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Pendleton Act
The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act was passed to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States. The purpose of it was to break the Spoils system which had become the "custom" of presidential administrations. The Senator of Ohio was signed into law by President Chester Arthur in 1833. One of the most important events Arthur did during his presidency was the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. -
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was an American industrialist who amassed a fortune in the steel industry. He was known as a Robber Baron, and he was followed by other major men later. By investing in iron and oil companies, he made his first fortune by his early 30's. In 1901, he sold his steel industry to J.P Morgan for $480 million. Once he sold his company, he dedicated himself to philanthropy, eventually giving away $350 million to the poor. -
Laissez Faire
Laissez Faire is an economic and political doctrine that holds that economies function efficiently when unencumbered by government regulation. It affected economics during the Industrial Revolution because people believed that it would maximize the economic growth and everyone would benefit. It is a French term which means "leave to do" or more accurately, "leave to be." It improved economics, technological change, and economic development. -
Bessemer Process
Andrew Carnegie was the first to invest in the Bessemer process. This was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel. The invention was important because it helped make stronger rails for constructing the railroads and help make stronger metal machines. Today, buildings are built from steel which is the support of it all. The United States Industrial Revolution moved to the age of iron to the age of steel. -
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Transforming the West
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The Gilded Age
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Homestead Act
The Homestead Act was signed by Abraham Lincoln on May 20,1862. It encouraged western migration by providing settlers 160 free acres of public land. By the end of the Civil War, 15,000 homestead claims were made. Farmers, former slaves, and single women took advantage of this opportunity. It had some bad things such as farmers going bankrupt due to isolation and drought. -
Transcontinental Railroad
The Pacific Railroad Act chartered the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies, and tasked them with building a transcontinental railroad. The railroad would link the United States from east to west. For 7 years, the two companies would race toward each other from Sacramento, California and Omaha, Nebraska. The railroad made traveling across the country easier and priced for shipping goods, which was good for business. -
John Rockefeller
John Rockefeller was the founder of the Standard Oil Company. He did the same things as Andrew Carnegie and was basically a version of him but with oil production. He controlled 90% of domestic oil. Standard oil gained a monopoly in the oil industry by buying rival refineries and developing companies for distributing its products around the world. John Rockefeller went from went from horizontal to vertical integration and he also invented 2 important elements: Trusts and Holding companies. -
Cowboys
The cowboy of myth and reality had his beginnings in Texas. Their features such as, tall in the saddle, alone, facing danger, one man against nature, treeless plains and humanity's outlaws, appealed to people and made the cowboy a folk hero. They were a mythological symbol of the American West. Their era is when the open range and great cattle drives began. -
Gilded Age
In this era, the population of the United States doubled in the span of a single generation. The U.S. became the world's leading producer of goods, oil, coal, and steel. This period of time was glorious yet corrupt because of things like Robber Barons, speculators, shady business practices, scandal-plagued politics, and vulgar display. Railroads were the major growth industry bringing economic wealth to the United States. -
Killing of the Buffalo
The Indians worshiped buffalo because it was their source of native life. White hunters began killing buffalo and leaving the body to rot in fields. They would take skin of the buffalo to sell at great prices. They believed that every buffalo dead was an Indian gone. -
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Becoming an Industrial Power
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Imperialism
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Montgomery Ward
Aaron Montgomery Ward was the founder of this American retail enterprise. He created mail order business and brought department stores to Rural America. Ward aimed in buying large quantities of merchandise and then selling it to rural farmers at low prices. He began distributing the first mail-order catalog with a money back guarantee. Unfortunately, in 2000 it announced that it was going out of business, and in 2001 it closed its remaining stores. -
Red River War
The Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army to remove native tribes from the southern plains and relocate them. The three plain Indians were upset over illegal white settlement. They decided to attack the white settlements to protect their land. Unfortunately, they were crushed in 1875 and all native resistance on the southern plains was wiped out. -
Battle of Little Big Horn
The Battle of Little Big Horn was a Native American win over U.S. army troops. The leader of the U.S. army was George Custer, or Crazy Horse, who wanted to be a hero but instead made a dumb decision which got his men slaughtered. He underestimated the natives forces and was outnumbered by the Indians, lead by Sitting Bull, who killed all american troops. This battle was also known as Custer's Last Stand. -
Robber Barons
