By: Breona Tate

After the Civil War and the Reconstruction period, there was a period called the Gilded Age. A lot of events, fights and new Acts took place during this time. This timeline is a representation of all of the events that occurred all across the U.S. The good, the bad, and even the ugly. Enjoy !

1850

Bessemer Process- developed by Henry Bessemer and William Kelley, involved injecting air into molten iron to get rid of all impurities.

1857

Fredrick Law Olmsted- spearheaded the movement for planned urban parks. He also helped draw up the plan for Central Park in New York City.

1859

Social Darwinism grew out of Charles Darwin’s theory of biological evolution.

1862

Homestead Act- this act offered 160 acres of land free to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of the household . Up to 600,000 families took advantage of this offer.

Sweat Shops- any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous.

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1864

Sand Creek Massacre- Chivington and his troops attacked the Cheyenne and the Arapaho. They killed over 150 people, mostly women and children.

1866

Buffalo Soldier- An African-American cavalry soldier, the name was given by the Native American tribes they fought.

1867

Oliver Kelley, started the Patrons of Husbandry, also known as Grange. Which purpose was to provide a social and educational outlet for isolated farm families.

1868

Boss Tweed was head of Tammany Hall, New York City’s powerful Democratic Machine.

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1869

George Westinghouse invented the railway air brake.

John D. Rockefeller- An American industrialist and Philanthropist. Founder of the Standard Oil Company.

1870

Vanderbilt Family- One of the wealthiest families in U.S. history. Started off with the shipping and railroad empires, then expanded into other areas of industrial and philanthropy.

Tweed Ring- a group that Boss Tweed led of corrupt politicians, in defrauding the city.

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1870

Jacob Riis- Became and advocate for the abused and impoverished in New York City. He produced many photos of New York, which he is most famous for.

1872

Mail-Order Catalogs became popular. It was a Catalog of general merchandise for a company.

1874

George Armstrong Custer reported that the Black Hills had gold, and a gold rush began. He also led the 7th cavalry for the U.S. army.

National Farmer’s Alliance began.

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Thomas Alva Edison established the worlds first research laboratory in New Jersey. There he perfected the incandescent light bulb and he invented an entire system for producing and distributing power.

1876

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, which opened the way for a worldwide communication network.

Jim-Crow Laws took affect, which mandated racial segregation in all public facilities in the Southern States

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1876

Sitting Bull- leader of the Hunkpapa Sioux tribe

Battle of Little Big Horn, took place between the Lakota, Cheyenne, and the Arapaho tribes against the U.S 7th Cavalry. Most prominent war of the Great Sioux War.

1877

Beginning of the Gilded Age

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1877

Chief Joseph, leader of the Wallowa band. Led his band in the Nez Pearce War

Nez Perce- Native American people who lived in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. They had an epic flight to freedom in 1877.

1879

Dumbbell Tenements were footprint shape tenements built in New York after the Tenement House Act of 1879.

Poll tax- A tax that had to paid before qualifying to vote. Aimed mostly at African Americans.

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Wild Bill Hickok- Scout and spy during the Civil War, he was very violent, and known for getting shot during a poker game while holding a pair of aces and a pair of eights.

1880

Settlement Houses were community centers in slum neighborhood that provided assistance to people in that area, especially immigrants.

Ragtime music, and the Vaudeville theatre was very popular during the 1880’s. Ragtime led to Jazz, Blues, and Rock n’ Roll.

Urbanization- growth of cities, mostly in the northeast and Midwest regions.

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1880

Ida B. Wells , was a African-American Journalist who wrote a lot about Racial Justice. She was an early leader of the Civil Rights Movement.

Booker T. Washington was a prominent African-American educator, who headed the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute.

George Pullman designed and manufactured the Pullman Sleep Car.

1881

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1883

Joseph Pulitzer- a Hungarian immigrant who bought the New York World, and pioneered innovations like, comics, women’s news, sports, and the large Sunday edition.

1885

Mark Twain was a popular novelist and humorist, he wrote the “Adventures of Huckleberry Fin”, and the “Adventures of Tom Sawyer”.

Bimetallism- a monetary system where the government would give citizens either gold or silver in exchange for paper currency or checks.

1884

Mugwumps- people who went from the Republican Party by supporting democratic candidate Glover Cleveland.

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1886

Colored Farmer’s Alliance- same thing as the National Farmer’s Alliance, but consisted of African Americans.

1887

William Randolph Hearst- Built the largest newspaper chain..

The Dawes Act was passed by congress to “ Americanize” Native Americans.

Haymarket Affair – a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration in Chicago. A few people died.

Interstate Commerce Commission- regulates railroads, trucking, ensures fair rates, and regulates other common carriers.

Samuel Gompers led the Cigar Maker’s International Union to join with other craft unions.

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1888

George Eastman introduced the first Kodak camera. He also developed a more convenient alternatives to heavy glass plates previously used in photography.

Ghost Dance- 25,000 Sioux participated , Native Americans thought that it would drive the white people and their way of life would be restored.

1890

Wounded Knee -Custer’s regiment encamped 350 Sioux, and were demanded to give up all weapons, and shots were fired. 300 Natives died, and were left to freeze.

Sherman Antitrust Act made it illegal to form a trust that interfered with free trade between states or with other countries.

Eugene V. Debbs- attempted to form the American Railway Union (ARU)

Trust- a relationship where by property is held by one party for he benefit of another.

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1892

Omaha Platform- party program adopted at the formative convention of the populist party.

Ellis Island- the gateway for millions of immigrants, in the upper New York Bay.

1891

Collective Bargaining- process of negotiation between employers and employees aimed at reaching agreements of working conditions.

1890

Graft- the illegal use of political influence for personal gain.

Kickback- illegal payments for peoples services on the political machines.

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1896

Plessey Vs. Ferguson- Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public accommodations was legal and didn't violate the 14th amendment.

William Mckinley- Republican Candidate for the election.

“Cross of Gold’” Speech- given at the democratic convention by William Jennings Bryan.

William Jennings Bryan- democratic candidate in the election, editor of the Omaha World- Herald.

1895

W.E.B Dubois- the first African-American to receive a doctorate from Harvard.

1894

Pullman Strike- manufacture workers protested because of low wages.

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1899

Andrew Carnegie- one of the first industrial moguls to make his own fortune. The Carnegie Steele Company manufactured more steel than all of the factories in Britain.

1900

Jane Addams- founder of the Hull House, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace.

End of the Gilded Age.

Political Machine- offered services to voters and businesses in exchange for political or financial help.

Patronage – the giving of government jobs to people who helped get a candidate elected.

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1900

Debt Peonage- a system that bound laborers into slavery in order to work of a debt to the employer.

The Wright Brothers invented the first successful airplane .

1910

Angel Island- immigration and inspection facility in California, used mostly by Chinese immigrants.

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