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Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 is a US law that prohibited businesses from engaging in activities that restrained trade or commerce, such as forming monopolies. The main goal of this act was to break up Standard Oil Company. -
McKinley Tariff
The McKinley Tariff, passed in 1890, increased the average tax on imports to nearly 50%, aiming to protect American industries and workers from foreign competition, a core Republican policy at the time. -
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a severe financial crisis in the United States that began in May 1893 and led to a nationwide depression. Caused by the collapse of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and the National Cordage Company, among other factors, it resulted in widespread bank failures, business closures, and high unemployment. -
Pullman Strike
The Pullman Strike occurred when 3,000 Pullman Palace Car Company workers went on a strike in Illinois on May 11, 1894. Owner George Pullman was a welfare capitalist who hoped to prevent labor discontent, but was not willing to grant high wages. -
Gold Standard Act
The Gold Standard Act of 1900 was a US law that established gold as the sole basis for the nation's currency, effectively ending bimetallism and placing the US on the gold standard. -
Formation of U.S. Steel
In 1901, J.P. Morgan created U.S. Steel by merging Carnegie Steel, Federal Steel, and National Steel for $492 million at the time, about equivalent to $18 billion today. During its peak, U.S. Steel, then known on Wall Street as "The Corporation," was known more for its size than its efficiency or innovation. -
Anthracite Coal Strike
The Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902, also known as the Great Anthracite Coal Strike, was a pivotal event in U.S. labor history, lasting from May 12 to October 23, 1902. Miners in eastern Pennsylvania struck for higher wages, shorter workdays, and union recognition, leading to a national coal shortage and President Theodore Roosevelt's intervention. -
Panic of 1907
The Panic of 1907 was a financial crisis set off by a series of bad banking decisions and a frenzy of withdrawals caused by public distrust of the banking system. -
16th Amendment
The Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed in 1909 and ratified in 1913, granted Congress the power to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states based on population. -
Federal Reserve Act
The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 established the Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the United States. Its main purpose was to create a more stable, flexible, and safer monetary and financial system.