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United States presidential election of 1876
Rutherford B. Hayes becomes the 19th President of the United States -
Farmers' Alliance
Farmers' Alliance, an American agrarian movement during the 1870s and '80s that sought to improve the economic conditions for farmers through the creation of cooperatives and political advocacy. -
End of Reconstruction
The Federal Government pulls out of the South, and Democrats return to power, undoing much of the progress in the region. -
Invention of the Light Bulb
Thomas Edison and the “first” light bulb In 1878, Thomas Edison began serious research into developing a practical incandescent lamp and on October 14, 1878, Edison filed his first patent application for "Improvement In Electric Lights". -
James Ritty Patents the First Cash Register
James Ritty invented the cash register and created the "Incorruptible Cashier" -
The Exodusters
Exodusters was a name given to African Americans who migrated from states along the Mississippi River to Kansas in the late nineteenth century, as part of the Exoduster Movement or Exodus of 1879. It was the first general migration of black people following the Civil War. -
United States presidential election of 1880
American presidential election held on November 2, 1880, in which Republican James A. Garfield defeated Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock. Among presidents who won the popular vote, Garfield’s margin of victory remains the narrowest in history. -
The Founding of the Red Cross
Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross. -
The International Cotton Exposition at Atlanta
International Cotton Exposition (I.C.E) was a world's fair held in Atlanta, Georgia, from October 5 to December 31 of 1881. The location was along the Western & Atlantic Railroad tracks near the present-day King Plow Arts Center development in the West Midtown area. -
The Assassination of President James A. Garfield
On July 2, 1881, newly inaugurated President James A. Garfield was mortally wounded by a deranged gunman as he prepared to board a train in Washington, D.C. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers. -
Pendleton Civil Service Act
Pendleton Civil Service Act, (Jan. 16, 1883), landmark U.S. legislation establishing the tradition and mechanism of permanent federal employment based on merit rather than on political party affiliation (the spoils system). -
The Brooklyn Bridge Opens
On May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn with Manhattan, was opened to traffic with a celebration attended by President Chester A. Arthur, Gov. Grover Cleveland of New York, and Emily Roebling, the wife of the bridge's main engineer, Washington Roebling. -
United States presidential election of 1884
American presidential election held on Nov. 4, 1884, in which Democrat Grover Cleveland defeated Republican James G. Blaine. The election was marked by bitter mudslinging and scandalous accusations that overshadowed substantive issues such as civil service reform. -
Anti-Chinese violence in Washington
There were at least several incidents of anti-Chinese violence in Washington, a United States territory and later, a U.S. state, which occurred during the 19th century. Following the Rock Springs Massacre in Wyoming, a wave of anti-Chinese riots and incidents occurred in Washington in September 1885. -
Anti-Chinese Riot in Seattle
The Seattle riot of 1886 occurred on February 6–9, 1886, in Seattle, Washington, amidst rising anti-Chinese sentiment caused by intense labor competition and in the context of an ongoing struggle between labor and capital in the Western United States. -
American Federation of Labor is Founded
Established in 1886, the American Federation of Labor is an umbrella organization for other unions. -
The Haymarket Riot
On May 4, 1886, a labor protest rally near Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police. ... The Haymarket Riot was viewed a setback for the organized labor movement in America, which was fighting for such rights as the eight-hour workday. -
Coca-Cola Invented
Dr John S Pemberton invented Coca‑Cola on 8th May 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr Pemberton tried it out on customers at his local chemist, Jacobs' Pharmacy, where it proved so popular it immediately went on sale at five cents a glass. -
The Dawes Severalty Act
Approved on February 8, 1887, "An Act to Provide for the Allotment of Lands in Severalty to Indians on the Various Reservations," known as the Dawes Act, emphasized severalty, the treatment of Native Americans as individuals rather than as members of tribes. -
Edison Invents the Motion Picture Projector
Edison and Dickson invented a motion picture camera and a peephole. -
United States presidential election of 1888
American presidential election held on Nov. 6, 1888, in which Republican Benjamin Harrison defeated Democratic incumbent Grover Cleveland, winning in the electoral college 233–168 despite losing the popular vote. It was the second time in American history (1876 being the first) that a presidential candidate had won a majority of the electoral vote while losing the popular vote—a circumstance that would not happen again until the election of 2000. -
Beginning of the Native American Ghost Dance Movement
The Ghost Dance movement was a manifestation of Native Americans' fear, anger, and hope regarding the onslaught of white invaders, U.S. Army brutalization, and the U.S. -
The First Open Door Note
The Open Door policy was a statement of principles initiated by the United States in 1899 and 1900. It called for protection of equal privileges for all countries trading with China and for the support of Chinese territorial and administrative integrity. -
Johnstown flood
Johnstown flood, disastrous flood that occurred in 1889 in the town of Johnstown, Pa. Johnstown lies at the confluence of the Conemaugh River and Stony Creek. A 30-foot (9-metre) wall of water smashed into Johnstown at 4:07 PM, killing 2,209 people. -
