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Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion took place on Virginia's western frontier in 1676. Many of the frontiersmen were once indentured servants, so they suspected that the elites were using them as human shields from the Natives because they were encroaching on their land. They rallied behind Nathaniel Bacon, who asked for control over the militia to attack the tribes but was rejected. Bacon led the attack on the tribes anyway and even went so far as to burn Jamestown down. -
Salem Witch Trials
A legendary and haunting event during the Puritan era, even reimagined as "The Crucible" by modern playwright Arthur Miller, the Salem Witch Trials were a series of trials of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. Once accused, one could not escape death unless they accept the accusation or shift the blame onto someone else. More than 200 people were accused between February 1692 and May 1693, and of the 30 who were found guilty, 19 were hanged. -
Slavery in the Chesapeake
In the Chesapeake, slaves were closely supervised by slaveholders. In South Carolina, they were subjected to different work objectives where after completion of duties they could do their regular business, such as growing tobacco on their own little farms. Slavery in Chesapeake enforced laws that defined slavery as a lifelong and inheritable condition based on race. This made slaves profitable because planters would be able to not only rely on their labor but also on their children. -
Stono Uprising
The Stono Uprising (aka the Cato Rebellion) was the first and one of the most successful slave rebellions. In September 1739, ~20 slaves met near the Stono River outside Charleston, South Carolina, and stole weapons to kill storekeepers and planters while freeing their slaves to join them. They tried to get to Florida hoping for freedom, but the militia caught up to them. Due to this, more slave laws were passed, and New York even had a "witch hunt" period for slave-freeing conspiracists. -
Seven Years' War Begins
The Seven Years' War was the first global war also fought at sea that began with a conflict between France and Great Britain for North American land. The British ended up winning mainly due to its sheer number of troops compared to the French. As a result, the British ended up gaining a lot of North American territory. This war was important to American history because the British taxed the American colonists to recover from the war's expenses, which eventually led to the American Revolution. -
The Treaty of Paris of 1763
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France and its respective allies. The French agreed to give up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. The British received Quebec and the Ohio Valley. The port of New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi was ceded to Spain for their efforts as a British ally. -
Proclamation of 1763
After the French and Indian War, the British Empire began to tighten control on its colonies. In response to Pontiac's Rebellion (led by Ottawa chief Pontiac), King George III declared that the land west of the Appalachian Mountains would be off-limits to the settlers. This was the first measure to affect all thirteen colonies, in an effort to prevent conflicts between the Indians and the settlers. The colonies resented the British for taking away their control of the west. -
Stamp Act
To clear debt from the war, the British first passed the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act (first proposed by George Grenville), which was the first direct tax put on the colonists. It required a taxed stamp on all printed and legal products. Opposition of the act increased as the implementation date drew near. Resolutions written by Patrick Henry denying Parliament's right to tax them spread like wildfire. Inspired by these ideologies, the Stamp Act Congress formed to write petitions. -
Improvement to the Steam Engine
In 1769, James Watt patented his improvements to the steam engine. While repairing a model Newcomen steam engine in 1764, he noticed that it wasted a large amount of steam. He deduced that the waste came from the steam engine's single-cylinder design, so he added a separate condenser in his improvement to the design. This increased the efficiency of the steam engine, a critical part of America's future scene of industrialization. -
Boston Massacre
Tensions were high in Boston in early 1770. The British had sent soldiers to the colonies to patrol the city and enforce laws such as the Stamp and Townshend Acts, leading to an increase in skirmishes. The patriots ganged up on a lone soldier guarding the Customs House, who called for reinforcements. Chaos broke out after a soldier fired. 5 colonists were killed, and propaganda was spread throughout the colonies with a disturbing illustration of the scene, instilling fear in the colonists. -
Boston Tea Party
The Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, dressed up as Indians and dumped 342 chests of tea from the British East India Company into the Harbor. The patriots were frustrated at the British for imposing "taxation without representation". This was the first act of major defiance of British rule from the colonists. In response to this political protest, the British taxed the colonists once again to get the money they lost from the tea. -
Coercive (Intolerable) Acts
To punish the Massachusetts Bay colony for the Boston Tea Party, the British parliament passed four measures known collectively as the Coercive Acts that were 1) the Boston Port Act, which authorized the Royal Navy to blockade the port. 2) the Massachusetts Government Act, which imperiled representative government in the colonies. 3) the Act for the Impartial Administration of Justice, which made it harder to have fair trials. 4) the Quartering Act, which required colonists to house redcoats. -
Battles of Lexington & Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord kicked off the Revolutionary War. At dawn on April 19, 700 redcoats arrived in Lexington and faced the 77 militiamen there. "A shot heard 'round the world" was fired, and many militiamen were injured despite fleeing right away. The British continued to Concord to search for arms, and 2,000 militiamen started firing at them from all directions. The British were pushed back to Lexington but the militia pursued even after more redcoat reinforcements came. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the First Continental Congress on July 5, 1775, to be sent to the British king as a final attempt to prevent formal war from being declared. The petition emphasized their loyalty to the British Crown while emphasizing their rights as British citizens. Unfortunately, King George III formally rejected the petition, because it was an illegal document created by an illegal congress, and then declared the colonies in rebellion. -
