This article aims to provide a chronological overview of events in the United States in the Red Liberty universe, starting with the Point of Divergence in 1901 and concluding at the beginning of 1936.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 3rd | The U.S. Census Commissioner predicts that the national population will reach 300 million by the year 2001. |
| February 5th | The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty is signed by the United Kingdom and the United States, in which the UK cedes the right to construct a Panamanian canal to the US. |
| March 2nd | J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, and Elbert Gary together form the United States Steel Corporation. |
| Congress passes the Platt Amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a precondition for the withdrawal of American troops. | |
| March 4th | President William McKinley’s second inauguration takes place. In his speech, he highlights improvements to the U.S. economy since 1897, his handling of the Spanish-American War, and the nation’s new obligations in Cuba and the Philippines. He further stresses the importance of unity, patriotism, and the continuation of the nation's mission to promote freedom and justice both domestically and abroad. |
| March 23rd | Forces led by General Fredrick Funston capture Filipino rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo. |
| April 25th | New York State becomes the first state to require license plates for automobiles. |
| May 3rd | The Great Fire of 1901 burns much of downtown Jacksonville, Florida. |
| May 8th | Railroad mogul Edward Harriman’s ongoing struggle to take control of the Northern Pacific Railway drives its stock price to over $1000 per share. The heavily inflated price causes the stock prices of other railroads to fall, in turn causing the U.S. stock market to crash for the first time. |
| July 29th | Members of the Social Democratic Party as well as the disaffected “kangaroo” faction of the Socialist Labor Party (SLP) come together to form the Socialist Party of America (SPA). |
| August 10th | Members of the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers begin a strike against the newly-formed U.S. Steel after failing to reach an agreement regarding union recognition. |
| September 6th | President McKinley narrowly escapes assassination at the hands of Leon Czolgosz. A ‘Black Scare’ follows, with many prominent anarchists arrested and deported. |
| November 13th | After coming to a compromise, Morgan, Harriman, and Hill together form the Northern Securities Company, a trust uniting the Northern Pacific, Great Northern, and Burlington railroads. Overnight, railway traffic across the midwest has been monopolized. |
| While generally favorable towards business, President McKinley indicates to party leaders that an antitrust suit against Northern Securities may be inevitable. | |
| November 16th | The Isthmian Canal Commission issues its final report, once again recommending Nicaragua as the site of a future canal. |
| November 28th | The State of Alabama adopts a new constitution; key among its new provisions is the establishment of literacy tests for voters. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 1st | The U.S. Industrial Commission, established 1898, issues its final report. In the report the commission recommends breaking up railroad monopolies, strengthening regulation, and for Congress to institute legislation to control railroad shipping rates. |
| Secretary of State John Hay successfully negotiates the Nicaragua Canal Treaty between Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the United States. | |
| January 31st | The Senate Committee on the Philippines begins its investigation into allegations of war crimes during the Philippine-American War. |
| February 19th | Bowing to public pressure, the McKinley administration files suit against the Northern Securities Co. under the Sherman Antitrust Act. |
| March 2nd | In its first full year of operation, U.S. Steel has made two-thirds of all steel produced in the US. |
| April 28th | The United Copper Company is incorporated in New Jersey by Augustus Heinze. |
| April 29th | Congress approves the indefinite extension of the Chinese Exclusion Act. |
| May 12th | Coal miners across Pennsylvania begin to strike, in what becomes known as the Hard Coal Strike of 1902. Their demands are higher wages, an 8-hour workday, and recognition of their union, the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). |
| July 1st | The first casualty of the strike occurs when an immigrant miner is shot and killed by the Coal and Iron Police. The strike quickly descends into armed violence between strikers and strikebreakers. |
| September 15th | Associate Justice Horace Gray passes away. McKinley nominates Massachusetts jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. to replace him. |
| October 31st | The strike ends in a defeat for the miners, as governor Samuel Pennypacker calls in the State Militia to forcibly disperse the workers. The ensuing chaos becomes known as the “Halloween Massacre”, as strikers are beaten or killed across the state. |
