1916

Pancho Villa retaliates against U. S. recognition of Venus-tiano Carranza’s government in Mexico by executing several American civilians, while his forces raid Columbus, New Mexico, killing more Americans. General John J. Pershing leads a “punitive expedition” of 6,000 U. S. troops into Mexico but fails to catch Villa.

Louis Brandeis is appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court. He is the first American Jew to be so appointed.

Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first woman elected to the House of Representatives.

U. S. Congress passes the Jones Act of 1916, which gives the Philippine Islands greater autonomy.

The Adamson Act of 1916 establishes an eight-hour day for railroad workers operating on interstate lines, without reducing their wages.

In an effort to curb child labor abuses, U. S. Congress passes the Keating-Owen Act of 1916. The law prohibits interstate shipments of products made by children under age 14 or by children ages 14 to 16 who had worked more than eight hours per day.

President Woodrow Wilson is narrowly reelected over Republican challenger Charles Evans Hughes.

Margaret Sanger establishes the first U. S. birth control clinic in Brooklyn, New York. The clinic provides assistance to nearly 500 women before police close its doors 10 days later. Sanger is jailed for violating New York State law forbidding distribution of birth control information.

The United States sets up a military government in the Dominican Republic when the nation rejects a treaty that would have made it a protectorate of the United States. American troops remain until 1924.

The Kern-McGillicuddy Workmen’s Compensation Act enables workers to collect compensation for injuries sustained in the workplace.

Alice Paul and other radical suffragists form the National Woman’s Party to fight for a federal suffrage amendment.

The National Park Service is established to manage and maintain the national system of federal parks and wilderness areas.

The Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 makes low-interest loans available to farmers.

Charlie Chaplin appears in the two-reel silent comedy called The Pawnshop.