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The California Gold Rush
The California gold rush happened in 1848. This led to thousands of miners. The gold was originally found by James. W. Marshall and this sparked the rush of thousands of miners. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull run also known as the First Battle of Manassas. was the first major battle of the American Civil war. The battle was fought in Virginia, a little north of Manassas. The battle ended in a confederate victory which caused great unrest among the Union forces. -
The Homestead Ac
The Homestead Act was passed the summer of 1862. It accelerated the settlement of the territory in the west. This at granted 160 acres of public land with a mandatory 5 years Of continuous residence on that land. -
The battle of Gettysburg
This battle was a three day battle but is also known as the bloodiest battle of the Civil war with casualties sitting at 50,000. The Union won this battle. This battle pushed Robert E. Lee to resign from his post, but this was rejected by Jefferson Davis. This battle turned the tide of the Civil war in favor of the Union and this loss would fallow Lee for the rest of his military career. -
The Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He was not the main speaker. The main speaker was Edward Everett who spoke for around two hours, while Lincoln only spoke for only two minutes and is the one remembered on that day. -
The 13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment is the second move of Lincoln to free the slaves. This was the first official statement that completely and totally freed enslaved African Americans. It was passed by Congress on January 21 of 1865 and was ratified by 27 of the 36 states. -
The Purchase of Alaska
Russia sold the land we now call Alaska to the US for $7.2 million. Russia thought that selling Alaska would offset their designs with England. This purchase marked the end of Russia’s efforts to expand trade to the west coast of the US. -
The 14th Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment was one of the reconstruction amendments that addresses citizenship rights and protection under the law. This amendment gave requirements to become a citizen and recognized slaves as American citizens. This was adopted in July 1868. -
The 15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment to the US constitution stops the federal government from denying a US citizen the right to vote based off of the citizens "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." This amendment was ratified and adopted on February 3, 1870 and is the last of the reconstruction amendments. -
15th Amendment adopted
The 15th amendment was created to prohibit states from preventing citizens from voting due to “ race colors or previous condition of servitude”. Between 1879 and 1875, women tried to use the 14th amendment, which stated equal protection clause, to justify voting and to practice of law. -
Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 burned and destroyed three miles worth of buildings. It left over 18,000 people homeless and was devastating to many. Even though it was a dark moment in history, this fire provided opportunities for architects and engineers to have jobs reconstructing the city. -
The Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge was finished May 24, 1883. It was the longest suspension bridge of its time and was a huge sign of the ingenuity of America. -
The completion of the Statue Of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States as a gift commemorating the Revolutionary War and a sign of peace between the two countries. It was finished in 1886 after it was created in France, shipped to the US, and reassembled on Liberty Island within New York City. -
Creation of the National American Woman Suffrage Association
The NWSA and AWSA merge to create the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Stanton was the first President of this association and the goal was to focus its efforts on securing women’s suffrage at a state level. -
Battle of Wounded Knee
The battle of Wounded Knee was caused by the US government wanting to shut down the practice of the Ghost Dance by the native Americans. It was located on th ePine ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. It left around 150 native Americans dead and was the last clash between the federal troops and the Sioux. -
Publication of the Woman’s Bible.
After this publication of Elizabeth Stantons book “The Woman’s Bible”, the NAWSA decides to distance itself from Stanton. This was because a majority I’d conservative suffragists thought her to be too radical. This could be potentially damaging to the suffrage campaign being let. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This was the case that ended in the Supreme Court ruled segregation was okay as long as it was “Separate but Equal”. This was caused by a man named Plessy who called himself out for being 1/8th black in a whites only section of a train car. He did this to point out the problem of racism and segregation in the US at this time. -
The Sinking of the USS Maine
The USS Maine was a United States Navy ship that was posted in the Havana Harbor near the beginning of the Spanish American war. It was sunk due to an explosion that at that time was assumed to be because of the Spanish. This incident played a part of pushing the United States into what would become the Spanish American War. -
The Sinking of the USS Maine
The USS Maine blew up suddenly while at anchor in Havana Harbor which sparked the Spanish-American war. It is unknown as to what actually caused the explosion but it is suspected to be a mine of some sort. -
The Battle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill, which is also known as the battle of San Juan Heights was an important battle between the Americans and the Spanish in the Spanish-American War. Theodore Roosevelt and his group of Rough riders played a large part in the positive outcome of this battle. -
The Black Hand Mafia
