(1) The
Height of
the Roosevelt Era, 1904-1906
1904
Latin American Relations.
==Jan.04 > In a message to
Congress, Theodore
Roosevelt denies any US government involvement with the revolution that
led to Panamanian independence (see Mar.23.1911 and Apr.06.1914)
South.Ethnic.
==Jan.19 > The extreme racist
James Kimble
Vardaman is inaugurated Governor of Mississippi - he calls for the
abolition
of citizen’s rights for blacks and soon pushes through laws
intensifying
racial segregation
Government.Military.
==Feb.01 > William H. Taft
replaces the
reformer Elihu Root as Secretary of War
South.Urban.
==Feb.07-08 > A massive fire, the
nation’s
largest since the 1871 Chicago fire, destroys Baltimore’s entire
business
section
Latin American Relations.
==Feb.10 > Roosevelt writes
William Bayard
Hale that regarding the “weak and chaotic governments and people south
of us... it is our duty, when it becomes absolutely inevitable, to
police
these countries in the interest of order and civilization.”
Politics.
==Feb.15 > Republican Party boss
Mark
Hanna dies - Theodore Roosevelt’s control of the party is strengthened
Diplomacy.
==Feb.16 > The future American
diplomat
George Kennan is born in Milwaukee
Popular Culture.
==Feb.18 > Theodore Roosevelt has
lunch
with Buffalo Bill
Pacific Coast.Immigration.
==Feb.23 > Hearst's San
Francisco Chronicle
begins a demagogic press campaign on the menace of Japanese immigration

William Randolph Hearst
Politics.Press.
==Mar.01 > The New York
Evening Post
acidly comments on William Randolph Hearst’s attempt at the presidency:
“...a low voluptuary trying to sting his senses to a fresh thrill by
turning
from private to public corruption is a new horror in American
politics.”
Government.Business.
==Mar.03 > It is reported that
despite
scores of Federal suits, American railroads blatantly continue massive
rebating - ~rising calls for regulation of rail rates
Government.Law.Business.
==Mar.14 > The Northern
Securities
case: the Supreme Court orders the dissolution of a vast railroad
merger
- Roosevelt’s first trust-busting victory - Justice Oliver
Wendell
Holmes makes his first dissent
West.Labor.
State authorities brutally respond to the south Colorado coal miners’
strike:
==Mar.23 > Governor Peabody
orders the
state militia into the south Colorado coal fields - martial law is
promptly
and brutally imposed - union leaders are provoked into continuing the
failing
miners’ strike
==Mar.26 > The Colorado Militia
begins
the deportation of union leaders
==Mar.27 > Colorado authorities
order
74-year-old labor agitator Mother Jones out of the state - union
president
Moyer is arrested for flag desecration after criticizing the Colorado
state
government in a poster that featured an American flag
==Apr.21 > Radical union leader
Big Bill
Haywood is arrested and beaten in Denver by Colorado National
Guardsmen
(see Jun.06)
Politics.
Mar.--- > The suppressed Bristow Report on corruption in the Post
Office
leaks to the public - many Congressmen are indirectly implicated
Popular Culture.
Apr.30 > The Louisiana Purchase Exposition opens in St. Louis:
it popularizes hamburgers, ice cream cones, peanut butter and iced tea,
and features America's first sizable automobile exhibit - a detective
from
Scotland Yard demonstrates fingerprinting
Politics.Far
Left.
May.01 > The second national Socialist Party convention opens in
Chicago
- Eugene Debs is unanimously nominated for President on May.05
Latin American Relations.
==May.02 > The United States
government
buys out the French Panama Canal Company for $40 million, after
negotiations
are kept “permanently secret” by order of Attorney General Philander C.
Knox; - ~rumors eventually emerge of pay-offs to French power-brokers
and
American officials (or Apr.23) (the money is paid May.09)
==May.04 > Panama formally
cedes the
Canal Zone to the United States
Islamic Relations.
The Pedicaris Affair:
==May.18 > The Moroccan brigand
Raisuni
kidnaps the supposed American citizen Pedicaris from Tangiers and
demands
$70,000 ransom and extensive political powers
==Jun.22 > The US dramatically
cables
“We want Pedicaris alive or Raisuni dead.”
==Jun.25 > Pedicaris is released
after
Raisuni’s demands are met
Latin American Relations.
==May.20 > Roosevelt first makes
the claims
that the United States has the right to intervene in Latin America
through
a speech by Elihu Root - the claim is originally largely directed
against
the threat of European intervention (see Dec.06)
Pacific Coast.Politics.
