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Arrival of Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of America, arrives in New York Harbor. The copper and iron statue, which was reassembled and dedicated the following year in a ceremony presided over by U.S. President Grover Cleveland, became known around the world as a symbol of freedom and democracy. -
Hull House
Jane Addams and her college friend Ellen Gates Starr found Hull House in a Chicago, Illinois neighborhood of recent European immigrants. It is the first settlement house in the U.S. Included among its many services are a kindergarten and a night school for adults. Hull House continues to this day to offer educational services to children and families. -
The Second Morrill
The Second Morrill Act is enacted. It provides for the more complete endowment and support of the colleges through the sale of public lands, Part of this funding leads to the creation of 16 historically black land-grant colleges. -
Home Plessy
Homer Plessy, a 30-year-old African American, challenges the state of Louisiana's "Separate Car Act," arguing that requiring Blacks to ride in separate railroad cars violates the 13th and 14th Amendments. The Supreme Court ruling in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson makes "separate but equal" policies legal. It becomes a legal precedent used to justify many other segregation laws, including "separate but equal" education. -
Spanish American War
The Spanish-American War was an 1898 conflict between the United States and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America. Spain announced an armistice on April 9 and speeded up its new program to grant Cuba limited powers of self-government. The Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish-American War was signed on December 10, 1898. -
Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune, an African American educator, founds the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida. It merges with the Cookman Institute in 1923 and becomes a coeducational high school, which eventually evolves into Bethune-Cookman College, now Bethune-Cookman University. -
Junior High Schools
In order to improve high school graduation rates, the Columbus Ohio School Board authorizes the creation of junior high schools. Indianola Junior High School opens that fall and becomes the first junior high school in the U.S. -
World War 1
The U.S. enters the World War 1 -
The Smith-Hughes Act
The Smith-Hughes Act passes, providing federal funding for agricultural and vocational education. It is repealed in 1997. -
Women's Rights
The 19th Amendment is ratified, giving women the right to vote.
