(2)
Economic Turmoil,
1907-1908
1907
Politics.
==Jan.01 > Theodore Roosevelt
shakes a
record 8,513 hands in one day
Drugs and Alcohol.Law.
==Jan.01 > The Pure Food and Drug
Act
becomes law
West.Politics.
==Jan.08 > Sam Rayburn is sworn
into the
Texas House, beginning one of the longest unbroken legislative careers
in American history
Politics.Business.
==Jan.26 > Congress prohibits
corporations
from contributing to Federal election campaigns
Economy.
==Jan.--- > John D. Rockefeller
predicts
that Roosevelt’s policies will result in depression - ~stock prices
begin
to fall (see Mar.04)
Military.
==Jan.--- > Congress finally
approves
funding for the USS Delaware, the first American
dreadnought-battleship
Government.Military.
==Feb.06 > Congress authorizes
old age
pensions for war veterans
East Asian Relations.Immigration.
==Feb.20 > The Immigration Act of
1907
is signed - Roosevelt is authorized to restrict the entry of Japanese
laborers
==Feb.24-early.Mar > Japanese
Foreign
Minister Hayashi sends a note which forms the basis of the informal
Japanese-American ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement’ to restrict Japanese
emigration
into America - the agreement is strengthened Feb.1908
==Mar.14 > Roosevelt excludes
the entry
of Japanese laborers
Government.Immigration.
==Feb.26 > Congress appoints the
Dillingham
Commission to look into the immigration situation
Government.
==Feb.26 > Government pay
increases: the
Speaker, the Vice-President, and Cabinet members make $12,000/year;
Senators
and Representatives make $7,500
West.Enviromental.Government.
==Mar.02 > Roosevelt proclaims
the creation
of 21 new forest reserves in the west, four days before signing a
Senate
bill to restrict new reserves - angry western response
Economy.
Early signs of weakness in the Stock Market:
==Mar.04 > A sharp break occurs
in the
Stock Market
==Mar.13 > New York Stock
Exchange prices
suddenly collapse in a ‘silent panic’ - ~a modest recession commences
==Mar.25 > More panic selling on
Wall
Street - Frick, Rockefeller, Harriman, and Schiff briefly consider
pooling
$25 million to steady the market
==late.Mar > The government
attempts to
bolster the banking system by announcing that it will maintain its
funds
in New York banks (see Oct)
Midwest.Law.
==Mar.09 > Indiana becomes the
first state
to authorize forced sterilization of “confirmed criminals, idiots,
rapists,
and imbeciles.” - about half the states follow in the next generation
Pacific Coast.Ethnic.
==Mar.13 > Roosevelt persuades
the Mayor
of San Francisco to rescind his Asian segregation order
Politics.Business.
==Apr.02 > The New York World
reveals
that rail magnate E. H. Harriman raised $250,000 for Roosevelt’s 1904
campaign
- Roosevelt hotly denies it
West.Labor.Law.
The Moyer-Haywood case comes to trial:
==Apr.02 > Roosevelt publicly
refers to
Debs, Moyer, and Haywood as undesirable citizens
==May.04 > 20,000 demonstrate in
New York
against the trial of Haywood and Moyer
==May.09-Jul.27 > Big Bill
Haywood’s
highly dramatic trial for the murder of Governor Steunenberg, with
Clarence Darrow as the defense attorney and William E. Borah as the
prosecutor
(see Jul.28)
Pacific Coast.Labor.
==May.05-Nov. > A violent San
Francisco
streetcar strike is crushed while the company’s management is being
tried
for corruption
Pacific Coast.Politics.
The Ruef political machine in San Francisco is broken:
==May.15 > San Francisco
political boss
Ruef confesses to charges of corruption, in an investigation that has
been
underway since Oct.20.1906
==Jun.13 > San Francisco Mayor
Schmitz
- who had performed his duties admirably after the 1906 earthquake - is
convicted of extortion (later overturned) and driven from office
1908
==Nov.13 > The special prosecutor
for
the San Francisco graft trials is shot while in the courtroom; future
governor
Hiram Johnson soon takes over the prosecution
==Dec.10 > Ruef is convicted of
bribery
and sentenced to 14 years
1909
==Nov.--- > An anti-reform slate
is elected
in San Francisco - ~the graft prosecution begins to wind down
East Asian Relations.Military.
