This summarizes a document about US history from around 1865-1895. During this period: - Cities grew rapidly due to industrialization and heavy immigration to urban areas in the Midwest and Northeast. - The Homestead Act of 1862 offered free land to citizens and intended citizens, attracting over 600,000 families to migrate west. - Technological advances like the Bessemer Process increased steel production and the Transcontinental Railroad unified the west. - Political machines, monopolies, and corruption grew, exemplified by Tammany Hall, while farmers organized groups like the Grange for representation.

1. U.S. History: ~1865-1895
By Skye Satz
This time exemplifies a period of urbanization where cities grew
rapidly as a result of technological advances as well as heavy
immigration generally in the Midwest and North-East.

2. Key:
Bolded words are color coded as
follows
● Reform leaders
● political and military leaders
● acts and movements
● social and political groups
● inventors
● inventions
● Fights and disputes
● Other vocabulary

3. In the Homestead Act,
Congress offered up 160
acres of land for free to
any citizen or intended
citizen who was the head
of a house. 600,000 plus
families as well as miners,
cattlemen, private
speculators, and Railroad
agents migrated to the
West to take advantage of
the opportunity
The area known as The
Great Plains is
historically known as
Native American
territory. In 1834, The
Great Plains was one
giant reservation of non-
savage tribes.
Originally, the Plains
encompassed most of
the Western US, but by
1862, it was a smaller
strip in the mid-west.
The Bessemer
Process is the
technique of injecting air
into molten iron to
remove carbon and
other impurities. As iron
is a key component of
steel, this allowed for
better flexibility and rust
resistance. This process
cause a 90% rise in
steel production
1862
After news of the
Homestead Act, people
began to move west.
Settlers of the land were
known as Homesteaders
and were comprised of
600,000+ families and
other groups. Exodusters
were African American
settlers taking advantage
of opportunities in
Kansas.
186218501834

4. Built from 1863 to 1869,
the Transcontinental
Railroad was a 1,907
mile, contiguous railway
from Sacramento, CA to
Omaha, NE. Built by 3
major corporations, this
system unified the west
and made transport
quicker, cheaper, and
more flexible.
1863
The Credit Mobilier
was a group of
stockholders in the
Union Pacific RR who
laid down new track at 2
and 3 times the actual
cost and pocketed the
extra then donated
shares to congress.
Their scam was figured
out but they were not
punished, however the
reputation of the
Republican Party was
1864
The Sand Creek
Massacre occurred
when a US protected
tribe moved to the Sand
Creek Reserve in
Colorado for the winter.
For whatever reason,
US commander Curtis
decided they should
suffer and sent Colonel
John Chivington into the
reserve where he killed
150 women and
1864
This time period brought
about the presence of
political machines
which are organized
groups under a boss
who control the political
party in a city. They
provided service to
voters and businesses
to gain financial and
political support.
1865
2 techniques used by
political machines were
graft and kickback. A graft
is the general illegal use of
political standing and
influence to achieve
personal gain. Kickback is
the illegal payment for
service to improve political
machines and individuals.
Both were manipulation
techniques.

5. In 1867, a man named
Oliver Kelley started a
group called the patrons
of husbandry, more
commonly known as The
Grange. This group’s
purpose was to prove a
social outlet for farm
families but evolved into
education on
organization, cooperative
formation, and
sponsorship of state
legislation to regulate
railroads.
1867
The National Farmer’s Alliance
included groups who
sympathized with farmers and
sent them lecturers to educate
people on government loans and
control of banks. The largest
alliance under the NFA was the
Southern Alliance. Another
similar group was the Colored
Farmer’s Alliance which had
250,000 members. While
cooperation between the varying
Alliances was discussed,
segregation was accepted.
1870
The Tweed Ring was a group of
corrupt politicians, under William
Tweed, whose goal it was to
defraud the city. Tammany Hall
was the Democratic Machine in
New York under Tweed. All of
their corrupt actions were soon
noticed and, while punishment
was minimal, corruption was now
seen as a national issue.
1870
The period of history from around 1870-1900 was known as the Gilded Age. This time
is characterized by greed and a glittering gold exterior while internally, the gap
between the few rich and many poor grew exponentially.

