-
Chinese Exclusion Act
the first major law restricting immigration to the United States was passed, specifically targeting Chinese laborers. This prohibited Chinese citizens from entering the United States for the next ten years. -
Hawaii Annexation
Hawaii was annexed by the United States, adding a new territory to the country. The United States wanted to take control of Hawaii because they saw it as a crucial geographic location to build military bases for defense. -
1900 Galveston Hurricane
A hurricane from the Gulf of Mexico made landfall in Galveston, causing between 6,000 and 12,000 deaths. This made it the deadliest natural disasters happening within the United States. -
First Airplane Flight
The Wright Brothers from Dayton, Ohio flew their aircraft into the sky in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and it marked the first time in mankind history that humans were able to take flight in an airplane. -
Passing of the 19th Amendment
The amendment granted women the right to vote after a long years of protest for women's suffrage. This opened up voting rights to more people and not just men when it was passed in Congress on this day. -
Prohibition
The 18th Amendment was passed and it banned alcohol in the United States for all ages. This made people resort to making moonshine, which was a homemade alcoholic beverage, and brought up the existence of speakeasies, illegal places where people could purchase and drink alcohol. -
Black Tuesday
This day caused the start of the Great Depression in the US. On this day, the US Stock Market crashed and banks could not be trusted by the general population for future years. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On this day, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, resulting in a massive amount of damage and casualties. This caused the United States to enter World War II. -
Vietnam War
On this day, the war between Southern Vietnam and the United States versus the Soviet Union and Northern Vietnam initiated. This war caused many casualties on both sides of Vietnam and allowed Vietnam to reunite both sides to communism in 1975. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
On this day, this crisis started as tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. The US found out that the Soviet Union had placed nuclear bombs in Cuba, so president Kennedy of the US ordered a blockade on the island. -
MLK Speech
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with 250,000 people watching him in person. This event was one of the most famous instances when African Americans fought for civil rights. -
JFK Assasination
While President John F. Kennedy was riding in a motorcade going through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK in the head ceasing his life. Oswald was arrested shortly after he fired the shot, and Lyndon B. Johnson became the 36th President of the United States. -
Passing of Civil Rights Act
This act made it illegal to discriminate against sex, race, religion, or national origin in the workplace or in public spaces. It was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson and marked a major step in civil rights legislation. -
Apollo 11 Landing
On this day, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins left Earth to go to the moon. This fulfilled former president JFK's dream to go to the moon by the end of the decade and allowed the United States to beat Russia in the race to land a person on the moon first. -
Word Trade Center Opening
On this day, 1 WTC and 2 WTC finished construction and opened to the public. They remained standing until 2001, where they were destroyed in a series of foreign terrorist attacks to the United States. -
Passing of the 26th Amendment
This amendment lowered the US voting age from 21 to 18. This happened in reaction to people realizing that 18 was old enough to fight in the military but not old enough to get a say in who gets elected in the government. This catchphrase was called "old enough to fight, old enough to vote." -
September 11 Attacks
These attacks were carried out by an Islamic terrorist organization named Al Qaeda, targeting New York City and Washington DC. This caused the deaths of 3,000 people and started the war on terror from the US government. -
2008 Financial Crisis
This financial crisis lasted from December of 2007 to January of 2009. Risky forms of house loans was a major factor to this crisis since people who would not normally qualify for a loan got accepted. This caused a collapse of the stock market and housing prices across America to plummet. -
Obama Presidency
On this day, Barack Obama began his first day as a president, and was the first African-American president of the United States. He reformed medicare by establishing out of pocket cost limits for US citizens. -
Killing of Osama bin Laden
On this day, US Navy SEAL officers raided the residence of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. This marked the end of the hunt on him since he was a key figure in conducting the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York.