1910-1919

     Pre to post World War I was the main theme and concern of this decade.  It concerned the American people in many ways at that time.  This was because the country was forced to make civil and financial sacrifices.  Also the war left us uncertain as to its outcome and changed our overseas affairs.  WWI affected us in other ways too.  Our economy greatly increased because of war production and it boosted our army incredibly.  Women won the suffrage movement because American troops overseas and people at home realized the value they put into the war, and their contributions to it.  This caused congress to finally succumb to the political forces of the states that had passed women's suffrage, and to the unrelenting work of NAWSA.  In some ways we still feel the war's effects today.  Such as WWII because of the German's bitterness, the United Nations created from the League of Nations, the ending of "uncivilized warfare as agreed during the Geneva Convention, the sad killing of millions of men and women from war, blockades, and extensive economic problems.  These issues helped to create the main theme of this decade.

Events of This Decade
*Starred Events relate to the main theme.

    1910-The "week-end" becomes a popular time in the U.S.
    1910-The Mann Elkins Act is passed by Congress.
    1910-The Boy and Girl Scouts are introduced in America.

    March 25, 1911-The Triangle Shirtwaist fire occurred killing 146 women.  It was the worst factory fire in the history of New York City.
    1912-Massachusetts becomes the first state to adopt a minimum wage for working class individuals.
    1912-The Bull Moose Party is formed to reelect Theodore Roosevelt as President.

    1912-The Titanic, the largest passenger ship in the world at the time, sinks on its first trip to New York drowning 1,513 people.  It was considered unsinkable until then.

    1912-The government establishes a Children's Bureau within the Department of Labor to improve and regulate child labor.
  *1913-The Federal Reserve System is created.  (FRS)
  *January 1913-Alice Paul and Lucy Burns take over the NAWSA.
    1914-The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria, sets off World War I.
  *1914-The United States declares itself officially neutral in World War I, which lasts until June of 1917.
    1914-The first traffic lights, which are only red and green, are put up in the USA.
  *December 1914-Preparedness advocates organize a National Security League.
  *1914-President Woodrow Wilson creates the Federal Trade Commission.
    1914-Construction of the Panama Canal is finally completed.
    1915-"The Supreme Court declares grandfather clauses unconstitutional."
  *Spring 1915-Italy decides to joins the allies during World War I.
  *1915-Jane Addams and Carrie Chapman Catt, two women's rights activists, organize the Woman's Peace Party.
  *May 7, 1915-German submarines sink a British ship called the Lusitania, killing American passengers.  This was one of the causes for American entrance into World War I.
  *1916-Woodrow Wilson is reelected as president on his 14 Points of Peace platform.  This platform would later be Wilson's basis for the League of Nation's.

    February 1, 1917-Germany begins unrestricted submarine warfare.
  *June 1917-The United States enters World War I on the side of the allies.
  *May 1917-Congress passes the Selective Service Act.
    1917-The United States government grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship, although Puerto Rico itself does not a become a U.S. state.
    1917-Upton Sinclair writes KingCoal, an expose of the coal industry.

    1917-The Russian Revolution ends the reign of the czars and thrusts the country into communism.  This conflicting form of government was one of the future causes of the Cold War.
  *1918-Germany surrenders to in to the Allies.
    1918-A world-wide influenza epidemic kills 22 million people.
  *January 16, 1919-State legislatures ratify the 18th Amendment, starting prohibition and a prelude to the roaring twenties.

  *1919-The Versailles Treaty marks the official end of World War I.  The Germans were left feeling bitter and resentful because of the extensive humiliation and reparations.
    1919-The Chicago race riot occurs.

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