World History 1870-1880 AD

1880 AD Chinese Treaty- This treaty between the United States and the Chinese gave the US government the right to limit, restrict, or suspend, but not prohibit the entry of Chinese into the United States. Anti-Chinese pressure from the West Coast was responsible for the treaty. In 1882 Chinese immigrants would be excluded from the U.S. for 10 years.
1881 AD Alexander II Killed -A bomb in St Petersburg assassinated Alexander II Czar of Russia on March 13, 1881. The Czar who had reigned for 26 years is succeeded by his 36 year old son Aleksander III.
1881 AD President Garfield Assasinated-President Garfield was shot on July 2nd as he walked through the waiting room of the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad in Washington. His assassin, Charles Guiteau, had been rejected for a position in Garfield's administration. The President died on September19th.
1881 AD Dostoevski Dies Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevski died in 1881. The Russian novelist wrote Crime and Punishment as well as The Idiot.
1881 AD French Invasion of Tunisia-Tunisian tribesmen had raided Algeria, which provided the French a pretext for attacking Tunisia. The French withdrew after signing the treaty of Bardo. The treaty gave France the responsibility for the defense and foreign policy of Tunisia.
1882 AD Triple Alliance The Triple Alliance was created when Italy joined Germany and the Astro- Hungarian empires. In 1884 Russia agreed to renew the Three Emperors Alliance between Russia, Austria-Hungary and Germany. Under its terms the members were required to maintain neutrality in the case of any war involving its members.
1883 AD Anglo French Punitive Expedition -The French and the British launched a punitive expedition against Sudan that was decisively defeated by Muhammad Ahmad at the battle of El Ubbayid. The British then sent Charles George Gordon to arrange the withdrawal of British troops from Sudan. He was cut off and executed by the Sudanese.
1883 AD Pendelton Act- Public reaction to the assassination of President Garfield forced Congress to pass the Civil Service Reform Act. The law established a three-person, bi-partisan panel to develop exams to hire federal employees based on merit. The act initially covered 10% of federal employees, but became the basis for most of the Civil Service of today.
1883 AD Modern American Navy Begun- On March 3, the US Congress approved the construction of three steel cruisers. These were the first modern warships that the US navy built. In the next 17 years, the Navy would go from being 12th to 3rd in size in the world.
1883 AD Manet Dies In 1883 Douard Manet died. He was the leading French Impressionistic Painter. His works included "Picnic on the Grass."
1883 AD Sino-Chinese War -The French and the Chinese fought in the Sino-Chinese war . The French occupied most of Annam, (Vietnam and Cambodia) but their trade was being disrupted by Chinese in Northern Vietnam. The French destroyed the Chinese navy as it lay anchor at Foochow. Under the treaty of Hue the French consolidated their protectorate over all of Vietnam
1884 AD Congo Free State The Belgium's declare the Congo a Free State. They open it to settlement and trade by all nations. The territory was under the personal rule of Leopold the King of Belgium. The people of Congo where in fact exploited and brutally oppressed.
1885 AD Germany Claims Tanzania -The German East Africa Company was given a charter to administer Tanzania. The same year Germany claimed Southwest Africa and Togoland.
1886 AD Bomb Shatters Haymarket Rally-A bomb went off amidst a group of policemen at a labor rally called by Albert Parsons and Samuel Feldman. The rally took place at the end of a peaceful four-day nationwide strike calling for an eight-hour work day. The bomb blast killed one policeman and wounded many more. This event discredited the labor movement.
1886 AD Anglo-Egyptian Agreement -The British and the Germans agreed to recognize Sayid Barghash as sultan of Zanzibar. He was recognized to control the coasts of present-day Somalia, Tanzania and Kenya. Germany annexed the hinterland of Tanzania while Great Britain did the same for the hinterland of Kenya.
1887 AD Pension Act- The Pension Act called for giving a pension to all honorably discharged veterans who had served at least 90 days, and who had depended on manual labor to earn a living. The bill was vetoed by President Cleveland who claimed the pension would become a roll of fraud, rather than a roll of honor.
1887 AD Interstate Commerce Act Passed-On February 4, President Cleveland signed into law the first bill regulating the railroads. The act, which called
1887 AD Ethiopian-Italian War Begins -The Italians were defeated in the first battle of the Italian-Ethiopian War at the Battle of Dogali where Ethiopians defeated Italian troops. The Italians then engage in alliances with Ethiopia's neighbors to weaken them. The next year the Ethiopian leader Johannes IV was killed in a battle with the Mahdists. Menelik of Shoa, who received Italian support, succeeded him.
1888 AD George Eastman Patents Camera-George Eastman patented the hand held camera.
1889 AD Oklahoma Land Rush-The last major unsettled territory in the United States (which had been exclusively Indian) was opened for settlement. Over 200,000 settlers waited at the borders of the territory awaiting settlement. On the first day the territory was opened, 12,000 settlers arrived in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
188 AD Johnston Flood-The entire town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania was wiped off the map by a flood caused by the collapse of a dam. Engineers warned residents about an impending disaster, but the final break was so sudden that over 2,000 people lost their lives.
1889 AD Japan Received First Written Constitution -The Japanese received their first written constitution. Under the terms of the constitution the emperor's legislative power was exercised only with the consent of the Imperial Diet. No law takes effect if the Diet does not approve it.