History of time in the United States facts for kids
.png)
Imagine a world where every town had its own time! Before 1883, that's how it was in the United States. Clocks in each city or town were set based on the sun's position right there. This meant that when it was noon in one town, it might be a few minutes past or before noon in a town just a few miles away.
This system worked okay when people didn't travel much. But as railroads grew, it became a huge problem. Trains needed exact schedules to avoid crashes and keep things running smoothly. So, in 1883, American and Canadian railroads decided to create a new system: standard time divided into time zones. This was a big step towards making time the same across large areas.
It took a while for everyone to accept this new idea. But because it made travel and communication so much easier, standard time slowly became more popular. It wasn't until 1918 that the U.S. government officially made time zones a law with the 1918 Standard Time Act. This act also introduced daylight saving time, which meant moving clocks forward in spring and back in fall to save energy.
Daylight saving time was stopped for a short period after 1919. But the idea of standard time zones stayed. The government agency in charge of transportation, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), was given the job of managing time zone borders. Later, during World War II, daylight saving time was brought back across the whole country to help save energy for the war effort.
After the war, states and towns could decide for themselves if they wanted to use daylight saving time. This led to a confusing mix of times across the country. To fix this, the Uniform Time Act was passed in 1966. This law made daylight saving time start and end on the same dates everywhere in the U.S. States could still choose not to use it, but if they did, they had to follow the national dates. Over the years, the job of managing time zones moved from the ICC to the United States Department of Transportation (DOT).
Time zone borders have changed a lot since they were first created. They often shift westward. This happens when places on the eastern edge of a time zone decide to move to the time zone to their east. This makes their sunsets happen an hour later by the clock, which some people prefer. The main reason for changing a time zone is to make things easier for businesses and trade.
Contents
How Railway Time Began in 1883
.jpg)
The need for standard time became very clear because of train accidents. One famous example happened in New England in 1853. Two trains crashed because their conductors had watches set to different local times. This accident, which killed 14 people, showed how dangerous it was to have so many different times.
After many such problems, railroad companies formed a group called the General Time Convention. Their goal was to create a better way to schedule trains.
In 1870, a man named Charles F. Dowd suggested a system where all railroads would use one single time, but towns could keep their local times. Railroad managers didn't like this idea much.
Then, in 1881, William Frederick Allen, who worked for the General Time Convention, looked into the problem. He came up with a plan to replace the 50 different railroad times with just five time zones. Allen worked hard to convince railroad managers and city leaders that his simpler plan was best. He showed them it would be much easier and cheaper than having many different state laws about time.
On October 11, 1883, railroad leaders met in Chicago. They agreed to use Allen's plan and set up five time zones across North America. These zones were based on Greenwich Mean Time, a standard time used in England.
Not everyone was happy about this change. Some smaller towns worried about having to "eat sleep work... and marry by railroad time," as one newspaper in Indianapolis complained. But with the support of almost all railroad companies and important universities like Yale and Harvard, standard railway time officially began at noon on November 18, 1883. This agreement was so strong that it became federal law in 1918.
Time Changes During World Wars
Daylight saving time was first introduced in the U.S. by the 1918 Standard Time Act. This happened during World War I and was meant to save electricity for seven months of the year. However, after the war ended, daylight saving time was stopped in 1919. Standard time zones, though, remained in place.
During World War II, the government brought back year-round daylight saving time. This was done to save energy resources for the war. It started on February 9, 1942, and continued until the war ended. During this period, it was officially called "War Time." For example, what we now call Eastern Daylight Time was known as Eastern War Time (EWT). After the war, this special "War Time" ended on September 30, 1945.
Daylight Saving Time: 1945 to 1966
After World War II, from 1945 to 1966, there was no federal law about daylight saving time. States and cities could choose whether to observe it or not. Most places that did use it would start in late April and end in late September.
This lack of rules created a very confusing situation. Imagine traveling just a short distance and having to change your watch several times! For example, bus drivers in West Virginia and Ohio sometimes had to reset their watches seven times on a 35-mile trip. This "patchwork" of different times was a big problem for travel and business.
By the mid-1960s, industries like airlines and other transportation companies pushed for a national standard for daylight saving time. They wanted everyone to follow the same dates.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966
The Uniform Time Act became law on April 13, 1966. This important law made it mandatory for daylight saving time to start nationwide on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October, beginning in 1967.
States could still choose not to observe daylight saving time, but they had to exempt the entire state. At first, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Indiana, and Michigan chose not to follow it. However, Alaska, Indiana, and Michigan later decided to observe daylight saving time. Today, only Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii do not observe daylight saving time.
In 1986, the starting date for daylight saving time was changed to the first Sunday in April, effective in 1987. It still ended on the last Sunday in October. States can choose to opt out of daylight saving time, but they cannot make it last longer than the federal law allows for the whole country.
In 1974 and 1975, because of an energy crisis, daylight saving time started even earlier in the year (in January or February). But people didn't like having very late sunrises during the winter months, so in 1976, the U.S. went back to the schedule set by the Uniform Time Act.
Daylight Saving Time Changes in 2007
Starting March 11, 2007, daylight saving time was extended by another four to five weeks. It now begins on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November. This change was part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
The idea behind extending daylight saving time was to save energy. However, later studies showed that the energy savings might not be as big as first thought.
This extension also brought some concerns. Because daylight saving time moves sunrise an hour later, some people worried about children traveling to school in the dark, especially in March. The airline industry also had concerns, especially if daylight saving time had been extended even further into November. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days, and changing clocks on that day could cause a lot of confusion for travelers.
If daylight saving time had been extended even more, some places would have had extremely late sunrises in November, sometimes even after 9 AM.
Images for kids
-
Colorized 1913 time zone map of the United States, showing boundaries very different from today
-
Map of U.S. time zones between April 2, 2006, and March 11, 2007. The current situation is different only in that six Indiana counties have since been moved from the Central time zone to the Eastern time zone.
-
This cartoon appeared on the cover of Life magazine, January 3, 1884
