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The Homestead Act
This Act gave public lands (land owned by the government) to American citzens. -
Lincoln's 10% Plan
Lincoln issues a proclamation of reconstruction, which is called his 10 Percent Plan. -
Death of a President
President Lincoln is shot and killed in Ford's theater by John Wilkes Booth. -
Ku Klux Klan (KKK) begins
An organization mostly composed of Confederate Army veterans founds the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a terrorist group formed to intimidate Blacks and other ethnic and religious minorities. -
Alaska
Secretary of State William Seweard buys Alaska from Russia for 7.2 million dollars. Many Americans thought Alaska was just an Iceland and he was stupid for buying it. Turns out he was smart when many people started finding gold. -
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton found the National Woman Suffrage Association
The two ladies came together to fight for the right to vote. In 1869, Wyoming was first in the United States to grant women full voting rights. By the beginning of the 20th century, the number of states giving women suffrage began increasing. -
A goal finally finished
The transcontinental railroad is finally complete between Sacramento and Ohmaha. -
Panic of 1873
Financial crisis that lasts 6 years in the United States -
The Battle of Little Big Horn
General George Custer leads his men to their deaths at the Battle of Lottle Big Horn. They fought the Sioux Indians and their commander Sitting Bull. All Americans die. -
Compromise of 1877
Republicans get presidency with Hayes and democrats get an end to reconstruction. -
Jim Crow Laws
Laws were passed by southerners to segregate many public places such as schools, reatursngs, hospitals, etc. These laws were named after “Jim Crow” dance and minstrel show. -
Standard Oil Trust
In 1882 John D. Rockefeller formed the Standard Oil Trust and dominated 95% of production, refining, and marketing oil in the U.S. -
The Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge at this time was the worlds largest suspension bridge. It was built by John A. Roebling in 1883. -
The Dawes Act
A law aimed to give Native Americans private individual ownership of land, eliminate their nomadic lifestyle, and encourage them to become farmers. -
How the Other Half Lived
Jacob Riis in 1890 wrote a book in 1890 about how people in tenements were living. He talked about all the hardships and struggles they had to go through such as tight living spaces and the disease that spreads throughout them. -
Ida B. Wellls crusades against Lynchings
Jacob Riis in 1890 wrote a book in 1890 about how people in tenements were living. He talked about all the hardships and struggles they had to go through such as tight living spaces and the disease that spreads throughout them. -
Ellis Island
In 1892 the doors of Ellis Islland officially open. This is a stop for immigrant before they come to America. During this stop officials will ask the immigrants a bunch of questions and test them for any diseases. If they pass they will be aloud into America. -
Start of the Spanish-American War
On April 25, 1898, U.S congress declared war on Spain. This was a cause of when the USS Maine exploded in Havana, Cuba Harbor. Most Americans believed it was Spain’s fault. The rallying cry for Americans during the war was “Remeber the Maine”. -
War in the Philippines
After the Spanish-American war Filipinos were angry with the U.S for refusing to give them their independence. Emilio Aguinaldo and his troops starting fighting against the U.S. The war ended in 1901 when Emilio was captures. Finally the Philippines were given independence in 1946. -
NAACP Formed
In 1909 many African Americans and some white reformers formed the National Associatiom for the Advancment of Colored People. This organization had 6,000 members by 1914. -
Henry Ford’s Assembly Line
Henry Ford’s assembly line was a great step in modern technology. It helped workers produce more products at a faster rate. -
The Panama Canal finished
After Panama declared independence from Colombia, the US declared the “Canal Zone”, which would be the spot to dig a canal. The U.S eventually bought the land and started building in 1904 eventually finishing in 1914. -
America enters the war
Congress authorizes a declaration of war against Germany. The United States enters World War I on the side of France and Britain. -
Franz Ferdinand dead
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo. His death is the event that sparks World War I. -
The War Begins
Germany invades Belgium, beginning World War I. -
Blockades
In 1915 Germany told Americans to stay off British ships, and they could and would sink them. Germany ended up torpedoing the U.S Lusitania sinking it with 1200 passengers and crew. -
Battle of Cantigny
The Battle of Cantigny is the first major American offensive of the war. Even though the battle was pretty small it made a huge diffemce because Americans started to invade the Germans more and more. -
The War is over
On November 11, 1918 a treaty is signed between Germany and the allies saying tha the war is officially over. This day is called Armistace Day. -
Women are granted the right to vote
Finally after 72 years women are granted the right to vote after the passing of the 19th amendment. -
World Series
