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Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention fought for the rights of women who fought for social, religious, and civil rights. The meeting was held over a two day period on July 19-20, 1848 in New York. Over 300 people were present, both men and women. The Seneca Falls' manifesto was meant to describe the demands and grievances of all women. It promoted women to fight for their rights as citizens. -
Sand Creek Massacre 1864
He Sand Creek Massacre was a result of a conflict for control of the Great Plains of Eastern Colorado. The Laramie treaty of 1851 guaranteed ownership of the land to the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Native Americans. The European gold miners floated across the region. And in November 29, Chivington attacked the Native Americans without warning. He slaughtered 148 of Chief Black Kettle’s followers. Most were women and children. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment was ratified on January 31, 1865. The purpose of it was to finally abolish slavery. In it, it is written “Niether slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment of crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction”. Even though the 13th amendment abolished slavery, it did not grant people of color with citizenship. -
Freedmen’s Bureau
The Freedmen bureau was put in place in order to provide food, clothing, jobs, medical care and education for people without enough privilege to provide for themselves. -
The Grandfather Clause
The grandfather clause was a constitutional device between 1895 and 1910. It aided in the act to deny suffrage rights to African American citizens. It worked against the 15th ammendment in excluding black people from voting. The Supreme Court acknowledged that it was unconstitutional but it didn’t come to an end until president Lyndon B. Johnson provided and created the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that it was completely abolished. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment states that all people who are born or naturalized inside the states, and subject to the jurisdiction of the government are citizens of the U.S. and the state that they chose to reside in. It guaranteed “equal protection of laws”. -
Election of President Grant
Grant was born in Ohio and served as a commander of the Union army during the American Civil War. He was a determined leader and was gifted the command of all U.S. armies. He became a nationally known hero and was eventually nominated to be president. He worked to reunite the North and South along with trying to protect the rights of newly freed slaves. -
Transcontinental Railroad
The Transcontinental railroad was one of the most monumental creations in history. It allowed efficient travel from the East coast to the Aest coast. There were four main names involved in the building of the railroad; Huntington, Hopkins, Stanford, Crocker. The cost of the RR was $16,000 per mile of level track, and $48,000 for mountainous track. Each side had struggles of their own. They fought weather, Indians, and terrain. Because of the RR, it only took 7 days to travel across the US. -
Civil Rights Act of 1875
Also known as the enforcement act, the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was set into place in order to protect all people of their civil and legal rights given to them by their citizenship. This included giving the equal treatment I’m public transportation, accommodations, etc.. The act was signed by Ulysses S. Grant on the first of March in the year 1875. -
The Battle of Little Big Horn
George Custer led his troops into battle against the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne tribes on June 25, 1876. The catalyst of the battle was the discovery of gold on Native American land. Custer went in to try and sieze the land for their own benefit but he was not aware of the amount of warriors we was going against. The numbers were 100 to 1. Custer was horribly outnumbered and lost every single one of his troops in the battle. But the Sioux were forced into reservations even after they won. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese exclusion act of 1882 began the restrictions of certain immigrants to the United States. The purpose was to prevent masses of Chinese citizens from taking jobs away from American citizens. The goal was to maintain white “racial purity”. Not only did this restrict the Chinese from coming to America but it also started the movement for immigration restriction of other “undesirables”. Examples of these are many middle easterners such as, Hindu and East Indiana. -
Completion of the Brooklyn Bridge
John Australia Roebling created the bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge was the first suspension bridge to be successfully created over such a vast space. The people who worked to finish the now famous bridge we mostly immigrants. They were paid under two dollars a day. Because of the heat and dense air, many suffered from ailments such as “The Bends” which occasionally led to death. Many sacrificed their life to give America a structure that became monumental. -
Ida B. Wells Inspiration
Ida B. Wells was a journalist, feminist, and abolitionist. She lead out in an anti-lynching crusade throughout the United States. She fought her entire life struggling for African American Justice. In May of 1884, she reached a turning point in her life when she was forced to move cars on a train ride to Nashville. She sued the railroad company and won $500. In 1898 she brought her campaign to the White House in leading a protest calling for president William McKinley to make reforms. -
Statue of Liberty Being Gifted
