#26 Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909
10/27/1858 – 1/6/1919
Party: Republican
Timeline; 1901-1909
Roosevelt made a name for himself from his service in the New York National Guard (1882-1886) where he also served on the New York Assembly and authored his first book “The Naval War of 1812“. He was assistant to the secretary of the Navy (1897-1898) before joining the U.S. Army (1898) for the Spanish-American War, where he was much involved in the Battle of Las Guasimas, and the Battle of San Juan Hill. After the war he became Governor of New York (1899-1900) and then Vice President (1901) to President McKinley.
1901;
- Roosevelt becomes the 26th President of the United States at the age of 42.
- U.S. and Great Britain sign the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty where Britain grants control of an isthmian canal to the U.S.
- Congress extends the Chinese Exclusion Act
1902;
- Coal miner’s strike of Pennsylvania starts where 140K people leave their jobs, dubbed Anthracite Coal Strike.
ANTHRACITE COAL STRIKE
- Roosevelt establishes Crater Lake National Park in Oregon
CRATER LAKE
- Roosevelt signs the Newlands Reclamation Act, authorizing Federal irrigation projects
- Congress passes Isthmian Canal Act which called for the funding of building the canal across Panama
- Congress passes the Philippine Government Act establishing the islands as an unorganized territory and dubbing the inhabitants as territorial citizens
- Roosevelt puts a stop to the Anthracite Coal Strike by developing a reform program known as the Square Deal
1903;
- Roosevelt signs bill creating the Department of Commerce and Labor.
- Congress approves the Elkins Anti-Rebate Act, making it illegal for railroads to give rebates on their published freight rates.
- Department of Justice announces that the federal government will prosecute the Northern Securities Company for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.
- Supreme Court makes decision on Champion v. Ames, making federal police power superior to the states
- Roosevelt proclaims Pelican Island, Florida as the first federal bird reservation
- The report of the Anthracite Coal strike Commission declares that workers cannot be discriminated against because they belong to a union
- A revolt breaks out in Panama against Colombian rule. Presence of the U.S. Navy prevents Columbia from crushing the revolt as U.S. recognizes the Republic of Panama
- The U.S. negotiates the Hay-Buneau-Varilla Treaty with Panama to build the Panama Canal.
PANAMA CANAL CONSTRUCTION
1904;
- Supreme Court rules that citizens of Puerto Rico are not illegal aliens and cannot be denied entry to the U.S. but the court also states they are not citizens either.
- Roosevelt appoints a commission to oversee the Panama Canal construction.
- Supreme Court rules in Northern Securities Company v. United States and orders the dissipation of the Company due to their breaking the Sherman Anti-trust Act.
- A merger between the Consolidated and The American & Continental tobacco companies produces the American Tobacco Company.
- Roosevelt sends his annual message to Congress issuing the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
1905;
- The United States signs a protocol with the Dominican Republic, thereby giving it control of the latter’s customs and international in and mollifying European creditors.
- Roosevelt establishes the National Forest Service.
- Supreme Court recognizes the legality of compulsory vaccination laws in Jacobson v. Massachusetts.
- Roosevelt wins his second term, and first full term with Charles W. Fairbanks as his V.P.
- Supreme Court rules that state laws limiting working hours are illegal in Lochner v. New York
- The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) forms in Chicago, Illinois, to counteract the conservative American Federation of Labor
- A group of black intellectuals, including W.E.B. DuBois, meets near Niagara Falls to demand racial equality. This begins the Niagara Movement
- Roosevelt mediates and urges an end to the Russo-Japanese War, bringing Russia and Japan to compromise and sign the Portsmouth Treaty.
1906;
- The Algeciras Conference opens, Roosevelt plays mediator on the disagreement of France and Germany over Morocco.
- Clashes erupt in Brownsville Texas after white civilians taunt black soldiers. 3 whites are killed
- A devastating earthquake strikes San Francisco, California, killing 452 and leveling 490 blocks
EARTHQUAKE IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1906
- Roosevelt signs the National Monuments Act, establishing the first 18 national monuments, including Devils Tower, Muir Woods and Mount Olympus
- Roosevelt signs the Hepburn Act which gives the interstate Commerce Commission increased power to relegate railroad rates.
- Roosevelt signs the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act.
- Roosevelt sends troops to Cuba at President Palma’s request to quell rebellion from a disputed election.
