Jan 3, 2010

Presidential Biographies - About | Chronology

1492:
Columbus discovers the Americas.
1565:
St. Augustine, Florida, is founded by the Spanish.
1607:
Over 140 men and boys form a settlement at Jamestown, Virginia; approximately one-half die before the end of the year. Jamestown becomes the second oldest town in North America, after St. Augustine, and the first permanent British settlement.
1614:
Dutch found the colony of New Amsterdam.
1619:
Martial law in Virginia is replaced by a general assembly of twenty-two burgesses, the first representative assembly in America.
1620:
Off of present-day Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 41 male passengers on the Mayflower sign the Mayflower Compact, establishing a preliminary civil body politic and the authority to legislate laws as necessary. The people who debark are known as the Pilgrims.
1621:
William Bradford becomes governor of Plymouth and serves at that post for 30 years.
1629:
The Massachusetts Bay Company is formed by English Puritans allowing the company to have governmental autonomy once on the American mainland.
1630:
English Puritans, sponsored by the Massachusetts Bay Company, found Boston and ten other settlements in Massachusetts.
1636:
Plymouth colony inhabitants adopt the Great Fundamentals allowing for the establishment of a general court made up of the governor and two representatives from each town.
1640:
The "Great Migration" to Massachusetts ends with the collapse of the reign of King Charles I and the beginning of the English Civil War; an estimated ten thousand Englishmen had come to New England by this time.
1643:
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Haven, and Plymouth form a confederation called the United Colonies of New England.
1644:
Massachusetts Bay adopts a bicameral legislature.
1647:
Rhode Island adopts its first constitution which declares separation of church and state and freedom of religious expression.
1660:
Parliament passes the first of the Navigation Acts, which restricts the trade of New England merchants to England and the British West Indies by imposing taxes and duties on goods traded with other countries.
1675:
King Philip's War begins and pits the New England Confederation against American Indian tribes led by Chief Philip of the Wampanoags. The two-year conflict results in great loss and destruction for both sides. Twelve New England towns are leveled, and for every 16 white men of fighting age, one loses his life.
1682:
William Penn establishes his Frame of Government which allows for the creation of an assembly, council, and governor's office in Pennsylvania.
1685:
The Dominion of New England is formed, and the following year Sir Edmund Andros is appointed governor.
1696:
William III commissions the Board of Trade to oversee commercial (trade and fishing) and political (powers of appointment and legislative review) concerns in the American colonies.
1701:
The Charter of Liberties, the constitution of Pennsylvania until the American Revolution (1775–83), establishes the only sustained unicameral (one-house) legislature in the colonies.
1702:
As part of the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1713), known as Queen Anne's War in America, James Moore, the English governor of South Carolina, attacks Saint Augustine, Florida, burning outposts and missions in Apalachee, or northern Florida.
1754–1763:
The French and Indian War results in the British and Indian allies capturing Quebec and defeating the French.
August 17, 1754:
The Albany Plan, formulated by Benjamin Franklin, is rejected. It would have joined the colonies in a defense against the French and would have established an intercolonial council to handle relations with the American Indians.
1763:
The Treaty of Paris is signed, concluding the French and Indian War; Britain is given Canada and all French territory east of the Mississippi River and Florida.
1763:
The Proclamation of 1763 prohibits colonists from settling west of the Appalachian mountains beyond the reach of British authorities. It is also issued to pacify the American Indians.
April 5, 1764:
Parliament passes the Sugar Act, reducing the tariff on molasses imported into North America. However, it also sends custom agents and collectors to the colonies to strictly enforce the remaining laws in effect.
1765:
Britain imposes the Stamp Act. This is the first internal tax levied on the colonies. Requiring the purchase of stamps to be affixed to a number of official documents, it affects mostly lawyers, clergymen, and printers.
October 7–25, 1765:
Nine colonies represented at the Stamp Act Congress in New York protest Parliament's taxation of the colonies.
March 17, 1766:
Parliament rescinds the stamp tax but insists it has the power to tax the colonies.
1767:
The Townshend Acts, which impose a tax on goods imported into the American colonies, are passed by the British Parliament and contribute to a revolt against British rule.
May 16, 1769:
After Virginia's House of Burgesses rejects Parliament's right to tax the colonies, the governor dissolves the assembly, which continues to meet privately, agreeing not to import British goods.
January 19–20, 1770:
The Battle of Golden Hill, New York, results in one death as the Sons of Liberty skirmish with British soldiers trying to remove liberty poles from Golden Hill, Manhattan.
April 12, 1770:
Parliament repeals all the Townshend duties except the one on tea.
November 2, 1772:
The Boston town meeting creates a 21-member committee of correspondence to communicate with other towns in the colony and to defend the rights of colonists "as Men, as Christians, and as Subjects."
December 16, 1773:
In the act that came to be known as the Boston Tea Party, a mob dumps a cargo of tea into Boston Harbor to protest Great Britain's tea tax.
May 20, 1774:
The Massachusetts Government Act suspends the colony's charter.
May 27, 1774:
A call for a Continental Congress goes out to consolidate action and support economic pressure to force Great Britain to rescind the Massachusetts Government Act.
September 5–October 16, 1774:
The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia to work out constitutional issues; each state has one vote in this body.
October 18, 1774:
The Continental Congress adopts the Continental Association, pledging to cease imports from Great Britain after December 1, 1774.
1775–1783:
The American Revolution.
February 9, 1775:
The king declares Massachusetts to be in rebellion.
May 5, 1775:
The Second Continental Congress convenes for the purpose of uniting the colonies for military action.
June 14, 1775:
The Department of the Army is founded as the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress; George Washington is appointed its first commander in chief.
October 13, 1775:
The Department of the Navy is founded; it is commissioned by the Continental Congress and plays a decisive role in the British decision to abandon the American colonies.
November 10, 1775:
The U.S. Marine Corps is founded when two battalions of "marines" are authorized by the Continental Congress to serve in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain.
June 12, 1776:
The Continental Congress appoints a committee led by John Dickinson to draw up a plan for a confederation.
July 2, 1776:
The Continental Congress votes unanimously that "these thirteen colonies are, and of right, ought to be, free and independent states."
July 4, 1776:
The Declaration of Independence is adopted.
November 15, 1777:
The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union; it requires the endorsement of all the state legislatures to take effect.
July 9, 1778:
Delegates from 8 of the 10 states that have ratified the Articles of Confederation sign them.
September 13, 1779:
John Jay, president of the Continental Congress, asks the states to collect taxes in order to pay requisitions to the federal treasury.
January 10, 1781:
The Continental Congress creates a ministry for foreign affairs.
May 26, 1781:
The Pennsylvania legislature charters the Bank of North America.
November 30, 1782:
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Henry Laurens, and John Jay sign the preliminary peace agreement with British emissaries.
April 18, 1783:
The Continental Congress proposes a revenue system as a way of paying the national debt.
September 3, 1783:
The Treaty of Paris, which recognizes American independence, is signed by British and American negotiators.
December 23, 1783:
George Washington resigns his commission as commander in chief of the Continental Army.
January 14, 1784:
The Continental Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris.
May 7, 1784:
The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson to assist John Adams and Benjamin Franklin in negotiating commercial treaties with European nations.
January 11, 1785:
The Continental Congress moves from Philadelphia to New York City.
May 20, 1785:
The Continental Congress passes the Land Ordinance of 1785, revamping the system for settling western areas and setting aside land and revenue to support public education.
January 16, 1786:
The Virginia legislature passes Thomas Jefferson's Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, enacting the principles of religious toleration and separation of church and state.
August 29, 1786:
Armed insurgents led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays begin closing court-houses in western Massachusetts after the legislature ignores their list of grievances.
January 25, 1787:
Gen. William Shepherd and one thousand militiamen end Shays's Rebellion by thwarting an attack on the Springfield Arsenal.
May 25–September 17, 1787:
The Constitutional Convention meets in Philadelphia to write what will become the Constitution of the United States of America. Delegates from all states except Rhode Island are present.
May 29, 1787:
Edmund Randolph submits the Virginia Plan to the Constitutional Convention, proposing a bicameral legislature based on proportional representation, a national executive and judiciary, and a congressional veto of state laws.
May 31, 1787:
The Constitutional Convention votes that the people should directly elect members to what will be the House of Representatives.
June 15, 1787:
William Paterson presents the New Jersey Plan to the Convention, proposing to retain the unicameral national legislature (with each state having an equal vote) and to expand congressional control over trade and revenue.
July 11, 1787:
The Constitutional Convention votes to count three-fifths of the slave population for taxation and representation purposes.
July 13, 1787:
The Continental Congress passes the Northwest Ordinance, establishing the Northwest Territory (present-day Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and parts of Minnesota). The Ordinance defines the steps for the creation and admission of new states and bars slavery in the area.
July 16, 1787:
The Constitutional Convention approves the "Great Compromise," granting representation proportional to population in the House of Representatives and equal state representation in the Senate.
August 29, 1787:
The Constitutional Convention decides to give Congress power to pass navigation acts, approves a fugitive slave clause, and forbids Congress from regulating the slave trade before 1808.
December 7, 1787:
Delaware is the first of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
December 12, 1787:
Pennsylvania is the second of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
December 18, 1787:
New Jersey is the third of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
January 2, 1788:
Georgia is the fourth of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
January 9, 1788:
Connecticut is the fifth of the 13 original states to ratify the Constitution.
February 6, 1788:
Massachusetts is the sixth of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
April 28, 1788:
Maryland is the seventh of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
May 23, 1788:
South Carolina is the eighth of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
June 21, 1788:
New Hampshire is the ninth of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
June 25, 1788:
Virginia is the tenth of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
July 26, 1788:
New York is the eleventh of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
March 4, 1789:
The first Congress to meet under the Constitution convenes in New York City.
April 30, 1789:
George Washington, after unanimously being chosen by electors, is inaugurated as the first president of the United States. John Adams becomes vice president.
July 4, 1789:
Congress, led by James Madison, passes the Tariff Act of 1789, creating a source of revenue for the federal government.
July 27, 1789:
The Department of State is founded with the appointment of Thomas Jefferson as the first secretary of state; its highest concern is the protection of American interests at home and abroad.
July 31, 1789:
The U.S. Customs Service is founded to collect the taxes on imported and exported goods, to document data relating to cargo and passenger ships, and to fine people or companies that defy the newly instituted laws.
September 1789:
The Office of Attorney General is established.
September 2, 1789:
The Department of the Treasury is founded to not only manage the nation's finances but also to provide leadership in setting its fiscal policy in order to plan the country's financial future.
September 11, 1789:
Alexander Hamilton is appointed the first secretary of the Treasury.
September 24, 1789:
Congress passes the Judiciary Act of 1789, creating a federal court system and giving the Supreme Court the right to review the constitutionality of state laws.
September 25, 1789:
Congress, led by James Madison, submits the first ten constitutional amendments (later known as the Bill of Rights) to the states.
September 26, 1789:
John Jay is appointed the first chief justice of the United States Supreme Court.
November 21, 1789:
North Carolina is the twelfth of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
November 26, 1789:
President George Washington consults department heads on foreign and military affairs, establishing the practice of regular cabinet meetings.
February 2, 1790:
The Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the first time with the responsibility of applying the Constitution and laws in deciding cases.
May 29, 1790:
Rhode Island is the thirteenth of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
July 1, 1790:
Congress approves a site on the Potomac River (Washington, D.C.) as the future capital of the United States.
July 26, 1790:
Congress passes Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton's program for assuming the states' debts; his program for funding the national debt by issuing interest-bearing securities is passed on August 4.
February 25, 1791:
President George Washington signs a bill creating the First Bank of the United States after receiving conflicting opinions regarding the bank's constitutionality from Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.
March 3, 1791:
Congress passes an excise, or internal, tax on whiskey.
March 4, 1791:
Vermont becomes the 14th state.
December 12, 1791:
The First Bank of the United States opens in Philadelphia with branches in other cities.
December 15, 1791:
The Bill of Rights becomes part of the Constitution. These ten amendments are intended to protect of freedom of religion, speech, and the press.
March 1, 1792:
Congress passes the Presidential Succession Act. In case of the death or disability of the president and vice president, power will pass to the president pro tempore of the Senate followed by the Speaker of the House.
April 2, 1792:
The U.S. Mint is founded by the Mint Act of 1792, which among other duties determines the materials, denominations, and inscriptions to be used in making U.S. coins.
June 1, 1792:
Kentucky becomes the 15th state.
October 13, 1792:
The cornerstone of the new executive mansion is laid in Washington, D.C.
November 1792:
Federalist candidates George Washington and John Adams again compete for the presidential seat. Washington defeats Adams by an electoral vote of 132 to 77.
February 12, 1793:
Congress passes the first Fugitive Slave Law, enforcing part of Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution, which specifies that a person fleeing a state in which they are charged, must be returned to the state having jurisdiction of the crime.
February 13, 1793:
In Chisholm v. Georgia the Supreme Court rules that states can be sued in federal court by citizens of other states.
March 4, 1793:
President George Washington and Vice President John Adams are inaugurated for a second term.
April 22, 1793:
Determined to keep the United States out of the war between France and Great Britain, President Washington issues the Proclamation of Neutrality.
September 18, 1793:
President George Washington lays the cornerstone for the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
June 5, 1794:
Congress passes the Neutrality Act, forbidding Americans from joining foreign military forces or provisioning foreign vessels in American ports.
July–November 1794:
Farmers in Pennsylvania resist officials trying to collect the whiskey tax. President George Washington and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton lead a militia to enforce the law, but what became known as the Whiskey Rebellion is over by the time they arrive.
November 19, 1794:
Jay's Treaty is signed in London, England. Terms include Great Britain's evacuation of posts in the Northwest Territory by 1796 and limited U.S. trade in the West Indies.
August 3, 1795:
The United States and 12 Indian tribes in the Northwest sign the Treaty of Greenville, opening much of present-day Ohio to white settlement.
