U.S. History Key Events and Legislation (1865–1941)

1865: 13th Amendment

Passed by Congress, this amendment abolished slavery nationwide, with an exception for punishment for a crime. It is considered part of the "second founding" of the U.S.

1865: Mississippi Black Codes

Laws passed by Southern states to restrict the rights and control the labor of newly freed African Americans, essentially recreating slavery in another form. These codes led to stronger federal intervention in Reconstruction.

1866: Civil Rights Act

A response to the Black Codes, this act granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all people born in the U.S., regardless of race (but excluded Native Americans).

1873: Comstock Act

A federal law that banned mailing "obscene" materials, which included information about contraception and women's reproductive health.

1877: Great Railroad Strike

The first national strike in U.S. history, started by railroad workers protesting wage cuts. Though unsuccessful, it was a pivotal moment for the American labor movement.

c. 1879: Native Boarding Schools

The U.S. government forced Native children into schools designed to strip them of their culture and assimilate them into white American society, a policy of cultural genocide.

1882: Chinese Exclusion Act

This federal law restricted all immigration by Chinese laborers, making them the first ethnic group to be explicitly barred from entering the country.

1886: Haymarket Riot

A labor protest in Chicago turned violent after a bomb was thrown. The event led to the execution of anarchist organizers and was a major setback for the labor movement.

1887: Dawes Severalty Act

This act broke up communally-owned Native American lands into individual plots, dismantling tribal culture and resulting in a massive loss of Native land to white settlers.

1896: Plessy v. Ferguson

The Supreme Court ruling that established the "separate but equal" doctrine, which legalized racial segregation across the country for over 50 years.

1899-1902: Philippine-American War

After the U.S. acquired the Philippines from Spain, it fought a brutal war to suppress the Filipino independence movement, marking America's turn toward imperialism.

1905: Lochner v. New York

A Supreme Court case that struck down a law limiting working hours for bakers, starting the "Lochner Era" where the court consistently sided with big business against labor regulations.

1911: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

A fire in a NYC garment factory killed 146 workers, most of them young immigrant women. The tragedy exposed horrific working conditions and led to new workplace safety laws.

1917: Espionage Act

Passed during WWI, this act made it a crime to interfere with military operations or express anti-war views, giving the government broad power to censor speech.

1919: Volstead Act

This law was passed to enforce the 18th Amendment (Prohibition), banning the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol in the U.S.

1922: Ozawa v. United States

The Supreme Court denied citizenship to a Japanese immigrant, ruling he was not "Caucasian" and therefore ineligible for naturalization under U.S. law at the time.

1923: Thind v. United States

The Supreme Court denied citizenship to an Indian immigrant, arguing that while he might be scientifically Caucasian, he did not fit the "common sense" definition of a white person.

1932: Bonus Army March

Thousands of unemployed WWI veterans marched on Washington D.C. to demand early payment of their bonuses. President Hoover used the army to evict them, and the resulting violence shocked the public.

1933: Glass-Steagall Act

A key New Deal reform that separated commercial and investment banking and created the FDIC to insure bank deposits, aiming to restore confidence in the financial system.

1933: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

A New Deal program that hired unemployed young men for conservation projects. It was a popular and successful effort to combat unemployment during the Great Depression.

1941: Attack on Pearl Harbor

Japan's surprise military attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii killed over 2,400 Americans and directly led to the U.S. entering World War II.

1865-1877: Reconstruction Era

The period after the Civil War, focused on rebuilding the nation and determining the legal and social status of newly freed African Americans.

c. 1877-1900: The Gilded Age

An era of rapid industrial growth, massive immigration, and political corruption. It saw the rise of powerful industrialists and major conflicts over labor and wealth.

1889: Contrasting Ideas of Wealth (Gilded Age)

Andrew Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth," which argued the rich should use their money for the public good, is often contrasted with ideas from critics of the wealth gap.

c. 1898-1920: Imperialism & The Progressive Era

A period when the U.S. expanded its power overseas while reformers at home sought to fix social problems, regulate big business, and make government more democratic.

1898: Treaty of Paris

This treaty ended the Spanish-American War and gave the U.S. control over the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico, officially marking its shift toward imperialism.

c. 1917-1929: World War I & The 1920s

After WWI, the U.S. experienced the cultural change of the "Roaring Twenties," but also increased social tension, nativism, and racial conflict.

1929-1940: The Great Depression & The New Deal

After the stock market crash, the U.S. faced its worst economic crisis. FDR's New Deal dramatically expanded the role of the federal government to combat the Depression.

1941: World War II (U.S. Entry)

The U.S. initially remained neutral but was drawn into the global conflict after a direct attack by Japan, which fundamentally reshaped the nation's role in the world.