APUSH: Period 6

People's (Populist) Party

A political party in the United States. For a few years, 1892-96, it played a major role as a left-wing force in American politics. Drew support from angry farmers in the West and South and operated on the left-wing of American politics. Highly critical of capitalism, especially banks and railroads. Allied itself with the labor movement.

The Gilded Age

The late 19th century, from the 1870s to about 1900. Term derived from writer Mark Twain's 1873 The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, which satirized an era of serious social problems masked by a thin gold gilding of economic progress.

Social Darwinism

Term coined in the late 19th century to describe the idea that humans, like animals and plants, compete in a struggle for existence in which natural selection results in "survival of the fittest." Provided a justification for the enormous wealth and power wielded by industrialists in the latter half of the 19th century.

Gospel of Wealth

An essay written by Andrew Carnegie in June of 1889 that describes the responsibility of philanthropy by the new upper class of self-made rich.

Jane Addams

A pioneer American settlement activist/reformer, social worker, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in women's suffrage and world peace. She created the first Hull House. Co-winner of 1931 Nobel Peace Prize.

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896 - Legalized segregation in publicly owned facilities on the basis of "separate but equal."

trust

A set of companies managed by a small group known as trustees, who can prevent companies in the trust from competing with each other.

socialist

one who believes in the ownership and control of the major means of production by the whole community rather than by individuals or corporations

radical

one who believes in fundamental change in a political, economic, or social system

anarchist

one who believes that formal, coercive government is wrong in principle

tenement

a multi-dwelling building, often poor or overcrowded

prohibition

forbidding by law the manufacture, sale, or consumption of liquor

lobbyist

someone who promotes an interest or cause before a political body, often for pay

Morrill Land-Grant Acts

Passed by Congress in 1862, this law distributed millions of acres of western lands to state governments in order to fund state agricultural colleges.

Dawes Act

land given to individual Indians to discourage tribal mindset; encouraged Indians to farm for a living instead of communally owning land (Kill the Indian, Save the Man-Assimilate)

Open Range

the idea that cattle can be grazed on large tracts of public and/or private property; invention of barbed wire ended this idea and drove many small cattle ranches out of business and off their small plots of land

Vertical Integration

Strategy to maximize profits by attempting to own every step of the manufacturing process (ex. Carnegie Steel)

Horizontal Integration

Strategy to maximize profits by attempting to purchase competing companies in the same industry; monopoly-building (ex. Rockefeller's Standard Oil)

Knights of Labor

American labor organization in the 1880s led by Terence V. Powderly. Organized a wide range of workers, including skilled and unskilled, and had broad reform goals. Vague program, no clear goals, weak leadership and organization. Failed because of the Haymarket Square Riot

Haymarket Riot

Labor dispute in Chicago that ended with a bomb being thrown at police resulting in many deaths. Led to an unfavorable public opinion of organized labor.

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.
Sought more specific reforms.

Pullman Strike (1894)

Workers rebelled because the Pullman Palace Car Company cut wages by 1/3 and the American Federation of Labor refused to support the strikers. Military action was needed in order to keep mail delivery on track.

"New Immigrants"

immigrants from southern and eastern Europe such as Poland, Italy, etc. that arrived in the US in the latter half of the 19th century

Chinese Exclusion Act 1882

First law limiting immigration based on race; Denied any additional Chinese laborers to enter the country while allowing students and merchants to immigrate. American workers felt threatened by the job competition.

Political Machine

Unofficial political organization that works to win elections in order to exercise power; sometimes referred to as a shadow government; rose to power in the late 1800s because of ill-equipped local governments that failed to meet the needs of growing urban populations

Farmers Alliance

In 1873 the Grangers founded this. Their goals promote social gatherings/education opportunities, organize against abuse, form cooperative/women played a significant role, and wanted political pressure. This later led to the founding of the populist party.

William Jennings Bryan

Democratic presidential hopeful that was a member of the Populist Party; free silver advocate; "Do not crucify mankind on a cross of gold".

New South

After the Civil War, southerners promoted a new vision for a self-sufficient southern economy built on modern capitalist values, industrial growth, and improved transportation. In reality, this growth was fairly slow. Promoted tenement farming and sharecropping.

middle class

a social class made up of skilled workers, professionals, business people, and wealthy farmers

Andrew Carnegie

A Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist who founded the Carnegie Steel Company in 1892. By 1901, his company dominated the American steel industry.

transcontinental railroads

a railroad that would cross the continent and connect the East to the West; opened new markets and helped spur the Industrial Revolution

Social Gospel

Late 19th-century movement Protestant movement preaching that all true Christians should be concerned with the plight of immigrants and other poor residents of American cities and should financially support efforts to improve lives of these poor urban dwellers. Settlement houses were often financed by funds raised by ministers of this movement.

Standard Oil

John D. Rockefeller's company that gained a monopoly over the world petroleum market with the practice of trusts and swift elimination of competition.

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.

John D. Rockefeller

Wealthy owner of Standard Oil Company. Considered to be a robber baron who used ruthless tactics to eliminate other businesses. Built trusts and used money to influence government.

Industrial Revolution

Period characterized by the rapid social and economic changes in manufacturing and agriculture that occurred in England during the late 18th century and rapidly diffused to other parts of the developed world. In the US, this occurred during the period roughly 1825-1925.

Manifest Destiny

the 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.

Monopoly

Complete control of a product or business by one person or group

Booker T. Washington

Prominent black American, born into slavery, who believed that racism would end once blacks acquired useful labor skills and proved their economic value to society, was head of the Tuskegee Institute in 1881. His book "Up from Slavery."

W.E.B. DuBois

Co-founded the NAACP to help secure legal equality for minority citizens.

