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Telephone was invented
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received the first patent in the United States for his invention of the telephone. In Highland Park, Illinois, Elisha Gray built a telephone with a water microphone in 1876. -
Compromise of 1877
The 1877 Compromise was an unwritten agreement reached informally among United States Congressmen to resolve the bitterly contested presidential election of 1876. As a result, the federal government of the United States withdrew the remaining troops from the Southern United States, bringing the Reconstruction Era to a close. -
Light Bulb was Invented
Thomas Edison began significant study towards developing a viable incandescent lamp in 1878, and filed his first patent application for "Improvement In Electric Lights" on October 14, 1878. -
Dawes Act of 1887
The Dawes Act of 1887 gave the federal government the power to partition tribal territory into individual plots. Only those Native Americans who accepted individual allotments were permitted to become citizens of the United States. -
Sherman Silver Purchase Act
The United States Congress passed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1890 to replace the Bland-Allison Act of 1878. It not only required the US government to buy nearly twice as much silver as previously, but it also increased the amount of money in circulation significantly. -
Tariff Act of 1890
The Tariff Act of 1890 raised the average duty rate on all imports from 38 percent to 49.5 percent. McKinley was known as the Napoleon of Protection, and he raised and dropped tariffs on various imports in order to protect American manufacturing interests. -
Dingley Act of 1897
The Dingley Act of 1897 (ch. 11, 30 Stat. 151, July 24, 1897) was presented by U.S. Representative Nelson Dingley Jr. of Maine to raise tariffs in the United States in response to the Wilson–Gorman Tariff Act of 1894, which had decreased rates. -
Teller Amendment
On April 20, 1898, the Teller Amendment was added to a joint resolution of the United States Congress in response to President William McKinley's War Message. It put a stipulation on the military presence of the United States in Cuba.