U.S. History Timeline 1801-1900
|1801-1805||The United States engages in war with Tripoli in North Africa.||1801-1900||war||United States||N.A|
|1801||On February 11, a tie in the Electoral College throws the Presidential election into the U.S. House of Representatives where Thomas Jefferson (Virginia) defeats Aaron Burr (New York) on February 17 on the 36th ballot.||1801-1900||politics||United States||District of Columbia|
|1803||On February 23, the U.S. Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison establishes the precedent of judicial review of legislative action.||1801-1900||law||United States||District of Columbia|
|1803||On March 1, Ohio becomes the seventeenth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Ohio|
|1803||On April 30, the U.S. Congress approves the agreement that purchases Louisiana from France, nearly doubling the size of the nation.||1801-1900||territorial expansion||United States||Louisiana|
|1804||On January 1, Haiti becomes the second independent republic in the New World.||1801-1900||international affairs||Haiti||N.A.|
|1804||On February 23, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase is the first major officeholder to be impeached and removed from office.||1801-1900||politics||United States||District of Columbia|
|1804||On May 14, the Lewis and Clark Expedition begins in St. Louis. The explorers return to St. Louis on September 23, 1806.||1801-1900||territorial expansion||United States||N.A.|
|1805||On June 15, the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution, which reorders the presidential selection process, becomes law with its ratification by New Hampshire.||1801-1900||constitutional amendments||United States||N.A.|
|1806||Noah Webster publishes A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language in New Haven, Connecticut.||1801-1900||literature||United States||Connecticut|
|1807||On March 25, the British Parliament votes to end Great Britain's participation in the international slave trade.||1801-1900||international affairs||England||N.A.|
|1807||On August 7, Robert Fulton of New York develops the first steamboat.||1801-1900||transportation||United States||New York|
|1807||On September 1, Aaron Burr is acquitted of treason at his trial in Richmond, Virginia.||1801-1900||law||United States||Virginia|
|1808||On January 1, the United States terminates its participation in the international slave trade.||1801-1900||slavery||United States||N.A.|
|1808||On December 7, James Madison of Virginia is elected the fourth President of the United States.||1801-1900||politics||United States||Virginia|
|1810||The third U.S census reveals that the nation's population on August 6 is 7,239,881.||1801-1900||population||United States||N.A.|
|1810||On March 6, in Fletcher v. Peck the U.S. Supreme Court rules that it has the authority to declare state laws unconstitutional.||1801-1900||law||United States||District of Columbia|
|1811||The Battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana on November 7 makes General William Henry Harrison a national hero.||1801-1900||war||United States||Indiana|
|1811||On August 1, construction commences on the Cumberland Road linking Maryland to the Midwest. Construction stops at Vandalia, Illinois in 1838 when funding runs out.||1801-1900||transportation||United States||N.A.|
|1812||On April 30, Louisiana becomes the eighteenth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Louisiana|
|1812||On June 12, the United States declares war on Great Britain thus initiating the War of 1812.||1801-1900||war||United States||N.A.|
|1812-1813||American invasions of Canada fail.||1801-1900||war||United States||N.A.|
|1814||On August 24, British forces capture and burn Washington, D.C.||1801-1900||war||United States||District of Columbia|
|1814||The Treaty of Ghent is signed on December 24, ending the War of 1812.||1801-1900||war||N.A||N.A.|
|1815||General Andrew Jackson leads American forces which defeat the British at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8. The battle takes place after the war has officially ended.||1801-1900||war||United States||Louisiana|
On December 4, James Monroe of Virginia is elected the fifth President of the United States.
|1816||On December 11, Indiana becomes the nineteenth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Indiana|
|1816||The American Colonization Society is founded in Washington, D.C. on December 28. It will settle former slaves in the West African colony of Liberia which it establishes in 1822.||1801-1900||slavery||United States||District of Columbia|
Construction begins on the Erie Canal on July 4. Construction is complete on October 25, 1825.
