-
Homestead Act of 1862
Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence before receiving ownership of the land. -
End of the Civil War
General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at the McLean House in the village of Appomattox Court House. -
Abraham Lincoln's Assassination
On the evening of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor and Confederate sympathizer, assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. -
Andrew Johnson Became President
The same day Lincoln was assassinated, Johnson was sworn in as president at his Washington hotel by the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Salmon Chase (1808-1873). -
Johnson's Plan
Under Johnson’s Presidential Reconstruction, all land that had been confiscated by the Union Army and distributed to the freed slaves by the army or the Freedmen’s Bureau reverted to its prewar owners. Apart from being required to uphold the abolition of slavery, swear loyalty to the Union, and pay off war debt, southern state governments were given free reign to rebuild themselves. -
Black Codes
Under Johnson’s Reconstruction policies, nearly all the southern states would enact their own black codes in 1865 and 1866. While the codes granted certain freedoms to African Americans, their primary purpose was to restrict blacks’ labor and activity. -
Reconstruction Act of 1867
Temporarily divided the South into five military districts and outlined how governments based on universal (male) suffrage were to be organized. The law also required southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment, which broadened the definition of citizenship, granting “equal protection” of the Constitution to former slaves, before they could rejoin the Union. -
Period: to
The Second Industrial Revolution
The U.S. acquired an abundance of natural resources from its newly acquired territories, a growing supply of labor immigrating from Europe, and the migration of emancipated African Americans North and West, an expanding market for manufactured goods, and the availability of capital for investment. -
Democrats and the House of Reps
In 1874, after an economic depression plunged much of the South into poverty, the Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives for the first time since the Civil War. -
Grant's Refusal
When Democrats waged a campaign of violence to take control of Mississippi in 1875, Grant refused to send federal troops, marking the end of federal support for Reconstruction-era state governments in the South. -
Beginning the Statue of Liberty
Under the orders of Auguste Bartholdi, French workers began constructing one of the new 7 Wonders of the World, the Statue of Liberty, which would later be transported to it's pedestal in New York. -
Complete Democratic Control of the South
By 1876, only Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina were still in Republican hands. In the contested presidential election that year, Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes reached a compromise with Democrats in Congress: In exchange for certification of his election, he acknowledged Democratic control of the entire South. -
End of Civil War Reconstruction
The Compromise of 1876 marked the end of Reconstruction as a distinct period, but the struggle to deal with the revolution ushered in by slavery’s eradication would continue in the South and elsewhere long after that date. -
James Garfield
James Garfield was inaugurated as president of the United States. -
Labor Day
The first commemoration of Labor Day was held in New York City when 10,000 workers held a march. -
The Pedestal
In 1884, construction on the Statue of Liberty's pedestal began in the United States. -
Period: to
Statue of Liberty is Completed
After the Statue was presented to Levi P Morton, the U.S. minister to France, on July 4, 1884 in Paris, it was disassembled and shipped to the United States aboard the French Navy ship, Isère. The Statue arrived in New York Harbor on June 17, 1885, and was met with great fanfare. Unfortunately, the pedestal for the Statue was not yet complete and the entire structure was not reassembled on Bedloe's Island until 1886. -
Grover Cleveland
In the presidential election of 1884 Grover Cleveland, despite a paternity scandal, defeated James G. Blaine, whose gaffe about "rum, Romanism, and rebellion" probably cost him the presidency. Grover Cleveland was inaugurated as president of the United States in 1885 -
Marriage in the White House
President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom in the White House, thus becoming the only president to be married in the executive mansion. -
Blizzard
The Great Blizzard of 1888 struck the East Coast of the United States. -
Benjamin Harrison
November 6, 1888, President Grover Cleveland lost his bid for reelection to Benjamin Harrison. Benjamin Harrison took the oath of office as president and gave an uplifting inaugural address. -
AntiTrust Act
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act became law in the United States. One of the act’s main provisions outlawed all combinations that restrain trade between states or with foreign nations. This prohibition applied not only to formal cartels but also to any agreement to fix prices, limit industrial output, share markets, or exclude competition. A second key provision made illegal all attempts to monopolize any part of trade or commerce in the United States. -
