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Catherine Brewer
On July 16, 1840, Catherine Brewer became the first woman to graduate from college. She attended Wesleyan College in Georiga. This was a major step towards universal women’s education. -
The Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women’s rights convention in America. This event launched what is known as the sufferage movement which eventually earned women the right to vote in 1920. -
Trade with Japan
As the American influence grew worldwide, we looked to moving towards opening negotiations with other countries, one of which was Japan. At the time, Japan was closed off from the world and seldom traded. This led to Commodore Matthew Perry sailing a naval fleet to their bay and negotiating trade terms. Since then, we have peacefully traded with Japan. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln made this document on the first of January in 1863. It officially freed slave from those states which were in rebellion, making him a well liked president in today’s times. This proclamation allowed the union to recruit about 180,000 African Americans which helped their cause greatly. -
Virginia Appomattox
This was the official end to the Civil War. Robert E.Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9th. This was a long awaited end to a brutal war that killed many Americans. The Union was victorious. -
The Alaskan Purchace
Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the purchace of Alaska from Russia in 1867. He was originally mocked for this purchace and called names. The public believed it to be a barren cold wasteland. It wasn’t until 30 years later that gold was discovered and Alaska turned out to be incredibly rich in natural resources -
First Professional Baseball Team
The Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first professionally baseball team in our nation. Each player got payed a salary that was up to 23,000 dollars in today’s money. The sport drew crowds from all over and soon Cincinnati became known as a baseball hub of sorts. In their early years nobody was able to beat them, leaving them undefeated. -
The Great Chicago Fire
The fire burned for three days straight, terrorizing the entire city. Hundreds were killed, thousands of homes were destroyed, and over 90,000 were left homeless. There are some that believe it was started by a cow kicking over a lantern and setting a barn on fire that was owned by Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. -
Jacob Riis
Jacob Riis is an American who wrote the book “How the Other Half Lives”. It depicted the extreme poverty in the slums of the city. For many, this was a wake up call they so desperately needed. -
Billy the Kid’s Death
William Bonney, also known as Billy the Kid, was captured in December of 1880 and tried for murder. He was found guilty but escaped before they could hang him, killing two more guards in the process. Eventually sheriff Garrett caught up to him and killed him on the 14th of July in the same year. -
The Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bride is a prime example of America’s ingenuity. It was built by John A. Roebling who was an architect in New York City. It took nearly 14 years and Johns wife had to finish it because he fell sick. Overall it is a great accomplishment. -
Ida B. Wells on the Train
On May 4,1884, Ida was asked to give up her seat to a white person while riding a train. When she refused, the conductor and staff of the train dragged her off of the train. She sued and won her case resulting in a payout of 500 dollars. -
The Kodak Camera
George Eastman was the man to create the modern camera technology we know today. Although the concept of photography and picture were already around, he made the camera a common household item. Therefore, through the Eastman Dry Plate and Film company, the Kodak camera was born. -
Sherman Trust Act
During the Guilded Age, a common practice was that of trusts. Many huge companies were domination the industry they specialized which was hurting the economy. So, in 1890, the Sherman Trust Act was passed essentially forcing them to disband and break up. -
Carnigie Hall
Named after Andrew Carnigie who paid for its construction, Carnigie Hall is a world renowned performance center for classical music. It is located at 881 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan New York. Many desire to be a part of this great space. -
Ellis Island
Ellis Island was an American port where immigrants went before they were allowed access into the country. The process of immigration was often just a lot of waiting around. In addition to waiting, immigrants were subjected to questioning and health exams. -
First Modern Olympic Games
The first Olympiad was held in Athens, Greece in 1896.the original olympics date all the way back to 776 BC and only Greeks were allowed to complete. At this event, over 241 athletes competed from 14 nations. They are still to this day very important and competitive and the entire world takes them very seriously. -
Plessy Vs. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a Supreme Court ruling that made segregation legal. They ruled that it was ok as long as the facilities were “separate but equal”. This was a prime example of racism manifested in our country. -
Congress Declares War on Spain
On April 25, 1898, the American congress declared war on Spain. For quite some time, Spain had been cruel to the Cubans and Americans felt sympathetic to their cause. The last straw happened when the battleship “Maine” exploded in a Cuban harbor. -
Cuba Gains Independance
After the Spanish-American war, Cuba was in possession of America. This left America to decide their fate. On October 1898, Cuba became independent and out of Spanish rule forever. -
William McKinley’s Assanation
President William McKinley was killed in 1901 by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. He walked into a public meeting with the president pretending to have a hurt hand wrapped in cloth that was actually concealing a gun. When it was his turn to meet the president, he shot him twice in the abdomen. -
The Meat Inspection Act
President Theodore Roosevelt read a book entitled “The Jungle” about meat processing and was appalled. This encouraged him to crack down on these awful production assemblies. As a result, the meat inspection act was passed making meat safer and more regulated. -
