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Confederate Treasury Goes Missing
After the war as Confederate president J. Davis fled Richmond, he took the Confederate Treasury along with him on his ride south. Captured, 6 days later, the millions worth of gold and silver disappeared. The North wanted the treasury found, so they greatly inflated the value of it at the time, and today the lot is worth about 20 million dollars. -
The Lost Treasury's Effect On Today
During the war, loyal Confederate supporters gave all their gold and silver to the government in exchange for Confederate paper money. When the war ended the paper money became useless, and the once wealthy population was left poor. The government couldn’t even give them their gold back. There’s treasure hunters to this day looking for hidden or “lost” Confederate gold, and there’s even a TV show dedicated to hunters looking for the gold called Rebel Gold. -
Congress Overrides the President's Veto
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 granted citizenship to all male persons in the US, regardless of color or wealth, and guaranteed these males and former slaves protection by the law. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the act, saying it invaded both the legislative and judicial power. He also claimed it went against the constitution. He vetoed the bill, but about 2/3rds of Congress overrode the veto. This was the first time Johnson was overrode and it gave the Radicals confidence. -
Civil Right's Act Passed
Without the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the slaves freed by the Emancipation Proclamation wouldn’t have been citizens or have been able to vote. The act granted citizenship to all males in the US without distinction of race. It also states that these males – including former slaves – would be protected by law (even though until around the 1960’s, 1970’s did this become true). It was also the beginning of a long line of overrides, since Johnson holds the record for the most vetoes overridden. -
Congressional Elections of 1866
The Congressional Elections of 1866 is actually a very important event in the Reconstruction Era simply because of it's cause and effect relationship. The election gave 175 seats to the Radical Republicans, making up one third of Congress. The effect was good for American history because this was the Congress of Reconstruction. The people that held seats, mostly the Republicans, passed all the important laws of the time, and overrode President Johnson 15 times. -
New Orleans Riot of 1866
Radical Republicans meet in New Orleans to discuss black codes, along with around 200 blacks. Former Confederate soldiers and police officers, scared of losing white power in the south, come with guns and shoot up the people inside. 100 are injured and 40 are killed. This is just one act of racial violence in the south after the ending of the war. -
New Orleans Riot Effect
It was one of the first times that white police, the people who by law are supposed to protect you, have shot and killed innocent people because of their race, or who they support. Throughout history, mostly in the 1950’s and 60’s, this has been seen, and it all comes back to this and how it made police think that it’s okay. -
Rising of the KKK
The KKK was a started as a social group in Tennessee 1866. A year later it actually formed as a political group, made up of all white males intent on defeating the Radical Republicans and controlling the freed slaves. Some people who helped found the group were Nathan Bedford Forrest and John B. Gordon. The KKK today is known for their racism and violence. They lost Republicans votes by scarring the voters off. They threatened, exiled, and murdered to get to their goals. -
KKK's Effect On The US After War
The forming of this group was important because not only was it the start of a very infamous group that still goes on in some places in the south today, but it helps us understand the group’s early goals compared to what they’ve achieved and why they’ve done the things they’ve done. They've murdered, mutilated, kidnapped, raped, hung, and threatened hundreds of blacks, and just during Reconstruction was present in 9 states. -
Wright Brothers Flights
After many trials and errors, the Wright brothers made their first aircraft that stayed up for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. It helped them to create a new design, which was later tested in 1901. They built a wind tunnel, and this time the work paid off. They flew hundreds of successful flights. On December 14 Orville made the first attempt at powered flight. On December 17 1903, 5 people witnessed the event. -
McClure's Magazine
One of the most popular magazines during the Progressive Era was McClure's magazine. It was known at the time for it's muckraker authors and editors. The magazine's most successful article was actually "The History of the Standard Oil Company" by Ida Tarbell. Some other of thre era's most famous muckrakers also worked for the magazine at the time. For example - Lincoln Steffens who exposed the corruption of local governments and Ray Stannard Baker who investigated labor and race relations. -
The Souls of Black Folk
The Soul of Black Folk is a passionate story written about African Americans living in a world divided by color and focuses on the author W. E. B. Du Bois.. Published in 1903, it begins with the famous line, "The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line." It then continues to discuss the issue with American slaves and their descendants, and segregation. This story later plays an important part in the American Civil Right Struggle in 1960. -
Literacy
By 1920 only six% of the US population couldn't read. The turn of the century brought about a new age and new literature. More people were reading books than ever before, and educational reforms were improving school attendance significantly. -
Titanic
The Titanic was a large British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic, resulting in more than 1,500 deaths. The ship's passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of immigrants from Great Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere throughout Europe seeking a new life in North America. Although the ship had advanced safety features, it didn't have enough lifeboats for all the passengers aboard. -
Immigrant Rush
"The American Dream" and the promise for a better life in the US caused many immigrants to come flooding over in the early 20th century. Between 1900 and 1915, over 15 millions immigrants came to the US. That's more than the amount from the last 40 years combined! And in 1916, Mexican immigration reaches an all-time high because the Mexican Revolution, which has been dragging on since early 1910, grows more fierce.