October 27, 1795:
The United States and Spain sign the Pinckney Treaty, recognizing the 31st parallel as the southern boundary of the United States and granting Americans free navigation of the Mississippi River.
March 7, 1796:
In Ware v. Hylton the U.S. Supreme Court declares a state law unconstitutional for the first time.
March 8, 1796:
In Hylton v. United States the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of an act of Congress for the first time.
June 1, 1796:
Tennessee becomes the 16th state.
December 7, 1796:
In the nation's first contested presidential election, Federalist John Adams defeats Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson by a narrow electoral vote of 71–68; Jefferson becomes vice president.
March 4, 1797:
President John Adams and Vice President Thomas Jefferson are inaugurated.
May 16, 1797:
President John Adams recommends that Congress approve a three-man diplomatic mission to France, arm merchant vessels, create a navy, fortify harbors, and enlarge the army.
October 18, 1797:
Three agents of French foreign minister Charles de Talleyrand (publicly identified as "X," "Y," and "Z") demand a bribe from the American envoys before negotiations can begin. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney responds: "No, no, not a six-pence!"
1798:
The United States and France begin the "Quasi-War," an undeclared naval conflict in the Caribbean.
January 8, 1798:
The Eleventh Amendment is ratified. It declares that states cannot be sued by citizens of another state or foreign country in federal court.
April 3, 1798:
President John Adams releases diplomatic dispatches to Congress on the "XYZ Affair." Within a week the "XYZ Papers" are published in newspapers throughout the country, exciting outrage against France.
May–July 1798:
Congress revokes all treaties with France and approves an enlarged army, a new Navy Department, harbor defenses, and the seizure of all French vessels interfering with U.S. shipping.
June 18, 1798:
Congress passes the Naturalization Act, the first of four Alien and Sedition Acts, limiting freedom of speech and the press and the rights of foreigners. The act also increases the residency period required for citizenship to 14 years.
June 25, 1798:
Congress passes the Act Concerning Aliens, allowing the president to deport any alien, during war or peace, judged "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States"; President Adams never uses this authority.
July 9, 1798:
Congress passes a direct tax on land, houses, and slaves to pay for the Quasi-War with France.
July 14, 1798:
Congress passes the Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes (the Sedition Act) by a vote of 44 to 41. The act imposes heavy fines and imprisonment on anyone convicted of writing, publishing, or speaking anything of "a false scandalous and malicious nature" against the government and its officers.
November 16, 1798:
The Kentucky Resolutions, drafted by Thomas Jefferson and passed by the Kentucky state legislature, declare that states can judge the constitutionality of federal laws, and that the Alien and Sedition Acts are unconstitutional and thus "void and of no force."
February 1799:
Farmers in Pennsylvania, led by John Fries, rebel against the direct tax of 1798. Federal troops put down Fries Rebellion, and the leader is convicted of treason but pardoned by President Adams.
November 22, 1799:
The Kentucky state legislature passes resolutions reaffirming nullification as a proper constitutional solution.
1800:
The Virginia state legislature passes a resolution proposing that freed slaves be resettled in Africa.
January 2, 1800:
Free African Americans petition Congress in opposition to slavery and the slave trade. By a vote of 85 to 1, Congress refuses to accept the petition.
April 24, 1800:
The Library of Congress is established by the "Act to Make Provision for the Removal and Accommodation of the Government of the U.S." While originally only members of Congress and other government officials are allowed to use the facilities, it later opens its doors to the public.
September 30, 1800:
The United States and France sign an agreement ending the Quasi-War.
November 17, 1800:
Congress convenes in Washington, D.C., for the first time, as the federal capital is moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The location had been selected by former president George Washington during his administration. John Adams becomes the first president to live in the new Executive Mansion.
January 20, 1801:
John Marshall is appointed chief justice of the United States, serving until his death in 1835.
February 17, 1801:
John Adams receives 65 electoral votes and Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr each receive 73 votes, throwing the presidential election into the House of Representatives. On the thirty-sixth ballot Jefferson is elected, and Aaron Burr becomes vice president.
February 13, 1801:
Congress passes the Judiciary Act of 1801, reducing the number of Supreme Court justices from six to five, establishing sixteen circuit courts, and increasing the number of judicial officers.
March 4, 1801:
Thomas Jefferson is the first president to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C. His vice president is Aaron Burr.
April 6, 1802:
Congress abolishes all internal taxes, including the unpopular whiskey tax.
April 29, 1802:
After repealing the Judiciary Act of 1801, Congress passes a new Judiciary Act. It authorizes six Supreme Court justices, one session a year for the Supreme Court, and six circuit courts, each presided over by a Supreme Court justice.
August 1, 1802:
The U.S. Military Academy is founded to serve as a training facility for military engineers.
August 25, 1802:
The Patent and Trademark Office is founded with the mission of administering laws relating to patents and trademarks and advising the government on patent, trademark, and copyright protection.
February 24, 1803:
In Marbury v. Madison the Supreme Court declares an act of Congress (the Judiciary Act of 1789) unconstitutional for the first time and expands its power of judicial review.
March 1, 1803:
Ohio becomes the 17th state in the Union and the first to outlaw slavery from the beginning of statehood.
April 30, 1803:
The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million.
February 25, 1804:
In the first congressional caucus Democratic-Republicans unanimously nominate President Thomas Jefferson for a second term and nominate George Clinton for vice president.
March 26, 1804:
In the Louisiana Territory Act, the federal government declares for the first time that its intention is to move Indians living east of the Mississippi River to the West.
September 25, 1804:
The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, providing separate ballots for president and vice president.
December 5, 1804:
President Thomas Jefferson is reelected with 162 electoral votes over Charles Cotesworth Pinckney with 14 votes. George Clinton is elected vice president.
March 4, 1805:
President Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated for a second term. His vice president is George Clinton.
March 29, 1806:
Congress authorizes the construction of the National Road, connecting Cumberland, Maryland, with Wheeling, Virginia.
April 18, 1806:
Congress passes a Non-Importation Act, prohibiting the importation of British goods in protest against the British seizure of American ships and sailors.
March 2, 1807:
Congress decides to prohibit the African slave trade and importation of slaves into the United States as of January 1, 1808.
December 7, 1808:
Democratic-Republican candidate James Madison is elected president with 122 electoral votes. The Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney receives 47 votes, and George Clinton, the candidate of eastern Democratic-Republicans, receives 6 votes. Clinton is elected vice president.
March 4, 1809:
President James Madison is inaugurated with George Clinton as vice president.
July 2, 1809:
The Shawnee tribal leader Tecumseh begins forming a confederacy of Native American tribes.
September 30, 1809:
William Henry Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory, signs a treaty at Fort Wayne by which American Indian tribes cede three tracts of land along the Wabash River.
October 27, 1810:
President James Madison annexes West Florida between the Mississippi and Pearl Rivers after Americans in the region declare independence from Spain.
March 4, 1811:
After the Senate votes against re-chartering the Bank of the United States, its charter expires.
November 7, 1811:
American Indians under Tecumseh's brother, the Prophet, attack Governor William Henry Harrison's (president in 1841) army in the Battle of Tippecanoe; they are repulsed and Prophet's Town is burned. As a result Tecumseh and his followers cross into Canada, later joining British forces in the War of 1812.
November 20, 1811:
Construction begins on the National Road, increasing the flow of settlers to the West.
December 24, 1811:
Congress authorizes the completion of enlistments in the regular army, the enlistment of 25,000 additional regulars for five years' service and 50,000 volunteers for one year's service, and the call-up of one hundred thousand militia for six months' service at the president's request, and approves additional funds for the navy.
April 30, 1812:
Louisiana becomes the 18th state in the Union.
June 18, 1812:
After sending a war message to Congress, President James Madison signs the declaration of war against Great Britain, citing impressment, violations of American trade, and the incitement of American Indian warfare as the causes for hostilities with England.
December 2, 1812:
President James Madison is reelected with 128 electoral votes. George Clinton, candidate of anti-Madison Democratic-Republicans and Federalists, receives 89 votes. Elbridge Gerry is elected vice president.
March 4, 1813:
President Madison is inaugurated for a second term.
March 27, 1814:
Tennessee militia led by Generals Andrew Jackson and John Coffee, defeat the Creek Indians at Horseshoe Bend in present-day Alabama.
August 29, 1814:
British troops invade Washington and set fire to the White House. While the interior of the building is destroyed, the structure remains and is later restored.
September 13, 1814:
As he watches the unsuccessful British attack on Fort McHenry at Baltimore, Maryland, Francis Scott Key composes the "Star Spangled Banner."
December 24, 1814:
The United States and Great Britain sign a peace treaty at Ghent. Although it ends the war, the Treaty of Ghent does little to resolve the underlying issues which caused it. News of the treaty does not reach the United States until February, 1815.
January 5, 1815:
The Hartford Convention, a forum for delegates to discuss ways and means of sectional defense and to take steps to revise the Constitution, ends with hints of secession. The delegates uphold a state's right to nullify federal law and propose constitutional amendments to limit the power of the federal government. After the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, these delegates come to be regarded as treasonous for opposing the war.
January 8, 1815:
In the last major battle before news of peace reaches the United States, an American army led by Andrew Jackson successfully protects New Orleans from an attack by the numerically superior British. The Americans suffer only 21 casualties while inflicting more than 2,000. This victory makes Andrew Jackson a national hero, and convinces many Americans that the War of 1812 was won by the United States.
December 5, 1815:
President James Madison urges Congress to approve a national bank, protective tariffs, and a program of national funding for transportation and education.
1816:
The first postwar Congress charters the Second Bank of the United States and passes an internal improvements bill and the Tariff of 1816.
November 1816:
James Monroe defeats Federalist Rufus King for the presidency, winning 183 electoral votes to King's 34.
December 11, 1816:
Indiana is admitted to the Union as the 19th state.
March 4, 1817:
James Monroe is inaugurated as president with Daniel D. Tompkins as vice president.
November 20, 1817:
Settlers attack American Indians in Florida, igniting the First Seminole War. Spain is believed to support the Seminoles during the year-long conflict.
December 10, 1817:
Mississippi is admitted as the 20th state of the Union.
1818:
The Convention of 1818 between the United States and Great Britain sets the border between the United States and Canada at the forty-ninth parallel and establishes joint occupation of Oregon.
December 3, 1818:
Illinois is the 21st state admitted to the Union.
1819:
Under the Adams-Onis Treaty, Spain cedes Florida to the United States.
December 14, 1819:
Alabama is admitted to the Union as the 22nd state.
March 2, 1820:
As part of the Missouri Compromise, Congress prohibits slavery in the Louisiana Purchase north of 36°30' but, as part of the compromise, agrees to admit Missouri as a slave state.
March 15, 1820:
Maine is admitted as the 23rd state of the Union.
November 1820:
James Monroe wins reelection with 231 electoral votes out of 232 cast for the presidency.
March 4, 1821:
James Monroe begins his second term as president.
August 10, 1821:
Missouri becomes the 24th state of the Union.
December 2, 1823:
President James Monroe delivers a message to Congress, warning European countries not to colonize or interfere with the Western Hemisphere. This policy comes to be known as the Monroe Doctrine.
March 30, 1824:
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Henry Clay defines his "American System" in a speech supporting a protective tariff that would generate revenue to fund internal improvements that would in turn expand the U.S. economy.
August 29, 1824:
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is founded with the primary functions of acquiring American Indian lands and containing the American Indian people and their culture.
November 1824:
John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William Crawford run for the presidency. Jackson wins the popular and electoral votes but fails to secure an electoral majority, requiring the House of Representatives to determine the winner.
1825:
President James Monroe calls for the voluntary removal of Americans Indians from the East to lands west of the Mississippi River.
March 4, 1825:
After the House selects John Quincy Adams as president, he is inaugurated with John Caldwell Calhoun as his vice president.
July 4, 1826:
On the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both die.
1828:
The Democratic Party comes into power for the first time with the election of Andrew Jackson to the presidency, marking the return of the two-party system to national politics.
May 19, 1828:
President John Quincy Adams signs the "Tariff of Abominations" into law that provides extremely high rates on imports of raw materials and manufactured goods. Southerners call it a "hateful law."
November 1828:
John Quincy Adams fails to be reelected as president, winning only 83 votes to Andrew Jackson's 178 votes.
March 4, 1829:
Andrew Jackson is inaugurated as president. His vice president is John Caldwell Calhoun.
April 13, 1830:
At the annual Jefferson Day Dinner, in John C. Calhoun's presence, Andrew Jackson clearly warns against nullification of the 1828 Tariff of Abominations with his toast, "Our Federal Union, it must be preserved."
May 28, 1830:
Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act to provide money to purchase land from the Creeks, Seminoles, Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Choctaws and to relocate them in present-day Oklahoma and Arkansas.
May 31, 1831:
Congress adjourns before President Andrew Jackson acts on several improvement bills. Jackson thus institutes the concept of "pocket veto," or vetoing a bill by refusing to sign legislation before the end of the congressional session.
July 10, 1832:
Jackson vetoes the charter for the Second Bank of the United States, claiming the bank is a "monster" because of its exclusive power.
November 1832:
Andrew Jackson defeats Henry Clay for the presidency, winning 219 electoral votes to Clay's 49 votes.
November 1832:
Believing that the states had the right to exempt themselves from federal laws with which they disagree, South Carolina nullifies the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 with the Ordinance of Nullification.
December 1832:
At President Jackson's request Congress passes the Force Bill to compel South Carolina to abide by federal tariffs.
March 1, 1833:
The Compromise Tariff of 1833 and Force Bill are signed into law.
March 4, 1833:
Andrew Jackson is inaugurated for a second term. His vice president is Martin Van Buren.
March 28, 1834:
The Senate votes 26 to 20 to censure Andrew Jackson for removing federal deposits from the Second Bank of the United States.
November 1835–1842:
The Second Seminole War is fought in Florida when some Seminole Indians, led by Osceola, refuse to leave their land in defiance of an 1832 treaty.
June 15, 1836:
Arkansas is admitted to the Union as the 25th state.
