The 19th century timeline document summarizes important events and developments between 1850-1910. Some key points include: - The Bessemer Process was developed in 1850 to remove impurities from molten iron and produce steel more efficiently. - Andrew Carnegie became a successful industrialist after starting as a telegraph operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1850s. - The Homestead Act of 1862 offered free land to citizens, attracting over 600,000 families between 1862-1900. - The Transcontinental Railroad, completed in 1869, connected the western and eastern halves of the United States with a 1,776 mile railroad line. - Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, revolutionizing

1. 19 Century
th
Timeline
By Abby Bishop

2. 1850 1854 1857
Bessemer Process Andrew Carnegie
Fredrick Law
Developed by the At age 16, Carnegie had Olmsted
British manufacturers. worked his way up to
Landscape
It developed injecting become private secretary
architects that was
air into molten iron to to the local superintendent
in charge of forming
remove the carbon and of the Pennsylvania
urban parks. He
other impurities. It Railroad. After relaying
helped draw up a
became widely used to messages that unsnarled a
plan for
produce steel. tangle of freight and
“Greenward”, which
passenger trains, his boss
in now Central Park
gave him the opportunity to
in NYC.
buy stock. He became one
of the first industrial moguls
to make his own fortune.
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3. 1859 1862 1862
Social Darwinism Homestead Act Exodusters
This theory came from Congress passed this A group of people that
Charles Darwin's book act. It offered 160 took advantage of the
called “On the Origin of acres of land free to Homestead Act. They
Species”. It was published any citizen or were African
in 1859. This book extended citizen who Americans who moved
explained the process of was head of the from the post –
natural selection, it enabled household. From reconstruction South to
the best to survive. This 1862 – 1900, up to Kansas.
book was used by many 600,000 families took
other professors. advantage of the
governments offer. http://tinyurl.com/27oume5
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4. 1862 1864 1864
Credit Mobilier
Transcontinental Sand Creek Massacre
Railroad A French banking company.
General S.R Curtis (U.S Army One of the most important
A 1,776 miles railroad Commander in the West) sent a financial institutions in the
line built across the telegram to militia colonel John world during the 19th century.
western half of the U.S. Chivington saying that he It credited vast debts and
doesn’t want peace until the gave out loans. During the
Indians suffer more. Therefore, Great Depression a lot of the
Chivington and troops traveled loans were audited.
to the Sand Creek Reserve. On
November 29th, over 150 people
were killed.
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5. 1866 1867 1867
Greenbacks George Westinghouse
Buffalo Soldiers
A minor political party American entrepreneur and
Member of the U.S
that believed in more engineer. He developed the
Tenth Calvary
money supply, also they railway air brake. Also he was
Regiment of the
believed in both gold and a pioneer of the electrical
U.S. Formed on
silver. Another definition industry. He believed in an
September 21st at
for greenbacks would be alternating current while
Fort Leavenworth,
a slang term given to opposing Edison's direct
Kansas.
U.S. currency. current.
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6. 1867 1867 1868
Oliver Hudson Tammany Hall
Kelley Grange
It was the most powerful
Started the An association of Democratic political
patrons of farmers whose machine. It was led by a
Husbandry. This purpose was to man named Boss Tweed.
was an provide a social outlet He led a group of corrupt
organization for and an educational politicians in defrauding the
farmers, it forum for isolated town. A total of 10 million
became known farm families dollars went into their
as the grange. It pockets.
was for isolated
farm families. http://tinyurl.com/c6m352l
http://tinyurl.com/clfgepx

