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Transcontinental rail way
Rail road tracks were being laid from Nebraska to California. For every mile of rail laid the government granted the rail road twenty square miles of land. -
Labor Uninon Orinised
The Unions were created to unify workers arcross the nation. -
First Transatlantic telegraph cable
Telegraph cabes enabled infromation to be sent much faster across the Atlantic Ocean. -
Suez Canal Completed
The Suez canal enabled the navigation between Europe and Asia with out detureing around Africa. -
Standard Oil Company
The Standard Oil Company was created to squeze out the middle man and suficate competitors -
Telephone Invented
The telephone enabaled people to comunicate faster. -
Railroad Strikes
The presidents of the four largest railroads decided to cut wages by 10%. Workers struck back, halting all work. President Hayes sent troops and violence erupted. More thatn 100 people died in several weeks of chaos. -
Period: to
Imigration and Industrilation
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Compromise of 1877
The Constitution was heavily disputed in 1877 regarding the states reopened to the Union. Compromise was the choice. Hayes would become president only if he ageed to remove remaining troops from Louisiana and South Carolina. They also made a bill that would subside the Texas and Pacific rail line. -
Light bulb invented
The light bulbs started to replace candles lowering the demand for whale oil. -
Salvation Army in America
Arriving in America from England, this swordless, band-playing army was seen as bold and friendly, offering free soup at street corners, -
Washinton Begins Teaching at Tuskegee
Ex-slave Booker T. Washington, who slept under board sidewalk to save pennies for schooling, is called to head a normal and industrial school at Tuskegee, Alabama in order to eliminate the high illiteracy rate among fellow blacks. -
Washinton Begins Teaching at Tuskegee
Ex-slave Booker T. Washington, who slept under board sidewalk to save pennies for schooling, is called to head a normal and industrial school at Tuskegee, Alabama in order to eliminate the high illiteracy rate among fellow blacks. -
"The Greatest Show on Earth!"
Phineas T. Barnum had discovered that the public liked to be "humbugged". He teamed up with James A. Bailey in 1881 to travel across the country with the first real famous American circus troupe. -
"A Century of Dishonor"
This novel was written by Helen Hunt Jackson in response to the handlings of the native American peoples and their forced movement from their homeland by the U.S govt. It sparked interest in the eyes of humanitarians, however few were truly interested in preserving Native American culteres. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
After Hayes left office, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, baring any Chinese from entering the U.S. This was the first law limiting immigration. -
Populist Party Emerges
The Populist Party came about from disgruntled farmers whos' main call was for inflation via free coinage of silver. -
Mining Industry Booms
Though a very high risk job, many who sought a living turned to the new interest in mining. As the nation could no longer have its fill of gold and silver, new mines opened up all over the west, epecially the untouched lands of the Klondike region in Alaska. -
The Pendleton Act of 1883
This prohibited financial assessments on jobholders, and established a merit system of making appointments to office on the basis of aptitude rather than “pull.” -
The Blaine-Cleveland Mudslingers of 1884
James G. Blaine became the Republican candidate, but some Republican reformers did not like this, and switched to the Democratic Party and were called Mugwumps. It was a shock when word had gotten around that Cleveland had fathered an illegitimate child. This election had some of the lowest mudslinging in history. -
Haymarket Square Bombling
Police moved on a labor protest and a bomb was thrown into the crowd killing dozens of people, including police offecers. -
Interstate Comerse Act
Required Rail Roads to openly state rates and out lawed favorism and high cost for short shipments -
The Dawes Severalty Act
This act was passed as a sort of civil rights for indians and reform for former mishaps with relocation and policies. It granted families 160 free acres and full citizenship in a 25 year time. All indians were proclaimed citizens in 1924. -
Nez Perce War
This event occured as the Nez Perce violently rebelled when forced off of their native homeland in northeastern Oregon. They battled with U.S authorities and attempted to band together with the Indian cheif Sitting Bull, but after this failure they were moved to a rezervation in Kansas. -
Shermand Anti-turst act
Outlawed restrictions on trade. Proved inifective. -
Populism Becomes Popular
This new politcal party was "for the people" and it gave representation to the ideals of the middle class, such as farmers. They promoted increased transportation (nationalized railroad) and communications such as the telephone. They also supported and income tax and pushed for silver in the monetary system. -
Battle of Wounded Knee
This battle ensued in a violent retalliation as the Sun Dance, held sacred by Indians, was banned by Christian reformers. The Indians suffered a loss of 200 "men, women and childeren and 29 invading soliders." (p.639) -
Depression of 1893
This completed the nearly predictible 20-year cycle of panics that had occured during the 19th century. 8,000 American business houses collapsed in six months, and dozens of railroad lines went into the hands of receivers. -
The Pullman Strike
Eugene V. Debs and other members of the American Railway Union of Chicago went on strike over wage cuts as the company was severly affected by economic depression. Those employed by the company numbered approximately 150,000. Debs served 6 months in jail and the strike came to an end. -
Government Outlaws Sun Dance
The sacred Sun Dance was outlawed by the federal government as Christian reformers were making an attempt to supress the Native American cultures, thus provoking the Battle of Wounded Knee. -
The Gold Standard Act
This act stated that all greenback currency could be redeemed in gold, thus reducing inflation and avoiding the same process with silver. This created a "gold bug" and help to improve means of finding gold, especially in the Alaskan Klondike area. -
United States Steel Cororation formed
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Indians Granted Citizenship
This was the end of the waiting period of the Dawes Severalty Act, and all Native Americans were gratned citizenship. This was similar to a civil rights fufillment that will eventually be seen with the African Americans. This was a major social reform.