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
In this pamphlet, Thomas Paine not only advocated colonial independence but also argued for the benefits of republicanism over monarchy. Written in vernacular, and coupled with the high literacy rates due to the Puritan legacy of teaching children to read the Bible, this propaganda masterpiece spread like wildfire in the colonies and gave much newfound hope to those who were worried about fighting against the mother country. -
Declaration of Independence
The United States Declaration of Independence was the first formal statement by a nation's first people asserting their right to choose their own government. Jefferson was appointed to write the declaration, and the members of the Second Continental Congress signed it after some revision. The declaration stated the ideas of the First Great Awakening (such as natural rights) and laments how they were oppressed by the British. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was a major turning point in the American Revolutionary War. In the Battle of Freeman's Farm (the first battle of Saratoga), the two sides fought each other fiercely but neither side gained significant ground. However, the redcoats suffered twice the number of casualties. Burgoyne decided to stay put while Gates' American troops grew in numbers, surrounding Burgoyne while he was trying to retreat a couple of days later, and eventually won the battle. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation established the United States as a sovereign nation as well as established a national government. The document created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments. As time passed, the weaknesses of the Articles became apparent as Congress commanded little respect and could not raise funds, regulate trade, or conduct foreign policy without voluntary agreement from the states. -
Siege of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown and took place in Yorktown, Virginia, and was the last battle of the American Revolution. With the positive outcome of the Battle of Saratoga, Ben Franklin was able to convince the French to ally with them against the British. The small American force left in New York did a damaging week-long artillery assault on the redcoats, and Cornwallis' reinforcement was delayed. The French navy and the American troops surrounded Cornwallis', and Cornwallis surrendered his sword. -
The Treaty of Paris of 1783
The Treaty of Paris of 1783 officially ended the American Revolutionary War. It was signed between the American colonies and Great Britain, recognizing the United States as an independent nation. The treaty secured fishing rights to the Grand Banks and other waters off the British-Canadian coastline for American boats, opened up the Mississippi River to both countries, and resolved the American debts owed to British creditors. It was signed on September 3, 1783, and effective on May 12, 1784. -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from May 14 to September 17, 1787. It was officially called to revise the Articles of Confederation due to the many weaknesses it had. However, the delegates at the meeting decided to completely scrap the Articles of Confederation, rewriting a new governing document, the United States Constitution, which is the first written constitution for any nation in the history of the world. -
Washington's Presidency
Washington was unanimously chosen by the Electoral College to be the first president. He set important precedents such as the inaugural and farewell addresses, and the limit of serving only two terms. He established the first presidential cabinet and created a leveled court system with the Federal Judiciary Act of 1789. He kept America out of trouble by refusing to take part in the French Revolution, took care of the Whiskey Rebellion (1794) peacefully, and signed Pinckney's Treaty (1795). -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
In 1794, American-born inventor Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, a machine that separated the sticky seeds from the fibers in the cotton plant, which was easy to grow but hard to process, as it was done by hand. The machine revolutionized the production of cotton, and by the mid-19th century, cotton had become America's leading export. This made the United States, especially the southern states, richer than ever. Unfortunately, slavery increased again as the machines were hand-operated. -
Adam's Presidency
The Electoral College selected John Adams, a Federalist, as Washington's successor. Adams was argumentative and elitist, and his presidency was bound to be anti-climactic compared to Washington's. His biggest achievement, perhaps, is avoiding an all-out war with France during the XYZ Affair. The Alien and Sedition Acts were the bane of his presidency, as they allowed the government to forcibly expel foreigners and jail writers for "scandalous and malicious writing". -
Jefferson's Presidency
Jefferson won the 1800 election, representing the Democratic-Republican Party. During his presidency, he purchased the Louisiana Territory after much mental warfare and sent Lewis and Clark on an expedition there. He also, in a fit of rage, passes the Embargo Act of 1807 to impose a ban on all foreign trade after both Britain and France tried to force him to not trade with the other. This singlehandedly destroyed the American economy and forced development in domestic businesses. -
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
After Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams in the 1800 election, Adams attempted to fill all federal courts with loyal federalists. Madison, Jefferson's Vice President, finds Adam's letter granting Marbury a federal judgeship, but Jefferson tells him not to deliver it. Marbury then sues Madison but loses. This case established the principle of judicial review in the United States, meaning that American courts now have the power to strike down laws they find unconstitutional. -
Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson purchases the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon for $15 million, which doubled the size of the nation and secured New Orleans and the Mississippi River. He also sent Lewis and Clark on an expedition to the new land for them to map it, bring back samples, find a route to the Pacific Ocean as it was blocked off by the Rocky Mountains, and kick off trading relationships with the Native Americans by giving them little trinkets. -
The Battle of New Orleans
At the time of Madison's presidency, the War of 1812 was at its peak. The British were committing acts of terrorism in the United States and even trained Natives to attack them. The Battle of New Orleans helped push Jackson into the limelight, as he led a small motley of soldiers using creative strategies to take down a large number of British soldiers. This was a flashy victory for the Americans, even though this occurred after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent at the Hartford Convention. -
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Congress allowed the Second Bank of the United States decided to establish branches in different states. Maryland challenged the national bank and said that if they were to establish a branch there, the state had the right to tax them. A cashier in the Baltimore branch refused to pay the tax, so the state of Maryland sued him. The verdict, written by Marshall, stated that states had no power or control over the operations of the constitutional laws enacted by Congress. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine is the best-known policy towards the Western Hemisphere. Delivered by President James Monroe in December 1823, the doctrine warns European nations that the United States would not tolerate further colonization or puppet monarchs. Points included that the the United States and Great Britain wouldn't interfere with each other, and that the United States would be recognized. This laid the groundwork for U.S. expansionist and interventionist practices in the decades to come. -
Corrupt Bargain of 1824
During the election of 1824, four candidates ran, most notably Jackson and John Quincy Adams. No candidate had received the majority number of votes, so the vote was given to the House of Representatives. Clay, the Speaker of the House, drops out of the race. However, Adams and Clay are seen meeting each other privately, and shortly after Clay helps Adams win the election while Adams appoints Clay as the Secretary of State. The citizens are enraged because Jackson had the most popular votes. -
Indian Removal Act of 1830
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 is one of Jackson's most criticized policies by modern scholars. Jackson saw the Natives' presence as an obstacle to American development. This act authorized the president to grant lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. Many tribes refused to comply, so Jackson sent troops to force them to move west, resulting in the long, casualty-filled journey called the Trail of Tears. -
Texan Independence
Houston's army won a quick battle against Mexican forces at San Jacinto and gained independence for Texas. In an effort to avoid some states from seceding from the United States. Texas became annexed by the US in 1845 and was admitted to the union as the 28th state. Texas gave up land for $10 million in order to pay off previous debt. Texas entered the Union as a slave state broadening the irrepressible differences in the US over the issue of slavery. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
The Dred Scott case, also known as Dred Scott v. Sandford, was a decade-long fight for freedom by a Black enslaved man named Dred Scott. Dred Scott sued with his wife as they believed that they were in a place that gave them freedom. However, Chief Justice Roger Taney, and with the court for a 7-2 majority, ruled against Scott. This was an impactful case the public was very affected by this and it basically brought back slavery in a territory where it was already abolished. -
Mexican-American War
This was a war for the land where Mexico was fighting to keep its land and where the US desired to retain the disputed land of Texas and obtain more of Mexico's northern lands. It helped fulfill the manifest destiny to expand its territory across the entire North American continent. The US received the disputed Texan territory, as well as New Mexico Territory and California. This westward expansion led to increasingly divided debates over slavery in the new territories. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was one between the North and South. Sectional disagreements related to slavery were straining the bonds of the Union. As a part of the compromise, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington DC was abolished. California entered the Union as a free state. Allowed the addition of some free states and some slave states. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas describes the period of back-and-forth violent confrontations between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery people of America. "Border ruffians" would lay siege, Kansas was filled with fraudulent votes, and Charles Sumner was almost clubbed to death in public by southern Senator Preston Brookes. Most notoriously of all was John Brown, a minister who believed he was chosen by God to end slavery and committed various acts of violence, which included the Pottawatomie Massacre. -
Lincoln's Ten-Percent Plan
The Ten-Percent Plan required that 10% of the voters in the 1860 election swear an oath of allegiance to the Union and accept emancipation through the Thirteenth Amendment. The former confederates would then reorganize their state government and reapply for admission into the Union. However, Congress and most Republicans believed that the plan was too lenient on the Confederacy, which is what they viewed as a government they have conquered. As a result, they passed the Wade-Davis Bill. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter marked the beginning of the Civil War. Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolinas Charleston Harbor. Less than two days later, the Union surrendered, but none were killed. This prompted four states to join the Confederacy, one of which was Virginia, and its capital, Richmond, was named the capital of the Confederacy. After gaining control of the harbor, the Confederates fired coastal guns to provoke the Union to assemble an army. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act of 1862 was passed by Lincoln to increase productivity in the West. There was an influx of immigrants at the time, which caused overcrowding, poverty, crime, and disease. The act gave away 160 acres of Western land to anyone who wanted it, regardless of race or gender. In order to prevent the rich from unnecessarily getting wealthier with free land, it was required that the settlers had to live on the land, farm it for 5 years, and improve the area in general. -
