tenements. Tenements are buildings similar to apartments, a place for them to live. Tenements were family dwellings, about 4 to 6 stories high. Dozens of families lived in each building. The building's condition were very poor. It had poor ventilation, was poorly lit, and very infected and diseased. Due to the high demand of tenements because they were cheaper than homes, rents skyrocketed. -
Period: to
The Gilded Age
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Exodusters
The name "exodusters" was given to African Americans who migrated from southern states along the Mississippi to Kansas, because it was a free state with no oppression, after the Civil War and during the Reconstruction Era. These people were taking part in the Exoduster Movement, or Exodus of 1879 - explaining how they got their nickname, "exoduster". These African Americans fled the southern United States because of the oppression from white American groups like Jim Crow, KKK, and Black Codes. -
Chinese Exclusion Act is passed
During the early 1800s, immigrants began flowing into the United States. The Swedish, Norwegians, and Germans began residing in the northern areas of the United States. The Irish and Chinese began working as wage workers. Because of this, the Chinese faced much racism and violence because they were taking away jobs from whites. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed as a resolution to ban all foreign immigration into the United States as well as protecting white workers and their jobs. -
Chinese Exclusion Act was passed
The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed on May 6, 1882 by President Chester A. Garfield and Congress. The act stated that it banned the immigration of Chinese immigration for 10 years. The law was passed because natives believed that immigrants were taking their jobs. Feeling threatened by the competition, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed as a way to reassure Americans of their nativism/superiority. However, in 1943, Chinese were allowed back in the United Sates and were able to be citizens. -
Social Darwinism
Charles Darwin created Darwinism, the theory of the evolution of species by natural selection. In other words, species who are able to adapt and are superior to other species will live longer than species who do not adapt as well. Social Darwinism relates to the Theory of Evolution, however, it is applied to people. The rich will outlive the poor because they are smarter, stronger, and more adaptable ("survival of the fittest"). People believed the poor were unfit so they were advocated against. -
Pendleton Civil Reform Act was enacted
Following the assassination of President James A. Garfield by Charles Guiteau in 1881, the Pendleton Civil Reform Act was passed on January 16, 1883. The law was signed by President Chester A. Garfield, an ardent reformer after Garfield's assassination. The act stated that positions within the federal government should be chosen on a merit-based system instead of political affiliation. Afterwards, the rule was extended to all civil service workers and established the civil service exam. -
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody was an American scout, bison hunter, and showman. He started the wild west show in the eastern US. The first wild west show was on May 19, 1883, in Omaha Nebraska. The shows dealt with Indian fights, cowboys, cattle drivers, lassos, and marksmanship. The shows involved many former cowboys, sharpshooters, and even Indians (Sitting Bull). From Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, Americans gained their view of the wild west and the country lifestyle from his shows. -
Dawes Severalty Act of 1887
The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887, also known as the General Allotment Act, attempted to assimilate, or cleanse, Native Americans in order to blend them into the American lifestyle. In an attempt to assimilate Native Americans, the white American Christian society. In order to dissolve Native Americans tribes the Americans tried to redistribute land - 160 acres - to farm. Along with that, the Indians gain self-sufficiency for 25 years of trust and were able to apply for citizenship in the US. -
Lifestyle: Women
During the Gilded Age, women began transforming with the upcoming ages; they were nicknamed the "new woman". These middle class women began having more leisure time and increased their roles into society. Women began attending colleges. They became champions of temperance. They also became suffragettes and fought for women's rights to vote. Women also began riding bikes - allowing them to be transported to places at their free will. However, women were still criticized for showing too much skin. -
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie, born on November 25, 1835, was a Scottish-American industrialist, business manager, philanthropist, and entrepreneur of the world's largest steel company: the Carnegie Steel Corporation. Carnegie's risks and investments in the steel industry caused him to create cheap and efficient mass production of steel through the Bessemer Process of steel making. By using the Bessemer Process, the Carnegie Steel Company was producing one-third of the United State's steel for buildings. -
Period: to
Imperialism
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Sherman Anti-Trust Act was passed