The Statue of Liberty was gifted to the United States as a friendship gift celebrating the 100th year anniversary of America on June 19, 1885. The sculpture was a creation of the sculpture Fredric Bartholdi. It has come to represent freedom over the course of years. The Statue of Liberty stands 151 feet tall. It was sent over to America in 214 crates. The immensely sized statue has been able to welcome over 12 million people into the United States. -
Establishment of Ellis Island
The opening of Ellis Island was a pivotal point in United States History and immegration. It gave sanctity to many who were trying to escape poverty, oppression, and poor lifestyles. Ellis Island gave them the opportunity to escape. It provided entrance for over 12 million immigrants from Germany, Ireland, and Scandinavia. America became a safe house for the rest of the world. -
Annexation of the Philippines
Puerto Rico became a colony of the United States at the end of the Spanish American War. America set up a protectorate over Cuba and annexed the islands of Hawaii. McKinley forcefully prompted Spain to cede the Philippine Islands. He explained the idea that he had been forced to make the decision to annex. The league redirected its efforts to ending the war against the Philippines and stopping annexation of the islands. -
Explosion of the USS Maine
The explosion of the Maine was the catalyst for the Spanish American war. After feeling unrest from Spain, America immediately assumed that the Spanish were responsible for the explosion. It was discovered that the ship sank due to a mine and the idea that Spain was responsible was enough to call for a declaration of war. -
Annexation of Hawaii
During the 1800's the United States realized that Hawaii was becoming a very important and crucial factor for commercial export. It was recognized as a strategic location for defense of the pacific side of the region. The US quickly became concerned that Hawaii had the possibility of becoming part of a European nation's empire. -
Cuba Gains Independence
Cuba gained its independence due to the authorization to use the military to force the Spanish off the island but William McKinley. After the victory of the United States, Spain handed over the colonies of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. America gave Spain 20 million dollars in return. After Cuba was recognized as independent from Spain, America set -
1912 Election
William Taft, succeeded President Roosevelt as an unlikely candidate. Roosevelt and Taft were both very close friends. But Roosevelt became disillusioned with William and eventually decided to challenge him in the next election for republican nomination. -
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson was president from the years of 1913 through 1919. He played a main role during the progressive era. He fought for a stronger government. He changed labor rights. He led an anti-trust legislation. He also aided in persuading congress to level the playing field for the relations between different governments. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, were both assassinated by a man named Gavrilo Princip on the 28th of June during their visit to Sarajevo. Within the same day, Austria-Hungary declared war against both Serbia and German. Ferdinand's assassination was said the be the catalyst for World War One. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
Less than a year after the beginning of World War One began, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the Lusitania. The Lusitania was a British ocean liner traveling from New York to Liverpool, England. There were over 1,900 passengers on board and over 1,100 people perished. Two years later, America finally entered the war but the sinking of the Lusitania prompted the public opinion of America against Germany. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman telegram was a message given to President Wilson from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman who proposed that Mexico should side with Germany. This was to prepare for the case of war between Germany and the United States. Mexico declined the option available to him but it prompted America to support entering the war. -
U.S. Enters the War
On April 6, 1917, the U.S. joined Britain, Russia, and France in World War I. Over two million soldiers were enlisted to fight on the battlefields in France. They were under the command of Major General John J. Pershing. America was divided. Many wanted to remain neutral and not enter the war, while others strongly promoted entering the war. -
Alice Paul's Arrest
Alice Paul dedicated her life to fighting for the 19th amendment. On November 14, 1917, she was imprisoned at the Occoquan penitentiary. The women were imprisoned without fault and fought for their release. They were eventually moved to the district jail where they went on a hunger strike and were brutally force fed. The women were treated poorly but still fought for what they believed with passion and intention. -
The Battle of Cantigny
The day after the British suffered a major defeat on the Aisne River, a two hour artillery barrage preceded the attack on Cantigny. The French army aided the Americans by providing artillery, air cover, heavy tanks, and teams of flamethrowers. The Americans captured 100 German prisoners on that day. -
Ho Chi Minh Ignored
After the end of World War I, Ho Chi Minh arrived at the Paris Peace Conference. He responded to Woodrow Wilson by promising "self determination" for nations. He hoped to free Vietnam from the colonial rule of the French but he was ignored. -
18th Amendment
