APUSH Unit 6 Vocab

Pacific Railway Act

1862 legislation to encourage the construction of a transcontinental railroad, connecting the West to industries in the Northeast (Union Pacific and Central Pacific RR)

Laizzez-faire

idea that government should play a small role in economic affairs

Monopolies/Trusts

huge corporate structures that controlled entire industries or areas of the economy/ corporation that owns other corporations

Standard Oil*

Established in 1870, it was a integrated multinational oil corporation lead by Rockefeller

Carnegie Steel*

A steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. Significance: had a monopoly in the steel industry. vertical integrations.

J.P. Morgan*

Banker who buys out Carnegie Steel and renames it to U.S. Steel. Was a philanthropist in a way; he gave all the money needed for WWI and was payed back. Was one of the "Robber barons"

Jay Gould*

United States financier who gained control of the Erie Canal and who caused a financial panic in 1869 when he attempted to corner the gold market (1836-1892); Railroads

George Pullman*

made his fortune by designing and building sleeper cars that made long distance rail travel more comfortable. Built a company town near Chicago for his employees. Train cars

General Electric*

Edison's electric company

American workers

For most American workers, the 1950's was a time of great prosperity

labor union

An organization of workers that tries to improve working conditions, wages, and benefits for its members

National Labor Union

founded by William Sylvis (1866); supported 8-hour workday, convict labor, federal department of labor, banking reform, immigration restrictions to increase wages, women; excluded blacks;

The first large-scale U.S. union; founded to organize skilled and unskilled laborers, farmers, and factory workers.

Molly Maguires

An active, militant Irish organization of farmers based in the Pennsylvania anthracite coal fields who are believed responsible for much violence

Knights of Labor

1st effort to create National union. Open to everyone but lawyers and bankers. (included women and AA) Vague program, no clear goals, weak leadership and organization. Failed

American Federation of Labor

1886; founded by Samuel Gompers; sought better wages, hrs, working conditions; skilled laborers, arose out of dissatisfaction with the Knights of Labor, rejected socialist and communist ideas, non-violent.

Labor Strikes

a work stoppage intended to force an employer to respond to demands

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

A large number of railroad workers went on strike because of wage cuts. After a month of strikes, President Hayes sent troops to stop the strike (example of how government always sided with employers over workers in the Gilded Age). The worst railroad violence was in Pittsburgh, with over 40 people killed by militia men

Haymarket Affair

1886 incident that made unions, particularly the Knights of Labor, look violent because a bomb exploded during a protest of striking workers.

Homestead Strike (1892)

On June 29, 1892, workers belonging to the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers struck the Carnegie Steel Company at Homestead, Pa. to protest a proposed wage cut. Henry C. Frick, the company's general manager, determined to break the union. He hired 300 Pinkerton detectives to protect the plant and strikebreakers. After an armed battle between the workers and the detectives, several men were killed or wounded, the governor called out the state militia. The Homestead strike led to a serious weakening of unionism in the steel industry until the 1930s.

Pullman Strike

in Chicago, Pullman cut wages but refused to lower rents in the "company town", Eugene Debs had American Railway Union refuse to use Pullman cars, Debs thrown in jail after being sued, strike achieved nothing

Henry Grady & the "New South"

Henry Grady was a journalist who wanted to change the south from conservative whites to grow the economy by being the national president of the south.

Sharecropping

A system used on southern farms after the Civil War in which farmers worked land owned by someone else in return for a small portion of the crops.

Panic of 1873

Four year economic depression caused by overspeculation on railroads and western lands, and worsened by Grant's poor fiscal response (refusing to coin silver

Grange Movement (1867)

A group of agrarian organizations that worked to increase the political and economic power of farmers. They opposed corrupt business practices and monopolies, and supported relief for debtors. Although technically not a political party, local **** led to the creation of a number of political parties, which eventually joined with the growing labor movement to form the Progressive Party.

Farmers' Alliance

A Farmers' organization founded in late 1870s; worked for lower railroad freight rates, lower interest rates, and a change in the governments tight money policy; merges with KoL to form populist party

Mary Elizabeth Lease

became well known during the early 1890's for her actions as a speaker for the farmer's alliance and populist party. She made numerous and memorable speeches on behalf of the downtrodden farmer. She denounced the money-grubbing government and encouraged farmers to speak their discontent with the economic situation.

New Immigration

The second major wave of immigration to the U.S.; between 1865-1910, 25 million new immigrants arrived. Unlike earlier immigration, which had come primarily from Western and Northern Europe, the New Immigrants came mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe, fleeing persecution and poverty. Language barriers and cultural differences produced mistrust by Americans.

Ethnic Cities

areas within a city where people from the same country would settle. They spoke their native language there and recreated the churches, synagogues, clubs and newspapers of their homelands.

Nativism

A policy of favoring native-born individuals over foreign-born ones

Immigration Act of 1882

In 1882, this act placed restrictions on the immigration of undesirable persons, such as paupers, criminals, convicts, and mentally incompetent. (p. 362)

Chinese Exclusion Act

(1882) Denied any additional Chinese laborers to enter the country while allowing students and merchants to immigrate.