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first law limiting monopolies in the United States - to be passed on July 2, 1890 by the Congress. It was formed by John Sherman, the Senator of Ohio. He wanted to stop monopolies of businesses in the United States from growing more rapidly than they already had. The act was put in place in order to prohibit trusts and limit the monopolies. Thus, ultimately creating a fairer competition in the work place and limit any take-over of departments of merchandise. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre took place on December 29, 1890, at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota. The US military troops and the Lakota Sioux Indians were both involved in this massacre. 300 Sioux men, women, and children were performing the ghost dance in order to resist white rule. The Native Americans believed that this dance would summit the dead spirits who they believed would protect them from bullets. A gun was fired and as a result, 300 Sioux were killed from performing the ghost dance. -
People's Party/Populist Party
The People's Party, also referred to as the Populist Party, was a third party in the political spectrum. The party consisted of members from farmers, workers, and reformers. The People's Party was created to better serve the interests of the supporters and independent of establishment. The party wanted to fight the corruption of the democrats and republicans in the politics. The goal was the eliminate monopolies, gain coinage of silver, graduated income taxes, and the storage of surplus. -
Sears, Roebuck & Company was founded
The Sears, Roebuck & Company (also referred to as "Sears" in present day), was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck. It was first an advertising catalog but then became and an American chain of department stores. The company began as a mail ordering catalog and later opened retail stores in 1925. The multiple-hundred paged catalogs advertised items for all ages because it was family oriented. Items like kitchen ware, toys, clothing, and automobiles were featured in catalogs. -
World's Colombian Exposition of 1893
The World's Colombian Exposition of 1893, aka the Chicago World's Fair or Chicago Colombian Exposition, was a world's fair held in the Jackson Park or Midway Plaisance in Chicago, Illinois in 1893. The event was thrown to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The Exposition was an influential social and cultural event. It contained ideas of technology, science, architecture, urban design, and thousands of exhibits like the Texas Courthouse. -
Pullman Strike began
The Pullman Strike was a nonviolent strike that took place and was against the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago on May 11, 1894. The strike involved railroad workers protesting against their cut wages. The strike was led by Eugene V. Debs. Ultimately, the Pullman Strike resulted in the shut down of the western railroads. The strike ended and failed because of the president's interference with the mail system that brought bad image on unions and caused the forbidden of all boycott activity. -
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the the 25th VP of the United States and the 26th President of the United States. He was also the youngest president of the United States at 42 years old. Throughout his presidential term, he was very energetic, enthusiastic, loved dearly, but believed the country was at a crossroads. The public viewed him as a big little kid, lecturer, and an athlete. He was likable to the people because of an incident where he saved a cub - resulting in the name "teddy bear". -
Period: to
The Progressive Era
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Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a U.S. Supreme Court case in 1896. It upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal". The case was prompted because Homer Plessy, a 1/8 black man, bought a first-class ticket on a whites only train. Because he wasn't completely white, people took offense and believed he broke the Jim Crow Laws - resulting in Plessy v. Ferguson. -
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration of 100,000 people to the Klondike region of the Yukon in northwestern Canada between August 1896 to 1899. These prospectors migrated to Yukon in hopes of becoming wealthy. The discovery of gold, the size of a dime, resulted in increase of mining to find bigger, thicker, and shiner gold. By the summer of 1897, word of gold was published and spread throughout North America and even parts of Europe - causing more prospectors to trek to the Klondike area. -
Election of 1896
The election of 1896 was the presidential election between William McKinley, a Republican who supported gold/rich, and William Jennings Bryan, a Democrat who supported silver/workers in society. The Democrats and Populists party were on the same side and wanted similar goals: end monopolies, more silver than gold, and to both exist in the economy. However, the Republicans were very confident about this election which resulted in the win of McKinley. As a result the Populist party disintegrates. -
U.S.S. Maine Incident
The U.S.S. Maine was an American naval ship that sank in Havana Harbor during the Cuban revolt against Spain. This event that became a major political issue in the U.S. because it caused the United States to join the Spanish-American War. Maine is best known for her loss in Havana Harbor on the evening of 15 February 1898. Sent to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt against Spain, she exploded suddenly, without warning, and sank quickly, killing nearly three quarters of her crew. -
Battle of Manila Bay
The Battle of Manila Bay took place on May 1, 1898, in Manila, Philippines, during the Spanish–American War. The Americans joined the war because those living on the West Coast of the US feared a Spanish attack at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. At 5AM, commander George Dewey, an American Asiatic Squadron, and the Filipino army, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, ordered the firing of the Spanish fleet. As a result, the Spansih forces surrendered and the US and the Philippines gained Manila. -
