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The Transcontinental Railroad is Complete
Image URL On this day, Leland Stanford of the Central Pacific Railroad hammered the Golden Spike into the Earth, connecting America's first Transcontinental Railroad. Not only did it make travel easy, but it also connect the Irish-Americans (who were the main workers of the Eastern half of the railroad) and the Chinese-Americans (who worked the Western Half).
Location: Promontory Summit, Ogden, Utah -
Custer's Last Stand
Image URLOfficially called the Battle of Little Bighorn, Custer's Last Stand was a battle during the Great Sioux War of 1876. The American troops suffered a great loss here, and the casualty was over 250 Americans. Custer also died during this battle. -
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US History: VHS Summer: Tyler Johnson
This timeline will show the growth of the United States beginning in 1877. From then, through the World Wars and beyond to 2011, some of the States' most important events and concepts will be examined. -
The Pullman Strike
Image URL The Pullman Strike started when Pullman Car Company attemped to implement a pay cut, and workers refused. The companies response to this was to fire 5.000 workers, prompting an immediate strike; members of the American Railway Union were asked to stop work. The strike ended with an injuction and federal troops. -
Factory Fire
Image LinkIn an event that sparked interest into stabilizing work conditions, the Triange Shirtwaist factory caught fire on March 25th, 1911. One hundred and twenty five people died due to unstable and harsh work conditions. -
Isolationism
Image LinkIsolationism was the favored military action plan at the start of both the World Wars. This was to stay out of any foreign affairs, and "not participate"; however, in both conflicts, Isolationism was not followed during the entiretey of the war. -
Assasination
Image LinkOn June 28th, 1914, the Archduke of Hungary Franz Ferdinand was assinated. This, which was credited to Serbian Gavrilo Princip, was the start the First World War. -
Treaty of Versailles
Image URLThe Treaty of Versailles concluded the first World War between the Allied Powers and Germany. It was not-so coincidentally signed exactly 5 years after the assisination of Franz Ferdinand (see "Assisination" June 28th, 1914). It included the War Guilt Clause, which forced Germany to accept all guilt to the war, further angering the country and eventually prompting the second World War. This Treaty also created the League of Nations. -
Stock Market Crash
Image URLThe stocks crashed suddenly on Oct. 29th, 1929, marking the beginning of the Great Depression. Due to insecurities, many stock holders sold their stocks, which made each worth very little. The main cause began with "Black Thursday", which was 5 days prior, when a ton of stocks were bought. -
Roosevelt declares "Bank Holiday"
Image LinkThe holiday, which closed ALL banks across the US from March 6th to 10th, was declared by President Roosevelt in an effort to prevent further imminent bank closures (for good). In response, the federal government passed the Emergency Banking Act, which insured any money left in banks by the government. -
Pearl Harbor
Image LinkOn December 7th, 1941, the Japanese Navy launched a massive attack on Pearl Harbowr, a US Navy base in Hawaii. This attack was a major American loss, however boosted morale, and convinced the entry of the states into WWII. All 8 US Navy battleships were destroyed, however, in a bit of luck, its' 3 aircraft carriers were not there at the time, therefore were undamaged. President Roosevelt claimed it was "a date which will forever live in infamy", which is true to this day. -
Saving $$$ on the Homefront
Image Link(date approx.)
Throughout the Second World War, the United States made several efforts to save money on the homefront in order to spend more on the war. Actions included "Victory Speed Limits". which encouraged drivers to slow down to conserve fuel, and "Victory Loan Drives", similar to those in the first World War. -
McCarthyism
Image URLMcCarthyism is the concept attributed to Senator McCarthy which made accusations of disloyalty and treason to the United States Government. It came about during the Second Red Scare, and often wrongly consisted of accusing people as communists, or Soviet spys. The Hollywood Ten were victims of this, and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was created to investiage these accusations. -
The Little Rock Nine receives Federal Aid
Image LinkThis refers to the nine black school children who attended Little Rock Central High School follow the Brown V Board of Education ruling. The Ruling desegregated all public schools; Little Rock being one of the first. At first, the Arkansas National Guard supported the segreationsts, and did not allowed the nine to enter. However, since this made national headlines, President Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne on 9/24/1957, which federalized the National Guard, and the students were allowed in -
Containment
Image LinkContainment is a United States policy during the Cold War. Its aim was to prevent further spread of communism. Some examples of this policy in action include but are not limited to the Korean War and the Viet Nam War. It also failed in China. -
Tet Offensive
Image LinkThe Tet Offensive, which took place during January and February of 1986, refers to the military event in which the Viet Cong and the NVA attacked South Vietnam, including the U.S. troops stationed there. This shocked the United States, mainly because a cease-fire had been agreed upon during a local holiday, but the NVA launched surprise attacks anyway, and was considered as a HUGE loss. -
Roe V. Wade
Image URLOn this date, the final deicision of Roe V. Wade was given with a 7-2 vote. It ruled that abortion decisions were covered under the 14th amendement. The court also ruled that if it were "able to live outside the mother's womb", it was viable, and could no longer terminate the pregnancy. Although this ruling was made, debate about this issue continues today. -
"Reaganomics"
Image Link"Reaganomics" refer to the economic policy that President Reagan believed in. He is cited in creating it. The policy mainly works off of a "trickle-down economy", where tax cuts to the wealthy will "trickle down" and help the poorer as well. The Reagan Administration reffered to this econmic policy as "supply-side economics." No matter what name, it was almost always criticized. -
Operation Desert Storm
Image URLOperation Desert Storm was the codename given to the Gulf War, which began on January 17th, 1991. The war was against Iraq in response to their annexation of Kuwait. Fighting the country were 34 U.N. Nations led by the United States. Although the 17th only included bombings from the air, troops set foot on the ground a week later. By April, formal cease-fire policies were set, making the Operatin a HUGE success. -
WWW made Public
Image LinkOn August 6th, 1991, the World Wide Web was made public for the first time. It was not, however, accessed until 17 days later, on the 23th. Tim Berners-Lee posted a summary of the WWW on the first day, making it the first public post as well. Because it wasn't externally accessed by someone else until more than two weeks later, the Internaut's day is on the 23rd. -
NAFTA
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This was an attempt to eliminate any trade tariffs between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It came to power on the first of January in 1994. Within ten years, the majority of the tariffs between Mexico and the US were eliminated, with the rest coming soon. US and Canada already were tariff-free.