Wong Kim Ark

1898, He was an American born citizen who visted his parents in China and was denied reentry and in 1898 his case was put before the supreme court where it was ruled that everyone born in the US was a citizen

political machine

A party organization that recruits voter loyalty with tangible incentives and is characterized by a high degree of control over member activity

Boss Tweed/NYC Court House Scandal

William Tweed, head of Tammany Hall, NYC's powerful democratic political machine in 1868. Between 1868 and 1869 he led the Tweed Reign, a group of corrupt politicians in defrauding the city. Example: Responsible for the construction of the NY court house; actual construction cost $3million. Project cost tax payers $13million.

New American System

This "System" consisted of three mutually reinforcing parts: a tariff to protect and promote American industry; a national bank to foster commerce; and federal subsidies for roads, canals, and other "internal improvements" to develop profitable markets for agriculture.

Transcontinental Railroad

Railroad connecting the west and east coasts of the continental US

Grant's Buffalo Policy

Central to the Grant administration Peace policy was allowing the destruction of the buffalo, the Native food supply, to keep Native peoples dependent on government supplies.

Treaty of Fort Laramie

the treaty requiring the Sioux to live on a reservation along the Missouri River

Bureau of Indian Affairs

A government agency created in the 1800s to oversee federal policy toward Native Americans

Indian Boarding Schools

Indians were forced to attend to learn new customs, religions and language of the "white men"

Battle of Little Bighorn

In 1876, Indian leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeated Custer's troops who tried to force them back on to the reservation, Custer and all his men died

Dawes Act

1887 law that distributed reservation land to individual Native American owners

Wounded Knee

In 1890, after killing Sitting Bull, the 7th Cavalry rounded up Sioux at this place in South Dakota and 300 Natives were murdered and only a baby survived.

Turner Thesis

The historian Frederick Jackson Turner argued that the frontier was the key factor in the development of American democracy and institutions; he maintained that the frontier served as a "safety valve" during periods of economic crisis.

National Women's Suffrage Association

group set up in 1869 to work for a constitutional amendment to give women the right to vote

Settlement House Movement

Social movement designed to get the rich and poor in society to live more closely together. Settlement houses were located in poorer neighborhoods and staffed by middle class workers who hoped to share their knowledge and alleviate poverty

Jane Addams

1860-1935. Founder of Settlement House Movement. First American Woman to earn Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 as president of Women's Intenational League for Peace and Freedom.

Social Gospel Movement

A social reform movement that developed within religious institutions and sought to apply the teachings of Jesus directly to society

Gilded Age Democrats and Republicans

Both supported Business (laissez Faire), limited gov't public services, were anti-nativist, anti-minority civil rights reforms, were isolationist (neutral); differences between the parties weren't very clear

Bourbons / Redeemers

these were the Southern Democrats that arose during the years following the Compromise of 1877. They were essentially advocates of the "New South" model, which would eschew the agricultural reliance of the past, and instead focus on developing Southern industry. These Democrats were also concerned with the perceived threat of poor blacks and whites that were voting. Thus, through the implementation of the poll tax, the Jim Crow Laws, and the mandatory literacy test, they aimed to limit voting to the affluent white population.

Stalwarts

A faction of the Republican party in the ends of the 1800s Supported the political machine and patronage (spoils system). Conservatives who hated civil service reform/ against expanding public services

Half-Breeds & Mugwumps

Republicans who were against the spoils system and were pro-expanding public services

Interstate Commerce Act

Established the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) - monitors the business operation of carriers transporting goods and people between states - created to regulate railroad prices

McKinley Tariff

1890 tariff that raised protective tariff levels by nearly 50%, making them the highest tariffs on imports in the United States history

Sherman Antitrust Act

First federal action against monopolies, it was signed into law by Harrison and was extensively used by Theodore Roosevelt for trust-busting. However, it was initially misused against labor unions

Sherman Silver Purchase Act

Required the government to purchase an additional 4.5 million ounces of silver bullion each month for use as currency.

Populist Party

U.S. political party formed in 1892 representing mainly farmers, favoring free coinage of silver and government control of railroads and other monopolies

Panic of 1893

Serious economic depression beginning in 1893. Began due to rail road companies over-extending themselves, causing bank failures. Was the worst economic collapse in the history of the country until that point, and, some say, as bad as the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Coxey's Army

a protest march by unemployed workers from the United States, led by the populist Jacob Coxey. They marched on Washington D.C. in 1894, the second year of a four-year economic depression that was the worst in United States history to that time

William Jennings Bryan

United States lawyer and politician who advocated free silver and prosecuted John Scopes (1925) for teaching evolution in a Tennessee high school (1860-1925)

Cross of Gold Speech

An impassioned address by William Jennings Bryan at the 1896 Deomcratic Convention, in which he attacked the "gold bugs" who insisted that U.S. currency be backed only with gold.