Chronology

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Springfield Armory

Chronology

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Chronology Curricula

Springfield 1892 to 1945 Home

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Chronology Curricula

	United States	Springfield	Armory
1880		Brothers Edward and Charles Bellamy found the Springfield Daily News.
1881	James Garfield elected as the twentieth President of the United States. Later that year he was assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau. Chester A. Arthur is inaugurated in Garfield's place.	Fire station Hose Company No. 7 is built.
1882			Krag-Jorgenson Rifle is chosen to replace the Springfield Model 1873.
1883	United States legalizes Segregation under The Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3.	Springfield's government creates the Park Commission to oversee the city's parks and open spaces.
1885	Grover Cleveland elected as the twenty-second President of the United States.	Springfield College is founded with the intent to train YMCA professionals.
1886	The Haymarket Riot, also known as the Haymarket Massacre, claims the lives of seven police officers and an unknown number of civilians.
1887	The Dawes Act passes, making restrictions on where Native Americans can live and paving the way for up modern day reservations.	The Confederation of Labor is organized, focusing their efforts on the education of laborers, and is replaced by the Central Labor Union later that year.
1888	National Geographic Society founded, with Gardiner Greene Hubbard as it's first president.
1889	Benjamin Harrison inaugurated as the twenty-third president. North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington become states.	Union Station is completed.	Scientific American does a piece on the technology of the Springfield Armory.
1890	Yosemite National Park created. Idaho and Wyoming become states. The Wounded Knee Massacre takes places at Wounded Knee Creek, SD, claiming 300 Lakota lives.	Baseball player and Springfield native Walter "Rabbit" Maranville is born.
1891		The trolley system in Springfield is electrified, greatly expanding the range of transportation for the city.	Legislation is passed to appoint the first two women inspectors in Massachusetts.
1892	The General Electric Company is founded. The Sierra Club is created by John Muir.		Armory begins production of the Krag-Jorgenson rifle.

1893	Grover Cleveland re-elected to a second term as the twenty-fourth President of the United States.	The City of Springfield feels the effects of depression caused by railroad overbuilding and international devaluing of US notes.

1895		The George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum is built, housing a diverse collection of Asian, American, and Italian art, paintings, rugs, and textiles.

1896	The courts decide that 'separate but equal' is constitutional in the case of Plessy V. Ferguson. Gold is discovered in the Yukon. Utah becomes a state. Hawaii is annexed.
1897	William McKinley is elected as the twenty-fifth President of the United States.

1898	U.S.S. Maine is destroyed, starting the Spanish-American War.
1899		The Springfield Science Museum is built. William P. Hayes is elected as mayor of Springfield, making him the first Irish-Catholic to hold that position.	The Krag-Jorgenson Rifle is used in the Spanish-American War.

1900			The Springfield Armory begins research and development into semi-automatic shoulder arms, creating rifle specifications and conducting many tests for nearly three decades.
1901	President McKinley is assassinated by Leon Czolgosz, who was lated executed by electrocution. Theodore Roosevelt became the twenty-sixth President in McKinley's place.
1902			Extensive purchases of machinery including 124 Lincoln milling machines from Pratt & Whitney.
1903	Ford Motor Company founded. First powered flight made by the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.		The Springfield Model 1903 is introduced, featuring a new loading and firing method.
1904	Panal Canal Zone acquired by U.S.

1905	Niagara Falls Conference held by The Niagara Movement, led by W.E.B. DuBois, who called for opposition to racial segregation.

1906		Springfield Technical High School is built.

1907	Oklahoma becomes a state.

1908	Federal Bureau of Investigation created.		The Armory purchased new furnaces for use with high speed steel cutters as production continues to grow.

