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Alaska is purchased from Russia
The United States made an agreement with Russia to purchase Alaska.The United States bought Alaska for $7.2 million. The Treaty with Russia was signed by Secretary of State William Seward and Russian Minister to the Untied StatesEdouard de Stoeckl. -
Completion of Transcontinental Railroad
The railroad was 1776 miles long. It was constructed between 1863 and 1869 by three private companies. It has also been known as the Pacific Railroad, and the Overland Route. -
John D. Rockefeller starts Standard Oil
Rockefeller and his associates incorporated the Standard Oil Company. His success came fast as Standard began buying out its competitors. Standard’s moves were so quick and sweeping that it controlled the majority of refineries in the Cleveland area within two years. -
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
Alexander Graham Bell, independently, designed devices that could transmit speech. The first device that was made used a harmonic telegraph. The transmitter and receiver of which consisted of a set of metallic reeds tuned into different frequency's. -
Thomas Edison brings light to the world with the light bulb
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Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
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Chinese Exclusion Act
Was the first significant law to restrict immigration to the United States and banned the immigration of unskilled laborers from China. President Arthur at first vetoed the act believing that it violated the terms of the 1868 Burlingame Treaty with China. The Burlingame Treaty was revised and the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed on May 6, 1882. -
Sherman Anti-trust Act
Passed by Congress and signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison on 2 July 1890. Economic theory supporting antitrust laws in the United States. The public is best served by free competition in trade and industry. -
Ellis Island opens
When Ellis Island opened, a great change was taking place in U.S. immigration. Among this new generation were Jews escaping from political and economic oppression. Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island were tagged with information from their ship’s registry. -
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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The Philippine Insurrection comes to an end
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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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Pres. McKinley is assassinated and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt becomes President
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Tenement Act
The Tenement Act was the nation's first comprehensive housing reform law. It established the first standards for minimum room size, ventilation, and sanitation. It required fire escapes and at least one toilet for every twenty inhabitants. -
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”
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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
Works for the elimination of racial discrimination. Fair housing and employment through political lobbying, social change, legal action and education. Wanted to improve the quality of life for African Americans. -
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
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The United States enters WWI
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Women got the right to vote.
The suffrage movement began as a fight for broader rights. The suffrage movement did not initially represent women of color. Anti-suffragists were mostly educated, married, wealthy and white women. -
Ratification of the 18th Amendment - Prohibition
