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Tuskegee Institute
Founded by Booker t. Washington in 1881, under an Alabama charter, Tuskegee's goal was to train teachers in Alabama. Their program gave students bit vocational and academic training in the field of education. -
Elizabeth Cady Stanton-Seneca Falls
Often called the first US' Women's rights convention, Seneca Falls was in a chapel located in Seneca Falls, New York on July 19-20, 1848. Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted "The Declaration of Sentiments" in which she called for women's suffrage and equality. This event had a large impact on the Women's suffrage movement and can be attributed to starting it. -
Public Highschool Funded
A strong education system was not only a reasonable request of a rapidly growing nation but a necessity, a right of the people. The increase in higher education from land grants and private universities also called for more educated individuals in American society. -
The Grange
An organization of farmers created in order to support other farmers when it came to several different matters including crop prices and transportation fees. The Grange lobbied for fair rates and financial support of farmers. -
Transcontinental Railroad
This railroad connected the US from East to West. This massive railway project allowed for faster shipping of goods and mail. This cut the prices of these services and allowed for fast transportation of people across the country. -
Cornelius Vanderbilt and the Railroad Industry
Vanderbilt, who was heavily invested in acquiring railroad companies, created the first railroad from New York City to Chicago., amongst other railroads spread throughout the entire US. With his massive expansion of rail systems in the US, came many job opportunities, namely in the form of employment during the Panic of 1873 -
Temperance Movement
The basis for the 18th Amendment, this movement sought to outlaw the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages. -
Munn v. Illinois
This case gave states the ability to regulate particular trades within their borders. Along with this, the act enforces states to pass laws regulating interstate trade. This act is seen as a turning point for the growing power of the federal government. -
Railroad Strike of 1877
Beginning on July 17, 1877, in West Virginia, Railway workers went on strike in retaliation of wage cuts. This first strike quickly lead to many more, ending in a nationwide strike stopping commerce and eventually cause the government to intervene with 60,000 militiamen. -
Solid South
Following the end of the Civil War, the southern states became more and more Democratic, eventually leading to all prior confederate states identifying as a Democratic state. -
Social Darwinism
The application of Darwin's theory of natural selection to human society in order to justify corporate expansion. used by large company owners such as Rockefeller who used "survival of the fittest" in order to justify buying out smaller companies. -
Joseph Pulitzer
A Hungarian war hero, Pulitizer created the Post-Dispatch paper in New York City. In order to expose corruption in the city, he showed facts. His company served as a role model to other newspapers as to what good journalistic practices are. -
Salvation Army
Founded by William Booth, a Methodist minister, the Salvation Army was an Evangelical ministry in the East End of London, England. Booth established many more missions in order to feed and house the impoverished, -
Booker T. Washington founded Tuskegee Normal
An African American leader in the US, Booker T. Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute in 1881 in order to train African Americans in the topics of Agriculture and Industry. His goal was to advance the economic status of his race. -
W.E.B. Dubois
Dubois was a civil rights activist who fought against racism. He was a contributor to modern sociology -
Chinese Exclusion Act
This Act was the first major law that restricted immigration into the US. This was primarily directed towards Chinese immigrants and its effects led to other laws being passed furthering the restriction of immigration of other races. -
Civil Rights Cases of 1883
A series of Supreme Court cases that question the legitimacy of the 1875 Civil Rights Act that had prior guaranteed that people of color would have access to public spaces. The Supreme Court ruled in these cases that the prior acts were unconstitutional. This allowed privately owned establishments to decide for themselves where or not they would allow the access of colored people into their establishments. -
Pendleton Act
Know as the "Magna Cata" of civil reform, the Pendelton Act established the civil service commission. It was created to appoint federal jobs bases on exams rather than favors. -
Laissez-faire
Laissez-faire literally meaning "leave alone" was a belief in a truly free market where the economy and state were wholly separated. This belief included the governing body having no say in commerce and promoted unrestricted private companies and corporations. during it's use in the US, people believed that it would maximize the economic growth of the country in turn benefiting both factory owners and workers. -
