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Civil War Begins
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 when Confederate shore batteries fired on Union's Fort Sumter in South Carolina’s bay. In 34 hours, 50 Confederate weapons launched more than 4,000 rounds at the poorly supplied fort. Major Robert Anderson, commander of the Union base, surrendered. Two days later, US President Lincoln issued a notice calling for 75,000 volunteer soldiers to help end the Southern mess. -
Homestead act
Some one who was 21 years old or older could have 160 acres of land if they lived on the land for at least 5 years, build a house at least 12-feet by 14-feet, grow crops, and pay a small fee. -
Transcontinental Railroad Starts
The Pacific Railroad Act took the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies and tasked them with building a transcontinental railroad that would link the United States from east to west. Over the next seven years, the two companies would race toward each other from Sacramento, California on the one side and Omaha, Nebraska on the other, struggling against great risks before they met at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869. -
Civil War Ends
Four years after the first atack, the Confederacy was beaten at the cost of 620,000 Union and Confederate dead. Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. See 'Civil War Begins' to see how it started -
Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Organized
Six former Confederate officers created the original Ku Klux Klan on December 24, 1865, during the Reconstruction of the South after the Civil War. Disguised in white hoods, they terrorized African Americans, driving them from their homes and destroying their property. They also kept dark skinned people and their white supporters from voting. -
Transcontinental Railroad Finished
Over seven years, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies raced toward each other from Sacramento, California on the one side and Omaha, Nebraska on the other, struggling against great risks before they met at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869. All of the hard work was finished by driving a golden stake into the ground. See 'Transcontinental Railroad Starts' to see how it all began. -
Home Insurance Building
The Home Insurance Building was constructed by William Le Baron Jenney. He then became known as the Father of the American skyscraper. -
American Federation of Labor (AFL) Starts
The American Federation of Labor was a national federation of labor unions in the United States founded in Columbus, Ohio, in December 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor union. -
Native American, Chief Sitting Bull
After many years of successfully resisting white efforts to destroy him and the Sioux people, the great Sioux chief and holy man Sitting Bull was killed by Indian police at the Standing Rock reservation in South Dakota. It was in attempt to stop a ritual called the Sun Dance. -
Worlds First Powered Plane
After building several prototypes, or models, in 1902 the brothers launched a glider that flew 620 feet. Then they set out to make an engine-powered airplane. A year later, in windy Kitty Hawk, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Orville piloted the world’s first powered flight. The plane traveled 120 feet in just 12 seconds. -
First Model T Ford Made
The Model T was an automobile built by the Ford Motor Company from 1908 until 1927. To Henry Ford it was a practical, affordable transportation for the common man. It quickly became known for its low cost, durability, versatility, and ease of maintenance. -
World War 1 Starts
World War 1 started when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated on June 28, 1914. This was the immediate cause but there were a series of events which triggered the war. Over 17 million people were killed in World War I and the impact it had on the old empires and the politics of the world was enormous. -
World War 1 Ends
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, it ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, stripped of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. See 'World War 1 Starts' to how it all began. -
Noble Peace Prize
The Noble Peace Prize was awarded to Jane Addams and Nicholas Murray Butler in 1931. Addams also worked to end segregation in schools. At settlement houses, workers did everything from making sure the city picked up garbage to inviting well-known speakers. A newspaper described the settlement houses as “A Project to Bring Rich and Poor Together.” Hull House became one of the first settlement houses in the United States.By 1910, more than 400 settlement houses served immigrants in U.S. cities.