6. The introduction of the
Mail Order Catalog was
huge. This allowed retail
merchandise to reach
small towns. By 1886,
Sears had a large scale
catalog out and by 1910,
more than 10 million
americans bought
products through these
catalogs.
1872
One of the first industrial
moguls was Andrew
Carnegie. He created
his own fortune fairly
young in the steel
industry. He entered in
‘73, but by 1899,
Carnegie dominated
production and
eventually went on the
monopolize the industry.
1873
The Battle of Little Big Horn is
one of the most known Native
American battles. George
Armstrong Custer was a US
Colonel who ignored the Laramie
Treaty and went into a reservation
looking for gold. Chief Sitting Bull
was the Sioux leader and had a
vision and called for troops to
assemble. The Sioux tribe attacked
Causter’s army at Little Big Horn
River and Custer’s army was
defeated.
1876
One of the new
industrial pioneers was
Thomas Alva Edison.
He created the first
research laboratory in
New Jersey and went
on to invent the lightbulb
in 1880 then created an
electrical power
distribution system.
1876

7. The idea of Patronage has been
an issue throughout American
History. Formerly known as the
spoils system under Jackson. It is
the giving of government jobs to
people who helped get the
candidate elected. At this time, the
people decided they had had
enough and pressed for the
elimination of the system to help
citizens have access to jobs in the
civil service: government and
administrative jobs. The people
believed these jobs should be
1876
Alexander Graham
Bell was an inventor.
Alongside Thomas
Watson, Bell created the
Telephone which
allowed for more open
communication and
actually created new
jobs for women.
1876
Segregation is the separation of
blacks and whites enforced by
law. Jim Crow Laws were the
basis of segregation. These laws
separated blacks and whites in
both public and private spaces.
For example: Hospitals, schools,
transportation, bathrooms, parks,
carnivals, and more. The saying
was “Separate but equal” is legal
but even so, black ammenities
were far worse than those of the
whites.
1877

8. The Nez Perce was a
group of Native American
tribes, one of which was led
by Chief Joseph. In 1877,
the Nez Perce war began.
With Chief Joseph as one
of the Natives military
leaders, 1000-1500
tribesmen came together
and went up against the US
army. The Native
Americans were generally
retreating and 1,170 miles
later, they surrendered
1877
The Dawes Act was a
congressional act to attempt to
“Americanize” Native
americans.In the process, the
government broke up
reservations and sold the land
to american families. The
money from the land was
supposed to go to the tribes,
but naturally, it didn’t
1877
John D Rockefeller was an
american industrialist who found
new ways to monopolize the oil
industry. A common process
was merging companies but
JDR decided to join other
companies in trust agreements:
owners gave stock to a group
who controlled all of the
participating companies as one
corporation then profits were
divied to the small companies.
This allowed Rockefeller to
control 90% of the oil industry
1880
George Pullman was a
Railway manufacturer
who built a giant
production factory and a
town with luxury living for
all of his workers. While
everything was really
nice, Pullman was
extremely strict and when
he lowered wages without
changing rent costs, his
workers broke into a
violent strike known as
the Pullman Strike..
1880
Though they were in existence beforehand, monopolies
really came to rise in the late 1800’s. A monopoly was
when one corporation controlled the wages, profits, and
output of an entire industry.

9. Ragtime was a blend of
African American
spirituals and European
musical forms which
originated in saloons of
the south. This style led to
jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, and
rhythm and blues. This
style spread around the
world creating dances,
new fashions, and
providing a new identity to
the US.
1880
Booker T Washington was a
prominent African American
educator who believed that
racism would end when
blacks possessed useful labor
skills and proved their
economic value to society. He
founded the Tuskegee
Normal and Industrial Institute
to help reach this goal.
1881
Joseph Pulitzer was a
Hungarian immigrant who
bought the New York World
Newspaper in 1883 and
pioneered modern
innovations. In 1895, William
Randolph Hearst bought the
NY Morning Journal and
competed with Pulitzer for
paper dominance. with all the
news coverage and some
exaggeration, both men’s
newspapers soared and
reached record sales and
production.
1883
Samuel Gompers led the
Cigar Makers’ Union to join
with other craft unions and
brought together many skilled
people from multiple trades.
He found the American
Federation of Labor which
focused on collective
bargaining and successfully
striking to gain headway.
1886

10. Starting in New York,
settlement houses were
community centers in
slum neighborhoods that
provided assistance to
people in the area,
particularly immigrants.
The houses were mostly
run by women and used
for educational, cultural,
and medicinal practices.
1886
Jacob Riis was a
Danish social reformer
and “muckraking”
journalist. His focus was
on exposing the
conditions in these
settlement houses as
well as general
conditions in urban
zones.
1887
In 1887, congress passed the
Interstate Commerce Act which
said that the government had
control over railroad activities. In
order to enforce this policy, 5
men were sent in. This group
was known as the Interstate
Commerce Commission. They
faced a lot of difficulty and had
trouple actually regulating the
rates. It wasn’t until 1906 that
they truly gained power.
1887
George Eastman
discovered new techniques
for developing film that
were cheaper and more
flexible than the large glass
plates being used. Though
photographers didn’t buy
into it, it’s introduction to
the public was a
tremendous success and
kodak cameras became
available.
1888