November 1836:
Democrat Martin Van Buren becomes president after defeating three Whig opponents, Daniel Webster, Hugh Lawson White, and William Henry Harrison. Van Buren secures 170 electoral votes. Webster, his nearest competitor, wins 73 votes.
1837:
The Panic of 1837 is the first real and lasting economic crisis the United States faces. Land speculation, a failed wheat crop, a 50 percent reduction in the price of cotton, and a crisis in several European banks combine to cause a widespread financial panic.
January 26, 1837:
Michigan is admitted as the 26th state of the Union.
March 4, 1837:
Martin Van Buren is inaugurated as president with Richard Johnson as vice president.
1838:
The forced march of the entire Cherokee nation from Georgia along the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma, ordered by President Andrew Jackson, is carried out during the Van Buren administration.
November 1840:
Whig William Henry Harrison defeats Martin Van Buren by an electoral vote of 234 to 60. Liberty Party candidate James G. Birney receives seven thousand popular votes.
March 4, 1841:
William Henry Harrison is inaugurated as president with John Tyler as vice president.
April 4, 1841:
President William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia, and John Tyler becomes the first vice president to assume the presidency.
1842:
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty settles the border between the United States and Canada in the Northeast.
November 1844:
Democratic candidate James Polk defeats Whig Henry Clay and Liberty Party candidate James Birney with 170 electoral votes to Clay's 105.
March 3, 1845:
Florida is admitted to the Union as the 27th state.
March 4, 1845:
James Polk is inaugurated as president with George Mifflin Dallas as vice president.
October 10, 1845:
The U.S. Naval Academy is founded to replace the U.S. Navy's former practice of relying on at-sea apprenticeships for midshipmen.
December 29, 1845:
Texas is admitted as the 28th state of the Union.
May 13, 1846:
The United States declares war on Mexico. The Senate votes 40 to 2 and the House votes 174 to 14 in favor of war.
June 15, 1846:
The Senate ratifies a treaty with Britain fixing the Oregon Territory border at the forty-ninth parallel.
August 10, 1846:
The Smithsonian Institution is established with funds bequeathed to the United States by English scientist and inventor James Smithson for "the increase and diffusion of knowledge."
December 12, 1846:
The United States and New Granada (present-day Columbia and Panama) sign a treaty that gives the United States a right-of-way across the Isthmus of Panama.
December 28, 1846:
Iowa is admitted as the 29th state of the Union.
February 2, 1848:
American diplomat Nicholas Trist signs the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Mexico. The United States receives California, New Mexico (including modern Arizona and Nevada), and Texas to the Rio Grande for $15 million.
March 10, 1848:
The Senate ratifies the peace treaty with Mexico, 38 to14.
May 29, 1848:
Wisconsin is admitted to the Union as the 30th state.
November 1848:
Whig Zachary Taylor defeats Democrat Lewis Cass and Free-Soil candidate Martin Van Buren, with 163 electoral votes to 127 for Cass.
March 3, 1849:
The Department of the Interior is founded to manage the sale and lease of federal lands; its focus later shifts to the conservation and protection of U.S. natural resources.
March 4, 1849:
Zachary Taylor is inaugurated as president. His vice president is Millard Fillmore.
January 29, 1850:
The Compromise of 1850 is introduced by Senator Henry Clay, admitting California as a free state, allowing the territorial legislatures of New Mexico and Utah to settle the slavery issue on their own, exacting a stronger fugitive slave law, outlawing the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and giving Texas $10 million to abandon its claims to territory in New Mexico.
July 9, 1850:
President Zachary Taylor, an opponent of Henry Clay's compromise to end the conflict over slavery in the territory won from Mexico, dies. Vice President Millard Fillmore, who favors the compromise, becomes president.
September 9, 1850:
California is the 31st state admitted to the union.
December 24, 1851:
A fire at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroys two-thirds of its collection.
November 2, 1852:
Democratic Party candidate Franklin Pierce defeats Whig candidate Winfield Scott and Free-Soil candidate John P. Hale to become president.
March 4, 1853:
Franklin Pierce is inaugurated president. William Rufus De Vane King is vice president.
February 28, 1854:
A coalition of Whigs, Democrats, and Free-Soilers meet in Ripon, Wisconsin, suggesting the name "Republican" for a new party pledged to bar slavery from the territories.
March 31, 1854:
Commodore Matthew C. Perry signs the Treaty of Kanagawa, opening Japanese ports to American trade.
May 30, 1854:
The Kansas-Nebraska bill is signed into law by President Franklin Pierce. Violent conflict between pro- and anti-slavery forces in the Kansas territory ensues.
January 15, 1856:
A free state governor and legislature are elected in Kansas, which now has both a pro-slavery and anti-slavery government.
November 1856:
James Buchanan wins the presidential election with 174 electoral votes over Republican candidate John C. Fremont.
March 4, 1857:
James Buchanan is inaugurated as president with John C. Breckinridge as vice president.
October 19, 1857:
A convention of pro-slavery Kansans meeting at Leocompton, Kansas, produces a constitution for the state with legalized slavery. It soon becomes apparent that a majority of Kansans oppose this Leocompton constitution.
February 2, 1858:
President Buchanan recommends that Congress admit Kansas as a slave state under the Leocompton constitution. This issue splits the Democratic Party into northern and southern factions.
May 11, 1858:
Minnesota is the 32nd state admitted to the union.
June 16, 1858:
Abraham Lincoln, nominated for the Senate by Illinois Republicans, delivers his "House Divided" speech.
August 2, 1858:
Given a chance to vote on whether or not to use the Leocompton constitution, Kansas voters overwhelmingly reject the document. They do so despite special incentives offered to the potential new state by Congress to vote in favor.
February 14, 1859:
Oregon becomes the 33rd state.
November 6, 1860:
Republican Abraham Lincoln defeats Northern Democratic presidential candidate Stephen A. Douglas with a vote of 180 to 12. Hannibal Hamlin becomes his vice president.
December 20, 1860:
South Carolina secedes from the Union. Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas soon follow.
1861–1865:
American Civil War.
January 29, 1861:
Kansas is admitted to the Union as the 34th state.
February 9, 1861:
Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederate States of America.
March 4, 1861:
Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as president of the United States. Hannibal Hamlin is vice president.
April 12, 1861:
In the first fighting of the Civil War, Confederate batteries fire on Fort Sumter rather than allow it to be resupplied.
April 17–May 20, 1861:
Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina secede from the Union.
May 15, 1862:
The Department of Agriculture is founded to enhance the quality of life for Americans by supporting the production of agriculture.
July 1, 1862:
The Internal Revenue Service is founded; initially named the Bureau of Internal Revenue, it is created in response to the need for increased revenue to fund the War Department during the American Civil War.
August 29, 1862:
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is founded to produce paper currency as part of the U.S. Department of Treasury's plan to finance the American Civil War; it later becomes the sole manufacturer of the nation's currency and postage stamps.
January 1, 1863:
The Emancipation Proclamation is declared in effect.
February 25, 1863:
Congress creates a national banking system.
March 3, 1863:
Congress passes the Conscription Act.
June 20, 1863:
West Virginia is admitted as the 35th state.
November 19, 1863:
Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address.
October 31, 1864:
Nevada becomes the 36th state.
November 8, 1864:
Abraham Lincoln is reelected as president of the United States; he defeats War Democrat George B. McClellan by a vote of 212 to 21.
1865:
The Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery is ratified.
March 4, 1865:
Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated for a second term with Andrew Johnson as vice president.
April 9, 1865:
Robert E. Lee surrenders the Confederate Army at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia.
April 15, 1865:
Lincoln is assassinated at Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth; Andrew Johnson becomes president.
July 5, 1865:
The U.S. Secret Service is founded with the mission of protecting U.S. leaders, visiting world leaders, and the integrity of U.S. financial systems.
April 9, 1866:
A civil rights act is passed over President Johnson's veto.
June 13, 1866:
Congress approves the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution which gives African Americans citizenship and guarantees all persons due process of law.
March 1, 1867:
Nebraska becomes the 37th state.
February 24, 1868:
The House of Representatives impeaches President Johnson.
May 16, 1868:
The Senate acquits President Johnson of violating the Tenure of Office Act by one vote.
June 25, 1868:
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina are readmitted to the Union by Congress.
November 3, 1868:
Ulysses S. Grant defeats candidate Horatio Seymour in the presidential election by a vote of 214 to 80.
November 6, 1868:
Red Cloud and other Lakota tribal leaders sign a treaty with U.S. government officials at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, establishing a reservation in nearly all of present South Dakota west of the Missouri River. This area includes the sacred Black Hills.
March 4, 1869:
Ulysses S. Grant is inaugurated as the 18th president with Schuyler Colfax as vice president.
September 24, 1869:
Black Friday on Wall Street occurs when financiers drive up the price of gold.
March 30, 1870:
The Fifteenth Amendment, stating a right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous status of servitude, is declared to be in effect.
May 31, 1870:
Congress passes the Enforcement Act to protect African American voters.
June 22, 1870:
The Department of Justice is founded. Headed by the Attorney General, it is officially charged with the supervision of all federal law officers and attorneys, the control of immigration, and the investigation of federal crimes.
November 5, 1872:
Ulysses S. Grant is reelected president over newspaperman Horace Greeley who was nominated by both the Liberal Republicans and the Democratic National Convention.
March 4, 1873:
Ulysses S. Grant begins his second term as president. Henry Wilson is vice president.
September 18, 1873:
Beginning of the financial panic of 1873.
January 14, 1875:
The Specie Resumption Act limits greenbacks in circulation to $300 million, and provides for a return to specie payments by 1879.
March 1, 1875:
Congress passes the Civil Rights Act; key provisions are held unconstitutional in the Civil Rights cases of 1883.
August 1, 1876:
Colorado is admitted as the 38th state.
November 1876:
The presidential election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden yields contested results. A special Electoral Commission is established by Congress to determine the winner.
March 2, 1877:
The Republican dominated Electoral Commission declares that Rutherford B. Hayes won the disputed electoral votes of the 1876 election. This gives him the presidential election, with 185 electoral votes to Tilden's 184.
March 4, 1877:
Rutherford B. Hayes is inaugurated as president with William A. Wheeler as vice president.
November 2, 1880:
James Garfield defeats Hancock in a close presidential election, winning by an electoral vote of 2,114 to 155 and a popular vote of 4,446,158 (48.27 percent) to 4,444,260 (48.25 percent). The Greenback Labor Party candidate, James B. Weaver, gets 305,997 votes.
November 17, 1880:
The United States and China sign a treaty that allows the United States to "regulate, limit, and suspend" Chinese immigration but not to ban it outright.
March 4, 1881:
James Garfield is inaugurated as president. Chester A. Arthur is vice president.
July 2, 1881:
President Garfield is shot by disappointed office seeker Charles J. Guiteau, who claims he was attempting to ensure that Vice President Arthur, a Stalwart who favors the spoils system, would become president.
May 6, 1882:
Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act, suspending Chinese immigration to the United States for 10 years.
September 19, 1882:
President James Garfield dies of complications from the wounds he sustained from his July shooting. Garfield is succeeded by Vice President Arthur the next day.
January 16, 1883:
Congress passes the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, an attempt to depoliticize appointments of federal employees engaged in governmental operations and end the "spoils system." Signed into law by President Arthur, the act establishes a Civil Service Commission and specifies rules for a merit system based on competitive exams.
November 4, 1884:
Democrat Grover Cleveland is elected president in an extremely close election, defeating Republican James G. Blaine. He is the first Democrat elected president since the Civil War. Protest movements represented by the Greenback Labor Party and the Prohibition Party win more than 300,000 votes (3.21 percent).
March 4, 1885:
Grover Cleveland is inaugurated as president. Thomas A. Hendricks is vice president.
January 19, 1886:
Congress passes a Presidential Succession Act; if both the president and vice president are unable to serve, they are succeeded by members of the cabinet in the order that their departments were created.
October 25, 1886:
In Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway v. Illinois, the Supreme Court rules that only the federal government, not the individual states, may regulate interstate railway rates.
November 1886:
Samuel Gompers establishes the American Federation of Labor which emphasizes "bread and butter" unionism.
1887:
American settlers in Hawaii force King Kalakaua to establish a constitutional government.
February 4, 1887:
Congress passes the Interstate Commerce Act establishing the Interstate Commerce Commission, the first national regulatory commission, in an attempt to curb price fixing and other abuses by interstate railroads.
February 8, 1887:
Congress passes the Dawes Act, which provides for the division of tribal lands among individual American Indians and the sale of "surplus" land to non-Indians.
November 6, 1888:
Benjamin Harrison (Republican) narrowly defeats President Cleveland. Although Harrison wins the election in the Electoral College, Cleveland receives more popular votes. Minor-party candidates from the Union Labor and the Prohibition parties win nearly 400,000 votes, preventing either major party from gaining a clear majority.
March 4, 1889:
Benjamin Harrison is inaugurated as president. Levi P. Morton is vice president.
November 2, 1889:
North Dakota and South Dakota become states, followed by Montana on November 8 and Washington on November 11, becoming the 39th through 42nd states of the Union, respectively.
April 14, 1890:
At a conference that began in Washington, D.C., on October 2, 1889, Western Hemisphere nations form the Pan-American Union.
July 2, 1890:
Congress passes the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which authorizes the federal government to initiate court proceedings to dissolve trusts or contracts in restraint of trade in an attempt to limit or prevent business monopolies.
July 3, 1890:
Idaho becomes the 43rd state.
July 10, 1890:
Wyoming becomes the 44th state.
1891:
After succeeding her brother to the Hawaiian throne, Queen Liliuokalani issues an edict revoking the Constitution of 1887 and assuming autocratic powers, thus taking power away from the pro-American annexation faction.
March 3, 1891:
The Immigration and Naturalization Service is created by the Immigration Act of 1891; originally called the Bureau of Immigration, it is the first federal agency in charge of enforcing immigration laws and standards.
