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The Dead Rabbits Riot
The Dead Rabbits riot was a two-day civil disturbance in New York City evolving from what was originally a small-scale street fight between members of the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys into a citywide gang war, which occurred July 4–5, 1857 -
The Ku Klux Klan is Established
The Ku Klux Klan, commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is the name of several historical and current American white supremacist, far-right terrorist organizations and hate groups. The Klan was "the first organized terror movement in American history. -
John D. Rockefeller Creates Standard Oil
John D. Rockefeller formed the Standard Oil Company on January 10, 1870 with his business partners and brother. The success of this business empire made Rockefeller one of the world's first billionaires and a celebrated philanthropist -
Alexander Graham Bell Patents the Telephone
On 7 March 1876, Bell was granted US patent 174465A, for a method of transmitting speech by telegraphy—the telephone. -
The Great Oklahoma Land Race
was a day of chaos, excitement, and utter confusion. Men and women rushed to claim homesteads or to purchase lots in one of the many new towns that sprang into existence overnight. An estimated eleven thousand agricultural homesteads were claimed. -
Ellis Island Opens to Process Immigrants
Even for those who made their way successfully through the battery of inspections, Ellis Island was generally not a pleasant experience. The regulations were confusing, the crowds disorienting, the officials rushed, and the hubbub of countless competing languages must have been jarring to the nerves. -
The Wizard of Oz (Book) is Published
A modern fairy tale with a distinctly American setting, a delightfully levelheaded and assertive heroine, and engaging fantasy characters -
Ford Motor Company is Founded
On June 16, 1903, Henry and 12 others invested $28,000 and created Ford Motor Company. The first car built by the Company was sold July 15, 1903. Henry owned 25.5% of the stock in the new organization. He became president and controlling owner in 1906. -
Ida Tarbell Publishes Her Article About Standard Oil
Ida M. Tarbell's The History of the Standard Oil Company was first serialized in McClure's Magazine starting in 1902 and then published as a best-selling book in 1904. Tarbell grew up around the Pennsylvania oil industry, where her father suffered from, and protested, John D. Rockefeller's business practices. -
Teddy Roosevelt Becomes President of the United States
The presidency of Theodore Roosevelt started on September 14, 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th president of the United States upon the assassination of President William McKinley, and ended on March 4, 1909. Roosevelt had been the vice president for only 194 days when he succeeded to the presidency. -
Angel Island Opens to Process Immigrants
Angel Island Immigration Station was an immigration station in San Francisco Bay which operated from January 21, 1910, to November 5, 1940, where immigrants entering the United States were detained and interrogated. Angel Island is an island in San Francisco Bay. -
The 17th Amendment is Passed
Nevertheless, the amendment was widely seen as necessary to reduce the influence of big business and other special interests on the selection of senators and to prevent vacancies or frequent turnover in the Senate caused by party wrangling or changes of party leadership at the state level. -
The Empire State Building Opens
Construction started on March 17, 1930, and the building opened thirteen and a half months afterward on May 1, 1931. Despite favorable publicity related to the building's construction, because of the Great Depression and World War II, its owners did not make a profit until the early 1950s.