Robber Barons were greedy capitalists that grew rich by shady business practices. This title is attributed to any successful businessman or woman whose practices are considered unethical or unscrupulous. Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt were all considered "Robber Barons." They changed the lives of many Americans because they brought complex social and economic changes which led to riots, strikes, etc. -
Exodusters
This was a name given to African Americans who migrated from states along the Mississippi River to Kansas. It was the first migration of blacks following the Civil War. The organization was lead by Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, who was a former slave. Bands would move from plantations to the Mississippi River, where they expected new prosperity. Some were successful while others settled on bad land and lacked money. They had the choice to relocate back to the south or move further west. -
Social Gospel Movement
The Social Gospel Movement was a religious movement that arose during the late nineteenth century. Ministers from the Protestant church began to tie salvation and good works together. They said that to honor God, people must put aside their own desires and help others, those in need. The ideas from this movement would influence the Progressive Movement. The Social Gospel also attacked Social Darwinism. -
Tenements
In the 19th century, more people began crowding into America's cities, including newly arrived immigrants. Buildings that were once single-family dwellings were divided into multiple living spaces to better fit the growing population. Tenements were very narrow, low-rise apartments that were in the cities lower side of neighborhoods. They were crowded and, poorly lit, plumbing issues, and proper ventilation was a problem. These housings were very uncomfortable for millions of people. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
This was the first significant law restricting immigrants into the United States. It provided an absolute 10 year ban on Chinese labor immigration. Those on the West Coast were the most prone to attribute declining wages and economic decrease on Chinese workers. The Chinese only composed .002 percent of the nation's population, but Congress passed the Exclusion Act to calm worker demands and satisfy concerns about maintaining white "racial purity." -
Great Upheaval of 1886
The Great Upheaval of 1886 was a massive wave of strikes and labor protests that touched every part of the nation. The workers wanted better wages and better working conditions. More than 100,000 workers had gone on strike, causing a shutdown of half the nation's railroads. -
Haymarket Riot
A labor protest on May 4, 1886, near Chicago's Haymarket Square turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at authority's. At least eight people died because of the violence in this event. The Haymarket Riot was viewed a setback for the organized labor movement in America. This setback was fighting for such rights as the eight-hour workday. -
Wounded Knee
Wounded Knee was located in southwestern South Dakota. It was the conflict between North American Indians and representatives of the U.S. government. The massacre left about 150 Native Americans dead, in what was the final clash between federal troops and the Sioux. Nearly half of the Sioux killed in the Wounded Knee massacre were women and children. -
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first federal act that outlawed monopolistic business practices. It was passed by the U.S. congress to prohibit trusts. The act was named after Senator John Sherman of Ohio. It was based on the constitutional power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce, so basically prohibited contracts, combinations, or conspiracies "in the restraint of trade or commerce." -
Progressive Era
The Progressive Era was a period of social activism and political reform across the United States. The foundation of America was born during this time. Progressivism refers to the different responses to the economic and social evolution's that occurred as a result of America's rapid urbanization and industrialization. Many Americans migrated west into urban areas, and hundreds of thousands of African Americans moved to northern cities. This era wanted to protect social welfare. -
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Progressive Era
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City Beautiful Movement
This was a movement in environmental design that drew from the beaux arts school. Architects strove to impart order on hectic, industrial centers by creating urban spaces that conveyed a sense of morality and civic pride. In another words, it was the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in several cities. -
Depression of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States. It was preceded by a series of shocks that weakened the economy. The crisis lasted for four years leading to economic hardships, civil unrest, demonstrations and labor actions such as the Pullman Strike. -
Sears and Roebuck
Richard W. Sears founded the R.W Sears watch company to sell watches by mail order. He started off in Minneapolis, Minnesota and later relocated to Chicago in 1887. He hired Alvah C. Roebuck to be his assistant, and then they established the mail-order business. The business quickly spread -
World's Columbian Exposition 1893
The name is short for "The World's Fair: Columbian Exposition," and also known as the Chicago World's Fair. This was a fair held to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. There were about 21.5 million paid admissions to this exposition, and total attendance was more than 25.8 million. It was the first American international exposition to close with a profit. -
Cross of Gold Speech
This is the most famous speech in political history which was performed by William Jennings Bryan. The issue was whether to endorse the free coinage of silver at the ratio of silver to gold of 16:1. His words, "You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold," left an impact on all in that convention. His speech led him to be nominated for president. -