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Approved July 2, 1890, The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first Federal act that outlawed monopolistic business practices. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was the first measure passed by the U.S. Congress to prohibit trusts. ... The trusts came to dominate a number of major industries, destroying competition. -
The Death of Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull killed by Indian police. After many years of successfully resisting white efforts to destroy him and the Sioux people, the great Sioux chief and holy man Sitting Bull is killed by Indian police at the Standing Rock reservation in South Dakota -
The Mississippi Plan
It was devised by the Democratic Party in that state to overthrow the Republican Party in Mississippi by means of organized threats of violence and suppression or purchase of the black vote. Democrats wanted to regain political control of the legislature and governor's office. -
Populist Movement
Populist Movement, in U.S. history, politically oriented coalition of agrarian reformers in the Middle West and South that advocated a wide range of economic and political legislation in the late 19th century. -
Homestead Strike
Homestead Strike, also called Homestead riot, violent labour dispute between the Carnegie Steel Company and many of its workers that occurred on July 6, 1892, in Homestead, Pennsylvania. -
United States presidential election of 1892
American presidential election, held on November 8, 1892, in which Democrat Grover Cleveland defeated Republican incumbent Benjamin Harrison. In winning, Cleveland became the first former president to be restored to the office. -
First Movie Theater
In 1893, Eadweard Muybridge gave lectures and projected hand-painted animated images at his Zoopraxigraphical Hall at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. -
World's Columbian Exposition
World’s Columbian Exposition, fair held in 1893 in Chicago, Illinois, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyage to America. -
The March of Coxey's Army
Coxey’s Army, a group of the unemployed who marched to Washington, D.C., in the depression year of 1894. It was the only one of several groups that had set out for the U.S. capital to actually reach its destination. -
The Pullman Strike
Pullman Strike, (May 11, 1894–c. July 20, 1894), in U.S. history, widespread railroad strike and boycott that severely disrupted rail traffic in the Midwest of the United States in June–July 1894. The federal government's response to the unrest marked the first time that an injunction was used to break a strike. -
Cotton States and International Exposition. Atlanta
On this day in 1895, the most ambitious of the Atlanta cotton expositions, The 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition, started in present-day Piedmont Park. The exhibits showcased products and the latest technology in an effort to promote trade between southern states and South American countries -
The Era of William McKinley
William McKinley served in the U.S. Congress and as governor of Ohio before running for the presidency in 1896. ... In 1898, McKinley led the nation into war with Spain over the issue of Cuban independence; the brief and decisive conflict ended with the U.S. in possession of Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam. -
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, often called the Yukon Gold Rush, was a mass exodus of prospecting migrants from their hometowns to Canadian Yukon Territory and Alaska after gold was discovered there in 1896. The idea of striking it rich led over 100,000 people from all walks of life to abandon their homes and embark on an extended, life-threatening journey across treacherous, icy valleys and harrowing rocky terrain. -
Henry Ford's First Automobile
Ford built the 1896 Quadricycle, his first automobile, in the original shed. -
United States presidential election of 1896
American presidential election held on November 3, 1896, in which Republican William McKinley defeated Democrat-Populist William Jennings Bryan. -
Early Radio History
Pioneering U.S. Radio Activities (1897-1917) - Marconi's demonstration of a practical system for generating and receiving long-range radio signals sparked interest worldwide. -
The Spanish-American War
The Spanish-American War was an 1898 conflict between the United States and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America. -
Annexation of Hawaii
Dole declared Hawaii an independent republic. Spurred by the nationalism aroused by the Spanish-American War, the United States annexed Hawaii in 1898 at the urging of President William McKinley. Hawaii was made a territory in 1900, and Dole became its first governor. -
Philippine-American War
Philippine-American War, a war between the United States and Filipino revolutionaries from 1899 to 1902, an insurrection that may be seen as a continuation of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule. The Treaty of Paris (1898) had transferred Philippine sovereignty from Spain to the United States but was not recognized by Filipino leaders, whose troops were in actual control of the entire archipelago except the capital city of Manila. -
Galveston hurricane of 1900
Galveston hurricane of 1900, also called Great Galveston hurricane, hurricane (tropical cyclone) of September 1900, one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history, claiming more than 5,000 lives. As the storm hit the island city of Galveston, Texas, it was a category 4 hurricane, the second-strongest designation on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. -
United States presidential election of 1900
American presidential election held on November 6, 1900, in which Republican incumbent Pres. William McKinley defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan, winning 292 electoral votes to Bryan’s 155.
