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Edwin Drake
Died November 9, 1880. Drake was the first person to successfully drill for oil. Drake & a man named William Smith made a derrick of pine wood. He had men drill 6 days a week and finally struck oil on August 28, 1859 about 70 feet down. They eventually caught the attention of John Rockefeller. The company Drake worked for fired him & he never patented his drilling method. He lost all his money, and a few years later the company gave him financial support because they owed their wealth to Drake. -
Clara Barton
Died on April 12, 1912. Barton was a nurse in the Civil War, and before that she was a distributor of supplies for the Union Army. She traveled to Europe afterwards, and worked with the Red Cross. When she came back to America, she advocated for an American Red Cross and got one, and also was its first president (1881). The society helped those involved in national disasters and other things. She led they way for women making history and becoming/starting something important in America. -
Thomas Edison
Died October 18,1931. Edison had 1,093 patents. He was a part of the phonograph, lightbulb, and motion cameras. He created the worlds first industrial research laboratory. Without him, the world would be a different place, the lightbulb & video cameras would have been developed in a different way, or not created at all. Edison was also a very successful manufacturer, and marketer of his items that he created, or had a part in creating. He is one of the people we owe are success to as a country. -
William Randolph Hearst
Died August 14, 1951. Hearst was the largest news person in America. He bought/established 42 newspapers. He owned 7 dailies, 5 magazines, a film company, & 2 news services. Socialists praised him for his political views that were in his newspapers. He had the first in-color comic strip on one of his newspapers. Hearst lost most of his blue collar followers when he dissed FDR's New Deal plan. He went into debt in 1937, because he was reckless with money, but he earned it all through journalism. -
Henry Ford
Died April 7, 1947. Ford created a gasoline powered carriage in the shed behind house. He called it the "Quadricycle". He established the Ford Motor Company in 1903 and 5 years later came out with the First Model T. He also created the worlds first moving assembly line for cars. In his overwhelming demand for the car he created, he also developed interchangeable parts and larger than life production plants. His creation of wonderful cars led to yet another fulfillment of the American Dream. -
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Turn of the Century
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President William McKinley
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Spanish American War
Ended in August 1898 -
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Progressive Era
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President Teddy Roosevelt
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Walt Disney
Died December 15, 1966. Walt and his brother cofounded Walt Disney Productions. Walt created Mickey Mouse, and won 22 Academy Awards in his life. They created the Disney themeparks and made a lot of money in the film business. Walt played the voice of Mickey Mouse when sound films came out, and that's what really gave Disney Productions a huge boost in popularity. Later on they released movies like "Cinderella" and "Zorro". Walt when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1966. -
The Nickelodeon Theater - America's First Theater
The Nickelodeon Theater was America's first movie theater. Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The first two movies ever shown at the theater were "Poor but Honest" and "The Baffled Burglar". The theater had 95 seats and people were unsure of how successful it would be. Soon, as more people were intrigued, more theaters opened up around America. The Nickelodeon lead the way for movies to really take off and become a hit in America. -
Philo Farnsworth
Died March 11, 1971. Philo was an inventor, even at a young age. He created the first prototype of the all electric television in 1938. He even created a process to sterilize milk. He ran a fusion lab in Utah after selling his T.V. company to RCA. Philo's inventions helped to create a better, more technologized America, and world. Philo's influence on America has helped us to reach the status of one of the most successful countries on the planet. -
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President William Taft
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Wernher von Braun
Died on June 16, 1977. Started off by working of the Nazis helping to develop the V-2 missile in WWII. Then he went to work for NASA in 1960 to work on the development of the Saturn rockets and was a part of the successful Gemini project. He then helped design the rocket that took the Apollo 11 crew to the moon in 1969. Without Von Braun, U.S. space travel would have taken a much longer time to be successful in such a huge way. He helped to pave the way for America and the space race. -
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President Woodrow Wilson
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WWI
Ended on November 11, 1918 -
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WWI Era
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Nelson Mandela
Died December 5, 2013. Nelson spent 27 years in prison, and when he got out he was an advocator of bringing peace to South Africa, and a leader of fighting for human rights around the world. He was Africa's first black president, and formed a new type of government there (multiethnic). He devoted his whole life to helping people in and around the world, and many people looked up to him. The whole world mourned his death at age 95 in 2013. -
Babe Ruth is Sold from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees
Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees for $100,000. The Yankees wanted Babe because they had a very uneventful 17 years. The Red Sox did not win another title after selling Babe to the Yankees. -
Prohibition
After entering WWI, President Woodrow Wilson wanted prohibition to save grain for food. It was also believed that stopping alcohol production would decrease crime. The U.S. stopped the production of alcohol & liquor. Speakeasies developed in places throughout the country and people went there to drink, illegally. Many people didn't obey the law, and many officers didn't enforce it. Later on, thirteen years later, they ended prohibition of alcohol. -
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President Warren G. Harding
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President Calviin Coolidge
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Scopes Trial
John Scopes violated Tennessee's law to not teach evolution in schools. Evolution was not widely accepted and people believed in Jesus rather than the idea that we originated from animals. People said that evolution didn't align with religious views, so it was not right. Parents complained and Scopes was taken to court by the State of Tennessee. He was found guilty and had to pay a fine. The case is seen by many as a test of whether modern science should be taught in public schools or not. -
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Great Depression & New Deal Era
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President Herbert Hoover
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Crash of 1929
On Black Tuesday, investors had traded about 16 million shares in a day, and billions of dollars were lost. This lead to the great depression. People had lost so much money, and many businesses had shut down even. People were becoming poor, homeless, and jobless. It seemed the whole country was in poverty. FDR came up with the New Deal in order to try and bring the country back up to its highest potential again. The U.S. pulled out of the depression thanks to WWII and the need for businesses. -
