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Period: to
Urbanization and Industrialization
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Great Railway Strike of 1877
Railroad workers in Martinsburg, West Virginia, initiated a strike to protest working conditions and wages. The strike spread and lasted more than a month, sparking violence and damaging the economy before being put down by federal troops -
Bland-Allison Act
In an attempt to counteract deflation, and over President Hayes’ veto, Congress passed the Bland-Allison Act, which authorized a limited amount of silver dollars. -
James Garfield elected president
James Garfield was elected the twentieth president of the United States over Democrat W.S. Hancock. -
Garfield is shot.
President James Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881, by Charles J. Guiteau. Garfield died two months later on September 19, 1881. -
Chester A. Arthur becomes president
Chester A. Arthur became president upon James Garfield’s death. -
Standard Oil Trust is organized
John D. Rockefeller created Standard Oil Trust by trading stockholders’ shares for trust certificates. The trust was designed to allow Rockefeller and other Standard Oil stockholders to get around state laws prohibiting one company from owning stock in another. -
Pendleton Act
The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act was passed. In an attempt to curb corruption and patronage, the act introduced federal exams and merit requirements for the hiring of civil servants. -
Grover Cleveland elected president
Grover Cleveland was elected the twenty-second president of the United States, making him the first Democrat elected to the office since Buchanan. -
Haymarket Square Riot
In Chicago’s Haymarket Square, anarchists gathered to protest the police killing of labor strikers. When police attempted to end the demonstration, a bomb was thrown and exploded in the crowd. In the ensuing clash, police fired into the crowd and eight policemen and several protestors were killed and many more injured. -
AFL founded
The American Federation of Labor was formed by trade unions to organize skilled workers, with Samuel Gompers as its first president. -
Interstate Commerce Act
Under pressure from small businesses and farmers, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act creating the Interstate Commerce Commission, the first federal regulatory commission. -
Benjamin Harrison elected president
In office, Grover Cleveland alienated business and labor interests by proposing a lower tariff and was defeated in the presidential race of 1888—winning the popular vote but losing the electoral vote to Republican Benjamin Harrison. -
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to prohibit trusts and prevent monopolies. -
Homestead Steel Strike
In response to falling steel prices, Henry C. Frick, the general manager of Andrew Carnegie’s steel plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania, cut wages and attempted to quash the workers’ Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers. The workers protested, and Frick closed the mills and refused to negotiate with the union, declaring that he would only deal with individual workers. The workers tried to appeal to Carnegie, who had defended unionization, but Carnegie made himself unavailable. -
Grover Cleveland elected president again
Grover Cleveland was elected the twenty-fourth president of the United States thanks in part to a third party movement—the Populists—that siphoned off some of the strength of the Republican Party, and by a vigorous campaign against the extravagance of the Republican “Billion Dollar Congress.” -
Pullman Steel Strike
Pullman Palace Car Company workers initiated a boycott of Pullman train cars through the American Railway Union. The boycott, observed by 150,000 members of the American Railway Union, stopped rail traffic in and out of Chicago and affected rail traffic across the country. The US Attorney General issued an injunction against the striking workers, and President Grover Cleveland sent federal forces to protect trains being run by non-union strikebreakers. Pro-union mobs destroyed trains. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled a Louisiana law segregating train cars was constitutional based on the doctrine of “separate but equal.” -
William McKinley elected president
In the presidential election of 1896, Republican William McKinley defeated populist Democrat William Jennings Bryan to win the executive office. -
Spanish-American War
After the United States defeated Spain, it set up a military government on Cuba and made the soldiers’ withdrawal contingent on the Cubans accepting the Platt Amendment, which gave the United States the right to intervene in Cuba to protect “life, property, and individual liberties.” The 144-day war also resulted in the United States taking control of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam -
Gold Standard Act
Congress passed the Gold Standard Act, making gold the sole monetary standard for US currency. -
William McKinley re-elected president
With Theodore Roosevelt as his running mate, William McKinley again beat out William Jennings Bryan to win re-election to the presidency.