Angel Island
On the opposite coast of the country, Angel Island was opened in 1910. Located in San Fransisco, Angel Island was created to accept immigrants from the east such as China. It was a little tougher to get through than Ellis Island. Immagrants were often detained for weeks if not months and separated from family. They also had very extensive questionnaires to go through. -
The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
There were many cause of World War One that we see today. But by far the event that kicked it all off was Ferdinand’s murder. Because his country had many allies, when you messed with him, you messed with the rest of the world. This is known as the short term cause of the war. -
The Sinking of the Lusitania
In May of 1915, a passenger ship containing around a hundred Americans was sunk by a German U-boat. This caused outrage in America giving us a reason to hold a grudge against the Germans, foreshadowing what was to come. Later it was found that this boat was carrying ammunition aboard. -
The Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman Telegram was a message intercepted on its way to Mexico from Germany. Once decoded, it revealed that the Germans planned to give Mexico back a part of the United States that was originally its territory. Naturally the Americans hated this and it led to their eventual involvement in the war. -
The Selective Service Act of 1917
When America decided to get involved in the war, they needed troops to fight. This is how the selective service act came about. It authorized the United States federal government to raise a national army. This was done through conscription and often men were persuaded to join through propaganda and posters. -
Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States soon became known as one of the biggest mistakes of that’s time. It prevented people from consuming, buying, or selling alcohol. Nobody took this as law tho, and soon illegal bars known as speakeasies started popping up everywhere. In addition to this, prohibition also encouraged the rise of organized crime. Over all, it wasn’t very good. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the agreement reached by the rest of the world to end the Great War. Germany and its allies were on the losing side so they by far drew the short end of the straw. The policies enforced upon them were extremely strict and ultimately led to them starting the next world war. -
The 19th Ammendment
For decades the suffragettes fought for the vote. After a long while, all their hard work payed off and they were given the vote in 1920. This came in the form of the 19th Ammendment and many women had been waiting their entire lives for this moment to come about. -
The Scope Trial
Tennessee teacher John Scopes was arrested in1925 for teaching his students evolution. At that time, it was illegal to teach these new concepts and he refused to back down launching one of the most publicized trials in American history. In the end, Scopes lost and was fined $100. -
Charles Lindbergh
On May 21st, 1927, Charles Lindbergh became the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic. His trip lasted around 33 hours which is unthinkable today. He started in New York and flew all the way to France with no stops. He will forever be known in history. -
Steamboat Willie
Steamboat Willie was the first animated movie. Naturally, this created a bit of hype around this concept and people flocked to go and see it. Premiering at only 7 minutes long, it was the first of its kind. This truely led the way to longer and more complicated productions. -
Black Tuesday
On October 29th 1929, the stock market crashed. This caused many people to lose every single thing they had, contributing to the Great Depression. Everybody panicked and rushed to sell all of their stocks, causing everything to become virtually worthless. Overnight, up to 26 billion was just lost. -
The Dust Bowl
As if the current economic wasn’t already desperate enough, the dust bowl rolled in and made things worse. Beginning in 1930, huge clouds of dust storms combined with horrible droughts swept the middle of the United States. It made it impossible to plant crops of any kind and essentially put all farmers out of business, forcing them to wander. Respite only presented itself in 1936 when the horrible storms finally stopped. -
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff
One of the biggest mistakes of the Hoover administration to this day was passing the smoot-hawley tariff. This increased imports to the U.S. by 50%. They believed that it would force Americans to buy locally sourced goods, boosting the economy, but it just did the opposite. This decision really messed up our trade agreements with other countries and ignited an international trade war. -
The Revenue Act of 1932
Another mistake of those in power at this time was the Revenue Act of 1932. Hoover passed the largest peacetime income tax increase in histor hoping to take the money and put it into relief efforts. However, this only increased the poverty on the streets and many saw no way out. -
The Bonus Army
Before World War One, soldiers were promised a bonus nine years after the war. However, because of the depression, most of these veterans wanted their money right then. So, The formed a group formally called the bonus army. They would protest the government and frankly demand their money now. The government eventually got tired of all of this so they sent some of their current troops to round them up. It got very violent and around 4 veterans were killed. -
World War 2 Begins
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. This was ultimately the catalyst that began the war. Germany had already violated the treaty of Versailles on many occasions but this was the last straw. The rest of the world could no longer stay silent and the war began. -
Pearl Harbor
In the late 30’s, Pearl Harbor was a major naval base for America. It housed many aircraft carriers and important naval weapons and the rest of the world knew it. Japan, who was a part of the Axis powers, decided to destroy it. They thought that by doing so, America would not join the war so quickly. So, on December 7th, they flew over the harbor destroying everything they could. Fortunately for us, we were able to recover and War was declared the same day. -
Operation Overload
