Timeline of US History 20th Century Flashcards
1901
President William McKinley was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York.
Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as president, after the assassination of President McKinley.
The Hay–Pauncefote Treaty was signed.
1902
The first Rose Bowl Game was played between the University of Michigan and Stanford University.
The Elkins Act was signed into law.
The Drago Doctrine was announced.
The Newlands Reclamation Act was signed into law.
1903
The Hay–Herrán Treaty was passed.
The Ford Motor Company was formed.
The Department of Commerce and Labor was created.
The first World Series was played between the Boston Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty was signed.
The movie The Great Train Robbery opened.
The Wright brothers made their first powered flight in the Wright Flyer.
1904
The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine was issued.
The Panama Canal Zone was acquired by the United States from France for $40 million.
United States presidential election, 1904: President Theodore Roosevelt was reelected to a second term, defeating New York Appeals Court Judge Alton B. Parker.
1905
The Niagara Falls conference was held.
The Treaty of Portsmouth, negotiated by President Theodore Roosevelt, was signed, ending the Russo-Japanese War .
1906
Women’s suffrage and civil rights activist Susan B. Anthony died.
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake killed over 3,400 people and destroyed over 80% of San Francisco; being the deadliest earthquake in American history.
The Hepburn Act was signed into law.
The Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act were signed; establishing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
President Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese war; becoming the first statesman to win a Nobel Prize.
1907
The Tillman Act was signed into law.
The Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907 was signed.
Oklahoma was admitted to the Union, becoming the 46th state.
Monongah Mining Disaster: A coal mine exploded in Monongah, West Virginia, killing at least 361.
1908
The Aldrich–Vreeland Act was signed into law.
The Bureau of Investigation (later the FBI) was established.
The Ford Model T appeared on the market.
United States presidential election, 1908: U.S. Secretary of War William Howard Taft was elected President, defeating former Nebraska Representative William Jennings Bryan.
The Root–Takahira Agreement was reached.
1909
William Howard Taft implemented Dollar Diplomacy.
The NAACP was founded by W. E. B. Du Bois.
Robert Peary became the first person to reach the North Pole.
The first redesigned Lincoln Penny was released to the public.
1910
The Boy Scouts of America was created.
The Mann–Elkins Act was signed into law.
The Mann Act was signed into law.
The Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act was signed into law.
1911
Standard Oil Company v. United States: The Supreme Court found Standard Oil guilty of monopolizing the petroleum industry; subsequently dividing Standard Oil into several geographically separate firms.
The first Indianapolis 500 was held; being won by Ray Harroun.
1912
New Mexico was admitted to the Union, becoming the 47th.
Arizona was admitted to the Union, becoming the 48th state.
Girl Scouts of the USA was created by Juliette Gordon Low.
The RMS Titanic crashed into an iceberg in the northern Atlantic Ocean, sinking the ship entirely less than three hours the initial collision, killing over 1,500 of the 2,224 passengers aboard.
Former President Theodore Roosevelt was shot, but not killed, while campaigning for President as the candidate for the progressive Bull Moose Party.
United States presidential election, 1912: New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson defeated incumbent President William Howard Taft, former President Theodore Roosevelt and union leader Eugene V. Debs.
1913
The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, establishing an income tax, was ratified.
The Armory Show opened in New York City, introducing American and European modern art to the American public.
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, establishing direct election of Senators, was ratified.
After mass civilian casualties in the Battle of Bud Bagsak, the Moro’s surrendered their rebellion, ending the Philippine–American War.
The Underwood Tariff was signed into law.
Henry Ford developed the modern assembly line.
The Federal Reserve Act was signed into law; establishing the Federal Reserve System.
1914
Ludlow Massacre: The camps of striking coal miners were attacked by the Colorado National Guard; killing 25, including 11 children.
World War I: Austria-Hungary invaded the Kingdom of Serbia after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; triggering the start of World War I.
The first Mother’s Day was observed.
The Federal Trade Commission was established.
The Clayton Antitrust Act was signed into law.
1915
The controversial movie The Birth of a Nation opened in Los Angeles, becoming the largest-grossing movie at the time.
The RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German torpedo, killing 1,198 passengers; partially contributing to the U.S.’s later involvement in World War I.
1916
Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the United States Congress.
The Adamson Railway Labor Act was signed into law.
The Federal Farm Loan Act was signed into law.
The Jones Act was signed into law.
United States presidential election, 1916: President Woodrow Wilson was reelected to a second term, defeating Associate Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes of New York.
1917
The United States acquired the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25,000,000.
The Zimmermann telegram was published, helping shift public opinion in favor of U.S. involvement in World War I.
The United States declared war on Germany, beginning the U.S.’s involvement in World War I.
The Espionage Act was signed into law.
The Lansing–Ishii Agreement was signed.
First Red Scare: The scare, marked by a widespread fear of Bolshevism and anarchism, began.
1918
World War I: President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, which assured citizens that the war was being fought for a moral cause and for postwar peace in Europe, was issued.
The Sedition Act of 1918 was signed into law; forbidding the “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” against the United States government during a time of war.
1919
Red Summer: Heightened racial scrutinization of African-Americans during the Red Scare prompted mass racial riots among Whites in Bisbee, Arizona, Longview, Texas, Washington D.C., Chicago, Knoxville, Omaha, and Elaine, Arkansas.
Inflation from the Post–World War I recession lead to the strike of 4 million workers; prompting the Boston Police Strike, Seattle General Strike, Steel Strike of 1919 and Coal Strike of 1919.
World War I: The Treaty of Versailles ended the war.
The Black Sox Scandal, involving the fixing of the 1919 World Series, occurred.
President Woodrow Wilson’s veto of the Volstead Act was overridden by the Senate, establishing the Eighteenth Amendment.
The United States Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, becoming the first time in U.S. history the Senate rejected a peace treaty.
1920
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, establishing prohibition in the United States, was ratified.
The first radio broadcasts were made, in Pittsburgh and Detroit.
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting women the right to vote, was ratified.
Wall Street Bombing: Wall Street, the financial district of the United States, was bombed, killing 38 people.
United States presidential election, 1920: Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding was elected President, defeating Ohio Governor James M. Cox.
1921
The Emergency Quota Act was signed into law.
The Tulsa Race Riot occurred; resulting in the deaths of up to 300 African-Americans and leaving more than 8,000 homeless.
The first meeting of the Washington Disarmament Conference of 1921 was held.
1922
The Fordney–McCumber Tariff was signed into law.
1923
President Warren G. Harding died of a heart attack at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
Vice President Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as President, the day following the death of President Harding.
Teapot Dome scandal: Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall resigned as a result of the scandal.
The Equal Rights Amendment, written by women’s suffragist leader Alice Paul, was first introduced in the Senate.
1924
J. Edgar Hoover was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation.
The Immigration Act Basic Law was signed into law.
United States presidential election, 1924: President Calvin Coolidge defeated former Solicitor General John W. Davis and Wisconsin Senator Robert M. La Follette.