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Wilson is inaugurated
Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as the twenty-eighth President of the United States. He proclaims it his duty “to cleanse, to reconsider, to restore, to correct the evil without impairing the good." -
Wilson Recognizes China
President Wilson officialy recognizes the Republic of China -
17th Amendment
The 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is enacted, providing for the direct popular election of U.S. senators. This amendment diminishes the prestige of state governments. -
Underwood-Simmons Tariff Act
President Wilson signs the Underwood-Simmons Tariff Act, significantly reducing rates set by previous Republican leaders. -
WWI is Triggered
A Serbian radical assassinates Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria in Serbia. This serves as the main cause for the termination of diplomatic relations among the major European nations. -
Federal Reserve Act
On December 23, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law. The act created a Federal Reserve System, comprised of a Federal Reserve Board, twelve regional reserve banks, and the underpinnings of a smooth central banking system. -
Panama Canal Opened
On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal opened to trans-oceanic traffic. In 1903, the United States signed the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty with Panama, which gave the United States control of the canal for a price of $10 million and an annual payment of $250,000. -
Wilson Marries Galt
President Wilson marries Edith Bolling Galt in a Washington, D.C., ceremony. They honeymoon in Virginia. -
Re-elected
Democrats re-elect Woodrow Wilson and vice president Thomas Marshall at their national convention. Thre was a 23 vote margin. -
US Declares War
On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany. Although President Woodrow Wilson had campaigned for reelection in 1916 emphasizing how he had kept the United States out of the war, he soon realized that the United States could not stand by and remain neutral in the Great War. -
Harding is Inaugurated
Warren G. Harding is inaugurated as the twenty-ninth President of the United States. -
Emergency Quota Act
Harding signs the Emergency Quota Act into law, limiting the number of immigrants from any given country to 3 percent of that nationality already in the United States by 1910. The temporary act lasts three years. -
Teapot Dome Scandal
As the Teapot Dome scandal begins to unfold, Harding accepts the resignation of Interior Secretary Fall. -
Voyage of Understanding
Harding and his wife leave for his “voyage of understanding,” a speaking tour across Alaska and the West designed to regain faith in the Harding administration despite scandals such as the Teapot Dome Scandal. -
President Harding Dies
President Warren Harding died in San Francisco, California, while on a speaking tour. His wife was by his side. His death was most likely due to a heart attack. -
Coolidge Becomes President
At a 2:30 a.m. ceremony in Plymouth, Vermont, Calvin Coolidge is sworn in by his father as the thirtieth President of the United States. -
Dawes Plan
The Dawes Plan is signed by the United States, France, Great Britain, Italy, and Belgium to solve the German reparations problem. -
Coolidge Wins Election
Coolidge wins the election easily with 382 electoral votes (15,725,000 popular votes) to the Democrats' 136 (8,386,000 popular votes). -
Aviation
Charles A. Lindbergh completes the first transatlantic flight, traversing the distance from New York to Paris in his monoplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, in less than 34 hours. A year later, Amelia Earhart will become the first woman to make the flight. -
Sacco & Vanzetti
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are executed in Massachusetts for their alleged 1920 murder of a factory guard, despite protests that the two men had been unfairly prosecuted for their radical beliefs. -
Kellogg-Briand Act
The Kellogg-Briand Pact, or the Pact of Paris, is signed by the United States and fifteen other nations. Named for its two principal authors, Frank B. Kellogg and Aristide Briand, the pact outlaws war as a means to settle disputes, substituting diplomacy and world opinion for armed conflict. -
Hoover Becomes President
Herbert Hoover is inaugurated as the thirty-first President of the United States. -
"Black Thursday"
On “Black Thursday,” the New York Stock Exchange experiences a collapse in stock prices as 13 million shares are sold. Even wealthy investors J. P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller, in an effort to save the market by furiously buying stock, cannot check the fall. -
Veterans Administration Act
Hoover signs the Veterans Administration Act, establishing the Veterans Administration. The act consolidates all existing federal agencies handling benefits for former servicemen into a single department. -
Hoover Dam Begun
Construction of the Hoover Dam begins in Las Vegas, Nevada. The dam will be completed in 1936. -
Al Capone is Convicted
Gangster Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. For most of the 1920s, Capone ruled the Chicago underworld, taking in $105 million in 1927 alone, primarily from the illegal business of bootlegging. -
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Hoover establishes the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, an agency designed to lend money to banks, insurance companies, and other institutions to stimulate the economy. It will have $2 billion at its disposal. January 22, 1932 -
Hoover Orders Bonus Army Dispersed
President Herbert Hoover ordered the United States Army to remove a group of protesting veterans from federal buildings in Washington, D.C. The troops and the veterans clashed in a violent confrontation. The aggressive removal of the Bonus Army marchers damaged Hoover's popularity as he began a difficult reelection campaign. -
Hoover Loses 1932 Election
Franklin D. Roosevelt wins the presidential election over Hoover. Roosevelt wins 472 electoral votes (22.8 million popular) to Hoover's 59 (15.8 million popular). -
Roosevelt is Inaugurated
Roosevelt is inaugurated as the thirty-second President of the United States. -
Federal Securities Act
Congress passes the Federal Securities Act, requiring all issues of stocks and bonds to be registered and approved by the federal government. -
Gold Reserve Act
Congress passes the Gold Reserve Act, allowing the President to fix the value of the U.S. dollar at between 50 to 60 cents in terms of gold. The next day, FDR signs the Farm Mortgage Refinancing Act. -
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States
The Supreme Court rules in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States that the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 is unconstitutional. The decision is an obvious setback for FDR and his New Deal programs. -
Social Security Act
President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, which established a Social Security Board to coordinate the payment of old-age benefits to Americans over the age of 65. -
Neutrality Act
Roosevelt signs the Neutrality Act, forbidding the shipment of arms and munitions to belligerents during a state of war. -
Gibbs vs. Board of Education
The NAACP wins its case, Gibbs v. Board of Education, against the state of Maryland, ensuring that white and black teachers are paid equally. -
France & Britain Declare War
France and Britain declare war on Germany. With limited domestic support for war, FDR declares U.S. neutrality. -
Roosevelt Wins 3rd Term
In a closer than expected election, FDR wins an unprecedented third-term as President of the United States. While he easily defeats Willkie in the electoral college (449 to 82), Roosevelt wins only a slim difference in the popular vote. -
Revenue Act of 1941
FDR signs the largest tax bill in American history. The Revenue Act of 1941 provides for sharply increased taxes to collect more than $3 billion for the defense effort. -
Franklin Roosevelt Dies
The only American president in history to be elected four times, Roosevelt died in office in April 1945.