Renewed Japanese American war scare:
==May.20-21 > Anti-Japanese riots
in San
Francisco re-ignite a crisis with Japan
==Jun.12 > The US War College
issues plans
for a war with Japan - it predicts that Japan can gain control of the
western
Pacific and foresees the loss of America’s Pacific garrisons - ~serious
Japanese-American war scare to Sep.
==Jun.16 > The US Joint Board
issues a
pessimistic defense strategy for the western Pacific and orders that
all
major warships withdraw to California in the event of war with Japan
==Jul.23 > Roosevelt writes to
Root that
opinion in Europe “...is that we shall have war with Japan and that we
shall be beaten.”
==Sep.28 > Taft arrives in Tokyo
in an
attempt to defuse the crisis
==Oct.18 > Taft reports from
Tokyo that
the Japanese government is anxious to avoid war with the United States
- the American-Japanese crisis eases
Northeast.Government.Business.
==May.22 > New York state
establishes
a Public Utilities Commission
Northeast.Transportation.
==May.31 > Motorized taxicabs
appear in
New York City, imported from Paris
Government.Business.
==May.--- > The Commissioner of
Corporations
publishes a detailed, scathing report on Standard Oil
Press.
==Jun.21 > UPI news service is
established
by Scripps
Northeast.Finance.Labor.
==late.Jun > Massachusetts signs
into
law Brandeis’ savings bank insurance plan - ~life insurance becomes
available
to workers with modest incomes
Military.
==Jun.27 > Roosevelt decides to
transfer
the American battleship fleet to the Pacific - the origins of the idea
for a circumnavigation by the ‘Great White Fleet’ (see Dec.16)
Government.Finance.
==Jun.--- > Roosevelt urges the
adoption
of income and inheritance taxes
West.Enviromental.
==Jun.--- > Critics of
Roosevelt’s western
conservation policies call a Public Lands Convention in Denver, but
they
are publicly faced down by Forestry Service chief Pinchot
Popular Culture.
==Jul.08 > The first of the
Ziegfeld Follies
opens on Broadway: his slender chorus girls begin the trend toward the
thinner Twentieth Century ideal of beauty - the Follies continue until
1956

Big Bill Haywood
West.Labor.Law.
==Jul.28 > Big Bill Haywood
is found
not guilty of murder by a jury of Idaho farmers - the government’s
case against the union leaders collapses (see Jan.1908)
Military.
==Aug.01 > The US Signal Corps
establishes
an Aeronautical Division, with one officer and two enlisted men - the
first
permanent American military air service
Government.Business.
==Aug.03 > Judge Kenesaw Mountain
Landis
fines Standard Oil $29,240,000 - when John D. Rockefeller learns of it,
he doesn’t bother to interrupt his golf game (see
Jul.22.1908)
Government.Business.
==Aug.20 > Roosevelt publicly
denounces
“malefactors of great wealth”
Drugs and Alcohol.Law.
==Sep.17 > Oklahoma adopts a
constitution
with prohibition provisions - the start of the third wave of state
prohibition
laws, to 1917
Government.Business.
==Sep.24 > Roosevelt orders the
Justice
Department not to pursue anti-trust action against International
Harvester,
on the basis of informal agreements - ~confused federal anti-trust
policies
Economy.
Crisis in American financial markets:
==Aug.--- > Financial markets are
showing
signs of strain - ~slides in commodity prices
==Sep.--- > Industrial production
is beginning
to slump
==Oct.06-13 > The New York Stock
Exchange
drops
==Oct.14-19 > Stock speculation
further
destabilizes the New York banking system
==Oct.20 > J. P. Morgan begins
directing
the response to the financial crisis
==Oct.22 > An frantic bank run
brings
down Knickerbocker Trust [900.AM-1230.PM] - the Panic of
1907
begins: the last financial crisis in which bankers play a larger
role
than government regulators - depression to 1908
==Oct.22-23 [night] > The
US Treasury
pledges to support Morgan’s efforts
==Oct.23 > Morgan saves the Trust
Company
of America and compels trust companies to form an association
==Oct.24-25 > Waves of bank runs
in New
York - Morgan staves off closure of the plummeting stock exchange
==Oct.28-29 > Morgan financially
props
up the municipal government of New York City
==Oct.31 > California declares a
bank
holiday, as panic spreads to west coast (see Nov.02)
Popular Culture.
