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John. D Rockefeller build the standard oil
Standard Oil (simply Standard Oil) was an American corporation and corporate trust that, from 1870 to 1911, was John D. Rockefeller’s (John D. Rockefeller, Jr.) industrial empire, which controlled nearly all oil production, refining, marketing, and shipping in the United States. -
Rutherford B. Hayes is elected president
On March 2, 1877, the committee voted along strictly party lines to award all of the disputed electoral votes to Hayes, who was thus elected with 185 electoral votes to 184. by Tilden. This result was met with outrage and bitterness by some Northern Democrats, who later called Hayes "his fraud". -
Railroad workers strike across the United States; The Great Railroad Strike
The Great Railroad Strike (1877) was the nation's first large-scale rail strike and the nation's first general strike. The strike and the resulting violence briefly disrupted the nation's economy and forced ten state governments to call in 60,000 militia troops to force railroads back into service. -
McCormick's Mechanical Harvester
Syracuse McCormick Introduces Mechanical Harvester and Twine Binder, One of Several New Technologies Enhancing Agricultural Productivity. -
Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act
Signed by President Chester A. Arthur. This law made it illegal for Chinese laborers to move to the US for a period of 10 years. It was the first time a federal law banned an ethnic group from moving to the US on the grounds that it would disrupt the way things worked in certain places. -
Congress passes Pendleton Act
This law was signed by President Chester A. Arthur. The Pendleton Act established that federal government jobs were to be filled through merit-based competitions and that government employees were to be chosen through competitive examinations. It also prohibited the firing or demotion of employees covered by the law. -
Haymarket Riot
At a rally in Chicago's Haymarket Square, people were trying to get an 8-hour work day. Unfortunately, 6 people died when a bomb was dropped on police officers. This was a major blow for the Knights of Labor. It's not long before the union loses members and its power wanes. It's a sign of the growing working class fighting back against the government. The trials that followed showed the unfairness of the justice system and how much power the media had. -
Dawes Severalty Act
The Indian Land Allocation Act of 1854 provides for the distribution of land in proportion to the Indian population on the Indian reservations, and extends the jurisdiction of the federal, Indian, and territorial governments over the Indian population for other purposes. -
Pullman Strike
Railroad workers went on strike in 1894 to protest against wage cuts. Socialist Eugene Debs was the leader of the strike, but it wasn't backed by the union. Eventually, President Grover Cleveland stepped in and federal troops broke up the strike. It showed how divided labor really was and how the government was willing to use violence to stop work. Rioting in some cities resulted in 14,000 troops being sent in. -
Election of 1896
Bryan’s defeat and the Populists’ free-silver campaign ushered in a new era of Republican control over the presidency. From a party of “free land, free labor and free men,” the Republicans became the party of “business, industry, and a strong national government.” The Democrats, meanwhile, continued to lose as the southern sectional party and host of what little Populism was left, and William McKinley assumed the presidency. The Republicans then passed the Dingley Tariff.