Timeline Project By robinlog Jul 8, 1839 John D. Rockefeller starts Standard Oil 1866 Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) May 10, 1869 Completion of Transcontinental Railroad May 18, 1869 Plessy v Ferguson 1876 Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone Mar 30, 1876 Alaska is purchased from Russia 1879 Thomas Edison brings light to the world with the light bulb May 6, 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act Jul 2, 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act Jan 1, 1892 Ellis Island opens Jul 1, 1892 Carnegie Steel Homestead Strike 1898 Hawaii is annexed Apr 25, 1898 The U.S. declares war on Spain Apr 1, 1899 Rudyard Kipling published “The White Man’s Burden" in The New York Sun Nov 2, 1899 The start of the Boxer Rebellion 1901 Tenement Act 1901 Pres. McKinley is assassinated and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt becomes President Jul 2, 1902 The Philippine Insurrection comes to an end 1904 The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe doctrine declares the U.S. right to intervene in the Western Hem 1904 Upton Sinclair releases “The Jungle” 1906 Pure Food & Drug Act and The Meat Inspection Act are passed 1907 Peak year of immigration through Ellis Island Sep 27, 1908 Henry Ford produced his first Model T (car) 1909 Creation of the NAACP Mar 15, 1911 The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Jun 28, 1914 The Assassination of Austria’s archduke Franz Ferdinand starts WWI Aug 15, 1914 The Panama Canal is completed and opened for traffic Apr 6, 1917 The United States enters WWI Jan 16, 1919 Ratification of the 18th Amendment - Prohibition 1920 Women got the right to vote