William McKinley
William McKinley served in the U.S. congress and as governor of Ohio before running for presidency. He promoted American prosperity and won the election with democrat William Jennings Bryan to become the 25th president. He led the U.S. into war with Spain over the issue of Cuban independence. This conflict ended with us gaining the possession of Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam. His foreign policy opened the "doors" for the U.S to play a role in world affairs. He was later assassinated. -
Election of 1896
The Presidential Election of 1896, saw republican William McKinley defeat democrat William Jennings Bryan. This election was seen as very dramatic and complex in American history. McKinley emphasized the maintenance of the gold standard, while Bryan called for the standard of gold and silver. The "money question" formed the main issue of this election. The economic depression of 1893 also set this debate up which led to the election of 1896. -
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush was an event of migration by an estimate of 100,000 people prospecting to the Klondike region. Gold was discovered in several rich deposits along the Klondike River in 1896. The cold winter climate of the region didn't allow the news to travel fast enough to the outside world before the following year. The reports of gold created hysteria that was nation-wide and many people traveled to Klondike to become gold-diggers. -
George Dewey
George Dewey was a U.S. naval commander that helped acquire the Philippines. Manila Bay was the first battle and Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet. When the news reached president William McKinley, Dewey became a national hero and was promoted to Admiral. He supported the Chinese because of their efficient services and their courage to help defeat the enemy. He sailed out from China on the USS Olympia to attack Manila Bay and within 6 hours captured the fleet. -
U.S.S. Maine Incident
On February 15, 1898, the battleship U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, killing 268 men. Two-thirds of the crew who perished, only 200 bodies were recovered and 76 identified. This incident was the cause of war between the U.S. and Spain. Americans blamed the Spanish for destroying the ship because of yellow journalism. Yellow Journalism is an exaggeration of an event put into newspapers for increased sales. Withing 3 months, war was declared on Spain due to this incident. -
Queen Liliuokalani
Queen Liliuokalani was the last sovereign of Hawaii. By the time she took the throne herself in 1891, a new Hawaiian constitution had removed much of the monarchy’s powers. When Liliuokalani acted to restore these powers, a U.S. military-backed coup overthrew her. Liliuokalani signed a formal abdication in 1895 but continued to appeal to U.S. President Grover Cleveland for reinstatement, without success. The United States annexed Hawaii in 1898. -
Treaty of Paris (1898)
The 1898 Treaty of Paris was made between Spain and the United States after the Spanish-American War. It was signed on December 10, 1898, and came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the ratifications were exchanged. The provisions were that Spain agreed to remove all soldiers from Cuba, and ceded Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States. The United States compensated Spain for its losses with a payment of $20 million dollars. -
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo was the first and youngest president of the Philippines. He was a revolutionary leader who achieved independence of the Philippines from Spain. He also led the Philippine-American War against U.S. resistance to Philippine independence. He was a hero to the Philippines but was captured by American forces in 1901 and that ended his presidency. -
Open Door Policy
The Open Door Policy was a policy between China, the United States and several nations in Europe. It opened trade with China to each nation. Before that, China was a closed country and didn't want relations with other countries. Europe was close to "opening up" China by force. It basically meant that the market was open to everyone, there were no taxes, and non-binding. -
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, or the Boxer Uprising, was a Chinese secret organization called the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists that led an uprising in northern China against the spread of Western and Japanese influence there. The rebels killed foreigners and Chinese Christians and destroyed foreign property. By the terms of the Boxer Protocol, which ended the rebellion in 1901, China agreed to pay more than $330 million in reparations. -
Election of 1900
This election was held on November 6, 1900. It was a rematch between Republican President William McKinley and Democrat William Jennings Bryan. William McKinley won the election due to return in economic prosperity and victory in the Spanish-American War. The campaign was largely a replay of the Election of 1896. It mainly focused on whether the U.S. should give independence to territories received in the war with Spain. -
Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot Lodge was a political foe to Woodrow Wilson. He was a republican, conservative, not fond of immigrants, and determined to protect the sovereignty of the U.S. Lodge advocated entrance to WWI and he was against the good things that were offered. He also tried getting rid of the League of Nations because he believed it weakened the United States. -
Carrie A. Nation
Carrie A. Nation became famous for carrying a hatchet and wrecking saloons as part of her anti-alcohol crusade. She was a radical member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol before the beginning of Prohibition. She began with simple protests such as greeting bartenders remarks like "Good morning, destroyer of men's souls." Later, she would stand outside saloons praying loudly and singing. She was arrested about 30 times for "hatchetations" between 1900 and 1910. -