1909	William Taft elected as the twenty-seventh President of the United States. W.E.B. DuBois founds the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).	The Library Association builds a newer, larger library.
1910	Boy Scouts of America are charted.
1911		A bombing occurs in Court Square. It is later determinded that the Campanile, which was under construction, was the target. Manufacturer American Bosch sets up their Springfield plant.	The number of female inspectors in Massachusetts increases to three.
1912	R.M.S. Titanic sinks. Nevada and Arizona become states.
1913	Woodrow Wilson is elected as the twenty-eighth President of the United States. The 16th (income tax) and 17th (appointing senators) Amendments to the Constitution are passed.		The Armory signs a contract with Lincoln for milling machines, speeding up the production time and increasing output.
1914	Federal Trade Commission created. World War I begins in Europe.
1915	Civilian liner R.M.S. Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat.	A state armory is built in Springfield's South End neighborhood. The building is now used as the South End Community Center.
1917	The United States enters World War I.		As financial support for the war grows, along with the number of personnel at the Armory, production of M1903s increases to 1000 per day in November.
1918	President Wilson announces his Fourteen Points.
1919	Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending World War I. U.S. Senate rejects the Treaty and the League of Nations. The 18th Amendment (Prohibition of 'intoxicating liquors') passes.	Horace A. Moses founds the Junior Achievement program, building Achievement Hall in Springfield as a central institution for New England.	John Cantius Garand begins his twenty-four year long involvement with the Springfield Armory in October for a salary of $3600.
1920	19th Amendment (Women's suffrage) passes into law. First radio broadcast.	English car company Rolls-Royce opens a plant in Springfield, due to the city's large machinist and craftsman population.
1921	Warren G. Harding elected as the twent-ninth President of the United States.
1922
1923	Harding dies in office. Calvin Coolidge is inaugurated in his place, making him the thirtieth President of the United States.
1924	Immigration Act establishes a national quota for immigrants.
1925	Scopes Trial overturns the Butler Act, which made it illegal to teach anything that contradicted the Bible.	The Our Lady of Hope Roman Catholic Church begins its construction.
1927	Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are arrested.
1928		Rev. Dr. William N. DeBerry is awarded the national Harmon Foundation award and the local William Pynchon Medal for his civil and community service.
1929	Herbert Hoover elected as the thirty-first President of the United States. The Great Depression begins.		After considerable testing, the M1 rifle created by John Garand is chosen for mass production over the Pederson semi-auto, based on the fact that it will be easier to manufacture.
1930			The St. John's Institutional Activities separates from St. John's Church and changes its name to The Dunbar Community League.
1931	Empire State building opens.
1932	Norris-LaGuardia Act passes helping attain rights for labor unions.
1933	20th Amendment and 21st Amendment (repealing the 18th Amendment) pass. Franklin D Roosevelt elected as thirty-second President. Japan and Germany leave the League of Nations.
1934	Federal Housing Administration is created. The Indian Reorganization Act passes, giving more rights back the Native peoples.
1935	Neutrality Act passes, keeping the U.S. out of the growing tensions in Europe. Social Security Act creating the program of the same name.	Curtis and S. Prestley Blake open the first Friendly's ice cream store, which would be the first of many.
1936	Life Magazine is established.	The Connecticut River overflows, devastating and displacing many families.	The U.S. government officially adopts the M1 Garand as the standard service rifle, and it will remain the standard rifle for the next twenty years.
1937	The Hindenburg disaster claims 36 lives. The Golden Gate Bridge is completed.
1938	Fair Labor Standards Act passes, creating minimum wages laws. Orson Welles broadcasts War of the Worlds over the radio.	The Great New England Hurricane causes the Connecticut River to flood again, making some residents homeless again.
1939	Germany invades Poland, starting World War II.		Springfield Armory installs 25 flourescent lights. The more efficent lights, replacing incandescent ones, allowed workers to work earlier and later in the day, increasing production.
1940	Selective Service Act creates the National Draft.
1941	Lend-Lease Act passes, allowing the U.S. to send supplies to allies. Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese on Dec. 7. The U.S. enters World War II.
1942	Congress of Racial Equality is founded.
1943	Detriot race riots shake the country. Tehran Conference takes place between the 'Big Three' to plan attacks against Nazi Germany and its allies.		By June of 1943, female workers accounted for 43% of the workforce in the Springfield Armory, helping to produce 2,100 rifles per day.
1944	G.I. Bill passes, giving veterns scholarships to school and unemployment compensation. D-Day invasion of Normandy. Battle of the Buldge occurs.

1945	U.S. joins the U.N. F.D.R. dies and is replaced by Harry S. Truman, making him the thirty-third President. Germany surrenders. U.S. nukes Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrenders.

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