CHRONOLOGY

1869

  • First transcontinental railroad completed.

  • National Woman Suffrage Association founded.

    • 1870

  • John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil Company.

    • 1872

  • Andrew Carnegie builds world’s largest steel plant.

    • 1873

  • Wall Street panic leads to major economic depression.

    • 1874

  • Woman’s Christian Temperance Union founded.

    • 1876

  • Alexander Graham Bell demonstrates telephone.

    • 1877

  • Rutherford B. Hayes sworn in as president.

  • Munn v. Illinois decided.

    • 1880

  • James A. Garfield elected president.

    • 1881

  • Garfield assassinated; Vice President Chester A. Arthur becomes president.

    • 1882

  • John D. Rockefeller develops the trust.

    • 1883

  • Pendleton Civil Service Act enacted.

    • 1884

  • Grover Cleveland elected president.

    • 1886

  • Wabash v. Illinois decided.

    • 1887

  • Interstate Commerce Act enacted.

    • 1888

  • Benjamin Harrison elected president.

    • 1890

  • McKinley tariff passes.

  • General Federation of Women’s Clubs founded.

  • Sherman Antitrust Act enacted.

    • 1892

  • Ida B. Wells launches antilynching campaign.

    • 1893

  • Wall Street panic touches off national depression.

    • 1895

  • J. P. Morgan bails out U.S. Treasury.

    • 1901

  • U.S. Steel incorporated and capitalized at $1.4 billion.