Teddy Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th president of the United States. He gained the presidency after the assassination of William McKinley. Roosevelt confronted struggles between management and labor head-on and became known as the great "trust buster." He broke up industrial combinations under the Sherman Antitrust Act. He was also a dedicated conservationist. Roosevelt won a Nobel peace prize for his negotiations to end the Russo-Japan War and beginning the construction of the Panama Canal. -
Henry Ford
Henry Ford established the Ford Motor Company, and five years later the company rolled out the first Model T. Ford introduced revolutionary new mass-production methods, including large production plants, use of standardized, interchangeable parts and, in 1913 the world's first moving assembly line for cars. His political views gained him widespread criticism over the years, starting with his campaign against U.S. involvement in WWI. Henry Ford died at age 83, giving the company to his grandson. -
Roosevelt Corollary
Teddy Roosevelt issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904. The Venezuela Crisis was a naval blockade imposed against Venezuela by Britain, Germany and Italy due to Venezuela's inability to pay its debts. The Roosevelt Corollary stated that the United States would intervene in conflicts between European countries and Latin America. The Big Stick Policy came after this, exercising "international police power." -
Vladmir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin was the founder of the Russian Communist Party, leader of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, and the builder, and first head of the Soviet Union. He spent the years leading up to the 1917 revolution in exile, within Russia and abroad. The Bolshevik’s quickly consolidated power; privatizing all aspects of Soviet economy. Lenin attempted to shape the future of the Soviet Union, warning against the unchecked power of party members, including Joseph Stalin. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act was an act for preventing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated, misbranded, poisonous, deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors. It was passed the same day as the Meat Inspection Act of 1906, which mandated examination of livestock before slaughter. -
RMS Lusitania
On May 7, 1915, about a year after WWI erupted across Europe, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the RMS Lusitania. The ship was a British ocean liner en route from New York to Liverpool, England. Of the more than 1,900 passengers and crew members on board, more than 1,100 perished, including many Americans. This caused the pressure to increase on president Wilson to enter WWI. -
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was a republican who served as the 27th president of the United States. He was also the tenth Chief Justice and only person to have held both positions. As president, he focused on East Asia more than European affairs and stepped in to improve or remove Latin American governments. He made the Dollar diplomacy, which was a form of American foreign policy to further its aims in LA and East Asia through use of its economic power by guaranteeing loans made to foreign countries. -
Pancho Villa
Pancho Villa was a famed Mexican revolutionary and guerilla leader. He joined Francisco Madero’s uprising against Mexican President Porfirio Díaz, and later became leader of the División del Norte cavalry. Clashing with former revolutionary ally Venustiano Carranza, he killed more than 30 Americans. This drew the deployment of a U.S. military expedition into Mexico, but Villa eluded capture. Pardoned by Mexican President Adolfo de la Huerta, Villa retired to a quiet life until his assassination. -
Election of 1912
Woodrow Wilson was the democratic candidate of this election. He became the 28th president of the United States. This election was contested by three individuals, Wilson, Roosevelt, and Taft, who all had or would be president. Wilson won the majority of electoral vote, which he took advantage of the split in Republican party. -
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson served as the 28th president of the United States. He is best known for leading America through WWI and arranging the Versailles Treaty's "Fourteen Points", which was creating a League of Nations to ensure world peace. He tried to keep the U.S. neutral during WWI but eventually called on Congress to declare was on Germany in 1917. After the war, he helped negotiate a peace treaty which included the League of Nations. -
Federal Reserve Act
The Federal Reserve Act is an Act of Congress that created and established the Federal Reserve System, central banking of the United States, and created authority to issue Federal Reserve notes, also known as the US dollar. This act was signed into law by president Woodrow Wilson. It provided the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system. Congress has the power to amend the Federal Reserve Act, which has been done over the years. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
In an event that is known for the outbreak of World War I, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot to death along with his wife by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The archduke traveled to Sarajevo in 1914 to inspect the imperial armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were former Ottoman territories. Despite the fact that Serbia did not truly lose its independence until the Second Battle of Kosovo, it was a day of great significance to Serbian nationalists. -
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World War I
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Mustard Gas
In 1915, German forces fired more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against 2 French colonial divisions at Ypres, Belgium. This was the 1st major gas attack by Germans, and it devastated the Allied line. It was unlike other weapons because it was possible to develop countermeasures, like gas masks. As the use increased, its overall effectiveness decreased. The world viewed WWI as "the chemist's war" and also the era where "weapons of mass destruction" were created. -