7. 1869 1870 1870
John D. Rockefeller
Gilded Age Poll Tax
American industrialist and
•Period following the civil philosophist. He was founder An annual tax that had
war . This term was coined of the Standard oil company. to be paid before
by Mark Twain and Charles It dominated over all of the oil qualifying to vote. The
Dudley Warner in a book companies of that time. His tax mainly prohibited
called “The Gilded Age”, a money had a major impact on blacks and white
tale of today. The book education and scientific sharecroppers from
satirized what they research. As the importance voting.
believed to be an era of of kerosene and oil grew so
serious social problems did his wealth. He soon
hidden by a thin layer of became worth1 billion dollars
gold. and was the richest man in http://tinyurl.com/7ugoufo
America. http://tinyurl.com/bmogcpp

8. 1870 1874 1876
Jacob Riis
George A, Custer Great Plains
•Danish American
social reformer, •He announced the black •The grassland extending
journalist, and social hills had gold, this started through the west – central
documentary a huge gold rush, which portion of the U.S. . The
photographer. The put a lot of uprising federal government
impoverished people pressure on the Native designated this entire area
were the biggest Americans living in the as an enormous
subjects of his area. He led a battle reservation for the Native
photography and against the Sioux in 1876 American people
prolific writing. He also called the Battle of Little
discovered the flash. Bighorn
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9. 1876 1876 1876
Telephone Sitting Bull Little Bighorn
•Created by •One of the major leaders •Also called “Custer's Last Stand”,
Alexander G. Bell of the Native American or “Battle of Greasy Grass”. It was
and Thomas people called the Sioux. between the Cheyenne, Lakota,
Watson. It The government tried to Arapaho Indians, and Custer's 7th
opened up tons of force him to sign the treaty cavalry. The Battle was June 25th
new jobs for of fort Laramie. Though and 26th. Custer's men were
women in office some of the other chiefs outflanked and all 700 men and
settings. Also the did sitting bull held his Custer himself were killed.
way of ground. He never signed
communicating the treaty.
would be forever http://tinyurl.com/nxq8f3
changed. http://tinyurl.com/bt9ulmd

10. 1876 1877 1877
Nez Perce
Chief Joseph
Thomas Alva Edison Original people of Idaho, Oregon, and
Chief of the Nez
He became a pioneer Washington State. The tribe refused to
Perce (a Native
on the new industrial leave the Wallowa Valley and travel to a
American tribe of
frontier when he reserved space. They fled to Canada
the Wallowa
established the worlds 1100 miles away. They were trapped 40
Valley in
first research laboratory miles from Canada, and after a 5 day
Northwest
in Menio Park, New fight, the remaining 431 Nez Perce were
Oregon.
Jersey. beaten. They surrendered on October 5 th
at Bears Paw.
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11. 1880 1881 1883
Joseph Pulitzer
Thomas Alva Booker T. Washington
Edison A Hungarian
Prominent African American
immigrant who had
Edison patented educator. He believed that
bought the New York
a system for racism would end once blacks
World. His paper
electricity acquired useful labor skills and
emphasized “sin,
distribution on could prove their economic
sex, and sensation.
January 27th. value to society. He headed the
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial
Institute.
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12. 1884 1885 1866
Samuel Gompers
Mugwumps Mark Twain
President of the American
Republican political (Samuel Longhorn Federation of Labor (AFL), which
activists who bolted Clemens). Novelist and focused on negotiation between
from the U.S humorist that inspired a representatives of labor &
Republican party by host of other young management, to reach written
supporting authors. Wrote The agreements on wages, hours and
Democratic Adventures of working conditions. He led the Cigar
candidate Grover Huckleberry Finn which Makers International Union to join
Cleveland in the was published in the U.S with other craft unions.
presidential election. in February of 1885.
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13. 1886 1887 1887
Dawes Act Interstate Commerce
Haymarket Affair Commission
An aftermath of bombing that Law passed by
Congress that was A regulatory agency created by
took place at a labor the Interstate Commerce Act of
demonstration on May 4th at aimed to “Americanize”
the Native Americans. 1887. Its purpose was to
Haymarket Square in regulate railroads to ensure fair
Chicago. It began as a rally The act broke up the
reservations land to rates, to eliminate rate
in support of workers striking discrimination, and regulate
for 8 hour days. An unknown individual Native
Americans. other aspects of common
person threw a dynamite carriers.
bomb at police. 7 officers
and 4 civilians were killed.
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14. 1888 1890 1890
George Eastman Wounded Knee Sherman Antitrust Act
Developed a series of On December 28th, the 7th This act made it illegal
more convenient Calvary rounded up 350 Sioux to form a trust that
alternatives to the heavy and took them to a camp at interfered with free trade
glass plates previously Wounded Knee Creek in between states or with
used to develop pictures. South Dakota. The next day, other countries.
He introduced his Kodak the soldiers demanded that Eventually, the
camera, which was the the Native Americans give up government stopped
first roll-film camera all of their weapons. A shot trying to enforce the act.
was fired, and within minutes,
300 Native Americans were
killed. http://tinyurl.com/bbd96t4
http://tinyurl.com/cd84aae

