Brian M. Harward, PhD, is professor and Robert G. Seddig Chair in Political Science at Allegheny College, in Meadville, PA.

Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.

• IntroductionChronological List of EventsPresident George Washington Authorizes Military Intervention to Confront the Whiskey Rebellion, 1794President James Buchanan Alludes to the Dred Scott Case in Inaugural Address, 1857President Andrew Johnson Vetoes the Second Reconstruction Act, 1867President Ulysses S. Grant Suspends Writ of Habeas Corpus in Parts of South Carolina, 1871President Grover Cleveland Takes Action Regarding Violence toward Chinese Immigrants, 1886President Grover Cleveland Intervenes in Pullman Strike, 1894President Theodore Roosevelt Remarks on the Importance of Conservation, 1903President Woodrow Wilson Endorses the Nineteenth Amendment, 1918President Warren Harding Speaks to the Public about Prohibition, 1923President Calvin Coolidge Orders Legislation Requiring Documentation from Immigrants, 1926President Herbert Hoover Comments on the Bonus Army Investigation, 1932President Franklin D. Roosevelt Discusses the New Deal in Fireside Chat, 1933President Franklin D. Roosevelt Signs Conservation Act amid the Dust Bowl, 1936President Dwight D. Eisenhower Sends Federal Support to Little Rock, Arkansas, 1957President John F. Kennedy Outlines Civil Rights Act in Report, 1963President Richard Nixon Answers Question about Kent State University Protest, 1970President Gerald R. Ford Creates Emergency Immunization Program during Swine Flu Outbreak, 1976President Jimmy Carter Addresses the Nation about Its Crisis of Confidence, 1979President Ronald Reagan Fires Air Traffic Controllers on Strike, 1981President Ronald Reagan Acknowledges AIDS Crisis, 1985President Bill Clinton Remembers Oklahoma City Bombing Victims, 1995President Bill Clinton Calls for Gun Control Legislation following Columbine Shooting, 1999President Barack Obama Gives Remarks at Sandy Hook Interfaith Prayer Vigil, 2012President Barack Obama Gives Update on the U.S. Response to Ebola Outbreak, 2014President Barack Obama Remembers Michael Brown and Discusses Race, Class, and Criminal Justice Reform in the United States, 2015President Donald Trump Takes Executive Action to Combat Opioid Crisis, 2017President Donald Trump's Remarks on White Supremacist Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, 2017President James Monroe Discusses the Economic Crisis Facing the Nation, 1819President Andrew Jackson Vetoes the Re-Charter of the Second National Bank, 1832President Martin Van Buren Addresses Congress during the Economic Panic of 1837President John Tyler Vetoes Bill to Create a National Bank, 1841President James Buchanan Addresses Congress about the Nation's Economic Struggles, 1858President Ulysses S. Grant Plans to Revitalize a Floundering Economy, 1875President Grover Cleveland Promotes Importance of Financial Soundness, 1895President Theodore Roosevelt Endorses Anti-Trust Measures, 1903President Herbert Hoover Wrestles with the Stock Market Crash, 1930President Herbert Hoover Signs the Norris-LaGuardia Act, 1932President George H. W. Bush Outlines a Bailout to Address the Savings and Loans Crisis, 1989President Bill Clinton Delivers Remarks on Government Shutdown, 1995President Barack Obama Introduces Measures to Pull America Out of the Great Recession, 2009President Barack Obama Gives Remarks on Government Shutdown, 2013Donald Trump Links Illegal Immigration to Government Shutdown, 2019President Benjamin Harrison Addresses the Nation about the Johnstown Flood, 1889President Calvin Coolidge Addresses the Red Cross after the Mississippi Flood, 1927President Lyndon B. Johnson Provides Federal Aid to Alaska after Earthquake, 1964The White House Prepares a Moon Disaster Speech for President Richard Nixon, 1969President Jimmy Carter Visits Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Following Meltdown, 1979President Jimmy Carter Visits Washington after Mount St. Helens Eruption, 1980President Ronald Reagan Mourns the Loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger, 1986President George H. W. Bush Gives Statement on Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, 1989President George W. Bush Gives Remarks on Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster, 2003President George W. Bush Tours Areas Damaged by Hurricane Katrina, 2005President Barack Obama Discusses Status of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, 2010President Barack Obama Updates Nation on Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts, 2012President Donald Trump Tweets about U.S. Response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, 2018President Donald Trump Tweets about Wildfires in California, 2018President Andrew Johnson Removes Edwin M. Stanton as Secretary of War, 1868President Theodore Roosevelt Announces the Death of President William McKinley, 1901President Woodrow Wilson Creates Committee on Public Information during Red Scare, 1917President Harry Truman Fires General Douglas MacArthur, 1951President Harry Truman Attempts to Discredit McCarthyism, 1952President Lyndon B. Johnson Declares National Day of Mourning for President John F. Kennedy, 1963President Lyndon B. Johnson Makes Statement about Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1968President Richard Nixon Announces Resignation after Watergate Scandal, 1974President Gerald R. Ford Grants Pardon to Richard Nixon, 1974President Ronald Reagan Denies Illegal Involvement in Iran-Contra Scandal, 1987President Bill Clinton Gives Remarks Prior to Vote on First Article of Impeachment, 1998President Donald Trump Makes Statement during United States–Russia Summit in Helsinki, 2018President George Washington Issues Neutrality Proclamation in the War between England and France, 1793President John Adams Wrestles over War with France after Passage of Alien and Sedition Acts, 1798President Thomas Jefferson Responds to British Provocations during the Napoleonic War, 1807President James Madison Calls All Citizens to Unite in Defense of the District of Columbia, 1814President James Monroe Ratifies Missouri as a Slave State with the Missouri Compromise, 1821President Andrew Jackson Praises the Indian Removal Act, 1830President James Polk Prepares for War against Mexico, 1846President Millard Fillmore Addresses Congress about the Compromise of 1850President Franklin Pierce Intervenes in "Bleeding Kansas," 1856President Abraham Lincoln Issues the Emancipation Proclamation, 1863President Abraham Lincoln Delivers the Gettysburg Address, 1863President Abraham Lincoln Ponders the Future of Slavery and Citizenship in America, 1863President William McKinley Facilitates Occupation of the Philippines, 1898President Woodrow Wilson Seeks Peace during World War I, 1918President Franklin D. Roosevelt Declares War against Japan, 1941President Franklin D. Roosevelt Gives State of the Union Address during World War II, 1944President Harry Truman Drops Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, 1945President Harry Truman Nationalizes Steel Industry during Korean War, 1952President Dwight D. Eisenhower Warns about the Implications of Russia's Sputnik Space Satellite, 1958President Dwight D. Eisenhower Addresses the Press about U-2 Plane Incident, 1960President John F. Kennedy Speaks about the Bay of Pigs Fiasco, 1961President John F. Kennedy Warns Soviet Union about Actions in Berlin, 1961President John F. Kennedy Gives Report on Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962President Lyndon B. Johnson Vows Continued Support for South Vietnam in Letter to General Minh, 1964President Lyndon B. Johnson Gives Report on Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 1964President Jimmy Carter Gives Statement on Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979President Ronald Reagan Addresses Bombing of U.S. Military Barracks in Beirut, 1983President George H. W. Bush Discusses the Persian Gulf Crisis, 1990President Bill Clinton Addresses Military Efforts in Somalia after Ambush in Mogadishu, 1993President Bill Clinton Responds to Terrorist Attack on USS Cole, 2000President George W. Bush Addresses the Nation after 9/11 Terror Attacks, 2001President Barack Obama Makes Statement on Attack on U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, 2012BibliographyIndex