|1801-1900||transportation||United States||New York|
|1817||On December 10, Mississippi becomes the twentieth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Mississippi|
|1818||On May 28, General Andrew Jackson invades Spanish-controlled Florida.||1801-1900||war||United States||Florida|
|1818||On December 3, Illinois becomes the twenty-first state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Illinois|
|1819||The Panic of 1819 initiates a major economic recession. Prosperity returns in 1824.||1801-1900||the economy||United States||N.A.|
|1819||Spain cedes Florida to the United States in the Adams-Onis Treaty signed in Washington, D.C. on February 22.||1801-1900||territorial expansion||United States||Florida|
|1819||On December 14, Alabama becomes the twenty-second state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Alabama|
|1820||The Missouri Compromise over Slavery is enacted by the U.S. Congress on March 3.||1801-1900||slavery||United States||District of Columbia|
|1820||On March 15, Maine becomes the twenty-third state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Maine|
|1820||The fourth U.S census reveals that on August 7 the nation's population is 9,638,453.||1801-1900||population||United States||N.A.|
|1821||Emma Willard establishes the Troy (New York) Female Seminary on May 9.||1801-1900||education||United States||New York|
|1821||On August 10, Missouri becomes the twenty-fourth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Missouri|
|1821||In December the first American settlers organized by Stephen Austin arrive in Texas, settling in what is now Brazoria County.||1801-1900||territorial expansion||United States||Texas|
|1822||Denmark Vesey organizes a slave rebellion conspiracy in Charleston, South Carolina which is to commence on Bastille Day, July 14.||1801-1900||slavery||United States||South Carolina|
|1823||The Monroe Doctrine is proclaimed by President James Monroe in Washington on December 2.||1801-1900||international affairs||United States||District of Columbia|
|1824||The Bureau of Indian Affairs is established in Washington, D.C. on March 11.||1801-1900||Native Americans||United States||District of Columbia|
|1825||In January the New Harmony commune is founded in Indiana by Scottish industrialist Robert Owen.||1801-1900||social reform||United States||Indiana|
|1825||Due to the absence of an electoral vote majority, the House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts as the sixth President of the United States on February 9.||1801-1900||politics||United States||District of Columbia|
|1826||The American Temperance Society is founded in Boston on February 13.||1801-1900||social reform||United States||Massachusetts|
On December 2, Andrew Jackson of Tennessee is elected the seventh President of the United States.
|1830||On April 6, Joseph Smith establishes the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church) in Upstate New York.||1801-1900||religion||United States||New York|
|1830||The Indian Removal Act, passed by Congress on May 26, sets up the Trail of Tears, the forced removal of over 70,000 Native Americans from Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Florida between 1830 and 1839 to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma).||1801-1900||Native Americans||United States||N.A.|
|1830||The fifth U.S census reveals that the nation's population on June 1 is 12,866,020.||1801-1900||population||United States||N.A.|
|1831-1832||French author Alexis de Tocqueville tours the United States and eventually writes Democracy in America.||1801-1900||literature||United States||N.A.|
On January 1, William Lloyd Garrison of Boston publishes the first issue of The Liberator in Boston, Massachusetts. It will soon become the leading anti-slavery newspaper in the U.S.
|1831||The Nat Turner Slave Rebellion takes place in Virginia on August 21-22.||1801-1900||slavery||United States||Virginia|
|1831-1832||The Virginia Assembly debates slavery and emancipation but resolves to keep the slave system.||1801-1900||slavery||United States||Virginia|
|1833||On August 1, Great Britain abolishes slavery throughout its empire.||1801-1900||international affairs||England||N.A.|
|1833||Oberlin College, which opens on September 2, becomes the first U.S. institution of higher education to admit women.||1801-1900||education||United States||Ohio|
|1834||On August 11, the first anti-Catholic riot takes place in Boston.||1801-1900||violence||United States||Massachusetts|
|1835||The Democratic Party holds its second national convention at the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Baltimore on May 20-22. The convention nominates Vice President Martin Van Buren of New York to be its presidential candidate the following year. This is the first time a presidential nominee is chosen at a general party convention.||1801-1900||politics||United States||Maryland|
|1836||The Battle of the Alamo takes place February 23 to March 6.||1801-1900||war||United States||Texas|
|1836||In the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, Texas wins independence from Mexico.||1801-1900||war||United States||Texas|
|1836||On May 26, the U.S. House of Representatives passes the "Gag Resolution" which prevents the discussion of anti-slavery petitions in Congress.||1801-1900||slavery||United States||District of Columbia|
|1836||On June 15, Arkansas becomes the twenty-fifth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Arkansas|
On December 7, Martin Van Buren of New York is elected the eighth President of the United States.