November 8, 1892:
Former president Grover Cleveland defeats incumbent Benjamin Harrison by more than 370,000 votes, becoming the only president to serve two non-connective terms.
January 17, 1893:
Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii abdicates the day after U.S. Marines land to back a rebellion led by pro-annexation American settlers.
February 1, 1893:
Hawaii is proclaimed a U.S. protectorate with Sanford B. Dole as president of the provisional government.
March 4, 1893:
Grover Cleveland is inaugurated to a second term as president. Adlai E. Stevenson is vice president.
May 5, 1893:
Stock prices on Wall Street drop. More than 600 banks close their doors in June as the United States enters a financial depression that lasts four years.
October 3, 1893:
Following a meeting of the National League for Good Roads, a lobbying group dedicated to the passage of national road legislation, the Federal Highway Administration is founded as the Office of Road Inquiry, an agency in the Department of Agriculture.
June 26–August 3, 1894:
Supporting a strike against the Pullman railroad car manufacturers, the American Railway Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, strikes against most railroads. President Cleveland sends in federal troops to break up the strike, based on a court injunction prohibiting workers from interfering with the delivery of mail.
July 4, 1894:
The Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed, and the government is recognized as a foreign power by President Cleveland on August 7.
August 27, 1894:
Congress passes the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act, which lowers the tariff rate; many see it as a victory for Democratic reductionism and a blow against Republican protectionism.
May 20, 1895:
The Supreme Court in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Company rules that the federal income tax provision of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act is unconstitutional.
January 4, 1896:
Utah becomes the 45th state.
November 3, 1896:
William McKinley is elected president, defeating Democratic candidate William J. Bryan with an electoral vote of 271 to 176.
March 4, 1897:
William McKinley is inaugurated as president with Garret A. Hobart as vice president.
April 24, 1898:
Spain declares war on the United States. Congress passes an official declaration of war on Spain the following day.
July 7, 1898:
Recognizing the strategic military value of its base at Pearl Harbor, Congress approves the annexation of Hawaii by joint resolution.
December 10, 1898:
A treaty ending the Spanish-American War is signed in Paris.
1899:
The expansion of the federal government makes it one of the leading U.S. employers, reaching close to 250,000 by 1899.
1899:
Secretary of State John Hay convinces Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Italy, and Japan to agree to an "Open Door" policy to assure all nations equal trading rights with China.
January 9, 1899:
Congress ratifies the treaty with Spain, which is signed by President McKinley on February 10. The United States acquires Puerto Rico and Guam, and Spain grants independence to Cuba. The United States buys Spanish holdings in the Philippines, gaining control over the islands.
February 6, 1900:
Theodore Roosevelt, hero of the Spanish-American War (1898) and governor of New York, declares that he neither could nor would accept the nomination for the vice presidency on the Republican ticket.
February 6, 1900:
President McKinley appoints William Howard Taft, a U.S. circuit judge, head of the Philippine Commission to establish a civil government in the islands.
April 13, 1900:
For the fourth time in eight years the House of Representatives adopts a resolution favoring a constitutional amendment for the election of U.S. senators by direct vote of the people instead of by state legislatures. The Senate finally concurs in 1911.
April 30, 1900:
By act of Congress Hawaii is granted territorial standing in the United States, joining Alaska, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona as American territories. Sanford B. Dole is appointed governor of the new territory.
September 18, 1900:
The first direct primary in the United States is held in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
November 6, 1900:
Republican William McKinley wins the presidential election, running against Democrat and Populist Party nominee William Jennings Bryan, Prohibition Party nominee John G. Woolley, and Socialist Labor Party nominee Joseph P. Maloney.
March 3, 1901:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is founded to provide better measurements and more uniformity, precision, and control in laboratory and factory activities.
March 4, 1901:
William McKinley is inaugurated for a second term as president; Theodore Roosevelt is sworn in as vice president.
June 10, 1901:
President McKinley issues a statement declaring he has no interest in seeking a third term and would not accept the nomination.
September 14, 1901:
After being shot by an anarchist seven days earlier, President McKinley dies. Theodore Roosevelt becomes president.
November 1901:
Alabama adopts a new constitution that effectively disenfranchises African Americans (and some poor whites) by including literacy and property tests, as well as a measure known as the "grandfather" clause, which states that a person cannot vote if his grandfather was ineligible. It also denies suffrage to individuals convicted of certain "criminal" acts. Other southern states soon follow suit.
December 3, 1901:
In his first State of the Union message to Congress, President Roosevelt calls for the regulation of business trusts "within reasonable limits" and becomes the first president to advocate the conservation of natural resources on public land.
March 6, 1902:
The Bureau of the Census is founded, responsible for collecting information regarding the U.S. population and its economic and social institutions.
March 10, 1902:
At President Roosevelt's instigation, Attorney General Philander C. Knox files to dissolve the Northern Securities Company under the Sherman Antitrust Act. This is the first major anti-trust action by the federal government.
July 8, 1902:
The Bureau of Reclamation is founded to study, locate, and construct large-scale irrigation projects in the West.
February 14, 1903:
The Department of Commerce is founded out of concern that the United States is not keeping up with its industrial competitors in promoting foreign trade.
April 27, 1903:
The Supreme Court upholds the clauses in the Alabama constitution which effectively deny African Americans the right to vote.
November 18, 1903:
The United States and Panama sign the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty giving the United States permanent rights to a ten-mile-wide canal zone in return for $10 million and an annual payment of $250,000 after nine years.
March 14, 1904:
The Supreme Court upholds the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in Northern Securities Company v. United States.
November 8, 1904:
Theodore Roosevelt is elected for his first full term as president, defeating his Democratic opponent by more than 2.5 million votes. His opponents include Eugene V. Debs (Socialist Party), Silas C. Swallow (Prohibition Party), Thomas E. Watson (Populist Party), and Judge Alton B. Parker (Democratic Party).
January 20, 1905:
President Roosevelt invokes the Roosevelt Corollary (asserting the right of the United States to intervene in Latin American internal affairs) for the first time, as the United States begins to supervise the payment of national and international debts owed by the Dominican Republic.
February 1, 1905:
The Department of Forestry, created in 1881, is renamed the Forest Service; it is charged with studying forest conditions, disseminating forest information, and protecting and managing the national forests.
March 4, 1905:
Theodore Roosevelt is inaugurated as president for a second term. He is the youngest elected president to date. His vice president is Charles Warren Fairbanks.
June 29, 1906:
Congress passes the Hepburn Act, which puts teeth in the Interstate Commerce Act by permitting regulation of rates charged by railroads, pipelines, and terminals. President Roosevelt has strongly endorsed the act and helped guide it through Congress.
June 30, 1906:
The Federal Food and Drug Act is passed.
September 29, 1906:
The United States invokes the Platt Amendment (an amendment to Cuba's constitution allowing the United States to intervene to maintain order) and assumes military control of Cuba. The United States continues to govern Cuba until January 1909.
October 1, 1907:
A downturn in the stock market touches off the Panic of 1907. At the request of the federal government J. Pierpont Morgan and fellow bankers bring $100 million in gold from Europe to restore confidence in the economy and end the currency panic that has caused runs on banks.
November 16, 1907:
Oklahoma becomes the 46th state.
February 21, 1909:
President Roosevelt sends the "Great White Fleet" of 16 battleships on a world cruise, partly to demonstrate that the United States is an important international power.
May 30, 1908:
Congress passes the Aldrich-Vreeland Act, which frees banks to issue notes backed by commercial paper and bonds issued by state and local governments. At the same time, archconservative Nelson W. Aldrich is named as head of the National Monetary Commission, set up to review the entire financial structure of the United States.
June 8, 1908:
At the urging of Gifford Pinchot, head of the U.S. Forest Service, President Roosevelt appoints a 57-member National Commission for the Conservation of Natural Resources, naming Pinchot as chairman. The commission's job is to compile the first list of all American natural resources.
July 26, 1908:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is created by Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte as a corps of special agents to serve as the investigative arm of the Department of Justice.
November 3, 1908:
Republican William Howard Taft wins the presidential election with 1,269,900 more votes than William Jennings Bryan. The Republicans maintain their majorities in both houses of Congress.
March 4, 1909:
William Howard Taft is inaugurated as the twenty-seventh president of the United States. James S. Sherman is vice president.
July 12, 1909:
Congress proposes the Sixteenth Amendment, which authorizes a federal income tax. It is ratified by the states in 1913.
March 17, 1910:
Congressman George W. Norris (R-Neb.) introduces a resolution to limit the power of speaker of the house during Joseph G. Cannon's dictatorial speakership. The measure passes, indicating the growing strength of progressive Republicans.
June 18, 1910:
Congress passes the Mann-Elkins Act, which extends jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to include telephone, telegraph, cable, and wireless companies. It also augments ICC regulation of railroads, and it establishes a Commerce Court (which is abolished in 1913).
June 25, 1910:
Congress passes the Publicity Act, which requires members of Congress to report campaign contributions.
January 21, 1911:
The National Progressive Republican League, founded by Sen. Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin and other insurgent Republicans, issues its platform, which calls for direct election of U.S. senators, the initiative, the referendum, the recall, and other reforms.
July 24, 1911:
The United States renews its commercial treaty with Japan. Among its provisions, the treaty reaffirms the "Gentlemen's Agreement" of 1907, in which President Theodore Roosevelt pledged to see that Japanese residents of the United States were well treated if Japan voluntarily prevented Japanese laborers from immigrating to the United States.
January 6, 1912:
New Mexico becomes the 47th state.
February 14, 1912:
Arizona is admitted as the 48th state.
June 22, 1912:
Through his control of the Republican Party machine and the support of conservatives, Taft is nominated for a second term at the Republican National Convention in Chicago. Popular former president Theodore Roosevelt breaks with the Republican Party to run for the presidency on the Progressive Party ticket.
August 2, 1912:
Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge (R-Mass.) introduces a resolution—subsequently known as the Lodge Corollary—extending the Monroe Doctrine to pertain to foreign companies and non-European nations.
November 5, 1912:
With the Republican vote split between Roosevelt and Taft, Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson wins the presidential election, carrying forty of the forty-eight states. President Taft carries only Utah and Vermont. Eugene Debs, the Socialist Party candidate, is defeated for the fourth time.
March 4, 1913:
Woodrow Wilson takes the oath of office and becomes the twenty-eighth president of the United States with Thomas R. Marshall as vice president.
March 4, 1913:
The Department of Labor becomes a separate department from the Department of Commerce "to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of working people, to improve their working conditions, and to enhance their opportunities for profitable employment."
March 4, 1913:
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is founded as part of the Department of Labor with the goal of protecting workers and improving their working conditions by providing accurate statistics.
May 31, 1913:
The Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution, providing for the direct election of U.S. senators, is officially adopted following ratification by thirty-six states. Previously senators were selected by state legislatures.
December 23, 1913:
The Federal Reserve System is established by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 to counter financial disruptions by coordinating the Federal Reserve banks and by controlling the "discount rate," or interest rate at which banks could lend each other money.
August 1914:
World War I begins.
August 3, 1914:
The Panama Canal opens.
September 1, 1914:
The Federal Trade Commission is created and granted an unprecedented authority by the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 to investigate, publicize, and prohibit all unfair methods of business competition.
April 28, 1915:
The U.S. Coast Guard is founded; over the years it becomes responsible for, among other things, patrolling U.S. shores for icebergs, performing lifesaving operations, and enforcing Prohibition laws and drug control policies.
May 7, 1915:
The Lusitania, a British passenger liner, is sunk off the Irish coast by a German submarine. The dead include 128 Americans.
September 16, 1915:
Haiti becomes a U.S. protectorate under the terms of a new ten-year treaty, which the Senate approves on 28 February 1916. U.S. Marines remain in Haiti until 1934.
June 3, 1916:
Congress passes the National Defense Act, which provides for the expansion of the regular army to 220,000, authorizes a National Guard of 450,000 men, establishes the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) at colleges and universities, and makes provisions for industrial preparedness.
August 25, 1916:
The National Park Service is founded to promote and regulate the use of national parks and monuments.
September 7, 1916:
Congress passes the Shipping Act, which authorizes the creation of the U.S. Shipping Board to oversee the requisition of ships through the Emergency Fleet Corporation.
September 7, 1916:
Congress passes the Workmen's Compensation Act, which offers coverage to half a million federal employees.
September 8, 1916:
The U.S. International Trade Commission is founded as the United State Tariff Commission and is charged with the duty of providing Congress with trade information and statistics that would help members of Congress make rational decisions regarding tariff revisions.
November 7, 1916:
Woodrow Wilson is reelected president, narrowly defeating Republican candidate Charles Evans Hughes who had resigned from the Supreme Court to run.
1917:
Jeannette Rankin is elected to the House of Representatives. She is the first woman elected to Congress.
March 5, 1917:
President Wilson is inaugurated for his second term in office.
April 4, 1917:
The United States declares war on Germany.
July 24, 1917:
Congress appropriates $640 million to develop an army air force. The goal is to build forty-five hundred planes by the spring of 1918.
November 6, 1917:
An amendment to the New York State constitution gives women the right to vote in state elections.
January 8, 1918:
In an address before Congress President Wilson puts forward his proposal for peace (the Fourteen Points).
March 19, 1918:
To conserve energy during the war, Congress passes legislation that puts daylight saving time into effect.
September 14, 1918:
Eugene V. Debs, who has been the Socialist Party presidential candidate in 1900, 1904, 1908, and 1912, is found guilty of making seditious statements that impede recruitment efforts and is sentenced to ten years in prison under the Espionage Act of 1917. His sentence is commuted by President Warren G. Harding in 1921.
1919:
The Eighteenth Amendment, known as the Prohibition amendment, is ratified.
February 14, 1919:
President Wilson delivers his proposal for a League of Nations to the Paris Peace Conference.
June 28, 1919:
The Treaty of Versailles is signed, officially ending World War I.
September 25, 1919:
After making his fortieth speech in support of the League of Nations, President Wilson collapses in Pueblo, Colorado, and is forced to return to the White House, where he suffers an incapacitating stroke from which he never fully recovers.
