May 3, 1898: Septima Clark Born
Educator and civil rights organizer Septima Clark was born in South Carolina.
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Period: 1877
Industrial Revolution: 1877 – 1899
Aug. 5, 1896: Polk County Massacre
White workers murdered Black workers in Arkansas who were coming to work on the railways.
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July 25, 1898: U.S. Invades Puerto Rico
U.S. troops invaded Puerto Rico at Guánica.
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July 22, 1877: St. Louis Rail Strike
Rail workers and residents of St. Louis, Missouri briefly took over the city as part of the wider Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
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July 6, 1892: Homestead Strike
Spies from the Pinkerton Detective Agency and striking steelworkers engaged in a major battle as part of the Homestead Strike.
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June 7, 1892: Homer Plessy Arrested for Violating Louisiana’s Separate Car Act
Homer Plessy was arrested for violating Louisiana’s Separate Car Act.
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May 21, 1881: Blanche K. Bruce Became Register of the Treasury
Blanche K. Bruce became Register of the Treasury, which placed his name on all U.S. currency.
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Sept. 2, 1885: Rock Springs Massacre
White coal miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming, brutally attacked Chinese workers.
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May 1: International Workers Day
International Workers’ Day began as a commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket massacre in Chicago.
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Harriet Hanson Robinson: “Characteristics of the Early Factory Girls.”
Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
Harriet Hanson Robinson's "Characteristics of the Early Factory Girls" (1898) read by Lili Taylor.
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Harriet Hanson Robinson's "Characteristics of the Early Factory Girls" (1898) read by Lili Taylor.
March 14, 1891: 11 Italians Lynched in New Orleans
A mob lynched 11 Italians in New Orleans for the killing of the New Orleans police chief.
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July 11, 1892: Coeur d’Alene Idaho Miners Strike
Miners in Coeur d’Alene held a strike and took on the Pinkertons.
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Feb. 4, 1899: War of Philippine Independence
When the United States refused to recognize Philippine independence, Philippine Republic president Emilio Aguinaldo declared war.
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May 6, 1882: Chinese Exclusion Act Signed
The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was signed, prohibiting Chinese immigration to the United States.
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Jan. 7, 1891: Zora Neale Hurston Born
Zora Neale Hurston, a folklorist, anthropologist, and author, was born in Alabama.
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Jan. 17, 1893: Queen Lili`uokalani of Hawai`i is Overthrown
Queen Lili`uokalani of the independent kingdom of Hawai`i was overthrown as she was arrested at gunpoint by U.S. Marines.
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April 9, 1898: Paul Robeson Born
Paul Robeson was one of the most important figures of the 20th century. He was a “renaissance man” — an acclaimed athlete, actor, singer, cultural scholar, author, lawyer, and internationally-renowned political activist.
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To ‘Joy My Freedom: Southern Black Women’s Lives and Labors After the Civil War
Book — Non-fiction. By Tera W. Hunter. 1998.
An examination of post-Civil War lives of African American women, focusing on their labor organizing, leisure, hope, and struggle.
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An examination of post-Civil War lives of African American women, focusing on their labor organizing, leisure, hope, and struggle.
Monumental: Oscar Dunn and His Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana
Book — Non-fiction. By Brian K. Mitchell, Barrington S. Edwards, and Nick Weldon. 2021. 256 pages.
This Reconstruction history graphic novel tells the story of Oscar James Dunn, a New Orleanian who became the first Black lieutenant governor and acting governor in the United States.
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This Reconstruction history graphic novel tells the story of Oscar James Dunn, a New Orleanian who became the first Black lieutenant governor and acting governor in the United States.
They Left Great Marks on Me: African American Testimonies of Racial Violence from Emancipation to World War I
Book — Non-fiction. By Kidada Williams. 2012. 281 pages.
This book documents African Americans' testimonies about racial violence during Jim Crow, and the crusades against that violence that became political training grounds for the Civil Rights Movement.
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This book documents African Americans' testimonies about racial violence during Jim Crow, and the crusades against that violence that became political training grounds for the Civil Rights Movement.
Feb. 3, 1868: First Freedmen’s Bureau Teacher Appointed in Lafayette Parish
Walter H. Williams was the first Black teacher appointed to a Freedmen’s Bureau School in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana during Reconstruction.
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July 4, 1876: Suffragists Crash Centennial Celebration at Independence Hall
Members of the National Woman Suffrage Association crashed the Centennial Celebration at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to present the “Declaration of the Rights of Women.”
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Feb. 22, 1898: White Mob Lynches Frazier Baker and Daughter Julia
Frazier Baker, first Black postmaster in South Carolina, and his baby daughter were shot and killed when they attempted to flee their burning home.
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