During 1890 to 1900, over 655,000 immigrants, the majority from Italy, moved to America with the expectation to earn enough money to move back home and buy land for themselves. They formed ‘Little Italies’, which are communities of majority Italian backgrounds. However many Italians used these communities to extort their wealthy neighbors. -
The Pure Food and Drug Act
This was created as a part of the public service reformation. This helped by guaranteeing that all food and medications that were manufactured have no harmful substances inside of them. This took steps to creating a better life for American citizens which was the whole goal of the Progressive Era. -
The Panama Canal
There was an idea to shorten the distance traveled by ships to get goods between the Atlantic and the Pacific. This idea was the Panama Canal. It was 48 miles long and ran through Panama connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific. It was bought by the US by Theodore Roosevelt but was eventually sold. -
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand was heir to the throne of Austria Hungry. He was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian citizen. This assassination started the Great War and caused those two countries to drag in their allies which is how it turned into a world war. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
A German submarine sunk a ship called the Lusitania. This ship was a passenger ship but was sunk on the belief it was carrying items important to the allied war efforts. This incident killed 128 Americans and was a small spark to the US joining the war. -
US declares war on Germany
The United States declares was on Germany. Woodrow Wilson’s reasons were Germany’s practice of unrestricted submarine warfare and the infamous “Zimmerman Note”. These were the reasons he used to validate is declaration of War. -
The Armistice
On November 11, and 11 am in 1918, the two opposing forces called for a cease-fire. This was the end of the war and later the two sides would form the treaty of Versailles. -
The Volstead Act
The Volstead Act was put in place to give reinforcement for the 18th amendment. This act was also known by the name The National Prohibition Act. It established a legal basis for the US government to enforce the 18th amendment. -
National Football League Formed
The National Football League was formed in Canton, Ohio. When it first started out there were only 13 teams. The NFL survived many times of instability and is now one of the most renowned sports leagues in the world. -
The 19th Amendment
The 19th amendment guaranteed women the right to vote for the first time. During the 20th century the role of a woman switched from being the housekeeper and having children to becoming a part of the industrial revolution. They began to have a better education, have less children, and become active members of American society. -
Fisk University Protests Begin
In early 1924 the students at Fisk University in Tennessee began to protest the discrimination at the college all the way through 1927. The students eventually won and it was the spark of the civil rights protests. It was the first large-scale civil rights protest that was successful. -
John Scopes trial
This was the trail of John Scopes. He taught evolution in his class and this was not approved during this time. It lead to a trial and ended with Scopes being guilty. The lawyers against Scopes convinced 12 states to ban evolution. -
Black Tuesday
Black Tuesday was the worst collapse of the stock market during the Great Depression. It is believed to be a pivotal factor of the Depression. It was an abrupt end to the rapid economic growth of the Stock market. -
Smoot Hawley Tariff
The Smoot Hawley Tariff raised the taxes on imported goods into America. The goal was to force US citizens to buy locally to help with the overproduction problem causing the depression. It raised taxes on 900 imports. This ended in other countries to raise their taxes on the American imported goods. -
The Bank of Tennessee failed
The failure of the Bank of Tennessee led to a string of failures of affiliated banks. Only 1/3 of the banks in the US belonged to the federal reserve. As more banks began to fail, an influx of people began to pull their money from their banks which lead to banks continually going out of business. -
Food Riots break out
Food riots broke out in Minneapolis. The drought continued to get worse and hit 8 southern states the hardest. it was the worst drought in the 20th center for Arkansas. This caused the economy to drop 6.4% and the unemployment rate rose up to 15.9%. -
Improvements in Economy
The Civil Works Administration creates over 4 million jobs. Farmers slaughter 8 million pigs to reduce supply and being the economy and price back up. Even with all the good this could do there was still a national debt of 23 billion. -
The New Use for Ellis island
Over the years there was a decline of activity through the island. Because of this, the U.S. Coast Guard began to use the island more often. They used it as storage and office space along with some renovations that allowed for it to be used to hold detainees. -
Freedom Rides
The very first freedom ride took place when seven blacks and six whites left D.C. on to public buses heading for the Deep South. The goal was to test the supreme fours ruling in the Baynton v. Virginia case that declared segregation on an interstate bus unconstitutional. -
The Treaty of Paris
The treaty of Paris had a large effect on the countries that were effected by the Spanish American War. It freed Cuba, turned over the islands of Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States. And Spain received around 20 million dollars in return for the Philippine to become US territory. -
The Opening of Ellis Island
January 1, 1892, Ellis island opened for the first time with three large ships waiting to unload their many passengers. Around 700 people passed through Ellis island on day one. The first one to pass through Ellis island was a girl named Annie Moore from Ireland and was given a $10.00 coin as a gift.
