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Pike's Peak Gold Rush
Pike's Peak Gold Rush formed when gold was discovered in Colorado and a year later, Nevada. Companies took over the land with machines and at times employed miners. Pike's Peak Gold Rush is significant because, just like with California, the hope of riches led to many moving to the West; therefore, expanding America into the West as towns sprung up there. Pike's Peak Gold Rush also led to creation of more jobs and more miners being hired. The Gold Rush helped to boost the economics of the West. -
Formation of Black Codes
Black Codes were passed in the South to regulate black behavior and impose social and economic control. These laws granted some rights to African Americans, such as the right to own property, but denied fundamental rights. Freedmen had to carry papers proving they had means of employment. Black Codes locked many black people into exploitative farming contracts and limited their mobility. This contributed to the white Southerners feeling more dominant and in control which can still be seen today. -
Formation of the Ku Klux Klan
The KKK was a vigilante group that arose after the Civil War to terrorize African Americans and Republicans in the South. The KKK brought violence into the voting polls, workplace, and homes of black people. Southern white men were almost never prosecuted for violence against black victims. The federal government sought to put an end to the KKK, but the violence continued. The KKK was significant to how Reconstruction failed because it lead to much more racial violence which still exists today. -
The Fourteenth Amendment
The 14th Amendment was approved by the House of Representatives on June 13th, 1866. It granted citizenship and ensured that state laws could not deny due process or discriminate against particular groups of people. The Amendment also signaled the federal government's willingness to enforce the Bill of Rights over the authority of the states. The states ratified it on July 9, 1868. This Amendment is significant because it guaranteed birthright citizenship and "equal protection of the laws." -
Panic of 1873
During the Panic of 1873, Jay Cooke Company (which handled most of the governments war time loans) failed and America shifted to only gold, which resulted in less currency being available; therefore, hurting average. During the panic, 15,000 American businesses went bankrupt and there was double digit unemployment. The Panic of 1873 is significant because it was a six year period of global depression and economic downturn in America. -
Civil Rights Act 1875
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited racial discrimination in public places. The Act had it so that no one could prohibit accommodations such as public transportation or restaurant access due to race. Although the Civil Rights Cases of 1883 deemed this Act unconstitutional, it still was significant because it was an attempt to rid racial discrimination in all public places and make people of all races to be treated as equals in public places. -
Whiskey Ring
The Whiskey Ring of 1875 involved bribery to the IRS in an attempt to keep excise tax revenue from alcohol. The Whiskey Ring is significant during the Gilded Age because it caused a lot of controversy as the private Secretary to Grant, Orville Babcock, was indicted in the ring. Additionally, some believed the money was used to help pay for the re-election of Grant. -
Little Big Horn
The Sioux were given a reservation in South Dakota, but General Custer came in and announced he had found gold in the reservation. Therefore, many invaded the area, but were met by resistance from the Sioux and neighboring tribes (the Arapaho and Cheyenne). Custer had only 250 men, but the Natives had 2,500. The Battle of Little Bighorn is significant because it ended with the whites ultimately being successful as the Natives were then forced to move and live on other reservations. -
Dawes Severalty Act
The Dawes Severalty Act, also known as the Allotment Act, allowed the federal government to break up reservations into smaller areas for specific individuals. It's goal was to break up the Native American tribes. The land that wasn't allotted was then sold to railroad companies for money that would be used to "civilize" the Natives. By 1900, 50% of the Natives' land was gone. The Dawes Severalty Act is significant because it broke up many tribes so the whites could have more control over them. -
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 limited anticompetitive practices such as those industrialized in cartels and monopolistic corporations. The Act also declared that not all monopolies were illegal, only those that "unreasonably" stifled free trade. This Act was significant to the Progressive Era because it combated trusts and monopolies alongside the Interstate Commerce Act but also limited the growing power of labor unions. -
Captain Alfred Mahan
