1850
Although Congress abolishes flogging in the Navy, it remains legal for schoolteachers to use such punishment to make their pupils behave
Although Congress abolishes flogging in the Navy, it remains legal for schoolteachers to use such punishment to make their pupils behave
The National Women's Rights Convention is held in Worcester, Massachusetts
The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania becomes the first medical school for women
Fugitive Slave Act provides for the return of slaves brought to free states
Millard Fillmore becomes President after the death of Zachary Taylor
Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter becomes an instant bestseller, tackling the subject of adultery
U.S. population totals 23.1 million
I.M. Singer & Company take out its first patent for the Singer Perpendicular Action Sewing Machine
Elizabeth Smith Miller invents the undergarments that would later come to be known as "bloomers" after being worn by feminist Amelia Bloomer. She advocated clothing reform to improve women's health.
The Young Men's Christian Association begins in Boston in 1851
The Land Act of 1851 is an attempt by Congress to sort out competing land claims by Mexican Americans and the immigrants
The first issue of the New York Times (under the name New York Daily Times) is published
Herman Melville publishes Moby Dick
Massachusetts passes the first compulsory school attendance law
Elisha Otis invents a safety device to prevent elevators falling if the hoisting cable broke
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony become active in the Women's New York State Temperance Society
Uncle Tom's Cabin or Life Among the Lowly is published by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It becomes incredibly popular and plays based on the story are performed by traveling companies all over the country.
By the end of the year 20,000 Chinese immigrants have entered the U.S., almost all arriving at San Francisco to search for gold
Willamette University in Oregon becomes the first university west of the Rockies
Railroad lines reach west as far as the Mississippi River
The first woman minister is ordained; Mrs Amos Bronson Alcott presents a petition with 73 other women to urge suffrage for women
Kong Chow Temple in San Francisco is the first Buddhist temple in the U.S.
Boston Public Library and New York's Astor Library both open this year
Henry Barnard starts the American Journal of Education
Norwegians who have settled in Wisconsin establish the Norwegian Evangelical Church of America
Lincoln University becomes the first black college
A German-speaking kindergarten is established in Wisconsin, based on the ideas of Friedrich Froebel
Woman's rights activist Lucy Stone marries Henry Blackwell to work for the cause together. In their marriage ceremony they have no obedience clause and will retain their personal property.
Approximately 400,000 immigrants arrive in New York City this year
Massachusetts legislature prohibits racial segregation in the state's schools, the first such law in the United States
The Young Men's Christian Association begins in New York
James Buchanan defeats the first Republican candidate, John C. Fremont and the Americanist Millard Fillmore, to become President
On March 6, the Supreme Court decides that an African-American cannot be a citizen of the U.S., and has no rights of citizenship
The National Teachers Association is founded by 45 teachers and educators in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The first elevator is installed in New York City by the Otis Elevator Company
William Campbell and James Henry take out a patent for a Plunger Closet, now known as a toilet
Harper’s Weekly begins (1857-1916)
Lewis Mill receives a patent on a modern mowing machine
Hymen Lipman patents the first pencil with an eraser
The Ladies Christian Association is formed, eventually becoming the Young Women's Christian Association
A religious revival sweeps the country in the face of a financial panic
Abraham Lincoln opposes Stephen Douglas for the Senate in the Lincoln-Douglas debates
Eben Horsford invents baking powder
Abolitionist Sarah Parker Remond begins a two-year lecture tour that will include stops in Scotland, Ireland, England and France
Elizabeth Peabody opens the first English-speaking kindergarten in Boston
Shakers, an off-shoot of the Quaker religion, have now established more than 20 communities
Abraham Lincoln elected president
Dime novels are published and quickly become popular
The Pony Express mail service begins, taking 8 days from St Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California
Of approximately 35,000 Chinese in America, only 1, 784 are women. The majority work on the railroads.