October 1919:
The Volstead Act is passed to provide for the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment (the Prohibition Amendment).
1920:
The Nineteenth Amendment, which grants women the right to vote, passes.
March 19, 1920:
In a victory for opponents of the Treaty of Versailles, the Senate rejects U.S. membership in the League of Nations.
November 2, 1920:
With his campaign slogan "back to normalcy," Warren G. Harding receives 404 electoral votes and 60 percent of the popular vote to win the presidency of the United States. He defeats the Democratic ticket of James M. Cox and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
March 4, 1921:
Warren G. Harding is inaugurated as twenty-ninth president of the United States. Calvin Coolidge is vice president.
May 19, 1921:
Harding signs the Emergency Immigration Act, restricting immigration to the United States from any European country to 3 percent of the individuals of that nationality in the United States at the time of the 1910 census. The act also creates an annual ceiling of 355,000 immigrants.
June 20, 1921:
Alice Robertson of Oklahoma becomes the first woman to preside over the U.S. House of Representatives, remaining at the podium for thirty minutes.
August 25, 1921:
Because the United States never ratified the Versailles Treaty, U.S. and German representatives sign a peace treaty in Berlin to officially recognize the end of World War I.
September 1, 1921:
The General Accounting Office is founded and given the authority to interpret any laws concerning government payments, to investigate receipt and use of public funds, to recommend to Congress ways of making government expenditures more economical and efficient, and to standardize accounting systems, forms, and procedures among all government agencies.
October 3, 1922:
Rebecca Felton of Georgia becomes the first female U.S. senator. Her term, to which the governor of Georgia appointed her following the death of Sen. Thomas Watson, lasts only one day.
April 9, 1923:
The U.S. Supreme Court rules the minimum-wage law for women and children in Washington, D.C., to be unconstitutional in Adkins v. Children's Hospital.
August 2, 1923:
President Harding dies in San Francisco on a goodwill tour of the country that took him all the way to Alaska.
August 3, 1923:
Calvin Coolidge is sworn in as the thirtieth president of the United States.
May 17, 1924:
Congress overrides President Coolidge's veto of the Veterans' Bonus Bill, which allocates $2 billion for veterans of World War I.
May 24, 1924:
The United States decides that it must become more involved in international affairs after the tremendous loss of life in Word War I (1914–18); the Foreign Service is thus created by the Rogers Act of 1924 to better represent the country's political and economic interests abroad.
November 1924:
President Calvin Coolidge is elected to his first full term as president. He defeats Democratic candidate John W. Davis by an electoral vote of 382 to 136.
March 4, 1925:
Calvin Coolidge is inaugurated and begins his first elected term as president. Charles G. Dawes is vice president.
November 1928:
Republican Herbert C. Hoover defeats Democratic presidential candidate Alfred E. Smith by an electoral vote of 444 to 87.
March 4, 1929:
Herbert Hoover is inaugurated as the thirty-first president of the United States. Charles Curtis is his vice president.
June 18, 1929:
President Hoover signs the reapportionment bill, which gives the president the authority to reapportion Congress after each decennial census if Congress fails to act. Hoover finds this legislation necessary because Congress has so far refused to reapportion congressional districts on the basis of the 1920 census.
October 29, 1929:
Prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapse and the United State enters the Great Depression which will last into World War II (1939–45).
May 26, 1930:
The National Institutes of Health is founded; it is originally a federal laboratory dedicated to the research of diseases, navigable stream pollution, and information dissemination.
July 21, 1930:
President Hoover signs into law an act establishing the Veterans Administration.
July 26, 1930:
The Food and Drug Administration is founded to enforce the regulations set out in the Food and Drug Act of 1906 and the Meat Inspection Act, establishing federal food standards and prohibiting the misbranding and adulteration of food and drugs.
September–October 1931:
Hoarding of gold increases as the economic depression worsens; banks are failing in great numbers (522 close during October alone), and their depositors, uninsured by the government, lose most of their savings.
February 2, 1932:
On the recommendation of President Hoover, Congress establishes the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, giving it wide-ranging power to extend credit to private banks and businesses.
February 27, 1932:
Congress passes the Glass-Steagall Credit Expansion Act, making $750 million of the government gold reserve available for industrial and business needs.
November 1932:
Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected to the presidency, defeating Republican president Herbert Hoover by a vote of 472 to 59.
February 6, 1933:
The Twentieth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the "lame duck" amendment, is ratified. It moves the date of the presidential inauguration from March 4 to January 20 and sets the beginning of terms for senators and congressmen as January 3, which is also established as the first day of the new session.
March 4, 1933:
Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated president of the United States. John N. Garner is vice president.
March 5–13, 1933:
Because bank runs and closings continue to sweep the country, President Roosevelt declares a "bank holiday," suspending regular bank business to provide a cooling-off period.
March 9–June 16, 1933:
Congress convenes to deal with the banking crisis, beginning the "First Hundred Days" of the "First New Deal." Many emergency bills are passed, such as the National Industrial Recovery Act, the Emergency Banking Relief Act, the Agricultural Administration Act, and the Farm Credit Act.
May 18, 1933:
The Tennessee Valley Authority is founded; originally established to provide flood control, navigation, and electric power to the people in the Tennessee Valley area, it grows to become the United States's largest electric power producing company.
June 12–July 27, 1933:
At the London Economic Conference, European nations and the United States are unable to develop a plan for international cooperation in ending the wide fluctuation of exchange rates and reducing trade barriers.
July 26, 1933:
The Farm Credit Administration is founded.
November 16, 1933:
The United States formally recognizes the Soviet Union, sixteen years after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.
December 5, 1933:
The Twenty-first Amendment repealing Prohibition is ratified.
1934:
Congress passes the National Housing Act, which establishes the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).
January 1, 1934:
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is established to help restore the country's confidence in its banking system as a result of the bank failures of the Great Depression.
June 21, 1934:
The National Mediation Board is founded to handle disputes between labor and management.
July 2, 1934:
The Securities and Exchange Commission is founded to administer federal securities laws that curb fraudulent stock and investment practices.
July 26, 1934:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is founded to combine the functions of the Federal Radio Commission (regulating airwave use and radio licenses) with the telephone and telegraph policies previously regulated by the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Postmaster General.
January 4, 1935:
The "Second New Deal" begins as President Roosevelt outlines a program for social reform that will benefit laborers and small farmers.
July 5, 1935:
The National Labor Relations Board is founded by the Wagner Act, a response to an appeal by President Roosevelt for a greater degree of "industrial peace" so that economic recovery from the Great Depression could be achieved.
August 14, 1935:
The Social Security Administration is founded to administer the new national old-age insurance program.
November 3, 1936:
Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected to a second term as president in a landslide victory over Republican Alfred M. Landon of Kansas. There will be only 89 Republicans in the new House of Representatives and only 16 in the Senate.
January 20, 1937:
President Roosevelt begins his second term, declaring, "I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished." John N. Garner is his vice president.
February 5, 1937:
President Roosevelt requests that Congress pass legislation to increase the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court to as many as fifteen. His proposal is decried as "court packing" and fails.
July 22, 1937:
Congress establishes the Farm Security Administration (FSA), which offers low-interest loans to sharecroppers and farm laborers.
September 2, 1937:
President Roosevelt signs the National Housing Act, creating the U.S. Housing Authority.
December 12, 1937:
Japanese planes bomb and sink the U.S. gunboat Panay on the Yangtze River in China; two American sailors are killed. Two days later Japan formally apologizes for the incident, but relations between Japan and the United States remain strained.
February 16, 1938:
President Roosevelt signs the second Agricultural Administration Act, replacing the first AAA, which had been declared unconstitutional in 1936.
February 27, 1939:
The U.S. Supreme Court rules wildcat strikes (strikes in violation of a contract) to be illegal.
April 14, 1939:
President Roosevelt appeals to Adolf Hitler of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy to ensure European peace, and he calls for a world disarmament conference.
July 1, 1939:
The Office of Management and Budget is founded with the responsibility of assisting the president in overseeing the preparation of the federal budget and supervising its administration in executive branch agencies.
September 3, 1939:
Responding to the German invasion of Poland on September 1, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany. On the same day 30 Americans are killed when Germany sinks a British passenger ship; President Roosevelt restates U.S. neutrality.
September 8, 1939:
The White House Office is founded; early staff positions involve mostly clerical duties. By the end of the twentieth century, the office grows to include more advisory and political positions.
September 8, 1939:
Due to the conflict in Europe, President Roosevelt declares a limited state of emergency that gives him the ability to act quickly if needed.
October 11, 1939:
The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund is organized and pledges an all-out fight against discrimination.
January 26, 1940:
The 1911 U.S.-Japan Treaty of Commerce expires, and Secretary of State Cordell Hull informs the Japanese government that trade will continue only on a day-to-day basis.
May 25, 1940:
President Roosevelt establishes the Office of Emergency Management.
June 30, 1940:
The Bureau of the Public Debt is founded to borrow money needed to operate the government by issuing Treasury bills, notes, and bonds, guaranteeing repayment of the value plus interest to the owner.
September 27, 1940:
The Tripartite Pact, a ten-year military and economic alliance among Germany, Italy, and Japan, is formalized. The three Axis powers pledge mutual assistance to one another in case of attack by any nation not already at war with another member. Observers see this pact as a clear warning to the United States.
October 29, 1940:
Secretary of War Henry Stimson draws the first number in the Selective Service lottery, initiating the first peacetime draft in American history.
November 5, 1940:
President Roosevelt is reelected in an electoral-college landslide against Republican Wendell L. Willkie but wins the popular vote by only 5 million ballots.
January 6, 1941:
In his State of the Union Address, President Roosevelt asks Congress to support a "Lend-Lease program" that will allow Great Britain to borrow needed war supplies. He also outlines the "four essential freedoms" for which the Allies are fighting: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
January 20, 1941:
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Henry A. Wallace are inaugurated as president and vice-president. Roosevelt becomes the first three-term president.
February 3, 1941:
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in United States v. Darby Lumber Co. that the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is constitutional.
April 11, 1941:
President Roosevelt establishes the Office of Price Administration (OPA) to control wages and prices for the duration of the war. Roosevelt informs Winston Churchill that the United States will extend its "security zone" to 26 degrees longitude—the middle of the Atlantic—and will commit American security patrols to these waters.
August 14, 1941:
President Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill meet to discuss the Atlantic Charter, which becomes the blueprint for the United Nations.
November 17, 1941:
In Washington, D.C., Japanese ambassador Nomura Kichisaburo and special envoy Kurusu Saburo suggest that war could result if the United States does not remove its economic embargo and refrain from interfering with Japanese activities in China and the Pacific.
December 7, 1941:
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as well as U.S. bases in Thailand, Malaya, Singapore, the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, and Hong Kong.
December 8, 1941:
Calling the Japanese attack "a date which will live in infamy," President Roosevelt asks Congress for a declaration of war against Japan. Only one member fails to vote for the declaration: Representative Jeannette Rankin (R-Mont.), a committed pacifist who was against American involvement in World War I.
December 11, 1941:
Germany declares war on the United States, with Italy following suit.
January 12, 1942:
The National War Labor Board is established to settle labor disputes.
June 13, 1942:
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency, is established with Maj. Gen. William "Wild Bill" Donovan as director.
November 8, 1942:
Operation Torch begins with four hundred thousand Allied troops landing in Algeria and Morocco in northern Africa under the command of Gen. Eisenhower.
January 14, 1943:
The Casablanca Conference begins. President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill decide to demand unconditional surrender from the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan.
May 1, 1943:
In the name of "national security," President Roosevelt seizes all bituminous-coal mines in the eastern United States in response to wildcat strikes that threaten war production.
June 10, 1943:
The Current Tax Payment Act takes effect, requiring the withholding of federal income taxes from individual paychecks on a regular basis. This act revolutionizes the collecting of taxes and gives government more power to spend than before.
December 17, 1943:
Congress repeals all Chinese Exclusion Acts enacted throughout the century.
January 22, 1944:
President Roosevelt creates the War Refugee Board to help resettle millions of refugees after the war.
March 29, 1944:
Congress authorizes $1.35 billion to seed the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Fund, initiating a massive program to aid Europe's displaced millions.
April 3, 1944:
In Smith v. Allwright the U.S. Supreme Court rules that African Americans cannot be denied the right to vote in the Texas Democratic primary.
June 6, 1944:
The long-planned "Operation Overlord," the invasion of Nazi-occupied France, begins on D-Day on the beaches of Normandy in northern France. By day's end 150,000 troops successfully land. Within a week more than 350,000 troops are moving toward Germany.
June 20, 1944:
The Battle of the Philippine Sea ends with the decisive defeat of Japanese forces.
July 22, 1944:
The Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire, begun July 1, ends. Representatives of 44 nations, not including the Soviet Union, establish the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank).
August–October 1944:
The Dumbarton Oaks conference is convened by President Roosevelt, with delegates from Great Britain, China, and Russia in attendance, to work out proposals that will serve as a basis for the United Nations charter.
November 7, 1944:
President Franklin D. Roosevelt wins reelection for a third time. Republican candidate Thomas E. Dewey is defeated by an electoral vote of 432 to 99.
January 20, 1945:
Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated for an unprecedented fourth term as president, with Harry S. Truman as vice president.
February 11, 1945:
The Yalta Conference ends with President Roosevelt, Winston Churchill of Great Britain, and Joseph Stalin of Russia agreeing on the postwar division of Europe and Asia, on the treatment of war criminals, and on holding the first meeting of the United Nations to discuss further issues.
April 12, 1945:
President Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrhage. Truman is sworn in as president.
May 8, 1945:
Germany surrenders, ending the European war. Victory in Europe (V-E) Day is declared in the United States as massive celebrations erupt.
August 6, 1945:
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The resulting devastation amazes even the scientists who created it. More than 50,000 people perish in seconds, and four square miles of the city are reduced to rubble.