Operation overload, or D-Day, was the largest air-sea-land invasion operation in history. It was a brutal battle with extreme German retaliation. Taking place at Omaha beach in France, it took over a month for the Allies to claim the territory. -
The Atomic Bomb
The atomic bomb was a huge secret. Back home in America, they were working tirelessly to develop it in time to use it in the war. The opportunity presented itself when Japan refused to surrender. On August 6th, 1945, the first bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This led to th eventual surrender of Japan. -
Hitler’s Suicide
Germany had lost and Hitler knew that it. Instead of letting himself be captured, he killed himself. The day before, hitler married his girlfriend Eva Braun and as the Soviets were closing in the next day, he swallowed sionide alongside Eva. -
V-E Day
The war in Europe ended on May 8th of 1945. It is known as V-E Day or victory in Europe. The allied powers had finally defeated all European enimies and began liberating all of the death camps Hitler had set up. They know had time and resources to turn to Defeating Japan. -
The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was established in 1947 and provided financial aid to support people or countries resisting attempted subjugation. Over 400 million was spent on war supplies to push out the spread of communism that the Soviet Union was trying to force the rest of Europe into. This involved huge American commitment to the cause and most everybody was on board. -
Jackie Robinson Signs onto the Dodgers
On April 15, Jackie Robinson made history as the first African American to play professional baseball on an all white team. He was severely ridiculed for his race, but the the long run he paved the way for other African Americans integration into the sport. -
The Korean War Ends
The Korean War was an incredibly hard fought bloody war against the invasion of communism. North Korea had been taken over by soviet supported communists and the South was doing everything it could to fight it. Eventually America got involved and the war ended in 1953. To this day the boarder between the north and south remains one of the most heavily guarded boarders in the world. -
Brown Vs. Board of Education
Little Linda Brown of Topeka Kansas was forced to ride a bus to a school very far away from her home just because the one nearby was an all white school. When her parents attempted to enroll her as a student in that school, they were turned down. As a result her parents filed a lawsuit that became known as Brown vs. Board of Education resulting in the supreme court ruling that segregation was unconstitutional. -
Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Bus Seat
Back in the 50s, many things were segregated including buses. The back of the bus was strictly comprised of black passengers whereas the front was reserved for whites only. Finally, Rosa Parks decided to take a stand on the issue and refused to give up her front row seat to a white man. she was immediately arrested but her public protest moved on to start the instrumental bus boycott. -
Sputnik 1
One major factor in the Cold War was the advance in technology. Both America and the Soviet Union had been racing for years to be the first to space. In October of 1957, the Russians beat America in successfully launching the Sputnik 1 into space. -
The NLF
The NLF or National Liberation Fault was formed in Vietnam in order to bring together communists and non-communists in order to achieve similar goals. This establishment greatly benefited Northern Vietnam and drew many common people to their cause. Anybody could join as long as you opposed the dictator of the South, Diem, and wanted a u item Vietnam. -
Lee Harvey Oswald Dies
Lee Harvey Oswald is known as the killer of John F. Kennedy in Texas. For this reason, he became a nationally hated figure virtually overnight. On November 24th, officers were moving Oswald to a different prison when Jack Ruby, a local nightclub owner, emerges from the crowd and kills Oswald by gunshot. -
The Tonkin Resolution
In August of 1964, the USS Maddox along with the C. Turner Joy were attacked by Vietnamese vessels and blown apart in the Golf of Tonkin. This caused outrage at home and gave LBJ the scandal he needed to involve the US in the war. It became known as the Tonkin Resolution. -
MLK's Assignation
Martin Luther King Jr. was a very influential Civil Rights activist. Originally a baptist preacher from Georgia, he traveled the country to preach about the injustices of society. He soon became a very controversial figure to those who didn't support the movement. One of those people was James Earl Gray who assassinated MLK at a Memphis Hotel. -
The 26th Amendment
After the Vietnam War ended, there were many reforms taking place in the United States. On of the most prominent ones however happened to be the the voting age. Previously you could vote once you turned 21 but with the 26th Amendment came allowing individuals to vote at the more reasonable age of 18. -
The Watergate Hotel Break-In
In June of 1973, 5 men were arrested for breaking into the Watergate Hotel. This particular location housed the Democratic Parties headquarters. The five men were attempting to bug the place. After the event president Richard Nixon denied knowing anything about the whole scandal, yet in reality he helped to cover this event up. This event launched the investigation that put an end to Nixon's political career. -
The End of US Involvement in Vietnam
Beaten down and without support at home, America signed the Paris Peace Treaty agreeing to remove all foreign presence from Vietnam. Troops left shortly after and North Vietnam eventually won. -
The Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty
Signed in December of 1987 by President Reagan and Gorbachev, this treaty ensured the removal of all nuclear weapons from vantage points in Europe. This gave both sides a sense of security and brought down the fear of possible nuclear warfare. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The great Berlin Wall was created after World War 2 when tensions ran high against communism and democracy. It divided East and West Berlin Germany, sometimes cutting in between neighborhoods and separating families. Those who tried to climb over and escape to the East were shot at and oftentimes killed. It was finally taken down in 1989 near the fall of the Soviet Union.
