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Period: to
Gilded Age
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14th Amendment to the US Constitution
The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States and guarantees due process and equal protection of the laws. It serves as the basis for applying the rights specified in the US Constitution to the states. -
The Transcontinental Railroad is completed
A golden spike is driven into a railroad tie at Promontory Point, Utah, completing the transcontinental railroad. Built in just over three years by 20,000 workers, it had 1,775 miles of track. -
John D. Rockefeller forms Standard Oil Co. of Ohio.
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The 15th Amendment to the US Constitution
The 15th Amendment guarantees the right to vote regardless "of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." -
The Great Chicago fire
claims 250 lives and destroys 17,500 buildings. -
The Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire claims 250 lives and destroys 17,500 buildings. -
Susan B. Anthony is arrested for attempting to vote in Rochester, N.Y._______________________________________
Susan B. Anthony and other women's suffrage advocates are arrested for attempting to vote in Rochester, N.Y. -
Barbed Wire introduced
The introduction of barbed wire provides the first economical way to fence in cattle on the Great Plains. -
First kidnapping for ransom.
4-years-old Charley Brewster Ross is abducted, the country's first kidnapping for ransom. The child was never found. -
Civil Rights Act of 1875 passed by Congress
Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to guarantee equal use of public accommodations and places of public amusement. It also forbids the exclusion of African Americans from jury duty. -
Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone
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Withdrawal of troops to end Reconstruction
President Hayes begins to withdraw federal troops from the South, marking the official end to Reconstruction. -
Thomas Edison invents the phonograph
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Thomas Edison invents the light bulb
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Presisent Garfield shot
President James Garfield is shot by Charles Guiteau, a disgruntled office-seeker. He died on Sept. 19. -
Supreme Court rules on Civil Rights Act of 1875
The Supreme Court rules that the Civil Rights Act of 1875 only forbids state-imposed discrimination, not that by individuals or corporations. -
Bulding first skycraper begins
Construction begins in Chicago on the first building with a steel skeleton, William Jenney's ten-story Home Insurance Company, marking the birth of the skyscraper. -
Supreme Court rules on 14th Amendment
The Supreme Court holds that corporations are persons covered by the 14th Amendment, and are entitled to due process. -
President Cleveland unveils the Statue of Liberty
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Indian police kill Sitting Bull in South Dakota
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Ellis Island opens to screen immigrants.
Ellis Island opens to screen immigrants. Twenty million immigrants passed through it before it was closed in 1954. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson. The US Supreme Court rules that segregation of blacks and whites was permitted under the Constitution so long as both races receive equal facilities. -
Battleship Maine sinks
The battleship Maine blows up and sinks while anchored in Cuba's Havana harbor. -
Spanish -American War
Apr. 25 to Aug. 12:
Spanish-American War. As a result of the conflict, the United States acquires Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. -
Supreme Court ruling on citizenship
The Supreme Court rules that a child born of Chinese parents in the United States is an American citizen and cannot be deported under the Chinese Exclusion Act. -
Hawaii is annexed
President McKinley signs a resolution annexing Hawaii.
