-
Pendleton Act
The Pendleton Act was the most influential civil service reform act of the 1800s. This act dismantled the spoils system and determined that all government workers must be hired based on merit instead of social status. This act also enforced a law that all workers for the country had to take a civil service exam that determined if they were fit to fill the position. -
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Bell formed the Bell Telephone Company after making the first telephone. Because of the invention of the wireless telephone communication began to spread across the globe. People could now be connected anywhere. This is an effect that we still see today because we still use some form of the telephone in our day-to-day lives. This invention was monumental to society. -
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was a defeating blow to any big business completely dominating its field. This act outlawed any conspiracies and or contracts in relation to limiting trade. This act was very important to business owners in America in the late 1800s. It gave chances to local and smaller manufactures and other various trades. It was the government's attempt at protecting businesses from each other in addition to protecting consumers from unfair prices. -
Coxey's Army
During the years leading up to and shortly after the change of the century, poor and middle-class workers and unemployed citizens began to revolt against the big businesses keeping them down in the economy. The march was largely unsuccessful but is still remembered because it was the first of its kind to be fought in Washington DC. This would become a precedent for other protests of similar nature concerning the bigger population. -
Cross of Gold Speech
This famous speech was created by William Jennings Bryant in an attempt to convince American citizens to switch to a free silver society. He thought that adopting this new type of economy would bring the nation prosperity when in actuality it would not work like that. He was against the gold standard used during the time and many of his followers hoped to take on this concept so that they could pay back debts with less valuable money. -
William McKinley
William Mckinley was the 25th president and was in office in the late 1800s and early 1900s before he was assassinated. Mckinley was president during the Spanish-American war and is largely credited with its success. He, along with the US Army, was able to take control of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. He was also able to reject the free silver principle and bring the country out of a depression. -
Spanish American War
The Spanish-American war was a manifestation of the anger that bubbled up after the USS Maine was blown up and sunk from within and the US's support of Cuba's independence. Journalists that were sent to Cuba wrote home about what was happening in the country although it was dramatic. Through the fighting, Spain's colonial empire ended and the US became known as a Pacific power. -
Open Door Policy
The year leading up to and preceding the changing century was under a unique foreign policy. It designated the protection of equal privileges for all countries trading with China. Although the US was trying to close the door on Chinese immigration, they were open to still having their trade relationships. -
Theodore Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt came to his presidency after being known for his military accomplishments. He was a writer and conservationist who fought for the end of the Russo-Japanese War, advocated for the use of natural resources, and eventually came to be the first American to win a Nobel Prize. -
Square Deal
The Square Deal was Theodore Roosevelt's domestic program for the US. It reflected his three major goals: conservation of natural resources, control of corporations, and consumer protection. This establishment of the square deal was very important as it set a precedent for future presidents to establish goals for their time in office. -
Muckrakers (The Jungle)
A group of writers and activists known as the Muckrakers were very active in the first few years of the 1900s. Many of their works shone a light on corrupt business and government leaders as well as major social problems like racism. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair spurred an inspection of meat-packing industries and things similar to them. These journalists made the injustices faced in worse off places to others. -
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was formed as an activist group for the rights of black Americans. W. E. B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey and Ida B. Wells are some of the primary founders that made the most difference. This organization has stood the test of time as it continues after a century and two world wars. -
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson was the democratic president during the early 1910s and is most famous for being a prominent leader in the progressive movement. Wilson led the US into WWI because he was afraid that if they did not get involved, the US would have to succumb to another major power. His motto for joining the war was to “make the world safe for democracy.” -
Ford's Assembly Line
While the beginnings of mass production could be seen in the 19th century, things began to move even quicker with Henry Ford's assembly line. It moved automobiles along to each stage of the manufacturing process and drastically reduced the time needed to create a car from 12 hours to 1 hour and 33 minutes. Other companies soon followed suit, giving America a massive industrial output and lowering the cost of goods. -
National War Labor Board
The NWLB was an agency of the United States government made by an executive order to mediate labor disputes during World War I. The National War Labor Board specifically resolved disputes between business owners and administrators and organized labor. It was created to avoid labor strikes and maintain production during the war so the country could continue to flourish in WWI. -
Sedition Act
The Sedition Act of 1918 was an Act of Congress that extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses. It now imposed harsh penalties for a wide range of dissenting speech, including speech abusing the U.S. government, the flag, the Constitution, the president at the time, Woodrow Wilson, and the military. -
19th Amendment
After years and years of pursuit, the 19th Amendment finally granted women the right to vote. This crucial moment in history was a stepping stone to a more accurate expression of the American people in terms of who they wanted to lead the country. Although these women still faced lots of discrimination, they could finally have a say in governing powers. -
