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Eugene V. Debbs
Eugene V. Debs. Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies), and five times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States. -
Teddy Roosevelt
Born in New York City on October 27, 1858, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was governor of New York before becoming U.S. vice president. At age 42, Teddy Roosevelt became the youngest man to assume the U.S. presidency after President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901. He won a second term in 1904. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act of 1862 was one of the most significant and enduring events in the westward expansion of the United States. By granting 160 acres of free land to claimants, it allowed nearly any man or woman a "fair chance." Homestead National Monument of America, located in Southeast Nebraska, commemorates this Act and the far-reaching effects it had upon the landscape and people. -
Andrew Carnegie
The Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was one of the first "captains of industry." Leader of the American steel industry from 1873 to 1901, he disposed of his great fortune by endowing educational, cultural, scientific, and technological institutions. -
Haymarket Riot
Haymarket Square riot, outbreak of violence in Chicago on May 4, 1886. Demands for an eight-hour working day became increasingly widespread among American laborers in the 1880s. A demonstration, largely staged by a small group of anarchists, caused a crowd of some 1,500 people to gather at Haymarket Square. -
The Dawes Act
The Dawes Severalty Act was signed by Grover Cleveland in 1887 with the intention of assimilating Native Americans into the United States. To do this, tribal control of reservations was taken away and land was granted to individuals holdings. -
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony was a pioneer crusader for the woman suffrage movement in the United States and president (1892-1900) of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. -
Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1904) Mass migration of gold prospectors to the Klondike region, Yukon Territory, nw Canada. The rich gold deposits discovered in the River Klondike in 1896 brought more than 30,000 prospectors to the territory. Within a decade, more than US$100 million worth of gold had been extracted. -
Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry. Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle to expose the appalling working conditions in the meat-packing industry. His description of diseased, rotten, and contaminated meat shocked the public and led to new federal food safety laws. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) For preventing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating traffic therein, and for other purposes. -
Federal Reserve Act
The Federal Reserve Act was enacted in response to a series of financial crises that occurred in 1907. The intent of the act was to create a degree of financial stability. -
Jane Addams
Addams became an anti-war activist from 1899, as part of the anti-imperialist movement that followed the Spanish–American War. Her book Newer Ideals of Peace (1907) reshaped the peace movement worldwide to include ideals of social justice. -
Muckraker
Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt, president of the United States from 1901-1908, nicknamed these investigative journalists muckrakers. He borrowed the term from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, in which a rake was used to dig up filth and muck. The term caught on, and many journalists were proud to be considered muckrakers. -
Amendment 16
The 16th amendment is an important amendment that allows the federal (United States) government to levy (collect) an income tax from all Americans. Income tax allows for the federal government to keep an army, build roads and bridges, enforce laws and carry out other important duties. -
17 Amendement
The 17th Amendment, ratified in 1913, was part of a wave of progressive constitutional reforms that sought to make the Constitution, and our nation, more democratic. It gave Americans the right to vote directly for their Senators, thereby strengthening the link between citizens and the federal government. -
18 Amendment
The 18th amendment is the only amendment to be repealed from the constitution. This unpopular amendment banned the sale and drinking of alcohol in the United States. -
19 Amendment
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution granted women the right to vote, prohibiting any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920 after a long struggle known as the women's suffrage movement.