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Sir Henry Bessemer invents the Bessemer Process
This was the first process for mass producing steel. -
Drake Well is succesfully drilled for oil after it was found by Edwin Drake
One of the first oil wells is succesfully drilled in northern Pensylvania after Edwin Drake made the discovery of the well. This sparked an international search for petrolium. -
Crédit Mobilier Scandal takes place
This scandal was an iligel manipulation of contracts by a construction and finance company associated with the building of the Union Pacific Railroad. -
Transcontinental Railroad Compleated
The Central and Union Pacific railroad companies link the United Sates from east to west with one railroad. -
Christopher Sholes invents the Remmington typewriter
The typewriter could type faster than a person could write, so it began bringing in revenue because of newspapers and people writing letters. -
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
Alexander Graham Bell makes the first telephone which could communicate with other users. -
Munn v. Illinois Supreme Court case
This case which batteled letting the Supreme Court have a power of government to regulate private industries. -
Mary Harris "Mother Jones" organizes great railrod strike
This is her first showcase of her abilities to organize people together to fight for a purpose. Railroad workers were treated unfairly in Pittspurgh. -
Thomas Edison makes the first long lasting and affordable light bulb
Edison found that carbonized bamboo was the key alternative to giving him a long lasting light bulb. This light bulb was also affordable for many families and people, and not just the rich. -
Standard Oil Trust is founded
John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Trust, a business that serves trusts. -
The Haymarket Riots erupt
After police open fire on peaceful labor workmen protests, riots erupt. Chicago police is thrown into mass anarchy as thoasands of laborers attack in response to the brutal killings by the Chicago Police Department. -
Interstate Commerce Act is passed by Congress
This law made the railroads the first industry subject to federal regulation. -
Sherman Antitrust Act is passed by Congress
This was the first bill to prohibit trusts by businesses. This bill was based on the constitutional power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. -
Laborers all over America go on a massive strike
Because of conflicts between labor and management and a stumbling economy, laborers declared a general strike. Labor declared a strike in New Orleans, coal miners struck in Tennessee, railroad switchmen in Buffalo, NY, and copper miners in Idaho. -
Pullman Strike occurs
Three thoasand pullman workers go on a wildcat strike. They did this without the authority of their union. This strike was partially led by Eugene Debs who had moved to Illinois at the time. -
J.P. Morgan becomes owner of J.P. Morgan banking company
J.P. Morgan is a partner until he gains control of the J.P. Morgan banking company where he starts to reorganize railroad companies, seeing the importance of them. He held large amounts of stock from companies he helped reconfigure. He virtually owned most of America's companies. -
The Wright Brothers invent first powered aircraft
This was the first type of aircraft that had been powered by an actual engine, controlled, and sustained. -
Eugene Debs found the IWW with Bill Haywood and Mother Jones
Eugene Debs, who was a labor radical, founded the IWW which stood up for laborers and taught them to fight in what their best interests were. -
Supreme Court decides that a baker's work hours was unconstitutional
The Supreme Court ruled that a New York law setting maximum working hours for bakers was unconstitutional. The Court held that the Constitution does not allow states from interfering with most employment contracts because the right to buy and sell labor is a basic freedom protected by the 14th Amendment. -
Henry Ford invents Model T
Thsi was a car that was made by carefully selected members of the Ford Motor Company to create a car that was affordable for a variety of people in all classes.
