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Seneca Falls Convention starts
From the 19th to the 20th of July 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention was held in the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York. -
Homestead Act of 1862
It allowed any American, including freed slaves, to claim 160 acres of free land. This was an especially important for westward expansion, as it drove many in that direction. -
Last Spike Ceremony is held
After six years of work, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads met Promontory Point, Utah, marking the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. -
Enforcement Act of 1870
The Enforcement Act of 1870 (along with the two others Acts from 1871) were made in an attempt to restrict the KKK. They largely failed, however, as local law enforcement did little to actually enforce the acts. -
The 15th Amendment is ratified
The Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution is ratified. It prevents the government from denying people voting rights based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." However, it did not allow women to vote, which angered many. -
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today is published
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, a book written by Mark Twain and co-authored by Charles Dudley Warner was published on this day. The term gilded means to cover something thinly with gold. This ties nicely into the works satire on greed, and succinctly represents the era whose name it would coin. -
Battle of Little Big Horn
The Battle of Little Big Horn, also know as Custer's Last Stand, was a battle between the US Army and various Native American tribes. Prior to the battle, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer had tried to make the Natives move to a reservation, which they refused to do. Custer and his men were heavily outnumbered, and they were all killed. -
Wild Bill Hickok is killed
On August 1st of 1976, folk hero Bill Hickok was playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood when Jack McCall came up behind him and shot him in the back of the head. It has been said that he was holding a two-pair of black aces and black eights at the time of his death: this particular combination is now know at the dead man's hand. -
Jesse James is killed
Jesse James was the leader of the James-Young Gang, and the brother of Frank James. He had just eaten breakfast with new gang recruit Robert Ford, and as they conversed in the living room, he noticed that a painting was crooked. As he stood to adjust it, Ford shot him from behind and killed him. -
Brooklyn Bridge opened for use
The Brooklyn Bridge is a roughly-6,000 foot bridge spanning the East River in New York City. It was designed by John Augustus Roebling, who died before construction was completed. It was seen as one of the brightest examples of American ingenuity. -
Supreme Court Refuses to Ban ‘Private’ Discrimination
Five different cases, in which African Americans sued public places for refusing them service, are judged in the Supreme Court. They lost the case in an 8-1 decision. The reasoning was that the 14th Amendment didn’t give Congress power to regulate private acts such as these. -
Dawes Act is implemented
Henry Dawes, an American congressman, introduced the Dawes Act in an attempt to assimilate Native Americans. It was largely unsuccessful. -
How the Other Half Lives is published
In the late 1800s, living conditions in New York tenements were very poor. Photographer Jacob Riis documented these conditions and published them in a book titled How the Other Half Lives, with the intent to expose the lower-class problems to the higher-class members of society. The book was a success, and spurred wide-scale reform. -
Ellis Island opens as an immigration island
Ellis Island was the biggest immigration station in America from 1892 to 1954. Within that timeframe, about 12 million immigrants were processed. Today, it exists as a national monument. -
The Plessy v Ferguson decision is reached
Homer Plessy, a man who was one-eighth black, decided to test the limits of Louisiana's Separate Car Act of 1890 and sat in the whites-only car. He was charged, and the case eventually made it to the Supreme Court. The final decision was 7-1 against him. -
The USS Maine sinks
After being deployed to Havana harbor, the USS Maine explodes and sinks, killing 268 men. The explosion was believed to have come from an external source, with many pointing their fingers at Spain. This is seen as the event that sparked the war. -
President McKinley authorizes military force to help Cuba
After years of local uprising against the Spanish government, Americans sympathized with the Cubans wanting of freedom. Buckling under the force of popular opinion, McKinley signed a joint Congressional resolution to authorize military force to support Cuba. War was declared the next day. -
Battle of San Juan Hill
Theodore Roosevelt lead the Rough Riders to victory in a literal uphill battle. Although the Americans suffered many loses, they still came out on top. This was one of the events that led to Theodore Roosevelt being viewed as a war hero. -
Hawaii is annexed
In 1893, Queen Liliuokalani, who ruled Hawaii at the time, was overthrown and a new government was established. The new government wanted annexation by the United States, but was refused. President McKinley, however, made it happen. -
Theodore Roosevelt becomes President of the United States of America for the first time
Prior to his presidencies, Theodore Roosevelt led the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War and was seen as a hero. He was later the Vice President of William McKinley. After McKinley was assassinated, Roosevelt took over as President. -
Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty
The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty was signed on this day. This agreement gave the U.S. canal access the Isthmus of Panama and gave Panama financial support and protection. -
The Jungle is published
After spending several weeks working incognito in Chicago meatpacking plants, journalist Upton Sinclair wrote the Jungle to expose the unnerving practices he observed to the general public. Originally published in 1905 in a Socialist newspaper, the book was later published by Doubleday in 1906. The impact was noticeable: the book was partially responsible for the passage of both the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. -
The Woman Suffrage Party is founded
The Convention of Disfranchised Women took place at Carnegie Hall on October 29, 1909. There, Interurban Suffrage Council leader Carrie Chapman Catt. The conference wanted Catt to lead a new political party. It was originally called the Woman's Party before being changed to the Woman Suffrage Party. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated
