Timeline of Events from

1862-1896-All pictures were found from www.google.com/images

1862 1864 1867

Homestead Act

U.S. law providing 160 acres in the west to any citizen who was head of a household and would cultivate land for 5 years.

SandCreek Massacre

Attack on the Cheyenne & Arapaho by Colonel Chivington-killed over 150 Indians. It was a result of Gen. S.R. Curtis’ hatred for Native Americans.

1867

Grange

Organization started by Oliver Kelley to provide a social outlet and educational forum for isolated farm families.

Homesteader

Settlers on the free land provided by the Homestead Act of 1862.

Oliver Kelley

Started the Patrons of Hunsbury organization for farmers (Grange) To provide social outlet and educational forum for isolated members.

1867 1868 1870

George Westinghouse

Invented the rotary steam engine, the car replacer, and reversible frog. He also devised the Westinghouse Farm Engine. He invented a railroad breaking system using compressed air in 1869.

Tammany Hall

NYC’s powerful Democratic political machine headed up by William M. Tweed who led the Tweed Ring in defrauding the city.

Longhorns

Sturdy, short-tempered cattle breeds accustomed to the dry grasslands of southern spain.

1870

Tweed Ring

Group of corrupt politicians led by William Tweed “Boss Tweed” in defrauding the city.

Jacob Riis

He moved NYC from Denmark and became a news reporter. He was shocked at the level of poverty and used his talents to expose the hardships of living in it.

1870 1873 1874

Fredrick Law Olmstead

Landscape architect who helped make plans for Central Park. He also drew landscapes for Washington D.C., St. Louis, and the “Emerald Necklace”.

John D. Rockefeller

Established the Standard Oil company which used trust funds. Some critics called his tactics “Robber Barons”. He gave away 500 million establishing the Rockefeller Foundation.

Andrew Carnegie

Was the model for an American success story. Started a steel business and found how to make better quality products cheaper.

Trust

Illegal Mergers – participants turned stock over to a group of trustees and in turn the company was entitled to dividends on profits earned by trust.

1875 1876

Segregation

Laws that separated

Black and white people in public and private facilities.

Ellis Island

Immigration station in New York Harbor in which immigrants had to pass a physical examination as well as answer specific questions before being admitted into the country.

Melting Pot

A mixture of people of different cultures and races that blended together by abandoning original customs.

Battle of Little-Bighorn

Battle occurring after Sitting Bull’s vision of the American troops that caused the Sioux and Cheyenne to attack and win a battle against Gen. Custer’s troops.

Sitting Bull

Led the Sioux in their victory at the Battle of Little-Bighorn. He later appeared in “Buffalo Bill’s” Wild West show (1885)

Alexander Bell

Invented the telephone which opened a new method of communication throughout the nation.

1876 1877 1878

Telephone

The most dramatic invention next to the light bulb which opened a way for worldwide communication-Invented by Alexander Bell.

Vanderbilt Family

American railroad family who got their fortune from shipping and rail. They are known as the 7th wealthiest family in the world.

Collective Bargaining

The Negotiation between representatives of labor and management to reach written agreements on wages, hours, and working conditions.

1879 1880 1881

Dumbbell Tenements

Law requiring every inhabitable room have a window opening to plain air- also met by including air shafts between buildings.

Jim Crow Laws

Segregation laws to separate blacks from whites in public and private facilities.

Thomas Edison

Invented and perfected the first incandescent light bulb and later invented an entire system for electricity.

Settlement Houses

Community centers in slum neighborhoods providing assistance for people in that area.

Bessemer Process

Developed independently by British manufacturer Henry Bessemer and American William Kelley. Involved interjecting air into molten iron to remove impurities.

1881 1883 1884

Booker T. Washington

African American educator who believed racism would end once black people proved economic value in society.

Assimilation

Plan under which Native Americans would give up their way of life and join white culture.

Joseph Pulitzer

Hungarian immigrant who bought the New York World and emphasized sex, sin, and sensation.