|1801-1900||politics||United States||New York|
|1837||On January 26, Michigan becomes the twenty-sixth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Michigan|
|1837||The Panic of 1837 initiates a five-year economic depression.||1801-1900||the economy||United States||N.A.|
|1837||John Deere develops the first commercially successful steel plow at his Grand Detour, Illinois factory.||1801-1900||agriculture||United States||Illinois|
|1837||On November 7, an anti-abolitionist mob kills abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy in Alton, Illinois.||1801-1900||slavery||United States||Illinois|
On March 31, President Martin Van Buren establishes by executive order the ten-hour day for federal employees.
|1801-1900||labor & unions||United States||District of Columbia|
|1840||The first national convention of the antislavery Liberty Party takes place in Arcade, New York on April 1.||1801-1900||politics||United States||New York|
|1840||The sixth census reveals that on June 1 the nation's population is 17,069,453.||1801-1900||population||United States||N.A.|
On December 2, William Henry Harrison of Indiana defeats incumbent President Martin Van Buren of New York for the Presidency. Harrison, the ninth President, becomes the first member of the Whig Party to be elected to the nation's highest office and the first president to die in office.
On April 6, John Tyler of Virginia becomes the first Vice President to become President following the death of President Harrison on April 4.
|1842||In March the Massachusetts Judicial Supreme Court declares labor unions legal in Commonwealth v. Hunt.||1801-1900||labor & unions||United States||Massachusetts|
|1843||In January, Dorothea Dix petitions the Massachusetts Assembly on behalf of the mentally ill.||1801-1900||social reform||United States||Massachusetts|
|1844||A series of anti-Catholic riots take place in Philadelphia between May 6 and July 7.||1801-1900||religion||United States||Pennsylvania|
|1844||U.S. diplomat Caleb Cushing establishes the Treaty of Wanghia, the first formal agreement between China and the United States, on May 3.||1801-1900||international affairs||China||N.A.|
|1844||On May 24, Samuel Morse opens the first commercial telegraph line in Washington, D.C.||1801-1900||communication||United States||District of Columbia|
Running on a platform that advocates "Manifest Destiny," meaning the expansion of the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific, James K. Polk of Tennessee wins the Presidential election on December 4, becoming the eleventh President of the United States.
|1845-1849||The potato famine in Ireland leads thousands of Irish emigrants to settle in the United States.||1801-1900||international affairs||Ireland||N.A.|
|1845-1849||Former slave Frederick Douglass (Massachusetts) publishes his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in Boston.||1801-1900||literature||United States||Massachusetts|
|1845||On March 3, Florida becomes the twenty-seventh state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Florida|
|1845||The United States annexes Texas on December 29 and on the same day Congress admits it to the Union as the twenty-eighth state.||1801-1900||territorial expansion||United States||Texas|
|1846||The Mexican War begins on April 25.||1801-1900||war||United States||N.A.|
|1846||On December 28, Iowa becomes the twenty-ninth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Iowa|
|1847||On April 5, the Mormon migration to Utah begins. Eventually 70,000 people will participate in this exodus to the Salt Lake Valley.||1801-1900||religion||United States||Utah|
|1848||The discovery of gold on January 24, at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California initiates the California Gold Rush which brings 100,000 people to the region by 1850.||1801-1900||the economy||United States||California|
|1848||The Mexican War ends on February 2, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. That agreement gives the United States jurisdiction over nearly half of what was Mexico including the current states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and part of Colorado.||1801-1900||territorial expansion||United States||N.A.|
|1848||On May 29, Wisconsin becomes the thirtieth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Wisconsin|
|1848||Democratic revolutions collapse in various German states leading to a mass exodus of German emigrants to the United States.||1801-1900||immigration||Germany||N.A.|
|1848||The Seneca Falls (New York) Women's Rights Convention is held on July 19-20.||1801-1900||women's rights||United States||New York|
|1848||The Free Soil Party is organized in Buffalo, New York on August 10.||1801-1900||politics||United States||New York|
On November 7, Zachary Taylor of Louisiana is elected the twelfth President of the United States.
