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Plessy Vs. Ferguson
The US Supreme Court rules that segragration of blacks and whites is permitted under the Constitution. They said it doesn't violate the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolishes slavery, or the Fourteenth Amendment, which requires states to provide “equal protection of the law” to all their citizens. As long as both whites and blacks have "equal" things then it doesn't violate the Constituiton. -
President McKinley
William McKinley succeeds Grover Cleveland as President of the United States. He led the nation to victory in 100 days in the Spanish–American War. He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs. President McKinley was assassinated by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in September in Buffalo, and was succeeded by his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt. -
Spanish-American War
The United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. As a result Spain lost its control over Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines Islands, Guam, and other islands. -
Hague Conventions
Delegates from the US and 25 other nations meet at The Hague to discuss disarmament, arbitration of international disputes, protection of noncombatants, and limitations on methods of warfare. They had this meeting in response to an invitation issued the previous August by Nicholas II, the young Czar of Russia. The main effect of the Convention was to ban the use of certain types of modern technology in war: bombing from the air, chemical warfare, and hollow point bullets. -
Galveston Hurricane
The Galveston Hurricane occured in the city of Galveston, which is located in Texas. It had estimated winds of 145 miles per hour at landfall, making it a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. It was the deadliest hurricane in US history, and the second costliest hurricane in US history based on the US dollar's 2005 value. The estimated death toll was between 6,000 and 12,000 individuals. -
Thoedore Roosevelt
President William McKinly is assissinated by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, on Septemeber 6, 1901. He is then succeeded by Theordore Roosevelt, the vice-president. Roosevelt was the youngest person to ever hold the presidental office. He was elected into a full term as president in 1904. Roosevelt was the first American to win the Nobel Prize in any field. -
Park Avenue Tunnel Collision
Two trains were traveling in NYC. The engineer on the train from White Plains, missed seeing the track signals in the dark and steam filled tunnel, and his train plowed into the last car of the train from New Rochelle which was waiting in the tunnel for a signal to begin moving again. Seventeen people died and many more were injured. Laws were then passed not allowing any steam engine in the tunnels of NYC. Only electric trains were allowed. -
Wright Brothers
They were credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight. Although they were not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft, the Wright brothers were the first to invent aircraft controls that made fixed-wing powered flight possible. Their invention of the three-axis control, enabled the pilot to steer the aircraft effectively and to maintain its equilibrium. -
Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary was an extension of the Monroe Doctrine by United States President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. Roosevelt's extension of the Monroe Doctrine asserted a right of the United States to intervene to "stabilize" the economic affairs of small states in the Caribbean and Central America if they were unable to pay their international debts. -
Lochner vs. New York
The case involved a New York law that limited the number of hours that a baker could work each day to ten, and limited the number of hours that a baker could work each week to 60. By a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court rejected the argument that the law was necessary to protect the health of bakers, deciding it was a labor law attempting to regulate the terms of employment, and calling it an "unreasonable, unnecessary and arbitrary interference with the right and liberty of the individual to contract. -
'The Jungle'
THe Jungle is a 1906 novel written by journalist Upton Sinclair. The book pertains to the corruption of the American meatpacking industry during the early-20th century, and the book is now often interpreted and taught as a journalist's exposure of the poor health conditions in this industry. The novel describes poverty, absence of social programs, unpleasant living and working conditions, and hopelessness prevalent among the working class. -
The Great San Francisco Earthquake
At 5:12 a.m. a foreshock occurred with sufficient force to be felt widely throughout the San Francisco Bay area. The great earthquake broke loose some 20 to 25 seconds later, with an epicenter near San Francisco. Violent shocks punctuated the strong shaking which lasted some 45 to 60 seconds. The earthquake was felt from southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada. The earthquake kills 400 people and causes $500 million worth of damage. -
The Conservation of Natural Resources
One of President Theodore Roosevelt's most lasting and significant contributions to the world was the permanent preservation of the some of the most unique natural resources of the United States. The area of the United States placed under public protection as National Parks, National Forests, game and bird preserves, and other federal reservations, comes to a total of approximately 230,000,000 acres. -
Gentlemen's Aggreement
The Gentlemen's Agreement between the United States and Japan in 1907-1908 represented an effort by President Theodore Roosevelt to calm growing tension between the two countries over the immigration of Japanese workers. It was concluded in the form of a Japanese note agreeing to deny passports to laborers intending to enter the United States and recognizing the U.S. right to exclude Japanese immigrants holding passports originally issued for other countries. -
Ford Model T
The Model T was an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, the car that opened travel to the common middle-class American. The Model T was the first automobile mass produced on moving assembly lines with completely interchangeable parts, marketed to the middle class. -
Robert Peary and Matthew Henson
Explorers Robert Peary and Matthew Henson, and 4 Eskimos discovered the North Pole. Henson, Peary's black assistant, spoke the language of the Eskimos, acted as trader and hunter, built the sledges and trained the dog teams. Peary discovered that Dr. Frederick Cook claimed he had reached the Pole a year earlier. The dispute over the authenticity of Cook's v. Peary's claim was finally resolved in December. After reviewing the case, they decided that Cook's claim was proved that he wasn't there. -
Mann Act
The Mann Act made it a felony to transport or aid in the transportation of a woman in interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose, or with the intent and purpose to induce, entice, or compel such woman or girl to immoral acts. Red light districts in ten cities are closed. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history. It was also the second deadliest disaster in New York City until the destruction of the World Trade Center. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers, who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling to their deaths. Most of the victims were Jewish or Irish immigrant women. -
The Titanic
The Titanic set out on April 10, 1912. It was said to be the grandest, safest boat out there. But, the ship was only equipped with 20 lifeboats, so that precious deck space for the first class passengers would not be taken up by bulky lifeboats.
