Turn of the Century Timeline

By reevecoo

  • Alaska is purchased from Russia

  • Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad

  • John D. Rockefeller starts Standard Oil

  • Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone

    Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone

    The very first telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. His invention would prove to be immensely important to the generations to come. This invention led to great advancements in how news is spread now.

  • Thomas Edison brings light to the world with the light bulb

  • Chinese Exclusion Act

  • Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL)

  • Sherman Anti-trust Act

  • Ellis Island opens

    Ellis Island opens

    The immigration center of the east coast opened up to people in 1892. This site would prove to be the place where most immigrants would come into the U.S. The most immigrants came into the U.S. during the year 1900

  • Carnegie Steel's homestead strike

  • Plessy v Ferguson

  • The U.S. declares war on Spain

  • Hawaii is annexed

  • Rudyard Kipling published “The White Man’s Burden” in The New York Sun

  • The start of the Boxer Rebellion

  • Peak year of immigration through Ellis Island

  • Tenement Act

    Tenement Act

    This act was passed to ensure that the houses known as tenements would be built up to code. There were massive improvements to the living conditions of immigrants in New York. The standards set in place by the tenement act are still in place today.

  • Pres. McKinley is assassinated and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt becomes President

  • The Philippine Insurrection comes to an end

  • The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe doctrine declares the U.S. right to intervene in the Western Hem

  • Upton Sinclair releases “The Jungle”

  • Pure Food & Drug Act and The Meat Inspection Act are passed

    Pure Food & Drug Act and The Meat Inspection Act are passed

    These acts were passed to solve the horrible conditions present in meatpacking plants. These acts would prove to be pivotal in the way we package and store food now. These acts are still in place and avidly used today.
  • Henry Ford produced his first Model T (car)

    Henry Ford produced his first Model T (car)

    After the production of the first model T, Henry ford would become an automotive guru. He would go on to build an empire and own one of the most prosperous car brands in the world.

  • Creation of the NAACP

  • The Triangle Shirtwaste Fire

  • The Assassination on Austria’s archduke Franz Ferdinand starts WWI

    The Assassination on Austria’s archduke Franz Ferdinand starts WWI

    The assassination of Franz Ferdinand would prove to be instrumental at the beginning of WWI. This would cause Austro-Hungary to declare war against Serbia, setting in motion the beginning of WWI. Had Franz Ferdinand not been assassinated, we most likely wouldn't have had WWI.
  • The Panama Canal is completed and opened for traffic

    The Panama Canal is completed and opened for traffic

    The Panama Canal is a gateway to the pacific ocean from the Atlantic. We use it today as the fastest way to reach China and other parts of Asia from the east coast.
  • The United States enters WWI

    The United States enters WWI

    The U.S. entered WWI after the sinking of the Lusitania. This proved to be the breaking point for the U.S. and they finally sent soldiers over to Europe to fight the Axis powers.

  • Ratification of the 18th Amendment - Prohibition

  • Women got the right to vote.