250 Most Impactful Moments in American History

160: Black Monday - DJIA falls 508 points - 22.6%, its largest single day percentage drop in history

 

159: The Land Act of 1820 lowers prices in the Missouri and Northwest territories with the goal of encouraging western movement ft. Director of The Papers of Andrew Jackson, Professor Emeritus of History, & Author of The Public Lands in Jacksonian Politics, Dr. Daniel Feller. 

 

158: Members of a cult following Charles Manson murder actress Sharon Tate and four others in Los Angeles, CA. The next day they would kill businessman Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary. ft. Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, Licensed Private Investigator, and True Crime Author, Dr. Joni Johnston. 

 

157: A bomb explodes in the World Trade Center killing seven. The attack was planned by a small terror cell including Sheik Abdel Rahman and Ramzi Yousef. Yousef would later be captured in Pakistan and found guilty in a NY court.

 

156: The Gold Standard Act is ratified, putting American currency on the gold standard
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165: The first televised presidential debate takes place between Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard Nixon ft. Author of Presidential Debates: Risky Business on the Campaign Trail, Alan Schroeder 

 

164: Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman murdered in Los Angeles. The prime suspect former running back O.J. Simpson evades capture by leading police on a low-speed chase before his eventual arrest ft. attorney and host of the Crime & Justice podcast,  Donna Rotunno. 

 

163: American Express is founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo

 

162: Sacco and Vanzetti a pair of Italian-American anarchists and convicted murderers are killed via electric chair

 

161: Clara Barton establishes the American Red Cross
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170: Al Qaeda suicide bombers crash a small craft into the USS Cole killing 17 sailors ft. Former USS Cole Commander Kirk Lippold

169: The last draft lottery for the US military is held

168: Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization - a process to strengthen rubber

 

167: In a crime that outraged the nation, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb murder 14 year old Bobby Franks  ft Professor of History & Political Science at John Jay College & author of For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz Age Chicago, Simon Baatz

 

166: The Supreme Court rules that Africans aboard the ship Amistad were taken into slavery illegally
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175: Bleeding Kansas escalates as anti and pro slavery forces take up arms in the Wakarusa War 

174: Amelia Earhart disappears after taking off from New Guinea 

173: The FBI raids a compound in Waco, Texas led by cult leader David Koresh. A fire breaks out during the raid killing 76 Branch Davidian members including at least 20 children ft Retired FBI Special Agent and former HRT Operator, Charlie Rasner 

172: The US fails in its Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba resulting in the expansion of power of the Castro regime ft. Author of The Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs, Jim Rasenberger 

171: Spanish-American War: Theodore Roosevelt leads his Rough Riders in a cavalry charge up San Juan Hill
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180: President Eisenhower in his farewell address warns against the power of a "military industrial complex" ft. Founding Director of the Eisenhower Institute and Author of How Ike Led, Susan Eisenhower

179: The Donner Party becomes snowbound

 

178: Riots break out in Los Angeles following the not guilty verdict in the Rodney King case. 63 people were killed 12k people arrested and $1B worth of damage.  ft. Former Attorney General and Founding Partner at Torridon Law PLLC, Bill Barr

177: President Truman implements the Truman Doctrine, pledging US support to democracies against authoritarianism.

 

176: Sandra Day O'Connor is confirmed as the first female justice of the Supreme Court
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