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The invention of the telephone
An Italian man and a French man had both invented a version of the phone, but Alexander Graham Bell was the first one to get a U.S. patent for one. -
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Centennial Exhibition: Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The first World’s Fair in honor of 100 years of independence. There were 37 nations that got involved and almost 100 million people attended to see the art, manufacturing, and other products displayed. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
The Sioux and Cheyenne natives were outraged about being forced onto reservations where the “whites” had control over them. Lt. Colonel Custer, American general, was impatient and made rash decisions during the battle that led to his men suffering one of the worst losses in the American military thus far. This became known as “Custer’s Last Stand” which ended up being the native’s last victory during their land dispute with the U.S. as borders were redrawn afterward. -
Presidential election: Rutherford B. Hayes vs Samuel Tilden
Tilden got more votes, but South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana were disputed, making Tilden only one state away from winning the presidency. The committee decided to give all disputed votes to Hayes, crowning him the new President. -
The invention of the phonograph
Thomas Edison invented this machine that was used to record and produce sounds. It was called the “Speaking Machine”. -
Great Strike of 1877
Railroad workers went on strike, causing more strikes to spring up all over the nation, ending in devastating fires. It was the first major industrial strike and the first national strike. It was eventually broken by the military, but there were many deaths. -
Chief Joseph’s surrender
Leader of the Nez Perez. He attempted to escape moving to a reservation by moving to Canada, fighting anyone who got in his way until they had to eventually surrender to the U.S. army. -
The invention of the light bulb
Thomas Edison invented it although many tried before him. He filed for his patent in 1878 but they did not start selling and manufacturing light bulbs until a couple of years later. -
“The Exodusters”
Thousands of former slaves moved out West because they believed it could be their “promised land” where they could create their own, independent communities. -
First Cash Register
James Ritty patented the first cash register to keep track of sales easier. It was called “Ritty’s Incorruptible Cashier”. -
Presidential Election: James Garfield vs Windfield Hancock
Garfield won. -
The founding of the Red Cross
Founded by Clara Barton. It was a network devoted to helping people in need including nursing soldiers back to health during wars and providing relief for victims during major disasters. -
President Garfield’s assassination
Garfield was at a train station and a lawyer with mental issues named Charles Guiteau shot him twice. The doctors tried to find and remove the bullet, but they could not and during the process, the wound became infected and eventually died. -
International Cotton Exposition
Held in Atlanta, Georgia to display cotton plants from around the world and demonstrate Eli Whitney’s cotton gin in use. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The first law that placed restrictions on immigration into the U.S. -
The Pendleton Act
Established an organized system of picking government officials based on merit. -
Brooklyn Bridge Opened
It allowed people to bring goods across the river quickly no matter the weather. -
Presidential Election: James Blaine vs Grover Cleveland
Cleveland won, making him the new President. -
Anti-Chinese hysteria
Chinese were harassed, attacked and expelled from their communities. -
Great Southwest Strike
Labor union strike of railroad workers in five different states. At least ten people were killed. -
The Haymarket riot
A bomb was set off in Chicago and it killed seven police officers. Four anarchists that plotted the whole thing were hanged. -
The invention of Coca-Cola
Dr. John S. Pemberton invented it in his chemist lab in Atlanta, Georgia and it quickly became a popular item. -
The surrender of Geronimo
Geronimo was an Apache warrior who fiercely fought for his land for thirty years. He finally gave in, being the last Native American to formally surrender to the U.S. -
Statue of Liberty dedication
It was a gift of friendship from the French to the U.S. -
American Federation of Labor founded
Samuel Gompers founded it for anyone who was a skilled worker to ensure they had fair working conditions and wages. -
Dawes Act
Provided land for Native Americans individually so as to treat them as their own persons instead of just attributing them to one tribe. -
“The Great Blizzard of ‘88
Hit the Atlantic Coast, causing $20 million of damage and 400 deaths. -
The invention of the Kodak camera
George Eastman invented this camera and film combination that made it significantly easier to take photos. -
Presidential Election: Benjamin Harrison vs Grover Cleveland
Harrison won and became President of the United States of America. -
Ghost Dance movement
Native Americans were upset about the influence the “whites” had over them so they began to follow a prophecy of a native named Wovoka. They had to perform the Ghost Dance every 6 weeks and they believed that if they were faithful to that the whites would not have as much control over them. -
Nellie Bly breaking the record for traveling around the world
Traveled around the world in 72 days. -
Johnstown flood
South Fork Dam collapsed, causing a massive flood that killed over 2,000 people. -
Sitting Bull killed
Indian agents on his reservation believed Sitting Bull was the reason behind the Ghost Dance movement so they went in and shot him. -
Wounded Knee massacre
U.S. army massacred 300 of the Sioux Indians because the natives refused to surrender their weapons. -
Populist Party formed
Also called the People’s Party. -
Largest mass-lynching
A mob killed 11 Italian Americans in New Orleans because they believed the men murdered the police chief. -
Opening of Ellis Island
The first and largest immigration processing station for those coming into the U.S. Would receive 12 million immigrants over its years of use. -
The Homestead Strike
Steel mill workers were part of a labor union and their boss was unhappy about it so he hired Pinkerton National Detective agents to investigate and shut down any strikes coming with the new wage cuts. The union found out about the 300 agents arriving and went to stop them from arriving, resulting in gunfire and the employees beating up the agents after their surrender. In the end, 7 workers and 3 agents died. -
The presidential election of 1892: Benjamin Harrison vs Grover Cleveland
Neither one campaigned because Harrison’s wife was very ill, but Cleveland ended up winning the presidency. -
The first movie theater
The Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey designed for making film strips. -
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Chicago World Fair
Columbian Exposition to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus. -
Coxey’s Army
Jacob Coxey led 100 men in protesting unemployment and trying to convince the government to create more job opportunities. -
The Pullman Strike
A boycott of American railways that negatively impacted the railroad nationwide and stopped all traffic. -
The Cotton States and International Exposition
Booker T. Washington talking about race relations. This is where Washington spoke his famous speech, “Atlanta Compromise”, which was about blacks being content with the work of their own hands. -
Plessy vs Ferguson
Plessy was a black man who sat in a whites-only railway car and when he was asked to leave he refused so he was arrested. He was convicted in the end. -
The Great Cyclone
An enormous tornado that swept through St. Louis that caused extensive damage and killed 255 citizens. -
First automobile
Henry Ford invented the first car, called the Quadricycle which was basically just a simple car frame on bicycle wheels. -
Presidential election: William McKinley vs William Jennings Bryan
McKinley was elected as president. -
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The Spanish-American war
Spain was attacking Cuba and then they sunk an American ship, Maine, in Havana Harbor, killing many of its sailors and this started a war with the U.S. Spain’s military was weak and crumbling so America quickly won battles, eventually leading to their ultimate victory. -
Philippine-American War
Also called the “Philippine Insurrection”. After the Spanish-American War, the U.S. got the Philippines, but the Filippino people wanted complete independence and did not want to belong to another powerful country. It ended in 1902 with America still having ownership. -
The Great Galveston Hurricane
This is the deadliest natural disaster in American history still. It killed 8,000 people and caused $700 million of damage (today’s dollars). -
Presidential election: William McKinley vs William Jennings Bryan
McKinley won, once again.