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Ulysses S. Grant was elected the 18th President of the United States. This was the first election since the Civil War and the first time Black folks could vote in the Reconstructed South. Primary Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/amss.as104780/ This source is a song used by Ulysses S. Grant during his election campaign. -
This railroad connected the East Coast of the United States to the newly settled Western Frontier. It changed the way Americans live and it helped transfer goods at a rapid pace. This was the start of the rapid industrialization that would take place in America for the next fifty years. Primary Source: https://www.loc.gov/collections/railroad-maps-1828-to-1900/about-this-collection/ This source shows multiple maps about the construction of the transcontinental railroad. -
Created by John D. Rockefeller, Standard Oil was one of the first conglomerates in the United States and eventually had a monopoly on oil production in the United States. Rockefeller would become the richest man in modern history. Primary Source: https://industrialageofamerica.weebly.com/primary-source3.html This primary source is a political cartoon portraying Standard Oil as an octopus with control over essential American businesses and technology. -
After the Presidential Election of 1877, president Rutherford B. Hayes pulled Federal troops from the South, and the protection of Black civil rights were decimated and this ushered in a new era of violence in the South. Primary Source: http://www.shoppbs.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/kkk/ps_colby.html This primary source is an excerpt from a KKK member talking about the hysteria and anxiety about Black people having new opportunities in society and ways in which it can be combated. -
A Federal Law that barred immigration of Chinese laborers into the United States. There was a wave of anti-Chinese rhetoric and violence creating hysteria amongst white Americans. Primary Source: http://blogs.shu.edu/americanhistory/project/the-chinese-must-go-magic-washer/#:~:text=There%20is%20a%20long%20and,during%20that%20period%20of%20time. This primary source is a political cartoon showing Uncle Sam holding up the exclusion proclamation and kicking out Chinese Migrants. -
A Federal Government Act stripped Native Americans of their land and granted it to individuals. This was deemed illegal because the Native land was protected by treaties. The U.S. Government promoted aspects of private ownership as an assimilation agent for the Natives. Much of the land was given to white settlers. Primary Source: https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=50 This primary source is a transcript of the Dawes Act -
This was a time of economic depression in the United States from 1893 to 1897. Many large industrial companies fell into bankruptcy which produced political upheaval and political realignment. Primary Source: https://www.historylink.org/file/20874 This primary source is a newspaper article from 1893 talking about the effects of the Panic of 1893. -
In 1892, Homer Plessy(who was 1/8th Black) was prohibited from riding on a "whites only" bus in Lousiana. Plessy was deemed Black under Lousiana law which led to a court case that went to the Supreme Court. In 1896, the landmark case of Plessy v. Ferguson agreed that the state law was constitutional and it led to racial segregation to be codified into law and ushered in the new era of Jim Crow Laws. Primary Source: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/multimedia/plessy-v-ferguson.html -
The United States was rapidly industrializing and looked to expand its empire as well as alleviate the damage of the Panic of 1893. Spain was an empire in decline and the United States coveted the Spanish colonies, particularly Cuba due to their proximity to the United States and Cuba's lucrative sugar plantations. Primary Source: https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/american-imperialism-the-spanish-american-war/sources/399 This primary source shows the ship USS Maine exploding in Cuba. -
Upton Sinclair was a journalist and published a book "The Jungle" which exposed the exploitive working conditions of immigrants in industrialized cities such as Chicago and New York. The book goes in-depth about the poor, unsafe, and unsanitary working conditions and how workers were trending towards unionizing and socialism became prominent. Primary Source: https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/textimgs/US+History/Sinclair+Jungle.pdf This primary source is an excerpt from the book "The Jungle."