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In 1868, the US signed a treaty guaranteeing the Sioux's right to the Black Hills, land in the Great Plains. When there were rumors of gold in 1874, General George Custer led a team of troops to scout the land for possible gold. Their subsequent discovery of gold resulted in an influx of settlers, which led to conflict with the Sioux. This conflict would turn into the Sioux War of 1876, which was fought until 1877 when the Americans won the war. Its most famous battle is Custer's Last Stand.
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After tireless work on his invention, Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for the telephone on March 10th, 1876.
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General George Custer led the outnumbered American military in a battle against the Sioux Native Americans. With only 600-700 American forces facing an army of 2,000 Sioux warriors, the odds were against the Americans. The battle resulted in General Custer and his troops being defeated and massacred.
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Ulysses Grant was president 1869-1877. His final year in office was 1877, which marked the end of the Reconstruction Era. His presidency was remembered for corruption and his somewhat successful attempt at shepherding the country through the post-war period. Perhaps the most well-known scandal during Grant's administration was the Whiskey Scandal, in which Grant's aide, Orville Babcock, pocketed federal taxes gained from whiskey.
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Charles Guiteau attempted to assassinate President Garfield on July 2nd, 1881. Garfield would languish from his wounds until his death on September 19th, 1881. Because of Garfield's assassination, Alexander Graham Bell developed a metal detector in attempt to locate bullets within future victims of gunshot wounds. Guiteau was a maniac who believed that by shooting Garfield, he would unite the Republican Party and save the country. He was convicted of murder and executed on June 30th, 1882.
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This act was developed to protect consumers by prohibiting monopolies. It notably made any activities that engaged in the "restraint of trade" illegal.
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In this Supreme Court case, the majority ruled that "separate but equal" was constitutional. Lawyer Albion Tourgee represented Homer Plessy, a man who was 7/8 Caucasian in a test case to attempt to challenge the segregation of blacks from whites on railroad cars.
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The Spanish-American War began in the wake of the explosion of the USS Maine in Cuba's Havana Harbor. The war was sensationalized by the yellow journalism of William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. The war ended December 10th, 1898, when the Spanish signed the Treaty of Paris. Spain emerged as the war's clear loser, ceding Guam and Puerto Rico to America and selling the Philippines to the US for $20 million. The treaty also granted Cuba independence from Spain.
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Shortly after McKinley's declaration of war against Spain, the Battle of Manila Bay was fought in the Philippines. Led by Commodore Dewey, the US emerged victorious in the face of a humiliating defeat for the Spanish. In this battle, the US Navy completely obliterated the Spanish fleet.
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In this battle, Teddy Roosevelt led the 1st Volunteer Cavalry Rough Riders up San Juan Heights. This battle was fought because the US military was trying to reach the Spanish port city Santiago de Cuba in order to defeat the Spanish military and had to pass through San Juan Heights in order to reach Santiago de Cuba.