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Tuskegee Institute opens
Booker T. Washington was recruited to open a new school for black students in Tuskegee, Alabama. The school emphasized a practical education that included farming and carpentry. It played a big role in higher education for African-Americans. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
A United States Supreme Court case that ruled segregation was legal, as long as the facilities were equal. It upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws, making segregation legal. -
Federal Meat Inspection Act
Authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to inspect and prohibit the sale of any meat product found unfit for human consumption. It established sanitary standards for slaughterhouses and meat processing plants and expanded federal government regulation of private enterprise. -
NAACP formed
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People formed by diverse group of people including W. E. B. Du Bois in order to advance justice for African Americans. It played a very important part in the civil rights movement. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
A fire started on the eighth floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City killing 145 workers. It exposed poor working conditions in garment factories and other workplaces and set in motion fire-prevention legislation, factory inspection laws, and the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. -
Election of 1912
Woodrow Wilson beat out former President and Progressive 'Bull Moose' candidate, Theodore Roosevelt and incumbent President William Howard Taft. This election introduced a third party, which split the Progressive vote. -
16th Amendment
This amendment gave the federal government the power to collect income tax. It was significant because it shifted power from the states to the national government. -
17th Amendment
Gives voters the power to directly elect their senators. It shifted the power from state governments in electing senators to the residents of states. -
18th Amendment
Banned the sale and drinking of alcohol in the United States. It was intended to reduce crime and corruption but did the opposite. -
19th Amendment
Guaranteed women the right to vote throughout the United States. It paved the way for additional civil rights and gave women a voice in the political sphere.