15. 1892 1892 1894
Omaha Platform Ida B. Wells Eugene v. Debs
Party program Born into slavery, then Attempted to form an
adopted at the moved to Memphis to industrial Union including
formative become a teacher in the skilled and unskilled
convention of the 1880s. She later became laborers on the American
Populist Party held a newspaper editor. On Railway Union. The union
in Omaha, March 9th, 3 of her friends won a strike for higher
Nebraska. were lynched. Therefore, wages. The ARU never
she wrote about it in recovered after the failure
Crusade for Justice. of the strike.
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16. 1894 1895 1895
W.E.B Dubois
Pullman Strike William Randolph
He became the first African
Hearst
4,000 employees of the American man to receive a
Pullman Palace Car Purchased the New doctorate from Harvard. He later
Company began a York Morning Journal. founded the Niagara movement,
strike in response to He already owned the which insisted that blacks
recent reductions in San Francisco should seek a liberal arts
wages. The Pullman Examiner, but he education in order to have well
workers joined the sought to outdo educated African American
ARU, and Eugene Pulitzer by filling the leaders.
Debs became the journal with
leader of the strike. exaggerated tales.
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17. 1896 1896 1896
William Jennings Bryan Plessey vs.
“Cross of Gold Ferguson
Nebraska Congressman Speech”
that won the Democratic The Supreme Court
nomination. Although he Delivered by William ruled that the
did win the southern Jennings Bryan at the separation of races in
vote, he lost the election. Democratic National public
He supported popular Convention in Chicago accommodations was
democracy, and was an on July 9th. It supported legal and did not
enemy of the gold Bimetallism. This speech violate the 14th
standard. His nickname helped him become Amendment.
was “The Great Democratic candidate
Commoner”. nominee.
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18. 1899 1901 1903
Orville & Willbur Wright
Vanderville William Mckinley Bicycle manufacturing brothers
Theater that was Ohioan that served as from Dayton, Ohio. They
characterized by the 25th president, He experimented with new engines
performances of song, served from March 4th, powerful enough to keep
dance, juggling, and 1897, until his “heavier-than-air” crafts afloat.
slipstick comedy. Edwin assassination in The first successful flight
Milton Royle hailed the September 1901. He occurred at Kitty Hawk, North
theater as an “American was a Republican, and Carolina on December 17th.
invention that offered a supporter of the gold
something to attract standard.
everyone. http://tinyurl.com/d573kup
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19. 1910 1910
Ragtime
Angel Island
Ragtime was a blend of African
When arriving on the west coast, American spirituals and European
Asian immigrants gained admission musical forms. It originated in the
at the island. From 1910-1940, about 1800s in the saloons of the South.
50,000 Chinese immigrants entered Scott Joplin’s compositions made
the U.S through the island. him famous in the first decade of the
Immigrants endured harsh 1900s. Ragtime led to jazz, rhythm &
questioning and long detention in blues, and rock ‘n’ roll.
filthy buildings in order to find out if
they would be admitted or rejected.
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