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The California Gold Rush started after James Marshall found gold at Sutter's Mill near Colma, California. His discovery triggered a massive influx of more than 300,000 fortune-seekers-nicknamed "49ers"- that quickly reshaped the area.Although the rush tapered off by about 1855, it left lasting effects, including California's admission as a state, rapid urban growth in places such as San Francisco, and major environmental and social changes. -
Congress Enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1866, overriding President Andrew Johnson;s veto. It marked Congress's first major civil right's legislation and declared that everyone born in the United States is a citizen with equal rights, including property ownership and equal protection under the law. -
The First Transcontinental Railroad was was finished at Promontory Summit in Utah, where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific tracks met. The event is best known for the ceremonial placement of the " GoldenSpike" by Cental Pacific president Leland Stanford, symbolically joining the lines and cutting cross-country travel from several months to roughly one week. -
On January 10, 1870, John D. Rockefeller and his partners-among them his brother William- incorporated the Standard Oil Company of Ohio in Cleveland as a joint-stock firm to consolidate and dominate the oil-refining industry. -
The fifteenth Amendment forbade states from denying voting rights because of race, color, or past enslavement. After enough states ratified it, the Secretary of Sate formally certified the amendment on March 30, 1870. It became a cornerstone of Reconstruction. Still, many Southern States later imposed barriers such as poll taxes and literacy tests to suppress voters until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 curtailed these practices.