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In 1857, a prolonged riot occurred between the Dead Rabbits and the Metropolitan Police, and the Bowery gangs against the Municipal Police, Mulberry Street Boys, Roach Guards, and Dead Rabbits in Bayard Street. -
The first Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was established on December 24, 1865, in Pulaski, Tennessee, by six former Confederate veterans. Initially formed as a social club, it rapidly evolved into a white supremacist terrorist organization dedicated to resisting Reconstruction efforts and re-establishing white control in the South -
John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870 in Ohio with partners including his brother William and Henry M. Flagler. Starting with a capital of $1 million, the company quickly grew to dominate the oil refining industry through strategic acquisitions and efficient practices. Standard Oil's growth and monopoly eventually led to its breakup in 1911 by federal authorities under the Sherman Antitrust Act. -
Alexander Graham Bell received U.S. Patent No. 174,465 for the telephone, an invention that built upon his work with a "harmonic telegraph" to transmit speech over wires. Bell filed his patent application on February 14, 1876, just hours before Elisha Gray filed a similar claim, leading to a patent controversy that was eventually settled in Bell's favor by the Supreme Court -
founded the United States Steel Corporation by orchestrating the merger of Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel with his own Federal Steel and National Steel companies. This created the world's first billion-dollar corporation, a consolidation that gave the new company a dominant position in the -
it was the first land rush into the "Unassigned Lands" of present-day Oklahoma, which began at high noon on April 22, 1889. President Benjamin Harrison's proclamation opened about 2 million acres for settlement under the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed a settler to claim up to 160 acres of land for free if they lived on it and improved it. An estimated 50,000 to 60,000 people participated, leading to the rapid emergence of towns like Oklahoma City and Guthrie -
Ellis Island officially opened as the United States' first federal immigration station. The island processed over 12 million immigrants from 1892 to 1954, many of whom were fleeing poverty and persecution. The processing included medical exams, legal screenings, and registration before immigrants could begin their new lives in the U.S -
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their home by a cyclon -
Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States in September 1901, following the assassination of President William McKinley. Roosevelt, then Vice President, was sworn in at age 42, becoming the youngest president to hold the office. His presidency was marked by his progressive agenda, which focused on regulating large corporations, protecting consumers, and conserving natural resources -
Ida Tarbell published the book The History of the Standard Oil Company, which compiled a series of articles she had written for McClure's Magazine between 1902 and 1904. The book meticulously documented how Standard Oil used its power to eliminate competition, including exposing its unethical and aggressive business tactics -
in Detroit, Michigan, by Henry Ford and 12 investors. It was Ford's third attempt at an automotive company, following the failures of the Detroit Automobile Company and the Henry Ford Company. The company's initial capital was $28,000, and it sold its first car, the Ford Model A, in July 1903. -
The Angel Island Immigration Station opened on to process immigrants arriving on the West Coast, but it was designed primarily to detain and deport them, especially Chinese immigrants, rather than welcome them. Due to its isolation, officials could subject Asian immigrants to invasive medical examinations, lengthy interrogations, and long detentions for weeks or months, while European immigrants were often processed much more quickly -
gives the federal government the power to levy an income tax without it needing to be apportioned among the states. This amendment grants Congress the authority to tax individual and corporate incomes, a power that was previously limited by Supreme Court rulings. The passage of this amendment established the federal income tax as a major source of government -
the 17th Amendment modified Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution by allowing voters to cast direct votes for U.S. senators. Prior to its passage, senators were chosen by state legislatures. -
becoming the world's tallest building at 1,250 feet with 102 stories. Its construction was a remarkable feat, taking just 410 days to complete during the Great Depression. President Herbert Hoover marked the opening by remotely turning on the building's lights from Washington, D.C.