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John D. Rockefeller starts Standard Oil
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Alaska Purchased From Russia
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Completion of Transcontinental Railroad
The completion of the Transcontinental railroad was done with a gold spike. The completion of the railroad marked an important moment in U.S. history, as it revolutionized the trade industry. It also revolutionized travel and transportation. -
Alexander Graham Bell invents the tellephone
The telephone made communication incredibly easy. Long distance communication became immensely cheaper. This also led to the proliferation of long distance communication soon being available in almost every house. -
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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Ellis Island opens
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Carnegie Steel’s Homestead Strike
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Plessy v Ferguson
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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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Tenement Act
The Tenement Act was one of the first regulations on the completely lassie-faire market place, in favor of the consumer. It helped set the path for more and more regulations to stop the exploitation of the lower class and new immigrants. Was caused by public outrage after the publishing of how horrid life was inside the tenements. -
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 Western Hem
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Pres. McKinley is assassinated and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt becomes President
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Pure Food & Drug Act and The Meat Inspection Act are passed
This amendment was passed to ease the public outrage over there food production. The outrage was flared by investigative journalists who published stories over the horribly unsanitary conditions in the food production industry. Leading example of such publications was Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle". -
Upton Sinclair releases “The Jungle”
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Peak year of immigration through Ellis Island
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Henry Ford produced his first Model T (car)
This was the first car produced by assembly line. This made it significantly cheaper than other motor vehicles of the time, and made it available to the masses. The success of the Model T led to the company's good reputation and relevance even in modern times. -
Creation of the NAACP
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The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
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The Assassination of Austria’s archduke Franz Ferdinand starts WWI
This event was the breaking point of tensions in Europe. From the unease in the Balkans and the fear of Germany's growing military might, this event lit a spark that could not be put out. This was an unplanned attack as the previous panned assassination attempts had failed and the man who killed him was off his post when he saw the Arch Dukes car drive by. -
The Panama Canal is completed and opened for traffic
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The United States enters WWI
Being a part of this war and adapting to its challenges helped are nation develop at an accelerated rate. Coming out of this war also established the U.S. as a world superpower. As well as establishing influence in Europe. -
Ratification of the 18th Amendment - Prohibition
Prohibition ended up backfiring. It fueled the black market and funded gangs. It made the average citizen into criminals because of how ingrained alcohol was in our culture. -
Sherman Anti-trust Act
This law was passed in an attempt to stop monopolies from eradicating market competition. This failed as courts were likely to not uphold the law. Though this law did inspire more to come which inevitably did lead to the outlawing of monopolies. -
Women got the right to vote.
This marked an important moment in the movement of equality in the U.S. As well as marking a cultural shift and defining and giving strength to the equality movements. Amendment finally passed due to the public outrage of the torture of suffragettes.