Margaret Sanger
Margaret Sanger was the founder of the birth-control movement in the U.S. and an international leader in the field. She is credited with originating the term birth control. She practiced nursing in NY on the lower east side, where she witnessed relationships between poverty, uncontrolled fertility, high rates of infant and maternal mortality, and deaths from botched illegal abortions. These observations made her a feminist who believed in every woman’s right to avoid unwanted pregnancies. -
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey became a leader in the black nationalist movement by applying the economic ideas of Pan-Africanists to the immense resources available in urban centers. After arriving in New York, he founded the Negro World newspaper, an international shipping company called Black Star Line and the Negro Factories Corporation. His Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) was the largest secular organization in African-American history. He was later indicated for mail fraud and deported. -
Zimmerman Telegram
British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from Germany to the German Minister to Mexico, offering U.S. territory to Mexico in return for joining German cause. To protect their intelligence from detection and to capitalize on growing anti-German sentiment in the U.S., British waited to present the telegram to the President. On February 24, Britain released the telegram to Wilson, and news was published widely in American press. In 1917, the U.S. Congress declared war on Germany and its allies. -
General John Pershing
General John J. Pershing commanded the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in Europe during WWI. He served in the Spanish- and Philippine-American Wars and was tasked to lead a punitive raid against the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson selected Pershing to command American troops being sent to Europe. Pershing aimed to maintain the independence of the AEF, but his willingness to integrate into Allied operations helped bring about the armistice with Germany. -
First Red Scare
The First Red Scare occurred during the years 1917-1920 and was caused by the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the impact of WWI. The Red Scare was the name given to the period of anti-radical hysteria and the fear that anarchists, socialists and communists were conspiring to start a workers revolution in the United States. It was sparked by fear and suspicion, widespread strikes and a series of terrorist attacks in the homeland. -
German U-Boats
In 1917, Germany announces the renewal of unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic as German torpedo-armed submarines prepare to attack any and all ships, including civilian passenger carriers, said to be sighted in war-zone waters. The naval weapon was the U-boat, a submarine far more sophisticated than those built by other nations at the time. The U-boat was 214 feet long, carried 35 men and 12 torpedoes, and could travel underwater for two hours. -
14 points
The Fourteen Points speech of President Woodrow Wilson was an address delivered before a joint meeting of Congress in 1918. He outlined his vision for a stable, long-lasting peace in Europe, the Americas and the rest of the world following World War I. In his speech, he gave 14 strategies to ensure national security and world peace. He wanted to present a alternative to the traditional notion of an international balance of power preserved by alliances among nations. -
Argonne Forest
On September 26, 1918, after a long bombardment, more than 700 Allied tanks, followed by infantry troops, advanced against German positions in the Argonne Forest. Aiming to cut off the entire German 2nd Army, Allied Supreme Commander Ferdinand Foch ordered General John J. Pershing to take overall command of the offensive. Pershing’s American Expeditionary Force (AEF) was to play the main attacking role, in what would be the largest American-run offensive of WWI. -
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic was Germany’s government from 1918 to 1933, period after World War I until the rise of Nazi Germany. It was named after the town of Weimar where Germany’s new government was formed by a national assembly after Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated. From its uncertain beginnings to a short season of success and then a devastating depression, the Republic experienced enough chaos to position Germany for the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. -
18th Amendment
During the late 1800's, prohibition movements had sprung up across the United States, driven by religious groups who said alcohol was a threat to the nation. In 1920, Congress ratified the 18th amendment, prohibiting the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors. Prohibition became difficult to enforce and failed to eliminate crime and other social problems. It led to a rise in organized crime, as the bootlegging of alcohol became an ever-more lucrative operation. -
Al Capone
Al Capone became the most infamous gangster in American history. During Prohibition, his multi-million dollar Chicago operation in bootlegging, prostitution and gambling dominated the organized crime scene. He attacked many other gangsters brutally. The most famous was the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1929), where he ordered the assassination of 7 rivals. His life captured the public imagination, and his gangster persona has been immortalized in many movies and books inspired by his exploits. -
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was the development of the Harlem neighborhood in New York City as a black cultural mecca. Lasting roughly from the 1910s through the mid-1930s, the period is considered a golden age in African American culture, manifesting in literature, music, stage performance and art. The end of Harlem’s boom began with the stock market crash of 1929 and wavered until Prohibition ended in 1933, which meant white patrons no longer sought out illegal alcohol in uptown clubs. -
