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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
In Pulaski, Tennessee, a group of Confederate veterans convenes to form a secret society that they christen the “Ku Klux Klan.” The KKK rapidly grew from a secret social fraternity to a paramilitary force bent on reversing the federal government’s progressive Reconstruction era-activities in the South, especially policies that elevated the rights of the local Black population. -
John D. Rockefeller Creates Standard Oil
John D. Rockefeller organized Standard Oil as a trust to consolidate power, eliminate competition, maximize profits, and avoid anti-trust laws. John D. Rockefeller initially organized Standard Oil as a trust primarily to consolidate and centralize control over the oil industry in the late 19th century. -
Alexander Graham Bell Patents the Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell received patent 174,465 from the U.S. Patent Office for 'the method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically, by causing electrical undulations, similar in form to the vibrations of air accompanying the said vocal or other sound. -
The Great Oklahoma Land Race
April 22, 1889, 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
If an immigrant's papers were in order and they were in reasonably good health, the Ellis Island inspection process lasted 3 to 5 hours. The inspections took place in the Registry Room (Great Hall) where doctors would briefly scan every individual for obvious physical ailments. -
The Wizard of Oz (Book) is Published
Hugh Rockoff suggested in 1990 that the novel was an allegory about the demonetization of silver in 1873, whereby "the cyclone that carried Dorothy to the Land of Oz represents the economic and political upheaval, the yellow brick road stands for the gold standard, and the silver shoes Dorothy inherits from the Wicked ... -
J.P. Morgan Founds U.S. Steel
Early in 1901, J. P. Morgan, the country's most powerful banker, merged Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel Corporation with nine other steel companies to form the world's largest corporation. The United States Steel Corporation, usually known as U.S. Steel or simply Big Steel, was capitalized at $1.4 billion. -
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
The purpose of Tarbell's series was to show through careful study “how Standard Oil conducted its business.”52 She began by revealing the beginnings of the oil industry and how oil came to be in such great demand. Tarbell then described how Rockefeller first began to receive special rates from the railroads. -
Teddy Roosevelt Becomes President of the United States
Roosevelt became president following the assassination of McKinley by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York; Czolgosz shot McKinley on September 6, 1901, and McKinley died on September 14. Roosevelt was sworn into office on the day of McKinley's death at the Ansley Wilcox House in Buffalo. -
The 16th Amendment is Passed
Amendment Sixteen to the Constitution was ratified on February 3, 1913. It grants Congress the authority to issue an income tax without having to determine it based on population. -
Angel Island Opens to Process Immigrants
Originally built to process an anticipated flood of European immigrants entering the United States through the newly opened Panama Canal, the Immigration Station on Angel Island opened on Jan. 21, 1910, in time for World War I and the closing of America's "open door" to stem the tide of these immigrants from Europe. -
The 17th Amendment is Passed
Passed by Congress on May 13, 1912, and ratified on April 8, 1913, the 17th Amendment modified Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution by allowing voters to cast direct votes for U.S. senators. Prior to its passage, senators were chosen by state legislatures -
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.