11. Ida B Wells was a slave
born, African American
teacher who later became
the editor of a paper
which focused on racial
justice.
1889
Jane Addams was one
of the most influential
members of the
Reformers Movement,
especially the social
gospel movement,
focused on salvation
through service to the
poor. She went on to
found the Hull House in
1889 in Chicago.
1889
The Sherman Anti-
trust Act was an act
focused on getting rid of
trusts if said trust
interfered with free trade
between states or other
countries. Though
simple in concept, the
loose definition of trust
made the act nearly
impossible to enforce.
1890
To keep blacks from
voting, barriers were put
in place. Literacy tests
were put in place
because many African
Americans were illiterate
and this kept them from
voting. A Poll Tax was
also placed that made it
necessary to pay in
order to have the right to
vote. The cost was often
too high for the black
population.
1890

12. The Battle of Wounded
Knee was the last Indian
war. A starving Sioux tribe
was forced to a camp in
Wounded Knee South
Dakota. There they were
relieved of their weapons.
A shot was fired and then
every tribe member was
killed and their bodies left
to freeze.
Dec,1890
Ghost Dance was a ritual that
was said to restore Native
American land and way of life
to its previous level. This ritual
spread among 25,000 Sioux in
a North Dakota Reservation.
Scared american military
leaders arrested Sitting Bull
which led to his assassination
in Dec, 1890 at which time, the
remaining Sioux members fled.
Dec,1890
The Vaudeville theater was
a popular theater which
houses a wide array of
performers. It was seen as a
place for everyone with such
a variety of talent that
everyone could find
something to enjoy. By the
turn of the century,
Vaudeville presented shows
with african americans in
prominent roles.
1890
The populist party was known
as the People’s Party. Found by
farmers, the platform was as
follows:
Omaha Platform-
● increased money supply
● graduated income tax
● federal loan program
● 8 hour work day
● immigration restrictions
This system, was actually fairly
popular and received 10% of
votes and eventually turned into
the Democratic Party.
1892

13. Ellis Island was the main
immigration station located in
the New York Harbor. 20% of
immigrants came through and
2% were denied. The process
included a physical exam, an
interview, and document
checks. In all, after 5 hours you
were either in or out. With 17
million immigrants, The US
turned into a “Melting Pot” in
which many cultures and races
blended together by
abandoning their language and
customs.
1892
W. E. B. Dubois was the
first ever African American
to receive his doctorate
from Harvard. In 1905, he
started the Nebraska
movement which pushed
blacks to seek liberal arts
education so communities
could have well educated
leaders.
1895
Plessy vs Ferguson
was a Supreme Court
case in which the
constitutionality of
segregation was
brought into question.
The verdict was
“Separate but equal”.
Separation in public did
not break the 24th
amendment. This
decision led to 60 more
years of legalized racial
segregation
1896
The Grandfather Clause was
a voting restriction placed to
help whites. Due to the literacy
test and poll tax, some whites
could still not vote. This clause
said that if you have an
ancestor who voted prior to Jan
1, 1867, then that man can
vote. This date was chosen
because that was the year
blacks were banned from
voting. 1898

14. Debt peonage was a
system in which laborers
were bound into slavery in
order to work off a debt to
the employer. This mainly
occurred with Mexican
immigrants and was
ended in 1911.
1902
The Wright Brothers,
Orville and Wilbur
were bicycle makers in
North Carolina who first
achieved flight. Then
created a powerful
enough engine to hold a
“heavier-than-air” craft
aloft. In Kitty Hawk, NC,
Dec 17, 1903, their
machine finally flew.
1903
Angel Island was the
Ellis Island of the West
Coast. Used for Asian
immigrants, conditions
here were terrible.
Buildings were filthy and
attendants were rude.
From 1910-1940,
50,000 chinese
immigrants came
through and the process
took far more than Ellis’
5 hours.
1910
Socialism is an economic and political system based on government
control of business, property, and equal distribution of wealth. In its
extremest form we see communism. This system began far previous to
this time but began to boom in the early 1900’s.

15. Thank
You!