P6

1862|Homestead Act,Gave 160 acres to settlers to encourage western expansion and settlement

1862|Pacific Railroad Act,Authorized transcontinental railroad and promoted westward growth

1869|First Transcontinental Railroad completed,Linked East and West; boosted trade migration and industry

1873|Panic of 1873,Major economic depression caused by overproduction and speculation

1875|Civil Rights Act of 1875,Banned racial discrimination in public places before later being overturned

1877|Compromise of 1877,Ends Reconstruction; federal troops leave South and Jim Crow rises

1877|Great Railroad Strike,First major national labor strike; federal troops used against workers

1877|Munn v. Illinois,Supreme Court allowed states to regulate businesses affecting the public

1882|Chinese Exclusion Act,First federal law banning immigration based on nationality/race

1883|Civil Rights Cases,Supreme Court weakens 14th Amendment protections against discrimination

1883|Pendleton Civil Service Act,Created merit-based government jobs to reduce corruption and patronage

1886|Haymarket Riot,Bombing linked labor unions with violence in public opinion

1886|American Federation of Labor (AFL) founded,Major union focused on skilled workers wages and conditions

1887|Interstate Commerce Act,First major federal regulation of business; targeted railroad abuses

1887|Dawes Act,Broke up tribal lands to assimilate Native Americans; caused land loss

1890|Sherman Antitrust Act,First federal attempt to limit monopolies and trusts

1890|Wounded Knee Massacre,Marks end of major Native American resistance on the Plains

1890|McKinley Tariff,Raised tariffs to protect American industry but hurt consumers/farmers

1892|Ellis Island opens,Main immigration processing center for new immigrants

1892|Homestead Strike,Violent steel strike showing conflict between labor and big business

1892|Populist Party formed,Farmers and workers demand economic and political reforms

1893|Panic of 1893,Severe depression causing unemployment and labor unrest

1893|Frederick Jackson Turner Frontier Thesis,Claimed frontier shaped American democracy and was now closed

1894|Pullman Strike,Federal government intervened against labor unions again

1896|Plessy v. Ferguson,Established “separate but equal” segregation doctrine

1896|Election of 1896,McKinley victory supports gold standard and industrial capitalism

1896|Cross of Gold Speech,William Jennings Bryan supports free silver for struggling farmers/debtors