The Gilded Age 1869-1896

By TLawrence95

  • Knights of Labor Founded

    begun by Uriah Stephens as a secret Society, the Knights admitted anyone fighting for fair wages, including women and African-Americans. The Knights were blamed for the Haymarket Square Riot and bombing that left both deaths and injuries behind.
  • Period: to

    The Gilded Age

  • Transcontinental Railroad Completed

    The first transportation system to connect the East and West Coasts.

  • The Era of Good Stealings

    Jim Fisk and Jay Gould bought large amounts of gold in order to force the U.S. Treasury to sell gold from the reserves to fight the high cost of gold.

  • Air Brake Invented

    George Westinghouse invented the air brake in 1869 which revolutionized railway travel. The air brake made rail travel much safer by improving train stopping time and ability.

  • Standard Oil Company Founded

    Oil Tycoon John D. Rockefeller established the first branch of Standard Oil Company in Ohio in 1870. (DAY AND MONTH NOT ACCURATE)

  • 15th Amendment Passed

    Prohibits the denial of suffrage based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

  • Drexel, Morgan & Co. Founded

    Banking Tycoon J. Pierpont Morgan partnered with banker Anthony J. Drexel to form Drexel, Morgan & Co. The company was renamed J.P. Morgan & Co in 1895 when it supplied the U.S Government with $62 million to restore the treasury.

  • Credit Mobilier Scandal

    Union Pacific Railroad insiders formed the Credit Mibilier construction company in order to hire themselves at inflated prices.Government officials paid to stay quiet. (DAY AND MONTH NOT ACCURATE)

  • Winslow Homer paints "Snap the Whip"

    Famous painting by "American Renaissance" artist Winslow Homer. (DAY AND MONTH NOT ACCURATE)

  • Amnesty Act

    Repealed the part of the 14th amendment that forbade former Confederates from holding public office.

  • Liberal Republican Revolt of 1872

    Liberal Republican Party backed Horace Greeley who lost to Ulysses S. Grant in the Election of 1872. Liberal Republicans got congress to pass the Amnesty Act of 1872.

  • Election of 1872

    Ulysses S. Grant won re-election.

  • The Forgettable Presidents

    The men elected President between 1872 and 1884 are often called the Forgettable Presidents due to the lack of any noteworthy accomplishments or scandals. This includes Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, and Chester Arthur.

  • Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner coin the term "Gilded Age"

    Published in "Gilded Age: A Tale of Today". (DAY AND MONTH NOT ACCURATE)

  • Panic of 1873

    Overspeculation of land led to too many people taking out loans that they could not pay back. (DAY AND MONTH NOT ACCURATE)

  • Thomas Eakins Paints "The Gross Clinic"

    Another "American Renaissance" artist. (DAY AND MONTH NOT ACCURATE)

  • Resumption Act

    Required the government to withdraw greenbacks and redeem paper currency in gold at face value.

  • Civil Rights Act of 1875

    Ended Reconstruction: removed military from South, appointed a Democrat to Cabinet, and appointed federal money to railroad construction in Mississippi.

  • Election of 1876

    Democrat Samuel J. Tilden beat Republican Rutherford B. Hayes.

  • Compromise of 1877

    Settled Presidential election of 1876. Rutherford B. Hayes became President and federal troops left the South.

  • Martinsburg Strike

    A strike of railroad workers in Pennsylvania was put down with force by federal troops. This strike sparked nationwide strikes known as the Great Upheaval.

  • Bland-Allison Act

    Required federal government to purchase and coin more silver which increased inflation.

  • Redemption Day

    Greenbacks could be redeemed for gold at face value. (DAY AND MONTH NOT ACCURATE)

  • Election of 1880

    Republican James A. Garfield won the election, but was shot soon after by stalwart Charles A. Guiteau, leaving Vice President Chester A. Arthur to assume the Presidency.

  • "Sociology" Essay Published

    Social Darwinist William Graham Sumner wrote his essay "Sociology" to focus on the "survival of the fittest" concept, and the relationship between sociology and biology.

