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Period: to
Timeline Project - Turn of the Century
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Alaska is purchased from Russia
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Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
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John D. Rockefeller started Standard Oil
Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870. He ran it until 1897, and remained its largest shareholder. Rockefeller's wealth soared as kerosene and gasoline grew in importance, and he became the richest person in the country, controlling 90% of all oil in the United States at his peak.Oil was used throughout the country as a light source until the introduction of electricity, and as a fuel after the invention of the automobile. -
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
On March 7, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell successfully received a patent for the telephone and secured the rights to the discovery. Days later, he made the first ever telephone call to his partner, Thomas Watson. The telephone revolutionized communication by allowing conversations to take place between individuals at different locations. -
Thomas Edison brings light to the world with the light bulb
The story of the light bulb begins long before Edison patented the first commercially successful bulb in 1879. He was neither the first nor the only person trying to invent an incandescent light bulb.Edison is often credited with the invention because his version was able to outstrip the earlier versions because of a combination of three factors: an effective material, a higher vacuum than others and a high resistance that made distribution from a centralized source economically viable. -
Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
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Chinese Exclusion Act
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Sherman Antitrust Act
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Ellis Island Opens
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Carnegie Steel’s Homestead Strike
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Plessy v Ferguson
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The U.S. declares war on Spain
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Hawaii is annexed
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Rudyard Kipling published “The White Man’s Burden” in The New York Sun
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The start of the Boxer Rebellion
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The Philippine Insurrection comes to an end
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Tenement Act
New York State Progressive Era law which outlawed the construction of the dumbbell-shaped style tenement housing and set minimum size requirements for tenement housing. It mandated the installation of lighting, better ventilation, and indoor bathrooms. The act set a standard for building new tenements buildings leading to less deaths and better living conditions. -
Pres. McKinley is assassinated and Progressive and Theodore Roosevelt becomes President
With the assassination of President William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the 26th and youngest President in the Nation’s history (1901-1909). He brought new excitement and power to the office, vigorously leading Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy. He took the view that the President as a “steward of the people” should take whatever action necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law. -
The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe doctrine declares the U.S. right to intervene in the Wesern Hem
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Upton Sinclair releases “The Jungle”
The novel became famous chiefly for its expose of the meatpacking plants. Sinclair sent a copy of his book to President Theodore Roosevelt. Not long after the publication, Congress passed and Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and the Meat Inspection Act of the same year. Sinclair felt that his anti-capitalist message was never truly heard, but complained that readers ignored the plight of the immigrant family and reacted with aversion to the thought of tainted meat. -
Peak year of immigration through Ellis Island
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Henry Ford produced his first Model T (car)
The Ford Model T is an automobile produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927.It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relatively low price was partly the result of Ford's efficient fabrication, including assembly line production instead of individual hand crafting. -
Creation of the NAACP
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The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers – 123 women and girls and 23 men[2] – who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Italian and Jewish immigrant women and girls aged 14 to 23. -
The Assassination on Austria’s archduke Franz Ferdinand
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The Panama Canal is completed and opened for traffic
The Panama Canal is an artificial 51 mi waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade. Canal locks are at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake created to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal, 85 ft above sea level, and then lower the ships at the other end. -
The United States enters WWI
On April 6, 1917, the U.S. joined its allies--Britain, France, and Russia--to fight in World War I. Under the command of Major General John J. Pershing, more than 2 million U.S. soldiers fought on battlefields in France.Many Americans were not in favor of the U.S. entering the war and wanted to remain neutral. However, the U.S. eventually did enter the war. -
Ratification of the 18th Amendment - Prohibition
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Women got the right to vote.