Urbanization

The growth of cities mostly in the Northeast and Midwest regions.

Mark Twain

Novelist and humorist who inspired young authors when he declared independence of literature. Wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

1884 1885 1886

Eugene V. Debs

Democrat who was elected into the Indiana General Assembly and was instrumental in the founding of the American Railway Union. He was also a very well known socialist.

Political Machine

An organized group the controls the activities of a political party in a city. They also offer services to voters & businesses in exchange for political or financial support.

Graft

The illegal use of political influence for personal gain.

Haymarket Affair

The aftermath of the bombing that took place at Haymarket Sq. Chicago. Began as a peaceful rally in support of an 8 hour work day but after someone threw a dynamite bomb, 7 police died, 7 were sentenced to death, and 1 was sentenced to prison.

Samuel Gompers

Led the Cigar Makers International Union to join other crafts unions. He was president of the American Federation of Labor which focused on collective bargaining.

Ida B. Wells

Was a teacher who became the editor of a local paper in Memphis- Primary theme of paper was racial justice.

1887 1888

Bimetallism

Monetary system in which the government would give citizens either gold or silver in exchange for paper money or checks.

Dawes Act

Act passed by Congress to “Americanize” Native Americans- broke up reservations and gave land to individuals- 160 acres to head of household and 80 acres to individual adults.

Poll Tax

Annual tax having to be paid before qualifying to vote. Blacks and whites were often too poor to pay.

George Eastman

Developed a series of more convenient alternatives to heavy glass plates used in photography and released the first Kodak camera.

Socialism

Economic and political system based on government control of business, property, and equal distribution of health.

Grandfather Clause

Stated that if a man was unable to pay the poll tax, he could still vote if his father or grandfather had been eligible to vote before Jan. 1, 1867.

1889 1890

Jane Addams

Very influential member of the settlement house movement. She believed that workers would learn from life itself. She was also an anti-war activist, spokesperson for racial justice and advocate for quality of life issues.

Battle of Wounded Knee

The 7th Calvary rounded up 350 Sioux and took them to a camp at Wounded Knee creek in S.D.. The next day they were ordered to give up weapons when a shot was fired from an unknown side. The soldiers opened fire with a cannon.

Ghost Dance

Paiute Prophet told Sioux to perform this ritual dance so that their way of life would be restored from poverty. As the dance spread alarm did also and military leaders were ordered to arrest Sitting Bull.

Sherman Antitrust Act

Made it illegal to form a trust that interfered with free trade between states or other companies.

Monopoly

Complete control over an industry’s production, wages, and prices.

1892 1893 1894

Populist

Peoples party that gave birth to Populism-demanded reforms to lift debt from farmers and workers in order to give people a greater voice in the government.

Scab

Strike breakers hired by company president Henry Clay Frick to keep the steel plant operating- everyone was going on strike because of low wages.

Angel Island

Immigration station in San Francisco Bay where many Asians entered the country. Stood in contrast to Ellis Island because of its harsh questioning and detainment of immigrants.

Orville & Wilbur Wright

Bicycle manufacturers who experimented in engines. They invented the first successful airplane.

Pullman Strike

Nationwide conflict between American Railway Union and railroads that occurred in the U.S. which shut down much of the nations freight and passenger traffic. Began when 4,000 employees of Pullman Palace Car Co. went on a wildcat strike.

1895 1896

W.E.B. Dubois

1st African American to receive a doctorate from Harvard. He strongly disagreed with Booker T. Washington’s gradual approach to the end of racism.

Patronage

The giving of government jobs to people who had helped a candidate become elected.

The Gilded Age Ends

Time of enormous growth that attracted millions from Europe. Railroad were a major industry, factories, mining and labor unions gained importance. It interrupted many depressions. Reformers were working hard, and there were issues of Black rights.

William Jennings Bryan

Editor of The Omaha World- delivered impassioned address to the assembled delegates that came to be known as the “Cross of gold speech”.

William Mckinley

Republican candidate winning election with 7 million votes and collapsed populism by buying the hopes of farmers.