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Alaska is purchased from Russia
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Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
A golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah letting everyone know the transcontinental railroad is finished. This was a big deal for people in the West as most railroads were to the east. This was significant because it was the first transcontinental railroad available. -
John D. Rockefeller started standard oil
Rockefeller's business prospered because of the time and favorable economic decisions. He continued to prosper as he was buying out all of his competitors and raking in more and more cash. He set up his own transportation of his own product which just made him bigger and more efficient than the competition -
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
This is heavily important because nowadays everything revolves around phones and technology. Without Bell inventing the telephone, the world could be different than we know it. This was revolutionary at the time and still is. -
Thomas Edison brings light to the world with the light bulb
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Chinese Exclusion Act
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Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
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Sherman Antitrust Act
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Ellis Island opens
This was huge for the country because it allowed a lot more people to immigrate to what they felt was a safer place than where they came from. Previously there was no easy way to get to the U.S. until now. With Ellis Island opening it brought a lot of new jobs and a new coming of age for the cities. -
Carnegie Steel’s Homestead Strike
This is one of the most important historical moments because it was workers finally fighting for fair wages, hours, and better working conditions. Nowadays every job seems fair, but it was never like this and back then they fought for the future of jobs. Who knows what jobs could look like had they not decide to take a stand on what they felt was right. -
Plessy v Ferguson
This was big back then and paved way for African American rights. Had this dispute not been settled, who would know what racism would be like today. This was big and had to be done. -
Hawaii is annexed
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The U.S. declares war on Spain
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Rudyard Kipling published “The White Man’s Burden” in The New York Sun
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The start of the Boxer Rebellion
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Peak year of immigration through Ellis Island
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Tenement Act
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Pres. McKinley is assassinated and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt becomes President
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The Philippine Insurrection comes to an end
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The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe doctrine declares the U.S. right to intervene in the Wesern Hem
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Upton Sinclair releases “The Jungle”
This movie played a huge role in the food safety we have today. He exposed the nastiness of the meat packing industry to where the government had to step in and fix things. Who knows what the food business would be like had he not exposed what it already was like. -
Pure Food & Drug Act and The Meat Inspection Act are passed
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Henry Ford produced his first Model T (car)
This turned into modern day transportation. Before the Model T, transportation was limited because cars were super expensive. This was the first car that an average person could by and it changed the standards of transportation and how much cars should be. They were a luxury before the Model T, and now they are a necessity. -
Creation of the NAACP
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The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
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The Assassination on Austria’s archduke Franz Ferdinand starts WWI
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The Panama Canal is completed and opened for traffic
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The United States enters WWI
This was the first World War. This was the first time we had to fight so many battles on our own and it changed everything. Without World War one women rights could be different and the country in general would be different. -
Ratification of the 18th Amendment - Prohibition
This was one of the most controversial laws at the time. This amendment prohibited the sale of Alcoholic beverages and anything related to it. Some people thought it would work, some didn't, but it ended up making everything worse as a black market was created for it. Many wanted change and got it as alcohol became legal again and still is. -
Women got the right to vote.