The World Series is finally broadcasted on the radio for the first time. The two teams playing were the New York Giants and the New York Yankees. The Giants won in 7 games. -
Limiting Immigration
In 1922 there was a quota system put into affect. This quota limited immigrants to a percentage of ethnic groups already in the U.S. -
A president dies
On this date president Warren G. Harding Dies or stroke. Calvin Coolidge ends up taking his place as president. -
Scopes Violates Ban on Teaching EvolutioN
Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes is arrested for teaching evolution violating new state law banning the teaching of Darwinism. -
The Klan Marches
40,000 KKK members march on Washington D.C. -
Wall Street Crash
The American stock market collapses, signaling the onset of the Great Depression. Money is worthless and non existent. Families go out of work and can’t support their kids. Many people become homeless and do whatever they can to survive. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff
Congress passes the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, steeply raising import duties in an attempt to protect American manufactures from foreign competition. The tariff increase has little impact on the American economy, but plunges Europe farther into crisis. -
Major Bank Collapses
New York's Bank of the United States collapses in the largest bank failure to date in American history. 200 million dollars in deposits disappear, and the bank's customers are left with nothing. -
Roosevelt becomes President
Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Republican President Herbert Hoover in a huge way to win the presidency. Roosevelt ends up getting the United States out of the Depression. -
Francis Townsend has an idea
Dr. Francis Townsend sends a letter to the Long Beach Press-Telegram proposing state funded pensions for the elderly to boost consumption and employment. -
Roosevelt writes to Hiter and Mussolini
President Franklin D. Roosevelt writes letters to both Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, requesting they promise not to attack a list of nations for at least ten years. Hitler would respond on behalf of the Italian leader and himself, assuring Roosevelt that he had nothing to fear. -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese fighter planes attack the American base at Pearl Harbor, destroying U.S. aircraft and naval vessels, and killing 2,355 U.S. servicemen and 68 civilians. -
U.S joins the war
Germany and Italy, Japan's Axis partners, declare war on the United States. The United States declares war on Germany, Italy, and Japan. -
Churchill and Roosevelt have a plan
Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt meet in Casablanca in North Africa to plan attacks on all fronts, to invade Sicily and Italy, to send forces to the Pacific, and to better aid the Soviet Union. -
U.S bombs Japan
The United States drops an atomic bomb, the first to be used in warfare, on Hiroshima, killing 75,000 people instantly, and injuring more than 100,000. -
Truman Doctrine
In a speech later remembered as the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman pledges American assistance to any nation in the world threatened by communism which established the worldwide containment of communism as a vital American national security interest. -
Nato is formed
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forms a joint military command picking General Dwight Eisenhower as Supreme Commander. NATO's forces grow from 30 divisions in 1950 to almost 60 in 1953. -
MacArthur Fired
After General Douglas MacArthur says his disagreements with President Truman's "limited war" policy Truman accuses MacArthur of insubordination and removes him from command of American forces in Korea. -
Supreme Court passes a law
Supreme Court outlaws segregation in public schools in Brown v. Board case. This is the first time that public schools were not to be segregated anymore. African American students and white students could finally go to school together. -
Warsaw Pact comes to be
The Soviet Union forms the Warsaw Pact, a communist military alliance intended to counter the threat posed by the West's North Atlantic Treaty Organization. -
First Americans Die
Two military advisers are killed by Viet Minh guerrilla soldiers in a raid at Bien Hoa in South Vietnam. These are the first American deaths that are non combat reported in Vietnam. -
Diem doesn't die
Two South Vietnamese VC pilots bomb Ngo Dinh Diem's presidential palace. He actually escapes without getting hurt. -
Buddhist Monks hurt themselves
Thich Quang Duc who was a 66-year-old Buddhist monk, sets himself on fire in protest of the South Vietnamese government. Other Buddhists will follow his example and light themselves on fire to demonstrate against the regime. -
March on Washington
About 250,000 people gather for March on Washington D.C. This is also when Martin Luther King Jr. gives his famous "I Have a Dream' speech. -
The President shot dead
John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade. He was riding with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and his wife Nellie, and was shot by former U.S. Marin Lee Harvey Oswald. -
Martin Luther King Jr dies
Martin Luther King Jr. was shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. He was rushed to the closest hospital which was St Josephs hospital but was pronounced dead that night. His death caused many riots around our country.