On the 14, the ship approached a massive iceberg, and although efforts were made to steer clear of the large frozen mass, they could not avoid the iceberg. In the end only 705 people survived the sinking of the ship, out of 2,228 passengers/crew. -
Federal Income Tax
The 16th Amendment permits an income tax. The federal income tax levies a tax of 1 percent on incomes above $3,000 for single individuals and above $4,000 for married couples. A 1 percent surtax is imposed on incomes above $20,000 rising to 6 percent on those above $500,000. -
WWI
It all started when a Serbian nationalist used a revolver to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The war was between the allies (Russia, France and Britain) were pitted against the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey). They turned towards their friends for help. This included the United States, which joined the War in 1917 when President Woodrow Wilson called on Americans to "make the world safe for democracy." The war ends at 11:00 on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. -
Federal Trade Commission
Its principal mission is the promotion of consumer protection and the elimination and prevention of what regulators perceive to be harmfully anti-competitive business practices, such as coercive monopoly. The Federal Trade Commission Act was one of President Woodrow Wilson's major acts against trusts. -
Erich Muenter
He taught German language courses. Muenter opposed the U.S.'s supplying of armaments to Germany's enemies in World War I. A bomb exploded in the Senate reception room of the Capital Dome in Washington, D.C. The next day, Muenter shot J. P. Morgan, Jr. twice in the groin at the latter's Glen Cove, Long Island, New York house. Muenter was thwarted and captured in this attack. He was charged with both assaults and soon after committed suicide while in prison. -
Adamson Act
The Adamson Act was a United States federal law that established an eight-hour workday, with additional pay for overtime work, for interstate railroad workers. Named for Georgia representative William C. Adamson, this was the first federal law that regulated the hours of workers in private companies. The United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Act in 1917. Congress passed the Act in order to avoid a nationwide strike. -
War Declared
On April 2, Woodrow Wilson asked for permission to go to war against Germany. This was approved in the Senate on 4th April by 82 votes to 6, and two days later, in the House of Representatives, by 373 to 50. Still avoiding alliances, war was declared against the German government (rather than its subjects). War against Austria-Hungary was not declared until 7th December, 1917. -
WWI Draft
The United States institutes a military draft. All men 21-30 are required to register. This series of records includes cards from all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The answers provided to the questions on the cards typically reveal details about where a man lived, his occupation, race, immigration status, and in many cases his place of origin and nearest relative. -
Influenze Epidemic
During 1918's final four months an influenza strain blazed across the Globe, killing as many as a hundred million people, six-percent of the World's population. Among them were up to 600,000 Americans. The 1918 plague, which was a product of the genetically unstable influenza virus, was facilitated by the mechanisms of an intense European war and the efficiency of contemporary mass transportation. -
WWI Ends!
The Versailles Peace Treaty ending World War I strips Germany of land and natural resources; mandates steep reductions in the size of the Germany army and navy; and levies punitive reparations later set at $32 billion. -
18th Amendment
The 18th Amendment to the Constitution bans "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of liquors." At the time the amendment was adopted, prohibition was already in effect in all southern and western states except California and Louisiana. Following the 18th Amendment's, prohibition effectively resulted in a public demand for illegal alcohol, making criminals of producers and consumers. -
Women's Suffrage
The 19th amendment says: 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. Women now have the right to vote.