- Race riot breaks out in Atlanta, Georgia, leaving 18 blacks and 3 whites dead.
- The Platt Amendment is invoked, authorizing U.S. military control of Cuba.
- Roosevelt becomes first President to travel abroad as he and his wife go inspect the building of the Panama Canal
ROOSEVELT VISITING PANAMA CANAL
- Roosevelt is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese War during the Portsmouth Conference in 1905
1907;
- Congress passes a law prohibiting campaign contributions to candidates for national office.
- Cleveland is laid to rest in Princeton, New Jersey
GROVER CLEVELAND BURIAL
- The Dominican Republic and the United States sign a treaty empowering American agents to collect Dominican customs taxes for the purpose of satisfying the nation’s creditors.
- Roosevelt signs the Immigration Act of 1907, which includes a provision allowing the President to restrict Japanese immigration.
- Roosevelt issues proclamations establishing forest reserves in affected states before the law goes into effect
- An executive Inland Waterways Commission is appointed to study the relationship between forest preservation and commercial waterways.
- The Second International Peace Conference opens at The Hague, The Netherlands. The United States argues, unsuccessfully, for the establishment of a World Court.
- The Panic of 1907 begins when shares of the United Copper Company begin to fluctuate wildly.
- Okalahoma becomes the 46th state
- Roosevelt orders the Great White Fleet to embark on a voyage around the world to emphasize America’s growing naval strength.
GREAT WHITE FLEET
- Grand Canyon becomes a National Monument
GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA
1908;
- Supreme Court rules that antitrust laws apply to labor unions in Loewe v. Lawlor
- The United States and Japan reach an agreement on the restriction of Japanese immigration.
- First Conference of Governors takes place in the White House to discuss the problems of conservation.
- Congress passes a child labor law for the District of Columbia.
- Roosevelt establishes the National Commission for the Conservation of Natural Resources
- The General Motors Company files incorporation papers in Hudson County, New Jersey
- Ford introduces the “Model T” automobile, which costs $850, making Henry Ford’s mass-produced cars available to the average wage earner.
FORD MODEL T
1909;
- Black intellectuals, including W.E.B. DuBois, and white progressives, led by Oswald Garrison Villard, form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
- The North American Conservation Conference convenes at the White House
Roosevelt was one of the most activist Presidents. His many accomplishments included the building of the Panama Canal, cracking down on business monopolies, and creating many national parks. After his terms he went on a yearlong African safari in order to avoid charges that he was attempting to run the White House from the shadows. Upon his return he got back into politics and even attempted another run but failed. He went on to write and journey more, even planning another run at the White House but passed away beforehand. He is one of the four faces of Mount Rushmore
Famous quotes;
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”
“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”
“Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.“
9/15/1857 – 3/8/1930
Party: Republican
Timeline; 1909-1913
Taft served as a Solicitor general of the U.S. (1890-1892), Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (1892-1900), Governor of the Phillipines (1901-1903), Secretary of War (1904-1908) and Governor of Cuba (1906).
1909;
- Taft becomes the 27th President of the U.S. at the age of 51. James Sherman was his V.P.
- Taft calls for the use of diplomatic and military action to further foreign business interests in what is known as the Dollar Diplomacy.
- Taft’s administration continues Roosevelt’s Antitrust policy, designed to keep markets open and competitive.
- Crazy Snake Rebellion kicks off between the Creek Indians and settlers in Oklahoma
- Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act is signed, lowering tariffs on certain goods entering the U.S.
- The Ballinger-Pinchot scandal takes place, in which Richard Ballinger is accused of conspiring to defraud the public domain in the Alaskan Coal field while the Taft administration was complicit in his actions.
1910;
- Postal Savings System is established after the Postal Savings Depository Act of 1910
- Angel Island Immigration station is opened in the San Francisco Bay, California
ANGEL ISLAND IMMIGRATION STATION
- Mexican Revolution starts with an uprising led by Francisco Madero against Porfirio Diaz
1911;
- The Battle of Kelley Creek occurs where a small group of Bannock and Shoshone killed four men in an incident known as the Last Massacre
LAST MASSACRE
- Taft starts to back away from his efforts to tame the trusts
- Titanic is almost complete, April of 2012 is set as the maiden voyage
TITANIC
1912;
- New Mexico becomes the 47th state of the U.S.
- Arizona becomes the 48th state of the U.S.
