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The Fifteenth Amendment (FEB 3, 1870)
The fifteenth amendment was passed in 1870. This amendment said that no state could deny the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This amendment wasn't always followed, or was bent, especially with the Jim Crow Laws. -
Election of 1872 (NOV 12, 1872)
The Liberal Republicans chose Horace Greeley as their candidate for the election. The Democrats also chose Greeley as their candidate. The Republicans stuck with President Grant who was running for another term. Grant won the election of 1872. -
Indian Wars - Modoc Indians (NOV 11, 1873)
There is an indian war with the Modoc Indians of Oregon. Eventually the American army captured the Modoc leaders and the leaders are captured and hanged. The rest of the Modoc Indians were transferred to a reservation in the Dakotas. -
Invention of Barbed Wire (AUG 3, 1874)
Barbed wire was invented by Joseph Glidden in 1874. It was invented because people needed to keep roaming herds of wild buffalo off their farm land in the west. It allowed free range to become private pasture land and more cowboys became settled ranchers and farmers. Barbed wire allowed farmers to feel more secure. -
Resumption Act of 1875 (JAN 14, 1875)
The advocates of "hard money" persuaded President Grant to pass the Resumption Act of 1875. This act promised that the government would continue to withdraw greenbacks from circulation and would redeem all paper currency in gold at face value starting January 1, 1879. -
Jim Crow Laws first established (JUN 22, 1876)
Jim Crow laws were first established in 1876. They were representatives of the Black Codes that were banned earlier in the 1860s. These laws brought unemployment, harm, and eviction to blacks who tried to assert their rights. They also forced Blacks into the sharecropping and tenant systems. Former slaves found themselves no longer at the mercy of slave owners, but now at the mercy of former slave masters who were now their landlords and creditors. -
Electoral Count Act is passed by Congress (JAN 25, 1877)
The election of 1877 was in a deadlock, and the Electoral Count Act was to break up this deadlock. The act set up an electoral commission that consisted of fifteen men who were selected from the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court. -
Timber and Stone Act (APR 29, 1878)
The Timber and Stone Act is passed by Congress and allows people to cut timber on public land. This act helps to increase the acreage of farm land and allows for creation of more buildings. -
Redemption Day (MAY 3, 1879)
This was the day in which the holders of greenbacks could trade their greenbacks for gold. However, very few people did this. By the time this day came, the amount of greenbacks circulated in the United States had dropped, which caused the value of the greenbacks to increase. -
Roll of Film Patent (JAN 29, 1880)
In 1880, George Eastman patents a roll of film for cameras. By 1885 a box camera with the film inside is on the market, and by 1891, Eastman had perfected the daylight loading camera. Then, by 1895, the first pocket Kodak camera was in use. -
President Garfield Assassinated (SEP 19, 1881)
Charles Guiteau, a mentally deranged office seeker, shot President Garfield in the back at a railroad station. The shot did not kill him immediately, and he lived for eleven weeks after he was shot. After he died on September 19, 1881, the Vice President, Chester Arthur took over Presidency. Charles Guiteau was fould guilty of murder and hanged for his crime. -
Chinese Exclusion Act (AUG 6, 1882)
The Chinese people had been immigrating to the United States and working cheaper than everyone else, which took jobs away from Americans and other immigrants. The grou the Kearneyites took matters into their own hands and terrorized the chinese by tearing off their pigtails or murdering them. The congress passed this act which prohibited immigration from China until 1943. -
Completion of the Brooklyn Bridge (JAN 30, 1883)
It was begun in 1869, but completed in 1883 and it was called the Brooklyn Bridge. It was opened with great fanfare by Chester Arthur and Goerner Grover Cleveland. Many New Yorkers are convinced that the Brooklyn Bridge is the eighth wonder of the world. -
World's first skyscraper (JUN 7, 1884)
The world's first true skyscraper is completed. It was a ten story building that was called the Home Life Insurance Building. It was designed by William Le Baron Jenne, who built it in Chicago. The invention of the steel skyscraper in which floors and walls are hung is one of the biggest steps ever made in architecture. -
Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad (JAN 27, 1886)
This is considered one of the more important Supreme Court rulings. In this case the Supreme Court ruled that a corporation is a person under the Fourteenth amendment and therefore cannot be deprived of profits or other rights. -
William Randolph Hearst and the San Francisco Chronicle(JAN 12, 1887)
in 1887, William Randolph Hearst inheretid the San Francisco Chronicle from his father. This newspaper entered him into the publishing world, and eventually when he got control of the New York Times, he founded "yellow journalism." This "yellow journalism" was writing that dealt with sensational news, and expanded the truth. -
Election of 1888 (NOV 9, 1888)
The Republicans chose Benjamin Harrison as their presidential candidate. The Democrats chose Grover Cleveland, who was running for a second term. This election was the first in years to have a real issue that divided the two parties. This issue was tariffs, and Cleveland had previously lost support due to his support of the Tariff of 1887. While Cleveland won the popular vote, Benjamin Harrison won the election in the end.