==Jun.06 > Oregon adopts direct
primaries
for party nominations
West.Labor.
The Colorado coal miners’ strikes are crushed:
==Jun.06 > A bomb explodes at the
Independence
train station near Cripple Creek, killing thirteen strikebreakers -
anti-union
vigilante groups respond by sacking union halls - mine owners oust the
local sheriff at gunpoint and purge pro-union public officials -
hundreds
of union men are arrested and deported
==Jun.08 > A clash between miners
and
state militia at Dunnville leaves six strikers dead - vigilantes wreck
the press rooms of the pro-union Victor Record
==Jun.23 > Local unions vote to
continue
the hopeless south Colorado coal strike even after the national union
has
withdrawn support
==Jun.24 > Troops deport 22
striking ‘troublemakers’
from the Telluride district.
==Jun.--- > The radicalized
Western Federation
of Miners calls for the amalgamation of the entire working class into
one
union
==Oct.12 > The south Colorado
strike is
officially ended - ~the Cripple Creek strike finally collapses - the
Colorado
miners’ unions are temporarily broken
East Asian Relations.
==Jun.13 > Roosevelt warns the
Japanese
ambassador against the dangers of Japan entering “into a general career
of insolence and aggression” - ~he writes “I am perfectly well aware
that
if (the Japanese win their war with Russia) it may possibly mean a
struggle
between them and us in the future.”
Northeast.
==Jun.15 > The excursion ship General
Slocum burns on the East River, killing 1,030 passengers - the
German
neighborhood on New York’s Lower East Side is devastated
Politics.
==Jun.21-23 > The Republican
National
Convention in Chicago: “feigned enthusiasm punctuated with
indifference”
- Roosevelt is nominated for president by acclamation
Military.
==Jun.--- > Joseph Stilwell
receives his
commission in US Army
Sports.
==Jul.01-Nov.23 > The Third
Olympics are
held in St Louis: with few foreign athletes, America overwhelmingly
leads
with eighty gold medals (unofficial events began May.14)
Politics.
==Jul.04-05 > In Springfield,
Illinois,
the convention of the declining Populist Party nominates Tom Watson for
President
Politics.
==Jul.06-10 > The inharmonious
Democratic
National Convention in St. Louis - on Jul.08 conservative Alton B.
Parker
of New York is nominated over radical newspaper publisher William
Randolph
Hearst - Parker’s support of the gold standard causes an uproar
West.Far
Left.
==summer > The start of yearly
Socialist
Party summer encampments at Grand Saline in East Texas - the custom
soon
spreads to dozens of other sites - ~Socialism seems to be taking root
in
the rural Southwest
Politics.
==Aug.10 > Democratic candidate
Parker
launches his feeble presidential campaign with a bland acceptance
speech
Northeast.Drugs
and Alcohol.
==Sep.28 > In New York City, a
woman is
arrested for smoking a cigarette on 5th Avenue
Latin American Relations.
==Sep.--- > Concerning a proposed
US intervention
in Venezuela, Roosevelt privately writes: “It will show these Dagos
that
they will have to behave decently.”
Politics.Business.
Charges of Republican corruption:
==Oct.01 > The New York World
charges
that Republican National Chairman Cortelyou is extorting money from
large
industrial trusts
==Oct.24 > Democratic candidate
Parker
belatedly begins attacking Roosevelt for taking corporate money
==Nov.04 > Roosevelt
categorically (and
falsely) denies taking corporate payoffs - Parker’s charges of
Republican
corruption fizzle
Business.
==Oct.15 > A. P. Giannini’s Bank
of Italy
opens its doors in San Francisco - it will eventually become the Bank
of
America
Northeast.Urban.Transportation.
==Oct.27 > The first section of
the New
York City subway system is opened to the public - on the first day,
110,000
people use it and the first subway crimes are reported
Military.
==Nov.01 > The US Army War
College enrolls
its first class
Politics.
==Nov.08 > Theodore Roosevelt
wins
the biggest presidential election victory since 1872; he publicly
pledges
not to seek another term as president - strong Republican majorities in
both houses of Congress
Latin American Relations.
==Nov.12 > The Americans
begin major
work on the Panama Canal, as the first steam shovel begins to
excavate
Government.Finance.
==Nov.18 > ~Roosevelt begins to
retreat
from talk of tariff reform
Business.Press.
