-
Alexander Graham Bell Invents the First Working Telephone
The invention of a practical telephone is credited to Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray who worked on their projects independently. Gray invented the first electromagnetic receiver in 1874 but did not perfect the design of a working diaphragm until Bell managed to create the first working telephone. The invention became a reality on March 10, 1876, when Bell transmitted the first sentence through his simple phone. -
Period: to
Battle of Little Bighorn
In 1876, a division of the 7th Cavalry Regiment led by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer was sent up a trail into the Black Hills as an advance guard for a larger force. Custer’s men approached a camp marked on Custer’s map as Little Bighorn, and they found that the influx of “treaty” Sioux as well as Cheyenne and others that had swelled the population of the village far beyond Custer’s estimation. Custer’s 7th Cavalry was vastly outnumbered, and he and 268 of his men were killed. -
Rutherford B. Hayes Wins the Presidential Election
-
First Farmers Alliance is Organized
Threatened by ever-plummeting commodity prices and ever-rising indebtedness, Texas agrarians met in Lampasas, Texas, in 1877 and organized the first Farmers’ Alliance to restore some economic power to farmers as they dealt with railroads, merchants, and bankers. -
Period: to
Great Railroad Strike / "The Great Upheaval"
Mired in the stagnant economy that followed the bursting of the railroads’ financial bubble in 1873, rail lines slashed workers’ wages even as they reaped enormous government subsidies and paid shareholders lucrative stock dividends. Workers struck from Baltimore to St. Louis, shutting down railroad traffic across the country. Police were either unable or unwilling to break the strikes so militia came in to break the strikes. They ended 6 weeks after they started.$40 million in property damage. -
Progress and Poverty, Bestseller by Henry George, is Published
“This association of poverty with progress is the great enigma of our times,” economist Henry George wrote. -
McCormick Hires Former Colt Firearms Production Manager
In 1880, McCormick hired a production manager who had overseen the manufacturing of Colt firearms to transform his system of production. The Chicago plant introduced new jigs, steel gauges, and pattern machines that could make precise duplicates of new, interchangeable parts. The company had produced twenty-one thousand machines in 1880 -
The Railroads Employ Over 400,000 Men
approximately four hundred thousand men—or nearly 2.5 percent of the nation’s entire workforce—labored in the railroad industry. Much of the work was dangerous and low-paying, and companies relied heavily on immigrant labor to build tracks. -
Period: to
Knights of Labor Have Large Increase in Membership
The Knights of Labor enjoyed considerable success in the early 1880s to its efforts to unite skilled and unskilled workers. It welcomed all laborers, including women. By 1886, the Knights had over seven hundred thousand members. The Knights envisioned a cooperative producer-centered society that rewarded labor, not capital, but, despite their sweeping vision, the Knights focused on practical gains that could be won through the organization of workers into local unions. -
James A. Garfield Wins the Presidential Election
-
The First Real Rodeo is Held in Texas
In Pecos, Texas, on July 4, 1883, cowboys from two ranches, the Hash Knife and the W Ranch, competed in roping and riding contests as a way to settle an argument; this event is recognized by historians of the West as the first real rodeo. -
Grover Cleveland Wins the Presidential Election
-
William Jennings Bryan Receives the Democratic Presidential Nomination
In July 1896, the Democratic Party’s national convention met to choose their presidential nominee. Bryan spoke last at the convention and at the conclusion of his stirring speech, he declared, “Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests and all the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold. -
Coca-Cola Is Invented
Coca-Cola dates back to 1886 when Dr. John Pemberton modified his tonic headache and stimulant formula, creating Pemberton’s French Wine Coca. With the help of Frank Robinson, Dr. Pemberton coined the trademark "Coca-Cola" which refers to the two main "medicinal" ingredients in the original recipe: coca leaves, which is what is used to make cocaine, and kola nuts. Coca-Cola contained trace amounts of cocaine until 1929. -
Tammany Hall Founded
New York City’s Democratic Party machine, popularly known as Tammany Hall, drew the greatest ire from critics and seemed to embody all of the worst of city machines, but it also responded to immigrant needs -
National Strike Across the US for the 8-Hour Day Campaign
In the summer of 1886, the campaign for an eight-hour day, long a rallying cry that united American laborers, culminated in a national strike on May 1, 1886. Somewhere between three hundred thousand and five hundred thousand workers struck across the country. -
Haymarket Square Riot and Massacre
The Haymarket massacre was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration at Haymarket Square in Chicago. It began as a peaceful rally in support of workers striking for an eight-hour work day. The resulting bombing and massacre, blamed on the Knights of Labor, effectively lost them all their membership. -
Congress Passes the Dawes General Allotment Act
Passed by Congress on February 8, 1887, the Dawes General Allotment Act splintered Native American reservations into individual family homesteads. Each head of a Native family was to be allotted 160 acres, the typical size of a claim that any settler could establish on federal lands under the provisions of the Homestead Act. Single individuals over age eighteen would receive an eighty-acre allotment, and orphaned children received forty acres. -
Grover Cleveland’s Veto of the Texas Seed Bill
Amid a crushing drought that devastated many Texas farmers, Grover Cleveland vetoed a bill designed to help farmers recover by supplying them with seed. In his veto message, Cleveland explained his vision of proper government. -
Modern Camera is Invented by George Eastman
He perfected the first camera using roll film in 1888. That same year, Eastman introduced the Kodak camera into the market. It was a unique box-camera that came with a film roll big enough for one hundred photos. The film roll had to be returned to the company for processing once finished. -
Edison Patents the Concept for the Motion Picture.