Battle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill, also known as the Battle of San Juan Heights, was one of the most important battles of the Spanish-American War. As part of their campaign to capture Spanish-held Santiago de Cuba on the southern coast of Cuba, the U.S. Army Fifth Corps engages Spanish forces. On July 3, the Spanish fleet was destroyed off Santiago by U.S. warships, and on July 17 the Spanish surrendered Cuba to the Americans. This battle was the greatest victory for the Rough Riders and Roosevelt. -
Treaty of Paris 1898 was signed
The Treaty of Pairs 1898 was the agreement made in 1898 that involved Spain relinquishing nearly all of the remaining Spanish Empire, especially Cuba, and ceding Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States. In other words, this document was the contract that ended the Spanish-American War. The war started on April 25, 1898, due to a series of escalating disputes between the two nations. It was signed on December 10, 1898, at Paris, France by the Spansih and the United States. -
Boxer Rebellion began
The Boxer Rebellion, a Chinese peasant (aka boxer) uprising in the 1900s, led an uprising in northern China in attempt to drive all foreigners (Western and Japanese) from China. The Boxer Rebellion is also referred as the Boxer Uprising. The Boxer Rebellion began November 2, 1899, and lasted until September 7, 1901. The Chinese believed that the Westerners wanted to get rid of all foreign influence, take away their jobs, and angered the Chinese spirits because they were in a time of famine. -
Election of 1900
During the election of 1900, the Republicans nominated William McKinley as their candidate. On the other hand, the Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan as their candidate. During this election, the Republicans and McKinley advocated imperialism and gold. Unlike McKinley, the Democrats and Bryan held a platform based on silver. Believing that free silver would end U.S. prosperity, the Republicans supported it. McKinley won the election with an overwhelming victory in the urban areas. -
Big Stick Policy was passed
The Big Stick Policy was a law enacted by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1901. The policy stated that the United States should encourage being peaceful with foreign nations when making resolutions. However, if necessary, the United States should be prepared to use force. The famous quote, "speak softly, and carry a big stick", where the "big stick"' symbolizes President Roosevelt's power and readiness to use military force if necessary, means that the United States was always ready to attack. -
Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary was an extension of the Monroe Doctrine, asserting that the United States has the right to protect its economic interests in South and Central America, and the US has the right to exercise international police force to restore order. Roosevelt's policy advocated the "big stick" concept. The Big Stick Policy was the idea that the US would use military force if necessary. This was shown through helping Panama gain independence from Columbia and building the Panama Canal. -
The Jungle
The Jungle was an American novel published in 1906 by Upton Sinclair. The novel exposed the harsh harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities. In the novel, Jurgis and Ona, Lithuanian immigrants, moved to Chicago along with Ona's family. We see their struggles of making it in the United States while both work at a meat packing industry in Packington. Due to the book, the nation came to terms with the meats in factories. -
Meat Inspection Act of 1906
The Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1806, also referred to as FMIA, was passed on June 30, 1806. It is an American law that makes it a crime to adulterate or misbrand meat and meat products being sold as food. It also ensures that meat and meat products are slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions. The Meat Inspection Act was passed because of the result of Upton Sinclair's novel, The Jungle, that exposed the harsh conditions of the workers and the unsanitary workplace at factories. -
Muller v. Oregon
Muller v. Oregon was a United States Supreme Court case in 1908 that provided women state mandate and lesser work-hours than men. The nation questioned whether women's liberty to negotiate a contract with an employer should be equal to a man's. In other words, whether women should be upheld to the same standards in the workplace as men. As a result, the law didn't recognize sex-based discrimination. Women were offered reproductive health plans like maternity leave without losing their jobs. -
Ford Model T was made
The Ford Model T was named the most influential car of the 20th century. The Model T is an automobile produced by Henry Ford of Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. Through the assembly line process, the automobile was made up of standardized auto parts. Because the Model T was made up of affordable parts, it is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile. The Model T was the automobile that allowed the common middle-class Americans to travel and transport. -
Dollar Diplomacy started 1909
In 1908, President William H. Taft was elected to replace Theodore Roosevelt in the presidential office. The vision was to continue Roosevelt's foreign success However, President Taft did not believe in the Big Stick and instead created the Dollar Diplomacy. The Dollar Diplomacy is a policy that used America's financial powers rather than military intervention, to extend their influence abroad. The policy forced Latin America to become dependent on the dollar to prevent European intervention. -
Angel Island was open