==Nov.--- > Ida Tarbell’s famous
exposé The
History of the Standard Oil Company is published in book form,
after
running as a series in McClure’s magazine since 1902
Latin American Relations.Government.Business.
==Dec.06 > In his annual message
to the
new 59th Congress, Roosevelt recommends labor and campaign reform, and
increasing the government’s regulatory powers over rail rates - he also
clearly states the ‘Roosevelt Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine:
the
US openly claims the right to intervene in Latin America - rapid
expansion
of US regional influence
Business.
==Dec.10 > Charles Schwab
incorporates
Bethlehem Steel in New Jersey
East Asian Relations.
==Dec.--- > Theodore Roosevelt
comments
on Japan: “I wish I were certain that the Japanese down at bottom did
not
lump... all of us, simply as white devils inferior to themselves... to
be treated politely only so long as would enable the Japanese to take
advantage
of our various national jealousies, and beat us in turn.”- “So long as
Japan takes an interest in Korea, in Manchuria, in China, it is Russia
which is her natural enemy.” - ~America tacitly encourages Japanese
expansion
in Asia
Midwest.Politics.
==1904 > Progressive governors
are elected
in Minnesota, Kansas, and Missouri
Northeast.Transportation.
==1904 > New York becomes the
first state
to enact automobile speed limits (20 mph country/10 mph city)
Military.
==1904 > William ‘Bull’ Halsey
graduates
from Annapolis
Economy.
==1904 > Economic recession in
America
Business.
==1904 > America becomes the
world’s
largest automobile manufacturer, surpassing France
Labor.
==1904 > ~A great surge in union
activity
is underway - membership has quadrupled in five years to over two
million
- 4,000 strikes occur in 1904, nearly half resulting in tangible gains
Poverty.
==1904 > Robert Hunter’s Poverty
is published, the most careful study to date - it estimates that an
eighth
of the American population is poor
Government.Urban.
==1904 > Muckraker Lincoln
Steffens publishes The
Shame of the Cities in McClure’s, exposing the extent of
municipal
corruption in America
Popular Culture.
==1904 > George M. Cohan’s first
major
play debuts, featuring Yankee Doodle Dandy and Give My
Regards
to Broadway
1905
Latin American Relations.
==Jan.03 > Elihu Root, who will
soon become
Secretary of State writes “The inevitable effect of our building the
Canal
must be to require us to police the surrounding premises.”
==Jan.21 > The first application
of the
‘Roosevelt Corollary’: the Dominican Republic agrees to partially
surrender
control of its finances to the United States
Government.Business.
==Jan.30 > Speaking at the Union
League
Club in Philadelphia, Roosevelt advocates strong Federal regulation of
corporations and fixing of rail rates - ~wealthy conservatives begin to
grow alarmed at his rhetoric
Government.Law.Business.
==Jan.30 > The Supreme Court
upholds the
government’s actions against the beef trust in Swift v United States…
but the beef trust survives
Government.Labor.
==Jan.31 > Carroll Wright is
appointed
as the first US Commissioner of Labor
Sports.
==Jan.31 > A. G. MacDonald
becomes first
man to exceed 100 miles per hour in an automobile, at Daytona Beach.
Government.Finance.
==Jan.--- > Under pressure from
the powerful
Speaker of the House Joe Cannon, Roosevelt abandons any attempts at
tariff
revision
Government.Business.
==Jan.--- > Roosevelt orders the
first
government probe of US Steel Corporation
Government.Enviromental.
==Feb.01 > The Transfer Act is
signed,
centralizing control of forest reserves in the Agriculture Department’s
Bureau of Forestry under the dynamic conservationist Gifford Pinchot -
forest reserves rapidly expand, and are soon designated as National
Forests
- the start of Roosevelt’s energetic conservation programs
Government.Business.
==Feb.09 > The Esch-Townsend Bill
to regulate
rail rates is overwhelmingly passed by the House - ~it fails to get to
the Senate floor
Politics.Diplomacy.
==Feb.11 > The Senate blocks
arbitration
agreements that America has signed with ten nations - ill will between
Roosevelt and Congress
Business.Press.
==Feb.12 > Pulitzer’s New
York World
launches exposés of Equitable Life - insurance scandals begin to
surface
Far Left.
==Feb.--- > Roosevelt writes that
the
rise of socialism is “far more ominous than any populist or similar
movement
in the past.”
Government.Enviromental.
==Mar.03 > The US Forest Service
is established
Politics.
==Mar.04 > Roosevelt is
inaugurated
for his second term; he declares “We have become a great nation...”
