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Alaska is purchased from Russia
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Completion of Transcontinental Railroad
The opening of the Transcontinental Railroad provided a much easier trip to the West Coast, drastically reducing the time it took to travel from 6 months to 1 week, and also cutting the cost by more than 75%. This made the transport of goods easier as well, opening a larger market of goods and helping the economy. -
John D. Rockefeller starts Standard Oil
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Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
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Thomas Edison brings light to the world with the light bulb (first public demonstration)
Thomas Edison inventing the light bulb represented a large shift in society. Much like when fire was discovered, many new possibilities arose, and the ease that it provided was clearly significant. No more candles! -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion act was put into place to prohibit all immigration of Chinese laborers. Chinese immigrants were coming over for the gold rush and other promises in America, and when resources starting running out the hatred for the immigrants grew, which led to the passing of this act. -
Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
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Sherman Anti-trust Act
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Ellis Island opens
Ellis Island was a passage for millions of immigrants coming to the United States. This island served as the place where immigrants would be inspected before being allowed to enter the US. -
Carnegie Steel’s Homestead Strike
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Plessy v Ferguson
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The U.S. declares war on Spain
When the battleship Maine was sunk, the US declared war on Spain. Spain lost a lot of territory, and the war was ended by the Treaty of Paris. -
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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Tenement Act
The Tenement Act was made to change the living conditions in New York. This act stated that all rooms must be made with an outward facing window, proper ventilation, an open courtyard, indoor toilets, and fire safeguards. -
Pres. McKinley is assassinated and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt becomes President
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The Philippine Insurrection comes to an end
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The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe doctrine
The Monroe doctrine stated that everything in the Western hemisphere was the United States' business, and that Europe needed to stay out of it. The Roosevelt Corollary added that if they did get involved, there would be military repercussions. -
Upton Sinclair releases “The Jungle”
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Pure Food & Drug Act and The Meat Inspection Act are passed
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Peak year of immigration through Ellis Island
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Henry Ford produces his first Model T (car)
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Creation of the NAACP
Fighting for equal rights has always been a major part of the American experience, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was one of the major turning points in that fight because it allowed people to get involved. -
The Triangle Shirtwaste Fire
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The Assassination on Austria’s archduke Franz Ferdinand starts WWI
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The Panama Canal is completed and opened for traffic
The Panama Canal was instrumental in making travel faster, and also became a large source of money for the US, which caused tensions in the future. -
The United States enters WWI
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Ratification of the 18th Amendment - Prohibition
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Women got the right to vote.
After protesting and fighting for equal rights to vote for quite some time, American women were given what they deserved. The 19th amendment was passed which allowed voting no matter their sex.