Sitting Bull and Wounded Knee
December 15, 1890, Sitting Bull, legendary Sioux leader, died at the age of 59 in South Dakota. He was killed while being arrested in the federal government's crackdown on the Ghost Dance movement. December 29, 1890: The Wounded Knee Massacre took place in South Dakota when U.S. Cavalry troopers fired on Lakota Sioux who had gathered. The killing of hundreds of unarmed men, women, and children essentially marked the end of Native American resistance to white rule in the West. -
Lizzie Borden Took an Axe
Andrew Borden and his wife were murdered in Fall River, Massachusetts and his daughter Lizzie Borden was accused of the gruesome crime. -
Grover Cleveland Again
Grover Cleveland won the U.S. presidential election, becoming the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. -
Stock Market Crash
A decline in the New York stock market triggered the Panic of 1893, which led to an economic depression second only to the Great Depression of the 1930s. -
William McKinley
William McKinley was elected president of the United States, defeating William Jennings Bryan. -
USS Maine
The American battleship U.S.S. Maine exploded in the harbor at Havana, Cuba, a mysterious event that will lead to the United States going to war with Spain. -
Spanish/American War
April 25, 1898: The United States declared war on Spain.
May 1, 1898: At the Battle of Manila Bay, an American fleet in the Philippines defeated a Spanish naval force.
July 1, 1898: At the Battle of San Juan Hill, Col. Theodore Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" charged Spanish positions.
On August 7, America's invasion forces started to leave Cuba. The evacuation was not total. The U.S. Army kept the black Ninth US Cavalry Regiment in Cuba to support the occupation. -
Hawii
Hawaii had officially become a territory of the United States. -
Gold Standard
The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard. -
William McKinley Again
President William McKinley wins his second term as president, this time with Theodore Roosevelt in the second spot on the ticket, again defeating William J. Bryan by an Electoral Margin of 292 to 155. -
Assassination
President William H. McKinley is shot at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo -
Teddy Roosevelt
Vice President Theodore Roosevelt is inaugurated as President upon the death of William McKinley from gunshot wounds sustained the week earlier. -
Carnegie Institution
A ten million dollar gift from Andrew Carnegie leads to the formation of the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C. -
Cuba's Independence
The island of Cuba gains independence from the United States -
Panama Canal
With United States support after the Hay-Herran Treaty rejection by Columbia earlier in the year, Panama declares its independence from Columbia. The Panama government is recognized by President Theodore Roosevelt three days later and a canal treaty is signed on November 18, allowing the U.S. led construction of the canal. -
The Wright Brothers
Inventors Wilbur and Orville Wright succeed in the first sustained and manned plane flight -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition opens. -
Teddy Roosevelt Again
Theodore Roosevelt wins his first election for President after serving three years in the office due to the death of William McKinley. He defeats Democratic candidate Alton B. Parker. -
San Francisco Earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake occurs, estimated at 7.8 on the Richter scale. -
Antiquities Act
President Theodore Roosevelt grants protection to Indian ruins and authorizes presidents to designate lands with historic and scientific features as national monuments. September 24, 1906, they proclaimed Devils Tower a National Monument in Wyoming. -
Food and Drug Inspection Acts
The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act is passed -
Financial Crisis
Another financial crises occurs in the business community with the beginning of the Financial Panic and Depression of 1907. -
Oklahoma Becomes a State
The Oklahoma Territory and the Indian Territory are combined to form Oklahoma and are admitted into the Union as the 46th state. -
William Howard
William Howard Taft is elected President, over Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan, who had twice before been defeated for the office by William McKinley in 1896 and 1900. -
Standard Oil Monopoly
Standard Oil is declared an unreasonable monopoly by the United States Supreme Court and ordered dissolved under the powers of the Sherman Antitrust Act. -
16th Amendment
The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing the Federal government treasury to impose an income tax. The 17th Amendment would be passed on April 8, which set the policy for direct election of U.S. Senators. -
Panama Canal is Complete
The construction of the Panama Canal comes to a close when President Woodrow Wilson begins the explosion of the Gamboa Dike. -
Assembly Lines
The first moving assembly line is introduced and adopted for mass production by the Ford Motor Company, allowing automobile construction time to decrease by almost 10 hours per vehicle. -
US Isolationism
