1911 Revolution in Central China (10/10/11) On October 10th, a revolution broke out against the Manchu government. The government was in such disarray and central power was so limited, that it did not take long for it to collapse entirely. By the end of the year, Dr. Sun Yat-sen had been elected President of China by the Revolutionary Provisional Assembly in Yanking.
1911 German Gunboat at Agadir continued to be a source of crisis. In April, France was forced to commit substantially more forces to take control of the city of Fez. The Germans decided to challenge the increasing French dominance in Morocco by sending a gunship to a closed port, ostensibly to protect the rights of German citizens. The intervention resulted in crisis throughout Europe. The parties concerned arrived at a resolution of sorts, when the Germans agreed to acknowledge French rights to establish a protectorate in Morocco- in return for France ceding Germany a small area in the French Congo.
1911 Standard Oil Broken (5/15/11) In the largest and most viable anti-trust case in American history to date, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey was ordered to divest itself of its 37 interlocking firms. An appeal to the Supreme Court was turned down.
1911 Triangle Fire (3/25/11) One hundred and forty-six young female employees of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company lost their lives in a tragic fire. The fire underscored the poor working conditions in garment factories. As a result of the fire, there were far greater inspections of the safety conditions in factories.
1911 First landing On Ship (1/18/11) Eugene Ely flew a specially-adapted Curtiss aircraft onto the deck of the USS Pennsylvania, as the ship was anchored in San Francisco Bay. The Pennsylvania deck had been custom equipped with a small landing platform and a series of ropes, which were used to stop the aircraft.
1911 First Coast-To-Coast US Flight (11/5/11) On November 5th, thousands of people showed up in Pasadena, California, to witness the arrival of Calbraith Rodgers, after a 49-day flight across the United States. Rodgers made 69 stops along the way, and was followed by a special train carrying spare parts. He made 16 crash landings. Rodgers' trip was sponsored by the Armour Meat Packing Company to promote "Vin Fiz", a soft drink. Rodgers received $5 for each mile from Armour, for a total of $21,605.
1912
1912 War in The Balkans (10/8/12)War in the Balkans had been brewing since the spring, when an alliance was signed between Serbia and Bulgaria. Additional alliances were signed between Greece, Montenegro and Serbia. Together, these countries made demands on Turkey that were guaranteed to lead to war. Serbia and Greece subsequently declared war on Turkey. A Turkish attack on Bulgaria was a total failure and the Turks fell back to defensive lines outside Constantinople. The Serbs attacked deep into Macedonia. Greeks reached Salonika. With the Turkish empire in Europe overrun, an armistice was signed.
1912 Sun Yat-sen Founds Kuomintang (1/1/12)In an effort to unify the country, Sun Yat-sen resigned in February to allow Yuan Shih K'ai to be elected President. At the same time, political parties were forming and Sun Yat-sen established the Kuomintang Party. The party was dedicated to the creation of a parliamentary system in China.
1912 Italians Receive Libya The Italian-Turkish War was officially brought to an end by the Treaty of Ouchy, which gave Libya to the Italians. The Italians had fought a long and hard battle for control of Libya. They encountered unexpectedly strong opposition from the Turks allied with the Arabs and Berbers.
1912 Marines Intervene in Nicaragua ( 8/14/12) On August 14th, American Marines landed in to protect American interests from a popular revolt. The US had already taken over the financial mechanism of the government. US Marines remained in the country until 1925.
1912 Lodge Corollary After it became known that a Japanese syndicate was negotiating for the purchase of a large strategic site in southern California, the State Department registered its disapproval. This became known as the "Lodge Corollary" of the Monroe Doctrine. It was expanded to include eastern powers and corporations.
1913
1913 Balkan War Resumed (2/3/12) On February 3rd, war resumed in the Balkans. Peace talks were taking place in London, but the Young Turks had staged a coup d'état and deposed the Turkish government. The Balkan allies renounced the armistice and attacked Turkish positions. Under increasing pressure from the European allies, the Balkans agreed to peace in May. On May 30th, the Treaty of London was signed. Under its terms, Turkey ceded all territory west of a line between Enos and Midia.
1913 Suffragettes In England (4/3/13) Suffragette Emily Davisons dashed onto a track at the running of The Derby; and was killed by a horse as she protested, in the line of duty.
1913 Mohanda Gandhi Arrested In Natal Rioting broke out in Natal after the arrest of for protesting the recently enacted immigration laws, which restricted the freedom of movement of Asians. In the course of subsequent rioting, two were killed.
1913 Suffragettes March On Washington (3/3/13) Preceeding the inauguration of there was a near riot as 5,000 women marched, demanding the vote for women. The march was led by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns.
1913 Underwood Tariff (10/14/13) The first major reduction in tariffs occured under the Underwood Tariff Bill. The average tariff was decreased from 41 percent to 27 percent. One hundred items became free of tariff. To replace the lost income, a graduated income tax was imposed. This was the first income tax since the Civil War.
1913 Federal Reserve Act (12/23/13) Strong backing of Wilson resulted in the Congress passing a bill creating the Federal Reserve Banking System. Under the new law, the country was divided into 12 districts, each with its own federal reserve bank. All of the federal reserve banks would be supervised by the Federal Reserve Commission, which would control the money supply.
1913 Senators Elected Directly (2/25/13) The Sevententh Amendment was ratified, providing for the direct election of Senators. Until this time, Senators had been chosen by the State Legislature.
1913 Ford Begins First Moving Assembly Line (10/7/13) The Ford Motor Company began the first moving assembly line in the world. The line assembled Ford "Model-T" cars.
1913 First Home Electric Refrigerator The first home electric refrigerator was put on the market. It was called "The Domelre" and it was put on the market in Chicago for $900.
