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The Dead Rabbits Riot
The Dead Rabbits riot was a two day civil disturbance in New York City evolving Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys into a citywide gang war, which occurred July 4,1857. Taking advantage of the disorganized state of the city's police force brought about by the conflict between the Municipal and Metropolitan police the fighting spiraled into widespread looting and damage of property by gangsters and other criminals from all parts of the city. -
The Ku Klux Klan is Established
On December 24, 1865 the Ku Klux Klan was established in Pulaski Tennessee. A group of Confederate veterans convenes to form a secret society that they christen the “Ku Klux Klan.” The KKK rapidly grew from a secret social fraternity to a paramilitary force bent on reversing the federal government’s progressive Reconstruction era-activities in the South, especially policies that elevated the rights of the local Black population. -
John D. Rockefeller Creates Standard Oil
John D. Rockefeller formed the Standard Oil Company on January 10, 1870 with his business partners and brother. The success of this business empire made Rockefeller one of the world's first billionaires and a celebrated philanthropist. He garnered both admirers and critics during his lifetime and after his death -
The Great Oklahoma Land Race
The land run started at high noon on April 22, 1889. An estimated 50,000 people were lined up at the start, seeking to gain a piece of the available two million acres -
Ellis Island Opens to Process Immigrants
The first Ellis Island Immigration Station officially opens on January 1, 1892, as three large ships wait to land. Seven hundred immigrants passed through Ellis Island that day, and nearly 450,000 followed over the course of that first year. -
The Wizard of Oz (Book) is Published
The publisher of The Wizard of Oz was George M. Hill Company, the genre is Fantasy, children's novel. The author is L. Frank Baum. Baum wrote the book while living in Chicago at 1667 N. Humboldt Blvd. The book may have been inspired by the real-life economic struggles during the Gold Standard. -
J.P. Morgan Founds U.S. Steel
J. P. Morgan formed U.S. Steel on March 2, 1901 (incorporated on February 25), by financing the merger of Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel Company with Elbert H. Gary's Federal Steel Company and William Henry "Judge" Moore's National Steel Company for $492 million -
Teddy Roosevelt Becomes President of the United States
Roosevelt assumed the presidency at age 42 after McKinley was assassinated in September 1901. He remains the youngest person to become president of the United States. His presidency saw the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act, which established the Food and Drug Administration to regulate food safety, and the Hepburn Act, which increased the regulatory power of the Interstate Commerce Commission. -
Ford Motor Company is Founded
Since 1903, Ford Motor Company has put the world on wheels. From the moving assembly line and the $5 workday, to soy foam seats and aluminum truck bodies, Ford has a long heritage of progress. Learn more about the automobiles, innovations and manufacturing that have made the blue oval known around the world -
Ida Tarbell Publishes Her Article About Standard Oil
Tarbell accepted an offer from McClure to work for his new venture, McClure’s Magazine, where she undertook her most famous work, her expose of J.D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company. Her study of Rockefeller’s practices as he built Standard Oil into one of the world’s largest business monopolies. McClure’s Magazine published it in 19 installments. Her work was a sensation and the installments became a two-volume book entitled, The History of the Standard Oil Company, published in 1904. -
The 16th Amendment is Passed
The Sixteenth Amendment (Amendment XVI) to the United States Constitution allows Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states on the basis of population. It was passed by Congress in 1909 in response to the 1895 Supreme Court case of Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. -
Angel Island Opens to Process Immigrants
The new Immigration Station opened on January 21, 1910 and became the major port of entry to the U.S. for Asians and other immigrants coming from the west. The Immigration Station opened for partial operation on the northern neck of the island, later called China Cove. -
The 17th Amendment is Passed
Passed by congress on May 12, 1912, and it was ratified on April 8, 1913. The 17th amendment modified article I, section 3, of the Constitution by allowing voters to cast direct votes for U.S senators. -
The Empire State Building Opens
Standing proud on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in New York City, the Empire State Building has 102 stories and reaches a height of 1,454 feet. Construction started in 1930. The steel framework of the Empire State Building rose to the sky at an incredible rate of 4 and 1/2 stories per week. The building's construction was completed in a phenomenal one year and forty-five days!