Pacific Railway Act of 1862
The Pacific Railway Act of 1862 was another act by Lincoln, and it was the first public works program the United States has ever taken on. Two companies were chosen to complete the tracks, the Union Pacific (the Irish) and the Central Pacific (the Chinese), each working from different directions. The companies were paid per mile of the track depending on difficulty, and the land was added for every 10 miles completed. A contract was set to finish the project by 1875 (13 years). -
Morrill Land-Grant Acts of 1862
The Morrill Land-Grant Acts were first proposed by Morrill, who was serving in the House of Representatives and signed by Lincoln in 1862. The bill would set aside federal lands and funds to create colleges that would benefit "the agricultural and mechanical arts". This made it possible for state schools, especially in the west, to be established. Before this, only the Ivy League schools in the New England region were established, making it inaccessible to many people. -
The Battle of Vicksburg
The Battle of Vicksburg was a decisive Union victory during the American Civil War that divided the Confederacy and cemented the reputation of Union General Ulysses S. Grant. The Union forces waged a campaign to take control of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The 47-day Siege of Vicksburg eventually gave control of the Mississippi River (a critical supply line) to the Union and was part of the Union’s successful Anaconda Plan to cut off all trade to the Confederacy. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln issued this document as the country was nearing the third year of the Civil War. This proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." Points stated in the document included the promise that the federal government would "recognize and maintain the freedom" of the freed slaves and that African-American men could enlist in the Union army and navy. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg is considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War. After a great victory over Union forces at Chancellorsville, Lee and his forces were charged with high morale. Gettysburg ended Confederate general Robert E. Lee's ambitious second quest to invade the North and bring the Civil War to a swift end. While both sides lost around the same number of men, the Confederates lost what was a third of their army, rendering them very weak in numbers. -
14th Amendment
As the first component of the Congressional Reconstruction Plan drawn up by the radicals, it stated that 1) if you are born in the U.S., you are automatically a citizen of the U.S. and state you are born in; 2) states cannot deny any citizen their natural rights or "equal protection of the law"; 3) states have the choice to either give freedmen the right to vote or stop counting them among their voting population; 4) barred Confederates from holding office; 5) excused the Confederacy's war debt. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment was proposed in 1869, which finally required states to enfranchise black men. This happened when Ulysses S. Grant was in office. In fact, Grant won the election mainly due to black votes. One of the reasons the republicans created this amendment was because they hoped that their party would flourish with the black votes. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
The Battle of Little Bighorn, also called Custer's Last Stand, was the most decisive Native American Victory and the worst defeat of the Americans in the Plain Indian War. This was between the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians and Lieutenant Custer, who was dispatched after a number of tribes missed a federal deadline to move to reservations. Custer was unaware about the large number of warriors under the command of Sitting Bull, and they were quickly overwhelmed and killed. -
Compromise of 1877
The Compromise of 1877 was an informal, unwritten deal that settled the dispute 1876 U.S Presidential election. Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded by the White House on the understanding that he would remove the federal troops from South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. This brought an end to the Reconstruction era and gave new power to northern Republicans while encouraging southern states to support Hayes. -
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act of 1887 authorized the President to divide the Indian reservation land and offer it to white settlers. It was like the Homestead Act, but for Native Americans, but for every settlement they took, it would be taken from the reservation land, making them traitors of their tribes. Many whites believed that this was a generous act from the government, and believed that they were helping them assimilate. Some women even took action and were considered the most radical at the time. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
On December 29, 1890, the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry surrounded a band of Ghost Dancers under BigFoot, a Lakota Sioux chief, near Wounded Knee Creek and demanded they surrender the weapons they had been waving around. A conflict ensued and a shot was fired (not known from which side) and a brutal massacre occurred, killing at least 150 Indians, with nearly half of them being women and children. This marked the definitive end of Indian resistance to the encroachments of white settlers. -
Pullman Strike
The Pullman Strike is the most famous and far-reaching labor conflict during the severe economic depression and social unrest. Workers for the Pullman Palace Car Company already had low wages as well as high rents in the company town of Pullman, Illinois. -
Spanish-American War
On April 25, 1898 the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. This ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in the U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America.