- Geronimo rides in the inaugural parade
Northeast.Politics.
==Mar.17 > The young Franklin
Delano Roosevelt
marries his cousin Eleanor Roosevelt in New York City - Theodore
Roosevelt
gives away the bride, who is his niece
Diplomacy.
Roosevelt initiates a peace process to end the Russo-Japanese War:
==Mar.20 > Theodore Roosevelt
informs
the Japanese that he’s willing to act as a mediator to help resolve the
Russo-Japanese War
==Apr.21 > Roosevelt calls for
direct
Japanese-Russian peace talks
==Jun.07-12 > Russia and Japan
accept
Roosevelt’s offer to host peace talks (see Aug.09)
South.Military.
==Mar.25 > Confederate battle
flags that
were captured during the Civil War are returned to the South
Pacific Coast.Immigration.
Anti-Asian paranoia on the West Coast:
==Mar.--- > A resolution by the
California
legislature envisions hordes of discharged Japanese soldiers flooding
in
and fears the “complete Orientalization of the Pacific Coast” unless
Congress
restricts Japanese immigration
==May.07 > The Asiatic Exclusion
League
is established to halt Japanese immigration to the west coast
Labor.Law.
==Apr.17 > The US Supreme Court
rules
that state labor laws limiting working hours are unconstitutional in Lochner
v. New York - the court begins to frequently veto regulatory laws,
to 1937 - Justice Holmes issues a brilliant dissent
Northeast.Government.Business.
==spring > ~Charles Evans Hughes
exposes
price gouging by the New York City gas companies
Government.Business.
==May.10 > Speaking in Chicago,
Roosevelt
says “Personally I believe that the Federal Government must take an
increasing
control over corporations” and demands that the ICC be authorized to
set
rail rates
Government.
==Jun.02 > The Keep Commission is
formed
by Roosevelt to study the functioning of the Federal government
Transportation.
==Jun.11-18 > The Pennsylvania
and the
New York Central railroads both begin an eighteen-hour New York
City-Chicago
express train service - both trains wreck within a week, killing
nineteen
passengers
Film.Business.
==Jun.19 > The first nickelodeon
opens
in Pittsburgh, with The Great Train Robbery as the opening
feature: the
first regular American theater devoted to movies - ~nickelodeons
rapidly
spread, greatly increasing the popularity of films
Labor.Far
Left.
==Jun.27-Jul.08 > The radical
IWW syndicalist
labor union is established at a Chicago convention, with Eugene
Debs,
Big Bill Haywood, and Mother Jones present
Diplomacy.
==Jul.01 > Secretary of State
John Hay
dies in office - on Jul.19, Elihu Root succeeds him

W. E. B. Dubois
Ethnic.
==Jul.11-13 > A conference of
black intellectuals
at Niagara Falls passes resolutions demanding full racial equality -
the
start of W. E. B. Dubois’ Niagara Movement
East Asian Relations.
==Jul.29 > The secret
Taft-Katsura
memorandum: the US recognizes Japanese predominance in Korea in
return
for a Japanese pledge not to interfere in the Philippines
Pacific Coast.Urban.
==summer > Farmers in the Owens
Valley
are bilked of their water rights by Los Angeles, in preparation for the
building of an aqueduct to the city (see Nov.05.1913)
Diplomacy.
==Aug.09-Sep.05 > Roosevelt
hosts Japanese-Russian
peace talks at Portsmouth, New Hampshire
==Sep.05 > The Treaty of
Portsmouth
ends the Russo-Japanese War

Charles Evans Hughes
Northeast.Government.Business.
==Sep.06-Dec.30 > Charles Evans
Hughes
heads New York hearings on massive insurance corruption - ~rising
public
sentiment against corporate abuses: THE RISE OF PROGRESSIVISM
(although the term is not yet in use)
Labor.Far
Left.
==mid.Sep > An intensifying
struggle is
underway between the moderate AFL and the ultra-radical IWW unions -
the
IWW is splitting the Socialists and the labor movement
Drugs and Alcohol.Press.
==early.Oct > Collier’s
launches
an exposé by muckraker Samuel Hopkins Adams on drug and alcohol
additives in commercial home remedies
International.
==Oct.17 > Andrew Carnegie
becomes prominent
in promoting world peace with a speech at St. Andrews University
advocating
a great power ‘Peace League’, an early vision of a League of Nations
Military.
==Nov.01-Jul.17.1906 > Lt.