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony was a crusader for the woman's suffrage movement in the United States and president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Her work helped pave the way for the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. She was tireless in her efforts, giving speeches around the country to convince others to support a woman’s right to vote. She even took matters into her own hands in 1872 when she voted in the presidential election illegally. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment granted American women the right to vote. In 1848 the movement for their rights launched on a national level with the Seneca Falls Convention. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized it and after the convention, demand for the vote was the priority of the women’s rights movement. Many activists raised public awareness and lobbied the government to grant voting rights. These groups finally got victory with the passage of the 19th Amendment. -
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1920s
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Tea Pot Dome Scandal
The Teapot Dome Scandal shocked Americans by revealing an unprecedented level of greed and corruption within the government. The scandal involved big oil companies, poker-playing politicians, illegal liquor sales, a murder-suicide, a womanizing president and a bagful of bribery cash delivered on the sly. The scandal would empower the Senate to look into government corruption. It also marked the first time a U.S. cabinet official served jail time for a felony committed while in office. -
Warren Harding
Warren Harding was the 29th president of the U.S. and served from 1921 to 1923 before dying of an apparent heart attack. Harding’s presidency was overshadowed by the criminal activities of some of his cabinet members and other government officials, although he himself was not involved in any crimes. He was a successful newspaper publisher who served in the Ohio legislature and the U.S. Senate. After his death, the Teapot Dome Scandal and other corruption came to light, damaging his reputation. -
Charles Lindbergh
Charles A. Lindbergh was an American aviator who rose to fame by piloting his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, on the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris. After the kidnap and murder of his infant son, he moved to Europe in the 1930s and became involved with German aviation developments. Despite objecting to American involvement in World War II, Lindbergh eventually flew 50 combat missions. -
John Scopes
The “Monkey Trial” began with John Scopes, a high school science teacher, accused of teaching evolution in violation of a Tennessee state law. The law did not allow to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man, and to teach instead that man descended from a lower order of animals. William Jennings Bryan, the three-time Democratic presidential candidate, found out about this and volunteered to assist the prosecution. This case was one of the most famous in history. -
Huey Long "The Kingfish"
Huey Long was a powerful Louisiana governor and U.S. senator. As a successful lawyer, he rose through the ranks of the Louisiana government to take over the state’s top post in 1928. The Long dominated virtually every governing institution within Louisiana, using that power to expand programs for underdeveloped infrastructure and social services. He entered the U.S. Senate in 1935, where he developed a fervent following for his promises of a radical redistribution of wealth. -
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In his command, the Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower. He ruled with terror, and millions of his own died during his reign. After Vladimir Lenin died, he bypassed his rivals for control of the party. He then had enemies executed or sent to forced labor camps. Stalin aligned with the U.S. and Britain in WWII but later engaged with the West known as the Cold War. -
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover was the 31st president and took office the year the U.S. economy plummeted into the Great Depression. As the Depression deepened, Hoover failed to recognize the severity of the situation or leverage the power of the federal government to address it. He was widely viewed as callous and insensitive toward the suffering of millions of desperate Americans. As a result, Hoover was soundly defeated in the 1932 presidential election by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. -
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The Great Depression
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Douglas Macarthur
Douglas MacArthur was an American general who commanded the Southwest Pacific in WWII. MacArthur was talented, outspoken and, in the eyes of many, egotistical. He went on to serve as superintendent of West Point, chief of staff of the Army and field marshal of the Philippines, where he helped organize a military. During WWII, he famously returned to liberate the Philippines in 1944 after it had fallen to the Japanese. -
The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl referred to dry Southern Plains, which suffered severe dust storms during a dry period. As high winds and dust swept the region from Texas to Nebraska, people and livestock were killed and crops failed across the entire region. The Dust Bowl intensified the crushing economic impacts of the Great Depression and drove many farming families on a desperate migration in search of jobs and better living conditions. -
Election of 1932
The presidential election of 1932 took place as effects of the Wall Street Crash and Great Depression were being felt. Herbert Hoover's popularity was falling as voters felt he was unable to reverse the economic collapse. Franklin Roosevelt used what he called Hoover's failure to deal with these problems as a platform for his own election, promising reform in policy called the New Deal. Roosevelt won, and this "critical election" marked the collapse of the Fourth Party System or Progressive Era. -