President Woodrow Wilson announces that the United States will stay officially neutral in the European conflict that would become World War I. World War I hostilities had begun on June 28 when the Archduke of Austria and his wife, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were killed by a Serb nationalist in Sarajevo. Hostilities would begin on July 28 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia for failing to meet conditions set after the assassinations. -
Telephones
Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Watson conduct the first telephone conversation between New York and San Francisco. -
The Lusitania
The British ship Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat submarine, causing 128 American passengers to be lost. Germany, although it warned of the pending crises to passengers, issued an apology to the United States and promised payments. -
Virgin Islands
The United States purchases the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million and would take possession of the islands on March 31 of the next year. -
Zimmerman Note
February 3, 1917 - The United States government cuts diplomatic ties with Germany. The Zimmermann Telegram is given to the United States by Britain on February 24, showing the offer by Germany to give Mexico back the southwest United States if they would declare war on the United States. -
Joining the Allies
Four days after receiving the request from President Woodrow Wilson, the United States Congress declares war on Germany and join the allies in World War I. -
Joining the War (physically)
The first troops from the United States arrive in Europe to assist European allies in World War I. Troops engaged in World War I would include conscript soldiers authorized by the passage of the Conscription Act, the Selective Services Act, on May 18, 1917. General John Pershing would be placed in command of the American Expeditionary Forces during the campaign. -
18th Amendment
The 18th Amendment, advocating prohibition of alcoholic beverages throughout the United States, is sent to the states for passage by the United States Congress. -
Troops in WWI
By the middle of 1918, the United States military forces had over one million troops in Europe fighting in World War I -
Spanish Flu Epidemic
The influenza epidemic Spanish flu spans the globe, killing over twenty million worldwide and five hundred and forty-eight thousand people in the United States. -
Time Zones
Time zones are officially established by an act of the United States Congress with daylight savings time to go into effect on March 31. -
Airmail
Airmail service is begun by the United States Post Office Department with regular service between New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. -
Armistice Day
Hostilities in World War I begin to end with the Austria-Hungary alliance for armistice with the allies on November 3. Armistice Day with Germany occurs when the Allies and the German nation sign an agreement in Compiegne, France. Woodrow Wilson would become the first U.S. President to travel to Europe while in office when he sails to attend the Paris Peace Conference on December 4. -
Period: to
Prohibition
With the state of Nevada becoming the 36th state to ratify the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibition becomes the law of the land. It would remain illegal to consume and sell alcoholic beverages in the United States until passage of the 21st Amendment, repealing the 18th, on December 5, 1933. -
Versailles Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending World War I. -
League of Nations
The League of Nations is established with the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles, ending the hostilities of the first World War. Nine days later the United States Senate votes against joining the League. -
19th Amendment
Women are given the right to vote when the 19th Amendment to the United States constitution grants universal women's suffrage. Also known as the Susan B. Anthony amendment, in recognition of her important campaign to win the right to vote. -
Peace in WWI Hostilities
July 2, 1921 - A Congressional resolution by both houses is signed by President Warren G. Harding, declaring peace in World War I hostilities with Germany, Austria, and Hungary. The treaties would be executed one month later. -
Five Power Disarmament Treaty
The Armaments Congress ends. It would lead to an agreement, the Five Power Disarmament Treaty, between the major world powers of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States, to limit naval construction, outlaw poison gas, restrict submarine attacks on merchant fleets and respect China's sovereignty. -
FBI
J. Edgar Hoover is appointed to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation. -
Indian Citizenship Act
All Indians are designated citizens by legislation passed in the U.S. Congress and signed by President Calvin Coolidge. The Indian Citizenship Act granted this right to all Native Americans that had been born within the territory of the United States. -
Air Commerce Act
Air Commerce Act is passed, providing aid and assistance to the airline industry, plus federal oversight under the Department of Commerce for civil air safety. -
Civil War in China