Douglas MacArthur
accompanies his father on an extensive military tour of eastern and
southern
Asia, where he meets Admiral Togo, Lord Kitchener, the King of Siam and
other notables
Northeast.Politics.
==Nov.06 > William Randolph
Hearst narrowly
looses to Tammany candidate McClellan in a hard-fought New York City
mayoral
race
Pacific Coast.Politics.
==Nov.07 > Abe Ruef’s pro-union,
but corrupt,
Union Labor Party gains virtually complete municipal control in San
Francisco
city elections (see May.15.1907)
Government.Business.
==Dec.05 > Roosevelt’s annual
message
to Congress calls for strong Federal oversight of big business,
provoking
a furious reaction from conservatives
Popular Culture.
==Dec.05 > O. Henry publishes The
Gift
of the Magi
Government.Business.
==Dec.11 > The Attorney General
orders
a crackdown on railroads for rate violations, resulting in a flurry of
Federal indictments
West.Labor.Law.
The Moyer-Haywood case begins:
==Dec.30 > Former Idaho Governor
Frank
Steunenberg is killed by an explosion as he opens his front gate, in
the
first known American case of murder by dynamite
1906
==Jan.25-Feb.01 > Harry Orchard,
Stuenenberg’s
murderer, is manipulated into a confession implicating Western
Federation
of Miners/IWW labor leaders
==Feb.17-19 > WFM leaders
Charles
Moyer, Big Bill Haywood and George Pettibone are kidnapped by Denver
police
and illegally spirited to Idaho to stand trial for the murder of
Governor
Steunenberg
==Feb.26 > The WFM retains
Clarence
Darrow as defense lawyer in the case
==Mar.10 > Socialist leader
Eugene Debs
responds to the Moyer-Haywood indictment with an article entitled AROUSE,
YE SLAVES!, warning that if the authorities convict “...a million
revolutionists
at least will meet them with guns.”
==Dec.03 > The US Supreme Court
upholds
Idaho’s right to try the WFM labor leaders even if their kidnapping was
illegal (see Apr.02.1907)
Government.
==1905 > A French political map
describes
25 out of the 45 US states as ‘utterly corrupt’ - Americans are
annoyed,
but do not dispute the map’s accuracy
Pacific Coast.Politics.
==1905-1910 > Assisted by John
Reed’s
father, an Oregon land fraud probe brings down many state officials
Military.
==1905 > The US Army Field
Service Regulations
begin presenting plans for organizing existing smaller units into
divisions
in the event of war
Military.
==1905 > Chester Nimitz receives
his commission
in the US Navy
Far Left.
==1905 > The Intercollegiate
Socialist
Society is established by Upton Sinclair, Clarence Darrow and Jack
London
- it soon has chapters in all major American universities
Immigration.
==1905-1914 > The peak years
of immigration
to America, mostly from southern and eastern Europe
Business.Press.
==1905 > Baker’s exposé Railroads
on Trial appears in McClure’s
West.Business.
==1905 > The enormous Glenn Pool
oilfield
is discovered near Tulsa - Oklahoma becomes a major oil producer,
exceeding
Texas from 1906 until 1928
Midwest.Crime.
==1905 > The world’s first
reported stolen
car, in St. Louis
Drugs and Alcohol.Law.
==1905 > New York restricts the
sale of
cocaine, morphine and opium, describing them as “poisons” - ~the
earliest
strong anti-drug laws are being passed by the states
Drugs and Alcohol.
==1905 > The cocaine in Coca-Cola
is replaced
with caffeine
1906
West.Enviromental.Government.
==Jan.01 > The Federal government
begins
charging a fee for the use of national forest lands, provoking bitter
opposition
in the west
Politics.
==Jan.04 > Robert La Follette of
Wisconsin
takes his seat in the Senate (elected Jan.1905) - ~a liberal Republican
faction begins to emerge in Congress
Economy.
==Jan.12 > The Dow Jones closes
over 100
for the first time
Military.
==Jan.--- > The US Navy is
undergoing
a power struggle between ardent reformist officers and the conservative
entrenched bureaus - the struggle continues to WWI

Upton Sinclair
Government.Business.Drugs
and Alcohol.Law.
