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Founding of the Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party grew rapidly in the years before World War I and was briefly one of the largest socialist movements in the world. The movement's strength was evident also in the hundreds of party affiliated newspapers and the election of mayors, council members, and other officials in more than 300 cities. -
President McKinley's Assassination
William McKinley became the third U.S. president to be assassinated after he was fatally shot at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. -
Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906
Although muckraking journalists had long reported about the unsanitary conditions of American manufacturing plants, it was not until public outcry following the publication of Upton Sinclair’s "The Jungle" that Congress moved on legislation that would prevent the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs or medicines, and liquors. -
Theodore Roosevelt's Nobel Peace Prize
When Japanese victories over Russia threatened the regional balance of power, Roosevelt sponsored peace talks between Russian and Japanese leaders, earning him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. -
Publication of "The Iron Heel"
In 1908 Jack London wrote a dystopian novel in which a corporate oligarchy comes to rule the United State. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The doors of the factory had been chained shut to prevent employees from taking unauthorized breaks. While the managers who held the keys saved themselves, they left over two hundred women behind. 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. -
The Assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Heirs to the Throne
Serbian Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Austro-Hungarian heirs to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Grand Duchess Sophie. This caused vengeful nationalist leaders believed the time had arrived to eliminate the rebellious ethnic Serbian threat. -
Austria declared war on Serbia
After the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and Grand Duchess Sophie, Austria secured the promise of aid from its German ally and issued a list of ten ultimatums to Serbia. Consequently, Austria declared war on Serbia for failure to meet all of the demands. -
Germany declared war on Russia
On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia to protect Austria after warnings directed at Tsar Nicholas II failed to stop Russian preparations for war. -
Great Britain declared war on Germany
On August 4, 1914, Great Britain declared war on Germany for failing to respect Belgium as a neutral nation. -
The Clayton Anti-Trust Act of 1914
This act substantially enhanced the Sherman Act, specifically regulating mergers and price discrimination and protecting labor’s access to collective bargaining and related strategies of picketing, boycotting, and protesting. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
In May 1915, Germans sank the RMS Lusitania. Over a hundred American lives were lost. The attack, coupled with other German attacks on American and British shipping, raised the ire of the public and stoked the desire for war. -
America declared war on Germany
Congress declared war on Germany on April 4, 1917, for submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram had inflamed public opinion. -
The Espionage Act of 1917
This act prohibited obtaining information, recording pictures, or copying descriptions of any information relating to the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information may be used for the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation. -
Sedition Act of 1918
This act curtailed the free speech rights of U.S. citizens during time of war, providing further and expanded limitations on speech put in place by the Espionage Act of 1917. Ultimately, its passage came to be viewed as an instance of government overstepping the bounds of First Amendment freedoms. -
Establishment of the American University of Cairo
As the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and the boards of missions of the Reformed Church of America became dominant in missionary enterprises, their efforts resulted with the establishment of multiple Western-style universities in the Middle East. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The treaty was one of several that officially ended five years of conflict known as the Great War—World War I. The Treaty of Versailles outlined the conditions of peace between Germany and the victorious Allies, led by the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. Other Central Powers (significantly, Austria-Hungary) signed different treaties with the Allies. -
The Chicago Riot
The Chicago Riot sparked a week of mob violence, murder, and arson. Although race riots had rocked the nation before, this was something new. Recently empowered Black Americans actively defended their families and homes from hostile white rioters, often with militant force. This behavior shocked many white Americans who interpreted Black resistance as a desire for total revolution or as a new positive step in the path toward Black civil rights.