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Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the first battle in the American Civil War. It took place at Fort Sumter, a fort in South Carolina that the Union had control of. It ended up as a Confederate victory. The Union would not regain control over Fort Sumter for four more years. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg took place in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania after the Battle of Chancellorsville. General Lee, after his victory at Chancellorsville, decided that it was time for him to attack the North. The battle lasted a total of three days ending in a Union victory. Lee ended up losing over a third of his army. -
General Lee Surrenders
General Lee surrendered to General Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. This led to the end of the war. General Grant showed up in a mud-splattered field uniform, while Lee was dressed in a full uniform with a sash and sword. Lee asked for the terms of surrender and Grant quickly wrote them out. The terms were quite lenient, the soldiers would be pardoned and sent home with their private property and rations for desparately needed food. -
Abraham Lincoln Assassinated
John Wilkes Booth was the assassin of Abraham Lincoln. He and six other conspirators had planned to kidnap Lincoln earlier, but his plan was foiled when he didn't show up when he was said to be. Lincoln went to Ford's Theatre and was in a private box with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and was guarded by a soldier. Booth, after shooting Lincoln, stabbed the guard and leaped on stage shouting the Virginia motto. -
Ku Klux Klan Established
The Ku Klux Klan was created in Pulaski, Tennessee. The group consists of white men who believe that they are better than immigrants, Catholics, Jews, blacks, and organized laborers. In the late 1800s, the KKK terrorizes African Americans and other groups for their beliefs and race. -
Andrew Johnson Impeached
Andrew Johnson was the vice president of Abraham Lincoln, he took over when Lincoln was assassinated. The house decided on a 126 - 47 vote for his impeachment. By the end of his impeachment trial, he had eleven articles of impeachment against. Most of accusations included him conspiring against the United States Department of War. -
Light Bulb Invented
Thomas Edison invented the first functional light bulb with two other men. He realized that having as little air exposure as possible. Along with that, a filament that had a high electrical resistance would maximize the amount of light emitted. While trying to find hte best design, it is said that Edison and his researchers experimented with over 3,000 designs. -
How the Other Half Lives Published
How the Other Half Lives is a book written by Jacob Riis about the terrible housing conditions for the poor in New York City. His book included pictures and descriptions of the conditions. After his book came out, it brought reform not only in New York, but it brought reform across the whole country for better housing. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act was passed by the President Benjamin Harrison. The act was made to break down monopolies. A monopoly self-made was not affected by the law. The monopolies that the act restricted were the ones made by unfair dealings. This is known as the "Competition Law." -
Massacre at Wounded Knee
For too long the US government had been oppressing the Native Americans, one tribe in general was treated the worst. The Sioux were constantly pushed out of their lands and treaties had been broken too many times. The Sioux heard of a new ritual that would rid them of the white men, buffalo would return, and their dead relatives would return. This Ghost Dance frightened the government so they sent out soldiers. These soldiers killed at least 150 of the Sioux nation, mostly women and children. -
U.S.S. Maine Explodes
The Maine, a USA battleship, exploded in Havana Harbor at 9:40 p.m. Of the entire crew, 250 soldiers and two officers died. Later, sixteen more that were injured perished bringing the count up to 266 people. At the time, it was spread around that the Spanish had something to do with the explosion. We now think that the explosion was caused by a malfunction of a coal bunker. -
Treaty of Paris Signed
The Treaty of Paris was signed to officially end the Spanish American War. It also dissolved the Spanish Empire. The US gained the Philippines and Puerto Rico with this treaty, though the US had to pay $20 million for the Philippines. The Spanish also lost Cuba, and it became a protectorate of the USA. -
The Bitter Cry of the Children Published
The Bitter Cry of the Children is a book written by John Spargo about the terrible working conditions of child laborers. John Spargo was a socialist and muckraker. He said that young boys would sit for hours and do work. They would work 10-12 hour days and only recieve 60 cents every day. -
The Jungle Published
Upton Sinclair's main purpose of writing the book was to describe the meatpacking industry and its effects on socialism. Everyone, though, was more concerned with exposure to health violations in the meatpacking plants with them being unsanitary. The exposure to the industry pushed for change and in the early 20th century, the Meat Inspection Act was passed. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
Most of the workers at the factory were teenage immigrant girls who worked 12 hours a day. In the factory, only one of the four elevators worked, and in order to get to the elevator, the workers would have to walk in a single file line. There were also only two stairways that existed, but only one stairway was accessible. The owners also refused to install sprinklers, therefore, endangering everyone's wellbeing. The fire started in a rag bin and then quickly spread everywhere else. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassinated
His assassination is widely known as the spark to the start of WWI. Franz Ferdinand was heir to the Austro-Hungry empire. Early one day, he and his wife were in a car that had little protection. A Serbian nationalist threw a bomb at the car, but it bounced off and hit an officer instead. Later that day, the Archduke and his wife went to go visit the injured officer. but their car took a wrong turn. The bomber's friend was standing on the corner and took advantage and shot the Archduke his wife. -
Panama Canal Finished
The French were the first to attempt constructing the Panama Canal, but they eventually gave up on the effort. The US then took over the job under President Theodore Roosevelt. The project was slowed down, though, by the spread of malaria and yellow fever. Once they realized that mosquitos were the problem, they fumigated around their grounds and cleaned pools of water. From there on it was smoother sailing. By the end, it cost the US $350 million dollars and 5,600 lives to finish. -
Lusitania Sinks
The Lusitania was a British liner that carried passengers. For a while, Germany had been using unrestricted submarine warfare on any suspected ships. The British Admiralty warned the Lusitania to use evasive maneuvers such as zigzagging to avoid the German submarines. The captain of the Lusitania completely ignore the instructions and was hit by a torpedo. The Lusitania had more than 120 American passengers aboard. The Lusitania helped pull America into WWI. -
U.S. Involved in WWI
The United States became involved in WWI for three main reasons. The first reason is that the Lusitania sank with American passengers aboard. The second one was the Zimmerman Note from Germany to Mexico asking to ally against the US in exchange for some southern states. The third reason is that Germany ignored Woodrow Wilson's plea for peace with the Fourteen Points document. -
WWI Ends
The war officially ended at the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, of 1918. This war left with 9 million soldiers dead, 21 million wounded, and at least 5 million civilians dead from starvation, disease, or exposure. WWI was known as the "war to end all wars" but we know today, that is not at all true. The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to be totally responsible for the war and pay everything off. This paved teh way for WWII.
