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Department stores
The invention of skyscrapers were an important part of urbanization. They were built due to lack of space. With the building of tall buildings came department stores. Instead of having to go to more than one place to get things, you could just go to one store and get just about anything. -
Standard Oil Trust
The Standard Oil Trust was formed in 1863 by John D. Rockefeller. He built up his own company to become the largest oil refinery firm. In 1870, the company was renamed Standard Oil Company because Rockefeller bought up all the other competition and form them into one large company. -
The Wade-Davis Bill
The Wade-Davis bill was an unccessful attempt to set reconstruction policy. It was created by Benjamin F. Wade and Henry W. Davis. It required 50% of the number of 1860 voters to take an “iron clad” oath of allegiance. -
The Grandfather Clause
The Grandfather clause was a clause that allowed people to voters to vote if their father or grandfather was eligible to vote. This made for whites to be able to pass the literacy test. This allowed whites to vote but not freedman. -
Trolleys and Subway
Trolleys and subways were invented to make transportation faster and more efficient. Traveling with them are more useful because of it’s healthy benefits. It’s also useful because of its economical and technology benefits. -
Ellis Island Opens
The immigration station at Ellis Island finally opens. This allows immigrants to pass through and gain their American citizenship. You weren’t guaranteed to make it but it was a chance you could. You had to go through through a serious of exams and questions in order to pass. -
First immigrant
17 year old Annie Moore was the first immigrant to register through Ellis Island. She came from Ireland with her two younger brothers to join life in New York City. She is a famous historical figure in todays history because of her bravery and success through all of the immigration process. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Homer Plessy (1/8 black) resisted sitting in a car full of blacks. He got arrested and went on to the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. Plessy v. Ferguson, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court. It advanced the controversial “separate but equal” doctrine for assessing the constitutionality of racial segregation laws. -
Klondike Gold Rush
Seward was vindicated when gold was discovered, starting the Klondike gold rush. This ignited many people to travel to Alaska in search of riches. However, the results are similar to the California gold rush. Many people were not successful in their searches and did not find much gold -
Explosion of USS Maine
The explosion of USS Maine is the spark of the Spanish American War. USS Maine explodes in the Havana, Cuba Harbor. Americans think that Spain did it. Congress declares war on Spain. -
Battle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill was led my Theodore Roosevelt. He led a volunteer regiment known as the Rough Riders. The victory at San Juan Hill gave the Americans control of the heights overlooking the Spanish stronghold of Santiago and doomed the Spanish to defeat in Cuba. -
Hawaii Annexation Ceremony
The Hawaiian sugarcane crops were a great source of wealth and of sugar. When the US took Hawaii, the Navy got a important base at Pearl Harbor. This helped the US to project its power across the Pacific. On July 12, 1898, the Hawaiian islands were officially annexed by the United States. However many Hawaiians were unhappy about this. Some say annexation is illegal and what America did was illegal. -
The Teller Amendment
This Amendment gave Cuba their independence. Cuba had to sign the Platt Amendment which gave limited Cuba’s right to make treaties and borrow money. It also allowed the U.S to intervene in Cuba. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
After reading The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, Roosevelt pushed for
passage of the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. The act mandated cleaner conditions for meatpacking plants. In response to unsubstantiated claims and unwholesome products, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. The Act halted the sale
of contaminated foods and medicines and called for truth in labeling. -
17th Amendment
Before 1913, each state’s legislature had chosen U.S. senators. Progressives pushed for the popular election of senators. The 17th amendment provides for regular people to elect their Senators. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof. This amendment took a lot of power away from the states, which some people would say was not a good thing. -
Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo. His death is the event that sparks World War I. The assassination set off a chain of events, as Austria-Hungary immediately blamed the Serbian government for the attack. Russia supported Serbia, Austria asked for that Germany would step in on its side against Russia and its allies, including France and Great Britain. -
Panama Canal
After Panama declared independence from Colombia, the US declared the “Canal Zone”. America wanted control over the canal, so they agreed to pay Panama $10 million and an annual rent of $250,000. After incredible engineering work starting in 1904, the canal was finished in 1914. The canal permits shippers of commercial goods, ranging from automobiles to grain, to save time and money by transporting cargo more quickly between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. -
Sinking of Lusitania