Angel Island Immigration Station was an immigration station located in San Francisco Bay which operated from January 21, 1910 to November 5, 1940, where immigrants, especially those coming from Asia, trying to enter the United States were detained and interrogated. Angel Island, sometimes referred to as the Ellis Island of the West, was located on an island in San Francisco Bay. The island held hundreds of thousands of immigrants, the majority from China, Japan, India and the Philippines. -
Election of 1912
The election of 1912 was the presidential race against candidates Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (progressive), Woodrow Wilson (democratic), William H. Taft (republican), and other candidates. The democrats unanimously nominated Woodrow Wilson. However, the Republicans were split between William Taft and his republic ideas and Theodore Roosevelt and the Bull Moose Party. Because the Republicans were split, the democrats and Woodrow Wilson won the election by a landslide of 435 electoral votes. -
17th Amendment was ratified
The 17th Amendment of the US Constitution was passed on April 8, 1913 - ratified by 3/4 of the state legislatures. The law states that the popular election of United States Senators by the people of the states and alters the procedure for filling vacancies in the Senate. Before, high political position were chosen due to affiliation. Since then, people have complained that a civil service system needed to be created and put in place in order to reform the corrupt politics of the United States. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was shot on June 28, 1914. During his visit to Germany, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were attacked but got away. However, during the bombing, several officers and bystanders were injured and taken to the hospital. Archduke Franz Ferdinand set on an excursion to visit the patients in the hospital but ended up taking a wrong turn. As a result, he was shot by Princip, a Serbian nationalist. -
Period: to
World War 1
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Weapons in World War 1
During World War 1, many nations set out to create new technologies in order to advance themselves in the war. Things like mustard gas, submarines, planes, tanks, machine guns, barbed wire, and mines were found during World War 1. The mustard gas was created by the Germans as a way to wipe out people quickly. The gas caused severe burning of the skin, eyes and respiratory tract on anyone in came into contact with. Barbed wire and mines were found in between the trenches to keep it from shifting. -
RMS Lusitania sank
On May 7, 1915, less than a year after World War I erupted across Europe, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner en route from New York to Liverpool, England. Over 1,100 passengers died, including 120 Americans. In total, there were about 1,900 passengers. The sinking of the RMS Lusitania played a significant role/factor in the United States reasons for joining the Great War. The sinking of the RMS Lusitania is comparable to the sinking of the Titanic. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman Telegram, also known as the Zimmermann Note or Zimmerman Cable, was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico. In the note, the Germans proposed a military alliance with Mexico and as a return, the Germans offered a great deal of financial support along with Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico if they won the war. The US saw this as a threat and as a result, joined the war. -
Espionage Act of 1917
After the United States became involved in World War 1, Congress passed the Espionage Act of 1917. The Espionage Act was a law punished people for obstructing military recruitment, or for causing disloyalty or insubordination within the armed forces, or for conspiring to obstruct recruitment or cause insubordination. The at also allowed the poster master general to exclude seditious material from the axial. The Espionage Act broke down into categories, one being the Sedition Act of 1918. -
American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
The American Expeditionary Forces were the United States Armed Forces, or fighting men of the United States Army, during World War I. The group composed of about 2,000,000 men. It was established on July 5, 1917. In May 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Major General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing as leader of the AEF. The headquarters was located in Chaumont, France. The AEF engaged in the Western Front during WWI, Battle of Cambrai, Italian Front, Battle of Vittorio Veneto, and etc. -
President Woodrow's 14 Points
Fighting in WW1 ceased when the armistice went into effect on November 11, 1918. The 14 Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War and recognize that WW1 was fought for a moral cause. President Wilson proposed the 14 Points to Congress on January 8, 1918. The 14 Points focused on territorial issues and suggested the League of Nations, a group made of international powers in order to create and keep the universal peace. -
18th Amendment was ratified
The 18th Amendment of the United States was established January 16, 1919 - the prohibition of alcohol. This law banned the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol. The amendment however, does not ban the consumption or private possession of alcohol illegal. This amendment was surrounded by the Temperance Movement, the movement attempting to dissuade people from becoming intoxicated. This pertained especially to men, who when under the influence of alcohol, would beat their wives. -
Treaty of Versailles ended the war