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd president of the United States. The country suffering from the Great Depression, he immediately acted to restore public confidence, proclaiming a bank holiday and speaking directly to the public in a series of “fireside chats.” Reelected in 1936, 1940 and 1944, FDR led the U.S. from isolationism to victory over Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II. The only American president in history to be elected four times, Roosevelt died in office in April 1945. -
Eleanor Roosevelt
First lady Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt, was a leader in her own right and involved in humanitarian causes throughout her life. The niece of Teddy Roosevelt, she was born into a wealthy New York family. She married FDR, her 5th cousin once removed. She worked for political, racial and social justice, and after President Roosevelt’s death, Eleanor was a delegate to the United Nations and continued to serve as an advocate for a wide range of human rights issues. -
Glass-Steagall Act
The Glass-Steagall Act effectively separated commercial banking from investment banking and created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It was one of the most widely debated legislative initiatives before being signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in June 1933. It was part of a broader set of 1933 regulations that prohibited FDIC-insured banks from investing in anything other than government bonds and similarly low-risk vehicles. -
Wagner Act
The Wagner Act, also known as the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), was passed by Congress, signed into law by President Roosevelt, and became effective in 1935. The law was part of FDR's New Deal programs and guaranteed workers the right to organize Unions and to bargain collectively. The National Labor Relations Board was set up under the National Labor Relations Act to enforce the act and guarantee workers' rights to prevent unfair labor practices. -
Social Security Act
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act. It established a system of old-age benefits for workers, benefits for victims of industrial accidents, unemployment insurance, aid for dependent mothers and children, the blind, and physically handicapped. In addition to several provisions for general welfare, the Act created a social insurance program designed to pay retired workers age 65 or older a continuing income after retirement. -
Father Charles Coughlin
Father Coughlin, known as “the radio priest,” started as a pastor of a tiny parish in Royal Oak, Michigan, but in time he commanded a weekly radio audience of 90 million who hung on his every richly word.Thunderously warning against what he considered the multiple evils of Communism, capitalism, labor unions, Wall Street, “the international money-changers in the temple,” and dozens of other targets, Father Coughlin, in a short time, made himself a political power. -
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World War II
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Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill is one of the best-known statesmen of the 20th century. He was born into a life of privilege, but he dedicated himself to public service. Churchill was an idealist and a pragmatist; an orator and a soldier; an advocate of progressive social reforms and an unapologetic elitist; a defender of democracy as well as of Britain’s fading empire. Many people in Great Britain and elsewhere, saw him as just a hero. -
Dunkirk
Dunkirk was the largest evacuation of allied forces during WWII. When the Battle of France began, Germans burst through the Ardennes region and advanced north, while also invading the east. Their army was unstoppable and they advanced quickly through Belgium. The situation worsened when they went north to Calais, and held allied soldiers trapped against the coast of Franco-Belgian border. Operation Dynamo soon began, which meant trying to get everyone out of there. -
Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941)
Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, and was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. Before 8 a.m. on that Sunday morning, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base, where they destroyed or damaged nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and over 300 airplanes. Many Americans died and the day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower was supreme commander of the Allied forces during WWII. In 1952, leading Republicans convinced Eisenhower to run for president; he won a convincing victory over Democrat Adlai Stevenson and served two terms in the White House. During his presidency, Eisenhower managed Cold War-era tensions with the Soviet Union under the looming threat of nuclear weapons, ended the war in Korea in 1953 and authorized a number of covert anti-communist operations by the CIA around the world. -
Omar Bradley
Omar Nelson Bradley was one of the towering American military leaders of the first half of the 20th century. After serving as an infantry school instructor, he took charge of the Eighty-second and Twenty-eighth Divisions during World War II. He commanded the Second Corps in the Tunisia and Sicilian campaigns, and as commander of the 1st Army he was instrumental to the success of the Normandy campaign. He later became a five star general and 1st chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff. -
The United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization that is committed to maintaining international peace and security; developing friendly relations; promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights. Its unique international character, and the powers vested in its founding Charter, the Organization takes action on issues, and provides a forum for its 193 Member States to express their views.
