Chapter 21 Vocab

Waving the Bloody Shirt

An expression used as a vote getting stratagem by the Republicans during the election of 1876 to offset charges of corruption by blaming the Civil War on the Democrats.

Jim Fisk

a corrupted Gilded Age American financier and railroad magnate; known for Black Friday plot to corner the gold market with Jay Gould

Jay Gould

an American financier that was partnered with James Fisk in the Black Friday plot to corner the gold market

Credit Mobilier

a massive Gilded Age fraud where Union Pacific Railroad insiders formed a dummy construction company

Whiskey Ring

a major scandal during the Grant administration in 1875, involving diversion of tax revenues in a conspiracy among government agents, politicians, whiskey distillers, and distributors.

Liberal Republicans

political party faction formed in 1872 to oppose the perceived corruption of President Grant's administration and the continuation of federal Reconstruction policies

Horace Greeley

prominent American newspaper editor, reformer, and politician known especially for his influence on the abolitionist and westward expansion movements

General Amnesty Act, 1872

a U.S. law that pardoned most former Confederates for their roles in the Civil War (except for top leaders)

Resumption Act, 1873

U.S. federal law that aimed to return the nation to the gold standard by mandating the gradual withdrawal of paper currency

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)

a powerful post-Civil War fraternal and political organization for Union veterans

Stalwarts, Senator Roscoe Conkling

faction of the Republican Party during the Gilded Age, led by NY Senator Conkling, who fiercely opposed civil service reform and championed the spoils system

Half-Breeds, Senator James G. Blaine

faction of the late 19th-century Republican Party who supported civil service reform and a merit-based system for government jobs, as opposed to the traditional spoils system led by Senator Blaine

Hayes vs. Tilden, 1876

highly disputed presidential election that was ultimately decided by the Compromise of 1877. This "corrupt bargain" awarded the presidency to the Republican candidate, Rutherford B. Hayes

Compromise of 1877

an informal deal settling the disputed 1876 election, making Republican Rutherford B. Hayes president in exchange for removing federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction, and allowing Southern Democrats to regain control

Jim Crow laws

Laws enforcing racial segregation and denying rights to African Americans

Plessy v Ferguson, 1896

landmark Supreme Court case that legalized segregation in publicly owned facilities on the basis of "separate but equal."

Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882

the first U.S. law to ban a specific nationality, prohibiting Chinese laborers from immigrating for ten years and denying existing Chinese residents the path to citizenship

James Garfield

was the 20th U.S. President, whose brief presidency focused on civil service reform and fighting patronage but ended with his assassination

Charles Guiteau

the mentally unstable, disappointed office-seeker who assassinated President Garfield and led to the Pendleton Acts

Chester Arthur

21st President; an unexpected reformer, he championed the Pendleton Act, establishing merit-based federal hiring and also modernized the U.S. Navy

Pendleton Act, 1883

a U.S. federal law that established the merit system for civil service jobs, requiring competitive exams for many positions and making it illegal to fire employees for political reasons; ended the spoils system and patronage

Mugwumps, 1884

reform-minded Republicans who rejected their party's candidate, James G. Blaine, due to his perceived corruption and association with the spoils system and instead supported Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland

22nd and 24th U.S. President, famous for being the only president with two non-consecutive terms; a Democrat known for fiscal conservatism, honesty, fighting corruption, supporting the gold standard

Thomas B. Reed

powerful Republican Speaker of the House known for his strong control, implementing "Reed Rules"

McKinley Tariff Act, 1890

high protective tariff raising import duties to nearly 50% to shield American industries, but it backfired, raising consumer costs, angering farmers, and contributing to Republican losses in the 1890 midterms and the Panic of 1893