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Selective Service Act passed
The Selective Service Act was passed six weeks after the US formally entered World War I and it gave the president the power to draft soldiers. The US had only a small army of volunteers and they were not trained for the kind of fighting going on in Europe. Wilson argued that this was the most democratic form of enlistment.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-congress-passes-selective-service-act -
18th Amendment
This amendment established the prohibition of alcohol by declaring the production, distribution, and sale of alcohol illegal. Prohibition was difficult to enforce and increased crime rates. Bootlegging alcohol became a big business because alcohol was still in high demand. -
19th Amendment
This amendment gave women the right to vote. It was significant because it huge step in the fight for women's equality. Although the fight was not over, it let women vote on issues that pertained to them and therefore advanced the agenda of women's equality. -
Emergency Quota Act
Also known as the Immigration Act of 1921, the Emergency Quota Act was mainly enforced to limit immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. It stated that no more than 3% of the people from a nation already living in the US would be admitted to the United States based on the 1910 census. The act remained in place until 1924. -
Sacco and Vanzetti Trial
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were two Italian-Americans who were accused of committing robbery and murder. There was no solid proof that they committed the crimes, but they were foreigners and radicals so the judge and jury were prejudiced against them. They were sentenced to death. This case is a prime example of fear of foreigners during the Red Scare. -
Harlem Renaissance
This era spanned from the 1920s to the mid-1930s and took place in Harlem, New York. This was a literary, musical, artistic, and intellectual movement for African-American culture. This movement is characterized by its push for expression and not just a political statement. It is also known as an era of racial empowerment for African-Americans. -
Publication of The Great Gatsby
This novel took place right after the first world war. It was published by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wrote about the loose morals of the 1920's. He captured the society of the Jazz Age with a mixture of glamour and hardships. -
John Scorpes (Monkey) Trial
This trial dealt with John Scorpes teaching evolution in school, which violated a Tennessee law. Scopes was convicted and he lost his job. Laws against teaching evolution remained, but they were rarely enforced. -
Flight of Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh was the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic. Lindbergh flew from Long Island to just outside of Paris. Overnight he became a folk hero and well-known all over the world. -
The Jazz Singer
This was the first feature-length motion picture with synchronized sound. It was directed by Alan Crosland and produced by the Warner Bros. It was based on Samson Raphaelson's short story "The Day of Atonement"(1921). It marked the decline of the silent film era. -
Herbert Hoover Elected President
He ended up officially becoming president in 1929, and he had to face the challenges arising from the Great Depression. During his single term in office, he was often blamed for the U.S.'s economic state (although it was not entirely his fault). He was not successful when he ran for a second term. -
St. Valentine's Day Massacre
Seven men in Chicago were shot by men dressed as policemen. The men that were killed were associated with a well known gangster, George "Bugs" Moran. Many believe the event was orchestrated by his enemy, Al Capone. It lead to Capone's downfall as a major crime organizer. -
Black Tuesday
The fall of the stock market began on October 18tg. The stock market eventually crashed, causing billions of dollars to get lost and wiping out thousands of investors. Because of this day, America steadily slipped into the Great Depression. -
Empire State Building Built
It became the tallest skyscraper (by over 200 ft) of the time and was located in New York City. The building is 1,454 ft tall with 102 stories. It took 3,400 workers, a year and forty-five days, and $40,948,900 to construct this building. It was opened on May 1, 1931. -
Bonus Army
The Bonus Army March consisted of mostly WWI veterans who marched on Washington their certificates worth $1,000 redeemed early. Many were struggling to live in the Great Depression when the unemployment rate was high. The government refused and used military force to remove the marchers. -
1st Election of FDR
Roosevelt used the Great Depression as a platform issue. He would criticize Hoover for his negligence to address the economic depression. During his presidency, he initiated many "New Deal" programs to help the economy and welfare of the people. These programs centered around Relief, Recovery, and Reform. -
Hitler Elected Chancellor of Germany
Hitler used persuasion techniques and propaganda to gain popularity and eventually become chancellor of Germany. This was the beginning of the Third Reich and Nazi rule. The consequences of his election would eventually be WWII and the Holocaust. -
FDR's First 100 Days
During FDR's first 100 days, 15 major bills were passed through congress. He had begun implementing his New Deal including the Agricultural Adjustment Act and the Civilian Conservation Corps in order to gain reform, relief, and recovery. Congress was in special session for the first 100 days which is the reason the New Deal was able to begin so quickly. -
FDIC passed
The FDIC was created because thousands of banks were failing in the 1920's and early 1930's. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of the deposits of its members. It was created by US Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the bank.
