-
1862- Pacific Railway Act
This act authorized construction of the transcontinental railroad. The majority (⅘) of the transcontinental railroad was built with the assistance of federal government funds. The government would offer land grants, land on which to lay the tracks and land to sell. The proceeds of sold land would help companies finance the construction of rail cars. The railroad offered a new way to settle the west, and provided new economic opportunities.(Pacific Railway Act 1862) -
1865- Booth kills the President
Booth believed in slavery and white supremacy. He believed that the confederacy would have a chance of renewal if Lincoln was dead. Booth slipped into the Presidents box at the British comedy “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s theater in Washington D.C. with a dagger and pistol. Booth was successful in shooting Lincoln. Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated reinforcing the need to protect the president. It also put the U.S. in more turmoil after the civil war. (History.com editors) -
1873- Financial Panic
This was the first global depression brought on by industrial capitalism. The spiral began when Jay Cocke an influential Wall Street banker in New York declared bankruptcy. This bankruptcy was followed by the bankruptcy of many other markets, private investments, banks, railroads, and industrial holdings. It resulted in the average wage falling to a ¼ of what it had been, unemployment rising into the double digits, and the loss of focus on the civil rights movement. (Financial Panic of 1873)