Captain Alfred Mahan wrote and published "The Influence of sea Power Upon History" which established how important the navy was to the British Empire and suggested the U.S. should build a large navy, defensive bases, and refueling stations, etc. Mahan's writing was significant because it explained how the control of the sea was the key to world domination and empire. This would influence Roosevelt a great deal as the U.S. now wanted to gain control of the sea. -
Jacob Riis
Jacob Riis was a Muckraker and journalist in the 1890s who published How the Other Half Lives, a scathing indictment of working and living conditions in the city's slums (throughout photography). Jacob Riis was successful in helping others to feel emotional about the poor immigrants and want reform for their working and living conditions and this shows why Jacob Riis was significant during this time of reform in the Progressive Era. -
Florence Kelley
Florence Kelley was a reformer who stayed at Hull House from 1891 to 1899 and convinced John Addams to move into the realm of social reform. Having done this, the Hull House began exposing conditions in local sweatshops and advocating for the organization or workers. She called the conditions caused by urban poverty and industrialization a "social crime." Kelley petitioned legislators to pass antisweatshop legislation that limited the hours of work for women and children to eight per day. -
Panic of 1893
During the Panic of 1893, farmers faced droughts, railroads were overbuilt, and there was an overuse of silver. Over the course of four years, land and labor debate (as well as farmers issues) caused an economic downturn. Gold fell under $100 million which was an imaginary barrier that weakened public trust and was a cause for concern. Also, during the panic, people were prevented from exchanging their silver for gold. The Panic of 1893 was significant because of the economic downturn it caused. -
Rough Riders
The Rough Riders were a cavalry led by Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish American War. They consisted of rugged westerners and upper class who wanted the difficult lifestyle of improper weapons and clothing. The Rough Riders were significant because they provided key strategic points for the U.S. in Cuba, for example, by taking San Juan Hills. -
The Explosion of Battleship Maine
The Battleship Maine was a ship that was sent to Cuba to protect and evacuate Americans if danger occurred. A titanic explosion blew up the ship due to malfunction on Feb. 15, 1898 and three quarters of the ship's 354 occupants died. The explosion was significant because Americans decided that Spanish treachery was to blame which made the U.S. dislike Spain even more and want to imperialize Spain. -
The Battle of Santiago (during Spanish American War)
The Battle of Santiago took place during the Spanish American War and was significant because it was a pivotal battle in which the Rough Riders helped win. The main point of the battle was to constrict Spanish forces in a circle of U.S. forces to weaken/wipe them out. Spanish ships would be forced to go out to sea where U.S. ships would decimate them. This took the Spanish troops, naval capabilities, and supplies to a bear minimum (which led to their signing of the armistice and helped the U.S). -
Carrie A. Nation
Carrie A. Nation was a fearsome and imposing women who believed she worked God's will and won headlines for destroying saloons. Nation was significant during the Progressive Era because she was revolutionary as some women followed in her footsteps and many more worked within more reputable organizations. Nation also had founded a chapter of the Women's Christian Temperance Unit (WCTU) which was devoted to combating the evils of drunkenness. -
The First Airplanes
The first airplane was created and flown in 1903 by Orville and Wilbur Wright. It stayed in the air for twelve seconds and went one hundred and twenty feet. Later, in 1927, Charles Lanbergh had the first solo flight across the Atlantic (from NY to Paris in thirty-three hours and nine minutes). The invention of planes was significant because this was another form of transportation that allowed for quicker travel and the planes hindered railroad growth and improved future war efforts. -
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was a factory with bad working and living conditions and inequality. Once it caught fire in 1911, it finally convinced many Americans of the need for reform, embodying a shift from the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era. Therefore, politicians, journalists, novelists, religious leaders, and activists all raised their voices to push America toward reform (and into the Progressive Era). -
Klu Klux Klan Reemerges
The KKK started again by William Simons in Georgia after viewing the film, "Birth of a Nation" and targeted non white Protestant Americans (including African Americans, Catholics, Jews, Mexicans, and new immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe). The reemerging of the KKK was significant because they brought terrorism back into the country, sparked segregationist beliefs, and promoted ideology of "Americanism." At its peak in the 1920's, official membership exceeded over four million. -