The civil war in China prompts one thousand United States marines to land in order to protect property of United States interests. -
Mount Rushmore
Work on Mount Rushmore begins. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum would complete the task of chiseling the busts of four presidents; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, fourteen years later. -
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly over the Atlantic Ocean. -
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover wins election as President of the United States with an Electoral College victory, 444 to 87 over Democratic candidate Alfred E. Smith, the Catholic governor of New York. -
Boulder Dam
The United States Congress approves the construction of Boulder, later named Hoover Dam. -
St. Valentine's Day Massacre
In Chicago, Illinois, gangsters working for Al Capone kill seven rivals and citizens in the act known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. -
Stock Market Crash of 1929
Postwar prosperity ends in the 1929 Stock Market crash. The plummeting stock prices led to losses between 1929 and 1931 of an estimated $50 billion -
Pluto
American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers the planet Pluto at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. -
London Naval Reduction treaty
The London Naval Reduction Treaty is signed into law by the United States, Great Britain, Italy, France, and Japan, to take effect on January 1, 1931. It would expire on December 31, 1936. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act is signed by President Herbert Hoover. Its effective rate hikes would slash world trade. -
Depression
In order to combat the growing depression, President Herbert Hoover asks the U.S. Congress to pass a $150 million public works project to increase employment and economic activity. On the New York City docks, out of work men wait for food and jobs during the Great Depression, an outcome of the Stock Market crash of 1929 after the prosperous decade of the 1920's. -
National Anthem
The Star-Spangled Banner, by Francis Scott Key, is approved by President Hoover and Congress as the national anthem. The lyrics of the anthem were inspired during the bombing of Fort McHenry by British ships at the head of Baltimore harbor in September of 1814.
MORE -
FDR
Democratic challenger Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats President Hoover in the presidential election for his first of an unprecedented four terms. -
Period: to
New Deal
The New Deal social and economic programs are passed by the United States Congress in a special one hundred day session to address depression era economics. The gold standard was dropped on April 19 and ratified during the time of this session on June 5. Canada also drops using the gold standard -
CCC
The Civilian Conservation Corps is authorized under the Federal Unemployment Relief Act. It would provide work for two and one-half million men during the succeeding nine years and help construct many national park and other projects across the United States. -
Dust Bowl
In South Dakota, a strong dust storm strips topsoil from depression era farms. It was one in a series of such storms to plague the Midwest during 1933 and 1934. -
Securities Exchange Act
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is established with the signing of the Securities Exchange Act into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. -
Renouncing Treaties
The United States pulls its troops from Haiti. December 29, 1934 - Japan renounces the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. -
Social Security
The Social Security Act is passed by Congress as part of the New Deal legislation and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It would begin payouts to retirees within two years. Workers began contributing into the system during the same year, at a rate of 2% of the first $3,000 in earnings, half paid by the employee and half paid by the employer. -
FDR's Second Term
Franklin D. Roosevelt beat his Republican challenger, Alfred Landon, for a second presidential term. -
Minimum Wage
The National Minimum Wage is signed into law within the federal legislation known as the Fair Labor Standards Act. It established a minimum wage of $0.25 at the time, as well as time and one half for overtime and the prohibition of most employment for minors. -
A-Bomb
Albert Einstein alerts Franklin D. Roosevelt to an A-bomb opportunity, which led to the creation of the Manhattan Project. Einstein had arrived as a fugitive from Nazi Germany six years earlier on October 17, 1933. -
Neutrality in WWII
The United States declares its neutrality in the European war after Germany invaded Poland, effectively beginning World War II after a year of European attempts to appease Hitler and the aims of expansionist Nazi Germany. -
Supplying Great Britain
The United States government approves a sale of surplus war material to Great Britain. -
Naval Expansion
On the same day Paris fell to the German army and Auschwitz received its first Polish prisoners, the Naval Expansion Act is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, increasing the capacity of the U.S. Navy by 11%. Four days earlier, Roosevelt had condemned the actions of Italy's declaration of war against France and the United Kingdom. -
FDR's Third Term
