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| 1890 |
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| The National Woman Suffrage Association was reorganized as the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), and continued the campaign for suffrage; by 1900, four states had enfranchised women. By the outbreak of World War I, women exercised the suffrage in 11 states. | 1 |
| The Mississippi Plan. A state constitutional convention met for the primary purpose of disfranchising the black voter. The state imposed a poll tax, a literacy requirement, and an “understanding” clause, which virtually removed blacks from the electoral process, while also undermining the political participation of poor whites. Other states soon followed suit. | 2 |
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| June 19 |
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| The Force Bill, providing for federal control of federal elections, was reported in the House of Representatives. It aimed to protect African-American voters in southern states against attempts to disfranchise them. It passed the House, but was not adopted by the Senate. | 3 |
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| June 27 |
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| Disability Pension Act. In reality this was a service pension act since it provided pensions for all veterans of 90 days' service who could claim physical or mental disability, regardless of origin, that precluded the gaining of a livelihood by manual labor. Pensions were to be granted to widows of soldiers without regard to the cause of the husband's death if the marriage had occurred prior to 1890. | 4 |
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| July 2 |
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| The SHERMAN ANTI-TRUST LAW was enacted. After the formation of the Standard Oil Trust in 1879 (revised in 1882), numerous large business combinations made their appearance, thereby raising the specter of monopoly, which led to the demand for legislation by Congress. The Sherman Act declared illegal “every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce among the several states or with foreign nations.” | 5 |
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| July 14 |
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| The Sherman Silver Purchase Act. The act authorized the treasury to purchase 4,500,000 ounces of silver monthly for coinage into dollars and to issue treasury certificates, to be redeemed in either gold or silver at the discretion of the treasury. | 6 |
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| Dec |
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| Wounded Knee. Religious adherents of Wovoka's (c. 1858–1932) teachings and the Ghost Dance became increasingly threatening toward white settlers, who called for army assistance. When Indian police and federal troops attempted to arrest Sitting Bull (Dec. 14), a battle broke out, and 13 people, including the chief, were killed. Two weeks later, more followers of the Ghost Dance surrendered to the military; and they were at the encampment at Wounded Knee when a gun battle occurred between the soldiers and the Sioux, which resulted in the death of 25 U.S. troops and 153 Indian men, women, and children. | 7 |
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