History Lame Stuff

Andrew Carnegie

Tycoon who dominated the steel industry through vertical integration

Eugene Debbs

Head of the American Railway Union, he ran for president multiple times as a Socialist Candidate, founding member of IWW

Booker T. Washington

Civil Rights leader who thought that vocational education was the key to racial equality and founder of the Tuskegee Institute, believed economic equality would lead to social equality

Teddy Roosevelt

Republican president (1901-1909) who offered a “square deal” (conservation, corporate law, consumer protection) during the Progressive Ear, believed in using bully pulpit and “big stick” in diplomacy, wrote “Corollary” to Monroe Doctrine for more aggressive foreign policy

William Howard Taft

Republican President (1909-1913) that helped to calm Philippines, as president called for dollar diplomacy, money instead of bullets, was limited in success and created hostility towards/suspicion of Americans

Ida B. Wells (Barnett)

Civil rights leader who fought against lynching by publishing stories about it, founding member of NAACP

John Rockefeller

Business owner who dominated the oil industry through horizontal integration

W.E.B. Dubois

Civil rights leader who called for “talented tenth” to lead, restoration of political rights, helped create NAACP, believed social equality would create economic quality

Woodrow Wilson

Democratic president (1913-1921) who pushed progressive reforms through “New Freedom” along with moral imperialism

Upton Sinclair

Wrote “The Jungle”, exposed worker conditions and poor sanitation in slaughterhouses, which contributed to 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act

Ida Tarbell

Exposed corruption of Standard Oil Company with her book

Plessy V. Ferguson

Constitutionally affirmed segregation, stating that “separate but equal was legal

JP Morgan

Financier who revolutionized banking with industrial acquisitions and consolidations en masse

Thomas Edision

Invented light bulb and using electricity for power

Robert LaFollette

Sought to reform government by using progressive ideas and educated elites to draft and pass legislation

Henry Ford

Changed manufacturing with widespread integration of assembly lines to manufacture cars

Muckrakers

Journalists who wrote about problems of industrialization

Alfred T. Mahan

Famous strategist who wrote a book about sea power and need for U.S. naval expansion

Buck V. Bell

Supreme Court case that ruled in favor of sterilization laws, causing other states to copy Virginia’s law

Recall

Voters can hold a special election in order to replace a public official

Chinese Exclusion Act

Halted Chinese immigration (1st group restricted from US)

19th amendment

Gave women right to vote

Initiative

Citizens can create legislation on their own then send it to their representatives

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

First law to restrict monopolies, but it didn’t do much, requiring further legislation

Pullman, Homestead, and Great Railroad Strike

Massive union strikes at railcar manufacturer, steel, and railroad respectively, all ended violently

Primary System

Voters choose the party candidates who run for office, came from Progressive movement

17th Amendment

Gave people the right to directly elect Senators

Referendum

People get to vote on legislation for themselves if legislative bodies don’t want to

Knights of Lsbor

Union open to all trades and skill levels with socialist utopian ideas, first large labor union

Wounded Knee

Indian massacre that occurred because of a misunderstanding of the Indian Ghost Dance

Civil Service Act

Passed to tackle corruption in government positions, demanded that government positions be given out based on merit

Jim Crow

State laws that violated black rights, segregated the races

Panama Canal

Crossed the isthmus of Panama, poor working conditions and disease for laborers, but also created RRs and infrastructure for Panama

Interstate Commerce Commission

Passed to regulate interstate travel, especially railroads

Second Industrial Revolution

1870-1914 increase in factories, mining, and railroads, along with widespread adoption of technologies

International Workers of the World

Union that wanted to overthrow capitalism to benefit laborers, successor to KOL

Dawes Severalty Act

Passed in 1887 to end tribal life by divvying up Indian land into individually owned plots

Grange and Farmers’ Alliance

wanted to tackle farmers’ issues lie high interest rates on loans, railroad freight rates, and storage fees

American Federation of Labor

Union open to skilled white craftsmen to advance within capitalist system

Social Darwinism

The “Fittest” rose to the top and created progress for all of society

Omaha Platform

an 8-hour workday, free silver, government ownership of railroads, direct election of US senators, and a graduated income tax

Municipal housekeeping

Efforts at reform to clean up local politics, with a focus on issues for women and children

Gospel of Wealth

Idea that philanthropy could uplift the poor

Inventions

Adding machine, typewriter, and stock ticker made business easier to conduct in late 1800s

Social Gospel

Problems caused by industrialization could be solved by applying Christian principals

Trusts

Allowed larger companies to control stock of smaller companies to control markets

Open Door Policy

Secretary of State John Hay wished to open China to American business, wanted to prevent carving up of China by developed nations by allowing free trade with all

Pools

Informal alliance among similar companies to control the market

Populists

Believed in Free Silver, not Gold Standard, was a coalition of laborers/farmers, supported William Jennings Bryan for president