https://www.fdic.gov/about/history/ -
21st Amendment (Ratification Date)
Prohibition proved to be too difficult to regulate. It prompted people to bootleg alcohol, and there was a lot of secret distribution of it regardless of prohibition. There was a high rate of crime that charactarized this era. This amendment officially ended prohibition (established through the 18th amendment). -
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The stock market crash was a large reason for the Great Depression. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was created to help regulate the stock market and make sure that a crash on such a large scale would not happen again. Created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the SEC is still around today. -
National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act
This document was signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt and it established the National Labor Relations Board to address relations with unions and employers. It guaranteed "the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection.” In other words, it protected labor unions. -
Social Security Act Passed
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed this act which guaranteed an income for the unemployed and retirees. This was just a part of his many "New Deal" programs. It was passed to help the unemployed during the Great Depression. -
Hoover Dam Construction
At the time of its construction, the Hoover Dam was the largest of its kind. It provided hydroelectric power and water from the Colorado River to the Southwest. The project created many jobs in that area during the Great Depression. -
The Hindenburg Disaster
The Hindenburg was a zeppelin which was flown using hydrogen gas. The gas was very flammable, and the zeppelin suddenly burst into flames. Thirty-five people were killed in the disaster. -
Golden Gate Bridge Completion
The Golden Gate Bridge was completed during the Great Depression and created many jobs for the largely unemployed population. It also created better transportation and was seen as an marvel of engineering. On the day of completion, thousands of pedestrians marched across. The next day it was opened to vehicular traffic. -
Nazi Germany Invades Poland
It marked the beginning of WWII by introducing Hitler's tactic of "blitzkrieg" warfare. Polish forces were outnumbered by German forces. They were not aided by the USSR because of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Nonaggression Pact. Great Britain responded by bombing Germany several days later. -
Neutrality Act (1939)
This act lifted the arms embargo and replaced it with the "cash-and-carry" principle. The "cash-and-carry" rule stated that belligerents could be sold war supplies if they bought it with cash and carried it out on their own ships. By putting this act into place, the US indirectly got involved in WWI by providing allies with supplies. -
Lend Lease Act signed by FDR
The Lend Lease Act was the U.S.'s primary means of supplying foreign countries with supplies during WWII. It permitted the U.S. to give weapons or any other military supplies to countries they deemed vital for national defense. This act allowed America to support its war interests while remaining neutral. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor took place near Honolulu, Hawaii, where hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked an American naval base. The US declared war on Japan, and three days later Germany and Italy declared was on the United States. Two years after World War II started, America had joined.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
D-Day
The Allies invaded Western Europe in one of the largest amphibious (on both land and water) attack. 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces arrived along a 50-mile stretch of the coast of France’s Normandy region in an attempt to reclaim it. This event is often referred to as the turning point of WWII in favor of the Allied forces. -
Auschwitz Liberated
The Soviets liberated 7,000 prisoners in the Auschwitz concentration camp. The ones remaining were sickly and dying while the rest had been led on death marches to leave the camp before the Soviets arrived. The pictures taken of the camp and the people in them disillusioned the rest of the world to what was going on in Germany. -
Yalta Conference
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin were in attendance. Russia agreed to declare war on Japan after the surrender of Germany. In return, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill promised the USSR concession in Manchuria and the territories that it had lost in the Russo-Japanese War. The leaders agreed to set up 4 zones of occupation in Germany to be run by their 3 countries and France. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The battle of Iwo Jima took place because Americans needed a base near the Japanese coast. Iwo Jima was defended by about 23,000 Japanese soldiers who fought in elaborate caves and dugouts. Despite the difficulties of the situation, US marines defeated the Japanese after a month of fighting.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
FDR Dies
FDR passed away due to a cerebral hemorrhage at his vacation home in Georgia. He was buried at his family home in New York. This left Harry Truman to deal with WWII. -
VE Day
On this day, German soldiers in Europe laid down their arms. Germans surrendered to the Allies in a final ceasefire. Both the United States and Great Britain celebrate this day, Victory in Europe Day.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe -
Hiroshima Atomic Bomb
On this day, an atomic bomb known as "Little Boy" was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the US in order to make Japan surrender. The explosion killed 80,000 people immediately, and over 270,000 in the long run. The emperor of Japan announced Japan's surrender on August 15th, 1945. -
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Dropped
The second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki because the Japanese government would not give unconditional surrender after Hiroshima. The bomb dropped on Nagasaki finally convinced them to. This resulted in the final conclusion of WWII, but it also contributed to the worry of future nuclear warfare. -
VJ Day
This was the day that Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, which ended World War II. President Truman announced the news at a White House press conference, saying,“This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbor. This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would.” Americans were ecstatic and declared this day "VJ Day", or Victory Over Japan Day.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day -
United Nations Established
Fifty countries sent representatives to San Francisco to create the United Nations charter. It was created to make sure a war like WWI and WWII never happened again. It took the place of the League of Nations which had proven to be unsuccessful.