- Titanic sinks off the coast of Newfoundland, on its first voyage
1913;
- Sixteenth Amendment is ratified, authorizing Congress to collect income taxes
- Seventeenth Amendment is ratified stating that people will now elect Senators, whereas, before it was done by legislators.
Unhappy with Taft, Roosevelt ran against him in the Republican primary, Taft barely won but the damage done from the party split, cleared the way for Democrat victory. Taft went on to teach at Harvard, followed by serving as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1921-1930) before resigning due to health concerns. He passed a month later and became the first President and first Supreme Court Justice to be laid to rest in Arlington national Cemetery.
Famous quotes;
“Enthusiasm for a cause sometimes warps judgment.”
“Don’t write so that you can be understood, write so that you can’t be misunderstood.”
“We live in a stage of politics, where legislators seem to regard the passage of laws as much more important than the results of their enforcement.“
12/29/1856 – 2/3/1924
Party: Democratic
Timeline; 1913-1921
Wilson served as a professor and scholar for many institutes before being chosen for President of Princeton University (1902-1910). After that he ran for, and won, position of Governor of New Jersey (1911-1913).
1913;
- Wilson becomes the 28th President of the United States at the age of 56. Thomas R. Marshall was his V.P.
- The Federal Reserve Act is established, allowing for a Federal Reserve System, also known as the Currency Bill or Owen-Glass Act
- John D. Rockefeller donates $100 million to begin the Rockefeller Foundation
1914;
- Veracruz incident takes place with Mexico
- World War I is triggered after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, by a Serbian terrorist group called the Black Hand. 2 Alliances are formed; The Allies and the Central Powers. U.S. takes a neutral stance
ASSASSINATION OF FRANZ FERDINAND
- Germany invades Belgium kicking off World War I officially
- Panama Canal is officially opened
FIRST BOAT THROUGH GATON LOCKS, PANAMA
1915;
- Rocky Mountain National Park is established in Colorado
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
- Congress authorizes Mounted Inspectors along the US-Mexico border
- A German U-boat sinks the British passenger ocean liner; Lusitania as it was heading towards Liverpool, from New York.
- Kaiser Wilheim suspends unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to keep U.S. out of the war.
1916;
- Saboteurs explode an ammunition depot and destroys docks at Toms River Island near Jersey City, followed by the destruction of a munitions plant in Kingsland, New jersey.
- National Defense Act is passed in response to threats at home and deteriorating relations between Germany and United States.
1917;
- Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare in the European waterways.
- British Intelligence gives Wilson the Zimmermann Telegram where German foreign secretary Zimmermann proposes that Mexico sides with Germany in case of war with the U.S., Mexico declines offer but this was the last straw for the American people.
- Wilson outlines his case for war to Congress
- U.S. declares war on Germany and officially enters WWI
- The Espionage and Sedition Acts make it a crime to interfere with the operations of the military to promote success of its enemies as well as prohibits many forms of speech perceived as disloyal to the US
1918;
- Battle of Cantigny takes place, marking the first major American offensive in the war.
BATTLE OF CANTIGNY
- Americans attack Germans at Chateau-Thierry but the battle morphs into the larger Battle of the Belleau Wood
BATTLE OF BELLEAU WOOD
- Battle of St. Mihiel takes place where 300K troops under command of General Pershing march towards German lines.
BATTLE OF ST. MIHIEL
- Wilson gives his Fourteen Points speech to Congress
- Selective Service Act is passed, requiring all men between 21 and 30 to register with locally administered draft boards for a federal draft conscription lottery.
- Armistice is signed in Redonthes, France, ending WWI and becoming what is known as Armistice Day
1919;
- The devastating world-wide influenza epidemic reaches its height in the US
- The Treaty of Versailles was signed
- Former President Roosevelt is laid to rest in Oyster Bay, NY
THEODORE ROOSEVELT GRAVE
- Eighteenth Amendment is passed, prohibiting the sale, production, importation and transportation of alcohol. Starting the Prohibition era.
1920; Nineteenth Amendment is passed, guaranteeing women the right to vote.
After initially opposing World War I, Wilson led the U.S. into the war and eventually, drafted the peace plan that ended it. Wilson then fought to create the League of Nations, the forerunner of the United Nations.
Famous quotes;
“The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it.”
“The seed of revolution is repression.”