August 9, 1945:
An atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki in southern Japan, killing 40,000 Japanese civilians immediately. Japan announces its intention to surrender.
August 27, 1945:
The Allies begin to divide Korea, with the Soviets occupying the territory north of the 38th parallel and the Americans the southern half of the peninsula.
September 2, 1945:
Japan signs a formal surrender onboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
September 6, 1945:
President Truman announces his economic recovery plan to Congress. Later known as the "Fair Deal," the program promises full employment, a substantial raise in the minimum wage, the extension of Social Security, national health insurance, federal aid to education, and government-sponsored housing for the poor.
December 14, 1945:
General Marshall is named special ambassador to China to make peace between the communist forces of Mao Tse-tung and the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek.
December 31, 1945:
President Truman dismantles the War Labor Board, replacing it with the Wage Stabilization Board in an effort to slow the pace of rapidly growing labor unrest.
January 10, 1946:
The first General Assembly of the United Nations meets in London. Heading the American delegation are Secretary of State James F. Byrnes and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
January 21, 1946:
The United Steelworkers close down the nation's steel plants in a dispute over wage contracts.
February 20, 1946:
The Employment Act of 1946 is passed by Congress, establishing the Council of Economic Advisers to help the nation's economy change from a high-production wartime economy to a civilian economy without a loss in stability or employment.
June 3, 1946:
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia that segregated seating on interstate buses is unconstitutional.
July 1, 1946:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is founded to eradicate communicable diseases; it later expands its activities beyond the bounds of infectious disease to include areas such as nutrition, chronic disease, and occupational and environmental health.
July 4, 1946:
The United States grants political independence to the Philippines, but maintains the right to station ships and planes on Philippine territory at Subic Bay and Clark Air Base.
August 2, 1946:
Congress passes the Legislative Reorganization Act, which requires registration of political lobbyists and the reporting of expenses.
November 9, 1946:
Responding to pressures from business and conservatives, President Truman lifts price controls on most consumer goods even though recently enacted legislation is supposed to safeguard against this for six more months.
December 5, 1946:
Despite conservative opposition, especially in the South, President Truman issues Executive Order 9809, creating the Committee on Civil Rights to investigate the treatment of African Americans in the United States—the first time in American history that a president focuses on civil liberties for racial minorities.
January 1, 1947:
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is founded to minimize interruptions of business that grow out of labor disputes and to settle labor and management disputes through conciliation and mediation.
March 12, 1947:
Announcing his "containment policy," President Truman declares that the United States will provide $400 million to Greece and Turkey to fight communism. The Truman Doctrine will commit the United States to becoming a global anti-communist policeman.
June 23, 1947:
Over President Truman's veto, Congress passes the Taft-Hartley Act (Labor Management Relations Act), which bans the closed shop by which only union members may be hired and which permits employers to sue unions for damages incurred in strikes. The act also allows the government to enforce an 80-day cooling-off period, forbids political contributions by unions, and requires union leaders to swear they are not communists.
July 18, 1947:
The Presidential Succession Act is passed, making the speaker of the House of Representatives next in line for the presidency after the vice president. Following the speaker is the president pro tempore of the Senate and cabinet members according to rank.
July 26, 1947:
The National Security Council is founded "to advise the president with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to the national security."
September 2, 1947:
President Truman flies to Brazil to sign the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Pact), in which nineteen American nations commit themselves to "collective defense against aggression."
September 8, 1947:
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is founded as a collaboration of operations among the nation's military branches.
September 18, 1947:
The Central Intelligence Agency is founded to gather and analyze intelligence information and to document the activities of foreign governments in order to better protect national security interests.
September 18, 1947:
The Department of the Air Force is founded as its own agency, replacing the Army Air Force.
October 5, 1947:
For the first time in the nation's history the president uses the new medium of television to speak to the American public.
October 18, 1947:
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) launches an extensive investigation into Communist activities in the movie industry.
March 8, 1948:
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in McCollum v. Board of Education that religious training in public schools is unconstitutional.
April 30, 1948:
The International Conference of American States, with twenty-one members in attendance at Bogota, Colombia, establishes the Organization of American States (OAS).
May 14, 1948:
Israel declares its independence from Britain as a sovereign state. The United States becomes the first nation to recognize the new country.
June 11, 1948:
The Vandenberg Resolution passes in the Senate, allowing the United States to enter into collective security alliances outside the western hemisphere.
June 26, 1948:
In response to the Soviet shutdown of all traffic from the West into Berlin on June 24, the United States initiates the Berlin airlift. For the next year nearly 275,000 flights will provide Berliners with 2.3 million tons of food and fuel.
August 3, 1948:
Former communist Whittaker Chambers accuses Alger Hiss, a high-ranking State Department diplomat, of membership in the Communist Party, lending credence to right-wing charges that subversives have infiltrated the government.
November 2, 1948:
Defying the polls and the political pundits, President Truman is reelected by a margin of 2.2 million popular and 114 electoral votes, defeating Republican Thomas Dewey, States Rights Party ("Dixiecrats") candidate Strom Thurmond, and Progressive Party candidate Henry A. Wallace.
January 20, 1949:
President Truman is inaugurated for his second term with Alben W. Barkley as vice president. In his speech Truman emphasizes the importance of foreign aid.
March 2, 1949:
To prove that the United States possesses intercontinental air-strike capabilities, the U.S. Air Force's B-50 bomber circumnavigates the globe.
July 21, 1949:
The Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The United States has never before concluded an alliance treaty with any European power during peacetime.
August 10, 1949:
The Department of Defense is founded to create a command and interservice cooperation of land, sea, and air forces, both at home and in foreign countries where U.S. armed forces are stationed.
October 1, 1949:
Mao Tse-tung announces the creation of the People's Republic of China. The United States does not recognize the new government.
October 26, 1949:
The Fair Labor Standards Act is amended to raise the minimum wage from 40 cents to 75 cents an hour.
May 10, 1950:
The National Science Foundation is founded, establishing the U.S. government's role in promoting and sponsoring scientific discoveries and projects.
June 1950–July 1953:
The Korean War is fought.
1951:
The Twenty-second Amendment, limiting the president's service to two terms, is ratified.
October 24, 1952:
The National Security Agency is founded with the responsibility for the signals intelligence and communications security activities of the U.S. government.
November 4, 1952:
Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower wins the presidential election by a popular vote of 32.9 million to 26.5 million and carries thirty-nine states to Democrat Adlai Stevenson's nine.
January 20, 1953:
Dwight David Eisenhower is inaugurated president and Richard Nixon as vice president.
July 27, 1953:
An armistice is concluded in Korea that leaves that country divided. The United States guarantees economic aid and military security for South Korea.
May 17, 1954:
In Brown v. Board of Education the U.S. Supreme Court rules that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
1955:
The United States opposes the entry of additional communist nations, especially "Red" China, into the United Nations.
1955:
The eighty-fourth Congress has a record 18 women (16 in the House of Representatives, one in the Senate, and one nonvoting delegate from Hawaii).
November 6, 1956:
President Eisenhower and Vice President Nixon are reelected in a landslide victory over Democrats Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver (457 electoral votes to 74; 33.2 million popular votes to 24.1 million).
January 20, 1957:
Dwight David Eisenhower is inaugurated for his second term as president with Richard Nixon as vice president.
May 18, 1957:
The United States Commission on Civil Rights is founded with the mission of reporting to the president and Congress about all forms of discrimination throughout the United States.
September 24, 1957:
President Eisenhower orders U.S. Army paratroopers to prevent interference with racial integration at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
April 1, 1958:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is founded; it becomes the principal operating agency for manned space flight, space science, and launch-vehicle development, as well as a significant research-and-development source for space-flight technology and aeronautics.
August 2, 1958:
The Federal Aviation Administration is founded with roots in the Air Commerce Act of 1926 which provides for the regulation of pilots and aircraft, for setting up a system of airways and navigational aids, and for fostering air commerce in general.
January 3, 1959:
Alaska becomes the 49th state.
August 21, 1959:
Hawaii becomes the 50th state.
November 16, 1959:
The Department of Justice initiates a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to end "white primaries" in Tennessee, where blacks had been prohibited from voting.
May 5, 1960:
The Soviet Union shoots down an American U-2 spy plane and captures the pilot, Francis Gary Powers. A conference between President Eisenhower and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev is consequently canceled.
November 1960:
Republican vice president Richard Nixon is defeated in his bid for the presidency by Democrat John F. Kennedy, earning 219 electoral votes to Kennedy's 303.
1961:
The Twenty-third Amendment grants voting rights in presidential elections to citizens who reside in Washington, D.C.
January 20, 1961:
John F. Kennedy is inaugurated president with Lyndon B. Johnson as vice president.
March 1, 1961:
President Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps by executive order.
April 17, 1961:
Cuban exiles backed by the CIA invade Fidel Castro's Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. Cuba defeats the invaders by April 20, and the surviving members of the force are captured and imprisoned.
May 4, 1961:
The Freedom Riders begin their bus travels to various southern cities, seeking to eliminate segregation in interstate transportation.
May 5, 1961:
Slightly more than three weeks after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly in space, American astronaut Alan B. Shepard is launched in the Freedom 7 spacecraft into space.
August 13, 1961:
East Germany closes its borders with West Berlin and begins construction of the Berlin Wall.
November 3, 1961:
Gen. Maxwell Taylor and State Department official Walt Rostow return from a fact-finding trip to South Vietnam and recommend quick military action.
February 19, 1962:
John Glenn, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps and pilot of the Friendship 7 spacecraft who later becomes a senator from Ohio, is the first American to orbit Earth. He does so three times.
October 14, 1962:
The United States discovers Soviet offensive missiles in Cuba and issues an ultimatum demanding their removal. Cuba is quarantined and placed under a U.S. naval blockade. After several days of tense confrontation, the Soviets agree to remove their missiles from Cuba on October 28.
August 28, 1963:
Civil rights supporters march on Washington, D.C., and listen to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s now-famous "I have a dream" speech.
November 22, 1963:
President Kennedy is assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald is later charged with the murder. Subsequently, Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as president of the United States onboard Air Force One en route from Dallas to Washington, D.C.
1964:
The Twenty-fourth Amendment passes. It bans the poll tax, which had been used to prevent many African Americans from voting.
June 10, 1964:
The Senate invokes the cloture rule, ending a southern filibuster designed to prevent a vote on a civil rights bill—the first time cloture has successfully been invoked on civil rights legislation.
July 2, 1964:
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the most extensive and far-reaching civil rights act since the Reconstruction.
August 3, 1964:
U.S. ships are attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin by North Vietnamese patrol boats, prompting a retaliation by the United States and passage of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, giving President Johnson congressional approval for all future actions he takes regarding the undeclared war in Vietnam.
August 20, 1964:
President Johnson signs the War on Poverty Bill.
November 3, 1964:
Johnson wins the presidential election. He defeats Arizona conservative Republican Goldwater in a landslide, carrying many Democrats into office.
1965:
Johnson escalates the Vietnam War. By the end of the year there are more than 180,000 American troops there.
January 20, 1965:
Lyndon B. Johnson is inaugurated for a second term. Hubert H. Humphrey is vice president.
March 2, 1965:
U.S. aircraft begin bombing North Vietnam.
March 8, 1965:
The first U.S. combat troops are sent to Vietnam; earlier forces had consisted primarily of military advisers and support personnel.
April 28, 1965:
The United States invades the Dominican Republic, ostensibly to prevent a Communist takeover.
July 2, 1965:
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is established under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to investigate and conciliate all claims of discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion.
August 6, 1965:
President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
August 10, 1965:
The Economic Development Administration is founded under the terms of the Public Works and Economic Development Act to target federal resources to economically distressed areas and to help develop local economies in the United States.
September 25, 1965:
The National Endowment for the Humanities is founded after advocates of the humanities in the United States see the large investments being made for improvements in the sciences and argue that improving the disciplines of the humanities is equally important to the country's interests.
September 29, 1965:
The National Endowment for the Arts is founded; since its creation, it has sponsored thousands of individual and organizational arts projects, supported the establishment of arts councils in every state, and worked to make the arts in America excellent and accessible.
November 9, 1965:
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is founded to form an integrated approach to addressing housing and community development needs, taking into consideration the social, physical, and economic conditions that help communities thrive.
October 15, 1966:
The Department of Transportation is founded as a cabinet-level agency responsible for creating and regulating policy for the entire transportation industry in the United States.
1967:
The Twenty-fifth Amendment is ratified. It clarifies the circumstances under which the vice president becomes president, and allows for the possibility of the vice president serving as acting president if the president is temporarily incapacitated. It also establishes a method by which the vice president can be replaced.
March 31, 1968:
President Johnson announces to a national television audience that he is halting the bombing of North Vietnam; he invites North Vietnam to begin peace negotiations. He also announces he will not run for reelection.
April 4, 1968:
Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., is murdered in Memphis, Tennessee. Riots occur in many U.S. cities.
April 11, 1968:
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, directed at reducing racial discrimination practices in housing.
June 5, 1968:
New York senator Robert F. Kennedy, brother of slain president John Kennedy, is shot and killed hours after winning the California Democratic presidential primary.
July 1, 1968:
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is signed by the United States, the Soviet Union, and many other nations.
November 5, 1968:
Republican Richard Nixon wins the presidential election over Democratic contender Hubert Humphrey, from Minnesota.
January 20, 1969:
Richard M. Nixon is inaugurated president with Spiro Agnew as vice president.
July 20, 1969:
American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin are the first people to walk on the moon.
November 15, 1969:
Over 250,000 march in Washington, D.C., to protest the Vietnam War. American opinion is deeply divided over the war effort; "hawks" call for increased military action while "doves" want to reduce military activity.
January 1, 1970:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is founded with the goal of preventing injuries and deaths in the workplace and protecting the health of U.S. workers.
March 19, 1970:
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is founded by the National Traffic and Motor Vehicles Act of 1966 that made auto design and manufacturing subject to federal regulation.
