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Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species
The Origin of Speicies, which proposed that humans had evolved from lower forms of life ("survival of the fittest"), shook old religious values. It divided the "Fundamentalists", who stood behind the Bible, and the "Modernists", who were skeptical of the Bible's validity. -
The Morrill Act of 1862 is passed
The Morrill of Act of 1862 provided a grant of public lands to the states for public education. It led to the rise of "land grant colleges". -
The Colored National Labor Union is formed
The Colored National Labor Union was formed along with the National Labor Union, but the two groups did not cooperate due to racism and the blacks' Republican support. -
The National Labor Union is formed
The National Labor Union included both skilled and unskilled workers, but it made little effort to include women and blacks. It sought arbitration for industrial disputes and an eight-hour work day (which it won for government workers) but was destroyed by the depression of the 1870s. -
The National Grange (Patrons of Husbandry) is formed
Led by Oliver H. Kelley, the Grange was created for individual self-improvement but later evolved into advocating the improvement of the farmers' plights. They established cooperatively owned stores, grain elevators, and warehouses and strove to regulate railway rates and storage fees through state legislation. -
Knights of Labor
Created from the National Labor Union, the Knights of Labor included workers of all colors, races, classes, and genders. It was led by Terrence Powderly and campaigned for economic and social reform, including producers’ cooperatives, codes for health and safety, and an eight hour work-day. -
Wyoming Territory grants the first unrestricted suffrage to women
It provided an example for other states, who soon followed suit. -
The National Prohbition Party is organized
In response to increased liquor consumption during the Civil War and immigrant drinking habits, the National Prohibition Party promoted abstaining from alcohol. -
Yellowstone National Park is signed into law
In an effort to preserve the resources and ecological health of the nation, the government set aside land for national parks, with Yellowstone as the first. -
The Chautauqua movement is launched
A sucessor to lyceums, the Chautaqua movement involved nationwide public lectures and home study courses. This movement expanded the focus of education to include adults. -
Insterstate Commerce Act of 1887
In resonse to the 1886 Wabash case that ruled that individual states had no right to regulate interstate commerce, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, which forbade discrimination among shippers, outlawed charging more for a shorter haul, and set up the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate the law. It was the first large-scale attempt by the national government to regulate business in the interests of society. -
The Salvation Army is founded
A new religious denomination, the Salvation Army appealed to the downtrodden and did much practical good. -
Mary Baker Eddy founds the Church of Christ (Christian Science)
A new religious denomination, Christian Science preached that Christianity heals sickness. Eddy wrote Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures in 1875, which sold 400,000 copies before her death. -
Booker T. Washington heads Tuskegee Institute
Washington focused on black economic and educational reform instead of solving racial problems. His "accommodationist" approach advocated economic independence in hope of future black political and civil rights. He trained young blacks in agriculture and the trades and helped in the development of George Washington Carver. -
Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883
It stipulated that federal employees could only be appointed on the basis of merit through a competitive examination, and it made compulsory campaign contributions from federal employees illegal. -
The American Federation of Labor is formed
Founded by Samuel Gompers, the American Federation of Labor was made up of several self-governing unions and focused on economic goals rather than major social ones. It promoted better wages, better hours, better working conditions, and the "closed shop" (all union labor). However, it only conisisted of skilled male workers, which was a small miniority of the laborers. -
Dwight Lyman Moody founds the Moody Bible Institute
In the 1870s and 1880s, Moody preached to many American cities about kindness and forgiveness. He contributed largely to the adaptation of traditional religion to the city life, and the Moody Bible Insitute continues to carry on his work. -
Haymarket Square Incident
In Chicago, during one of the Knights of Labor's May Day Strikes, a dynamite bomb was thrown, injuring or killing several dozen people. Eight anarchists were rounded up and punished. However, the Knights of Labor were tainted with association, and this event marked their end. Skilled workers from the Knights of Labor and later joined the American Federation of Labor. -
The Hatch Act of 1887 is passed
As an extension of the Morrill Act of 1862, the Hatch Act of 1887 provided federal funds for agricultural experiment stations in connection with the land-grant colleges. -
Jane Addams establishes the Hull House
In response to the overwhelming number of immigrants, the Hull House was founded in a poor immigrant neighborhood and taught English, gave counseling to help immigrants assimilate, provided childcare services, and offered cultural activities. In 1893, the women of Hull House successfully promoted an Ilinois antisweatshop law that protected women workers and prohibited child labor. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act forbade business combinations that were in restraint of trade. No distinction was made between “good” trusts and “bad” trusts. It was not very effective and was later used in protest of labor unions and combinations. However, it, along with the Insterstate Commerce Act of 1887, sent a message that private greed was subordinated to public need. -
The National American Woman Suffrage Association is formed
Founded by, among others, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, the NAWSA fought for women's suffrage. It did not include black women. It later helped in the ratification of the 19th Amendment. -
The People's ("Populist") Party is formed
Rooted in the Farmers' Alliance, the Populists's Omaha platform demanded inflation through the coinage of silver, a graduated income tax, government ownership of railroads, telegraph, and telephone, a one-term limit on the presidency, a shorter workday, and immigration restriction. -
Lillian Wald founds the Henry Street Settlement
Following the Hull House's example, the Henry Street Settlement also served as a center for women's activism and social reform. -
The National Association of Colored Women is formed
Although the NAWSA didn't include black women, Ida B. Wells helped launch the black women's club movement, which led to the establishment of the NACW. -
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is founded
W. E. B. Du Bois, among many others, helped found NAACP, demanding complete social and economic equality for blacks. Today, the NAACP is one of the most influential civil rights organizations in the U.S.
