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California was admitted as a free state, undid the Missouri Compromise, and also included a Fugitive Slave Act which allowed officials of arresting any person accused of being a runaway slave.
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Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, it put a human face on slavery for those who have never witnessed it firsthand. It sold 300,000 copies in its first year.
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The Kansas-Nebraska Act divided the Nebraska Territory into Kansas & Nebraska.Voters in each state would vote on the slave issue by popular sovereignty.
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A slave named Dred Scott believed he shouldv'e been considered to be free because his master moved & lived in Illinois, a free state, for 4 years. It went to the Supreme Court and caused the slavery issue to be bigger than ever.
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Rowland H. Macy opened what he called a department store. It then became the largest single store in America. Within the next 20 years, many big cities had department stores
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Lincoln VS. Douglas VS. Bell VS. Breckenridge - Lincoln wins - no longer any national parties
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The seven seceding states made their constitution that stressed the independence of each state and implied that every state has the right to secede
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Because of the violence and killings caused by John Brown, the state decided to enter as a free state.
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Lincoln was sworn in as President on this day.
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Lincoln declares "insurrection" existed and calls for 75,000 volunteers to fight against the Confederacy. However, he only gets 16,000 volunteers.
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With victories in Mississippi & New Orleans, the North had captured the Mississippi Valley.
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Lincoln issued the Emacipation Proclamation which freed slaves under certain states, not all. The freed slaves then had the choice to fight in the army.
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Union troops defeated Lee at the town of Gettysburg, which marked the last major Confederate attempt to invade the North.
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In the small Virginia town of Appomattox Court House, Robert E. Lee surrenedered to Ulysses Grant.
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The Freedman's Bureau was a federal agency designed to aid freed slaves & relieve the South's immediate needs.
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Lincoln was assassinated & vice president Andrew Johnson became President
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Congress voted to impeach Johnson & Ulysses S. Grant took office
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Rockefeller was an oil tycoon who used horizontal integration to boost his business. He would then become one of the very first billionaires in the country.
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The Chicago Fire destroyed the city, killing between 200-300 people. It is said to have started by a cow kicking over a lantern in a barn. The fire then spread because of the wooden buildings all throughout the city.
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When industrial waste began to destroy land, people wanted to protect natural resources. So in 1872, the first national park-Yellowstone Park-was created.
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Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone making it possible to make long-distance calls to cities in the Northeast & Midwest. By 1900, there were more than 1 million telephones in the US.
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Tilden (Democrat) VS. Rutherferd B. Hayes (Republican)-Tilden wins popular vote, but Hayes wins electoral vote & becomes president. This ends the Reconstruction.
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Joseph Pulitzer began publishing his own newspaper, the Evening World, in the 1880s, gaining a lot of success. He wanted to inform people of the news and stir up controversy.
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Thomas Edison patented the electric light bulb. Within two years, he installed a street-light system in NYC.
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Tony Pastor opened a theater in New York, wanting to provide families with fun, entertaining shows. Twenty years later, companies owned chains of theaters, stretching all across the country.
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The Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited immigration by Chinese laborers, limited the civil rights of Chinese immigrants already in the US, & forbade the naturalization of Chinese residents.
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William LeBaron Jenney designed the Home Insurance Company building in Chicago. It was the first building in which a steel frame supported outside walls, allowing more space and windows on loweer floors.
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The American Federation of Labor was created by Samuel Gompers. It was a craft union, a loose organization of skilled workers from local unions who were devoted to specific crafts or trades.
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Thousands of workers wanting an eight hour workday gathered at Haymarket Square in Chicago. Dozens of people were killed & eight anarchists were tried for murder & executed.
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The Interstate Commerce Commision (ICC) was created to oversee railroad operations. They could monitor railroads that crossed state lines, but could not control the transactions.
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In 1888, Richmond, VA, introduced a revolutionary invention-streetcars powered by by overhead electric cables.
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The Sherman Antitrust Act was passed to regulate trusts & regulate corporations' power.
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James Naismith invented the sport in at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts.
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Carnegie was a steel tycoon who was worth hundreds of millions because of his use of vertical integration. In 1892, he combined his assets combing Carnegie Steel Company.
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Ellis Island was a processing station where immigration officials decided who could stay in the United States. All third-class passengers were sent there. The immigration officers then conducted legal and medical inspections.
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Carnegie Steel Plant cut workers' wages & the union immediately called a strike. Carnegies' partner, Frick, brought in the Pinkertons for reinforcement. A battle between the Pinkertons and the workers broke out, but in the end, the plant was shut down.
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Workers of the A.R.U. went on strike, halting railroad traffic and mail delivery. It was led by Eugene V. Debs & he was later convicted of going against interstate commerce.
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Boston started running cable cars ungerground in the nation's first subway system.
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Congress passes another act that prohibited the entry of anyone who was a criminal, immoral, a pauper, or likely to need public assistance.
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Brothers Orville & Wilbur Wright were responsible for the first successful airplane flight in 1903, marking the birth of a new industry.
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Chinese and other Asian immigrants were processed at Angel Island after crossing the Pacific Ocean. It was designed to filter out Chinese residents.
