1881 · The Assassination of James Garfield
Age 4
Garfield was shot twice by Charles J. Guitea at Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1881. After eleven weeks of intensive and other care Garfield died in Elberon, New Jersey, the second of four presidents to be assassinated, following Abraham Lincoln.
1882 · The Chinese Exclusion Act
Age 5
A federal law prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers. The Act was the first law to prevent all members of a national group from immigrating to the United States.
1884 · There is now a Capital Building
Age 7
The capitol building in Des Moines originally had a budget of $1,500,000 but complications arose because of the need of a redesign. The building was dedicated on January 17, 1884, but it wasn’t completed until 1886. On January 4, 1904, a fire started and swept through the areas that housed the Supreme Court and Iowa House of Representatives. A major restoration was performed and documented, with the addition of electrical lighting, elevators, and a telephone system. By the early 1980s, the sandstone exterior of the Capitol had started deteriorating and prompted the installation of canopies to protect pedestrians from falling rubble. The entire reconstruction process took around 18 years to complete.