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was the development of the Harlem neighborhood in NYC as a Black cultural hub in the early 20th century. Lots of new forms of art such as jazz music, and different literature flourished during this time. It helped African American writers and artists gain more control over the representation of black culture and life in media. -
American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU was created "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." The main cause of its formation was to fight the harassment and deportation of immigrants in the early 1900s. Jane Addams was a key founder and leader in the womens suffrage movement. -
National Origins Act
The passing of this act enforced a federal law that prevented immigration from Asia and set quotas on the number of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. The goal of the National Origins Act was to control both the quantity and quality of U.S. immigrants. This law was incredibly racist as it only restricted people of certain races from immigrating. -
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover was president during the Great Depression and in the opinion of the public, the cause of it as well. He believed in free-market capitalism and opposed direct federal relief. Instead, he wanted to rely on private charities and state and local governments. Certain phenomenons during the depression such as Hoover blankets (newspapers) and Hoover flags (empty pockets) became well known phrases. -
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl coupled with the Great Depression in the 1930s nearly ruined the country. The almost-natural disaster was both manmade and uncontrollable. High temperatures, drought, and poor agricultural practices caused massive dust storms in the western part of the US. People and livestock were killed and crops failed across the entire region. -
Glass Steagal Act
This act separated commercial banking from investment banking and created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It was signed by FDR in an attempt to restore the banking system after the Great Depression. The act ensured a certain amount of money to each person who invested in the bank so as to protect banks from collapsing. -
House Un-American Activities Committee
HUAC was created to investigate alleged disloyalty and rebel activities among Americans accused of communism. Citizens suspected of having ties to the communist party would be tried in a court of law. Although a good idea, in theory, anyone considered different than the norm was targetted and this age of McCarthyism and unreasonable suspicion. This fear ruined lives of completely innocent people. -
Munich Conference
This conference consisted of the leaders of Great Britain, France, and Italy agreeing to allow Germany to annex certain areas of Czechoslovakia. This was done even after the punishments put on Germany after WWI. This meeting had the power to stop the war but did not do so and was a slight slap on the wrist to Hitler when stricter measures should have been taken. -
Executive Order 8802
Black activism was on the rise before WWII and only grew with the war. With the war came good-paying defense jobs; however, most of these businesses wouldn't hire blacks. To combat this, black leaders planned to march on Washington. FDR feared this and soon signed executive order 8802. This ended discrimination in employment in the government and defense industries. -
Pearl Harbor
When Japan attacked the United States in Pearl Harbor, it provoked the US to finally enter World War II. This war brought the US out of the Great Depression through the use of home manufacturing. While the attack itself had tragically killed thousands of American soldiers, it had fueled the patriotism and motivation the country needed to pull through dark times. -
Double V Campaign
During WWII an African American newspaper launched the Double Victory Campaign. This stood for “Victory Abroad and Victory at Home” in regard to fighting for racial equality everywhere. While many white Americans despised other countries for discrimination and genocides, they did not take into account the racism faced by black people in America. Soon, this group rose up and decided to fight for civil rights in their own countries. -
Executive Order 9066
Thousands of Japanese Americans were forced to temporarily relocate into internment camps during WWII. Many white Americans feared espionage and sabotage on the part of Japanese Americans. At the start of 1942, FDR signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the War Department to hold Japanese Americans in isolated camps for the war’s duration. The Supreme Court justified it as a matter of wartime necessity. -
D-Day
D-day changed the course of WWII and also opened up lasting alliances with Eastern Europe. It made the US known as a world power because of its ability to plan and fight to end global conflict. D-Day landings broke the Atlantic wall which was thought to be unbreakable and allowed the Allies to successfully complete the liberation of Western Europe. -
G.I. Bill of Rights
The G.I Bill of Rights was established by the US government as a way of paying respect to soldiers. The bill included many benefits for army members and their families such as free education for soldiers, low-interest home loans, and business loans. This bill is still in place today and has had a profound impact on American society in terms of expectations for future generations. -
Bretton Woods Conference
All allied countries sent delegates to Bretton Woods, NH, to discuss postwar financial order with the US and Great Britain leading the meeting. The World Bank was created which gave loans for the reconstruction of Europe. The International Monetary Fund was also created and stabilized national currencies with the dollar as the benchmark. -
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization that was founded after the Second World War by many countries committed to maintaining international peace and security developing friendly relations among nations, promoting social progress, and human rights. This establishment of the UN has stood the test of time as the organization is still alive and active today. -
Baby Boom
