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Homestead Act
Settlers could aquire 160 acres of land by living on it, improving it, and paying $30 -
National Labor Union
One of the earliest nationwide unions to organize in America and the Old World. It lasted 6 years and totalled 600,000 members. -
First Working Transatlantic Telegraph Cable
The concept of a transatlantic telegraph cable was developed by Cyrus West Field, and laid into place by the British ship Great Eastern -
Period: to
Gilded Age
The term coined by Mark Twain, there was wide spread wealth and corruption permeating many aspects of society, politics, and economics. -
Ulysses S. Grant Inaugurated
He was the 18th president of the United States -
Fisk and Gould Corner Gold Market
Gold market scandal; They planned to increase profits by increasing gold stock value; known as "Black Friday" -
Transcontinential Railroad Completed
Two sides of the railroad joined near Ogden, Utah. -
Standard Oil Company organized
Under the direction of John D. Rockefeller, it became one of the biggest monopolies by squashing competitors and assimilating smaller companies. -
Crédit Mobilier Scandal
Union Pacific Railroad insiders formed a construction company, then proceeded to hire themselves at high rates to build the railroad. -
Panic of 1873
There was not enough demand for railroad, mines, factories, agriculture, and other economic stimuli; due to mishandling of the Treasury and various banking institutions in regards to loans and the credit system, the nation faced economic panic. -
Francis E. Willard founds Women's Christian Temperence Union
Women's coalition against alcohol abuse and use in general -
Civil Rights Act of 1875
Congressional attempt to strengthen radical Republicans. It guaranteed equal accommodations in public places and outlawed racial discrimination in the jury, but had little effect. -
Bell invents telephone
Long distance communication evolves from telegraph to telephone. -
Compromise of 1877
Regarding the 1877 election, Hayes was allowed to win the election on the conditions that he pulled all troops from the South and ended Reconstruction. -
Edison invents electric light
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The Chinese Exclusion Act
Prohibited Chinese immigration, also the first immigration restriction passed -
Record breaking immigration
788,992 immigrants came to America, over 2100 a day, which sparked immigration limitation reformation in the nation. -
Brooklyn Bridge Completed
After 13 years of construction, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world and the first to use steel wires. -
First Skyscraper built
Built by Louis Sullivan in Chicago, the first skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building, and was 138 feet tall -
Statue of Liberty completed
Initially a gift from France, it soon became a symbol of the United States due to the large number of immigrants passing by it every day -
Interstate Commerce Act
Prohibited rebates in pools and forced railroads to openly publish rates, prohibited discrimination against shippers. -
The Hatch Act
Increased federal funding to higher education facilities to further agricultural experimentation in connection to land grant colleges. -
Jane Addams creates Hull House
One of the first settlement houses is created in New York. -
National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
Militant suffragists form suffragist group, including Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt. -
Sherman Anti Trust Act
People appealed to Congress in an attempt to curb the power of monopolies. It forbade combinations restraining traide, but contained legal loopholes and was not very effective. -
Populist Party emerges
Known as "The People's Party," it was comprised of farmers and the common folk, who attacked Wall Street and wanted to nationalize railroads and telephones. -
Homestead Steel Strike
Carnegie Steel workers went on strike for better wages and working conditions, but were gunned down by the Pinkerton gang. -
Pullman Strike
American Railroad Union leader Eugene V. Debs organizes a strike in Chicago, destroying Pullman cars. -
Library of Congress opens
Curated by Ainsworth Spofford, the Library of Congress opened to the public after years of being the Congressional Reading Room at the Capitol. -
US Steel Corp. forms
J.P. Morgan collects steel corporations and combined them all into one company.