|1849||In response to growing immigration, the Native American or Know-Nothing Party, which begins as the Order of the Star Spangled Banner, is founded in New York City.||1801-1900||immigration||United States||New York|
The Compromise of 1850 a series of five bills, is passed on September 9. The Compromise allows California to enter the Union as a free state, gives New Mexico Territory the option of allowing or outlawing slavery, and creates a new Fugitive Slave Law.
|1801-1900||slavery||United States||District of Columbia|
Nathaniel Hawthorne (Massachusetts) publishes The Scarlet Letter.
|1850||The seventh U.S census reveals that the nation's population on June 1 is 23,191,876.||1801-1900||population||United States||N.A.|
On July 9, Millard Fillmore (New York) becomes the thirteenth President of the United States upon the death of President Zachary Taylor.
|1801-1900||politics||United States||New York|
|1850||On September 9, California becomes the thirty-first state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||California|
Herman Melville (New York) publishes Moby Dick.
|1801-1900||literature||United States||New York|
Harriet Beecher Stowe (Ohio) publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin.
On November 2, Franklin Pierce (New Hampshire) is elected the fourteenth President of the United States.
|1801-1900||politics||United States||New Hampshire|
|1854||The Republican Party is founded at Ripon, Wisconsin on March 20.||1801-1900||politics||United States||Wisconsin|
The Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repeals the Missouri Compromise of 1820, becomes law on May 30.
|1801-1900||slavery||United States||District of Columbia|
|1854||The United State acquires the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico on June 8.||1801-1900||territorial expansion||United States||N.A.|
|1854||On July 14, Commodore Matthew C. Perry establishes diplomatic relations between the United States and Japan.||1801-1900||international affairs||Japan||N.A.|
The Ostend Manifesto written on October 18, proposes the U.S. seizure of Cuba.
|1801-1900||international affairs||Cuba||District of Columbia|
Poet Walt Whitman (New York) publishes Leaves of Grass.
|1801-1900||literature||United States||New York|
|1855||On October 14, former U.S. General William Walker leads a mercenary force of 150 Americans who join with local rebels to conquer Nicaragua. Walker serves as president from July 12, 1856 to May 1, 1857. He legalizes slavery there.||1801-1900||international affairs||Nicaragua||N.A.|
|1855||"Bleeding Kansas," the violent conflict between pro- and anti-slavery forces begins on November 21 with the death of a free-soiler by a pro-slavery advocate. The violence will continue until 1859 and result in the death of 56 people.||1801-1900||slavery||United States||Kansas|
On November 4, James Buchanan (Pennsylvania) is elected the fifteenth President of the United States.
|1857||On March 6, the U.S. Supreme Court hands down the Dred Scott decision.||1801-1900||law||United States||District of Columbia|
|1857||The Panic of 1857 initiates another major downturn in the U.S. economy. The recession that follows will last for two years.||1801-1900||the economy||United States||N.A.|
|1858||On May 11, Minnesota becomes the thirty-second state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Minnesota|
|1858||On August 16, Cyrus Field completes the first transatlantic cable linking Ireland and Newfoundland, Canada.||1801-1900||communication||N.A.||N.A.|
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates between former Illinois Congressman Abraham Lincoln and Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas take place in seven towns between August 21, and October 15.
|1859||On February 14, Oregon becomes the thirty-third state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Oregon|
|1859||English naturalist Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species.||1801-1900||science & technology||England||N.A.|
|1859||On October 16, John Brown and twenty followers seize the Federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia (Now West Virginia). They are captured two days later by U.S. Marines led by Colonel Robert E. Lee.||1801-1900||slavery||United States||Virginia|
|1860||On April 30, the Pony Express begins mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California.||1801-1900||communication||United States||N.A.|
|1860||The eighth U.S census reveals that the nation's population on June 1 is 31,443,321.||1801-1900||population||United States||N.A.|
On November 6, Abraham Lincoln of Illinois wins the Presidency over three other candidates to become the first Republican to hold that office.
