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

"waving the bloody shirt"

The term critics used to talk about politicians who appealed and targeted civil war loyalties. Union favored the republicans while ex-confederate favored the democrats

Gilded Age

The term used to describe this time when politics were corrupt and while America may have looked nice on the outside, there were a lot of big problems on the inside

Pendleton Act

established a nonpartisan Civil Service Commission to fill federal jobs by examination

Mugwumps

fence-sitters who had their "mugs" on one side and their "wumps" on the other. Helped to elect Democrat Grover Cleveland because of his small government views.

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890 act that forbade anticompetitive business activities, requiring the federal government to investigate trusts and any companies operating in violation of the act.

People's Party

the Kansas Alliance joined the Knights of Labor to form the party that captured 4/5 of the lower house of the Kansas legislature and most of the state's congressional seats in 1890, official party created in 1892, became known as the Populists

Omaha Platform

statement made by the Populists that called for stronger government to protect ordinary Americans

Williams v. Mississippi

the Supreme Court ruled to allow states the ability to impose poll taxes and literacy tests

1896 Election

McKinley's election consolidation of Republican control over the Northeast and Midwest far overbalancing the Democratic advances in the thinly populated western states. The 1896 election marked the beginning of sixteen years of Republican dominance in national politics

17th Amendment

Amendment to the Constitution (1913), requiring that U.S. senators be chosen not by state legislatures, but by popular vote.

Lochner v. New York

In Lochner v. New York (1905), the U.S. Supreme Court told New York State it could not limit bakers' workday to ten hours because that violated bakers' rights to make contracts.

1902 Coal Strike

Roosevelt challenged corporations and during a bitter 1902 coal strike, for example, he threatened to nationalize the big coal companies if their owners refused to negotiate with the miners' union. The owners hastily came to the table

Elkins Act

Roosevelt pushed through the Elkins Act (1903), which prohibited discriminatory railway rates that favored powerful customers

Northern Securities Company

The Bureau of Corporations filed a suit against the Northern Securities Company, arguing that this combination of northwestern railroads had created a monopoly in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. In a landmark decision in 1904, the Supreme Court ordered Northern Securities dissolved.

Square Deal

Roosevelt called for every American to get what he called a Square Deal, Roosevelt handily defeated Democratic candidate Alton B. Parker.

Hepburn Act

Roosevelt won a major victory with the passage of the Hepburn Act (1906), which enabled the Interstate Commerce Commission to set shipping rates.

Standard Oil Decision

In its Standard Oil decision (1911), the Supreme Court agreed with Taft's Justice Department that John D. Rockefeller's massive oil monopoly should be broken up into several competing companies

Newlands Reclamation Act

Act made by Roosevelt that let federal government sell public lands to raise money for irrigation projects that expanded agriculture on arid lands

Robert LaFollette/ Wisconsin Idea

Places like Wisconsin (under Republican governor Robert La Follette) were dubbed as a "laboratory of democracy" by Roosevelt. This led to the promotion of the Wisconsin Idea, greater government intervention in the economy, with reliance on experts (like progressive economists) for policy

Recall/ Referendum

recall (voting to remove unpopular politicians from office), and referendum (voting directly on a proposed law rather than leaving it to legislators)

National Child Labor Comm/ Lewis Hine

907, the National Child Labor Committee was created to improve labor conditions for women and children. Photographer Lewis Hine was hired to take pictures of the horrible conditions of mines and mills where children worked. His work led to the first White House Conference on Dependent Children in 1909 by Theodore Roosevelt, who had seen the work done by the committee.

Miller v. Oregon

Court case decision that created 10 hour max workdays for women, and promoted the Brandeis Brief

Brandeis Brief

The use of social data collected in order to support an argument, rather than relying on things from the Constitution. Named after Louis Brandeis, who used it during the Miller v. Oregon case instead of using an argument based on the constitutional issue of state powers

W.E.B. DuBois/ Niagara Principles

1905 meeting called by DuBois resulting Niagara Principles, which called for full voting rights, an end to segregation, equal treatment in the justice system, and equal opportunity for jobs, education, healthcare, and military service

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

A group of progressives created by New York settlement worker Mary White Ovington, who was appalled by the violence of the white mob in Springfield, Illinois

Big Bill Haywood/ IWW (Wobblies)

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members were called "Wobblies", supported the Marxist class struggle and the idea of resisting in the workplace and launching a general strike in order to overthrow capitalism.

Election 1912

An exciting election that consisted of Woodrow Wilson as a Democrat, William Taft as a Republican, Debs as a Socialist, and Roosevelt as a Progressivist. It was won by Wilson, who had 42 percent of the popular vote.

Roosevelt's 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.

Progressive Party/ Bull Moose

After the Republican party chose Taft as their candidate for the 1912 election, Roosevelt led his followers into this party, offering his New Nationalism to the people. Supporters called themselves Bull Mooses.

Eugene Debs/ ARU

Debs founded the American Railway Union, a group of skilled and unskilled laborers. He challenged the two major parties and supported socialism.

Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom

The campaign speeches and promises of Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 presidential campaign, including his problem with industrialization and its lack of equal opportunity for all; also the general comprises the Progressive programs enacted by Wilson as president during his first term.

Sixteenth Amendment

The Federal Progressive Income Tax was rejected by congress but eventually reenacted as the Sixteenth Amendment. This amendment was ratified by the states in February 1913, allowing congress to lay and collect tax on incomes

Federal Reserve Act

The central bank system of the United States, created in 1913. The Federal Reserve helps set the money supply level, thus influencing the rate of growth of the U.S. economy, and seeks to ensure 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; it also specified that labor unions could not generally be prosecuted for "restraint of trade," ensuring that antitrust laws would apply to corporations rather than unions.

Federal Trade Commission

Its principal mission is the promotion of consumer protection and the elimination and prevention of anticompetitive business practices, such as monopoly

Birth of a Nation

Film (1915), which depicted the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan in heroic terms