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The Louisiana Purchase
The acquisition by the United States of America in 1803 of 828,000 square miles (2,144,000 kilometers or 52,992,000 acres) of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana under Thomas Jefferson. The U.S. paid 15 million dollars (around 4 cents per acre) for the Louisiana territory. The Louisiana territory encompassed all or part of 15 present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. It doubled the side of the U.S. and was the first step toward Manifest Destiny. -
The Donner Party Departs for California
The Donner family left Springfield for Independence, Missouri, where the California Trail began. Delayed by a series of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. Some of the immigrants resorted to cannibalism to survive, eating those who had succumbed to starvation and sickness. Historians have described the episode as one of the most spectacular tragedies in Californian history and in the record of western migration. -
California Gold Rush Begins
Gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought some 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. Due to the Gold Rush, San Francisco grew from a small settlement of about 200 residents in 1846 to a boomtown of about 36,000 by 1852. Roads and other towns were built throughout California. In 1849 a state constitution was written, and a governor and legislature were chosen. California became a state in 1850. -
First Transcontinental Railroad Completed
The "Golden Spike" was put into place at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory, where the two railroads from east and west met. The completed railroad connected the east and west of the U.S. and provided an easy means of transportation for people, goods, and raw materials. It was an important step in achieving Manifest Destiny. -
15th Amendment Ratified
Prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Led to the creation of the Jim Crow Laws and poll taxes, which were designed to keep blacks from voting. -
American Federation of Labor Founded
The first federation of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in May 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. It encouraged the fromation of labor unions and forced separate unions seeking to represent the same or closely related jurisdictions to merge, or to mediate disputes between rival factions where both sides claimed to represent the leadership of an affiliated union. -
The Oklahoma Land Rush
The first land rush into the Unassigned Lands of Oklahoma. An estimated 50,000 people lined up for their piece of the available two million acres . It contributed greatly to westward expansion and the development of the frontier. -
Hull House Established
A settlement house in the United States that was co-founded by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. It opened its doors to recently arrived European immigrants. Throughout the first two decades, along with thousands of immigrants from the surrounding area, Hull House attracted many female residents who later became prominent and influential reformers at various levels. -
Sherman Antitrust Act Passed by Congress
Prohibits certain business activities that federal government regulators deem to be anticompetitive, and requires the federal government to investigate and pursue trusts. Senator John Sherman was the principal author. It has since been used to oppose the combination of entities that could potentially harm competition, such as monopolies or cartels. -
Plessy v. Ferguson Decided
Upheld the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal." Led to continued segregation of colored people in American society. "Separate but equal" remained standard doctrine in U.S. law until its repudiation in the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education. -
President McKinley Assasinated
President McKinley was shot by an anarchist acting alone while in Buffalo, New York. McKinley died on September 14 and Roosevelt was sworn in at the Ansley Wilcox House. -
Panama Canal Opened
A ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean. Proposed and carried out by Theodore Roosevelt. Allowed faster travel from the east coast to the west coast by ship.