Wilson's re-election
Wilson ran against Supreme Court Justice, Charles Evans, and was re-elected in 1916. He won primarily because the U.S. citizens didn't want to be involved in WWI and they thought "he kept us out of war." Midwesterners and Westerners also voted for Wilson because of his Progressive policies. Wilson's re-election was significant because it helped to keep the U.S. out of the war till 1917 and Wilson helped America heavily throughout and following the war. -
Lever Food Control Act
The Lever Food Control Act was an act that authorized the president to regulate the price, production, transportation, and allocation of feeds, foods, fuel, beverages, and distilled spirits for the remainder of WWI. The act was significant during WWI because it involved every person in the U.S. and had everyone take part in helping to conserve things that would help America win the war. It also helped to emphasize an idea of nationalism during WWI. -
Federal Fuel Administration
The Federal Fuel Administration was significant during WWI because it introduced daylight savings time, encouraged people to conserve energy, save on lighting, and conserve heat (heatless Mondays), and shortened work hours. This administration encouraged everyone, mainly who wasn't out fighting, to participate in the war by helping to conserve products that America needed for the war. With this administration put into practice, America was at an advantage as the army would have more resources. -
Wilson's 14 Points to Congress
Wilson's 14 points to Congress were significant because the message declared that WWI was being fought for a moral cause and it called for post-war peace in Europe. It also gave Wilson the position of moral leadership of the Allies. The 14th point, the largest point, foreshadowed the League of Nations- an international organization that would work as an international governing body to aid in disputes.This League of Nations would later be a significant organization with the larger world powers. -
The 18th Amendment
The 18th Amendment prevented the sale and use of alcohol through the temperance movement. It was vetoed by President Wilson, but he was overruled. This Amendment was helped to be passed by the women involved in the temperance movement since they were angered by husbands being abusive and spending money on alcohol. The passing of the 18th Amendment was significant because now men couldn't drink alcohol or spend money on alcohol and get drunk/ become abusive. -
Immigration Act of 1924
A fear in America of anarchy and immigrant influence led to an attempt to decrease immigration. One attempt was through the Immigration Act of 1924 which only allowed 2% of any given nationality per year based off of population in America in 1890. This is significant because this was believed to freeze the current American population and make it more Northern European based and stop the nation from filling up. Also, now the lack of new immigrants left the old ones open to more discrimination. -
Manchurian Incident
A small explosion tore up railroad tracks controlled by the Japanese-owned South Manchuria Railway and the company blamed it on the anti-Japanese Chinese dissidents. The Japanese Imperial Army ordered a full-scale invasion of Manchuria. The significance of this incident is that without a centralized Chinese army, the Japanese quickly defeated isolated Chinese warlords and by the end of February 1932, all of Manchuria was firmly under Japanese control. -
Neutrality Act 1939
With previous Neutrality Acts, the sale of arms to nations in war was forbidden. During WWII, Europe needed American supplies. The Neutrality Act of 1939 was significant because it allowed European nations to buy war materials, but only on a “cash-and-carry” basis, which meant Europeans had to provide their own ships and pay for the arms in cash. Though, as intended, the Germans could not buy arms from America since the British and French controlled the seas. -
Pearl Harbor
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because their intention was to have this attack be a surprise attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor in hopes that by attacking Pearl Harbor, they would destroy enough battleships and aircraft carriers to cripple American naval power for years. This is why the battle of Pearl Harbor was so significant. The battle lasted under two hours with over 2,000 killed, over 1,000 wounded, and 19 ships and 8 battle ships destroyed. -
GI Bill
The GI bill was significant because it rewarded honorably discharged veterans with numerous benefits, offered a bevy of inducements to slow their influx into the civilian workforce as well as reward their service with public benefits, made post secondary education a reality for many and sparked a boom in higher education, sparked a construction bonanza that fueled postwar growth, helped sustain the great postwar economic boom, and established the hallmarks of American middle class life.
