US History Timeline

  • Sherman Antitrust Act

    Sherman Antitrust Act
    President William Howard Taft. Outlawed monopolies, price fixing, and other trade restraints.
  • Plessy vs. Ferguson

    Plessy vs. Ferguson
    Separate but Equal is constitutional (overturned by Brown v. Board of Education). President Grover Cleveland.
  • Grandfather Clause

    Grandfather Clause
    Voting rights of blacks challenged with literacy tests and poll taxes.
    President William McKinley
  • President McKinley Assassinated

    President McKinley Assassinated
    Teddy Roosevelt becomes the 26th President.
  • Panama Canal

    Panama Canal
    Connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (opened in 1914)
  • Muckraker

    Muckraker
    Writers who expose big business corruption
  • Model T Car

    Model T Car
    Henry Ford introduces assembly lines to make production faster.
  • 16th Amendment

    16th Amendment
    Establishment of income tax, 17th amendment- direct election of senators.
  • Lusitania Sinks

    Lusitania Sinks
    German U-Boat sinks British passenger line, with American Passengers on board.
  • Submarine Warfare

    Submarine Warfare
    Germany continues unrestricted submarine warfare-gets warning from US.
  • Selective Service Act

    Selective Service Act
    Established the Draft
  • Zimmerman Telegram

    Zimmerman Telegram
    Intercepted by the British, asks for Germany/Mexico alliance against the US, US enters the war.
  • Fourteen Points

    Fourteen Points
    By Woodrow Wilson, 14th point most important, calls for the League of Nations
  • 18th Amendment

    18th Amendment
    Outlaws the purchase, sale, or transport of all alcohol
  • 19th Amendment

    19th Amendment
    Allowed women the right to vote
  • Dawes Plan

    Dawes Plan
    Eased war reparations on Germany
  • Stock Market Crash

    Stock Market Crash
    Black Tuesday - Launched the Great Depression
  • FDR Elected President

    FDR Elected President
    Franklin Delano Roosevelt becomes president
  • Unemployment Rises

    Unemployment Rises
    US unemployment reaches 25%, FDR claims Bank Holiday to fix banks
  • Fireside Chats

    Fireside Chats
    FDR addresses public on radio, continues to 1944, gives public hope
  • Huey Long

    Huey Long
    Criticizes FDR saying "Share our Wealth", proposes large tax burden on wealthy
  • Wagner Act

    Wagner Act
    Supports Union rights, protects collective bargaining
  • Social Security Act

    Social Security Act
    Established funds for unemployed and elderly
  • FDR reelected

    FDR reelected
    FDR elected for unprecedented 3rd term
  • Atlantic Charter

    Atlantic Charter
    Agreement between President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill
  • Propaganda

    Propaganda
    Motivated citizens to support the war effort
  • Battle of Midway

    Battle of Midway
    US defeats Japan, seen as the turning point of the war in the Pacific
  • Manhattan Project

    Manhattan Project
    Creation of the Atomic Bomb
  • Battle of the Bulge

    Battle of the Bulge
    Begins to break down Axis position on the Western front
  • Liberation

    Liberation
    Allies liberate Nazi concentration camps in Eastern Europe
  • Germany Surrenders

    Germany Surrenders
    Known as V-E Day (victory in Europe day)
  • First A-Bomb Drops

    First A-Bomb Drops
    US drops Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9) - Japan Surrenders
  • United Nations Created

    United Nations Created
    UN created with 51 founding nations
  • Nuremburg Trials

    Nuremburg Trials
    Prosecute Nazi war criminals
  • Iron Curtain

    Iron Curtain
    Describes division of Communist Eastern Europe from Western Europe.
  • Truman Doctrine

    Truman Doctrine
    US intent to fight communism by helping free countries resist it
  • Berlin Blockade

    Berlin Blockade
    USSR blocks all aid into West Berlin
  • Berlin Airlift

    Berlin Airlift
    US drops food and supplies by air in West Berlin
  • Korean War Begins

    Korean War Begins
    US aids South Korea against North Korea; Peace Treaty in 1953
  • Brown vs. Board of Education

    Brown vs. Board of Education
    Overturns Plessy v. Ferguson; says Separate but Equal is unconstitutional