The period was characterized in general by economic growth and prosperity in many parts of the world, especially Europe and the Americas, with the emergence of modern cities signified by the foundation of many long-lived corporations, franchises, and brands and the introduction of the skyscraper. The decade was a part of the Gilded Age (1874–1907) in the United States and the Victorian Era in the British Empire. It also occurred at the height of the Second Industrial Revolution and saw numerous developments in science and a sudden proliferation of electrical technologies, particularly in mass transit and telecommunications.
U.S. President James Garfield is shot by an assassin. Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech in Buffalo, NY on January 26, 1883, about theoretical reasons why every citizen must be involved in politics and the practicality of serving in that capacity. The Fabian Society is founded in Great Britain to promote Socialism. Ida Wells is forcibly removed from her 1st class train seat that she had purchased sparking her rise as an activist and journalist. Friedrich Engels publishes his book, ‘Origin of the Family’ to Destroy the Family Through Planned Agitation.” The Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States, is dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland as is Hammat Billings Monument of the Forefathers to honors the Pilgrims Christian values and principles.
A southbound passenger train halted in southern Quebec near the Vermont border, where an elderly, bespectacled man boarded the train. This man, a physician named Dr. Hamilton, worked his way down the aisles, asking each passenger, “Been vaccinated?” Unless they had documentation proving that they had been, Hamilton asked them to display their arms, where he looked for a “fresh scar” indicating a recent inoculation. If he could find no scar, a local paper informed readers, he either vaccinated the passenger on the spot or asked them to leave the train before it entered the United States.
The year was 1885. U.S. border officials in the late 19th century did not expect travelers to carry the identification documents that international transit requires today—but they did often require passengers to provide evidence that they had been vaccinated from smallpox. Whether at ports of entry including New York’s Ellis Island and San Francisco’s Angel Island, or along the U.S. border with Canada or Mexico, officials expected border-crossers to prove their immunity. As an El Paso newspaper put it in 1910, travelers needed to show one of three things: “A vaccination certificate, a properly scarred arm, or a pitted face” indicating that they had survived smallpox.
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Teddy Roosevelt Speech: Duties of American Citizenship
U.S. President James Garfield is Shot by an Assassin
Lord Acton: “All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