Yale University establishes the first organised graduate department in the nation and awards the first Ph.D. degrees
The American Civil War disrupts suffrage activity as women in the North and South divert their energies to "war work"
The interdenominational Woman’s Union Missionary Society of America forms to send single women as missionaries to the women in India, Japan, China and other lands
A rebel government is established by the eleven Southern states to have seceded from the union
Confederate General Beauregard opens fire upon Fort Sumter and the Civil War begins
The U.S. government opens a school on St. Helena Island, South Carolina
Rabbi Jacob Frankel becomes the first Jewish chaplain in the U.S. Army
Catholic nuns make up a fifth of all nurses during the Civil War, willingly treating victims of smallpox and contagious diseases
F.A.O Schwarz opens a toy store in New York
President Lincoln establishes the National Academy of Sciences
Working Women's Protective Union (WWPU) is established as the champion of working women's causes
Circuit preachers spread religion in the west
Lincoln dedicates the cemetery at Gettysburg, the occasion of the "Gettysburg Address"
President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the Confederate states
George Pullman finishes the first comfortable railroad sleeping car, the Pullman sleeper
The motto “In God We Trust” first appears on U.S. coins
Lincoln is reelected
Orphan schools were established for those whose fathers were killed in the Civil War. They were supported by donations and fund raising.
The first steel rails are manufactured
The Civil War officially ends when Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses Grant at Appomattox Court House
President Lincoln is assassinated
Mark Twain publishes The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County which brings the Western experience into mainstream American literature
Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishes slavery
The literary magazine The Galaxy was founded with contributors including Mark Twain, Henry James, Walt Whitman, and Rebecca Harding Davis
The first trans-Atlantic cable is laid
Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is founded
The African Union Church unites with the First Colored Methodist Protestant Church to form the African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church of America
Burlesque starts to beome popular
First appearance of a 5-cent coin, soon called "the nickel"
The American Equal Rights Association is formed as an organization for white and black women and men dedicated to the goal of universal suffrage
The original U.S. Department of Education is created to help the States establish effective school systems
Henry Barnard became the first U.S. commissioner of Education
The National Union of Cigarmakers are the first national union to accept women and African Americans, although they do not admit nonskilled factory workers and homeworkers until 1875
All males over 21 are granted suffrage in US territories
The Grange movement is founded, an affiliation of local farmers working for political and economic advantages
Harper's Bazaar magazine begins
The typewriter is patented by Christopher Latham Sholes
The Grange agricultural movement, founded a year earlier, actively encourages female participation
Separate women’s missionary societies are set up by different denominations. A Presbyterian publication calls it “woman’s work for woman” but the prejudices are shown in the title of a typical publication, Heathen Woman’s Friend.
Vanity Fair magazine begins
Louisa May Alcott publishes Little Women. The sequel Good Wives follows a year later.
Fourteenth Amendment grants full citizenship to all (including African Americans) born in the U.S. except Native Americans
St Louis Law School becomes the first law school to admit women
The Union Pacific-Central Pacific transcontinental railroad is completed
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony found the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), and Lucy Stone helps found the more moderate American Woman Suffrage Association
Ulysses S. Grant become President
E.C. Allen starts the People's Literary Companion, marking the beginning of the 'mail-order' periodical
Riots against Chinese immigrants take place in San Francisco
The government takes a strong interest in the education of Native Americans. Boarding schools were seen as a means of integrating Native American children in the mainstream culture.
Chesebrough Manufacturing Co., makers of Vaseline, is founded
60% of all women workers are employed in domestic service jobs
Women use their vote for the first time in the United States in an election in Utah territory
Congress officially declare Christmas to be a national holiday
The Fifteenth Amendment enfranchises black men
Hiram R. Revels becomes the first black man to be elected to the U.S. Senate
Congress enacts the "Enforcement Act" to stop southern white resistance to the power African Americans have gained during Reconstruction
The Women’s Centenary Association, the first national organization of church women, forms to conduct missionary work and promote the education of women ministers
Caroline White Soule is president
Native Americans are assigned to reservations by the Indian Appropriation Act. They continue to struggle against their confinement.
Susan B. Anthony is arrested and brought to trial for attempting to vote in the presidential election
Smith College is established as a non-denominational institution aimed at improving the lives of women
The Comstock Law is passed, making it illegal to send birth control information through the mail
The term "Gilded Age" is coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today
Joseph F Glidden invents barbed wire. It is now cheap and easy to enclose grazing lands and territory.