Bonnie & Clyde
Bonnie & Clyde are some of America's most notorious robbers. Together, with their gang tagging along, they robbed banks and individuals, and killed anyone who got in their way. They robbed only 15 banks, and they stole very little, just enough to get by to get on to the next place. Bonnie & Clyde were shot to death in their car by the police in a setup, when they pulled over to help a guy change a flat tire. They're the most romanticized robbers in American history, but were really not that bad. -
Holocaust
Ended on May 8, 1945. Hitler led the holocaust of the Jewish people. He wanted Germany to take over (the world, basically). He didn't want other races of people in his country. He wanted to create the perfect Arian race. He & his troops captured Jews and put them in concentration camps where they worked and starved to death. Hitler also targeted other groups such as: people with disabilities, gypsies, homosexuals, and Jehovah's witnesses. Over 11 million people died in the Holocaust. -
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President Franklin Roosevelt
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WWII
Ended on September 2, 1945 -
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WWII Era
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President Harry Truman
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Cold War Era
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Cold War
Ended in 1991 -
Creation of Rock & Roll
Rock & Roll came about in the 1950's, and it made the 50's a time of fun, loud music, and rebels. Alan Freed came up with the name "Rock & Roll" when he started a rhythm and blues show on a Cleveland radio station. Older generations thought the music was horrible, while teens loved the genre of music. Elvis became the king of rock & roll, opening the doorway for many others (Fats Domino, Everly Brothers, and Chuck Berry) to come into the new genre of music. -
Korean War
Ended on July 27, 1953 -
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President Dwight Eisenhower
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Civil Rights Era
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Vietnam War
Ended on April 30, 1975 -
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Vietnam Era
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Mr. Ed first aired on t.v.
"A horse is a horse, of course". Mr. Ed, was a t.v. show about a talking horse (Mr. Ed) and his owner (Wilbur). The show goes through episodes where Wilbur and/or Mr. Ed get themselves into some sort of dilemma, and help each other out in the long run. Wilbur acts like he doesn't like Ed in one episode, and Mr. Ed 'runs away'. The show is a comedy and teaches about the important relationships people develop with other people, and animals. -
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President John F. Kennedy
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President Lyndon Johnson
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Vietnam War Protests
The American people didn't believe in the Vietnam war effort & protested. The protests really started after the U.S. began casually bombing N. Vietnam. After Tet Offensive, American people started to become more non-supporters of the war because it was very obvious that Vietnamese didn't want us there. People were against the Vietnam war because it was not our war to fight. People held protests in many places, including college campus's. Younger people were more against the war than the old. -
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Republican Revolution
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President Richard Nixon
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Take over of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
In November of 1971, a group of 1000 Indians took over the BIA building in Washington D.C. They wanted to bring attention to the things they had been promised but not given (more land), and to have better lives for themselves not only on reservations but off of them and within normal society. They vandalized everything and ended up destroying the building and documents. They caused over $2 million in damages. Some of the things they destroyed dated back to over 100 years before. -
Watergate Scandal
7 robbers were arrested in the Democratic National Committee office in the Watergate building in Washington D.C. The burglars were a part of Nixon's reelection campaign and they got caught while trying to steal secret documents. Nixon tried to cover up the scandal by paying the burglars, and trying to stop the FBI from investigating the robbery & the documents the burglars had. In 1974, Nixon resigned and Gerald Ford took over. Ford pardoned all Nixon's crimes and he was never prosecuted. -
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President Gerald Ford
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President Jimmy Carter
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Mt. St. Helens Eruption
The eruption happened after an earthquake, which caused the largest landslide ever recorded. The eruption column rose 80,000 feet. Ash was found in 11 states, and 5 Canadian provinces. 57 people were killed and it caused over a billion dollars in damage, including thousands of livestock deaths. Large volcanic mudslides reached as far as the Columbia river. For the next day, smaller outbursts continued and more tiny avalanches of snow and mud ended up covering tons of things in its path. -
Graffiti Becoming an Art Form
Graffiti has been around since the beginning of time, but started to become an art form in the mid 1980's. Graffiti became more accepted as the hip hop scene in London started pouring over into the U.S. Contemporary art became more popular, and you could see it everywhere in the streets of big cities. Many people still hate the idea of graffiti all over their stuff, (Who doesn't?), but there are now many graffiti museums even! Graffiti art is a thing of the new age, and its getting more popular. -
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President Ronald Reagan
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President George H. W. Bush
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Berlin Wall Destruction
The Berlin Wall was built in the middle of the night on August 13, 1961. It was put up to separate West Berlin and East Germany to keep Germans out. The wall was a symbol of the Cold War. Many people around the world celebrated when the Berlin Wall fell. It acted as a sort of closure for many people, signifying that the Cold War was truly over and done, and no longer would leave a constant reminder of the war for West Berliners and East Germans. -
Gulf War
Ended on February 28, 1991 -
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New Millennium
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President Bill Clinton
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President George W. Bush
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9/11
4 airplanes were taken over by 19 Al-Quaeda members to target U.S. landmarks. 2 of the planes crashed into both of the Twin Towers in NYC. In an hour & 42 minutes both towers collapsed completely. The third plane crashed into the Pentagon, while the fourth plane headed towards Washington D.C., but crashed into a field instead. Over 2,996 people died, with many more injured. They caused $10 billion in property damage. Numerous memorials have been built and there is now a new World Trade Center. -
War in Afghanistan
Ended in 2014 -
War in Iraq
Ended in 2011 -
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President Barack Obama
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War on ISIS
Has not ended
