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Great Sioux War of 1876 (Black Hills War)
A series of battles and negotiations which occurred in 1876 and 1877 between the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and the United States. Began after Gold had been discovered in the Black Hills, settlers began to encroach onto Native American lands. The U.S. Government then wanted to obtain ownership of the area, but the Sioux and Cheyenne refused. -
Invention: The Telephone
On March 7, 1876, Alexander Bell was granted his telephone patent. A few days later, he made the first-ever telephone call to Watson, allegedly uttering the now-famous phrase, “Mr. Watson, come here. I want you.” -
Battle of Little Bighorn
Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors defeat Lt. Colonel George Custer and the Seventh Calvary. The most decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the long Plains Indian War. -
President Rutherford B. Hayes (19th)
Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Samuel J. Tilden in 1876 Presidential Election.
(March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881) -
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
Striking workers would not allow any of the trains, mainly freight trains, to roll until this third wage cut was revoked. As the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages of workers for the third time in a year. -
Invention: Phonograph
In 1877, Thomas Edison created a machine with two needles: one for recording and one for playback. When he spoke into the mouthpiece, the sound vibrations of his voice would be indented onto the cylinder by the recording needle. -
President James A. Garfield (20th)
James A. Garfield defeated Winfield Scott Hancock in 1880 Presidential Election.
*(March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881) -
Red Cross is Founded
Founded by Clara Barton, the American Red Cross has been dedicated to serving people in need. -
President Garfield Dies
Assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., and died in Elberon, New Jersey. -
President Chester A. Arthur (21st)
Became President after the death of Garfield. (September 20, 1881 – March 4, 1885) -
Pendleton Act (1883)
The Act provided that Federal Government jobs be awarded on the basis of merit and that Government employees be selected through competitive exams. Also made it unlawful to fire or demote for political reasons employees who were covered by the law. -
President Grover Cleveland (22nd)
Grover Cleveland defeated James G. Blaine of Maine in 1884 Presidential Election.
*First Term (March 4, 1885 – March 4, 1889) -
The Haymarket Riot
Mandates civil service exams for government employees, with the goal of ensuring that government jobs are awarded by merit. -
Dawes Act of 1887
Integration of Native Americans into U.S. society by breaking Indian land into allotments and destroying the tribal structure of Native life. -
President Benjamin Harrison (23rd)
Benjamin Harrison defeated Grover Cleveland in 1888 Presidential Election.
(March 4, 1889 – March 4, 1893) -
President Grover Cleveland (24th)
Grover Cleveland defeated Benjamin Harrison in 1892 Presidential Election. *Re-elected
(March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897) -
William McKinley (25th)
William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan in 1896 Presidential Election.
(March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901) -
Spanish American War
A conflict between the United States and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America.
(April 21, 1898 – August 13, 1898) -
Period: to
Spanish American War
The war that erupted in 1898 between the United States and Spain was preceded by three years of fighting by Cuban revolutionaries to gain independence from Spanish colonial rule.