Edison decided in 1888 to develop “an instrument which does for the Eye what the phonograph does for the Ear.” In 1888, he patented the concept of motion pictures. -
Benjamin Harrison Wins the Presidential Election
-
First Automobile is Built
Wilhelm Maybach and Gottlieb Daimler built the first automobile, powered by a 1.5hp 2-cylinder gasoline engine in 1889. Their car had a 4-speed transmission and attained a maximum speed of 10 mph -
Andrew Carnegie Publishes “Gospel of Wealth
Andrew Carnegie popularized the idea of a “gospel of wealth” in an 1889 article, claiming that “the true antidote for the temporary unequal distribution of wealth” was the moral obligation of the rich to give to charity. -
South Dakota Becomes a State
-
Chief Sitting Bull Killed in Botched Arrest
Chief Sitting Bull and several others were killed in December 1890 during a botched arrest, convincing many bands to flee the reservations to join fugitive bands farther west -
How the Other Half Lives, by Jacob Riis is Published
Jacob Riis, a Danish immigrant, combined photography and journalism into a powerful indictment of poverty in America. His 1890, How the Other Half Lives shocked Americans with its raw depictions of urban slums. Here, he describes poverty in New York. -
The Escalator is Invented and Patented the Following Year
Jesse Reno invented an escalator-type machine in 1891. The earliest working escalator (which was patented to Jesse Reno in 1892) was installed at the Old Pier, Corney Island as a novelty ride in 1896. -
Period: to
AAISW Strikes at Carnegie's Steel Mill in Homestead, PA
In 1892, the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers struck at Carnegie’s steel mill in Homestead, Pa. After repeated wage cuts, workers shut the plant down and occupied the mill. Plant operator, Henry Clay Frick, called in Pinkerton detectives, but workers fought back. The detectives were besieged by the workers. After hours of battle, the Pinkertons surrendered and were kicked out of the mill. Pennsylvania governor called the state militia, broke the strike, and reopened the mill. -
The Populist Party is Formed and has First National Convention
The Populists attracted supporters across the nation by appealing to those convinced that there were deep flaws in the political economy of Gilded Age America, flaws that both political parties refused to address. The Populists nominated former Civil War general James B. Weaver as their presidential candidate at the party’s first national convention in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 4, 1892 -
Grover Cleveland Wins back the Presidency
-
"The Significance of the Frontier in American History" is Presented
In 1893, the American Historical Association met during that year’s World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The young Wisconsin historian Frederick Jackson Turner presented his “frontier thesis,” one of the most influential theories of American history, in his essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” -
Period: to
Pullman Car Factories Strike/ ARU Launches Sympathy Strike
Workers in George Pullman’s Pullman car factories struck when he cut wages by a quarter but kept rents and utilities in his company town constant. The American Railway Union (ARU), led by Eugene Debs, launched a sympathy strike: the ARU would refuse to handle any Pullman cars on any rail line anywhere in the country -
Period: to
The Great Merger Movement
Between 1895 and 1904, particularly between 1898 and 1902, a wave of mergers rocked the American economy. In nine years, four thousand companies, 20% of the economy, were folded into rival firms. In nearly every major industry, newly consolidated firms such as General Electric and DuPont dominated their market. Forty-one separate consolidations each controlled over 70 percent of the market in their respective industries. -
Period: to
William Jennings Bryan Launches National Speaking Tour
Bryan launched a national speaking tour in which he promoted the free coinage of silver. He believed that bimetallism, by inflating American currency, could alleviate farmers’ debts. In contrast, Republicans championed the gold standard and a flat money supply. American monetary standards became a leading campaign issue. -
William McKinley Wins the Presidential Election
-
Aspirin is Invented
The effects of aspirin-like mixtures have been known for centuries now. The earliest reports of the use of salicylates date back to the Sumerians, the earliest known civilization, who used willow tree bark to help reduce fever and illness. In 1897 Felix Hoffmann, a German chemist, was searching for medicine to help relieve his father’s arthritis when he created proper acetylsalicylic acid, branded and sold as aspirin. -
Hawaii is Acquired by the United States
-
The Battleship USS Maine Sinks in Havana Harbor
The Maine sat undisturbed in the harbor for about two weeks. Then, on the evening of February 15, a titanic explosion tore open the ship and sent it to the bottom of the ocean. Three quarters of the ship’s 354 occupants died. -
Period: to
Spanish-American War
Spain declared war on the US in April 1898 because the US supported the Cuban struggle for independence. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in August, 1898. The US gained the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. -
Battle of San Juan Hill
-
The Modern Paperclip is Invented
A paperclip might be a simple device, but for centuries people used straight strings and pins as fasteners, which damaged documents. . Over 50 designs were copyrighted before 1899, none of them resembling the current paper clip design. -
Rudyard Kipling Publishes "The White Man's Burden"
-
William Jennings Bryan Receives the Democratic Presidential Nomination Again
In early 1900, Congress passed the Gold Standard Act, which put the country on the gold standard, effectively ending the debate over the nation’s monetary policy. Bryan sought the presidency again in 1900 but was again defeated -
William McKinley Wins the Presidential Election Again