What Happened in May?

In the first vote of President Andrew Johnson's Impeachment trial; the U.S. Senate votes 35 to 19 to acquit him on article 11. Ten days later, on May 26 the Senate, with the same margin, votes to acquit on articles 2 and 3 and adjourns as court of impeachment. More

In the final vote of President Andrew Johnson's Impeachment trial; the U.S. Senate votes 35 to 19 to acquit him on articles 2 and 3 and adjourns as court of impeachment. Ten days earlier on May 16, the Senate, with the same margin, voted to acquit on article 11 More

The U.S. Transcontinental railroad opens for through traffic linking the East Coast and West Coast by rail, when CPRR President Leland Stanford ceremonially drove the gold "Last Spike" (later often referred to as the "Golden Spike") at Promontory Summit in Utah. More

The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was founded in New York City by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The NWSA was formed after the women's rights movement split over the proposed Fifteenth Amendment, which would grant voting rights to African American men but not to women. The NWSA opposed the amendment as written, advocating for women's suffrage along with the rights of Black men. More

The peace Treaty of Frankfurt is signed, formally ending the Franco-Prussian War and leaving a stronger unified Germany under Prussian leadership, emerging as a dominant force. It also resulted in significant territorial losses for France, including Alsace and part of Lorraine. More

Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis obtained a U.S. patent for the process of putting rivets in men’s work pants for the very first time creating what we now call jeans. More

The American Red Cross is founded in Washington, D.C. by Clara Barton and a circle of her acquaintances. Barton led the Red Cross for 23 years. More

The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Chester A. Arthur. This act provided an absolute 10-year ban on Chinese laborers immigrating to the United States. It was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States. More

The Brooklyn Bridge over the East River officially opens, connecting New York City and Brooklyn for the first time in history. The opening ceremony was presided over by President Chester A. Arthur and New York Governor Grover Cleveland. The bridge, designed by John A. Roebling, with a span of 1,595 feet was the largest suspension bridge ever built to that date and took 14 years to complete. Roebling died as a result of a construction accident, three weeks after the start of the project. The bridge construction was completed by his son, Washington A. Roebling, who took over as Chief Engineer. At least 20 workers were killed during construction, and many more suffered decompression sickness. More

The first Ringling Brothers Circus opens in Baraboo, Wisconsin. By the early 20th century it became the leading circus in the U.S. as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Today , after a hiatus from 2017 to 2023, it has returned with a reimagined show that features no animals. The circus is now billed as "The Greatest Show on Earth" and includes acts like trapeze, high wire, and teeterboard. More

The Haymarket Square Riot in Chicago, also known as the Haymarket massacre, was a pivotal event in American labor history, a bomb exploded at a Chicago labor rally, wounding dozens of policemen, seven of whom eventually died. The event led to the trial and conviction of eight anarchists, some of whom were later executed, despite the lack of definitive evidence of their involvement in the bombing. More 

Dr. John Stith Pemberton, a local pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia, produced the syrup for Coca‑Cola, and carried a jug of the new product down the street to Jacobs' Pharmacy, where it was sampled, pronounced "excellent" and placed on sale for five cents a glass as a soda fountain drink as a tonic for common ailments. Dr. Pemberton never realized the potential of the beverage he created. He gradually sold portions of his business and, just prior to his death in 1888, sold his remaining interest in Coca‑Cola to Asa G. Candler. An Atlantan business man. Candler proceeded to buy additional rights and acquire complete control. More

The Hells Canyon Massacre. The mass slaughter of Chinese gold miners by a gang of white horse thieves takes place, in Lewiston, Washington Territory, in what is now Idaho. This was one of many hate crimes perpetrated against Asian immigrants in the American West during this period.

The Panic of 1893, was one of the most severe financial crises in the history of the U.S. triggering a depression that lasted until 1897. The crisis started with a a slow down of economic activity and a large decline in U.S. Treasury gold reserves, raising the rates of defaults on loans and weakening banks’ balance sheets. Fearing for the safety of their deposits, men and women began to withdraw funds from banks. Fear spread and withdrawals accelerated, leading to widespread runs on banks. The economy remained in recession until the following summer. According to some estimates, industrial production fell by 15.3% and unemployment rose as high as 19%. After a brief pause, the economy slumped into recession again in late 1895 and did not fully recover until mid-1897. More

The start of the Panic of 1893 - The most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of the 1930 resulted in a significant economic downturn in the United States lasting until 1897. It began with the collapse of two major corporations, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and the National Cordage Company and a chain of financial failures, triggering a stock market crash with a Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 24% in a single day.
The Panic of 1893 deeply affected every sector of the economy and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment and the presidency of William McKinley. The panic climaxed with a run on gold from the United States Treasury. Unemployment rates in many states rose above 25% and poverty became widespread. More

Queen Victoria officially opens the Manchester Ship Canal in England to traffic. The 36-mile waterway, linking Manchester to the Irish Sea, became the largest navigation canal in the world and transformed Manchester into a major port. It was a monumental feat of civil engineering, taking six years to construct and costing £15 million. The Canal had started to allow commercial traffic almost 6 months earlier on January 1, 1894.

The US Supreme Court, (Chief Justice: Melville Weston Fuller) rules in Plessy v. Ferguson by a vote of 7-1, upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation under the doctrine of "separate but equal". This ruling allowed for the continued discrimination against African Americans and solidified Jim Crow laws in the South. The court reasoned that segregation did not violate the 14th Amendment as long as facilities for both races were equal. Justice John Marshall Harlan was the lone dissenter from the Court's decision, arguing that the Constitution was color-blind and that the United States had no class system. Accordingly, all citizens should have equal access to civil rights. More

The first Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was published, with a daily closing value of 40.94 this average was calculated using the share prices of 12 industrial stocks; American Cotton Oil, American Sugar, American Tobacco, Chicago Gas, Distilling & Cattle Feeding, General Electric, Laclede Gas, National Lead, North American, Tennessee Coal and Iron, U.S. Leather, and U.S. Rubber. The Index was created by Charles Dow, co-founder of the Wall Street Journal, and his business associate, statistician Edward Jones. Currently, the DJIA tracks the performance of 30 leading U.S. companies, providing a snapshot of the overall stock market.

Martinique's Mount Pelée erupts and destroys the town of Saint-Pierre, killing approximately 30,000 people, 15 percent of the island’s population. in the space of a few minutes. This is considered the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century. Mount Pelée is still classified as an active volcano.

Cuba gained its independence from the United States and the Cuban Republic is formally established. The United States governed Cuba as a protectorate after the end of the Spanish-American war when Spain ceded Cuba to the U.S. as part of the Treaty of Paris in 1898.