Mark Twain
An American Novelist, Twain wrote pieces including "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. His novels illustrated life in America and showed issues prevalent in its society including racism, class levels, corporate corruption, and a lack of proper education. -
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was founded by a group of Unionized workers. They started a large labor movement in the US, fighting for tangible economic gain. -
Haymarket Riot
Beginning on May 1st, 1886 the Knights of Labor went out on strike demanding an 8-hour workday. On the 4th of May, a bomb exploded that killed one officer and wounded several others. The results of this incident led to the Knights gaining a negative connotation, being labeled as a mob and anarchists, this stoped the influence that the group had, eventually they lost their power and disbanded. -
Tammany Hall
A New York Society with a strong influence in New York elections. They swayed elections in their favor with a blend of boss-ist actions and patronage. -
Wabash v. Illinois
This case dealt with a law that punished railway companies that changed rates depending on the route taken. The Supreme court ruled that the power to regulate interstate commerce rates was the jurisdiction of the federal government, not that of the state. -
Dawes Act
This act allowed for the federal government to separate tribes into plots of land and stated that only Natives who agreed to these specified bounds would be allowed to have American citizenship. The goal of this act was to assimilate natives into modern American society and end their native culture and traditions. The end result of this act was millions of acres of land being sold off and native culture being further disolved. -
Interstate Commerse Act
Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act on February 4, 1887. This act gave Congress the authority to regulate commerce between states, along with the power to regulate trade with foreign countries. -
Gospel of Wealth
In an attempt to recognize Social Darwinism while still believing in the teachings of the Church, many found it hard to believe the facts expressed in Darwinism. From these believes some interpreted that God must have played a role in deciding who would acquire the necessary skills to prosper. This belief gave the idea that the wealthy should share their virtues with the world and give back to their community prompting men like Carnegie and Rockafella to become philanthropists. -
Hull House
A settlement house that welcomed the poor and immigrants. The Hull House thought immigrants about American life and assisted them in acquiring employment. They helped many individuals in Chicago and fought for social reform, leading them to be a model for the rest of the country to follow. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
Passed in 1890, this act allowed for the federal government to dissolve any trust pertaining to interstate trade. This was in an attempt to end monopolies like the Standard Oil Company. -
Populist Party Founded
Founded by left-winged farmers and agricultural workers, this party represented the agrarian sector of the US. In 1812 they nominated James B. Weaver to represent them in the presidential election, ultimately gaining 8.5% of the votes, this was a win for them, seeing as it was a sizeable sum for a third party. The widespread appeal of the Populist party got the Democratic party to adopt many of their beliefs, eventually have the party Populist with the Democratic Party. -
Andrew Carnegie and the Steel Industry
By buying companies throughout the chain of steel usage, companies that acquire raw material to companies that use steel to manufacture parts, Carnegie built the largest steel company in the world. Eventually writing "Gospel of Wealth" he laid out his thoughts on philanthropy and desire to give back to the community. -
Ellis Island Opens
Initially started as an immigration center on January 1, 1892, it eventually closed down in 1954. In its over 50 year lifespan, millions upon millions of immigrants passed through the island this step in their immigration played a large part in their idea of the new world and their new home. -
Ghost Dance
A spiritual movement among Western Native Americans, it started around 1969 with a series of visions from an elder Native American In these visions, Wodziwob saw a renewed Earth. -
Homestead Strike
This event happened at the Carnegie Steel Company's Homestead Steel Works in 1892. This included a group of union steelworkers who went on strike following the manager's recent attempt to disband the union. In days of the strike starting gunfire had broken out between the steelworkers and men that the manager had hired to end the strike. Eventually, the union workers lost and their labor union disbanded. This incident led Carnegie Steel to lengthen work hours and cut wages. -