June 15, 1970:
In Welsh v. United States the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the claim of conscientious-objector status can be argued on the basis of moral objection to war rather than long-standing religious belief alone.
September 22, 1970:
President Nixon signs a bill authorizing a nonvoting congressional representative to the House of Representatives for the District of Columbia, the first since 1875.
December 2, 1970:
The Environmental Protection Agency is founded as a coordinated and inclusive effort to control pollution in all its forms.
1971:
The Twenty-sixth amendment lowers the voting age to 18.
February 11, 1971:
The United States, the Soviet Union, and sixty-one other nations sign the Seabed Arms Control Treaty, banning nuclear weapons from the ocean floor.
April 7, 1971:
The Supreme Court upholds court-ordered busing to achieve racial balance.
October 25, 1971:
With the support of the United States, members of the United Nations vote to admit the People's Republic of China and expel Nationalist China (Taiwan).
January 22, 1972:
In Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court decides that states cannot prevent a woman from obtaining an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy.
February 1972:
President Nixon travels to the (Communist) People's Republic of China, the most visible sign of an ongoing shift towards a more positive U.S. relationship with that nation.
February 14, 1972:
President Nixon announces that he will take steps to limit the scope of court-ordered busing.
March 22, 1972:
A proposed Twenty-seventh Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender, is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. By the end of 1972, twenty-two of the necessary 38 states have ratified the amendment, also known as the Equal Rights Amendment.
April 7, 1972:
The Federal Election Campaign Act goes into effect. The law sets limits and requires disclosures on personal contributions to political candidates.
May 22–30, 1972:
President Nixon becomes the first American president to visit Moscow. While in the Soviet Union he signs treaties on ballistic missiles and other strategic weapons.
September 12, 1972:
The Senate approves President Nixon's $33.5-billion revenue-sharing plan that will disburse federal funds to state and local governments over a five-year period.
November 7, 1972:
Richard Nixon defeats Sen. George McGovern for the presidency by 17,409,550 votes. McGovern wins electoral-college victories only in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. The Democrats nevertheless retain their majorities in both houses of Congress.
November 27–30, 1972:
Following a full collapse in the Paris peace talks, Nixon orders massive bombing raids against the North Vietnamese cities of Hanoi and Haiphong. The campaign continues for 11 days, pausing only for Christmas.
January 2, 1973:
The Democratic Caucus of the House of Representatives votes 154 to 75 to cut off funds for the Vietnam War. Two days later the Senate Democratic Caucus votes 36 to 12 to cut off funds for the war.
January 20, 1973:
Richard M. Nixon begins a second term as president.
January 30, 1973:
Former Nixon campaign members James W. McCord and G. Gordon Liddy are convicted of breaking into and illegally wiretapping the Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate office complex.
February 27–May 8, 1973:
Members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) exchange gunfire with federal agents in Wounded Knee, South Dakota. They seize a church and post office and hold them for 73 days to call attention to grievances they have against the federal government and tribal management.
April 30, 1973:
The Watergate scandal continues to unfold. H. R. Haldeman, White House chief of staff; John Ehrlichman, domestic policy assistant; John Dean, presidential counsel; and Richard Kleindienst, attorney general, all resign their offices. In a televised address President Nixon denies any involvement in the Watergate break-in or cover-up.
May 14, 1973:
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is created under the Consumer Product Safety Act and is charged with regulating consumer products, enforcing compliance with manufacturing safety standards, and developing a widespread consumer information system.
July 1, 1973:
The Drug Enforcement Administration is founded to fight illegal drug use and trafficking.
July 31, 1973:
Representative Robert F. Drinan (D-Mass.) introduces a resolution calling for President Nixon's impeachment on four grounds: the bombing of Cambodia; the unauthorized taping of conversations; the refusal to spend impounded funds; and the establishment of a "supersecret security force within the White House."
October 10, 1973:
Spiro Agnew resigns the vice presidency and pleads nolo contendere (no contest) to income-tax evasion in return for the dropping of other criminal charges. He receives a three-year suspended sentence and a $10,000 fine. Gerald Ford is sworn in as vice president on December 6.
October 20, 1973:
President Nixon fires his Attorney General, Elliot Richardson, for refusing to obey Nixon's orders and fire Archibald Cox, the Special Prosecutor investigating Watergate. When Deputy Attorney General William Ruckleshaus also refuses to do so, Nixon fires him as well. Solicitor General Robert Bork then fires Cox, and disbands his 60 man investigative team. The public is outraged by these actions, which the media refers to as the "Saturday Night Massacre."
November 7, 1973:
Over President Nixon's veto Congress passes the War Powers Act, requiring congressional approval for any commitment of U.S. armed forces abroad beyond 60 days.
December 6, 1973:
Gerald Ford is sworn in as the new vice president. Appointed to the vice presidency under the guidelines of the 25th Amendment, he is the first vice president who was not elected to that office.
January 2, 1974:
President Nixon signs into law a bill that requires states to lower speed limits to 55 miles per hour in order to receive federal highway funds. The bill is designed to help conserve energy.
May 31, 1974:
The National Institute on Aging is founded after the federal government recognizes the need for a separate institute on aging at the 1971 White House Conference on Aging.
July 24, 1974:
The Supreme Court rules, in United States v. Richard M. Nixon, that the White House has no claim to "executive privilege" in withholding the Watergate tapes from Special Prosecutor Jaworski. President Nixon turns over the tapes on July 30 and August 5.
August 8, 1974:
In a televised address Richard Nixon announces his resignation from the presidency, effective at noon on August 9. He becomes the first president in American history to resign.
August 9, 1974:
Gerald R. Ford is inaugurated as the thirty-eighth president of the United States. He is the first "unelected" president, having been appointed vice president the previous December.
August 20, 1974:
President Ford nominates former New York governor Nelson A. Rockefeller for vice president. He is confirmed in December.
September 8, 1974:
President Ford grants Nixon "a full, free, and absolute pardon" for any crimes he might have committed while in office. In opinion polls Ford's popularity drops from 71 percent to 49 percent.
October 10, 1974:
Congress passes legislation providing for public funding of presidential primaries and elections.
November 21, 1974:
Over President Ford's veto Congress passes the Freedom of Information Act, increasing public access to government files.
February 24, 1975:
The Congressional Budget Office is founded to give Congress more control over the nation's finances and to counter growing presidential power in budgeting.
April 14, 1975:
The Federal Election Commission is founded, charged with enforcing the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which had provisions requiring full reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures, limiting advertising in the media, and allowing corporations and labor unions to form Political Action Committees (PACs) through which they could solicit contributions.
May 2, 1975:
The Labor Department announces an unemployment rate of 8.9 percent in April, the highest since 1941.
1976:
Viking I and Viking II space probes land on Mars and send detailed information back to Earth about that planet's surface.
January 30, 1976:
The Supreme Court upholds the provisions of the 1974 Campaign Financing Reform Act. It also requires that members of the Federal Election Commission be appointed by the president, not Congress.
May 11, 1976:
The Office of Science and Technology Policy is founded to provide support and counsel to the president in matters of science and technology.
July 2, 1976:
The Supreme Court upholds the death penalty laws of Georgia, Florida, and Texas. It strikes down death penalties in North Carolina and Louisiana.
November 2, 1976:
Former Democratic Georgia governor James Earl "Jimmy" Carter defeats Republican Gerald Ford for the presidency. The Democrats retain majorities in both houses of Congress.
January 20, 1977:
Jimmy Carter is inaugurated president of the United States. Walter Mondale takes the oath of office as vice president.
March 9, 1977:
The Health Care Financing Administration is founded to more effectively coordinate Medicare and Medicaid and to address the issues created by escalating health care costs and the growing number of beneficiaries.
October 1, 1977:
The Department of Energy is founded to oversee energy-related activities and programs and to incorporate nuclear technology as an alternative energy source within the United States.
October 1, 1977:
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is created by the Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 to establish and oversee U.S. energy policy.
April 18, 1978:
The Senate ratifies a Panama Canal treaty that will turn control of the waterway over to Panama in 1999.
June 10, 1978:
The National Council on Disability is founded as an advisory board within the Department of Education to address educational issues affecting the disabled.
June 28, 1978:
The Supreme Court hands down the Bakke decision; it upholds a reverse discrimination ruling made after Allen Bakke was rejected twice for admission to California Medical School at Davis, because a special-admissions minority program reduced the number of positions available for whites.
October 6, 1978:
The Senate votes to extend the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to June 30, 1982. Thirty-five states have approved the amendment, three short of the necessary thirty-eight.
January 1, 1979:
The Federal Labor Relations Authority is created under Title VII of the Civil Service Reform Act, to oversee the certification of federal employees' bargaining units and to handle labor-management issues.
January 1, 1979:
The United States recognizes the People's Republic of China and terminates its mutual defense treaty with Taiwan.
March 26, 1979:
Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin sign a formal peace treaty between their two nations in a ceremony held at the White House. The peace treaty, ending thirty-one years of warfare, was based upon negotiations mediated by U.S. president Jimmy Carter at Camp David in 1978.
March 31, 1979:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is founded with the primary mission to help the United States recover in the event of a nuclear attack; helping people recover from disasters is its secondary function. By the 1990s, however, the agency is transformed from a national defense-oriented agency to one that proactively assists people to recover from all types of disasters.
June 18, 1979:
In Vienna the SALT II Accord, limiting production of nuclear weapons, is signed by President Carter and Soviet president Brezhnev.
June 27, 1979:
The Supreme Court upholds the affirmative action program by ruling that an employer can establish voluntary programs to eliminate racial imbalance.
November 4, 1979:
In Tehran several hundred Iranian militants storm the U.S. embassy and seize the diplomatic personnel. The militants announce they will release the hostages when the United States returns the shah, who is recovering from medical treatments in a New York hospital, to Iran to stand trial. President Carter declares he will not extradite the shah.
January 4, 1980:
President Jimmy Carter reacts to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on December 29, 1979, by withdrawing the SALT II arms-control treaty from consideration by the U.S. Senate. He also places an embargo on the sale of grain and some types of electronic equipment to the Soviet Union.
February 2, 1980:
The news media report the results of a two-year sting operation (code name: Abscam) in which an FBI agent posing as a wealthy Arab offered bribes to elected officials. Among those arrested and eventually convicted on bribery or related charges are Sen. Harrison Williams Jr. (D-N.J.) and Representatives John W. Jenrette, Jr. (D-S.C.), Richard Kelly (R-Fla.), Raymond Lederer (D-Pa.), John M. Murphy (D-N.Y.), Michael Myers (D-Pa.), and Frank Thompson, Jr. (D-N.J.).
May 4, 1980:
The Department of Education is founded; its predecessor was created by Congress in 1867 to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the states establish more effective school systems.
May 4, 1980:
The Department of Health and Human Services is founded; its roots go back to the earliest days of the nation when the first marine hospital was established in 1798 to care for sailors.
August 20, 1980:
The Defense Department announces the development of the Stealth aircraft, which can elude detection by radar.
November 4, 1980:
Republican Ronald Reagan is elected president of the United States with 51.6 percent of the popular vote to 41.7 percent for incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter and 6.7 percent for third-party candidate John Anderson.
January 20, 1981:
The Iran hostages are freed on the same day that Reagan is inaugurated as president and George Bush is inaugurated as vice president.
March 1981:
President Reagan directs the CIA to assist "Contra" guerrilla forces opposed to the Marxist Sandinista government of Nicaragua.
April 11, 1981:
President Reagan returns to the White House and a restricted work schedule after surgery and eleven days of hospitalization resulting from a March 30 assassination attempt.
September 29, 1981:
President Reagan orders the U.S. Coast Guard to turn back boatloads of Haitian refugees fleeing their country without proper immigration papers.
1982:
Because three-fourths of the states have failed to ratify the proposed Twenty-seventh (Equal Rights) Amendment, even after an extension, it dies.
October 1, 1982:
The House of Representatives votes down a proposed constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget.
December 8, 1982:
Congressman Edward Boland (D-Mass.) successfully sponsors legislation making it illegal to use U.S. funds to overthrow the Sandinista government of Nicaragua. Congress renews the amendment in 1983, 1984, and 1985, extending it through the 1986 fiscal year.
March 23, 1983:
President Reagan proposes the development of a defense shield—at least partly based in space—to intercept incoming missiles. Formally called the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), this proposal is popularly known as "Star Wars."
April 1983:
The American public learns that the CIA assisted a Contra attack on Nicaraguan oil terminals.
October 25, 1983:
U.S. troops invade Grenada after the assassination of Grenadan prime minister Maurice Bishop during a coup led by militant leftist Gen. Hudson Austin.
April 9, 1984:
Nicaragua asks the International Court of Justice to rule that U.S. aid to the Contra rebels and its role in mining Nicaraguan harbors is illegal. On May 10 the court orders the United States to pay reparations to Nicaragua and to refrain from further involvement with the Contras. The United States contends that the court has no jurisdiction on the matter.
July 17, 1984:
Congress passes a bill that will cut federal highway funding for states that fail to raise their minimum drinking age to twenty-one.
September 26, 1984:
Congress passes a law requiring tougher health warnings on cigarette packages.
November 1984:
Ronald Reagan is reelected as president of the United States, defeating Democrat Walter F. Mondale with 58.8 percent of the popular vote.
November 26, 1984:
The United States and Iraq resume diplomatic ties, severed since 1967.
1985:
Israeli intelligence tells the United States that Shiite Muslims will exchange western hostages for arms for Iran.
January 20, 1985:
President Reagan takes the oath of office marking the beginning of his second term; George Bush is vice president. Because of the bitter cold, public ceremonies are postponed until January 21.
March 12, 1985:
The United States and the Soviet Union reopen formal arms-control talks in Geneva.
1986:
The national debt soars to over $2 trillion. The trade deficit worsens as does the budget deficit.
January 7, 1986:
President Reagan declares a state of emergency between the United States and Libya, ordering U.S. oil companies out of Libya and ending trade and transportation between the two nations.
