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US History Timeline
This timeline is created for an online US History course. I will add events that range from 1877-2011. I hope you enjoy! -
Martinsburg Strike
Railroad worker leaders ordered the second pay cut in eight months on the salaries of the workers. This created a massive upheaval among the workers. They drove all of the locomotive engines into the local roundhouse and declared no train would be leaving until their pay was returned to normal. Source Link: http://www.ushistory.org/us/37a.asp -
Chinese Exclusion Act
In 1882 Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. This was a bill that prohibited the Chinese from immigrating to the United States. This bill was passed because the United States felt that the Chinese were a threat to the natural work order. Furthermore, Chinese people who were already living in the United States were ordered to carry papers around with them that stated their legality. If they were caught without these papers they would face deportation. Source: 2.2 Class Discussion -
The Election of 1896
In the Presidential election of 1896, William Bryan who was backed by the Democrats and the Populists campaigned against William McKinley who was backed by the Republicans. William Bryan tried to use popular opinions to win his campaign, while William McKinley used his wealth and power to create various campaigns, some of which shed fear and doubt onto William Bryan. McKinley won the election by an electoral vote of 271 to 176. Source LInk: http://www.ushistory.org/us/41e.asp -
Battle of Manila Bay
Admiral George Dewey ordered his fleet to attack the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay prior to his declaration of war. The newer steal navy of the US easily defeated the navy of the Spanish who only had boats of wood. This was one of the most prominent victories for the Americans in The Spanish-American War. Source LInk: http://www.ushistory.org/us/44d.asp -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The Lusitania was an American boat that carried just over 1,000 passengers. Germany had warned the United States through their newspapers that boat travel was not safe, and it risked being attacked by German naval forces. Still, the Lusitania departed from New York, and not long after it had set sail it was sunken by a German submarine. It was later announced that the Lusitania had been carrying over 4 million rounds of ammunition. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/45a.asp -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace settlement that was proposed at the end of WWI by the Allied Forces. It was signed by Germany and the Allies at Versailles Palace. In the Treaty of Versailles, it asked for Germany to surrender a large percentage of their land, they were taxed of their agricultural production, and they could not maintain more than one hundred thousand troops in their army. Furthernmore, they were fined for a large sum of money.
Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/45d.asp -
Stock Market Crashes
After years of the market growing to an all time high, some economists predicted that if you invested $15 in the market, you would make about $80,000 within twenty years. Because of this prediction, millions of new investors invested, and many American families now held stocks. On September 18th, 1929, many of these investors sold their stocks, and as the demand dropped, so did the price. The result was disastrous. Many people lost their fortunes. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/48a.asp -
American Isolationism
During the 1920's, 1930's, and 1940's, Isolationism was a lifestyle in the United States. This was the practice of removing yourself from the affairs of other countries. This included having the US government no form alliances with other countries, create trade agreements, or foreign economic commitments. Isolationism was definitely at its peak at the beginnings of both World Wars, as the US did not enter the wars until they were almost over. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/50b.asp -
Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act
After almost six thousand banks had shut down since the start of the Great Depression, Roosevelt enacted the Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act. This act ensured depositors that their money would be completely safe with the bank. Not only did it do this, but it prohibited bankers from spending the depositors money foolishly in the stock market. Because of this act, many less banks had to shut down. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/49a.asp -
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was originally proposed by Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt in the early-mid 1900's. After Einstein had fled from Germany he warned the American Government that Axis Powers were gaining knowledge in atomic weaponry, and Einstein strongly encouraged the president to pursue this weaponry as well. In 1941 the plan went into action and it received its own name: The Manhattan Project. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/51f.asp -
Feminism
In the middle of the 20th century, women were calling for rights previously unknown to them. They were tired of the stereotypes that had become so associated with them such as women belong in the house not the office. It was becoming more and more popular for women to request jobs of their own, and reach out of the stereotypes that their gender had been placed in. The mid 1900s was truly a time for the pursuit of gender equality. Sources: http://www.ushistory.org/us/57a.asp -
Nonviolence in the Civil Rights Movement
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the greatest leaders of the Civil Rights Movement of the mid 1900s. During his demonstrations he stressed and followed through with the idea of nonviolent resistance against his oppressors. His nonviolent methods included sit-ins, boycotts, and picketing. This method proved successful by intimidating the opposing forces into feeling like they were injuring harmless individuals. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/54.asp -
Creation of the Internet
The Internet was developed by the US military as a source of defense. It was primarily used by military officials and scientists who needed to share their findings with other scientists. But, as PCs became more popular, the Internet became a worldwide thing, and many inter-connected webs were created, known as the Worldwide Web. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/60d.asp -
Reaganomics
During the late 1900s, around the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan announced a plan to fix America's economic situation. He proposed to do this by initiating a 30% tax cut for the upper levels of society, and to reduce the amount of government regulation and social spending. Reaganomics were successful in increasing the value of the American dollar and increasing imported goods and decreasing exported goods. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/59b.asp -
Reagan Doctrine
The Reagan Doctrine was a strategy that was used to oppose the communist influence of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. Funds for the Reagan Doctrine were distributed around the world to countries such as El Salvador in hopes that they would resist communism. The Reagan Doctrine was a large part of US Foreign Policy until the early 1990s. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/59c.asp -
Iran-Contra Affair
The Iran-Contra Affair was a scandal that was made aware to the public in 1986. The US government had agreed to sell arms to Iran in exchange for some US citizens being held hostage by people with Iranian descnent. This was a huge scandal for Reagan, because Congress had forbidden any sort of transactions such as these. It stained his "teflon" reputation. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/59c.asp -
EXXON Valdez Oil Spill
The EXXON Valdez Oil Spill happened in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Almost three quarters of a million barrels of oil were spilled, making it the largest oil spill of its time. On top of the spill, rising gasoline prices were in effect, so this event was a major embarassment to the United States. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/60e.asp -
Clinton Health Insurance/Health Security Act
One of the problems Clinton wanted to tackle going into his presidency was the fact that Americans were underprovided when it came to health insurance. Millions of Americans were not insured and it was becoming a large problem. He put his wife, Hillary Clinton in charge of designing a plan that would be friendly to the American people, but it was shot down. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/60c.asp -
North American Free Trade Agreement
NAFTA is a trade agreement that was signed by America, Canada, and Mexico. It creates a three-way trade system between the countries, and promises for more conomic prosperity. NAFTA is home to some of the largest trade blocs in the world. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/60e.asp -
Columbine High School Shootings
The Columbine School shootines happened late 1990s and the act was dont by two teenagers. They walked into the school with weapons, and murdered 13 people before hey committed suicide. People looking to see why these kids did this pointed out how the media promoted violence, how gun laws were not strict enough, and neglectful parenting. Source: http://www.ushistory.org/us/60e.asp