| November 4th | Midterm elections are held. Reapportionment adds twenty-nine seats to the House, primarily benefiting the Democrats. For the first and only time, both major parties gain seats in both houses. |
| November 21st | The U.S.-mediated Treaty of Wisconsin brings the Colombian Thousand Days’ War to an end. |
| December 9th | The German Empire, with the support of the British and Italian navies, begins a naval blockade of Venezuela over the issue of debt repayments being ceased. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 1st | Stemming from problems identified with volunteer units during the Spanish–American War, Congress passes the Militia Act, creating the U.S. National Guard and codifying the circumstances under which it can be federalized. Additionally, it provides $2 million to N.G. units to modernize their equipment and training programs. |
| January 8th | The “Big Six” meatpacking companies (Swift, Armour, Morris, Cudahy, Wilson and Schwartzchild) merge into one National Packing Company. Capitalized at $15 million, the “Beef Trust” controls around half the national market. |
| February 11th | Japanese and Mexican contract farmworkers in Oxnard, CA form the Japanese-Mexican Labor Association (JMLA), becoming the first labor union formed from members of different minority groups. |
| February 13th | The United States negotiates a settlement to the crisis between Britain, Germany, Italy, and Venezuela, resulting in Venezuelan debt being reduced and a payment plan being established. |
| February 14th | President McKinley signs a bill establishing the Department of Commerce and Industry, and nominates Presidential Secretary George Cortelyou to head the new department. |
| President McKinley appoints Lieutenant General Samuel B. Young to the newly created position of Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. | |
| Mill workers led by the WFM begin striking in Colorado City. Governor Peabody deploys the national guard to protect the mills, over the objections of the Colorado City mayor, the chief of police, and the city attorney. | |
| February 23rd | Associate Justice George Shiras Jr. retires from the Supreme Court. To replace him, McKinley nominates staunch conservative Willis Van Devanter. |
| March 2nd | The Anarchist Exclusion Act passes Congress, and is signed by President McKinley. A culmination of the ‘Black Scare’, the act tightens immigration rules for political subversives and other “undesirables”. |
| March 14th | After mine owners in Cripple Creek refuse to stop supplying mills in Colorado City, 750 miners across 12 mines go on strike. |
| Governor Peabody invites both sides to negotiate a settlement, while also seeking to obtain an allotment of Krag-Jorgensen rifles for the state militia. | |
| March 30th | The JMLA succeeds in forcing owners to the negotiation table. An agreement is reached to raise wages and end an unpopular system of subcontracting. The union is reorganized as the Sugar Beet Farm Laborers Union (SBFLU). |
| April ??? [^]Exact date unknown | The Socialist Party of Louisiana adopts its ‘Negro Clause’; while opposing the disenfranchisement of African-Americans, it also upholds racial segregation. Though the National Committee is able to convince the Louisiana party to retract the clause, it remains an unofficial policy. |
| April 12th | Radicalized by the failure of the coal strike the previous year, and the ongoing strikes in Colorado, the UMWA adopts an explicitly socialist platform at an emergency convention. |
| May 1st | The strikes at Telluride and Cripple Creek end, as most mine owners come to agreements with the WFM. |
| May 13th | After requesting a charter from the AFL, the SBFLU is informed by Gompers that its grant would only be approved if it expelled its Japanese members. |
| August 8th | After mine owners fail to abide by the agreements, miners in Cripple Creek go on strike for the second time. In response, after some initial hesitation, Governor Peabody places the township under martial law. 1000 National Guardsmen under the command of General Sherman Bell are deployed to keep the peace and force the miners back to work. |
| September 1st | WFM members at the Telluride ore processing mills walk out of work and go on strike. Picketers are armed with pistols and rifles to prevent strikebreakers from entering. |
| September 10th | The National Guard begins a series of arrests targeting union leaders in Cripple Creek. Civil rights abuses are rampant, as the Guard regularly refuses to release prisoners even when ordered to by local courts. |
| September 24th | After being informed that local authorities would not be able to prevent an outbreak of violence, Governor Peabody deploys 500 National Guardsmen to the Telluride mills. |
| December 14th-15th | The Supreme Court hears arguments regarding Northern Securities Co. v. United States. |
| December 17th | At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright make the first successful powered heavier-than-air flight. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 25th | An explosion in the Harwick Mine in Cheswick, PA kills 179 miners and a further 2 aid workers. |
