1876-1900 Timeline

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    Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant's Term

    In 1865, as commanding general, Ulysses S. Grant led the Union Armies to victory over the Confederacy in the American Civil War. As an American hero, Grant was later elected the 18th President of the United States, working to implement Congressional Reconstruction and to remove the vestiges of slavery.
  • Civil Rights Act

    Enacted on March 1, 1875, the Civil Rights Act affirmed the “equality of all men before the law” and prohibited racial discrimination in public places and facilities such as restaurants and public transportation. It was enacted by the 43rd United States Congress and signed into law by Ulysses S. Grant. It aimed to to protect all citizens in their civil and legal rights.
  • Invention of the Telephone

    Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the invention of the telephone in 1876. It allowed for communication over longer distances in less time.
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    Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia

    Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia was the first official World's Fair in the United States to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.
  • Colorado Becomes a State

    Colorado becomes the 38th state in the US.
  • Compromise of 1877

    The Compromise of 1877 was an informal, unwritten deal that settled the disputed 1876 U.S. Presidential election; through it Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the White House on the understanding that he would remove the federal troops from South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana.
  • Farmers Alliance

    Texas farmers form the first agricultural labor union in Lampasas, Texas. They call themselves the "Farmers' Alliance".
  • The Great Railroad Strike

    Railroad laborers go on strike across the country. The workers' campaign for higher wages was ultimately a failure, but it sowed the seeds for the formation of the first labor unions.
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    Nez Percé Indian War

    The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the Palouse tribe led by Red Echo and Bald Head, against the United States Army.
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    Rutherford B. Hayes became President

    Rutherford B. Hayes oversaw the end of Reconstruction, began the efforts that led to civil service reform, and attempted to reconcile the divisions left over from the Civil War.
  • Invention of the Lightbulb

    US inventor Thomas Edison is credited with creating the solution in 1879: the carbon filament light bulb.
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    James A. Garfield became President

    James A. Garfield was a brigadier general during the Civil War, and he won the Presidential election of 1880 and became the 20th US president.
  • James A. Garfield assassinated

    On July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot and died on September 19, 1881.
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    Chester A. Arthur became a President

    Born in Fairfield, Vermont, Arthur was raised in upstate New York where he studied law. He was a quartermaster general of the New York Militia during the American Civil War.
  • Chinese Exclusion Act

    The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers.
  • Immigration Act of 1882

    The general Immigration Act of 1882 levied a head tax of fifty cents on each immigrant and blocked (or excluded) the entry of idiots, lunatics, convicts, and persons likely to become a public charge.
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    Grover Cleveland

    Grover Cleveland was a politician and lawyer. He signed an act and created the Interstate Commerce Commission.
  • Nation Wide Strike

    On May 1, 1886, 350,000 workers staged a nationwide work stoppage to demand the adoption of a standard eight-hour workday.
  • The Dawes General Allotment Act

    U.S. law providing for the distribution of Indian reservation land among individual Native Americans, with the aim of creating responsible farmers in the white man's image.
  • Interstate Commerce Act

    The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices. The Act required that railroad rates be "reasonable and just," but did not empower the government to fix specific rates.
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    Benjamin Harrison's Presidency

    Benjamin Harrison was the grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and the great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison V, a founding father.
  • North Dakota

    North Dakota becomes a state
  • South Dakota

    South Dakota becomes a state.
  • Montana

    Montana becomes a state.
  • Washington

    Washington becomes a state.
  • Sherman Antitrust Act

    Sherman Antitrust Act tried to prevent the artificial raising of prices by restriction of trade or supply, but many people critiqued it for harming society.
  • Idaho

    Idaho becomes a state.
  • Wyoming

    Wyoming becomes a state.
  • Sherman Silver Purchase Act

    The Sherman Silver Purchase Act required the U.S. treasury to more than double its monthly purchase of silver to 4.5 million ounces. The direct effect of the Sherman Act was a threat to the U.S. Treasury's gold reserves and a $156 million increase in the amount of paper money in circulation.
  • The Tariff Act of 1890

    On this date, the McKinley Tariff of 1890 became law—boosting protective tariff rates of nearly 50 percent on average for many American products. Ways and Means Committee Chairman William McKinley of Ohio led the effort in the House.
  • Wounded Knee Massacre

    It was part of the Ghost Dance War and the Sioux Wars. It occurred near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The U.S. Cavalry troops went into the camp to disarm the Lakota and when the massacre was over, between 250 and 300 men, women, and children of the Lakota had been killed and 51 were wounded.
  • Baltimore Crisis

    The Baltimore crisis was a diplomatic incident that took place between Chile and the United States. It was triggered by the stabbing of two United States Navy sailors from USS Baltimore in front of the "True Blue Saloon" in Valparaíso. The United States government demanded an apology, and Chile ended the episode when it apologized and paid a $75,000 indemnity.
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    Homestead Strike

    The Homestead Strike was a violent labour dispute between the Carnegie Steel Company and many of its workers that occurred in 1892 in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The striking workers were all fired on July 2, and on July 6 private security guards hired by the company arrived.
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    Panic of 1893

    The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the presidency of William McKinley
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    Grover Cleveland's second service as a President

    Grover Cleveland was the only president in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office (1885–1889 and 1893–1897).
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    Pullman Strike

    Workers at the Pullman rail car factory strike. They are aided by the American Railway Union. The strike is broken by the arrest of the union's leader, Eugene Debs. Nearly 4,000 factory workers of the Pullman Company stroke in response to recent reductions in wages.
  • Utah

    Utah becomes a state.
  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537, was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal".
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    William McKinley became a President

    William McKinley was the 25th president of the United States. He was the last president to have served in the American Civil War. During his presidency, economy grew rapidly.
  • Explosion of USS Maine

    USS Maine was a Navy ship sent from Florida to Havana, Cuba, aiming to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban War of Independence. It exploded in Havana Harbor during the Cuban revolt against Spain and became a major political issue in the United States.
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    Spanish–American War

    The explosion of USS Maine result in the intervention of United States in the Cuban War of Independence. It was part of the Philippine Revolution and the Cuban War of Independence. It lad to the Treaty of Paris.
  • Hawaii (Newlands Resolution)

    The Newlands Resolution was passed by the United States Congress. Its aim was to annex the independent Republic of Hawaii. And led to the US claiming Hawaii as a territory.
  • Treaty of Paris

    The Treaty of Paris, signed on December 10, 1898, was a peace agreement between Spain and the United States that ended the Spanish-American War. Under the treaty, Cuba gained independence from Spain, and the United States gained possession of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
  • Open Door Policy

    The policy was established to allow for a system of trade in China open to all countries. The Open Door Policy was a principle, but never signed into law.
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    Philippine–American War

    The Philippine–American War or the Filipino–American War, previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an armed conflict between the First Philippine Republic and the United States that lasted from February 4, 1899, to July 2, 1902.