January 28, 1986:
All seven astronauts aboard the U.S. space shuttle Challenger perish when their craft explodes. It is the worst accident in the history of the U.S. space program.
February 25, 1986:
The United States recognizes the Philippine government of Corazon Aquino after the Reagan administration at first refused to acknowledge that outgoing president Ferdinand Marcos had attempted to prevent her election victory through vote fraud.
June 25, 1986:
The U.S. House of Representatives approves $100 million in humanitarian and economic aid to the Contras in Nicaragua.
July 7, 1986:
The Supreme Court declares unconstitutional a key provision of the Gramm-Rudman Act that would allow the comptroller general to decide precise spending cuts in each federal department.
September 27, 1986:
Congress passes the most sweeping tax-reform bill since the 1940s.
October 2, 1986:
Congress overrides President Reagan's veto of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, which condemns racial separation in South Africa, institutes an embargo on most South African imports, and bans most American investment in that nation.
November 13, 1986:
President Reagan says the United States has sent Iran a few defensive weapons and spare parts, but he denies any attempt to exchange weapons for hostages.
February 4, 1987:
Congress overrides President Reagan's veto of a $20 billion Clean Water Act. It is identical to an act he vetoed successfully in 1986.
February 26, 1987:
The Tower Commission report places chief blame for the Iran-Contra affair on National Security Council director Robert McFarlane, Lt. Col. Oliver North, Adm. John Poindexter, and former CIA director William Casey. It also criticizes the president for remaining too distant from the planning process.
April 2, 1987:
Congress overrides President Reagan's veto of an $87.5 billion highway and transit bill that also allows states to raise speed limits to 65 MPH on interstate highways in sparsely populated areas.
October 19, 1987:
Black Monday. The stock market plunges a record 508 points during one session.
November 18, 1987:
In its final report on the Iran-Contra hearings Congress criticizes those involved in the operation for "secrecy, deception and disdain for the law."
December 8–10, 1987:
During a summit meeting in Washington, D.C., President Reagan and Premier Gorbachev sign the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, agreeing to eliminate intermediate-range weapons from their nuclear arsenals.
March 22, 1988:
Congress overrides President Reagan's veto of the Civil Rights Restoration Act, which extends federal anti-bias laws to an entire school or other organization if any of its programs receive federal funding.
September 13, 1988:
President Reagan signs a bill extending the Fair Housing Act of 1968 to protect the disabled and families with children.
October 22, 1988:
Congress passes a Taxpayer's Bill of Rights.
November 8, 1988:
Republican vice president George Bush is elected president, defeating Democrat Michael Dukakis by a margin of 53.4 to 45.6 percent.
1989:
The Communist party in Poland loses power in the national elections. New governments replace the Communist regimes in Romania, Bulgaria, and Czechoslavakia.
January 20, 1989:
George Bush is inaugurated president with Dan Quayle as vice president.
January 23, 1989:
The Supreme Court invalidates a Richmond, Virginia, affirmative action program calling it reverse discrimination.
March 15, 1989:
The Department of Veterans Affairs is founded as the 14th department of the presidential cabinet.
October 1, 1989:
The Office of Government Ethics is founded to ensure that employees of the executive branch of government perform their public duties in an ethical manner.
June 11, 1990:
A proposed constitutional amendment to make the desecration of the American flag a crime fails in the House of Representatives.
July 26, 1990:
The Americans with Disabilities Act is signed into law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, programs, or services provided by the government.
August 2, 1990:
Iraqi forces, on the order of dictator Saddam Hussein, invade Kuwait; in response, President George Bush dispatches American military forces to the Persian Gulf.
October 22, 1990:
President George Bush vetoes the Civil Rights Act of 1990 on the basis that the act would create "quotas" in the workplace.
November 15, 1990:
The Clean Air Act is signed by President Bush, setting restrictions on automobile and utility emissions and the use of chlorofluorocarbons.
November 21, 1990:
The Cold War is formally brought to an end with the signing of the Charter of Paris by the leaders of 34 North American and European nations.
1991:
Forces from 34 nations, including the United States, overwhelm troops in Iraq and occupy Kuwait in Operation Desert Storm. On February 27, President Bush's popularity soars to 89 percent when he declares to Congress, "Kuwait is liberated."
July 31, 1991:
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is signed between the United States and the Soviet Union to reduce and limit strategic offensive weaponry.
October 23, 1991:
After televised Senate Judiciary Committee hearings into charges of sexual harassment made against Clarence Thomas, a federal appeals court judge, by former colleague Anita F. Hill, Thomas is sworn as Court Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
December 21, 1991:
Following continued economic and political deterioration, Soviet republics with the exception of Georgia sign a pact establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States. President Gorbachev resigns on December 25, heralding the official end of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.).
1992:
Navy Secretary H. Lawrence Grant III is forced to resign after scandal erupts from the 1991 Tail-hook Association convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, where women were assaulted by members of the navy. Three navy admirals are disciplined as a result of the incident.
May 7, 1992:
The Twenty-seventh Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, barring pay raises for members of Congress between terms. It was originally proposed in September of 1789.
November 3, 1992:
Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton defeats incumbent President George Bush to become the 42d president of the United States, winning 43 percent of the popular vote against Bush's 37 percent. A Democrat, Clinton's election breaks the 12-year Republican control of the White House. Also running as a presidential candidate is Ross Perot, who garners 19 percent of the popular vote.
December 9, 1992:
Twenty-eight thousand U.S. troops are sent to Somalia in Operation Restore Hope, an effort to stem widespread famine and restore order among warring clans.
December 17, 1992:
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is signed by the leaders of the United States, Canada, and Mexico to abolish most restrictions on trade between the countries.
January 20, 1993:
Bill Clinton is inaugurated president with Al Gore as vice president.
January 25, 1993:
The National Economic Council is founded by President Bill Clinton as an advisory council to help formulate and coordinate economic policy throughout the government in both domestic and international arenas.
February 5, 1993:
The Family and Medical Leave Act is enacted, entitling eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for specific family or medical reasons.
April 19, 1993:
A 51-day standoff in Waco, Texas, occurring between members of the Branch Davidians, a religious group led by David Koresh, and federal law enforcement officers, ends with over 70 civilians and four federal agents dead.
March 3, 1993:
The National Partnership for Reinventing Government is founded when President Bill Clinton appoints Vice President Al Gore head of the National Performance Review; Gore is given six months to study the problems associated with the federal government and then report recommendations for improvement.
November 30, 1993:
President Clinton signs the Brady Bill, which requires a five-day waiting period for hand gun purchases. The bill is named after President Ronald Reagan's press secretary who was wounded while protecting the president in an assassination attempt.
May 6, 1994:
An unprecedented sexual-harassment suit is filed against President Bill Clinton by a former Arkansas state employee, Paula Jones.
July 26–August 5, 1994:
Congressional hearings take place concerning the Whitewater affair, questionable financial dealings that took place in the 1980s linked to President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
July 30, 1994:
In Madsen v. Women's Health Center, Inc. the Supreme Court rules to inhibit pro-life activists from blocking public access of abortion clinics and from physically abusing persons entering or leaving the clinic.
August 28, 1994:
U.S. forces occupy Haiti and force General C‚dras to step down, restoring the elected president, Jean-Bertand Aristide, to power.
November 1995:
Serbs, Muslims, and Croats of Bosnia sign a U.N.-brokered peace accord after the United States conducts limited air raids on the country, which led the warring parties to the negotiation table.
February 8, 1996:
The Telecommunications Act is signed by President Bill Clinton; its objectives include allowing all Americans access to the Information Superhighway and developing technology that will allow parents to have more control over the type of television programming watched by their children.
April 9, 1996:
President Bill Clinton signs a bill permitting line item veto, or the veto of specific spending or taxing provisions of legislation, modifying past stipulations that allowed a president to veto an entire bill only.
May 20, 1996:
In Romer v. Evans the Supreme Court rules to overturn an amendment to the Colorado constitution that prohibits extending legal protection from discrimination to homosexuals, stating it violates the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause.
June 13, 1996:
The Supreme Court rules in Shaw v. Hunt that a redistricting plan in North Carolina assigning voters to a district based mainly on their race is unconstitutional, violating the Fourteenth Amendment.
June 26, 1996:
The case of United States v. Virginia is decided by the Supreme Court, finding the male-only admission policy of the Virginia Military Institute (a public institute of higher learning) to be unconstitutional.
August 22, 1996:
President Bill Clinton signs into law the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, replacing previous welfare programs with one requiring work in exchange for monetary assistance.
November 1996:
The Democratic National Committee has charges questioning its fund-raising practices. These charges arise from concern that the Committee has been illegally accepting contributions from foreign powers.
November 5, 1996:
President Bill Clinton is reelected with 49.2 percent of the popular vote, defeating Republican candidate Bob Dole who receives 40.8 percent. Also running was Reform Party opponent Ross Perot, receiving 8.5 percent of the popular vote.
1997:
Congress passes a bill reducing funds for Medicare by $115 billion over five years.
January 20, 1997:
Bill Clinton begins a second term in office; Al Gore remains as vice president.
February 23, 1997:
The first successful cloning of a mammal from the cell of an adult is reported. The effort was led by researchers at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland. The resulting clone, a sheep by the name of Dolly, had been born in July 1996.
May 27, 1997:
Denying an attempt by President Bill Clinton to delay a sexual harassment lawsuit initiated by former employee Paula Jones, the Supreme Court decides in Clinton v. Jones that a serving president is not entitled to immunity for actions previous to or outside of office responsibilities.
June 26, 1997:
In Vacco v. Quill and Washington v. Glucksberg, the Supreme Court rules that states may continue denying terminally-ill patients the right to a doctor's assistance in ending their lives.
June 26, 1997:
The Supreme Court rules in Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union that a 1996 law prohibiting "indecent" material from being displayed on the Internet is unconstitutional, violating the First Amendment right of free speech.
June 27, 1997:
In Printz v. United States the Supreme Court overturns a provision of gun control legislation (Brady Bill) requiring local law enforcement officers to perform background checks on potential handgun purchasers.
July 1, 1997:
In an elaborate ceremony, Hong Kong is handed over to China from Britain after 99 years of being a British territory. Tung Chee-hwa is appointed as head of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region and a provincial legislature is sworn in. In response to protests about the takeover, Martin Lee, leader of China's Democratic Party, assures the public that the "flame of democracy will not be snuffed out."
July 4, 1997:
Pathfinder makes the first successful landing of an American spacecraft on Martian soil in more than 20 years. Two days later, a small robotic vehicle called Sojourner is deployed to collect data about Mars's environment. Information received by NASA reveals similarities between the rock and soil content of Mars and Earth.
August 5, 1997:
President Bill Clinton signs a federal budget bill promising to balance the budget by 2002.
January 16, 1998:
Tobacco companies, sued by the state of Texas for Medicare funds lost treating individuals for smoking-related diseases, decide to settle for $15.3 billion over 25 years.
January 21, 1998:
Reports of an alleged sexual relationship between President Bill Clinton and former White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky surface. President Clinton denies the allegations. If true, they would mean that Clinton had lied under oath during the investigation into the Paula Jones sexual harassment case.
February 1998:
The 1999 U.S. budget proposed by President Bill Clinton is the first balanced budget since 1969; the $1.73 trillion budget has a surplus of $9.5 billion, which Clinton proposes spending on the ailing Social Security system.
March 4, 1998:
The Supreme Court rules that sexual discrimination in the workplace extends to include same-sex sexual harassment in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.
May 22, 1998:
The White House attempts to protect aides from testifying in accusations against the president by citing executive privilege; Federal judge Norma Holloway Johnson rules that the Secret Service must testify before the grand jury.
June 25, 1998:
The Supreme Court rules in Bragdon v. Abbott that individuals with HIV, even if they are not suffering from symptoms of AIDS, are protected from discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
June 25, 1998:
In Clinton v. New York City the Supreme Court strikes down the line-item veto law, stating that giving the president power to veto specific items in spending bills is unconstitutional and disrupts the balance of power.
August 7, 1998:
Two bombs explode outside U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 people (including 24 Americans). In retaliation, U.S. missiles are fired at sites believed to be Islamic terrorist centers linked to the bombings.
August 17, 1998:
In a televised statement, President Clinton admits to the nation that he did indeed have a relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky that was "not appropriate."
September 9, 1998:
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr submits to Congress a 445-page report documenting evidence collected during an investigation of President Clinton, triggering the first impeachment review against a president since Watergate.
October 29, 1998:
Seventy-seven-year-old John Glenn and six fellow astronauts take off aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth in 1962. The launch, the 123rd in the U.S. space program, makes Glenn the oldest person to go into space. NASA plans extensive medical studies on Glenn to determine how space travel affects older people.
November 1998:
The House Judiciary Committee begins hearings on whether or not to recommend impeachment of President Clinton to the House of Representatives.
December 19, 1998:
Accusing him of perjury and obstruction of justice, the U.S. House of Representatives vote along party lines to impeach President Clinton.
February 6, 1999:
President Clinton is acquitted by the Senate, which cannot muster a majority to convict the president—much less the two-thirds vote needed to unseat Clinton.
March 24, 1999:
After months of peace talks with Serbian leaders and attempts to establish peacekeeping forces in Kosovo, NATO launches massive air strikes against Yugoslavia.
April 20, 1999:
Two high school students murder twelve students and one teacher in a shooting rampage at Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado. A search after the incident uncovers more than 30 bombs planted around the school. Discussion follows on the merits of gun control legislation.
May 8, 1999:
An accidental attack by U.S. warplanes on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the air strikes against Yugoslavia results in four deaths and 30 injuries. NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana offers the organization's "deep regret" for the incident, but relations between the United States and China suffer.
June 9, 1999:
NATO and Yugoslav representatives sign a peace agreement for the withdrawal of Serb troops from Kosovo; the agreement had been approved by the Serbian senate on June 3. NATO ceases air strikes against Yugoslavia and makes preparations to send peacekeeping forces into Kosovo.

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