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1919 BCE
Ratification of the 18th Amendment - Prohibition
The movement reached its apex in 1920 when Congress ratified the 18th Amendment, prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors. In 1933, widespread public disillusionment led Congress to ratify the 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition. -
Alaska is purchased from Russia
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Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
The completion of the transcontinental railroad opened up our country to amazing advancements in shipping and distributing across the nation. This railroad allowed us to get supplies from the east coast to the west coast like never before seen in that day and age. It was a huge reason America boomed all across the country. -
John D. Rockefeller started Standard Oil
John D. Rockefeller. No father, no money, and nobody to look up to, but he started young in the business world. As a child, he sold taffy to other children just to help out with the situation at home. This was one of the big stepping stones that layed the foundation for Rockefeller creating the Standard Oil Company and becoming the richest man in the country. He bought out almost every single oil refinery in the country creating what is known today as a monopoly. -
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
Alexander Graham Bell first came to America to be a teacher of the deaf. He conceived the idea of "electronic speech" while visiting his mother in Canada. Bell created the first telephone and called it the "electric speech machine". -
Thomas Edison brings light to the world with the light bulb
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Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act prevented Chinese laborers to enter the United States due to shortages in wages in California and they began blaming it on the Chinese. At this time the Opium War had left the Chinese bankrupt and forced many to leave their farms and try to come to America for a better chance at life. There were simply too many Chinese immigrants flooding into the U.S at the time. -
Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
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Sherman Antitrust Act
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Ellis Island opens
The opening of Ellis Island gave America and the immigrants coming into America a chance to slow down and make it easier to get into America. It gave through to a new age of the way we allow people into our country and making sure they're not sick or that they have bad intentions toward the U.S. Over 23 million immigrants entered into the U.S through Ellis island alone. -
Carnegie Steel’s Homestead Strike
The Carnegie Homestead Strike all started when Carnegie put his business partner in charge of his steel mill. His business partner made the workers work 12-hour shifts 7 days a week every week. People started injuring themselves on machines, falling asleep and getting killed by the machines, and even starting fights right on the floor of the steel mill. They protested for better hours, better workplace conditions, and better pay to support their families through the tough times in America. -
Plessy v Ferguson
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The U.S. declares war on Spain
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Hawaii is annexed
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Rudyard Kipling published “The White Man’s Burden” in The New York Sun
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The start of the Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion was an uprising in Northern China. The uprising revolted against Christianity, Imperialism, and just plain anti-foreign policies. The rebellion started at the end of the Qing Dynasty and lasted for just under two years. -
Tenement Act
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Pres. McKinley is assassinated and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt becomes President
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The Philippine Insurrection comes to an end
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The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe doctrine declares the U.S. right to intervene in the Wesern Hem
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Upton Sinclair releases “The Jungle”
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Pure Food & Drug Act and The Meat Inspection Act are passed
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Peak year of immigration through Ellis Island
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Henry Ford produced his first Model T (car)
Henry Ford produced the first, out of many, Model T car. The Model T became very popular for its low cost, durability, and practicality for the common man across America. The production of this one car jump-started the Ford industry and led Mr. Ford to newe and great heights to where we even know him as a common name in our households. -
Creation of the NAACP
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The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
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The Assassination on Austria’s archduke Franz Ferdinand starts WWI
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The Panama Canal is completed and opened for traffic
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The United States enters WWI
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Women got the right to vote
After years and years of protesting, being turned down, and fighting constantly for their right to vote and to have to same rights as men they finally achieve their goal of the start of something revolutionary. On June 4, 1919, women nationally receive the right to vote in American elections. This milestone in women and American history is a stepping stone for today's activists championing the right to fair and equal pay in the workplace and for putting women on the same level as men.
