1870 in the United States
Encyclopedia

Incumbents

  • President
    President of the United States
    The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

    : Ulysses S. Grant
    Ulysses S. Grant
    Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

     (Republican
    Republican Party (United States)
    The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

    )
  • Vice President
    Vice President of the United States
    The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

    : Schuyler Colfax
    Schuyler Colfax
    Schuyler Colfax, Jr. was a United States Representative from Indiana , Speaker of the House of Representatives , and the 17th Vice President of the United States . To date, he is one of only two Americans to have served as both House speaker and vice president.President Ulysses S...

     (Republican
    Republican Party (United States)
    The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

    )
  • Chief Justice
    Chief Justice of the United States
    The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...

    : Salmon P. Chase
    Salmon P. Chase
    Salmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.Chase was one of the most prominent members...

  • Speaker of the House of Representatives
    Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
    The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...

    : James G. Blaine
    James G. Blaine
    James Gillespie Blaine was a U.S. Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, two-time Secretary of State...

     (R
    Republican Party (United States)
    The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

    -Maine)
  • Congress
    United States Congress
    The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

    : 41st
    41st United States Congress
    -House of Representatives:- Senate :* President : Schuyler Colfax* President pro tempore: Henry B. Anthony - House of Representatives :* Speaker: James G. Blaine -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...


January–March

  • January 1 – Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge
    Brooklyn Bridge
    The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...

     are completed.
  • January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge
    Brooklyn Bridge
    The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...

     begins.
  • January 10 – John D. Rockefeller
    John D. Rockefeller
    John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...

     incorporates Standard Oil
    Standard Oil
    Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...

    .
  • January 15 – A political cartoon
    Cartoon
    A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...

     for the first time symbolizes the United States Democratic Party with a donkey
    Donkey
    The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...

     ("A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" by Thomas Nast
    Thomas Nast
    Thomas Nast was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist who is considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was the scourge of Boss Tweed and the Tammany Hall machine...

     for Harper's Weekly
    Harper's Weekly
    Harper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...

    ).
  • January 26 – Reconstruction: Virginia
    Virginia
    The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

     rejoins the Union.
  • January 27 – The first college sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta
    Kappa Alpha Theta
    Kappa Alpha Theta , also known as Theta, is an international fraternity for women founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury...

    , is established at DePauw University
    DePauw University
    DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...

    .
  • February 3 – The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing African-Americans the right to vote, is passed.
  • February 10 – Anaheim, California
    Anaheim, California
    Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...

     is incorporated.
  • February 10 – The YWCA
    YWCA
    The YWCA USA is the United States branch of a women's membership movement that strives to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to attain a common vision—to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA is a non-profit organization, the first of which was founded in...

     is founded in New York City.
  • February 12 – Women gain the right to vote in Utah
    Utah
    Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

     Territory.
  • February 23 – Military control of Mississippi
    Mississippi
    Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

     ends and it is readmitted to the Union.
  • February 25 – Hiram Rhodes Revels
    Hiram Rhodes Revels
    Hiram Rhodes Revels was the first African American to serve in the United States Senate. Because he preceded any African American in the House, he was the first African American in the U.S. Congress as well. He represented Mississippi in 1870 and 1871 during Reconstruction...

    , a Republican from Mississippi
    Mississippi
    Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

    , is sworn into the United States Senate
    United States Senate
    The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

    , becoming the first African American
    African American
    African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

     ever to sit in the U.S. Congress.
  • February 26 – In New York City, the first pneumatic subway
    Rapid transit
    A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

     is opened.
  • March 19 – The Ohio Legislature passes the Cannon Act, thereby establishing the Ohio Agriculture and Mechanical College, later Ohio State University
    Ohio State University
    The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

    .
  • March 24 – Syracuse University
    Syracuse University
    Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...

     is established and officially opens.
  • March 30 – The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, giving blacks the right to vote, is ratified.
  • March 30 – Texas
    Texas
    Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

     is readmitted to the Union following Reconstruction.
  • March 31 – Thomas Mundy Peterson
    Thomas Mundy Peterson
    Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, New Jersey was the first African-American to vote in an election under the just-enacted provisions of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution...

     is the first African-American to vote in an election.

April–June

  • April – The Chicago Base Ball Club, later to be known as the Chicago White Stockings, and ultimately the Chicago Cubs
    Chicago Cubs
    The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

    , play their first game against the St. Louis Unions of the National Association of Base Ball Players
    National Association of Base Ball Players
    The National Association of Base Ball Players was the first organization governing American baseball. The first, 1857 convention of sixteen New York City clubs...

    , an amateur league.
  • June 22 – The U.S. Congress creates the United States Department of Justice
    United States Department of Justice
    The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...

    .
  • June 26 – Christmas
    Christmas
    Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

     is declared a federal holiday in the United States.

July–September

  • July 15 – Reconstruction: Georgia
    Georgia (U.S. state)
    Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

     becomes the last former Confederate
    Confederate States of America
    The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

     state to be readmitted to the Union, and the C.S.A. is dissolved.
  • September 6 – Louisa Ann Swain
    Louisa Ann Swain
    Louisa Gardner Swain was the first woman to vote in a general election in the United States. She voted on September 6, 1870, in Laramie, Wyoming.-Biography:...

     of Laramie, Wyoming
    Laramie, Wyoming
    Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30,816 at the . Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287....

    , becomes the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally since 1807.
  • September 18 – Old Faithful Geyser
    Old Faithful Geyser
    Old Faithful is a cone geyser located in Wyoming, in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Old Faithful was named in 1870 during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to receive a name...

     is observed and named by Henry D. Washburn
    Henry D. Washburn
    Henry Dana Washburn was a U.S. Representative from Indiana and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...

     during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition
    Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition
    The Washburn Expedition of 1870, explored the region of northwestern Wyoming that a couple years later became Yellowstone National Park. Led by Henry Washburn, Nathaniel P. Langford and under U.S. Army escort led by Lt. Gustavus C...

     to Yellowstone.

October–December

  • November 1 – In the United States, the newly created Weather Bureau (later renamed the National Weather Service
    National Weather Service
    The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...

    ) makes its first official meteorological
    Meteorology
    Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...

     forecast: "High winds at Chicago and Milwaukee... and along the Lakes".

Undated

  • Underwood Constitution: A controversial revised Constitution of Virginia
    Constitution of Virginia
    The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the document that defines and limits the powers of the state government and the basic rights of the citizens of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. Like all other state constitutions, it is supreme over Virginia's laws and acts of government,...

     goes into effect following a drafting convention that was dominated by the Radical Republicans led by John Underwood.

Ongoing

  • Reconstruction era (1865–1877)
  • Gilded Age
    Gilded Age
    In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...

    (1869–c. 1896)
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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