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| 1863 |
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| Caudillo Vicente Peñaloza, “El Chacho,” of La Rioja, rejected unification, but centralist forces defeated him. | 1 |
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| 1865 |
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| Mitre, elected president, adopted a liberal economic policy. Felipe Varela rebelled in La Rioja, claiming the provincial right to tax imports to protect local manufactures (1866). | 2 |
| Mitre agreed with Brazil to make war on Paraguay, joining the Triple Alliance (Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil) (See 1865). Named commander in chief of the allied armies, Mitre promised a short war, but it lasted for five years (1865–70) and cost 18,000 Argentine soldiers their lives. | 3 |
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| 1868 |
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| Domingo F. Sarmiento (1811–85), Mitre's rival, was elected president. Sarmiento promoted education and European immigration. | 4 |
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| 1869 |
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| First census registered 1,800,000 inhabitants, with 178,000 in the city of Buenos Aires. The growing immigrant population was predominantly composed of male workers from Italy and Spain. Between 1871 and 1914, almost 6 million immigrants came, and half of this figure stayed permanently. | 5 |
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| 1874 |
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| Nicolás Avellaneda was elected president (1874–80). | 6 |
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| 1879–80 |
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| Gen. Julio A. Roca (1843–1914) directed the “Conquest of the Desert” campaign against the Ranquel and Araucanian Indians. Captured Indians were killed or placed in reservations. Land was transferred to local caudillos. | 7 |
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| 1880 |
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| Gen. Roca, allied with governors of all provinces—except Buenos Aires—formed the Liga de Córdoba, which defeated Buenos Aires's forces. Avellaneda's government collapsed. Roca's triumph marked the beginning of the oligarchy's dominance. This social class controlled the export-oriented sector and the politico-military apparatus. The growing middle class struggled for political reforms. | 8 |
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| 1881 |
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| The victors made Buenos Aires the national capital. The church lost control of civil marriages and education. | 9 |
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| 1886 |
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| Roca imposed his brother-in-law, Miguel Juárez Celman, as president (1886–91). Lack of control over monetary emissions depreciated salaries. Labor strikes disrupted Buenos Aires (1888–90). Students opposed Juárez Celman and formed the Unión Cívica de la Juventud. | 10 |
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| 1890–92 |
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| To avert financial crisis, Juárez Celman sold public lands and railroads to foreign firms. The Unión Cívica organized a massive revolt against Juárez Celman; congress forced him to resign and named vice president Carlos Pellegrini president (1890–92). He implemented fiscal austerity. Leandro N. Alem and his followers founded the UNIÓN CÍVICA RADICAL to struggle for democratic reform. | 11 |
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| 1892–96 |
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| Most of the Misiones territories were given to Brazil as a result of arbitration by the U.S. | 12 |
| Roca and his Partido Autonomista Nacional (PAN) backed the election of Luis Sáenz Peña (1823–1907), who was soon succeeded by his vice president, Gen. José E. Uriburu (1831–1914). Sáenz Peña resigned because of general rebellion in the provinces (1893). General strikes agitated Buenos Aires (1895–96). After the suicide of Leandro N. Alem (July 1, 1896), his nephew HIPÓLITO YRIGOYEN (1852–1933) became leader of the Unión Cívica Radical. | 13 |
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| 1898–1904 |
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| During Roca's second term, monetary reform worsened living conditions of workers. The urban working class, almost half of whom were foreigners, concentrated in the new meat-packing plants (frigoríficos) and artisanal trades. Workers, often led by anarchists, fought for better living conditions and union rights. The government response was repression. | 14 |
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