==Oct.22 > Ringling Brothers buys
out
the Barnum & Bailey Circus
Business.Transportation.
==Oct.--- > The net worth of the
Ford
Motor Company exceeds $1 million, having increased tenfold in four
years
- ~Henry Ford gains full control of Ford Motor, and begins
planning
mass production of the inexpensive Model T
West.Business.
==Oct.--- > The Mellons complete
a pipeline
from Tulsa to their refinery at Port Arthur, Texas, beating out
Standard
Oil for dominance of the Oklahoma oil fields - ~Standard Oil’s total
dominance
of the American oil business is slipping - ~the Mellons organize
Gulf
Oil in Texas, the first truly integrated oil company with full
control
of production
Pacific Possessions.Military.
==Oct.--- > Roosevelt orders a
defense
study of the Philippines, which eventually shifts the main focus of
American
naval defense in the Pacific from Subic Bay eastwards to seemingly more
secure Pearl Harbor
Economy.
The Panic of 1907 crests:
==Nov.02-03 > In an all-night
session,
J. P. Morgan compels bankers to guarantee the Trust Company of America
- he lays plans for his US Steel to support the tottering Schley firm -
Morgan consolidates his financial dominance
==Nov.04 > In a dramatic White
House meeting
[morning], Roosevelt permits US Steel to buy Tennessee Coal
&
Iron, purportedly to stave off a banking collapse, though the purchase
is highly profitable to US Steel - the panic of 1907 eases
Northeast.Politics.
==Nov.12-fall 1910 > Young
Fiorello La
Guardia, the future mayor of New York City, works as an interpreter on
Ellis Island
West.Government.Ethnic.
==Nov.16 > Oklahoma is
admitted as
the 46th state - most Indian tribal governments are abolished
Politics.
Roosevelt refuses to seek reelection:
==Nov.19 > In a letter to his
Cabinet,
Roosevelt blocks any attempt at his renomination
==Dec.12 > Roosevelt publicly
reaffirms
that he won’t run for president and implies that he supports Taft’s
candidacy
Government.Military.
==Dec.03 > Roosevelt urges
Congress to
fund four new dreadnought battleships, setting off a bitter debate
Labor.
==Dec.06 > The worst mining
disaster in
American history: a coal mine explosion kills 361 in Monongah, West
Virginia,
- there are 702 fatalities from American coal mine accidents in
Dec.1907
alone; from 1906-1910 there are 84 mining disasters that claim 2,494
lives
Military.
The Great White Fleet’s world cruise:
==Dec.16 > The ‘Great White
Fleet’ of
16 battleships departs from Hampton Roads - ~America briefly has the
world’s
second largest fleet
1908
==Jan.13-21 > The Great White
Fleet visits
Rio de Janeiro
==Feb.01 > The fleet begins
passage through
the Straits of Magellan
==Feb.20-29 > The fleet visits
Callao,
Peru
==Mar.13 > The US announces that
the Great
White Fleet, currently in Peru, will circumnavigate the world
==Apr.14 > The fleet arrives in
San Diego
from Latin America
==Jul.07 > The fleet sets out
across the
Pacific from the American west coast
==Aug.09 > The fleet visits
Auckland -
in a tribal ceremony, a Maori warrior grins at Admiral Sperry and
shouts
“Bully!”
==Aug.20-28 > The fleet visits
Sydney,
to popular enthusiasm - feeling welcome, over 200 sailors desert in
Australia
before the fleet sails for Japan
==Oct.18-24 > The Great
White Fleet
successfully visits Tokyo
1909
==Feb.22 > The Great White Fleet
returns
to Hampton Roads from its round-the-world voyage, greeted by Roosevelt
- from this day on, US naval vessels are to be painted gray
Labor.
==Dec.17 > A Western Federation
of Miners
report records the onset of the depression: “...the weary tramp of the
vast armies of the unemployed, the alarming increase in crime, the
enormous
increase in the number of suicides... The wails of the hungry,
destitute,
and miserable assail our ears on every hand, all combining to make up
an
earthly hell such as only the pen of a Dante or a Milton could fitly
describe.”