|1860||South Carolina secedes from the Union on December 20.||1801-1900||politics||United States||South Carolina|
|1861||Between January 9 and February 1, six other states: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, also secede from the Union.||1801-1900||politics||United States||N.A.|
|1861||On January 29, Kansas becomes the thirty-fourth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Kansas|
|1861||The Confederate government is formed in Montgomery, Alabama on February 8 following a two-day constitutional convention. Jefferson Davis is chosen as temporary President of the Confederate States of America.||1801-1900||politics||United States||Alabama|
|1861||On April 12, Fort Sumter is fired upon initiating the Civil War.||1801-1900||war||United States||South Carolina|
|1861||Between April 17 and June 8, four other states: Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee, secede from the Union.||1801-1900||politics||United States||N.A.|
|1861||First Battle of Bull Run (Virginia) is on July 21.||1801-1900||war||United States||Virginia|
On October 24, the first transcontinental telegraph is completed as east and west extending lines meet at Salt Lake City, Utah Territory.
The Naval Battle of the Merrimack (the Virginia) and the Monitor at Hampton Roads, Virginia takes place on March 9. It is the most important naval battle of the Civil War.
|1862||The Battle of Shiloh (Tennessee) takes place on April 6-7.||1801-1900||war||United States||Tennessee|
On April 16, The Confederate Congress enacts military conscription.
|1862||On April 29, the combined forces of the U.S. Army and Navy capture New Orleans, the largest city in the Confederacy.||1801-1900||war||United States||Louisiana|
|1862||On May 20, President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law.||1801-1900||settlement||United States||District of Columbia|
|1862||On July 1, President Abraham Lincoln signs into law the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 which authorizes the construction of a transcontinental railroad. Construction begins near Omaha, Nebraska Territory, on December 1, 1863.||1801-1900||transportation||United States||District of Columbia|
|1862||On July 2, President Abraham Lincoln signs the Morrill Act into law. The Act provides for the sale of public lands to support higher education.||1801-1900||settlement||United States||District of Columbia|
|1862||The Second Battle of Bull Run (Virginia) takes place on August 28-30.||1801-1900||war||United States||Virginia|
|1862||The Battle of Antietam (Maryland) takes place on September 17.||1801-1900||war||United States||Maryland|
|1862||President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22.||1801-1900||slavery||United States||District of Columbia|
|1862||The Battle of Fredericksburg (Virginia) takes place on Dec. 11-15.||1801-1900||war||United States||Virginia|
|1863||On January 1, the Emancipation Proclamation takes effect.||1801-1900||slavery||United States||N.A.|
|1863||On January 10, the world's first subway system, the London Underground, opens in that city.||1801-1900||international affairs||England||N.A.|
|1863||On March 3, the U.S. Congress enacts a general military conscription law.||1801-1900||war||United States||District of Columbia|
|1863||The Battle of Chancellorsville (Virginia) takes place on May 2-4.||1801-1900||war||United States||Virginia|
|1863||The Fall of Port Hudson (Louisiana) to Union forces occurs on May 27.||1801-1900||war||United States||Louisiana|
|1863||On June 20, West Virginia becomes the thirty-fifth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||West Virginia|
|1863||The Battle of Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) takes place on July 1-3.||1801-1900||war||United States||Pennsylvania|
|1863||The fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 4 to Union forces means the entire Mississippi River is controlled by the United States effectively separating Arkansas, Western Louisiana, and Texas from the rest of the Confederacy.||1801-1900||war||United States||Mississippi|
|1863||The New York City Draft Riots erupt on July 13 and continue until July 16. An estimated 2,000 people are killed before U.S. troops restored order. This is the worst urban insurrection in the nation's history.||1801-1900||violence||United States||New York|
In December President Lincoln announces his "10 percent" Reconstruction Plan which allows states in rebellion to reenter the Union if 10% of its 1860 voters signs a loyalty oath and pledge to accept emancipation.
