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Transcontinental Railroad completion
For the first time in American history, railways linked together east and west. Americans had been enthusiastic railroaders long before the transcontinental line was built. In 1850, more than 9,000 miles of track covered the United States. By 1860, the number had risen to over 30,000 miles, more miles of rail than the rest of the world altogether. Initially, most of the construction had been in the nation's growing industrial centers in -
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JP Morgan
He financed railroads and helped organize U.S. Steel, General Electric and other major corporations. The Connecticut native followed his wealthy father into the banking business in the late 1850s.In 1895, their firm was reorganized as J.P. Morgan & Company, a predecessor of the modern-day financial giant JPMorgan Chase. -
The Bessemer Process
This was the first method discovered for mass producing steel discovered by William Kelly which removes the impurities from iron by oxidation. This raises the temperature of the iron mass and keeps it molten. Later on Henry Bessemer who invented the overall machine, patented the process. -
Edwin Drake
Drake struck black gold seventy feet down after drilling the oil deposits and later on in the fall the oil rush occurred. He sparked the oil refining business. -
Christopher Sholes
Sholes developed the first typewriter. First he and Samuel W. Soulé had invented a page numbering machine that was later suggested to somehow rework it to be a writing machine. He made improvements later on despite his sickness -
John D. Rockefeller
He established Standard Oil Company which later controlled almost 90% of the United States refineries and pipelines. Later on his company violated anti-trust laws and was brought down becasue of doing things such as trying to eliminate other companies that were competition so that he could gain money through it. -
Munn v. Illinois
A case in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the power of government to regulate private industries.The case developed as a result of the Illinois legislature’s responding in 1871 to pressure from the National Grange, an association of farmers, by setting maximum rates that private companies could charge for the storage and transport of agricultural products. -
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Credit Mobilier Scandal
This was when the Credit Mobilier, a construction and finance company, made illegal manipulation of contracts. It was a symbol of post-Civil war corruption. It also damaged careers of many gilded age poitcians. -
Alexander Graham Bell
Bell applies for a patent for the first telephone which was able to transmit speech telegraphically. He did this by making the current of the electricity vary in intensity like the air varies in density during the production of sound. A few days later he transmitted his first sentence over it. -
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison created the first lightbulb by replacing the gaslight with his invention of the electric light. This first breakthrough used a platinum filiment. -
Haymarket Riot
A labor protest rally near Chicago’s Haymarket Square that turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police. At least eight people died as a result. Despite a lack of evidence against them, eight radical labor activists were convicted in connection with the bombing. The Haymarket Riot was viewed a setback for the organized labor movement in America, which was fighting for such rights as the eight-hour workday. -
Interstate Commerce Act
This was an sct passed by the Congress making the railroads the first industry subject to federal regulation. Before this act, different railroads were privately owned and they were in competition with eachother. This act addressed the problem by setting up guidelines for how they could do business. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was the first measure passed by the U.S. Congress to prohibit trusts. It was named for Senator John Sherman of Ohio, who was a chairman of the Senate finance committee and the Secretary of the Treasury under President Hayes. Several states had passed similar laws, but they were limited to intrastate businesses. The Sherman Antitrust Act was based on the constitutional power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. -
Homestead Strike
The conflict at Homestead arose at a time when the fast-changing American economy had stumbled and conflicts between labor and management had flared up all over the country. In 1892, labor declared a general strike in New Orleans. Coal miners struck in Tennessee, as did railroad switchmen in Buffalo, New York and copper miners in Idaho. -
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The Pullman Strike
This was a widespread boycott and railroad strike in response to the Pullman Palace Car Company that cut the wages of the workers that were already low by 25%. George M. Pullman later fired these workers that wanted to meet with him and then other workers decided to leave and boycott working there. This caused the company to shutdown for a while. -
The Wright Brothers
They achieved the first powered, sustained and controlled airplane flight. They flew their plane for 59 seconds at 852 feet in the air. This was helped achieved by them adding a movable rudder. -
Lochner vs. NY Decision
The Supreme Court rules that a New York law for setting maximum working hours for bakers was unconstitutional. The court said that the right to buy and sell labor is a fundamental freedom protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. -
Henry Ford
Creates the Model T which was an efficient and reliable automobile affordable for everyone. This was a success right away and more orders were being made that his company could handle so he had to increase mass production. -
Eugene Debs
Outspoken leader of the labor movement, Eugene Debs opposed Woodrow Wilson as the Socialist Party candidate in the 1912 Presidential Election. Later, he would continue to rally against President Wilson and his decision to take America into war -- and be jailed for it under the Espionage Act. -
Mother of Jones
Mary Harris "Mother" Jones rose to prominence as a fiery orator and fearless organizer for the Mine Workers during the first two decades of the 20th century. Her voice had great carrying power. Her energy and passion inspired men half her age into action and compelled their wives and daughters to join in the struggle.
