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Plessy vs. Ferguson
Plessy V. Ferguson was argued to debate the segregation of whites and blacks in the United States. It was to determine legal segregation. However, if the law was passed then equal facilities were to be provided to each race. The law became effective on May 18, 1896 and was later revoked in 1954 by the case, Brown Vs. Board of Education. -
The Chinese Exclusion Act
During this time the U.S. was becoming flooded with Asian immigrants, thus resulting in the enactment of the "Chinese Exclusion Act". This specifically states that children born as Chinese in the U.S were viewed as citizens, however, immigrants coming from Asia to America were banned and excluded. However, there were exceptions to this law, as Chinese lawyers, teachers, scientists , etc... were allowed into America. -
USS Maine sunk in Havanna Harbor
The USS Main was the second battleship issued by the United States. At this time the USS Maine was sent to Havanna Harbor to ensure U.S. interests in Cuba of which on Feb.15 it exploded, causing the death of 3/4 the crew. This caused tensions between the U.S. and Spain in which many blamed Spain for the disaster. Some speculations were that this was suppossed to cause a war between the U.S. and Spain. However, it is suggested that the catastrophe was caused by a coal explosion. -
President Mckinley Annexes Hawaii (Newlands Resolution)
In the beginning stages, President Mckinley attempted to annex Hawaii with the proposition of an Annexation Act ; however, this attempt failed after 38000 votes tore it down. Aftwerwards, the president submitted the Newlands Resolution on July 4 and by July 7 the act was signed and Hawaii became an official state of the U.S. -
Automobiles In the Rich Community
The Literary Digest quotes that the horsless carriage (automobile) is currently a luxury for the rich and wealthy. This statement was true as the only people owning these vehicles were either wealthy or fortunate. It was not until the early 1920's that the Ford motorized vehicle became popular in all class genres. The vehicle spread to the middle class. -
Japan and U.S. reach Gentlemen's Agreement
Between the years 1900 and 1920 the U.S. experienced a legal immigration population of 14.5 million people! The Gentlemen's Agreement between Japan and the U.S. was recognized in 1907, limiting the number of workers Japan allowed to emmigrate to America. Furthermore, laws were passed in the U.S. inflicting extra taxes on current legal alien residents. -
U.S.Steel Is Formed!
The U.S. Steel was founded by J.P.Morgan and Elbert H.Gary. During this time steel became a major industry, seeking the product throughout the globe. U.S. Steel was located in Pittsburgh, PA and essentially serviced the world. It was a multi-billion dollar corporation (the first in the world) and was previously pioneered by Andrew Carnegie. -
President Mckinley Shot!
President William Mckinley was actively involved in many facets of American law, enhancing the Judicial System, creating peace in the U.S., and keeping America strong. Unfortunately, on September 6, 1901 he was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgoz. He died by September 14 and was afterwards immediately replaced by his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt. -
The Newland's Reclamation Act
The Reclamation Act provided irrigation support to 20 different states in the U.S. Different acts were passed later on to include such places as Texas, considering the dry state of the land. Eventually after several years the Act became a governmental organization that determined and organized irrigation in the U.S. This act was a first prevention against the "Dustbowl" of the 1930's ; however, farmers negligence during this time voided all attempts at irrigating the west. -
Panama Revolts against Columbia
In November of 1903, the U.S. supported the Panama movement that attempted to seperate itself from Columbian rule and establish its own system of government. The Hay/Bunau-Varilla Act with the United States guaranteed their independence and was concluded after the revolution. -
The Wright Brothers Fly!
The Wright brothers were developing airplanes in the early 20th Century. They made up to a total of four different gliders, with the first three all failing. By the time they got to the fourth, Orville Wright engineered some changes, thus on December 17 making the new model fly for the first time for a total of 12 seconds. This was a stepping stone in America for the construction of modern airway trafic. -
The Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine averted the doctrine to grant power to the U.S. government to be able to intervene with Central American and Carribean land affairs. Although the U.S. tried to keep these problems alone, there was political controversy within America that caused tension, thus, it was strongly suggested that the powers to intervene in Central America should be given to Europe and taken from the U.S. -
Supreme Court Rules Against NewYork Policy
In 1905 a legislation was passed, prohibiting bankers the ability to work more than 10 hours a day and 60 hours a week. At one point the law found several employees guilty of breaking this law, as they were working 12 hour days 7 days a week. This problem was appealed to the U.S Supreme Court of which they decided that the U.S. police powers had no right to infract upon the employee employer contract. If the employee wanted to work that long then they could. -
"The Jungle" is Published
Upton Sinclair first created this book with the hope of depicting the poor living conditions of immigrants in the United States ; however, a large portion of the book is dedicated to describing the brutal and shocking conditions of the meat-packing industry in Chicago. Sinclair worked in the Chicago factories for seven weeks to compile the evidence depicted in the novel. His book was rejected by five publishers until he finally decided to fund his own published work. -
Board of Education bans Asian Integration in Schools
In 1907 the SanFrancisco School Board passed a law prohibiting the integration of Asian and American students. Asian students were then demanded to segregate to their own specidfic schools thus resulting in a major judicial discrimination in America. Including many of the other problems the U.S. faced with Japan, this was another move America made that almost drove the countries to war with each other. -
The Great White Fleet Sets Sail!
This was an armada of ships issued by president Theodore Roosevelt to demonstrate the naval power of the U.S. It took until February of 1909 to complete the circumnavigation. One thrid of the vessels included on the voyage were wooden, and many modern, steel ships were used as well. The reason it is called the Great White Fleet is because almost every ship was painted a bright white color. -
Sprinfield Riot in Illinois!
