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The idea of the American Dream was born!
The idea of the American Dream was born from ideas in the books of Horatio Alger. He was an author who wrote cheap books for the masses of immigrants. His books had a theme -- poor immigrant makes it big by becoming rich in America. The moral of his books -- if one worked hard, they could be a success in America. URL: http://www.kettlerfinancial.com/the-american-dream-2017-beyond/
http://www.ushistory.org/us/36e.asp -
Period: to
1877-2011
This timeline will be created for a US History class. It will have 20 entries -- 15 specific events and 5 ideas. -
Interstate Commerce Commission created
The Interstate Commerce Commission was created to oversee the transcontinental railroad.. It's important because it was the government's first regulatory agency. The ICC closed on 12.31.95. URLs: (http://www.grangeracademic.com/results.asp?W=3&F=0001&Step=1&screenwidth=1326) https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/political-science-and-government/us-government/interstate-commerce -
Linotype Printing press was invented
The new printing press was instrumental in the masses becoming more informed since this invention made it faster to print newspapers. Newspapers could be longer and this represented more information to the American people. URL: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/05/celebrating-linotype-125-years-since-its-debut/238968/ -
Spanish American War
The Spanish American War ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas. When the United Sates won this war, it gave more power and clout for America to be involved in the politics of Europe. URL: https://www.history.com/topics/spanish-american-war -
United States Enters WWI
On April 6, 1917, America declares war on Germany and enters World War I. Without America, Britain, France, and Russia may have lost the war to Germany. On May 7, Germany torpedoed the Lusitania, killing almost 2,000 people - including 128 Americans. American opinion began to change against Germany due to this act.
To support the war effort, the Selective Service Act was passed on May 18, 1917.
URL:(https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/america-enters-world-war-i) -
The defeat of The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations
America didn't ratify the Treaty of Versailles and didn't join the League of Nations. The strict conditions imposed on Germany by the Treaty and the League of Nations led to conditions in Germany that made the rise of Adolph Hitler possible. URL: (https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005425) -
Concept of Teenager
The term teenager was not used until the 1940's but the mindset started in the 1920's. School attendance was expected for more years and with the invention of cars, teens were more more independent from parents in all aspects from dating to exploring new places. Buses could transport students further from home and influenced by people outside their small circle.
URLs: (http://time.com/3639041/the-invention-of-teenagers-life-and-the-triumph-of-youth-culture/)
(http://www.ushistory.org/us/46c.asp) -
The Great Depression
The roaring Twenties brought about many cultural changes, but one of the biggest was buying things on credit and speculating in the stock market. When the stock market crashed, lives were changed forever. Hoover was blamed for the Great Depression, and a new president was elected. Roosevelt implemented many policies that helped America recover from the Great Depression.
URL: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/dustbowl-great-depression/ -
Isolationism of the 1930's
The policies of the US government and the attitudes of the American people were adamantly in support of non-involvement in conflicts in Europe and Asia. Starting with the Stimson Doctrine, which stated that the US would not recognize land gained by aggression to the Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1937 & 1937, the US created barriers to the US becoming involved in the politics and conflicts of other countries. Source URL: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/american-isolationism -
Pearl Harbor was bombed and America enters WWII
Despite isolationism, America was pushed to enter WWII when Japan launched a sneak attack at Pearl Harbor. One reason for the attack was to limit planes and personnel to make it harder to retaliate. However, 2,390 Americans were killed in the attack and the attitudes of the American people would no longer support isolationism. They fully backed America entering WWII. America joined Allied Forces in WWII on 12/8. Source URL
https://pearlharbor.org/category/pearl-harbor-history/ -
The End of WWII
On May 7, 1845 Germany surrendered to the Allied Forces. However, Japan continued to fight the war on the Pacific Front. After Japan refused terms of surrender in July 1945, a decision was made to use atomic bombs to shorten the war. USSR also attacked Japan on August 8. With these two events, Japan's resolve for war was gone and the Emperor agreed to the terms of surrender. Source URLS:
http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/etc/c06.html
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii -
The Cold War
From 1947 to 1991, the USA and the USSR engaged in an indirect war, meaning the Soviets and the American's didn't fight a war directly with each other. Both Korean and Vietnam Wars are examples of hostility between Communist and Capitalist forces. One prominent symbol was of the Cold War was the Berlin Wall which can down in 1989. Source URLs:
https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cold-war-history
https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/glossary/cold-war.cfm -
The Civil Rights Movement
The years 1954-68, back Americans (and others sympathetic) engaged in acts designed to bring about equal rights for all. From 1954, when the Supreme Court ruled that schools must be desegregated to the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was a tumultuous period in American history. Ironically, America touted herself as Leader of the Free World during this time. URL: https://www.adl.org/education/resources/backgrounders/civil-rights-movement
https://www.history.com/topics/civil-rights-movement-timeline -
The rise of Activism
Beginning in the 1960's and continuing to this day, activism has changed many things about American culture and politics. Areas of activism in the 1960's and 1970's included the following - equality for all, free speech, peace, women's liberation, gay and lesbian rights. Source URL: http://americanarchive.org/exhibits/first-amendment/protests-60s-70s -
The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King
The assassination of Dr King was a turning point in American history. He was the leader of the nonviolent protests that led to the civil rights movement and passage of important Civil rights legislation. Historic words that he said -- “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight... I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” URL: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr-assassination -
Reagonomics
Reagan proposed a phased 30% tax cut for the first three years of his Presidency. A tax cut of 25% was approved. Most of the cut would come from the upper income tier. Tax relief for the wealthy would allow them to invest more in businesses and this would create more job for low income families. This was called trickle-down economics. As a result the national debt increased threefold and is only continuing to rise today! Source URL: http://www.ushistory.org/us/59b.asp -
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Desert Storm was a 100 hour offensive that marked the beginning of the First Gulf War. When Iraq invades Kuwait, President Bush stated, "This will not stand." A deadline of January 15, 1991 was given for Iraq to leave Kuwait. Iraq did not comply and the bombing of Iraq started on January 16. Kuwait was liberated after 100 hours, but 's a war that continues to this day in so many respects. Source URL: http://www.ushistory.org/us/60a.asp -
Information Revolution
The first "internet" started back in the late 1960's and early 1970's as ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network). It was originally funded by the DoD but universities were very interested in the possibilities very quickly. TThe "Internet" as know it is known now has been nothing short of a world altering phenomenon. It has linked the world in both good and bad ways. Source URL: https://www.britannica.com/story/who-invented-the-internet -
Challenges facing America
Americans are facing more challenges than ever. Where there is a challenge, there is a "next step". America is facing ever increasing global challenges and domestic issues too. The growing heroin epidemic and increasing number of school shootings are just two examples of important domestic topics. There are environmental challenges that need to be addressed as well as the politics dividing our country. America is resilient though and I am hopeful. URL: http://www.ushistory.org/us/60e.asp -
Y2K
Y2K was also called the Millennium Bug. It created fear and hysteria that computers would crash at the beginning of the year 2000. Millions are dollars were spent trying to upgrade software to be Y2K compliant, and the people spearheading the efforts claimed success when the new year didn't bring about computer crashes! Others claimed it was all a bunch of hype. Improvements to code still benefited the world. https://timeline.com/lessons-y2k-panic-digital-db815487e374