World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. However, the ear itself ended on November 11, 1918. The negotiation was held in Paris, France. The treaty, negotiated between January and June 1919 in Paris, was written by the Allies with no participation by the Germans - even though it's stated they take full responsibility of the war. The contract itself is broken into 15 parts and is 440 pages long. As a result, Germany agreed to pay reparations. -
Temperance Movement
Although the Temperance Movement started int he 1800s, it resurfaced again in the 1920s. During the Roaring Twenties, partying was at an all-time high. People were throwing parties and getting drunk. Saloons encouraged drinking in bars - where women weren't allowed. Wall Street and stock markets increased and the people were getting richer. As a result, they partied harder and the demand for alcohol rose. As a result, the Temperance Movement resurfaced in order to stop the chaos ensuing. -
First Red Scare ended
The First Red Scare was a period during 1917 to 1920 where the United States marked by a widespread fear of Bolshevism and anarchism, due to real and imagined events; real events included those such as the Russian Revolution and anarchist bombings. Americans feared the idea that Communism and Russian ideas and cultures were coming to the United States. They liked Capitalism and free enterprise. They loved the idea that people and businesses were able to own their own items and properties. -
Anti-Saloon League
The Anti-Saloon League was one of the most politically successful protest groups supporting the prohibition of alcohol and Increased the public awareness of the social effects of alcohol in the US. Through speeches, advertisements, and public demonstrations, they voiced their opinions. The league was originally founded in 1893 in Oberlin, Ohio by representatives of temperance societies and evangelical Protestant. However, they became popular in the 1920s, when alcohol was at an all-time high. -
Period: to
The Roaring Twenties
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League of Nations was formed
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded on January 10, 1920, as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. The League of Nations was suggested by President Woodrow Wilson in his 14 Points as a way for the United States to maintain peace in the world. The League of Nations was created to prevent future international conflicts through collective security and disarmament and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration. -
Volstead Act was adopted
The Volstead Act, aka the National Prohibition Act, was a law that banned the manufacture, sell, barter, transport, import, export, deliver, furnish, or possession of any intoxicating liquor except as authorized. The Volstead Act was incorporated in the 18th Amendment of the banishment of liquor. However, the Volstead Act itself was under-budgeted, had fewer supporters, and was overall ineffective in anti-prohibition states. The law created January 16, 1919, and took effect on January 17, 1920. -
19th Amendment was ratified
The 19th Amendment of the US Constitution was passed on August 8, 1920. The amendment granted American women the right to vote. For a long time, the suffragettes, women who fought for the right to vote, wanted the same rights as men in politics. Because of women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott, and groups like the Seneca Falls Convention (a national level organization), the 19th amendment was passed. This ultimately ended the protest for women's suffrage. -
19th Amendment was ratified
The 19th Amendment allowed the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. In other words, it gave women the right to vote and be involved in politics and vote. The amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, after multiple protests for women's suffrage. After the World War 1, and women had to return to their housework, they wanted to contribute more to society and believed that they had the right to. -
Tea Pot Dome Scandal
The Tea Pot Dome Scandal was a bribery incident that took place during the administration of President Warren G. Harding. This scandal shocked America by revealing the corruption of the government. Albert Fall was found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office. He was the first individual to be convicted of a crime committed while a presidential cabinet member. While in office, Fall secretly granted to Harry F. Sinclair of the Mammoth Oil Company exclusive rights to the Teapot Dome reserves. -
Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924, also referred to as the Johnson-Reed Act, National Origins Act, and Asian Exclusion Act, was a United States federal law that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States as of the 1890 census. The law was primarily aimed at restricting immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans, especially Italians, Slavs and Eastern European Jews. -
Scopes Monkey Trial
The Scopes Trial, formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and commonly referred to as the Scopes Monkey Trial, was an American legal case in July 1925 in which a substitute high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school. During this time, people believed that naturalism was what everything was derived from. The idea that humans evolved from monkeys was foolish. -
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan, commonly known and abbreviated as KKK, was a movement group that advocated white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration. The KKK was very prideful of the United States and disliked any non-white groups marking their territory - especially African Americans. The Ku Klux Klan would lynch and kill African Americans for entertainment. However, in the Roaring Twenties, the KKK broaden their targets and began targetting Catholics, Jews, immigrants, and feminists also. -