The 18th amendment was ratified on January 16 of the year 1919 and came into effect in January 17 of 1920. Unlike the impression some people get, the eighteenth amendment did not prohibit the consumption of alcohol but the selling, buying, and making of alcohol. This amendment failed because of bootleggers like Al Capone who smuggled alcohol. -
Passing of the 19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment guaranteed the right for women to be able to vote. The suffrage movement was founded by women who became politically active through their work as abolitionists. Susan B. Anthony pushed for the amendment to the constitution. In 1869, Wyoming became the first state to allow women to vote. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the last needed state to ratify the amendment. Eight days later the amendment came into effect. -
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
Al Capone waged war against other gangs throughout the streets of Chicago. He tried to gain ultimate control by eliminating rivals in his business of bootlegging. On February 14, 1929, seven men were shot by men dressed as policemen. The crime was traced back to Capone but with no evidence. -
Black Tuesday
Black Tuesaday was marked as part of the catalyst for the longest lasting economic struggle in western industrialization. Billions of dollars were lost and investors were wiped out. By this time the economy was already struggling. Unemployment rates had risen and production had seriously declined. This just added to the tragity. -
Smoot-Harley Tariff
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff was an act the implemented trade policies between countries. It was designed to help and try to get America out of the depression. It increase import and export costs by 40-48%. The goal was to help farmers who had been affected by the Dust Bowl. -
Capture of Al Capone
Al Capone was a Chicago gangster who smuggled alcohol illegally. Many deaths and shootings in that time were suspected to be related to him but there was never any proof. Finally on October 24,1931 Capone was convicted on income tax evasion. He was sentenced 11year in prison on Alcatraz. -
Revenue Act of 1932
The Revanue Act of 1932 was another’s way the government sought to fight the depression. It raised taxes across the board. Estate tax was doubled and corporate taxes were raised by close to fifteen percent. -
Bonus Army
The bonus army was a group of veterans who requested their promised veteran’s bonus they were promised years before in order to supply needs for themselves and their families during the depression. 43,000 marchers gathered in Washington D.C. to demand their payment. The government did not take kindly to this and ended up disbanding them by force. Four people died. -
FDR Election
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected as our nations 32nd president. Roosevelt acted towards restoring public confidence. He put into act the bank holiday as his first way of ending the Depression, which allowed him to essentialy weed out unfit banks. He started the New Deal which was both smiled and frowned upon. -
21st amendment
The twenty first amendment repealed the eighteenth amendment of prohibition. Because of the failure of the 18th amendment, the repeal of it allowed for all men to stop breaking the law. The 18th amendment was put into place as a way to stop something that many people saw as sinful and unhelpful to society but it ended up causing more problems than it fixed. -
Beginning of WWII
The beginning of the Second World War began on September 1, 1939. The catalyst was Hitler invading Poland with his German troops. This lead to France and Britain to declare war on Hitler. It is thought that WWII grew from conflicts left unresolved in Europe from WWI. Political and economical instability of Germany had a large role to play in the beginning of the Second World War. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was a codename for the attack on Russia from Hitler. This occurred despite the Russo-German non-aggression pact. Hitler attacked because he wanted resources that Russia had like oil, coal, and food. The Russian armies slowly retreated and burned everything behind them which caused many problems for Hitler who had not learned from the man he looked up to, Napoleon. He was not prepared to lose everything. -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack made by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. It was Japan’s way of trying to cause America to fear them. Eighteen U.S. ships were destroyed, along with 200 aircrafts. America lost over 3000 soldiers that day while Japan only lost around 100 men. In response, America chose to declare war on both Japan and Germany. They entered World War II. -
The Undriving of the Golden Spike Ceremony
In 1942, part of the track was needed for WWII salvage, which bestowed a cause for the “Undriving of the Golden Spike” ceremony. Many notable titles were present during both the driving and undriving ceremonies. The Governor of Utah, E.C. Schmidt, L.P. Hopkins and Everett Michaels worked together to undriving the spike. -
D-Day
Operation Overlord began on June 6, 1944. Close to 160,000 allied forces landed on the fifty mile stretch of the fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. It was one of the largest amphibious military assaults ever. There was a lot of effort put into misleading the Germans. At dawn, thousands of paratroopers found their place behind enemy lines. There was heavy invasion on Omaha beach. Les than a week laterm over 300,000 troops landed at Normandy. -
The Battle of Iwo Jima
The battle of Iwo Jima was a military campaign between the US and Japanese imperial army. American forces invaded the island of Iwo Jima on February 19 and began a battle that lasted for five weeks. It was one of the bloodiest battles in WWII. Almost all of the 21,000 Japanese forces were killed. -
