1. 1876 Lt. Col. George A. Custer's regiment is wiped out by Sioux Indians under Sitting Bull at the Little Big Horn River, Mont. Lt. Col. George A. Custer'sSitting Bull

2. 1886 Statue of Liberty is dedicated (Oct. 28). American Federation of Labor is organizedStatue of Liberty American Federation of Labor

3. 1890 Last major battle of the Indian Wars occurs at Wounded Knee in South Dakota. The frontier is closed. Indian Wars Wounded Knee

4. 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson: Landmark Supreme Court decision holds that racial segregation is constitutional, paving the way for the repressive Jim Crow laws in the South. Plessy v. FergusonSupreme Court decision

5. 1898 Spanish-American War: USS Maine is blown up in Havana harbor. U.S. declares war on Spain. (Spain gives up control of Cuba, which becomes an independent republic, and cedes Puerto Rico, Guam, and (for $20 million) the Philippines to the U.S. Spanish-American WarUSS Maine

6. 1903 U.S. acquires Panama Canal Zone.Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained flight in heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty Hawk, N.C.Panama Canal Zone Wright brothers

7. 1914 World War I: begins in 1914 U.S. enters World War I in 1917. War ends in 1919 World War I

8. 1916 Jeannette Rankin of Montana is the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives Jeannette Rankin

9. 1918 Worldwide influenza epidemic strikes; by 1920,nearly 20 million are dead. In U.S., 500,000 die.

10. 1919 Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, granting women the right to vote Nineteenth Amendment