After World War II, many soldiers had come home from war and many couples had been reunited, resulting in a baby boom. Between 1946-1963 the US population had increased to over 30 million and there was a recorded birth every 10 seconds. The Baby Boom impacted society by creating many new jobs across fields like nurses, construction workers, and teachers. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the most effective ever of U.S. foreign aid programs. It was created in an effort to prevent the economic deterioration of European countries during WWII. It helped stop the expansion of communism and keep the flow of world trade. The Marshall plan was meant to rebuild countries in Europe without having to pay the US back. It was a smart way to build trust and allies while solidifying the US’s role internationally. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Nato was created by the US, Canada, and Western European nations to provide security against the Soviet Union. It was originally made to stop the spread of communism but because of Article V, it creates lasting peace for any country in NATO. This organization was the first peacetime military alliance the US entered into. Even now it provides all countries within it the right to peace. -
Brown V Board
Linda Brown was a young Black schoolgirl that was forced to walk past two white schools to get to her own school. In Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education, the Supreme Court declared that racial segregation in public schools violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision mandating "separate but equal" segregation. -
Emmett Till
Till was a 14-year-old African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a white woman. It is unclear whether the accusations are true but the crimes he faced were unacceptable amongst supporters of the civil rights movement. Groups began to rise up and fight for justice for Emmet's death. -
National Interstate and Defense Highway Act
President Eisenhower signed this act to create major roads and highways that connected small and large towns in the US. It was the largest public works project in history, and it impacted many American lives on a personal level by providing easy access to transportation routes to previously unreachable places. It also played into Cold War fears because it made mass evacuations easier and acted as emergency runways. -
Bay of Pigs
President JFK gathered troops in Cuba to try and overthrow the dictator at the time FIidel Castro. This did not go as planned as more than 1,100 men were captured during this abortive failure of an invasion. After failing to raise the ransom amount demanded by Fidel Castro as reparations, the prisoners were released in exchange for $53,000,000 worth of food and medicine. -
Freedom Rides
After the federal court ruled that segregation was outlawed in businesses concerning the interstate, the Congress of Racial Equality set out to test the enforcement of the law and arranged interracial charter buses to travel through various parts of the South. These rides were often met with violence, and after the gory aftermath of Bombingham, President Kennedy sent marshals to ensure the riders’ safety and pledged support for the movement. -
March on Washington
More than 200k Americans of all colors had shown up for the March in Washington DC for civil rights. They were fighting for equality in jobs in the nation's capital. This hugely influential day was also when MLK made his famous "I Have Dream speech." The march was successful in pressuring the administration of John F. Kennedy to initiate a strong federal civil rights bill in Congress. -
Gulf of Tonkin
While Johnson was president, a US ship was said to be attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin. This was made out to be a big tragedy and blown out of proportion. Before this, America served as more of an advisor to South Vietnam, but this tragedy brought about more involvement in Vietnam. In what was called the Tonkin Resolution, Congress gave the President financial oversight and relinquished their power. -
Medicare/Medicaid
The Medicare and Medicaid Act helped provide Americans with the necessary money to pay for the costs of hospital bills and health checks that would otherwise be unobtainable. It also removed the racial segregation practiced by hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Medicare has contributed to a life expectancy that is years higher than it was when the law went into effect. -
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act is incredibly important to the voting process in government elections to this day. The act outlawed discriminatory voting practices adopted in many states, especially southern states after the Civil War. This included removing literacy tests as a requirement for voting. LBJ was hoping to remove many of the systematic racist laws concerning voting among people of color. -
Department of Urban Housing and Development
This organization created by Lyndon B Johnson administers programs that provide housing and community development assistance while working to ensure fair and equal housing opportunities for all. This was a monumental change in the government as a whole new executive department was created. This creation reflected both LBJ and JFK's plans for the country after their respective assassination and inauguration. -
Kerner Commission
Further carrying out the desires of his predecessor JFK, now President Lyndon Johnson established the National Advisory Commission on Violence and Civil Disorders to examine the causes of racial unrest in American cities. The findings revealed more than 150 riots or major disorders between 1965 and 1968. These findings fueled the fire of the civil rights movement and members pushed for more change. -
Burglary at Watergate
Five men that were a part of Nixon's campaign team broke into the democrat convention at Watergate to try and bug it and find information about their upcoming election plans. They were caught and arrested. Nixon didn't order it or know about them doing it, however, he tried to cover it up from the start and started a major controversy. He fired a good portion of his employees and even fired the person that was investigating him. -
War Powers Resolution
After the Gulf of Tonkin incident, President Johnson was given special powers through the Tonkin Resolution. Congress gave the president financial oversight over the war and increased federal power. Years later under President Nixon, the War Powers Act was passed despite his veto. It undid this and helped to limit the president's power in war. The act made it so that the president would have to talk with Congress before sending troops abroad. -
Iranian Hostages Released
Iranian students seized and captured 50 Americans and held them for ransom during Jimmy Carter's presidency. They were angry that the US president had been talking with their country's leader and did not release them for over a year. Up until the last hour of Carter's presidency, he made attempts to get the hostages back safely but the students had no intentions of giving them up until Ronald Reagan was sworn in.