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The KKK expanded to over 3 million members.
(From "The Roaring 20’s: Crash Course US History #32") The Klu Klux Klan (KKK) increased and expanded in the 1920s; by mid-twenties, the KKK was the largest private organization in Indiana at 3 million members. It often consisted of white Protestants who feared the loss of their standing because of the increased amount of immigrants coming to the U.S. -
The Emergency Quota Act became effective.
(From "The Roaring 20’s: Crash Course US History #32") The Emergency Quota Act became effective on May 19, 1921. It limited the number of immigrants from Europe to 357,000. This was a turning point in immigration that would lead to many more immigration bills and laws based on pseudo-science that spread false ideas about race, hailing whites as superior. -
Trial of John Scopes was decided.
(From "The Roaring 20’s: Crash Course US History #32") Trial of John Scopes was decided on July 21, 1925. Scopes was tried for breaking the law against teaching evolution, which he had been encouraged to do by the ACLU in order to test freedom of speech. -
Charles Lindbergh became the first to fly across the Atlantic alone.
(From "The Roaring 20’s: Crash Course US History #32") Charles Lindbergh became the first to fly across the Atlantic alone via airplane on May 20, 1927. He was also one of the first major celebrities (major celebrities began to appear in the 20’s). -
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Massive Unemployment started to spread across the nation.
(From "The Great Depression: Crash Course US History #33") What made the Great Depression the Great Depression was massive unemployment and accompanying hardship, and this didn’t actually begin until 1930/1931. Although the Great Depression's catalyst is often attributed to the Stock Market Crash in 1929, the Great Depression itself -- the effects of the Stock Market Crash and other finacial devastations -- started in 1930, the year following the Stock Market Crash. -
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Banks began to collapse across America.
(From "The Great Depression: Crash Course US History #33") In 1930, beginning in Louisville and spreading, banks began to collapse across America. Credit froze up due to the mass amount of depositors pulling out. A frozen credit system meant that less money was in circulation, leading to deflation. -
The Hawley Smoot tariff raised theUnited State’s tariffs on trade to the highest they’d ever been.
(From "The Great Depression: Crash Course US History #33") The Hawley Smoot tariff raised the United State’s tariffs on trade to the highest they’d ever been on June 17, 1930. The idea behind it was to protect American industry, but since Europe responded with their own high tariffs, it meant fewer buyers for American goods, less trade, fewer sales and ultimately fewer jobs. -
Near v. Minnesota was decided.
(From "The Roaring 20’s: Crash Course US History #32") On June 1, 1931, Near v. Minnesota was decided and amounted to the U.S. government striking down the censorship of newspapers. -
The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money was published.
(From "The Great Depression: Crash Course US History #33") John Maynard Keynes’ The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money was published in February 1936, when the Great Depression was well underway. He proposed that if governments do large-scale economic stimulus and a bunch of infrastructure projects, it can kind of create a bottom that stops the deflationary cycle. -
Congress allowed “Cash and Carry” arms sales to Great Britain.
(From "World War II Part 1: Crash Course US History #35") November 1939 saw Congress allow “Cash and Carry” arms sales to Great Britain. The sales of arms were “cash sales” meaning they were not paid for with loans or IOUs (thus the cash). The British would then buy the arms in America and take them over to Britain to protect themselves (thus the carry). -
Burke-Wadsworth Act was passed.
(From "World War II Part 1: Crash Course US History #35") On September 16, 1940, the Burke-Wadsworth Act was passed by wide margins in both houses. This was the first official peacetime draft in the history of the United States, which gave birth to Selective Service. The registration of men between the ages of 21 and 36 began exactly a month later. -
Lend Lease Act was passed.
America became the “arsenal of democracy” with the Lend Lease Act, which was passed on March 11, 1941. This authorized military aid to countries that promised to pay it back somehow after the war. (Essentially, it gave Britain billions of dollars worth of arms and more material to Britain and then to the Soviet Union after Germany invaded the USSR.) -
Executive Order 8802 was signed by FDR.
(From "World War II Part 2: Crash Course US History #36") Executive Order 8802 was signed by FDR on June 25, 1941. It prohibited racial discrimination in the national defense industry (arm factories and shipyards). It allowed for more than 1,000,000 black people to have jobs in manufacturing—black women made up for 300,000 of those jobs. -
Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese soldiers.
(From "World War II Part 1: Crash Course US History #35") On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor—a US navy base in Hawaii—was attacked by Japanese soldiers. This was the event that pushed the US fully into World War II. 187 aircrafts were destroyed, 18 naval vessels were damaged or destroyed, and more than 2,000 American servicemen were killed. -
Executive Order 9066 was signed and issued.
(From "World War II Part 2: Crash Course US History #36") Executive Order 9066 was signed and issued on February 19, 1942 by Franklin D. Roosevelt during WWII. It expelled all people from Japanese descent from the West Coast. 70% of Japanese-Americans lived in California and a result of the order, more than 110,000 people—almost two-thirds of whom were American citizens—were sent to internment camps. -
The Bataan Death March took place.
(From "World War II Part 1: Crash Course US History #35") The Bataan Death March on April 9, 1942 was the largest surrender by American troops in history and resulted in thousands dying on the march and thousands more dying at the camps.
