THE GREAT WEST & POPULISM + GILDED AGE

Crazy Horse

·        A part of the Sioux Tribe

·        Was a warrior

·        Fought in the Battle of Little Big Horn in Montana, 1876

·        Defeated the US army in that battle

A Century of Dishonor

·        Book about the abuse of the Native Americans by Americans

·        Didn’t have much of an impact

·        Written by Helen Hunt Jackson

Dawes Act

·        1887

·        Tribes are banned

·        Become farmers

·        Americanize /assimilated

Carlise School

·        Took Native American children to Pennsylvania

·        For assimilation

·        Forbidden from demonstrating their culture

Long Drive

·        Cowboys taking Texas Longhorns to the closest railroad

·        Lasted 3 months

·        Railroads to the east

Homestead Act

·        Federal government gave land away

·        In the great west to populate the area

·        160 acres of land

·        In 1862

Chinese Exclusion Act

·        Most racist laws made

·        After the Chinese immigrants finished the railroad, they were excluded

·        1882 and stayed until World War 2

Granger Laws

·        State laws in the 1870s regulating railroad and grain elevator rates.

·        Pushed by farmers (Grangers) to stop unfair shipping costs.

·        Set early precedent for government regulation of business.

Interstate Commerce Act

·        1887 law creating the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).

·        Regulated railroad rates and practices across state lines.

·        First federal law to oversee private industry for fairness.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

·        1890 law banning business monopolies and unfair restraints on trade.

·        Aimed to break up trusts and promote competition.

·        First major U.S. antitrust legislation.

Populist Party

·       Formed in 1892 by farmers, laborers, and reformers.

·       Pushed for silver coinage, income tax, and railroad regulation.

·       Tried to unite workers against big business.

Bryan

·       Democratic leader and three-time presidential candidate.

·       Supported silver coinage and farmers’ causes.

Famous for the “Cross of Gold” speech

Trust

• A group of companies managed by a single board to reduce competition

• Allows firms to control prices and markets

• Often used to create monopolies in industries

Monopoly

• Complete control of a product or service by one company

• Eliminates competition and sets prices freely

• Common in railroads, oil, and steel during the late 1800s

“Captains of Industry”

• Complete control of a product or service by one company

• Eliminates competition and sets prices freely

• Common in railroads, oil, and steel during the late 1800s

Vanderbilt

• “Lords of the rail”

• Father–son team who built a railroad and shipping empire

• Controlled key transportation routes across the U.S.

Carnegie

• Steel industry leader and founder of Carnegie Steel

• Used new technology to mass-produce steel cheaply

• Gave away much of his wealth to libraries and education

• “The worst thing that can happen to a human being is to die rich.”

Morgan

• Powerful banker and financier

• Helped organize major corporations like U.S. Steel

• Bailed out the U.S. government during financial crises

Rockefeller

• Founder of Standard Oil Company

• Used trusts and ruthless tactics to dominate oil

• Became the richest man in American history

Robber Barons

• Term for business leaders accused of using unfair tactics

• Exploited workers and crushed competitors

• Focused on profits over public good

Social Darwinism

• Belief that the strongest businesses survive

• Applied Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” to society

• Used to justify wealth inequality and monopolies

Horatio Agler

• Author of popular “rags-to-riches” stories

• Promoted the idea of success through hard work

• Inspired belief in the American Dream

Pinkerton Police

• Private security hired by businesses

• Protected property and broke strikes

• Known for violence during labor conflicts

Labor Unions

• Groups formed to protect workers’ rights

• Fought for better wages, hours, and conditions

• Organized strikes and negotiations with employers

Knights of Labor (Terrance Powderly)

• Early national labor union open to all workers

• Sought 8-hour days and equal pay for women

• Declined after violence like the Haymarket Riot

AFL

• American Federation of Labor, founded 1886

• Focused on skilled workers and better wages/hours

• Used collective bargaining instead of political action

Homestead Strike

• 1892 steelworker strike at Carnegie’s Homestead plant

• Turned violent when Pinkertons were hired

• Defeat weakened steel unions

Dumbbell Tenements

• Immigrant housing shaped like dumbbells for ventilation

• Overcrowded and unsanitary

• Common in urban immigrant neighborhoods

Addams

Social reformer who helped immigrants

• Founded Hull House in Chicago

Hull House

• Community center offering services to immigrants

• Provided childcare, education, and healthcare

• Helped poor families adapt to city life

Emma Lazarus: The “Great Colossus”

• Poet who wrote the Statue of Liberty inscription

• Welcomed immigrants to America

• Famous line: “Give me your tired, your poor.”

Prohibition

• Movement to ban alcohol in the U.S.

• Linked to reducing crime and improving morals

• Led to the 18th Amendment in 1920

Carrie A. Nation

• Activist who attacked saloons with a hatchet

• Fought for Prohibition and women’s rights

• Became a symbol of the temperance movement

“Boss” Tweed

• Corrupt political leader of New York City

• Controlled Tammany Hall and city contracts

• Stole millions through graft and bribery

Thomas Nast

• Political cartoonist who exposed Tweed’s corruption

Credit Mobilier Scandal

• Political scandal involving railroad construction companies and government officials

Pendleton Civil Service Act

• 1883 law requiring government jobs to be based on merit

• Ended the “spoils system” of political hiring

• Created civil service exams for federal positions