Massachusetts limits women's working days to 10 hours
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union is founded
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is founded
John Knowles Paine, a professor at Harvard, establishes the first department of music in an American university
The first Jewish college is established in Cincinnati
Archbishop John McCloskey is invested as the first American Cardinal
Dwight Lyman Moody begins evangelistic revival meeting in the East
The first theater dedicated to burlesque opens on Broadway in 1875
In some states immigrants could vote within a few months without citizenship, while in other states it still took the five years necessary to become a citizen in order to vote
Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone
Lydia E. Pinkham registers the label and trademark for Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound
Mary Baker Eddy establishes the Christian Scientists in 1876
The Battle of Little Big Horn
Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes is elected president
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is published
More than 500,000 black children now attend school
Thomas Edison secures the basic patent for a phonograph machine
The Great Strike is started with railway workers walking out, later to be followed by workers from other industries
The Washington Post newspaper begins publication
The Society of American Artists is formed
The Indian Wars near an end with the surrender of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce on October 5th
The Edison Electric Light Company is established in New York City
A Woman Suffrage Amendment is introduced in the United States Congress but fails
The first students attend the United States Indian Training and Industrial School, Pennsylvania. By 1900, there were 81 boarding and 150 day schools on reservations, and 24 schools outside the reservations.
Albert A Michelson measures distances by light wave-lengths
James Gamble and Harley Procter develop Ivory Soap
Belva Lockwood becomes the first woman admitted to the Supreme Court bar
Congress passes a bill to restict Chinese immigration
Approximately 2.5 million women are working for wages
Women take an active leadership role in the National Farmers’ Alliances that form as local cooperatives in rural areas.
The American branch of the Salvation Army is organised
James A. Garfield becomes President
Theatres on Broadway develop a new kind of stage show, later known as the Broadway musical
U.S. population: 50.1 million of whom 6.6 million were foreign born. The Native American population in the United States is estimated at 243,000, most are encamped in reservations.
Spelman College in Atlanta opens as the first liberal arts college for African-American women
Clara Barton organizes the American Red Cross
The Woman’s Baptist Missionary Training School is established in Chicago. In the next 50 years many similar schools are started, offering instruction in religion and practical work in city missions.
President Garfield is assassinated by Charles Guiteau. Chester A. Arthur becomes President
The period of 'American Renaissance' began, characterized by new public institutions such as museums, schols, libraries, and orchestras
Over the next ten years over 5.2 milllion foreigners settle in the U.S.
The Association of Collegiate Alumnae is organised. It is the forerunner of the American Association of University Women.
Thomas Edison develops the world's first electric power system
The Association of Collegiate Alumnae is organised. It is the forerunner of the American Association of University Women.
The Roman Catholic church permits organization of a fraternal group, the Knights of Columbus
Congress acts to restrict immigration on a selective basis
William K Vanderbilt gives the most expensive fancy dress ball ever given, costing a quarter of a million dollars. Vanderbilt sets the standard for extravagence and conspicuous consumption in this era.
Clergymen, government officials and social reformers meet to develop a strategy for integrating Native Americans, setting the course for U.S. policy toward Native Americans and a near destruction of the culture
A ten-story building in Chicago, the Home Life Insurance Building, is the world's first true "skyscraper"
The linotype machine is patented by Ottmar Mergenthaler
The Third Plenary Council of America's Catholic Bishops establishes an administrative code, a parish-based education system and a planned establishment of a national Catholic university
Democrat Grover Cleveland is elected president, despite his party being denounced by opponents as a party of ‘Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion’
Vaudeville becomes popular as the first theatre is built in Boston. It remains the most popular form of entertainment until the impact of Edison's moving pictures.
Bryn Mawr Women's College opens
Furnaces to burn garbage are put into use in many cities
Elizabeth Bailey takes over her husband’s circus, producing ‘Mollie Bailey’s Show’ – the first circus run by a woman; Annie Oakley begins touring with "Buffalo Bill" Cody's Wild West Show.
