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Invention of the Telegraph
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Homestead Act
Granted 160 acres of free land to anyone, as long as they would live and farm on it for 5 years. They also had to pay a filing fee. -
End of civil war
The civil war ends, and slaves are freed. However, now they have no jobs, and most people will not offer any. The reconstruction begins. Lincoln was assasinated, and the KU Klux Klan came into existence. America goes through rough times. -
Transcontinental Railroad
Two tracks met at Promontory point, Utah. Governor Leland Stanford drove the last spike in, made of gold. People could now travel from the east to west coast much more easily. -
Boss Tweed jailed
William M. "Boss" Tweed was the leader of a political machine of New York city, and was convicted and jailed after Thomas Nast exposed him in a cartoon. -
Telephone is invented
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Battle of Little Bighorn
In a treaty to bring peace, the Sioux recieved the black hills of the Dakotas. No white man was to trespass on these lands. However, the land was rumored to contain gold, so settlers swarmed the area. The sioux and cheyenne warriors gathered at the little bighorn river, and were attacked by General Custer and about 250 soldiers. Custer and his men lost their lives. -
End of Reconstruction
Reconstruction ends, and african americans are more equal in society. The south began to "heal" from the war, but soon began a segregated society. -
Chinese exclusion Act
This law prohibited chinese immigrants from the U.S. for ten years, but congress extended it twice, in 1892, and 1902. -
Pendleton Act passed
Established the Civil Service Commision, which set up competitive examinations for federal jobs, in which applicants had to demonstrate their abilities. -
Dawes Act
Broke up reservations and Indian Tribes. Each Indian would be given a small plot of land, and their children must go to white-run schools. Nearly destroyed their culture. -
Battle of wounded knee
An indian prophet named Wovoka told the Sioux to do a ritual called the Ghost dance, which was supposed to restore the Sioux's culture. Officials wanted to ban the dance, and decided to arrest Sitting Bull. During a fight, Sitting Bull was shot. The Sioux went to a creek called wounded knee. The army went to collect their weapons. A fight broke out, and more than 200 Sioux and 25 Soldiers were killed. -
Sherman Anti-Trust Act is passed
This law was made to "protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraint and monopoly." Monopolies became illegal, and Standard Oil was forced to break up. -
Time zones are created
Time was used to measure the length of a railroad trip instead of miles. The Time zones were created for this reason, and also because the railroads stretched from coast to coast. -
Model T invented
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Ellis Island opens
Ellis Island opens, and becomes a very busy center for immigrants to enter the country.