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Amendment to the U.S. Constitution formally abolishing slavery. -
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. -
Amendment that granted African Americans and slaves citizenship, equal civil and legal rights. -
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. -
Amendment that guaranteed that the right to vote could not be denied based on race, color or previous servitude. -
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. -
Thomas Edison patented the incandescent light bulb which replaced the more dangerous gas or oil lamps of the time. -
The first piece of legislation passed by Congress to prevent interference with trade and reduce economic competition by large, powerful corporations. -
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. -
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. -
Constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote. -
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. -
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan and entered World War II joining Allies. -
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. -
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. -
Major international crisis when the United States obverses the Soviet Union secretly installing intercontinental ballistic missiles in Cuba. -
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. -
Riding a motorcade in Dallas, Texas the 35th president John F. Kennedy is mortally shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. -
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. -
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.