Death of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Roosevelt sat in his living room with Lucy Mercer and his two cousins while having his portrait painted. He suddenly complained of intense pain in the back of his head and he collapsed. The doctors diagnosed it as a cerebral hemorrhage. His wife was very strong. -
V-J Day
Victory over Japan occurred on September 2, 1945. Truman made the the decision to end WWII by dropping two atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It wasn’t a hard decision to make but because of Japan’s sense of honor it was the only way to save lives. -
Beginning of the Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain divided two disagreeing groups of countries. It separated the countries driven by the Warsaw Pact and the NATO countries. The separation lasted between 1946 and 1991, when the Cold War ended. The Iron Curtain was not just a physical division but also an ideological one. -
Formation of NATO
The fear of Communist expansion spurred on the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Soviet Union's version of this was the Warsaw Pact. The two groups claimed their countries in Europe causing for division. Conflict arose between the Western nations and Eastern nations led by the Soviet Union. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs was an invasion of American forces on the Cuban government. The idea was to overthrow Fidel Castro. The United States and Cuba were not at war at that time. America want to make it seem like they had never been there. The attack declared their intention to intervene in Cuban affairs. At this time, Cuba had already approached the UN with the facts about the US training mercenaries for this planned invasion. -
Freedom Rides
The Freedom Rides began on May 4, 1961. Seven African Americans and six whites boarded buses traveling to New Orleans. To test the ruling on the Boynton v. Virginia case, they tested the limits by using facilities for the opposite race during their travels. At one stop, the vehicle was firebombed and the riders were beaten. On May 29, 1961 Robert F. Kennedy ordered the Interstate Commerce Commission. -
Creation of the Berlin Wall
At the end of WWII in 1945, the German territories divided. Eastern Germany sided with the Soviet Union and the Western went to the United States, Britain and France. The Berlin Wall was constructed to divide the to groups. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world had come to a nuclear war. The US armed forces were on edge and the soviets in Cuba prepared to use their nuclear weapons to defend themselves. John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev met and signed an agreement, averting the possible war. -
Kennedy's Assassination
At 12:30 p.m. President Kennedy was driving through the streets of Texas in a motorcade. He was there campaigning for the next election. As they turned past the Texas School Book Depository, shots rang out. Kennedy was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital but was pronounced dead after being shot in both the neck and the head. This was a time of grief for america as they watched the young president wave his last wave. -
Civil Rights Act (1964)
On July 2, 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) signed the Civil Rights Act. It was a stronger version of the act that Kennedy had put in place before him. It authorized the prevention of racial discrimination in the United States, such as: employment, voting, and the use of public facilities throughout america. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated. He was a well known African leader who spoke out on the civil rights movement. He demanded that it move beyond civil rights and on to human rights. He was orthodox Islam and claimed that this was the solution to racial and social injustices. He was shot while lecturing in Harlem, New York. -
Selma-Montgomery March
On March 7, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. organized a march that ran from Selma to Montgomery Alabama as a call to for voting rights to be provided for African Americans. The march soon became dangerous when policemen started using force. Cameras recorded the incident and on March 9, King gave another attempt. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was an attack on South Vietnam by North Vietnam. It was an attempt to decrease the likelihood of a South Vietnam rebellion and to try to convince the U.S. to back off. North Vietnam came out on top. -
Watergate Scandal
On June 17, 1972, five men were arrested in the office of Democratic National Committee in the Watergate building. The men arrested were caught wiretapping the room and stealing documents unavailable to them normally. These men were connected to Nixon. Nixon took precautions that were illegal to cover up the crime that occurred within his administration. In August Nixon resign and American politics were changed forever. -
Gorbachev Succeeds Chernenko
Gorbachev was selected to continue the rein of communism in the Soviet Union. Gorbachev led the Soviets through domestic reforms and many changes in policy from the previous leader. He worked to secure a better relationship with America and had frequent meetings with President Reagan. He signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty to reduce the possibility of a Nuclear war. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin came as quickly as the creation of it. The East German leaders insisted that there needed to be a change to stop a possible revolution but the citizens did not agree. The wall stood until November 9, 1989 when crowds swarmed the wall. They started crossing. Some brought tools to start destroying the wall.
