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New England Missionaries arrive in Hawaii
The first missionaries to arrive in the Islands were Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Dutch Reformists from New England. Sailing in the Thaddeus, 14 missionaries (seven mission couples) and four Hawaiian boys left Boston, funded by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. -
Boxer Rebellion & U.S. expedition to China
An uprising in China directed against foreign influence. It was suppressed by an international force of some eighteen thousand soldiers, including several thousand Americans. This paved the way for the revolution of 1911, which led to the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. -
1. Department of Commerce and Labor established 2. Elkins Act
- The United States Department of Commerce and Labor was a short-lived Cabinet department of the United States government, which was concerned with controlling the excesses of big business. It was created on February 14, 1903, during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt.
- Law passed by Congress to impose penalties on railroads that offered rebates and customers who accepted them. The law strengthened the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887.
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U.S. Marines occupy Cuba
The Second Occupation of Cuba by United States military forces, also known as the Cuban Pacification, lasted from September 1906 to February 1909. When the government of Cuban President Tomás Estrada Palma collapsed, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt ordered U.S. military forces into Cuba. -
Seventeenth Amendment passed (direct election of U.S. senators) Federal Reserve Act
Passed by Congress May 13, 1912, and ratified April 8, 1913, the 17th amendment modified Article I, section 3, of the Constitution by allowing voters to cast direct votes for U.S. Senators. Prior to its passage, Senators were chosen by state legislatures. -
Puerto Ricans granted U.S. citizenship
On March 2, 1917, Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act, under which Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory and Puerto Ricans were granted statutory citizenship, meaning that citizenship was granted by an act of Congress and not by the Constitution (thus it was not guaranteed by the Constitution).
