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1919 in the United States
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1890s  1900s  – 1910s –  1920s  1930s
Years:	1916 1917 1918 – 1919 – 1920 1921 1922
Flag:	48 stars (1912 – 1959)

Events from the year 1919 in the United States.

Events

January–March

• January 1 – Edsel Ford succeeds his father as head of the Ford Motor Company.
• January 6 – Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, dies in his sleep at the age of 60.
• January 15 – The Boston Molasses Disaster: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, killing 21 and injuring 150.
• January 16 – The 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, authorizing Prohibition, goes into effect in the United States.
• February 6 – The Seattle General Strike begins. Over 65,000 workers strike.
• February 11 – The Seattle General Strike ends when Federal troops are summmoned by the state of Washington's Attorney General.
• February 25 – Oregon places a 1 cent per U.S. gallon (.26¢/L) tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax.
• February 26 – An act of the United States Congress establishes most of the Grand Canyon as a United States National Park (see Grand Canyon National Park).
• March 3 – The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the conviction of Charles Schenck.
• March 15 – The American Legion forms in Paris.

April–June

• April 30 – Several bombs are intercepted in the first wave of the 1919 United States anarchist bombings.
• June 2 – Several mail bombs are sent to prominent figures as part of the 1919 United States anarchist bombings.
• June 4 – Women's rights: The United States Congress approves the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which would guarantee suffrage to women, and sends it to the U.S. states for ratification.
• June 15 – Pancho Villa attacks Ciudad Juárez. When the bullets begin to fly to the U.S. side of the border, 2 units of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment cross the border and repulse Villa's forces.
• June 21 – The American Winged Foot Express catches fire over downtown Chicago; 2 passengers, 1 crewmember and 10 people on the ground are killed; only 2 people parachute to the ground safely.^[1]

July–September

July 7–September 6: The First Transcontinental Motor Convoy

• July 6 – The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic by an airship.
• July 7 – The First Transcontinental Motor Convoy: The U.S. Army sends an expedition across the continental U.S., starting in Washington, D.C., to determine how well troops could be moved from one side of the country to the other by motor vehicles.
• August 11 – The first NFL team for Wisconsin (the Green Bay Packers) is founded by Curly Lambeau.
• August 31 – The American Communist Party is established.
• September 6 – The First Transcontinental Motor Convoy: The U.S. Army expedition across America, which started July 7, ends in San Francisco.
• September 10 – September 15: The Florida Keys Hurricane kills 600 in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida and Texas.
• September 22 – The Steel strike of 1919 begins across the United States.
• September 28 – Omaha Riot: A lynch mob besieges the police station and courthouse in Omaha, Nebraska, and lynches alleged rapist Will Brown.

October–December

• October 1 – The Elaine Race Riot breaks out in Arkansas.
• October 2 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson suffers a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed.
• October 9 – Black Sox Scandal: The Cincinnati Reds "win" the World Series.
• October 9 – The Boston Police Strike occurs.
• October 28 – Prohibition begins: The United States Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto.
• November 10 – The first national convention of the American Legion is held in Minneapolis, Minnesota (until November 12).
• November 11 – The Centralia Massacre in Centralia, Washington results in the deaths of four members of the American Legion, and the lynching of a local leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).
• November 27 – Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity, is established at Oklahoma A&M College (now named Oklahoma State University) in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
• December 26 – Babe Ruth is sold by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $125,000, the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time.^[2][3][4] The deal was announced on January 6, 1920.^[4]

Undated

• Various strikes occur in the United States: Strike of US railroad workers; The Longshoreman's strike; The Great Steel Strike; and a general strike in Seattle, Washington.
• US President Wilson promises eventual independence for Philippines, though subsequent Republican administrations see it as a distant goal.
• The World League Against Alcoholism is established by the Anti-Saloon League.

References

External links

• Media related to 1919 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons