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U.S. acquires Alaska from Russia
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President Johnson is impeached
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Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, defining citizenship
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Period: to
Ulysses S Grant serves as President
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Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads are joined at Promontory, Utah, creating the first transcontinental railroad
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Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, giving blacks the right to vote
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US Federation of Labor is organized
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The Statue of Liberty is dedicated
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National American Woman Suffrage Association is founded
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Last major battle of the Indian Wars occurs at Wounded Knee in South Dakota
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Grover Cleveland is inaugurated a second time, as the 24th president. He is the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms.
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Plessy v. Ferguson: decision holds that racial segregation is constitutional, paving the way for the repressive Jim Crow laws in the South
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Spanish-American War: USS Maine is blown up in Havana harbor
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US annexes Hawaii
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US declares war on Spain
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Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Spanish-American War. Spain gives up control of Cuba, and cedes Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S.
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Galveston hurricane leaves an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 dead
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U.S. acquires Panama Canal Zone
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San Francisco earthquake leaves 500 dead or missing and destroys about 4 sq mi of the city
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Bureau of Investigation is established