“America lives in the heart of every man everywhere who wishes to find a region where he will be free to work out his destiny as he chooses.”
“I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.“
11/2/1865 – 8/2/1923
Party: Republican
Timeline; 1921-1923
Harding was a newspaper editor that bought the Marion Star and built it up into a successful newspaper. He was then elected to the Ohio Senate (1899-1903), followed by a successful run at Lieutenant Governor (1904-1906). He was defeated in his run for Governor (1910) but was elected to the Senate eventually (1915-1921).
1921;
- Harding becomes the 29th President of the U.S. at the age of 55. Calvin Coolidge becomes the VP
- World War I is formally ended by joint resolution
- The Emergency Quota Act is passed after a massive migration of European immigrants into the US at the end of WWI
- The Teapot Dome Scandal erupts surrounding the secret leasing of federal oil reserves by the secretary of the interior, Albert Bacon Fall
- Harding opposes entry into the League of Nations
- Budget and Accounting Act is passed, creating the Bureau of the Budget and housing it within the Department of Treasury.
- Washington Armament Conference, an International conference is called by the U.S. to limit the naval arms race and devise security agreements in the Pacific Area
- Shepperd-Towner Act passes, funding maternity and infant health care
- War protester and union leader Eugene V. Debs is pardoned
- Tomb of the unknown soldier is dedicated as a memorial to all American soldiers and sailors that lost their lives. An unknown serviceman is buried.
TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER DEDICATION
1922;
- The Capper-Volstead Act passes due to the depression of agricultural prices following World War I
- Lincoln Memorial is dedicated
LINCOLN MEMORIAL DEDICATION
1923; Harding dies of a heart attack in San Francisco, California, while he was on a speaking tour.
Famous quotes;
“America’s present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration;… not surgery but serenity.” “Only solitary men know the full joys of friendship. Others have their family; but to a solitary and an exile his friends are everything.” “I have no trouble with my enemies. I can take care of my enemies all right. But my damn friends… They’re the ones that keep me walking the floor nights!”
#30 Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929
7/4/1872 – 1/5/1933
Party: Republican
Timeline; 1923-1929
Coolidge was a lawyer from Vermont that eventually worked his way up the ladder in Massachusetts’s state politics starting as a member of the House of Representative’s (1907-1908), then becoming Mayor of Northampton (1910-1911), to being named a member of the Senate (1912-1915) even becoming President of that Senate (1914-1915). After that he moved up to lieutenant governor (1916-1919) and eventually winning governor (1919-1921) where he got put in the national spotlight for his response to the Boston Police Strike of 1919. Soon after his term he became Vice President under Harding (1921-1923)
1923;
- As Harding passes, Coolidge becomes the 30th President of the U.S. at the age of 51.
- President Harding is laid to rest in Marion, OH
WARREN HARDING TOMB
1924;
- Revenue Acts of 1924 and 1926 are established to reduce inheritance and personal income taxes after years of very high wartime tax rates
- Former President Wilson is laid to rest in Washington, DC
WILSON’S FUNERAL
WILSON’S TOMB
- Monument to Ulysses Grant is unveiled
MONUMENT TO GRANT
- The Immigration Act of 1924 is passed, ending further immigration from Japan and restricting the number of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. Also known as the Johnson-Reid Act
1925;
- Coolidge wins his first full term. Charles G. Dawes is his V.P
- The first Diesel locomotive begins operating in New York City
1926;
- Air Commerce Act is passed giving the Commerce department regulatory powers over sectors of the aviation industry, such as the licensing of pilots and airplanes.
- Harding Tomb is dedicated
1927;
- Charles Lindbergh makes the first non-stop transatlantic flight across the Atlantic, from New York City
- A radio telephone system connected New York City and London
1928;
- Coolidge surprises the nation by stating he did not want to run for President
- The US recognizes Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist government of China and signs a tariff treaty with the Chinese.
Coolidge restored public confidence in the White House after the scandals of the Harding Administration. He was known to the media as “Silent Cal.” Once a reporter said to him, “I bet my editor I could get more than two words out of you.” Coolidge replied: “You lose.” He went into a short retirement afterwards, passing in 1933.
Famous quotes;
“No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.”
“Don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.”
“Patriotism is easy to understand in America – it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.“
Presidents #31-40 (1929-1989) dealt with the Great Depression, Prohibition, World War II, Vietnam war, and the Cold war.