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony was a Quaker, advocate for women's rights, and suffragette. She was a strong believer that women should have the same rights as men. Along with the help from Stanton, she founded the National Women's Suffrage Association. She was also the one who convinced congressional supporters to create a Constitutional movement allowing women the right to vote - which resulted in the 19th amendment. Because she was very passionate about her movement, she went so far as to illegally vote. -
Hoover's Response to the Great Depression
President Herbert Hoover was unprepared for the effects of the Great Depression. President Hoover lacked the action that the Americans needed to reassure him them that they could make it through the Great Depression. In an attempt to rehabilitate the United States' economy, President Hoover passed the Emergency Relief Act, a law that gave grants to the states for the same purpose. However, as a result, he did not get re-elected for his second term in office. Instead, the people voted for FDR. -
Period: to
The Great Depression
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Valentine's Day Massacre
The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre on February 14, 1929, seven men who worked with George "Bugs" Moran, one of Al Capone's rivals, was shot to death by Al Capone's men disguised as policemen in a garage. George "Bugs" Moran was a career criminal who ran the North Side gang in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois during the bootlegging era Capone set out to eliminate his enemies that were involved in prostitution, gambling and bootlegging. Gang warfare ruled the streets of Chicago in the 1920s. -
Black Tuesday ensued
Black Tuesday, also known as The Wall Street Crash of 1929, the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the United Staes. On October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed and the United States went into inflation. Stocks had no buyers for days afterward. Companies like the Dow lost about 12% of their stocks traded. And again, on October 20, 1929, Dow regained an additional 28.40 points, or 12 percent causing his stocks to drop even lower. -
The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl refers to the drought-stricken Southern Plains region of the US which suffered severe dust storms during the 1930s. High, dry winds and dust ere present in Texas to Nebraska. During the Dust Bowl, people, livestock, and crops were destroyed and killed causing a massive inflation in the economy. This only intensified the economy because Americans were still recovering the Great Depression. As a result, farming families migrated in search of better economy and living conditions. -
Election of 1932
The Election of 1932 was the presidential election between Franklin D. Roosevelt, the nomination for the democratic party, and Herbert H. Hoover, the nomination for the Republican party. During the election, Roosevelt attempted to hide his disability from the media because he believed would keep from being elected president. Because Herbert Hoover was slacking during his presidency and seemed didn't rehabilitate the US from inflation, the people elected Franklin D. Roosevelt as president. -
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, nicknamed FDR, was born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, NY. He was nominated in the election of 1932 against Herbert Hoover. During his election, he was diagnosed with polio and began losing feeling in his legs. Believing that he wouldn't be elected because of his disability, the media agreed not to publicize him when he got out of cars. As a result, he was elected president. During his presidential term, his wife, Eleanor, was his eyes, ears, and legs for him. -
The New Deal was passed
The New Deal was a series of federal programs, public work projects, financial reforms and regulations enacted in the United States during the 1930s in response to the Great Depression. The New Deal lasted from 1933 to 1937. During the Great Depression, at least one-quarter of the American workforce was unemployed. But when Fraklin D. Roosevelt took office, he attempted to relieve and stabilize the economy by providing jobs and relief to those who were suffering during the Freat Depression. -
20th Amendment was ratified
The 20th amendment of the United States Constitution moved the beginning and ending of the terms of the president and vice president from March 4 to January 20, and of members of Congress from March 4 to January 3. In other words, the 20th amendment sets the dates at which federal (United States) government elected offices end and defines who succeeds the president if the president dies. President Hoover ratified the amendment on January 23, 1933, and passed by Congress on March 2, 1932. -
The Holocaust in Europe
The Holocaust was a sacrificial offering that the Germans used to murder of some 6 million European Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals. In the eyes of the anti-Semitic Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, Jews were the inferior race and was a threat to German racial purity. As a result, he persecuted them. Hitler forced Jews to wear the Star of David so that they would be recognized as Jews and publically shunned. Later afterward, he created concentration camps that imprisoned Jews in order to punish them. -
Glass-Steagall Act was passed
The Glass-Steagall Act was a law that prohibited commercial banks from participating in the investment banking business. The act was passed in 1933 by President FDR because he wanted to rehabilitate the United States economy. The act was an emergency measure to counter the failure of banks during the Great Depression. The Glass-Steagall act was meant to stop "run on banks", restore the public's confidence in the US banking system, and sever the linkages between commercial and investment banking. -
