1896 : Plessy v. Ferguson: 1897 : William McKinley 25th President of the United States 1898 : Spanish-American War 1898 : US annexes Hawaï by an act of Congress 1900 : American population 76 million 1901 : McKinley second inauguration 1903 : Panama Canal + Wright Brothers 1905 : Theodore Roosevelt's second term in office 1908 : Bureau of Investigation (today FBI) is created 1909 : William Howard Taft becomes President 1913 : Woodrow Wilson becomes President + 17th Amendment is ratified