| March 14th | In the case of Northern Securities Co. v. United States, the Supreme Court rules 5-4 against the government, allowing the railway trust to continue operating. |
| March 30th | Construction begins on the Nicaragua Canal. |
| May 18th-19th | Greek-American author Ion Perdicaris is kidnapped by Moroccan bandits led by Ahmed al-Raisuni. For his safe return, they demand from the Sultan $70,000, safe conduct, and control of two of Morocco's wealthiest districts. |
| Upon hearing the news, Assistant Secretary of State Francis B. Loomis orders seven navy ships to Tangiers as a show of force. | |
| May 30th | President McKinley is informed that Perdicaris had possibly renounced his American citizenship. An investigation into the matter is ordered. |
| June 6th | President McKinley receives confirmation that Perdicaris had registered in Athens as a Greek citizen, renouncing his American citizenship. |
| June 15th | Raisuni increases his demands further, demanding to be given control of six, rather than two districts. |
| June 21st-23rd | The Republican National Convention (RNC) takes place. Despite a significant grassroots effort in favor of Theodore Roosevelt, Charles Fairbanks is nominated for president. |
| June 30th | Attorney General Philander Knox resigns to accept an appointment to the Senate. Given that the presidential election is in a mere 5 months, McKinley refrains from nominating a replacement, allowing Solicitor General John Richards to run the department de facto as Acting Attorney General. |
| July 6th-10th | The Democratic National Convention (DNC) takes place. Conservative Richard Olney defeats progressive media mogul William R. Hearst for the nomination. Hearst blames his defeat in particular on William J. Bryan’s refusal to endorse him. |
| November 8th | Presidential and Congressional elections take place. Republican candidate Charles Fairbanks defeats Democratic candidate Richard Olney. |
| December 31st | By the year’s end, Standard Oil controls 91% of oil refinement and 85% of final sales in the United States. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| March 3rd | Congress authorizes the navy to construct two dreadnought battleships with a maximum tonnage of 16,000 long tons each. |
| March 4th | President-elect Charles Fairbanks takes the oath of office. In his inaugural speech, he lays out his intent to broadly continue McKinley’s economic and foreign policies, while also stressing the need to take a firmer hand against socialist-anarchist radicalism. His cabinet nominations, likewise, reflect his desire to be a “continuity” president. |
| March 20th | The Grover Shoe Factory disaster occurs; an industrial explosion, building collapse, and subsequent fire kills 58 people and injures 150. |
| April 1st | President Fairbanks issues an executive order establishing the Presidential Commission on Naturalization. |
| April 5th | In the case of Lochner v. New York, the Supreme Court invalidates a New York law setting maximum working hours for bakers. The Court’s interpretation of the ‘Due Process Clause’ leaves it unlikely for any state-level regulation to survive scrutiny. |
| April 21st | Orville Platt, conservative republican and one of the “Big Four” Republican senators controlling major Senate decisions passes away. |
| May 28th | Norman Thomas graduates magna cum laude from Princeton University. |
| June 27th | The founding convention of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) is held in Chicago. Both the WFM and the UMWA soon affiliate with this new, radical union federation. |
| July 1st | Secretary of State John Hay passes away. President Fairbanks convinces former Secretary of War Elihu Root to take up the position. |
| September 15th | The first meeting of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society (ISS) takes place at a restaurant in lower Manhattan. Including a number of prominent socialist intellectuals, the organization’s set goal is to promote Socialism among college students. |
| September 17th | The New York Times publishes an article detailing evidence that the New York Life Insurance Company had made a sizable contribution to Fairbank’s presidential campaign. As more and more contributions by corporations are uncovered, calls grow for broad campaign finance reform. |
| November 7th | Running under the banner of the Municipal Ownership League, William R. Hearst narrowly wins a three-way race for Mayor of New York City. Accusations of electoral fraud backfire when evidence of fraud in favor of the Democratic candidate surfaces. |
| December 27th | While working for the Department of Agriculture, chemist Harvey Wiley organizes a meeting of progressive food producers and female activists to lobby for food safety legislation. |
| December 30th | An explosion at the Saratoga Hotel in Idaho results in one death, a Mr. Tom Hogan. It is speculated that he had been experimenting with explosive chemicals, but the purpose for which remains unknown. |
| The Naturalization Commission issues its report. Within, it recommends establishing literacy requirements, standardizing the many state laws governing naturalization, standardizing the oath of allegiance, and establishing a government office to oversee procedures and rectify abuses. |