21st Amendment was ratified
The Twenty-First Amendment of the United States Consitution was passed on December 5, 1933, by President Hoover. The Twenty-First Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition on alcohol on January 16, 1919. The Twenty-First Amendment allowed the transportation, importation, and possession of intoxicating liquors in the United States. The amendment also set the legal drinking age of alcohol at twenty-one years old. -
Social Security Act was passed
The Social Security Act of 1935 was a federal insurance program passed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. The Social Security Act of 1935 was based on the automatic collection of taxes from employees and employers throughout people's working careers. They would receive this money in a monthly pension (retirement payments) when they reached the age of 65 - about $401,000 fund. The unemployed, disabled, and mothers with dependent children would also receive this money. -
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World War 2
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Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, in World War II, was a contest between the Western Allies and the Axis powers (especially Germany) for the control of Atlantic sea routes. This battle was the longest battle in World War II. It began immediately after the British declared war on the Germans in September 1939. During the 6 years the battle went on, thousands of ships and men from both the Allied powers and the Axis powers were lost and destroyed. The battle lasted until the fall of France in June 1940. -
The Attack at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base located in Honolulu, Hawaii. On December 7, 1941, at 8 a.m., hundreds of Japanese fighter planes bombed and destroyed nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded. This event was one of the most devastating surprises from Japan and was the reason why President Roosevelt allowed the US to join the war. -
FDR's Speech declaring war
On December 8, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared war on the Japanese. After the surprise attack from the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt asked Congress if the United States could declare war on the Japanese Empire. Because Japan was politically tied to Germany and Italy in World War II, they also declared war on the United States. As a result, the United States joined the Allied powers in the war against the Axis powers. After declaring war, FDR was assassinated. -
US Office of War Information (OWI) was created
The United States Office of War Information, abbreviated as OWI, was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI was formed to attract U.S. citizens to jobs in support of the war effort. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other forms of media, the OWI advertised and informed the citizens of the United States about what was happening during the war. Before the OWI, Americans were confused about the war and some didn't know the reason. -
D-Day was created
During World War 2, the Battle of Normandy on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, was the battle between 156,000 American, British, and Canadian forces against Germans on France's Normandy region, a 50-mile stretch of coast. In the Battle of Normandy, the Allied powers defeated the Germans and northern France was liberated from Germany. Because of this win for the Allied powers against the Axis power, the Normandy landings has been known for being the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge took place on December 16, 1944. Adolph Hitler, the German chancellor, split the Allied armies in northwest Europe. The American forces were caught off guard and had to fight battles to stall the German advance at St. Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize, and Bastogne. While the Germans made their way to Ardennes, the Allied powers took the appearance of a bulge, resulting in the battle's name. The bulge traveled through Bastogne to provide a defense to slow the Germans. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt dies
After President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared war on the Japanese Empire and joined World War II, he passed away. While on vacation in Warm Springs, Georgia, FDR complained of a terrific pain in the back of my head and collapsed unconscious. A doctor was summoned and diagnosed Roosevelt with a massive cerebral hemorrhage and gave the president a shot of adrenaline into the heart in a vain attempt to revive him. However, after the doctor left, FDR fainted and at 3:30 pm was pronounced dead. -
VE Day was celebrated
Victory in Europe Day, more commonly known as VE Day, was a day appointed in Europe as the day that the Germans laid down their weapons and the war was almost over. May 8, 1945, was the day that both Great Britain and the US celebrate Victory in Europe Day. through flags and banners. After the Soviet Union lost 8,000 men in the battle against the Germans, who lost even more, in Prague, the Germans surrendered and this event was a win for the Allied powers which led to the end of World War II. -
The United Nations was formed
After World War I, the League of Nations was created as a way to prevent any future world war. However, the League of Nations wasn't as successful as every nation had hoped. We can see that through World War II. As a result, the League of Nations was replaced by the United Nations on October 24, 1945, after the Treaty of Versailles. The difference between the League of Nations and the UN was that the UN was established "to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security."