John Muir
A naturalist and conservationist, Muir fought for land and forest conservation. He founded the Sierra Club whose primary objective was to protect the environment. He created several national parks including Yosemite and Sequoia National Park. -
Knights of Labor
in 1869, Uriah Stephens created the Knights of Labor as a secret society. They were a national organization that fought for limitations on immigration, the end of convict labor, restrictions on child labor, and the end of government ownership of telephones, telegraphs, and railroads. Though their efforts were not always successful, they did manage to help many through their struggles, evident by their 750,000 members at a point in time. -
Labor Unions begin Forming
In the latter half of the 1800s, labor unions such as the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor started to gain traction and grow. Their protest were for the most part peaceful stickers and boycotts, though when they did turn violent, they often went out of control. In the end, these unions did help improve wages, working conditions, working wages, and end child labor. -
Pullman Strike
Initially started outside of the Pullman Sleeping Car Manufacture Company outside of Chicago in response to wage cuts, this strike in a month grew to a nationwide railroad strike stoping both railways and the national post office. -
JP Morgan
Morgan was a banker and the owner of J.P. Morgan, one of the largest banking houses in the entire world. His bank participated in many influential mergers between companies and acted as a mediator between different corporations. His bank's prowess especially shined following the 1893 Treasury Crisis. -
William Jennings Bryan-Cross of Gold Speech
Delivered prior to the democratic convention of 1869 Bryan gave his opinion on the matters of the gold standard and the neglect of farmers by the federal government. He claimed that the government turned toward large cities and large enterprises. His rhetoric resonated with the democratic party and took the wind out of the sails of the Populist Party. His speech was the start of his influence in promoting a new progressive era of ideas and reforms. -
Hawaii Annexed
Initially blocked by Hawaiian petitioners in 1897, the treaty that sought to annex Hawaii once again came into the spotlight with the beginning of the Spanish American War. This is due to the US wanting to have a Pacific Naval base to aid in their war efforts. The treaty was eventually passed on July 12th, 1998 officially annexing the Hawaiian island to the US. This Treaty extended the US' territory further into the Pacific Ocean, This gave them even more power in the world. -
William Hearst
Owner of the New York Journal, Hearst exaggerated stories in order to draw the attention of the audience, this technique would later be called yellow journalism. In the 1980s he and Pulitzer got in trouble for creating false claims regarding the Spanish-American War. -
John Rockefeller
The founder of Standard Oil Company, by buying out his enemies, Rockefeller had a monopoly over the oil market. With his influence, he was able to negotiate prices of goods and services like railway use, a large part of his company's system. His actions led to the passing of antitrust laws in order to protect smaller companies from predatory companies like the Standard Oil Company. -
Gilded Age
Following the Civil War, factories that were used in aiding the war were converted to factories to help the Industrial Revolution. This period of time saw the US' market grow exponentially, primarily due to the success of the powerful steam engine and steam-powered railways. This era not only saw individual successes but also saw the success of the US itself. In this period of time, the US went from a scrappy underdog fighting fruitlessly amongst itself to an international power. -
Eugene Debs- Founding IWW
Finding organizations like the AFL to be too conservative, Debs founded the IWW, an industrial labor union. Though Deb's racial beliefs eventually led to the IWW's demise. It's decentralized organization caused many problems, tough from it did spur many other labor unions. -
Ida B. Wells founded NAACP
Ida B. Wells was a journalist and a women's rights activist. Her writings swayed the public's opinion about lynching. Her work laid the foundation for the NAACP's future campaigns about lynching -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
146 workers died in this tragic fire. The fire was caused by several things, horrible working conditions, unsafe machine layout, locked doors, and insufficient emergency response. The outcry at the unreasonable event cause mass attention to the matters of labor laws and brought reform to the matter, especially when it came to women and immigrant workers. -
Second Industrial revolution
Occurring in the latter half of the 1800s to 1914, the Second Industrial Revolution brought new technological advancements and saw improvements to the factory system.