During this time a riot was begun by white citizens in the city of Springfield, due to the legal transfer out of jail of two black criminals. The riot resulted in black homes, businesses, and land being destroyed, and also several deaths and many injuries were reported throughout the crisis. In the end, the riot began the formation of the NAACP. -
Model T is Indroduced
The Ford model T was originally started as Ford model A. As the corporation expanded its advancements on the vehicle, and prototypes were made, it lead up to the Ford Model T. The car was originally priced at $850 and after several years was eventually dropped to $240. By 1927 Henry Ford watched the 15 MILLIONTH Model T role off the assembly line and began production on the Ford Model A. The Model T was the first affordable vehicle to the public. -
U.S Population Almost 100 Million
By 1910 the U.S. population reached an ever increasing number of 91,272,766 and was to increase by over 50,000,000 more by the baby boom era. Previously during the 1800's the population averaged between 60 to 70 million, more or less on the lower side because of the unadvancement of medicine and lack of health. -
The Mann-Elkins Bill
The Interstate Commerce Commission was originally developed in 1887 preceding the Interstace Commerce Act and generally regulated railway travel and affairs. However, in 1910 power was passed to the organization to have the ability to regulate telecommunications whether wireless or landline. This bill (The Mann-Elkins) was established because of the governmental belief that communication is public, thus being under the rights of federal law. -
The Mann Act and Anti-Prositution in America
The White-Slave-Trafic-Act was passed on June 25 by congress and was created by Robert Mann. The bill was to address the issues between prostitution, human traficking, and illegal sex acts in the U.S. You were unable to transport women illegally between state lines and from across the border The term "Immoral" used in the bill caused many variations to the terminology of what was and wasn't illegal in the U.S. so in 1977 the U.S. Supreme Court revised the bill and also once again in 1986. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Catastrophe in New York
This fire in New York City was recorded as the fourth deadliest industrial disaster and the second deadliest in New York. During the fire over 150 women (mostly Italian and Jewish immigrants) were locked in the building and 146 died from either smoke inhalation, the fire itslef, or jumpin out a ten story window. The after results from this catastrophe was the establishment of safer working precautions and the establishment of The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. -
Roosevelt's Attempted Assasination
As Roosevelt was campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a saloon-keeper attempted to murder him. The man shot Roosevelt from a distance, only to injure him. As he fired the shot, the bullet first had to travel through a steel case and a 50 page speec in Roosevelt's jacket. This saved the bullet from penetrating the chest. As he opened his speech to the crowd directly afterwards, he stated "it takes more than that to kill a Bull-Moose." -
Henry Ford Creates the Assembly Line
In the summer of 1913 Henry Ford created the assembly line. Unlike the classic method of manufacturing, which would at most bring out about one hundred T Fords a day, the assembly line provided the capacity to create up to a thousand vehicles per day! Also, Henry Ford introduced the 5 dollar work day, which up until that point was averaging around 2 to 3 dollars a day. The establishment of the assembly line revolutionized mass-production. -
Franz Ferdinand Assasinated!
On June 28 Franz Ferdinand was assasinated along with his wife by Gavrilo Princip, who was a member of six Bosnian Serb assasins. The goal in the murder was to eliminate the successor to the throne of Austria and connect Serbia and Austria to create a unified government. Several Serbian military officers were convicted of conspiracy and executed. This was a leading factor into the start of WWI. -
Lusitania Sunk by Germans
The Lusitania was a British Ocean-liner, constructed by Irish and British workers. At one point, while te Lusitania was traversing in Irish waters off of the coast, a German U-boat fired a torpedo, sinking the ship in only 18 minutes! This caused a world-wide public distain for Germany and caused the beginning events of WWI. When the Lusitania was snk 1,198 people died. There was only 751 survivors. -
Prepardness Day Bombing in San Francisco
The Prepardness Day Bombing was a rally in San Francisco that honored Prepardness Day. The whole point of this was to honor and look-foward to the soon-coming day when the U.S. would enter into WWI. A bomb located in a suitcase was detonated, killing 10 and wounding 40 others. Thomas Mooney and Warren Billings were later on convicted, and sentenced to be hanged for terroristic acts. -
U.S. Military Draft Issued
The 1917 military draft was issued according to the Woodrow Wilson administration, under the belief that there would be very few volunteers for WWI, thus resulting in the government forcing those between the ages of 21 and 30 to enlist. Theodore Roosevelt attempted a campaign at the same time to raise volunteers for the war. The draft was titled "The Selective Service Act". In the end it enlisted 24 million men and inducted 3 million into the military services! -
Treaty of Versailles is Signed
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the key components in ending WWI. It was created by the Allied powers to bind Germany, Austria, and Hungary into full acceptance of initializing World War one, and held Germany to paying exactly 31.4 billion dollars toward reparations for the war. The final payment was made on Oct.4 2010. Many economists today find the requirements from this treaty unfair and over-demanding. -
Chicago Jury Acquits 8 Baseball Players
The 1919 baseball World Series was an event that initialized the creation of a Commisioner of Baseball. As it would happen, there were 8 baseball players who conspiracized with heavy gamblers during the series to lose the game intentionally so that they could collect some of the money. A Chicago grand jury acquitted the players ; however, they were banned from baseball not long afterwards. It was then the job of the Commisioner of Baseball to ensure the complete competition of the game.