The battle over Federal regulation of food and drugs:
==early.1906 > The young
socialist Upton
Sinclair publishes the novel The Jungle at his own expense -
Americans
are horrified by his accounts of the conditions in meat-packing plants
==Feb.21 > The Senate
overwhelmingly passes
the Pure Food and Drug Act, but it soon stalls in the House
==May.25 > A strong meat
inspection bill
passes the Senate; it soon stalls in the House
==Jun.04 > To pressure the House,
Roosevelt
makes public the Neill-Reynolds Report on the revolting conditions in
meat
packing plants - meat sales plummet
==Jun.23 > The House passes the
Pure Food
and Drug Act (see Jun.30)
Northeast.Government.Business.
==Feb.01 > Henry L. Stimson
enters public
life when he is sworn in as US District Attorney for southern New York
(to Mar 1909) - ~Felix Frankfurter soon hired as his assistant -
~federal
law enforcement is targeting corporate crime
Police.
==Feb.01 > The first federal
penitentiary
building is completed, at Leavenworth, Kansas
Politics.
==Feb.03 > Harper’s
publisher George
Harvey first publicizes the possibility of Woodrow Wilson as president
Government.Business.
The struggle over Federal regulation of railroads:
==Feb.08 > The House
overwhelmingly passes
the Hepburn Bill to regulate rail rates
==Apr.19-21 > Progressive Senator
LaFollette
makes a three day set speech on the Hepburn Bill in opposition to
Senate
leadership
==May.18 > The Senate passes a
weakened
version of Roosevelt’s Hepburn Bill to regulate rail rates after a hard
fight (see Jun.29)
Politics.
==Feb.17 > Theodore Roosevelt’s
daughter
Alice marries Congressman Nicholas Longworth in a lavish ceremony in
the
White House - ~the marriage does not prove to be a happy one
Transportation.
==Mar.01 > Princeton President
Woodrow
Wilson blames automobiles for the spread of socialism

Emma Goldman
Far Left.Press.
==Mar.01 > Emma Goldman’s
anarchist newspaper Mother
Earth begins publication
Government.Business.
==Mar.04 > Roosevelt publishes a
report
exposing Standard Oil’s massive use of illegally reduced rail rates
Women.
==Mar.13 > Pioneering feminist
Susan B.
Anthony dies in Rochester
European Relations.
==Mar.19 > At the international
Algeciras
Conference, America successfully pressures Germany into accepting the
pro-French
American ‘compromise’ plan on Morocco, ending the First Moroccan Crisis
Press.
==Apr.14 > Roosevelt popularizes
the term
“muckrakers” in a surprising attack on progressive journalists (his
first
recorded use of the word is on Mar.17)
Pacific Coast.Religion.
==Apr.14 > Black preacher William
J. Seymour
begins preaching at Azusa Street in Los Angeles - the start of the rise
of modern Pentecostalism
Pacific Coast.
==Apr.18 > San Francisco is
devastated
by a severe earthquake [512.AM], setting off an immense
fire
- by the time the fire is extinguished on Apr.21, two thirds of the
city
(25,000 buildings) has been destroyed, with 225,000 residents left
homeless
and more than 500 killed
Military.
==Apr.24 > The remains of John
Paul Jones
are reburied at Annapolis
Midwest.Urban.
==Apr.27 > US Steel officially
begins
construction of Gary, Indiana, which will become the largest company
town
in America
Northeast.Government.Business.
==Apr.28 > New York state passes
thorough
life insurance reform
Labor.Politics.
==spring > House Republicans
ignore AFL
proposals for laws protecting unions’ right to strike - ~labor unions
begin
to actively align with the Democrats
Government.Business.
==May.05 > A government report
charges
Standard Oil with “monopolistic control”
Alaska.Government.
==May.07 > The territory of
Alaska is
permitted to elect a delegate to Congress
Aviation.
==May.22 > The basic Wright
brothers’
patent for a flying machine is granted
Transportation.
==May.--- > Rail magnate E. H.
Harriman
travels coast to coast by train in 71 hours
Enviromental.Government.
==Jun.08 > Congress passes the
National
Monuments Act - ~Devil’s Tower, Wyoming, is soon declared the first
National
Monument
Labor.Law.
==Jun.11 > The Employer’s
Liability Act
makes employers responsible for their workers’ injuries
(see
Jan.06.1908)
Pacific Coast.Enviromental.
==Jun.11 > Yosemite Valley
National Park
is established
Northeast.Crime.
==Jun.25 > In one of the most
famous crimes
of the age, architect Stanford White is murdered at Madison Square
Garden
(which he had designed) in New York City by playboy Harry K. Thaw -
~Thaw's
lawyers later convince the jury that Thaw was suffering from a
condition
they call dementia Americana
Government.Business.