|1801-1900||politics||United States||District of Columbia|
|1864||Union General Ulysses S. Grant confronts Confederate General Robert E. Lee for the first time in the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia on May 5-7.||1801-1900||war||United States||Virginia|
|1864||General William Tecumseh Sherman's March Through Georgia begins at Chattanooga on May 6, and results in the capture of Atlanta on September 7. His Army of 65,000 proceeds south to Savannah on the Atlantic Ocean, arriving there on December 22.||1801-1900||war||United States||Georgia|
|1864||The Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia tales place on June 3.||1801-1900||war||United States||Virginia|
|1864||Napoleon III of France installs Archduke Maximilian as Emperor of Mexico on June 10.||1801-1900||international affairs||Mexico||N.A.|
|1864||On October 31, Nevada becomes the thirty-sixth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Nevada|
|1865||On March 3, the Freedman's Bureau is created by Congress.||1801-1900||social reform||United States||District of Columbia|
|1865||On April 9, General Robert E. Lee Surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia.||1801-1900||war||United States||Virginia|
President Lincoln is assassinated on April 14 in Washington, D.C.. The following day Vice President Andrew Johnson (Tennessee) becomes the seventeenth U.S. President.
|1801-1900||violence||United States||District of Columbia|
|1865||On November 25, Mississippi enacts the first post-Civil War Black Codes.||1801-1900||civil rights||United States||Mississippi|
On December 6, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which outlaws slavery, becomes law with its ratification by Georgia.
|1801-1900||constitutional amendments||United States||Georgia|
The U.S. Civil Rights Act becomes law on April 9 over the veto of President Andrew Johnson.
|1801-1900||civil rights||United States||District of Columbia|
|1866||On August 20, the National Labor Union is organized in Baltimore.||1801-1900||labor & unions||United States||Maryland|
|1866||The Ku Klux Klan is founded in Pulaski, Tennessee on December 24.||1801-1900||violence||United States||Tennessee|
|1867||On March 1, Nebraska becomes the thirty-seventh state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Nebraska|
|1867||Congress passes the first of the Reconstruction Acts on March 2.||1801-1900||civil rights||United States||District of Columbia|
|1867||On March 30, the United States purchases Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million.||1801-1900||territorial expansion||United States||Alaska|
|1868||On March 2, President Johnson is impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives and acquitted by the U.S. Senate on May 16.||1801-1900||politics||United States||District of Columbia|
On July 9, the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees the rights of citizens and makes citizens of ex-slaves, becomes law with its ratification by South Carolina.
|1801-1900||constitutional amendments||United States||South Carolina|
On November 3, Ulysses S. Grant of Illinois is elected the eighteenth President of the United States.
On November 3, John Willis Menard of Louisiana becomes the first African American elected to Congress.
The Union Pacific Railroad, which began construction at Omaha, Nebraska and the Central Pacific, which first broke ground at Sacramento (both in 1863), meet at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory on May 10.
|1869||The National Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) is founded on May 15 in New York City by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.||1801-1900||women's rights||United States||New York|
|1869||On December 10, Wyoming Territory becomes the first state or territory to extend voting rights to all women.||1801-1900||civil rights||United States||Wyoming|
|1870||On January 10, John D. Rockefeller and four partners found the Standard Oil Company in Cleveland.||1801-1900||the economy||United States||Ohio|
On February 3, the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which extends voting rights to black males, becomes law with its ratification by Iowa.
|1801-1900||civil rights||United States||Iowa|
|1870||On February 10, the Utah Territorial Legislature approves full suffrage for women.||1801-1900||civil rights||United States||Utah|
|1870||The ninth U.S census reveals that the nation's population on June 1 is 39,818,449.||1801-1900||population||United States||N.A.|
The Freedman's Bureau is terminated on June 10.
|1801-1900||social reform||United States||District of Columbia|
|1872||The Credit Mobilier Scandal is first exposed by the Hartford Daily Courrant on September 26.||1801-1900||politics||United States||Connecticut|
|1874||The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WTCU) is organized in Cleveland in November.||1801-1900||social reform||United States||Ohio|
|1875||The Civil Rights Act of 1875 becomes law on March 1 with President Ulysses Grant's signature.||1801-1900||civil rights||United States||District of Columbia|
|1876||On August 1, Colorado becomes the thirty-eighth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Colorado|
The results of the November 7 election between Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) and Samuel Tilden (Democrat) are contested. The uncertainty leads to a political compromise which gives Hayes the Presidency with his promise to end Reconstruction in the South.
|1801-1900||politics||United States||District of Columbia|
On Nov. 7, Romualdo Pacheco, a former Republican Governor of California, becomes the first Latino elected to Congress.
