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The End of the Civil War
The end of the Civil War marked the beginning of The Gilded Age. -
The Grange is formed
The Grange was an association of farmers who joined together for social, economic, and political support. This was in response to deflation, international competition, debt, droughts, floods, taxes, freight rates, etc. -
The Knights of Labor is Formed
Knights of Labor was formed as a labor union. It was more inclusive than other unions, and represented both skilled and unskilled workers as well as women and African-Americans. It focused on social/economic reform like an 8 hour workday and safety/health codes. -
Rockefeller Incorporates Standard Oil
Rockefeller pioneered vertical and horizontal integration with Standard Oil. He built the company into powerful monopoly in control of all aspects of production from the raw material to the final product. -
Crédit Mobilier Scandal
Union Pacific Railroad members formed the Crédit Mobilier construction company to secretly make their own profit, and distributed shares of its stock to Republican Congressmen and even the Vice President. The scandal was exposed to the public, who viewed this as proof of the government's corruption during the Gilded Age. -
Carnegie Imitates Bessemer Steel
Carnegie copies the Bessemer process for making steel and monopolizes the industry. He pioneers vertical integration, meaning he controls all aspects of his business, from raw materials to final product. -
Compromise of 1877
Disputed returns from Louisiana, South Carolina, Oregon, and Florida left the outcome of the 1876 election undecided— in the compromise, Congress declared that Rutherford B. Hayes would be President in exchange for removing federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction. -
Railroad Strike of 1877
As a result of the Panic of 1873, railroad companies cut employees' wages by 10% and set off work stoppages, strikes, and violence ending in the deaths of over 100 people.The failure of the strike showed the weaknesses with the labor movement and the rising conflict between the working class and the richer classes above it. -
Thomas Edison Invents Electric Light
Edison created the electric lightbulb in his workshop, along with other important inventions: the mimeograph, dictaphone, moving picture. Electric light allowed for longer work hours since work could continue past nighttime, thereby speeding up production in factories and boosting the Industrial Revolution. -
Federal Restrictions on Immigration, Including the Chinese Exclusion Act
Nativism against non-WASP grew, and even labor unions disliked immigrants for taking lower wages and being hard to unionize. Under these laws, criminals, convicts, the insane, the sick, anarchists, foreign workers under contract, and even the Chinese were limited from coming to America. -
Haymarket Riot
A rally in Chicago's Haymarket Square in support of striking workers from McCormick Harvester Works ends when a bomb is thrown, killing six policemen and wounding more than 60 others. Eight anarchists are convicted of the crime, but all supporters of unions and the eight-hour day are found guilty by association in the public eye. It unfairly ruins the reputation of the Knights of Labor. -
Populist (People's) Party
Formed from the Farmers' Alliance came a political party called the People's Party by and for poor, indebted farmers.The Populist Party supported free coinage of silver (to cause inflation and lower debts), called for government ownership of railroads/telegraphs, a graduated income tax, directly elected US senators, and shorter workdays. -
Panic of 1893
Overbuilding, overspending, labor & agricultural problems, free-silver debates, & US loans led to the depression of 1893.Thousands of businesses collapsed, many were left poor and unemployed, & the Treasury's gold reserve fell to an all-time low, prompting Cleveland to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act & go to JP Morgan/Wall Street for a huge gold loan. -
Pullman Strike
The Depression of 1893 hit the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago hard, causing the company to drop wages & anger their workers into a strike. President Cleveland dispatched federal troops to crush the Pullman Strike. -
Spanish-American War
With the Industrial Revolution, American businesses began looking internationally for new markets and the government in turn became more interested in imperialism and acquiring colonies. Cuba & the Philipinnes rebelling against Spain gave the US an opportunity to expand so they fought against Spain. In the Treaty of Paris, the Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rica, & Guam were ceded to the US.