==Jun.29 > Congress completes
the Hepburn
Act for regulating rail rates - Roosevelt’s main domestic reform -
~increasing
government regulation of industry and commerce
Enviromental.Government.
==Jun.29 > Roosevelt takes steps
to preserve
public lands rich in coal
West.Enviromental.
==Jun.29 > The enormous Grand
Canyon Game
Preserve is created
Government.Business.
==Jun.30 > Roosevelt signs
the Meat
Inspection Act
Drugs and Alcohol.Law.
==Jun.30 > Roosevelt signs
the Pure
Food and Drug Act - the end of free and easy use of cocaine and
opiates
and demise of the patent medicine industry - drug addiction begins a
dramatic
drop: drug use is increasingly identified with blacks, the poor, and
criminals
International.
==Jul.25 > Henry Cabot Lodge
writes Roosevelt:
“We are the strongest moral force - also physical - now extant, and the
peace of the world rests largely with us.”
Latin American Relations.
==Jul.27 > Speaking at the Third
Pan American
Conference in Rio, Secretary of State Root pledges less US intervention
in Latin America
South.Politics.
==Jul.--- > Racist-populist Hoke
Smith
wins the Democratic nomination for Governor of Georgia - demagogue Tom
Watson becomes a major force in Georgian politics to 1920
Ethnic.Politics.
The Brownsville Affray and its aftermath:
==Aug.13-14 > ‘Brownsville
Affray’ [~midnight]:
black troops are accused of rioting in South Texas, although there is
no
real evidence that they are in fact guilty
==Nov.05 > In the aftermath of
the alleged
Brownsville riot, Roosevelt orders that three companies of black
soldiers
be given dishonorable discharges, including six Medal of Honor
recipients,
and ignores pleas to reconsider - blacks are outraged
==Dec.20 > Senator Foraker
comprehensively
refutes Roosevelt’s defense of his discharge of the Brownsville
garrison
- ~growing rift between Roosevelt and Congress
1907
==Jan.14 > Roosevelt again
refuses to
reconsider the Brownsville case
==Jan.26 > At a Gridiron Club
dinner,
Senator Foraker argues down Roosevelt in a dramatic confrontation over
the Brownsville affair
==Jan.--- > The Senate launches
an investigation
into the Brownsville affair, and eventually upholds Roosevelt
==mid.Mar. > In an attempt to
destroy
Senator Foraker’s power base in Ohio, Roosevelt supports Taft’s
presidential
bid
1908
==Apr.14 > A speech by Senator
Foraker
convincingly proves the innocence of the black troops accused in the
Brownsville
affair, to no avail (see Sep.17.1908)
Popular Culture.
==Aug.22 > Roosevelt attempts to
reform
the English language by ordering the Public Printer to use ‘simplified
spelling’, to the amusement of the press
European Relations.
==late.Aug > Roosevelt transmits
arms
reductions proposals to the European powers, with little effect
Government.Business.
==end.Aug > Speaking at Madison
Square
Garden, William Jennings Bryan calls for public ownership of railroads
- the response to his proposal is generally hostile
Politics.
==Aug.--- > William Howard Taft
decides
to refuse an appointment to the Supreme Court, and aims toward the
presidency
Pacific Coast.Politics.
==late summer > Widespread
outrage in
California at the openly corrupt state Republican Convention, starting
a regional revolt against the dominance of the Southern Pacific
Railroad
Latin American Relations.
The US intervenes in Cuba:
==Sep.08 > Cuban President
Estrada Palma
begins seeking US aid against a Liberal revolt
==Sep.10 > Roosevelt reluctantly
orders
warships to Cuba
==Sep.14 > Roosevelt warily
agrees to
send Taft to mediate a Cuban settlement when Estrada Palma threatens to
resign
==Sep.23 > Estrada Palma angrily
rejects
Taft’s proposed compromise
==Sep.28 > The entire Cuban
government
resigns [900.PM]
==Sep.28-29 > US Marines occupy
Havana
[from midnight]: the second US intervention in Cuba, to
Feb.1909
South.Ethnic.
==Sep.22-24 > Provoked by
demagogic gubernatorial
candidate Hoke Smith, a race riot erupts in Atlanta, leaving 21 dead,
including
18 blacks; the city is placed under martial law - ~in response to the
tragedy,
the interracial Atlanta Civic League is established to promote racial
harmony
in the city
Labor.Far
Left.
==Oct.02-Jan.1907 > The Western
Federation
of Miners breaks with the ultra-radical IWW - ~the IWW seems to be
crumbling,
to 1908
Pacific Coast.Ethnic.East
Asian Relations.
