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Women's Christian Temperance Union
The WCTU is established in Ohio, with Annie Wittenmyer as its first president. The union advocated for prohibition, public health, woman suffrage, and a variety of other social reform movements. The WCTU had several chapters across the country (and eventually across the world) which contributed to state-by-state "dry laws" and national prohibition as a whole. -
Anti-Saloon League
The Anti-Saloon League is founded in Oberlin, Ohio. It also advocated for temperance, but overshadowed the WCTU by focusing exclusively on prohibition. The most prominent leader was Wayne Wheeler, who utilized pressure politics to unite opposing groups against alcohol. The League built upon the WCTU's work and succeeded in establishing national prohibition. -
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is founded. The organization has been a major source of support for movements focused on African-American rights since its inception, and has had such notable members as Ida B. Wells, W.E.B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, Walter F. White, and Eleanor Roosevelt. -
18th Amendment and Volstead Act
The Eighteenth Amendment is ratified, outlawing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of liquor within, to, or out of the United States. The language was further defined by the National Prohibition Act, often called the Volstead Act after its strong supporter, Minnesota congressman Andrew Volstead. The NPA defined liquor as anything containing above 0.5% alcohol, including beer and wine.
These acts took effect one year after their ratification. -
19th Amendment
The Nineteenth Amendment is certified, establishing the right to vote regardless of sex. This was the result of the Women's Suffrage Movement, which had been going on since the nineteenth century with such notable leaders as Susan B. Anthony, Ida B. Wells, Alice Paul, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. -
Tulsa race massacre
White residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma, attack black residents over the alleged assault of a white teen, Sarah Page, by a black teen, Dick Rowland. Though Page pressed no charges, white residents were outraged after Rowland's arrest was covered by the newspaper. A riot eventually erupted, resulting in the death of anywhere from 36 to 300 people and the destruction of over 35 square blocks of the Greenwood District, a predominantly black neighborhood that was regarded as "Black Wall Street". -
Buck v. Bell
The Supreme Court rules that the "unfit," including those with intellectual disabilities, should be sterilized for the benefit of society. The trial saw Dr. Albert Priddy fight to sterilize 18-year-old Carrie Buck, on the grounds that her "promiscuity" and "feeble-mindedness" were harmful to the state and made her worthy of being sterilized. This ruling was a major success for the eugenics movement in the United States. -
Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform
Anti-Prohibition activist Pauline Sabin forms the WONPR in May. She and others believed that Prohibition had done more harm than good, and was more effective in fostering disrespect for the law than preventing heavy drinking. The group became the largest anti-Prohibition group in the country, and was a major force in the law's later repeal. -
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
Longstanding competition between the North Side Gang and the Chicago Outfit results in the murder of seven members of the North Side Gang. This event was widely regarded as proof of Prohibition's damage to American society, as it may have been spurred by the hijacking of illegal whiskey. -
Wall Street Crash
As a result of too much investment in the stock market and over-saturation of various markets, investors desperately try to sell their stocks and pay back loans faster than anyone can buy them. This occurred in three phases: Black Thursday (10/24), Black Monday (10/28), and Black Tuesday (10/29) and resulted in the collapse of the stock market. While the crash didn't cause the Great Depression, it was a major harbinger of the event. -
FDR's first 100 days
Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated as president and immediately begins a 100-day Congressional special session. Congress passes 15 major bills and 77 laws during this period to counteract the Depression. -
Emergency Banking Relief Act
Congress passes the Emergency Banking Act in an attempt to stabilize the banking system. -
Glass-Steagall Act
The Banking Act of 1933 is enacted, establishing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and other forms of banking reform. The name comes from the act's congressional sponsors, Senator Carter Glass and Representative Henry B. Steagall. The act worked to prevent speculative banking decisions. -
21st Amendment
The Twenty-First Amendment is ratified, officially repealing the Eighteenth Amendment. -
Black Sunday
A severe dust storm sweeps through the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles, earning the affected area the moniker of the "Dust Bowl" in reporter Robert E. Geiger's account. This series of storms was the result of over-farming in the area, particularly the removal of native grasses that rooted the topsoil, as well as a drought that further dried the land. -
Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act
The government is now able to pay farmers to reduce production, as well as educate farmers on how to conserve soil and prevent erosion. This was done in response to the Dust Bowl, particularly Black Sunday. -
Recy Taylor
African-American woman, Recy Taylor, is raped by six white men. Despite the names of these six men being revealed, none were incarcerated and only one was fined. Taylor went on to pursue this case with representatives from the NAACP, including Rosa Parks. Though she never received justice, this case brought civil rights to the national stage and is regarded as a major force in early organization within the African-American community. -
Montgomery bus boycott
Several groups (prominently the Women's Political Council and Montgomery Improvement Association) boycott the Montgomery bus line in response to the arrests of Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin, and others. Lasting until December 20, 1956, the boycott successfully ended bus segregation and brought more attention to the Civil Rights movement, as well as Martin Luther King Jr, who was a prominent leader in the boycott. -
March on Washington
A variety of organizations march from Birmingham to Washington D.C. to advocate for African-American civil rights. It was organized by Bayard Rustin and A. Philip Randolph, and featured the famous "I Have A Dream" speech from Martin Luther King Jr. in front of the Lincoln Memorial. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
After a long battle on the Senate floor, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. This act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is enacted, allowing the United States to involve itself in Southeast Asian conflict without any former declaration of war. -
Anti-war rally in D.C.
Coretta Scott King, Carl Oglesby, Dr. Benjamin Spock, and others speak at an anti-war rally in Washington D.C. The event has around 30,000 present, the largest demonstration to date. -
Indochina escalation
President Lyndon B. Johnson announces that the United States will become more involved in Indochina, increasing the number of deployed troops to 400,000. -
LA anti-war protest
The Progressive Labor Party and Students for a Democratic Society organize a protest in Los Angeles, outside a hotel where President Johnson was speaking. The crowd was declared a riot and was fought down by police, including many who were protesting peacefully and weren't resisting. This event was one of the first massive war protests and set the standard for those to follow. -
Martin Luther King's assassination
Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated at Lorraine Motel in Memphis by James Earl Ray. The loss spurred many riots and protests, and changed some minds regarding King and race relations in general. -
Stonewall riots
An attempted police raid of the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City, leads to the patrons fighting back. This event was the trigger for the gay liberation movement, and launched a new age of LBGT-centric activism. Several people present at the riots would go on to become prominent figures, including Stormé DeLarverie, Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt, and Marsha P. Johnson. -
Woodstock Festival
Max Yusgar holds a music festival on his dairy farm in Bethel, New York. Lasting from August 15 to August 18, the event had a major focus on peace and has remained an iconic part of pop culture since. -
The World of Charlie Company
The CBS documentary The World of Charlie Company is broadcast throughout July. It follows the lives of over 100 American soldiers in South Vietnam, and is notable for exposing that even soldiers were against the orders they were being given. -
War crimes hearings
Congressman Ron Dellums begins four days of hearings surrounding purported war crimes in Vietnam. Some of the topics discussed included artillery strikes on civilian villages, severing ears from corpses, killing Vietnamese without seeing if they were hostile, and using racial slurs against the enemy. -
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords are signed, officially ending the Vietnam War. Though fighting between North and South Vietnam resumed soon after, the United States would not reenter the conflict.