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Thirteenth Amendment
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution formally abolishing slavery. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
The first federal law to define what citizenship encompassed. The act was aimed to address the civil rights of newly freed slaves. Equal rights and property rights for all regardless of race or color. -
Fourteenth Amendment
Amendment that granted African Americans and slaves citizenship, equal civil and legal rights. -
Transcontinental Railroad Completed
The presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet in Promontory, Utah to celebrate the completion of the transcontinal railroad joining the western and eastern regions of the country. -
Fifteenth Amendment
Amendment that guaranteed that the right to vote could not be denied based on race, color or previous servitude. -
Alexander Graham Bell Patents the Telephone
Revolutionized the communication industry with groundbreaking technology for transmitting sound over electric wires. Bell's invention made real time communication over distance possible for the first time. -
Edison Invents the Incandescent Light Bulb
Thomas Edison patented the incandescent light bulb which replaced the more dangerous gas or oil lamps of the time. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
The first piece of legislation passed by Congress to prevent interference with trade and reduce economic competition by large, powerful corporations. -
Spanish-American War
War between the United States and Spain that led to the end of the Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in the United States acquiring territoris in western Pacific and Latin America. -
U.S. Declares War on Germany (World War 1)
After the sinking of Lusitania, the interception of the Zimmerman telegram and numerous unrestricted submarine attacks, the United States Congress votes to declare war on the Central Powers and enter World War I. -
Nineteenth Amendment
Constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote. -
Stock Market Crash, Great Depression
Steep and sudden decline in stock prices on Wall Street over four days (October 24th-29th). The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 25 percent during this time. The crash rippled through the banking system leading to the Great Depression of the 1930s. -
US joins War World 2
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan and entered World War II joining Allies. -
US Drops Atomic Bombs on Japan, WW2 Ends
The United States dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima (Aug. 6th) and later on Nagasaki (Aug. 9th). This marks the first time atomic weapons are used in war. Causing heavy casualties and destruction, the Japanese quickly agreed to surrender. -
Supreme Court Rules on Brown v Board of Education
Landmark civil rights ruling from the Supreme Court. Unanimously ruling that racial segregation in public schools violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Leads to desegratation of public schools around the country. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Major international crisis when the United States obverses the Soviet Union secretly installing intercontinental ballistic missiles in Cuba. -
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Historic civil rights event. Peaceful march bringing together many different leaders and people of all backgrounds to urge federal government action on voting rights. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. -
JFK Assassinated
Riding a motorcade in Dallas, Texas the 35th president John F. Kennedy is mortally shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. -
Congress Passes Voting Rights Act
Considered one of the most comprehensive civil rights legislation in U.S. history. The legislation addressed discriminatory practices at state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote. -
Apollo 11 Lands First Humans on the Moon
Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr become the first people to land on the moon and take first steps on lunar surface.