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Missouri Compromise of 1820
Missouri would be a slave state and all terrirtory above 36 degrees 30 N would be free -
National Trades Union
The first national labor union was founded, it was opened to workers from all trades; only lasted a few years. -
Samuel Morse
perfected the telegraph technology or the process of sending messages over wire. -
Free Soil Party
Northern opponents of slavery formed the free soil party which wanted to prevent the expansion of slavery into the western territories. -
Communist Manifesto
German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels expanded on the ideas of socialism in this treatise. It denounced capitalism and predicted that workers would overturn it. -
Compromise of 1850
California came in as a free state.
The rest of new territory decided by popular vote in the territory; undid the Missouri Compromise. -
safety elevator
Elisha Otis developed a safety elevator that would not fall if the lifting rope broke. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe published her book Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852 which put a human face on slavry for readers who have not witnessed slavery firsthand. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Congress again tried to settle the issue of slavery in the West. This act dvided the Nebraska territory into Kansas and Nebraska. -
American Institute of Architecture
Institute was established to professionalize the practice . Its members encouraged specific education and official licensing in order to become an architect. -
Department Store- Macy
Rowland H. Macy opened what he called a department store in New York. It became the largest single store in America. By the 1870s, many big cities had department stores: Jordan Marsh in Boston, Marshall Field in Chicago, and Wanamaker's in Philadelphia. -
Origin of Species
Biolgist Charles Darwin published this book arguing that animals evolved by a process of "natural selection" and that only the fittest survived to reproduce. -
Oil Well
Edwin Drake drilled what beame the world's first oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania. -
Harpers Furry, Viginia
Raid lasted for two days; October 16-18. John lost with two of his men killed and the other two captured alive. Men are created equally. -
Election of 1860
Lincoln wins 60% of electoral votes but not a single electoral vote from the south. This was the end of national political parties. -
Union Collapses
South Carolina lesislature summoned state convention in Charleston. Seceeded the Union because of a president "whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery." Six other states secceeded from the Union in the south. -
Fort Sumter
President Buchanan tried to send troops and supplies to the fort, but the unarmed supply ship sailed away when Confederate guns fired on it. -
Confederacy is formed
Seceeding states established Confederat states of America. The Confederate Constitution resembled the US Constitution. It guaranteed the protection of slavery. States had the right to secede and stressed the independence of the states. -
Lincoln takes office
Lincoln was sworn in as President. In his inaugural address, he took a firm but conciliaory tone toward the South. -
Bleeding 'Kansas
John Brown retaliates by leading a group of men; murders pro-slavery men. "Mini civil war"; Kansas entered the Union as a free state. -
Effects on daily life
Congress passes draft law able bodied from 24-45, you could be drafted for the war. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln ends slavery as "official war measure". Only applied to states under rebellion. Did not outlaw slavery, did not give free slaves citizenship, did not compensate owners, freed slaves joined the Union army. -
North faces problems
The most severe rioting took place in New York City when whte workers attacked free African Americans as well as wealthy New Yorkers who were able to pay a fee to avoid military service. -
Lincoln's assassination
Lincoln was assassinated and Vice President Andrew Johnson became President. -
War ends
Sherman destroyed all resources to sustain an army. Lee surrenders. -
Ragged Dick/ Street Life in New York
Horatio Alger published his first novel; it was wildly successful andtold the story of a poor boy who rose to wealth and fame by working hard. -
Airbrakes
George Westinghouse patented air brakes for trains while Granville Woods patented a telegraph system for trains in 1887. -
Knights of Labor
Uriah Smith Stephens founded a labor union called the Knights of Labor. Actively recruited African Americans. -
Chicago fire of 1871
A fire destroyed Chicago that killed 200 to 300 people. It also left more than 100,000 people homeless. -
Yellowstone Park
Yellowstone park was one of the first federal responses to concerns about the environment. -
The Gilded Age
Novelist Mark Twain satirized American life in his novel, the Gilded Age. He depicted American society as gilded, or having a rottemn core covered with gold paint. -
Election of 1876
Tileden vs. Rutherford B. Hayes; Tilden won popuar vote but Hayes will be the president., The troops needed to be pulled from the south. This ended reconstruction. -
Thomas Edison
He was supported by wealthy industrialists such aas J.P Morgan and established a research laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey -
Presidential election
This election signaled the end of reconstruction which was bringing the south back into the union. Democratic candidate Samuel Tilden won more popular votes than Republican candidate /ruherford B. Hayes. -
Immigration
Nearly 3/4 of a million immigrants arrived in America and the number climbed steadily reaching almost one millio per year by 1905. -
Theater
Entrepreneur Tony Pastor opened a theater in NY aiming to provide families with a "straight, clean variety show." -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Extreme hostility towards Chinese laborers led Congress to pass this law which prohibited immigration by Chinese laborers, limited the civil rights of Chinese immigrants already in the United States,and forbade the naturalization of Chinese residents. -
Fourth of July celebration
"Buffalo Bill" Cody threw a fourth of july celebration near his reanch in Nebraska. He offered prizes for competitions in riding, roping and shooting. -
First rollercoaster
Lamarcus Thompson opened the worl's first roller coaster. It was ten cents a ride, Thompson averaged more than $600 per day in income. -
Time zones
Delegates from 27 countries divided the globe into 24 time zones, one for each hour of the day. -
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
United States Senate created the ICC to oversee railroad operations. This was the first federal body ever set up to monitor American business operations. The ICC could only monitor railroads that crossed state lines, and it could not makere laws or control the railroads' transactions. -
Mass Transit
Richmond, Virginia introduced a revolutionary invention: streetcars powered by overhead electric cables; was the beginning of a transportation revolution -
Sherman Antitrust Act
Federal Government slowly became involved in regulating trusts. The Senate passed the Sherman Antitrust Act which outlawed any trust that operated "in restraint of trade or commerce among the several states." -
Ellis Island
Immigrants arrived in New York Harbor and were processed at Ellis Island where they had to be healthy and show that they had money,a skill, or a sponsor to provide for them. -
Homestead Strike
Economic depression led to cuts in steelworkers' wages. Carnegie's partner, Henry Frick brought in the Pinkertons for help. -
Subway system
Boston solved the problem by running the cars underground in the nation's first subway system. New York City followed in 1904.