Seal of the Society for the Abolition of Slavery in England from 1837 Broadside. U.S. abolitionists adopt this seal for their increasingly vocal movement.
Gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill, California, 1848. This discovery sparks the first major gold rush in 1849 and subsequent searches for metals and minerals in the American west.
Henry C. Robinett, Civil War 1861–1865. Robinett (DMA 1860), pictured with General Ulysses S. Grant and other members of his staff, leads an artillery battery that successfully defends an important position at the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi....
PMA cadet battery aids Union in Civil War. In 1863, PMA cadets volunteer to help Pennsylvania Governor Curtin combat General Lee's forces at Gettysburg.
The Golden Spike forms first transcontinental railroad, May 10, 1869. The uniting of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads spurs new social, economic, and political opportunities.
Corliss steam engine powers Centennial Exhibition, 1876. Developed in 1846 by George H. Corliss, the Corliss Engine provides power for 13 acres of machinery at the Philadelphia Exposition.
Great railroad strike, 1877. Railroad workers protest wage cuts by launching a strike that quickly spreads throughout many states. Federal and state militias are called in to stop this first national strike.
First light bulb demonstration, 1879. Thomas Edison demonstrates the incandescent light bulb that he invents with Francis Upton at his lab in Menlo Park, New Jersey. Shown are the patents he receives for that invention.
Geronimo surrenders, 1886. The exile and relocation of the Apaches that follows the last major Native American action in the United States represents the government’s continued mistreatment of Native Americans.
Garment industry sweatshop, 1890. New sewing and cutting machines increase workers' productivity and lead to the development of sweatshops. Shown in a photograph by social reformer Jacob Riis are immigrants working in a New York tenement necktie...
Ferris Wheel debuts at Chicago World’s Fair, 1893. Millions see exhibits of art, architecture, science, and technology, as well as the newly invented Ferris Wheel. More than 250 feet high, each of its 36 cars, modeled after trolley cars, holds 60...
Ford creates the gas powered Quadricycle, 1896. Henry Ford then introduces the first mass-market car, the Model T, in 1908. A pioneer in the development of the modern assembly line, he opens an assembly plant in Chester in 1925.
John A. Logan Jr., Philippine insurrection 1899–1902. Major Logan (PMA 1882–1883), seated on the right, is awarded the medal of honor for heroism while leading his command at San Jacinto, Philippines Islands. Approximately 70 graduates and...
Frederick Erastus Humphreys, first military pilot. In 1907, Lieutenant Humphreys (PMC 1903) serves in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. In 1909, he is trained to fly by Wilbur Wright and is later certified by the Secretary of War as the first military...
Record year for U.S. immigration, 1907. More than 1.2 million immigrants enter the United States — a total not surpassed until 1990. Many of these "second wave" immigrants come from southern and eastern Europe.
Carol DeVol becomes Panama Canal quartermaster, 1908. DeVol (PMA 1878), a decorated veteran of the Spanish-American War and Philippine insurrection, is responsible for labor, quarters, and supplies for the entire Panama Canal Zone.
