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Theodore Roosevelt Becomes President
Becoming the 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt was sworn into office on -
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Building of the Panama Canal
Though failed by other countries, the Panama Canal was built and finished by the United States, starting in 1904, and ending in 1914. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was the first of a series of consumer protection laws, leading to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration we know today. -
Ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment
On February 3, 1913, The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, allowing Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states based on population. It was passed as a response to the 1895 Supreme Court case of Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. -
Woodrow Wilson Becomes President
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was an American politician, lawyer, and academic. As a member of the Democratic Part, Wilson served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. -
Ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment
Passed by Congress May 13, 1912, and ratified April 8, 1913, the 17th Amendment allowed voters to cast direct votes for U.S. Senators. -
Establishment of the Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System was signed by President Wilson on December 23, 1913. It serves as the U.S. central bank, with the goal of building a more stable and secure financial system. -
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World War I
World War I was a global war that originated in Europe and lasted from July 28, 1914, to November 11, 1918. It began after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. During the conflict, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States. It ended with the Treaty of Versailles. -
Second Revival of the Ku Klux Klan
In 1915, white Protestant nativists organized a revival of the Ku Klux Klan. The spread of the KKK resulted from merging white supremacy with nativist, religion, and morality. White supremacy was something that the North couched in more polite ways that the KKK; so, when the KKK combined these views, the organization found a more receptive audience. Additionally, blacks moving North, and the growth of organized labor added to the increase in radical views for white superiority. -
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
The unarmed, British RMS Lusitania was sunk by Germany on May 7, 1915. Supposedly, this attack was carried out because of the British naval blockade against Germany. -
Sussex Pledge
The Sussex Pledge was a promise made by Germany to the United States after the attack on the RMS Lusitania. This pledge halted the aggressive German naval policy--which instituted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, allowing armed merchant ships, but not passenger ships, to be torpedoed without warning--in 1916. -
Passage of the Espionage and Sedition Acts
The Sedition Act made the language of the Espionage Act more specific by making it illegal to use "disloyal, profane, or abusive language" to criticize the U.S. Constitution, the government, the military, the flag, or the uniform. The passing of these acts demonstrated the government's concern that the American public was not solidly in support of the war. -
Bolshevik Revolution
On November 6, 1917, leftist revolutionaries led by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin launched a nearly bloodless coup d'état against the Russian provisional government. -
Ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment
The Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was ratified on January 16, 1919. It established the prohibition of "intoxicating liquors" in the United States. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed, ending the war, and it became effective on January 10, 1920. -
Founding of the League of Nations
Founded on January 10, 1920, the League of Nations was an international diplomatic group developed after World War I as a way to solve disputes between countries before they erupted into open warfare. -
Ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment
The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, prohibiting the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex.