A peace treaty was signed in Dec., 1898, which established the independence of Cuba, ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States, and allowed the purchase the Philippines Islands for $20 million from Spain. -
Theodore Roosevelt became President
With the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest President in the Nation’s history. He led the United States towards progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy. As President, Roosevelt held the ideal that the Government should be the great arbiter of the conflicting economic forces in the Nation, especially between capital and labor, guaranteeing justice to each and dispensing favors to none. -
The Wright Brothers
The Wright brothers, born in Dayton, Ohio, were interested in flying from a young age. In 1903, the brothers built an airplane called the Wright Flyer I, which featured a gasoline engine and wooden propellers the men had designed and carved themselves. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts, the craft—with extra fabric incorporated to increase the stiffness of the wings—took flight for 12 seconds on December 17, 1903, traveling 120 feet before landing. -
U.S. Presidential Election of 1908
American presidential election was held on November 3, 1908, in which Republican William Howard Taft defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan. William Howard Taft was elected president; James S. Sherman was vice president. William Jennings Bryan loses for the third and final time. William Howard Taft (1857-1930) was 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and 10th chief justice of the United States (1921–1930). -
17th Amendment
The rise of the People's (Populist) Party added motivation for making the Senate more directly accountable to the people. The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution established the direct election of United States senators in each state. The amendment was proposed by Congress in 1912 and became ratified in April 1913 by 3/4 votes in favor of state legislatures. It was designed to enhance the authority of the central government and expand the size and power of a federal bureaucracy. -
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World War I
World War I, also known as the Great War, began in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. During the crisis that followed, Europe's leaders made a series of political, diplomatic and military decisions that would turn a localized conflict in south-east Europe into a global war. By the fall of 1918, it became clear the Allies were going to win the war. Bulgaria was the first to surrender, followed by Turkey, Austria-Hungary signed armistice. -
19th Amendment
Women demanded political equality, forming the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). It became the largest woman suffrage organization in the country and led much of the struggle for the vote through 1920, when the 19th Amendment was ratified. The 19th amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation and protest. -
Immigration Act
On May 26, 1924, the U.S. government enacted the eugenics-inspired Immigration Act of 1924. Designed to limit all immigration to the U.S., the act was particularly restrictive for Eastern and Southern Europeans and Asians. The act limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota, which provided immigration visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census. -
Stock Market Crash
The Wall Street Stock Market Crash abruptly ended the Roaring 20s, beginning the Great Depression after the economic bubble burst due to the previous long period of speculation in which people invested their savings or borrowed money to buy stocks, plummeting prices to unsustainable levels. Between September 1 and November 30, 1929, the stock market lost over one-half its value, dropping from $64 billion to approximately $30 billion. -
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FDR's Presidency
Franklin Roosevelt became the first Democrat in 80 years to win the presidency by a majority vote, rather than a plurality. House Democrats gained 97 seats for a nearly three-to-one margin over the Republicans. Roosevelt emphasized working collectively through an expanded federal government to confront the economic crisis. During the campaign, Roosevelt ran on many of the programs that would later become part of the New Deal during his presidency. -
Social Security Act
The Social Security Act was signed into law by President Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. In addition to several provisions for general welfare, the new act created a social insurance program designed to pay retired workers aged 65 or older a continuing income after retirement. Two measures: 1) provide immediate assistance to destitute aged individuals. 2) reduce the extent of future dependency among the aged and assure workers that their years of employment entitled them to a life income. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Since early 1941 the U.S. had been supplying Great Britain in its fight against the Nazis. It had also been pressuring Japan to halt its military expansion in Asia and the Pacific. Japan intended to prevent the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with its planned military actions in Southeast Asia. -
Brown v. Board of Education
After Oliver Brown’s daughter, was denied entrance to Topeka's all-white elementary schools, he filed a class-action suit against the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, in 1951. In this milestone decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional, which signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools in the U.S.. The Supreme Court issued a 9–0 decision in favor of the plaintiffs. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
There had been continued physical assaults against suspected activists and bombings of schools and churches in the South. Partly in an effort to defuse calls for more far-reaching reforms, President Eisenhower proposed a civil rights bill that would increase the protection of African American voting rights. This established the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department and a federal Civil Rights Commission with the authority to investigate discriminatory conditions and cases. -
Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA)
