US History 1865-1920

  • Creation of the U-Boat

    The first german built submarine made by Wilhelm Bauer
  • Bessemer Process

    The first inexpensive industrial process of steel by the burning off of impure metals without fuel, creating pure steel cheaply
  • Discovery of gold at Peaks Pike

    The first significant discovery of gold in the Rocky Mountain region by Green Russell and Sam Bates
  • Homestead Act

    Granted adult heads of families 160 acres for a small fee and five years of residency on said land in order to accelerate westward expansion.
  • Morill Land Grant Act

    An act that allowed African Americans to be included at The United States Land-Grant University Higher Educations System without discrimination
  • Transcontinental RR Completed

    The completion of the transcontinental railroad across the US, opening western and asian markets even further to eastern america.
  • Battle of Little Bighorn

    A battle between us army's general custer against the Lakota and Cheyenne tribes which lead to custer's defeat and subsequent death, which became a rallying point for the us government to increase efforts to subdue the native americans
  • The Farmers' Alliance

    A cooperatively owned chain of retail stores and marketing organizations in Texas, then to the South and Midwest to form cooperatives
  • Dawes Act

    An act that authorized the president to break up reservation land and parcel it out to individuals in order to break up Native American lands, get rid of their Native Cultures, and make space for white anglos.
  • Invention of the lightbulb

    Thomas Edison patented the light bulb, replacing gas and oil lamps as a main source of light
  • Carlisle Indian Industrial School establishment

    The first government run boarding school for Native American children with the goal of assimilating them into white american society to "Kill the Indian, Save the Man", in Carlisle Pennsylvania
  • Chinese Exclusion Act

    The restriction of immigration imposed on Chinese nationals, more specifically, a 10 year ban on Chinese laborers
  • Edison lights up NYC

    Edison's company flipped the switch of his Pearl Street Power Station and lit up NYC, providing electricity to hundreds
  • American Federation of Labor

    A union that focused on the right to bargain for wages, benefits, hours, and working conditions for the working class Americans
  • Interstate Commerce Act

    An act passed by congress that regulated trade with foreign nations, which as a result, made the railroad industry the first industry to be subject to the federal government
  • Jacob Riis Photographs

    A complement of photos taken by Jacob Riis made into a book showing of the poverty of New York t society which sparked the first legislation to improve poor conditions in tenement housing in New York
  • The Influence of Sea Power upon History- Alfred T Mahan

    A book written by Alfred T Mahan on theories of Naval knowledge that lead to the US government creating a rapid expansion of the naval force
  • Sherman Antitrust Act

    The first federal act to outlaw monopolistic business practices
  • Wounded Knee Massacre

    The slaughter of hundreds of Lakota men, women, and children by the US Army 7th Calvary Regiment in order to suppress a religious movement to resist the encroachment of white settlers on their lands
  • The significance of the frontier in American history- Fredrick Jackson Turner

    An essay written by Fredrick Turner Jackson which highlighted how American expansion westward eliminated much of the European society and created a unique, American, society.
  • Pullman Strike

    Widespread railroad strike and boycotts that lead to severe disruption of rail traffic in the US midwest due to George M Pullman refusing to meet with workers to hear their requests for higher wages, lower rents, and better working conditions
  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Supreme Court case that upheld Louisiana State law that separate but equal accommodations for whites and blacks stay in place
  • Holden v Hardy

    US labor law case in which the US Supreme Court held a limitation on working time for miners and smelters as constitutional
  • Spanish American War begins

    The beginning of the Spanish American War, sparked by sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harber which resulted in a delcaration of war against Spain by the US
  • Annexation of Hawaii

    The formal annexation of Hawaii that ended an internal struggle of Hawaiian natives and american businessmen for control of the Hawaiian government and the fear of Hawaii becoming apart of a European nation
  • Annexation of the Philippines

    The annexation of the Philippines after being bought by the US from Spain for $20 million and the defeat of a rebellion against the annexation
  • Newlands Reclamation Act

    A federal law passed by Congress that funded irrigation projects for arid lands of 20 states in the American West
  • The Construction of the Panama Canal

    The Panama Canal, an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for marine trade.
  • Lochner v. New York

    US supreme court decision that the maximum hours for bakers in New York State was unconstitutional to the 14th amendment
  • The Jungle- Upton Sinclair

    A book written by Upton Sinclair to expose the appalling working conditions in the meat-packing industry, of which includes diseased, rotten, and contaminated meat which lead to food and safety laws to be passed.
  • The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906

    The prohibition of the sale of misbranded or adulterated food and drugs in interstate commerce
  • Muller v. Oregon

    A US Supreme Court case in which the court decided whether a state could limit the amount of hours a woman could work while not also limiting the hours of men
  • Founding of the NAACP

    National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP) was a group of activists in support of colored African Americans who came together to form an organization with the goal of advancing justice for African Americans
  • Hepner Act

    Set a penalty for those in violation of the Alien Immigration Act
  • 17th Amendment

    "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote"
  • Ford Motor Company first full assembly line startup

    The startup of Ford Motor Company's first full assembly line, a large innovation in the manufacturing business
  • Federal Reserve Act

    The creation of the Federal Reserve System to establish economic stability by introducing a central bank to oversee monetary policy
  • Clayton Antitrust Act

    An act that made both substantive and procedural modifications to federal antitrust law that sought to capture anticompetitive practices by prohibiting particular types of conduct not deemed in the best interest of a competitive market
  • Beginning of the First World War

    The beginning of the first world war, sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which lead one alliance after another from a small conflict to a massive war in Europe
  • The sinking of the Lusitania

    A British ocean liner sunk by a German u-boat torpedo that carried american passengers
  • US enters WW1

    The US enters WW1 after rising tensions against Germany, events such as The Lusitania sinking and the Zimmerman Telegraph.
  • Selective Service Act

    Allowed the US government to build up an army for service in WW1 through conscription
  • 18th Amendment

    The prohibition of manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors in the United States
  • WW1 Ends

    WW1 ends in ally victory as the west front goes silent and an armistice is met between Germany and the Allied Nations, beginning the first steps to the end of WW1
  • 19th Amendment

    "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex", women allowed to vote
  • Immigration Quota Act

    The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota
  • National Origins Act

    A law that restricted immigration through the establishment of quotas putting all through discrimination
  • Statue of Liberty built

    The completion of the Statue of Liberty in New York, symbolizing the alliance between France and the United States during the American Revolution.
  • Scopes Trial

    A trial in Dayton Tennessee after a teacher was accused of teaching evolution in his class, violating Tennessee's Butler Act