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Ludlow Massacre
Seven months into a strike at the Rockefeller-owned Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation, after the National Guard has been called in to break the strike, machine guns begin firing on the workers' tent city and fire breaks out, killing 20 men, women, and children. This incident gives rise to demonstrations across the country, and by the time President Woodrow Wilson sends in federal troops to restore order, 66 people have been killed. -
Panama Canal Opens for Shipping
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Clayton Anti-Trust Act
Clayton Anti-trust Act exempts organized labor from anti-trust restrictions, which had been used against labor by companies in the past.
The act greatly angered big business leaders and factory owners, and was praised by union leaders and workers earning the name The Worker’s Magna Carta because it gave them the rights they had always wanted. -
German Embassy Warns Americans
The German Embassy publishes a warning in some newspapers to tell passengers that travel on Allied ships is “at their own risk.” The Lusitania, a is mentioned specifically in some of the discussion about the warning in the week leading up to its departure. -
Lusitania is Sunk Without Warning
Losing 1198 out of 1924 passengers. Although tensions run high even after Germany offers condolences, Wilson says, "There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight." The U. S. demands reparations, but Germany delays. -
Leo Frank is Convicted of Murder
In a famous case, Leo Frank, who had been convicted of the murder of Mary Phagan in a climate of anti-Semitism, is lynched in Marietta, Georgia. The group responsible calls itself the Knights of Mary Phagan, which becomes a revived Ku Klux Klan. -
The Hunt for Pancho Villa
In Mexico, Pancho Villa kills 18 American mining engineers whom he has forced off a train.Two months later, he raids towns in New Mexico with a force of 1500 men, killing 17 Americans. General John Pershing pursues Villa across the border in a two-year unsuccessful effort to capture him. -
Federal Employee's Compensation Act is Enacted by Congress.
The first federal law to provide for employee compensation, a law thathad been actively fought for for over 30 years -
1st Woman in House of Representaives
Jeannette Rankin of Montana is the first woman elected to the House of Representatives. -
WIlson Wins Re-Election
Wilson campaigns for re-election on the slogan "He kept us out of the war." He wins the election. -
Asiatic Barred Zone Act
Immigration Act requiring a literacy test for immigrants and excluding Asiatic workers other than Japanese is passed over Wilson's veto. -
Zimmerman Telegram
On February 24 Britain released the Zimmerman telegram to Wilson, and news of the telegram was published widely in the American press on March 1.
Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann sent it to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause. -
USA Declares War on Germany
Saying that "the world must be made safe for democracy," Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany. -
Selective Service Act
The Selective Service Act is passed, providing for the concription of men between 20 and 30 for military service. The first American troops arrive in France in October. -
Wilson's "Fourteen Points"
Wilson proposes "Fourteen Points" for peace in the world. -
Spanish Influenza Pandemic
In the fall of 1918, a deadly influenza epidemic strikes; before it ends in 1919, it kills an estimated 20 to 40 million people worldwide. -
Germany Signs the Armistice Treaty
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year, all combatants put down the weapons and ended the most destructive war in history. -
Treaty of Versailles
Signing of the Versailles Treaty, which the Senate later refuses to ratify.
Members of Congress are worried that being in the League of Nations, a provision of the treay, will endanger U.S. soveriegnty. -
Communist Party is formed in Chicago.
Though the govenment and many citizens worried about the subversive nature of the Communist Party of the United States, it never claimed more than 5,000 members. -
Wilson Suffers a Stroke
President Wilson suffers a stroke and never fully recovers. Many speculate his frustration over the League of Nations along with his whirlwind tour to gather support for it caused the stroke. -
Prohibition
The 18th Amendment goes into effect and is enforced by the Volstead Act.
Liquor can no longer be transported, made, bought or sold in the USA.