A German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania. The ship carries 1,198 people, 128 of them Americans. This makes America angry and is one of the causes that makes them join the war later on. -
National Women's Party Formed
Alice Paul and Lucy Burns form the national women’s party. They adopt strategies from the British women’s political union however their tactics were not as violent as the British. This was an important part of Women's suffrage because this helped Women get an amendment signed to have the right to vote. -
18th Amendment
The 18th Amendment banned selling, making and transporting alcohol. However, this amendment did not prohibit drinking alcohol. Ratified on January 16, 1919. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment states “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Tennessee was the last state to ratify for this Amendment to pass. This was a big victory for women in the United States. President Wilson was the president at the time. -
Scopes Trial
On May 10, 1925, John Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution in school. The ACLU hired Clarence Darrow to defend scopes against William Jennings Bryan. Both were the top attorneys of their time. Although John Scopes was found guilty, this opened the doors to people pushing for evolution to be taught in schools. Since then, laws have been changed and evolution is now taught in schools. -
KKK March
During the 20s, the KKK had reached its highest population of over 3 million members. Over 40,000 Ku Klux Klansmen marched in Washington, filling Pennsylvania Avenue. At the time, the KKKs goal was to preserve America for Protestant whites. -
Stock Market Crash
Also referred to as black tuesday, the stock market crash was a symptom of the great depression. Many people began to sell their shares because they were worthless. Because of loss of confidence in stocks, bank runs occurred. The stock market crash was a major event in the great depression. -
Dust Bowl
During 1930s, farmers would experience bad droughts and erosion called Dust Bowl. This caused crop yield and many farmers struggling. This lasted from 1930-1936 -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff raised taxes up 50% on imported things. It virtually closed our borders to foreign goods and ignited a viscous international trade war. This is considered Herbert Hoover’s greatest mistake. -
Revenue Act of 1932
The government decided to balance federal budget. They did so by increasing the income tax. This was not a good plan. The highest incomes were being taxed up to 60%. This is also considered another big mistake made by Herbert Hoover. Also called peacetime income tax increase. -
The Bonus Army
World War 1 veterans were due to be paid a bonus in 1945. In 1932, over 20,000 jobless veterans protested to get their bonus sooner. In clashes with police 4 veterans were killed. This made less people like Hoover. In 1936, Congress overrode the president and paid the veterans. -
Prohibition Ends
Prohibition lead to many negative effects in America. By 1920s only 19% of people supported prohibition. In 1933, the 21st Amendment repealed prohibition. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, a naval base in Hawaii. The battleships moored along “Battleship Row” were being targeted. Their main target was the Arizona. The bomb dropped on it 10 minutes into the attack and it began to sink. Isoroku Yamamoto was the mind behind the attack. FDR probably knew that eventually America was going to go to war. He declared war the next day. -
Casablanca Conference
This meeting took place in Casablanca, Morocco and included FDR and Winston Churchill. They invited Stalin but he could not attend because he was taking care of fighting in Russia. At this meeting, they talked about creating a strategic plan to fight Axis powers. They hoped to draw Germany away from the eastern front. They decided to plan amphibious invasions of France and Italy and only unconditional surrender would be accepted. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle fought by the Americans in WW2. It was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during WW2. 600,000 American troops were involved in the battle.The Americans lost 81,000 men while the Germans lost 100,000 killed, wounded and captured.This battle is significant because it was Hitlers plan to destabilize the allies and take control of the port of Antwerp. -
VE Day
On may 8 in 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. This was the day when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their guns. More than 13,000 British POWs were released and sent back to Great Britain. General Eisenhower accepted the surrender on the third Reich. Right before VE Day, FDR died in April. He did not get to see the victory. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings
Truman didn’t want to invade Japan because a lot of allies would die. He decided to use an atomic bomb. America had been planning this bomb secretly. It was called the Manhattan Project. On Aug 1,1945, America dropped 500lb containers each holding leaflets that warned Japanese to surrender. On August 6 a bomb called Little Boy dropped on Hiroshima. On August 9 a bomb called Fat man was dropped on Nagasaki. Japan surrendered days after the 2nd bomb was dropped. -
VJ Day
Japan’s surrender was important because the Japanese honor code prevented them from surrendering. They held back so much throughout the war so when they finally surrendered was a big deal. “Should we continue to fight,” Hirohito declared, “it would not only result in the ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation but would also lead to the total extinction of human civilization.” Surrendering was the best decision for Japan.