President Franklin D. Roosevelt continues his dominance of presidential politics with a victory over Republican candidate Wendell Wilkie, winning his third presidential election. Roosevelt becomes the first man to hold office for three terms. -
Iceland
The United States occupies Iceland, taking over its defense from Great Britain and attempting to thwart a potential invasion by Nazi Germany. -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, commences at 7:55 a.m. when Japanese fighter planes launch a surprise attack on United States soil, destroying the U.S. Pacific Fleet docked at the base. -
Entering WWII
One day later, the United States of America declares war on Japan, officially entering World War II. On December 11, 1941, the United States declares war on Germany and Italy, responding to their declaration of war against America. -
Japanese Internment Camps
Executive order 9066 is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, confining 110,000 Japanese Americans, including 75,000 citizens, on the West Coast into relocation camps during World War II. The remains of the first of these detention camps resides in California's Manzanar National Historic Site. These camps would last for three years. -
Midway
The Battle of the Midway is fought at Midway Islands in the Pacific with the Japanese fleet encountering its first major defeat of the war against the United States military. As the Battle of Midway comes to an end on June 7, Japan invades the Aleutian Islands, the first invasion of American soil in 128 years. -
Solomon Islands
The United States Marines land on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in the first American offensive of World War II. A naval battle would commence on November 12 for three days with the U.S. Navy able to retain control despite heavy losses -
North Africa
North Africa is invaded by the United States and Great Britain. -
Battle for Kasserine Pass
The United States encounters its first major defeat in the European theater of World War II at the Battle for Kasserine Pass in Tunisia. -
Allied invasion into Axis-controlled Europe
The United States Army's 45th Infantry Division lands on the island of Sicily, starting the campaign of Allied invasion into Axis-controlled Europe. Nine days later, Rome is bombed by Allied forces. The conquest of Sicily would be completed on August 17 when U.S. forces under General Patton and British forces under Field Marshall Montgomery arrive. -
Operation Overlord
The Tehran Conference is held for three days, concluding in an agreement between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Josef Stalin about a planned June 1944 invasion of Europe with the code name Operation Overlord. -
D-Day
The Normandy Invasion, D-Day, occurs when one hundred and fifty-five thousand Allied troops, including American forces and those of eleven other Allied nations land in France. Allied soldiers stormed the beaches of France to begin the World War II invasion of Europe that would lead to the liberation of Paris. Operation Overlord gained footing quickly, pushing through the Atlantic Wall in the largest amphibious military operation in history. -
The G.I. Bill of Rights
The G.I. Bill of Rights is signed into law, providing benefits to veterans. -
Port Chicago Naval Weapons Station in California
The greatest continental U.S. tragedy of World War II occurs when two ships loading ammunition at Port Chicago Naval Weapons Station in California explodes. The accident killed three hundred and twenty people. -
Guam
The United States military begins to retake the island of Guam after Japanese troops had occupied the island during World War II. The battle would end on August 10. -
FDR's Fourth Term
The last campaign speech of Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeking his fourth term in office, is broadcast from his Hyde Park, New York home. One day later, Roosevelt would gain that fourth term by a significant, but smaller margin than any of his previous elections. -
Yalta Conference
President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and Premier Josef Stalin hold the Yalta Conference in the Soviet Union. -
Iwo Jima
Thirty thousand United States Marines land on Iwo Jima. On April 1, American troops invade Okinawa, beginning the Battle of Okinawa, which would continue until June 21. -
Remagen, Germany
American troops cross the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany. Two weeks later, on March 18, twelve hundred and fifty U.S. bombers attack Berlin, causing Adolf Hitler to announce the destruction of his own industries and military installations one day later. -
Death of FDR
President Roosevelt dies tragically; Vice President Harry S. Truman assumes the presidency and role as commander in chief of World War II. -
Surrender of Germany at Reims, France
The unconditional surrender of Germany at Reims, France concludes the military engagements of World War II in Europe. It is accepted by General Dwight D. Eisenhower in his role as the commander of Allied troops in the European theater of the war. -
Japan surrenders
President Harry S. Truman gives the go-ahead for the use of the atomic bomb with the bombing of Hiroshima. Three days later, the second bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. On August 15, Emperor Hirohito of Japan surrenders.