  • Tiffany Re-does White House

    President Chester Arthur refused to move into the White House until it was redecorated by glassmaker and interior designer Louis Comfort Tiffany. (DAY AND MONTH NOT ACCURATE)

  • Chinese Exclusion Act

    Banned Chinese immigration to United States.

  • Pendleton Act

    Created a Civil Servic Comission stating that federal employees could not be required to contribute to campaign funds or be fired for political reasons.

  • Mark Twain Publishes "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

    Born Samuel Clemens, Mark Twain published much of his work during the Gilded Age. (DAY AND MONTH NOT ACCURATE)

  • Election of 1884

    Republican James G. Blaine lost to Democrat Grover Cleveland.

  • Tiffany Glass Company Founded

    Glassmaker and interior designer Louis Comfort Tiffany founded Tiffany Glass Company to make a name for himself.

  • American Federation of Labor Founded

    Largest union grouping ever in America, founded with hopes of working with the Knights of Labor to provide fair wages for Americans. (DAY NOT ACCURATE)

  • Haymarket Riot

    During a peaceful strike in Haymarket Square Chicago, an unknown individual threw a stick of dynamite at police officers attempting to break up the strike. At least 7 officers and 4 civilians were killed or wounded.

  • Interstate Commerce Act

    Estasblished to regulate the railroad industry by requiring that all railroad rates be "reasonable and just" but did not give the government the power to break up the monopolies.

  • Election of 1888

    Democrat Grover Cleveland lost thr re-election to Republican Benjamin Harrison.

  • Sherman Silver Purchase Act

    U.S. Treasury bought 4.5 million ounces of silver to pay those who mined it. Doubled amount of Silver that could be purchased under the Bland-Allison Law of 1878.

  • McKinley Tariff

    raised productive tariff levels by 50%.

  • Carnegie Hall Opened

    In order to give back to his community, steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie founded institutions like Carnegie Hall and Carnegie-Mellon University with the millions he made from the steel industry. (DAY NOT ACCURATE)

  • Carnegie Steel Company Founded

    Steel Tycoon, Andrew Carnegie began the Carnegie Steel Company in 1892 with the help of Henry Clay Frick. By using the process of vertical integration, Carnegie bought both railroads and steel mines to create a monopoly on the versatile metal. (DAY AND MONTH NOT ACCURATE)

  • Homestead Steel Strike

    Strike at Carnegie Steel COmpany. 7 dead, one of the most violent strikes in American history.

  • Election of 1892

    Grover Cleveland won a second term beating both the Republican and Populist party candidates.

  • Interior of Women's Building designed by Candace Wheeler

    Interior designer Candace Wheeler designed the Women's Building at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, IL. (DAY AND MONTH NOT ACCURATE).

  • Panic of 1893

    Financial panic that included banks closing, businesses and manufacturers closing, and declines in the Stock Market. Finally Allieviated in November, 1893. (DAY NOT ACCURATE)

  • Opening of Chicago World's Fair

    Held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus landing in the New World.

  • American Railway Union Founded

    Socialist Eugene V. Debs helped found the ARU in 1893 which was later responsible for the Pullman Strike, the largest strike in American History.

  • Pullman Strike

    After the Pullman Company fired 5000 workers in response to the workers' refusal to accept a pay cut, Socialist leader Eugene V. Debs and the American Railway Union organized the Pullman Strike, the largest strike in American History.

  • Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act

    Restricted U.S. sugar imports which led to an economic downturn in Cuba. Also an income tax.

  • Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Co.

    Supreme Court ruled that income taxes imposed by Income Tax Act of 1894 were direct taxes and were unconstitutional.

  • Stephen Crane Published "The Red Badge of Courage"

    Another "American Renaissance" writer who wrote about the horrors of the Civil War.

  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Legalized segregation as long as the facilities were "separate but equal".

  • Election of 1896

    Republican William McKinley defeated Democrat William Jennengs Bryan.

  • Works Cited

    "The American Pageant 12e Chapter 23 Politics in the Gilded Age, 1869-1896". Quizlet. 2013. Web. 27 May 2013. "Chapter 23 - Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age, 1869-1896". CourseNotes. 2013. Web. 27 May 2013. U.S. History. 2008. Web. 27 May 2013. Photos retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.