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Ulysses S. Grant inaugurated
Grant becomes 18th President of the United States -
Transcontinental railroad completed
The first transcontinental railroad is completed at Promontory Point, Utah, through the work of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific track crews. -
“Black Friday” financial panic
The “Black Friday” financial panic takes place in New York City. The panic results from the efforts of two railroad entrepreneurs, Jay Gould and James Fisk, Jr., to corner the gold market. -
Annexation of Santo Domingo
President Grant's military aide and private secretary Orville Babcock signs a treaty to annex Santo Domingo of the West Indies, and a second document to lease Samana Bay. -
Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins
Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins. It will be the longest suspension bridge in the world when completed thirteen years later. -
Grant vetoes the Private Relief Bill
Grant vetoes the Private Relief Bill and will continue to veto any additional relief bills during his two terms. -
Virginia readmitted
Virginia is readmitted to the Union after completing its reconstruction. -
United States Weather Bureau established
The United States Weather Bureau is established. Originally, the Bureau is part of the Signal Corps. -
Mississippi readmitted
Mississippi is readmitted to the Union. -
Texas readmitted
Texas is readmitted to the Union. -
Fifteenth Amendment
Black male suffrage becomes universal when the Fifteenth Amendment -- stipulating that no state shall deprive any citizen of the right to vote because of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude” -- is adopted with Grant's help and approval. -
Fenian Army of Vermont
Grant issues a proclamation against the attempts of the Fenian Brotherhood to damage Anglo-United States relations by attacking Canada. -
Voting rights and the KKK
Congress makes it a federal crime to deprive anyone of his civil or political rights by interfering with the right to vote. -
Creation of the Department of Justice
Congress passes an act creating a Department of Justice under the direction of an attorney general. -
Indian Appropriation Act
An Indian Appropriation Act is passed with an amendment ending tribal recognition and the treaty system. All Indians are made wards of the state. -
Ku Klux Klan Act
The third of the Enforcement Acts, the Ku Klux Klan Act, is passed to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment in the South.