San Francisco’s segregation policy sets off a crisis with Japan:
==Oct.11 > San Francisco
announces that
it will segregate Asian schoolchildren - US-Japanese crisis to
Mar.1907
- Roosevelt is enraged at the “infernal fools in California”
==Oct.25 Japan strongly
protests
the segregation of Japanese schoolchildren
==Oct.26 > Roosevelt sends
Secretary Metcalf
to California to attempt to defuse the segregation crisis - San
Francisco
refuses to back down
==Dec.04 > In his annual message
to Congress,
Roosevelt strongly attacks San Francisco’s segregation policy as a
“wicked
absurdity”, evoking an angry response from California
1907
==Jan.30 > Roosevelt meets with
Californian
congressmen to defuse the crisis with Japan over San Francisco’s
segregation
of Japanese schoolchildren - brief war scare: ~the US Army-Navy Joint
Board
belatedly begins planning for a possible war against
Japan
(see Mar.13.1907)
Northeast.Government.Business.
==Oct.--- > The American Sugar
Refining
Company is found guilty of forcing rebates on New York Railroads, after
a skillful persecution by Federal Attorney Stimson
Military.
==fall > The battleships South
Carolina
and Michigan are laid down, their advanced design already
rendered
obsolete by the newly launched HMS Dreadnought
Politics.
==Nov.06 > Midterm elections:
Republicans
gain in the Senate and loose in the House, but retain strong majorities
in both houses - with help from Roosevelt, Charles Evans Hughes is
elected
Governor of New York, defeating William Randolph Hearst in a vicious
campaign:
this is Hearst’s last serious personal attempt at political office -
poor
whites elect demagogue Hoke Smith governor in Georgia
Latin American Relations.
==Nov.09-26 > Theodore Roosevelt
travels
to Panama to inspect the Canal, becoming the first American president
to
take a foreign trip while in office
Government.Business.
==Nov.15 > The Justice Department
files
motions to dissolve the Standard Oil Corporation
Military.
==Nov.15 > Future Air Force
general Curtis
LeMay is born in Columbus, Ohio
Technology.
==late fall > Lee De Forest
develops the
audion (triode), revolutionizing radio
Military.
==Dec.04-Aug.1907 > The young
Lieutenant
Douglas MacArthur serves as Theodore Roosevelt’s military aide
Politics.
==early.Dec. > Second
session of
the 59th Congress - increased resistance by conservatives against
reform
legislation - ~Speaker Cannon is using dictatorial methods in the House
Diplomacy.
==Dec.10 > Theodore Roosevelt is
awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in mediating the Russo-Japanese War
European Relations.
==Dec.12 > The US Senate approves
the
Treaty of Algeciras after appending a statement opposing American
involvement
in European affairs
Technology.
==Dec.24 > The first radio
transmission
of voice and music is made by Fessenden in Massachusetts
Economy.
==Dec.--- > The stock market
shows early
signs of unsteadiness (see Mar.04)
Northeast.Politics.Education.
==Dec to 1910 > University
President Woodrow
Wilson is frustrated in his struggles to reform Princeton, but gains
wide
public recognition
Military.
==Dec.--- > The progressive US
Navy officer
William Sims publishes an article justifying the construction of
dreadnoughts,
repudiating the influential Admiral Mahan and convincing Roosevelt -
Sims
is soon afterwards appointed naval aide to Roosevelt
Military.
==1906 > The American fleet
becomes the
world’s third largest, after Britain and France and temporarily ahead
of
Germany - abandoning a coastal defense navy, Congress lifts tonnage
limitations
and commits to building a fleet of dreadnoughts - European and South
American
stations are abolished as the Navy concentrates its strength, including
all of its battleships, in the North Atlantic
Military.
==1906 > The US Army buys its
first six
automobiles
West.Far
Left.
==1906 > 200 local Socialist
Party organizations
are active in Texas and Oklahoma
Technology.
==1906 > A power plant in the Los
Angeles
area begins supplying electricity in the daytime so housewives can use
electrical appliances
Enviromental.Government.
==1906 > The Antiquities Act
permits the
President to reserve federal lands for the protection of historic or
scientific
sites
Popular Culture.
==1906 > Hot dogs are given their
name,
after being sold at the Polo Grounds ball park in New York City since
about
1900
Popular Culture.
==1906 > Gabel produces the
prototype
of the modern jukebox
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