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Exclusion of the illiterates
(Started in 1895)
Southern States approved new constitutions which excluded anyone who was illiterate or could not pay the taxes to vote. This eliminated majority of the Southern black population, but it also eliminated white citizens. In 1915, the Supreme Court removed these literacy tests and taxes upon voting. -
John D Rockefeller - Donates Large Fund
J.D. Rockefeller donated $100,000 (about 2.5 million today) to the American Board of Commissioners, for foreign missions. Washington Gladder claimed that it was "unclean money." No one trusted J.D. Rockefeller -
Meat Inspection Act & Pure Food and Drug Act
These acts required that during processing, distribution and sale, production companies thoroughly inspect their products before they left the packing warehouses. -
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Mexican People Revolt against Gov.
Mexican people revolted against President Porfirio Díaz. Victoriano Huerta executed the new president Francisco Madero (1913) and the US told Huerta to let them take over: Huerta refused. Mexican forces arrested American soldiers in Tampico (April 1914) and President Woodrow Wilson saw this as an opportunity to put pressure on Huerta. The Huerta government fell in July 1914 and Americans invaded Mexico to “help“ run their government. Great injury was done to US and Mexico relations. -
Jane Addams Speech
At a major convention party, Jane Addams was the first woman to give a nominating speech. During this speech, she was nominating Theodore Roosevelt for president. -
Clayton Anti-Trust Act
Woodrow Wilson signed this act, which enhanced the Sherman Act, regulating mergers and price discrimination protecting labor's access to collective bargaining, picketing, boycotting and protesting. -
Assassination of Hungarian Royalty
Serbian government Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Austrian-Hungarian heirs to the throne. Nationalist leaders Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Grand Duchess Sophie declared to eliminate the rebellious ethnic Serbian threat. This was the beginning of World War 1. -
The Davis Act & the National Defense Act
The Davis Act of 1908 and the National Defense Act of 1916 gave rise to the modern versions of the National Guard and military reserves. They also offered training during the summer for college students and this gave the government small reserves of men to use during national emergencies who are already trained. -
Declaration of War on Germany
America tried to stay neutral but with attacks from Germany and the sinking of RMS Lusitania, (May 1915) and the loss of 100+ American lives, this task was rather impossible. Congress declared war on Germany. The Army restricted black soldiers from fighting in the war. Women also preformed most of the volunteer work during the war, by becoming nurses, and physicians with the Army and Navy Nurse Corps. -
Espionage Act (1917) and Sedition Act (1918)
These acts stripped dissenters and protesters of their rights to publicly resist the war. President Wilson created the Committee on Public Information, which targeted ethnic groups and people who did not support the war effort. -
Support for Women's Vote
Woodrow Wilson declared support for women's suffrage and women were allowed to vote. This slowly made its way into state, and local governments, but took a long time. -
Influenza - The Deadly Threat
A new deadly threat loomed: influenza. Spring 1918, the virus appeared in military camps, but then spread like wildfire all over the country and world. The 2nd wave of influenza was worse than the 1st. Nearly 50 million people died from influenza. More soldiers died from influenza than combat. It faded early in the 1920s no cure was ever found though. -
The Treaty of Versailles - 1918
President Wilson went overseas to establish the new treaty which would end the war. June 1919 - The Treaty of Versailles was at last signed, and Wilson returned home. -
U.S. and Middle East Relations
US and Middle East relations were far different from US and Mexican relations. American missionaries (arrived in 1819) and helped establish schools universities and hospitals. Some of these include: Robert College - Istanbul, Turkey (1863); the American University of Beirut (1866); and the American university of Cairo (1919)
