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This act authorized construction of the transcontinental railroad. The majority (⅘) of the transcontinental railroad was built with the assistance of federal government funds. The government would offer land grants, land on which to lay the tracks and land to sell. The proceeds of sold land would help companies finance the construction of rail cars. The railroad offered a new way to settle the west, and provided new economic opportunities.(Pacific Railway Act 1862)
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Booth believed in slavery and white supremacy. He believed that the confederacy would have a chance of renewal if Lincoln was dead. Booth slipped into the P04residents box at the British comedy “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s theater in Washington D.C. with a dagger and pistol. Booth was successful in shooting Lincoln. Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated reinforcing the need to protect the president. It also put the U.S. in more turmoil after the civil war. (History.com editors)
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The 13th amendment officially ended slavery. It was passed by the Senate and House of Representatives in Washington D.C. This amendment was the first of three Reconstruction Amendments following the civil war. It abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime. (Primary Documents in American History)
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The selling of Alaska marked the end of Russia’s efforts of expanding trade and settlements along the Pacific Coast of North America. The United States purchased Alaska for $7.2 million dollars. It ensured United States access to the Pacific Northern rim. Major gold deposits were discovered along the Yukon which led Alaska to becoming a gateway for Klondike gold fields. (Shenon, Philip)
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Grant entered the White House in the most difficult of times. One issue he had to deal with was reconstruction. He negotiated peaceful reconciliations between the North/South. He supported pardons from Confederate leaders while continuing to protect civil rights. He stationed troops in the south to maintain law/order. Add to the fact that he later had to deal with a serge in the United States depression. (Ulysses S. Grant)
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William Bright, democrat, introduced the bill that would allow women to vote. He hoped to attract women into the area. Wyoming had a small population of females, for every 6 adult men in the territory there was one adult women. The legislature also hoped that in future elections the women would vote democratic. Many democrats in the area believed John Campbell, a civil rights activist, would veto this bill making him look bad. Other states would later follow Wyoming’s example. (Rea, Tom)
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This was the first global depression brought on by industrial capitalism. The spiral began when Jay Cocke an influential Wall Street banker in New York declared bankruptcy. This bankruptcy was followed by the bankruptcy of many other markets, private investments, banks, railroads, and industrial holdings. It resulted in the average wage falling to a ¼ of what it had been, unemployment rising into the double digits, and the loss of focus on the civil rights movement. (Financial Panic of 1873)
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Alexander Bell created one of the first commercially available telephones. Previously telegraph lines could carry only a few coded message at a time. The telephone allowed one to speak to the other person telegraphically. He used it to make his first call from New York to his assistant Thomas Watson in San Francisco. Bell simply told Watson “I need you” over the phone. Within ten years 100,000 people in the United States owned a phone. (Hochfelder, David)
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The first modern skyscraper was built on the corner of Adams and LaSalle street in Chicago Illinois. William Jenney was appointed by the Home Insurance company to design a tall fireproof building. The design of this building was revolutionary. It was made out of steel which is lighter and carries more height than brick. It was 10 stories high and stretched 138 feet in the air. Skyscrapers allowed for the utilization of more office space without taking up more land. (Marshall, Colin)
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Unions were created to ensure fair contracts between workers and their bosses. The members of this particular union were primarily disgruntled members of the Knights of Labor. This union was the most influential, and largest. It was formed in Columbus Ohio and led by Gompers. Some strikes broke out but Gomper preferred and typically used peaceful negotiation between all parties to create fair contracts for workers. (Britannica)
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The United States adds Utah as the 45th state.(Wikipedia)
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William McKinley is sworn in as the 25th President of the United States. (White House)
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The Klondike Gold Rush begins when the first successful prospectors arrive in Seattle."Beginning in 1897, an army of hopeful goldseekers, unaware that most of the good Klondike claims were already staked, boarded ships in Seattle and other Pacific port cities and headed north toward the vision of riches to be had for the taking." (NPS)
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President William McKinley signs a Joint Resolution with Cuba and a declaration of War against Spain, beginning the Spanish–American War. The declaration is accepted five days later. (Britannica)
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Conflict between the First Philippine Republic and the United States that lasted from February 4, 1899, to July 2, 1902. The conflict arose when the First Philippine Republic objected to the terms of the Treaty of Paris under which the United States took possession of the Philippines from Spain, ending the short Spanish–American War. (Britannica)
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Spanish–American War: A peace treaty between the United States and Spain is ratified by the United States Senate. (Britannica)
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Spanish–American War: The U.S. receives the Philippines, Samoa, Guam, and Puerto Rico as a result of the Treaty of Paris. (Britannica)
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The Galveston Hurricane makes landfall at Galveston, Texas, eventually killing 6,000–12,000 in the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. (History)
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The first great Texas gusher, oil is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas. (History)
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President William McKinley begins his second term. (White House)
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September 6 – American anarchist Leon Czolgosz shoots President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley dies 8 days later. (White House)
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Vice President Theodore Roosevelt becomes the 26th President of the United States, upon the death of President William McKinley. (White House)
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The Philippine–American War ends. (Britannica)
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The first box of Crayola crayons is made and sold for 5 cents. It contains 8 colors; brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and black. (Country Living)
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For $10 million, the United States gains control of the Panama Canal Zone.". Throughout the 1800s, American and British leaders and businessmen wanted to ship goods quickly and cheaply between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts." (Office of the Historian)
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Theodore Roosevelt begins his first full term as President. (White House)
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The Wright Brothers' third airplane (Wright Flyer III) stays in the air for 39 minutes with Wilbur piloting. This is the first airplane flight lasting over half an hour. (McDaniel)
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Theodore Roosevelt signs the Antiquities Act into law, authorizing the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value. (NPS)
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Also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a United States financial crisis that took place over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from its peak the previous year. This event "spurred the monetary reform movement that led to the establishment of the Federal Reserve System." (Federal Reserve History)
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The United States adds Oklahoma (Wikipedia)
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Henry Ford produces his first Model T automobile. (History)
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William Howard Taft is sworn in as the 27th President of the United States. (White House)
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The United States adds New Mexico (Wikipedia)
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The United States adds Arizona (Wikipedia)
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Titanic sinks at 2:20 am, taking with her the lives of more than 1,500 people. (History)
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Woodrow Wilson succeeds William Howard Taft as the 28th President of the United States. (White House)
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Baseball legend Babe Ruth makes his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox. (History)
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Archduke Francis Ferdinand is assassinated. Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning World War I. (LOC)
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The last known passenger pigeon "Martha" dies in the Cincinnati Zoo. Martha has become a symbol of the threat of extinction. Passenger Pigeons were hunted out of existence, "victimized by the fallacy that no amount of exploitation could endanger a creature so abundant." (Yeoman)
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The Lusitania is sunk on passage from New York to Britain by a German U-boat, killing 128 Americans (LOC)
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The United States occupation of Haiti begins. " As a potential naval base for the United States, Haiti’s stability concerned U.S. diplomatic and defense officials who feared Haitian instability might result in foreign rule of Haiti." (Office of the Historian)
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President Woodrow Wilson begins his second term. (White House)
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The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies, which become the US Virgin Islands, after paying $25 million to Denmark. (Britannica)
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World War I: President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany. (Halloway)
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The entrance of America’s well-supplied forces into the conflict marked a major turning point in the war and helped the Allies to victory. When the war finally ended, on November 11, 1918, more than two million American soldiers had served on the battlefields of Western Europe, and some 50,000 of them had lost their lives (Halloway)