Military.
==Dec.21 > An article in
McClure’s, ghosted
by the ardent naval reformer William Sims, criticizes the Navy’s
hierarchy
and the technical flaws in its ships - ~rising controversy over naval
reform
Northeast.Popular
Culture.
==Dec.31 > The first dropping of
a ball
in Times Square to signal the new year
Politics.
==Dec.--- > Idaho progressive
Republican
William E. Borah enters the US Senate
Government.
==1907 > Federal spending has
doubled
in a decade to $1 billion/year
Government.
==1907 > J. Allen Smith’s The
Spirit
of American Government sees American history as a struggle between
progressive good and plutocratic evil
Government.Business.
==1907 > 39 states pass over 300
acts
regulating railroads - bitter regulatory battles in North Carolina and
Alabama
Military.
==1907 > The US Army has only
62,398 men,
including 16,000 in the Philippines and 4,000 in Cuba - it suffers from
low morale, with privates being paid only a small fraction of the wages
of unskilled laborers
Military.
==1907 > Congress revives the
military
administrative office of the Adjutant General - the ambitious Adjutant
General Fred C. Ainsworth dominates the Army to 1912, slowing effective
reform
Military.
==1907 > The Navy consolidates
its squadrons
into the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, under a tightened central command
- the first two American dreadnoughts are laid down - the US Navy
starts
to seriously develop submarines, subsidizing manufacturers
Military.
==1907 > Hap Arnold is
commissioned into
the US Army
Immigration.
==1907 > The highest number of
immigrants
to enter the US in one year: 1,285,349
Enviromental.
==1907 > The term ‘conservation’
is coined
by Gifford Pinchot, head of the Forestry Service
Northeast.Urban.
==1907 > New Haven, Connecticut,
establishes
the first American urban planning department
Midwest.Urban.
==1907 > The first modern
residential
suburb is built south of Kansas City
South.Religion.
==1907 > The Pentecostal
movement, with
talking in tongues, begins to penetrate the south
Popular Culture.
==1907 > Rube Goldberg begins his
career
as a cartoonist
1908
Labor.Law.
The Supreme Court and labor:
==Jan.06 > The Supreme Court
strikes down
the Employers’ Liability Act of 1906
==Jan.27 > In Adair v. United
States,
the Court upholds ‘yellow dog’ labor contracts, ruling that employees
can
be fired for being members of a union
==Feb.03 > The Court rules that
secondary
union boycotts are a restraint of trade and that anti-trust laws can be
used against unions (the Danbury Hatters Case, or Loewe v.
Lawlor)
- the growth of unions is slowed
==Feb.24 > Muller v. Oregon:
the
Supreme Court sustains Oregon’s ten hour/day law for women in industry
- the brilliant ‘Brandeis brief’ persuades the Court to accept
regulation
of work conditions for health reasons
==Mar.23 > The Court sustains an
injunction
against the AFL since it is engaged in a boycott of a business - on
Dec.03,
Samuel Gompers and other AFL union officials are sentenced to prison
terms
for violating the injunction (see May.15.1911)
Government.Business.
==Jan.31 > In a message to
Congress, Roosevelt
calls for sweeping reforms and angrily attacks big business, the
courts,
and other critics - Congress and conservatives are annoyed
Economy.
==Jan.--- > The nation-wide
financial
panic is under control (see Oct-Nov.1907)
West.Labor.Law.
==Jan.--- > Defended by Clarence
Darrow,
George Pettibone is acquitted for the Steunenberg murder - the
government
drops its charges against Charles Moyer and ends its legal assault on
the
Western Federation of Miners
Diplomacy.
==Feb.10 > America signs a
general arbitration
treaty with France, the first of twenty such pacts over the next two
years
East Asian Relations.Immigration.
==Feb.18 > The Japanese-American
‘Gentleman’s
Agreement’ of 1907 is tightened up - Japan effectively restricts
emigration
to America
Women.
==Mar.09 > The Mayor of
Cincinnati states
“No woman is physically fit to run an automobile.”
West.Crime.
==Feb.29 > Western lawman Pat
Garrett,
the man who killed Billy the Kid, is shot in the back of the head while
urinating in the road near Las Cruces, New Mexico - the circumstances
of
the murder remain mysterious
Government.Business.
==Mar.23 > The Hepburn Bill is
introduced,
calling for strengthened federal regulation of corporations - it soon
stalls
despite Roosevelt’s strong support
Diplomacy.
==Mar.--- > Secretary Root
establishes
the Far Eastern Division - the start of the State Department’s regional
desks
Politics.
==Apr.02-03 > The final
convention of
the dying Populist Party nominates demagogue Tom Watson on an openly
racist
platform
Far Left.Press.
==Apr.09 > Roosevelt
unsuccessfully asks
Congress for laws to suppress anarchist publications
Transportation.
==Apr.24 > The first coast to
coast journey
by car: Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Murdock travel from Los Angeles to New York
City in a little over 32 days
Government.Military.
==Apr.27 > The Senate approves
funding
for two battleships a year after a tough struggle in Congress;
Roosevelt
had asked for four
Islamic Relations. Business.
==spring > The first American
activity
in Mid-East oil
Politics.Far
Left.
==May.10-17 > The Socialist Party
Convention
again nominates Debs for President
Politics.Enviromental.
==May.13-15 > White House
Conservation
Conference: the first conference of state governors - it produces
little
effect on Congress
Police.
==May.27 > Congress shuts down
the Secret
Service’s investigative functions (see Jul.26)
Government.Finance.
==May.30 > The Aldrich-Vreeland
Act is
passed after tough fights in both Houses - it levies a tax on
securities
and establishes the National Monetary Commission (headed by the highly
conservative Senator Nelson Aldrich) to review America’s financial
structure
Labor.Law.
==May.30 > The first federal
workmen's
compensation law is approved
Pacific Coast.Government.
==Jun.01 > Oregon adopts recall
of elected
officials
Enviromental.Government.
==Jun.08 > The energetic Gifford
Pinchot
heads the National Conservation Commission
Politics.
==Jun.16-20 > Republican Party
Convention:
Roosevelt supports Taft as his successor - Republican progressives are
disgruntled
East Asian Relations.Education.
==Jun.23 > In a generous gesture,
the
US Congress remits half of its indemnity from the Boxer Rebellion,
applying
the balance to establish Tsing Hua University in Peking and to endow a
scholarship allowing Chinese students to study in America
Military.
==Jun.24 > The US Army abolishes
its Military
Information Division, and redesignates the War College as G2 - the Army
strips itself of its intelligence capability
Politics.
==Jul.07-10 > The Democratic
Party Convention
nominates William Jennings Bryan - Bryan pledges not to run again if he
is defeated
Northeast.Politics.
==Jul.08 > Nelson Rockefeller is
born,
named after conservative Senator Nelson Aldrich
Government.Business.
==Jul.22 > Judge Landis’ $29
million fine
on Standard Oil is overturned on appeal
Police.
==Jul.26 > An unnamed
investigative arm
of Justice Department is established by Attorney General Bonaparte and
staffed by unemployed former Secret Service detectives - the
origins
of the FBI - on Mar.16.1909, the agency is officially named the
Bureau
of Investigation
Rural.
==Aug.10 > The President’s
Commission
on Country Life formed to investigate rural living conditions
Midwest.Ethnic.
==Aug.14-15 > A severe race riot
explodes
in Springfield, Illinois
West.Politics.
==Aug.27 > LBJ is born near
Stonewall,
Texas
Military.
==Sep.03-17 > Orville Wright
conducts
highly successful flight trials at Fort Myer, Virginia
Film.Business.
==Sep.09 > The Motion Picture
Patents
Company is formed by the nine largest film companies in an attempt
to
monopolize production in the infant film industry
Military.
==Sep.13 > Raymond Spruance is
commissioned
in the US Navy
Transportation.Business.
==Sep.16 > General Motors is
incorporated
by William C. Durant
Politics.Business.
==Sep.17 > Publicly quoting
stolen letters,
Hearst exposes secret ties between Congressmen and Standard Oil -
~Roosevelt
sees to it that his rival Senator Foraker is politically ruined
Labor.Far
Left.
==Sep.24 > The IWW purges the
doctrinaire
Marxist DeLeon ‘Detroit Group’ at its Chicago Congress - ~the
reconstituted
IWW begins to revive

Henry Ford
Business.Transportation.