The Washington Monument is dedicated
The number of divorces rises from 9,937 in 1867 to 25,535
Harriet Hubbard Ayer is the first US woman to launch a successful cosmetics business, marketing a facial cream
The Young Women's Hebrew Association is established
The American Federation of Labor is organized
Ladies Home Journal is first published
During this decade the average salary for female teachers is $54 a year and for male teachers $71 a year
Asa Candler buys part interest in a patent medicine known as Coca-Cola
Susanna Salter of Kansas is elected as the first female mayor
Congress passes the Edmunds-Tucker Act which disincorporates the Mormon church, confiscates its properties, and abolishes women's suffrage in Utah
The Dawes Act reversed U.S. Indian policy, alloweding the President to divide up tribal land and give 160 acres of land to each head of a family. Land not distributed was offered for sale to settlers.
The first Kodak box cameras are sold
Secret ballot system is introduced into the U.S.
Electrocution replaces hanging as the official method of capital punishment in New York State
Susan La Flesche Picotte becomes the first Native American woman medical doctor
Nellie Bly, a journalist for the New York World,travels around the world in 72 days
Benjamin Harrison becomes President
The first ‘Oklahoma land rush’ takes place when the U.S. government opens land for settlement that had been previously promised to the Native Americans
Jane Addams founds the first settlement house in the United States to help immigrants adapt to their new country
National American Women's Suffrage Association is formed. In most states women are allowed to vote in state, municipal, school and local elections.
Charles Augustus Briggs of Union Theological Seminary in New York and Newman Smythe, a Congregational pastor, introduced new methods of Biblical study to American schools
Poems by Emily Dickinson is published
The census records just over 62 million inhabitants, 17 million of whom live west of the Mississippi River. This same census declared the disappearance of a designated frontier line.
Thomas Edison patents a motion picture camera, the "kinetoscope", capable of showing movies to one person at a time
The word "feminist" is first used in a book review in the Athenaeum
The first Woman's Christian Temperance Union meeting is held in Boston
Ida B. Wells-Barnett launches a nation-wide anti-lynching campaign
Senda Berenson introduces the first rules for women's basketball
General Federation of Women's Clubs is founded
The Federal Government offers amnesty to all polygamists in the Mormon Church, on condition that in the future laws against polygamy are adhered to
Grover Cleveland is elected President
Ellis Island opens on January 1st
The first Ferris Wheel is built for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago
A financial panic follows a serious decline in the economy. It was caused partly by a run on the gold supply.
The World's Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America
McClure’s Magazine (1893-1933) becomes famous for exposing injustice and corruption
So far approximately 1000 Protestant female missionaries have been sent abroad
During this decade The University of Nebraska opens competitive athletics for women
The first pocket Kodak camera is sold
During this decade The University of Nebraska opens competitive athletics for women
Sears and Roebuck began publishing their mail order catalogs
The Macmillan Publishing Company is founded
Johnson & Johnson produce the first commercial disposable sanitary pads
X-rays are used for the first time for the treatment of breast cancer
Amy Marcy Cheney Beach completes her Symphony in E-minor, at a time when most composers were men
Republican William McKinley wins the presidential election
The first movie is shown at Koster & Bial’s Music Hall, New York
U.S contestants win 9 of the 12 events at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece
The Plessy v. Ferguson ruling allows "equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races"
The Parent-Teacher Association is founded
The National Congress of Mothers is formed
The first comic strip appears in the New York World
Spanish-American war
6,000 public high schools now exist all over the country
Florence Kelley becomes head of the National Consumer's League
The commercial travelers belonging to the Christian Commercial Men's Association of America organise the Gideons. The first Gideon Bible is placed in a Montana hotel.
Scott Joplin publishes the "Maple Leaf Rag"
Over 5,000 students were now enrolled in the universities of Harvard, Yale, and John Hopkins
The Association of American Universities was formed to promote high standards among colleges
The first telephone designed for the home is introduced
A fifth of all U.S. women are wage earners. Nearly 30% of all working women are domestics-others work on farms, as teachers, or in factories.
Carrie Nation leads a group of women in an anti-liquor campaign
GDP has reached over $350 billion
Ragtime jazz becomes popular
Theodore Dreiser’s naturalistic novel Sister Carrieis recalled by the publisher and not reissued for twelve years
Frank Baum writes The Wizard of Oz