On March 4, Rutherford B. Hayes becomes the nineteenth President of the United States.
|1801-1900||politics||United States||District of Columbia|
|1877||Reconstruction ends with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Louisiana and South Carolina in April.||1801-1900||politics||United States||N.A.|
A nationwide railroad strike begins in Martinsburg, West Virginia on July 14 against the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and ends 45 days later when federal troops are used against the striking workers.
|1801-1900||labor & unions||United States||West Virginia|
Henry George (California) publishes Progress and Poverty.
|1880||The tenth U.S census reveals that on June 1 the nation's population is 50,189,209.||1801-1900||population||United States||N.A.|
On November 2, John A. Garfield of Ohio is elected the twentieth President of the U.S. but is assassinated the following year. Vice President Governor Chester A. Arthur, the former Governor of New York, becomes the twenty-first President.
|1881||Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. on May 21.||1801-1900||social reform||United States||District of Columbia|
|1881||Booker T. Washington founds Tuskegee Institute in Alabama on July 4.||1801-1900||education||United States||Alabama|
|1882||The Chinese Exclusion Act was signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on May 8.||1801-1900||immigration||United States||District of Columbia|
|1883||The Pendleton Act was signed into law on January 16 by President Chester A. Author. The Act creates the U.S. Civil Service Commission.||1801-1900||politics||United States||District of Columbia|
|1883||On October 16, the U.S. Supreme Court in the Civil Rights Cases pronounces the 1875 Civil Rights Act unconstitutional.||1801-1900||law||United States||District of Columbia|
|1883||On November 23, Washington Territorial William Newell signs a law that grants women the right to vote. On February 3, 1887, however, the Washington Territorial Supreme Court overturns the law in its decision in Harland v. Washington.||1801-1900||women||United States||Washington|
|1883||The Brooklyn Bridge is opened to the public on May 24.||1801-1900||transportation||United States||New York|
|1883||The Metropolitan Opera House opens in New York on October 22.||1801-1900||popular culture||United States||New York|
Mark Twain (Missouri) publishes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
|1884||Architect William LeBaron Jenney designs the first U.S. skyscraper, the ten story Home Insurance Building, in Chicago. Construction begins on May 1. The building is completed in the autumn of 1885.||1801-1900||science & technology||United States||Illinois|
Grover Cleveland (New York) is elected the twenty-second President of the United States on November 4.
|1801-1900||politics||United States||New York|
|1886||On December 8, the American Federation of Labor (AF of L) is established in New York.||1801-1900||labor & unions||United States||New York|
|1886||The Statute of Liberty is dedicated on October 28 in a ceremony led by U.S. President Grover Cleveland.||1801-1900||popular culture||United States||New York|
|1887||On March 3, the U.S. Congress passes the Edmunds-Tucker Act which disenfranchises all Utah women.||1801-1900||women||United States||District of Columbia|
|1887||The American Protective Association (APA) is formed on March 13 in Clinton, Iowa by Attorney Henry F. Bowers. The APA becomes the leading Anti-Catholic organization of the era.||1801-1900||religion||United States||Iowa|
On November 6, Benjamin Harrison of Indiana is elected the twenty-third President of the United States.
|1889||On September 18, Jane Addams and Ellen Starr Gates found Hull House in Chicago. Hull House is the first settlement house in the U.S.||1801-1900||social reform||United States||Illinois|
|1889||On November 2, North Dakota becomes the thirty-ninth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||North Dakota|
|1889||On November 2, South Dakota becomes the fortieth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||South Dakota|
|1889||On November 8, Montana becomes the forty-first state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Montana|
|1889||On November 11, Washington becomes the forty-second state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Washington|
|1890||The U.S. Congress creates the first annual Billion Dollar budget for the U.S. government.||1801-1900||government||United States||District of Columbia|
The eleventh U.S. census reveals that the nation's population on June 1 is 62,947,714.