==Oct.01 > The Model T Ford
is introduced
Politics.Press.
Theodore Roosevelt takes on Joseph Pulitzer:
==Oct.03 > An article in
Pulitzer’s New
York World hints at Roosevelt’s and Taft’s possible involvement in
shady financing of the Panama Canal
==Dec.08 > In a rash editorial,
the New
York World calls for an investigation of the financing of the
Panama
Canal, openly calling Roosevelt a liar
==Dec.15 > In a message to
Congress, Roosevelt
threatens libel action against the World, threatening freedom
of
the press - ~World publisher Pulitzer responds strongly
1909
==Mar.04 > On shakey grounds,
Henry Stimson
secures a Federal libel indictment against the New York World
(also
indicted in Washington, on Feb.17.1909)
1911
==Jan.03 > The US Supreme Court
unanimously
throws out Roosevelt’s libel case against Pulitzer’s New York World
Miscellaneous.
==Oct.30 > The death in New York
City
of Caroline Astor - the last unquestioned queen of American high
society
Politics.
==Nov.03 > Taft defeats Bryan
in the
presidential election after a dull campaign - Republicans retain
strong
majorities in both houses - liberal Nebraska Republican George W.
Norris
is first elected to the House
Politics.
==Nov.07 > Taft offends Roosevelt
by offering
him only weak thanks for his assistance in the presidential campaign -
their relationship begins to deteriorate
Military.
==Nov.12 > Roosevelt removes the
Marines
from shipboard duty, perhaps in preparation for the abolition of the
Corps
- after a prolonged squabble in Congress, the Marines are again
stationed
on ships by Mar.1909
Politics.Far
Right.
==Nov.14 > Joe McCarthy is born
in Wisconsin
to an Irish immigrant farmer
Diplomacy.
==Nov.21 > The advance text of
the Root-Takahira
agreement is sent to the powers: Germany and China are annoyed - ~the
failure
to reach an accord on the Far East effectively ends Germany’s attempts
at alignment with America
Government.Finance.
==late.Nov > In the Century
Magazine,
steel magnate Andrew Carnegie forcefully denies the need for American
protective
tariffs - on Dec.21, he repeats these views in testimony to the House
Ways
and Means Committee
Politics.Ethnic.
==Nov.29 > Future Congressman
Adam Clayton
Powell is born to a Harlem Minister
East Asian Relations.
==Nov.30 > The Root-Takahira
Agreement:
the US and Japan support an independent China and the status quo in the
Pacific - implied American acceptance of the Japanese control of Korea
and Manchuria
Politics.
==Nov.--- > Taft is actively
plotting
to overthrow Speaker Joe Cannon, and is encouraging House insurgents
South.Politics.Crime.
==late.1908 > An associate of the
newly
elected conservative Tennessee Governor Patterson murders reform leader
Carmack within sight of the state capitol - ~severe political unrest in
Tennessee
Latin American Relations.
==late.1908 > US relations with
Nicaragua
are growing seriously strained
Police.
==Dec.08 > Roosevelt’s last
annual message
accuses Congress of restricting the Secret Service because of the
lawmakers’
fear of being investigated, provoking an angry response from Congress -
~controversy over the Federal government’s power to investigate crime
Sports.Ethnic.
==Dec.26 > Jack Johnson becomes
the first
black man to win the world’s heavyweight title, defeating Burns in
Sydney,
Australia
Military.
==1908 > The Militia Act: the
National
Guard’s administration is centralized and Guard troops are liable to be
posted overseas, but Guard units are to be preserved in wartime - the
Act
is declared unconstitutional by the Attorney General in 1912
Military.
==1908 > West Point broadens and
improves
its curriculum, offering literature and advanced history courses
Military.
==1908 > George Marshall
graduates with
honors from the US Army Staff College
South.Urban.
==1908 > Staunton, Virginia
devises the
city manager system of municipal government
Rural.
==1908 > Half of all Americans
live on
farms or in towns with populations under 2500
South.Ethnic.
==1908 > At the encouragement of
Governor
Hoke Smith and demagogue Tom Watson, Georgia adopts a literacy test and
a grandfather clause to disenfranchise blacks
Law.
==1908 > The American Bar
Association
adopts its first ethics code
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