APUSH Ch. 19 Terms

Temperance

A social movement advocating for the reduction or prohibition of alcohol consumption, gaining significant momentum in the late 19th century.

Stalwarts

A faction of the Republican Party in the 1870s-1880s that supported the patronage system (spoils system) and opposed civil service reform; led by Roscoe Conkling.

Half Breeds

A faction of the Republican Party that supported civil service reform and opposed the spoils system; rivals of the Stalwarts.

Lemonade Lucy

Nickname for Lucy Hayes, wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes, who banned alcohol from the White House in support of the temperance movement.

Pendleton Act

1883 law that created the Civil Service Commission and established a merit-based system for federal employment, replacing the spoils system.

Chester A. Arthur

21st U.S. President (1881-1885) who, despite being a former Stalwart, surprisingly supported and signed the Pendleton Act into law.

Mugwumps

Reform-minded Republicans who bolted from their party in 1884 to support Democrat Grover Cleveland due to their opposition to corruption and support for civil service reform.

Samuel Burchard

A Protestant minister whose "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion" speech in 1884 insulted Catholic voters and may have cost Republican James Blaine the presidency.

Benjamin Harrison

23rd U.S. President (1889-1893), Republican who signed significant legislation including the Sherman Antitrust Act and McKinley Tariff.

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890 federal law that prohibited monopolies and business combinations that restrained trade, though initially weakly enforced.

McKinley Tariff

1890 act that raised protective tariffs to very high levels, protecting American industries but raising consumer prices.

Interstate Commerce Act

1887 law that created the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroad rates and practices, the first federal regulatory agency.

Granger Movement

An organization of farmers (the Grange) founded in the 1870s that advocated for railroad regulation and cooperative economic ventures to help farmers.

Mary Lease

Populist speaker and activist known for allegedly telling farmers to "raise less corn and more hell" in their fight against economic exploitation.

Oscala Demands

1890 platform issued by the Farmers' Alliance calling for free silver, graduated income tax, direct election of senators, and government ownership of railroads.

Populists

Members of the People's Party formed in 1892, representing farmers and laborers who sought economic and political reforms including free silver and regulation of railroads.

Colored Alliances

African American farmers' organizations that paralleled white Farmers' Alliances, advocating for similar economic reforms while facing racial segregation.

Panic of 1893

A severe economic depression triggered by railroad overbuilding, bank failures, and agricultural distress that lasted until 1897.

Coxey's Army

A group of unemployed workers led by Jacob Coxey who marched on Washington, D.C. in 1894 to demand government relief programs during the depression.

Free Silver

The movement to allow unlimited coinage of silver at a 16:1 ratio with gold, intended to inflate the currency and help indebted farmers.

William Harvey's Coin's Financial School

An 1894 pamphlet that popularized the free silver cause through simple explanations, becoming a bestseller.

William Jennings Bryan

Democratic and Populist presidential candidate in 1896 who championed free silver and farmers' interests; lost to William McKinley.

Cross of Gold Speech

Bryan's powerful 1896 Democratic convention speech advocating for free silver, ending with "you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold."

Election of 1896

Pivotal election in which Republican William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan, marking the end of the Populist movement's influence and beginning of Republican dominance.

Currency Act of 1900

Also known as the Gold Standard Act, it officially placed the United States on the gold standard, ending the free silver debate.

Dingley Tariff

1897 act that raised protective tariffs to their highest level yet, promoted by the McKinley administration.

Henry Cabot Lodge

Republican senator from Massachusetts and strong advocate of American imperialism and expansionism.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Naval officer and historian whose book "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History" argued that naval power was essential for national greatness, influencing U.S. imperial policy.

Theodore Roosevelt

Assistant Secretary of the Navy, organizer of the Rough Riders, and later 26th President; a leading proponent of American imperialism and military power.

Queen Liliuokalani

Last monarch of Hawaii who was overthrown in 1893 by American planters and businessmen with support from U.S. Marines.

General Weyler

Spanish general in Cuba known as "The Butcher" for his brutal reconcentration policy that forced Cuban civilians into camps.

Cuba Libre

"Free Cuba" - the rallying cry of Cuban revolutionaries fighting for independence from Spain in the 1890s.

Jose Marti

Cuban poet, journalist, and revolutionary leader who fought for Cuban independence from Spain; killed in battle in 1895.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized, exaggerated newspaper reporting by publishers like William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer that helped inflame American opinion in favor of war with Spain.

De Lome Letter

1898 stolen letter from Spanish minister to the U.S. that insulted President McKinley, published by newspapers and increasing anti-Spanish sentiment.

Sinking of the USS Maine

Explosion that destroyed the U.S. battleship in Havana harbor in February 1898, killing 266 sailors and serving as the catalyst for war with Spain.

Splendid Little War

John Hay's description of the Spanish-American War, which lasted only about four months with relatively few American combat deaths.

George Dewey

U.S. naval commander who destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay, Philippines, in May 1898.

Rough Riders

Volunteer cavalry regiment led by Theodore Roosevelt that fought in Cuba, most famously at the Battle of San Juan Hill.

Foraker Act

1900 law that established a civil government in Puerto Rico and made it an unincorporated U.S. territory.

Jones Act

1917 law that granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans.

Anti-Imperialist League

Organization formed in 1898 to oppose American annexation of the Philippines and imperial expansion, including members like Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie.

Treaty of Paris

1898 treaty ending the Spanish-American War in which Spain ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S. and granted Cuban independence.

Platt Amendment

1901 amendment to the Cuban constitution that limited Cuban sovereignty, gave the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs, and established a naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

Arthur MacArthur

U.S. general who served as military governor of the Philippines and led American forces against Filipino insurgents.

Emilio Aguinaldo

Filipino revolutionary leader who initially fought against Spain, then led an insurgency against American occupation from 1899-1902.

William H. Taft

First civilian governor of the Philippines (1901-1904) and later 27th U.S. President.

Open Door Policy

Policy promoted by Secretary of State John Hay in 1899-1900 calling for equal trading rights for all nations in China and Chinese territorial integrity.

Boxer Rebellion

1900 Chinese nationalist uprising against foreign influence and missionaries, suppressed by an international force including U.S. troops.

Elihu Root

Secretary of War (1899-1904) and Secretary of State (1905-1909) who helped modernize the U.S. military and manage American colonial possessions.