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Sherman Antitrust Act
Before this law was passed, only some states had passed laws to prohibit the forming of large trusts. The Antitrust act was the first to be passed by Congress, named after Senator John Sherman of Ohio. -
Spanish American War
The United States declare war on Spain after the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor. After signing the Treaty of Paris later the same year, Spain lost control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to name a few. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
A law that provided federal inspection of meat products and forbade the transportation, sale, or manufacture of poisonous patent medicines and adulterated food products. The act came into being due to public education and the works of muckrakers. -
Muller v. Oregon
After Oregon enacted a law stating that limited women to work only ten hours a day in factories and laundries, the Supreme Court looked over the law to ensure that it did not violate the freedom of contract implicit (liberty protected by due proces in the 14th Amendment). It was ruled as not violating the constitution. -
Ford Assembly Line
Ford used installed conveyer belts to perfect the concept of the assembly line. Using the line, one Ford Model T could be produced in 93 minutes. -
Espionage and Sedition Acts
These acts were used to decrease opposition to WWI in the US. They were federal legislations that made it illegal to speak out against the government. -
Black Tuesday
In late October of 1929, the stock market crash that occured was ruled the most devastating in history. It marked the beginning of the Great Depression, which lasted for ten years and affected all Western industrialized countries/ -
Presidential election of 1932
In the beginning of the Great Depression, President Hoover has not done enough to remedy the situation and had lost popularity. In 1932 Franklin Roosevelt beat Hoover for the presidency by a landslide, being the first democratic candidate in fifty six years to win the majority of the popular vote. -
Social Security Act
This act established the Social Security system in the US. It established the ability for the people to receive benefits due to old age, unemployment, disabled people, etc. -
Selective Training and Service Act
This act required that men between the ages of 21 and 35 register with local draft boards. When the US entered WWII all men ages 18 to 65 were required to register and men 18 to 45 were made subject to military service. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
This attack was a suprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It ultimately led to the US entering WWII. -
Internment of Japanese Americans
During WWII all Japanese Americnas on the Pacific coast were forced to live in War Relocation Camps. It was a precaution after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. -
Marshall Plan
The plan was a way to help European countries recover from WWII devastation and avoid the spread of Soviet Communism. It was in operation for four years. -
Hydrogen Bomb "Mike"
The bomb was detonated in a remote region of the Pacific Ocean by the US. It was also the first successful test of a hydrogen bomb. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The case was tried by the Supreme court. It was found that separate but equal facilities in education were not present, so the segregation of public schools would no longer be legal. -
March on Washington
This march was one of the largest political rallies for civil rights in US history. Thousands attended and Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I have a dream" speech, -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
A landmark piece of civil rights legislation that outlawed the discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin. It ended racial segregation in public areas and unequal application of voter registration requirements. -
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The USSR formally ceased to exist on this day, acknowledging the independence of the 12 republics of the Soviet Union. This also ended the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. -
September 11 attacks
These were a series of attacks by the al-Queda terrorist group on the US. Almost 3,00 were killed and the damage was worth around $10 billion in property and infrastructure. -
War in Afghanistan
The war followed the 9/11 attacks as an effort to dismantle al-Queda and remove the Taliban from power. The war has lasted until the present day. -
Election of Barack Obama
The 44th president of the US, and the current president. He is the first African American president and is currently serving in his second term in office.