|1890||The Sherman Anti-Trust Act is signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison on July 2.||1801-1900||law||United States||District of Columbia|
|1890||On July 3, Idaho becomes the forty-third state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Idaho|
|1890||On July 10, Wyoming becomes the forty-fourth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Wyoming|
|1891||Basketball is invented by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts in December.||1801-1900||popular culture||United States||Massachusetts|
|1892||In April the Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) silver miner's strike begins.||1801-1900||labor & unions||United States||Idaho|
On May 28, conservationist John Muir launches the Sierra Club in San Francisco. It will eventually have over 1.4 million members, making it the largest of the environmental advocacy organizations in the U.S.
|1892||On June 30, the Homestead Strike in Pennsylvania begins. It ends on July 6 when striking workers lose in their confrontation with private security agents hired by the Carnegie Corporation.||1801-1900||labor & unions||United States||Pennsylvania|
On November 8, People's (Populist) Party candidate James B. Weaver (Iowa) wins twenty-two electoral votes but former President Grover Cleveland (Democrat) defeats both Weaver and Republican President Benjamin Harrison to win the presidency. Cleveland thus serves as both the twenty-second and twenty-fourth President.
|1801-1900||politics||United States||District of Columbia|
On November 8, Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first person of Native American ancestry to be elected to Congress. Curtis will serve in the House of Representatives until 1906 when he is elected to the Senate where he will serve until 1929. On November 7, 1928, Curtis is elected Vice President of the U.S., when his running mate, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover is elected President.
|1893||The Depression of 1893 begins a five-year economic downturn.||1801-1900||the economy||United States||N.A.|
|1893||The World's Columbian Exposition is held in Chicago between May 1 and October 30.||1801-1900||popular culture||United States||Illinois|
|1893||The Anti-Saloon League is formed in Oberlin, Ohio on May 24.||1801-1900||social reform||United States||Ohio|
|1893||The Yale-Princeton Thanksgiving Day (November 30) football game in New York City draws 40,000 fans.||1801-1900||popular culture||United States||New York|
|1893||On November 7, Colorado male voters approve woman suffrage by referendum.||1801-1900||women's rights||United States||Colorado|
Investment Bankers J.P. Morgan and August Belmont lend $65 million to the U.S. Government.
|1801-1900||the economy||United States||New York|
|1895||On November 5, Utah adopts a new constitution which includes a woman suffrage provision.||1801-1900||women's rights||United States||Utah|
|1896||On January 4, Utah becomes the forty-fifth state.||1801-1900||statehood||United States||Utah|
|1896||The U.S. Supreme Court in its Plessy v. Ferguson decision on May 18 establishes the separate but equal doctrine which allows racial segregation across the nation.||1801-1900||law||United States||District of Columbia|
On November 3, William McKinley of Ohio becomes the twenty-fifth President of the United States.
|1896||On November 3, Idaho adopts a constitutional amendment extending suffrage to women and making it the fourth state to allow women to vote.||1801-1900||women's rights||United States||Idaho|
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (California) publishes Women and Economics.
The Spanish American War begins on April 25 and ends on August 12. The war is fought mainly in Cuba and the Philippines. Puerto Rico and the Philippines become possessions of the United States as a consequence of the War.
|1898||On July 7, President William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution which annexes the Republic of Hawaii to the United States.||1801-1900||territorial expansion||United States||Hawaii|
|1898||On December 10, the Treaty of Paris officially ends the Spanish American War. Spain cedes Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S. Cuba becomes a U.S. Protectorate.||1801-1900||territorial expansion||N.A.||N.A.|
|1899||On January 17, Wake Island is annexed to the United States.||1801-1900||territorial expansion||United States||N.A.|
|1899||On December 2, the U.S. signs the 1899 Treaty of Berlin with Germany and Great Britain and acquires control of the islands that will become American Samoa.||1801-1900||territorial expansion||N.A.||N.A.|
The twelfth U.S. census reveals that on June 1 the nation's population is 76,212,168.
Theodore Dreiser (Indiana) publishes Sister Carrie.