During a visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, a grenade was thrown at the car Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It missed and injured several civilians. After visiting the injured in the hospital, his car took a wrong turn onto the street where assassin Gavrilo Princip stood. Princip proceeded to shoot both Franz and his wife dead. This is widely known as the event that started World War I, as it led Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. -
The Panama Canal opens
In the 1880s, a French construction team attempted to build a canal through Panama. The United States took over the project in 1904, and after ten years of work, the Canal opened on August 15, 1914. -
Treaty of Sèvres is signed
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The 19th Amendment is signed into law
The Woman's Suffrage movement came to a head with the signing of the 19th Amendment. The Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, was signed into law by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby. -
First radio broadcast of the World Series is aired
The first radio broadcast of baseball's World Series was aired on this day. The game was between the National League Champs New York Giants and the American League Champs New York Yankees, with the Yankees taking the win. It was broadcast on only 3 radio stations. -
The Great Gatsby is published
F. Scott Fitzgerald published the Great Gatsby. Initially, it was unsuccessful, and Fitzgerald died believing himself to be a failure. However, it later experienced a resurgance, and is currently considered to be one of the greatest American novels of all time. -
Steamboat Willie premieres
Steamboat Willie is black-and-white cartoon considered to be the debut of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. It premiered at Universal's Colony Theater in New York City, as received very good reception. The success of the film led to the international fame of both Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act is signed
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act raised U.S. tariffs on foreign agricultural imports. Many say that this is the event that spurred the Great Depression. -
The Bank of the United States failed
The Bank of the United States, the fourth-largest bank in the U.S. at the time, failed. This showcases the effects of a failing economy. -
Emergency Banking Act
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Emergency Banking Act into office on this day. This was done in response to the Great Depression, and declared a national 8-day work holiday for banks. -
The Gold Reserve Act
The Gold Reserve Act was signed. This act prohibited the private ownership of gold. It also changed gold price history. -
Germany invades Poland
In his pursuit of total conquest, Adolf Hitler invaded Poland. This effectively started World War 2, and eventually, due to the need of various factory and military jobs, helped bring America out of the Great Depression. -
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
In an attempt to severely weaken the Pacific fleet of the United States before they could join the War, the Japanese army attacked the naval base at Pearl Harbor. By the end of the attack, 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,143 were wounded. -
Battle of Midway
Similarly to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japan attacked the U.S. in hopes of damaging their naval fleet. What ensued was one of the biggest turning points in the War, ending with an American victory. -
D-Day
D-Day was the the start of Operation Overlord, a.k.a. the Battle of Normandy. It was a dangerous amphibious assault on the English Channel, and although the victory went to the Allies, many young soldiers lost their lives in the process. -
Adolf Hitler commits suicide
After realizing that his defeat in the War was imminent, Adolf Hitler committed suicide via gunshot in his bunker. His wife killed herself alongside him by using poison. -
Nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima
In an effort to end the War as early as possible, an American bomber plane dropped the atomic bomb, Little Boy, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This was the first use of an atomic bomb in the world. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) created
The NATO was established on this day. It is an alliance between Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, Iceland, Luxembourg, United States, Canada, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Portugal. It was made in response against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. -
Ellis Island closes down
The federal government shut down Ellis Island, a popular immigration station. The first immigrant to be processed was Annie Moore, a 15-year-old girl from Ireland. It has undergone many changes over the years since its closure. -
Hungarian Revolution of 1956
Also known as the Hungarian Uprising, this was an uprising against the Soviet-imposed policies of the Hungarian government. Thousands of protesters were present. It came to an end when Soviet tanks were deployed to Buddapest, stopping any kind of protest on November 4. -
Sputnik 1 is launched
Sputnik 1, the first artifical satellite of Earth, was launched into space on this day. It was created by the Soviet Union, and its launch rattled the American public. This launching helped trigger the Space Race, which was a major part of the Cold War. -
JFK tells the public about the missiles in Cuba
After a U2 plane spotted various Soviet missile facilities in Cuba, John F. Kennedy gave a TV address to the American public. In it, he informed them of the missiles, talked about the potential naval blockade, and said that the US was ready to use military force. This is a key moment of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and although conflict was avoided after serious negotiations, this was the closest the US and Soviet Russia got to engaging in direct combat. -
First US soldiers land in Vietnam
3,500 US soldiers landed on the beach of Danang, a city in southern Vietnam, on this day. These were the very first US ground troops committed to the Vietnam War. -
Tet Offensive starts
Viet Cong soldiers started to launch a series of coordinated attacks on Vietnam cities on this day. Over 100 cities were attacked over the course of the event. Although it ended with a victory for the South/US, it was reported as a failure by the media back in the United States. -
Kent State shootings
The Vietnam War was televised to the American public, and many were outraged by what was taking place. This spurred protests nationwide, primarily at college campuses. At one of these protests, 13 unarmed students were shot by the Ohio National Guard. 4 of these students were killed. -
Paris Peace Accords signed
Officials from the US and North Vietnam signed a document at the Majestic Hotel in Paris on this day. The document ended US participation in the Vietnam War. -
The Berlin Wall falls
The Berlin Wall, which had been built to keep people from migrating between East and West Germany, fell on this day. This represents that end of both the Iron Curtain and the Cold War.
