Chapter 20: Whose Government? Politics, Populists, and Progressives, 1880-1917

"waving the bloody shirt"

a term of ridicule used in the 1880s and 1890s to refer to politicians who, according to critics, whipped up old animosities from the Civil War that ought to be set aside

Gilded Age

A term invented in the 1920s describing the late nineteenth century as a period of ostentatious displays of wealth, growing poverty, and government inaction in the face of income inequality.

Pendleton Act

An 1883 law establishing a nonpartisan Civil Service Commission to fill federal jobs by examination.

Mugwumps

A late-nineteenth-century branch of reform-minded Republicans who left their party in 1884 to support Democratic presidential candidate Grover Cleveland. Many Mugwumps were classical liberals who denounced corruption and advocated a reduction in government powers and civil service reform.

Sherman Antitrust Act

a federal law that prohibits anticompetitive business practices. While initially met with mixed results and some legal challenges, has been a significant tool in combating monopolies and promoting competition, with notable successes in cases like Northern Securities Co. v. United States and Standard Oil.

Lodge Bill

Also known as the Federal Elections Bill of 1890, a bill proposing that whenever 100 citizens in any district appealed for intervention, a bipartisan federal board could investigate and seat the rightful winner. The defeat of the bill was a blow to those seeking to defend African American voting rights.

Omaha Platform

An 1892 statement by the Populists calling for stronger government to protect ordinary Americans.

free silver

A policy of loosening the money supply by expanding federal coinage to include silver as well as gold. Advocates of the policy thought it would encourage borrowing and stimulate industry, but the defeat of Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan ended the "free silver" movement.

Williams v. Mississippi

An 1898 Supreme Court ruling that allowed states to impose poll taxes and literacy tests.

"Solid South"

The post-Reconstruction goal of almost complete electoral control of the South by the Democratic party.

Lochner v. New York

A 1905 Supreme Court ruling that New York State could not limit bakers' workday to ten hours because that violated bakers' rights to make contracts.

Newlands Reclamation Act

A 1902 law, supported by President Theodore Roosevelt, that allowed the federal government to sell public lands to raise money for irrigation projects that expanded agriculture on arid lands.

Wisconsin Idea

A policy promoted by Republican governor Robert La Follette of Wisconsin for greater government intervention in the economy, with reliance on experts, particularly progressive economists, for policy recommendations.

recall

A pioneering progressive idea, enacted in Wisconsin, Oregon, California, and other states, that gave citizens the right to remove unpopular politicians from office through a vote.

referendum

The process of voting directly on a proposed policy measure rather than leaving it in the hands of elected legislators; a progressive reform.

National Child Labor Committee

A reform organization that worked (unsuccessfully) to win a federal law banning child labor.

Muller v. Oregon

A 1908 Supreme Court case that upheld an Oregon law limiting women's workday to ten hours.

talented tenth

A term used by Harvard-educated sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois for the top 10 percent of educated African Americans, whom he called on to develop new strategies to advocate for civil rights.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

An organization founded in 1910 by a coalition of blacks and whites who sought equal rights for African Americans through the courts.

Industrial Workers of the World

umbrella union and radical political group founded in 1905, dedicated to organizing unskilled workers to oppose capitalism. Nicknamed the Wobblies, it advocated direct action by workers, including sabotage and general strikes.

New Nationalism

In a 1910 speech, Theodore Roosevelt called for a "New Nationalism" that promoted government intervention to enhance public welfare, including a federal child labor law, more recognition of labor rights, a national minimum wage for women, women's suffrage, and curbs on the power of federal courts to stop reform.

Federal Reserve

The central bank of the United States, created in 1913; it controls the money supply, influences the rate of growth of the U.S. economy, and ensures the stability of the U.S. monetary system.

Clayton Antitrust Act

A 1914 law that strengthened federal definitions of "monopoly" and gave more power to the Justice Department to pursue antitrust cases.