Ida B. Wells

African American journalist. published statistics about lynching, urged African Americans to protest by refusing to ride streetcards or shop in white owned stores

Progressive Era

time at the turn of the 20th century in which groups sought to reform America economically, socially, and politically- stemming from the People's/Populist party platform of the Gilded Age.

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.

Laissez-faire economics

Theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property.

Sioux Wars

lasted from 1876-1877. These were spectacular clashes between the Sioux Indians and white men. They were spurred by gold-greedy miners rushing into Sioux land. The white men were breaking their treaty with the Indians. The Sioux Indians were led by Sitting Bull and they were pushed by Custer's forces. Custer led these forces until he was killed at the battle at Little Bighorn. Many of the Indian were finally forced into Canada, where they were forced by starvation to surrender.

California Gold Rush

1849 (San Francisco 49ers) Gold discovered in California attracted a rush of people all over the country and world to San Francisco; arrival of the Chinese; increased pressure on fed gov. to establish a stable gov. in CA

13th Amendment (1865)

Abolishes and prohibits slavery

14th Amendment (1868)

Grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the US"; it forbids any state to deny any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of its laws." Most important law ever passed besides original Constitution and Bill of Rights. It has been the vehicle for the expansion of civil rights, women's rights, gay rights among other movements. It also allowed for the "incorporation doctrine" which means the application of the national Bill of Rights to the states.

15th Amendment (1870)

U.S. cannot prevent a person from voting because of race, color, or creed

Machine Politics

an organizational style of local politics in which party bosses traded jobs, money, and favors for votes and campaign support

Stalwarts

A faction of the Republican party in the ends of the 1800s Supported the political machine and patronage. Conservatives who hated civil service reform.

Half-Breeds

Favored tariff reform and social reform, major issues from the Democratic and Republican parties. They did not seem to be dedicated members of either party.

Mugwumps

Republican Party activists who had switched to the Democratic Party because they did not like the financial corruption that was associated with the Republican candidate James G. Blaine in 1884.

Muckrakers

Journalists who attempted to find corruption or wrongdoing in industries and expose it to the public

Pendleton Act

1883 law that created a Civil Service Commission and stated that federal employees could not be required to contribute to campaign funds nor be fired for political reasons

Insterstate 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 and ensure fair competition in the railway industry.

Homestead Act of 1862

Act that allowed a settler to acquire as much as 160 acres of land by living on it for 5 years, improving it, and paying a nominal fee of about $30 - land given away to encourage a rapid filling of empty spaces and to provide a stimulus to the family farm

Rutherford B. Hayes

19th president of the united states, was famous for being part of the Hayes-Tilden election in which electoral votes were contested in 4 states, most corrupt election in US history

James Garfield

20th president, Republican, assassinated by a Stalwart after a few months in office due to lack of patronage

Chester A. Arthur

21st president- expanded civil service reform (Pendleton Act)

Grover Cleveland

22nd and 24th president, Democrat, Honest and hardworking, fought corruption, vetoed hundreds of wasteful bills, achieved the Interstate Commerce Commission and civil service reform, violent suppression of strikes

Homestead Strike

A significant labor strike in 1892 at Andrew Carnegie's steel plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania, where steelworkers protested against wage cuts and harsh working conditions. The conflict escalated when the Pinkerton National Detective Agency was hired to suppress the strike, leading to violent clashes between the detectives and the striking workers. This event highlighted tensions between labor unions and industrial management, ultimately impacting the labor movement in the United States.

xenophobia

a fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers

Indian Appropriations Act

1851 - The U.S. government reorganized Indian land and moved the Indians onto reservations.

Wounded Knee Massacre

In December 1890, Army troops captured some of Sitting Bull's followers and took them to a camp. 300 Sioux men, women, and children were killed

Carlisle Indian Industrial School

Organized in Pennsylvania to assimilate Indians into the white culture; changed their clothes, hair, language, taught them academics as well as a skill

National Grange Movement

Founded in 1868 by Oliver H. Kelley, the National Grange Movement was a social and educational organization created to support farmers and their families. It aimed to promote cooperative farming, enabling farmers to share supplies and equipment, thereby reducing costs and increasing profitability. The movement played a significant role in advocating for farmers' rights and addressing their grievances against railroad companies and other economic challenges.

NY's "World"

First newspaper to exceed 1 million in circulation

Cornelius Vanderbilt

United States financier who accumulated great wealth from railroad and shipping businesses (1794-1877)

Yosemite National Park

a national park in California famous for its waterfalls and rock formations. Part of conservation efforts

J.P. Morgan

An influential banker and businessman who bought and reorganized companies. His US Steel company would buy Carnegie steel and become the largest business in the world in 1901

Temperance Movement

A social movement against the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Boss Tweed

Leader of the Democratic Tammany Hall, New York political machine during the 19th century, known for his influence over city politics and his involvement in various scandals.

Nativism

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

rebates and pools

secret agreements made by competing railroad companies to set high rates

Settlement House Movement

Creation of places that offered social services to urban poor - often food, shelter, and basic higher education - Hull House was most famous

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

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

labor union

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

John Muir

(1838-1914) Naturalist who believed the wilderness should be preserved in its natural state. He was largely responsible for the creation of Yosemite National Park in California.

holding company

a company created to buy and possess the shares of other companies, which it then controls.

Robber baron

Refers to the industrialists or big business owners who gained huge profits by paying their employees extremely low wages. They also drove their competitors out of business by selling their products cheaper than it cost to produce it. Then when they controlled the market, they hiked prices high above original price.

Conspicuous Consumption

The practice of purchasing and using goods not only for their practical value but primarily for the social prestige they confer. It involves buying high-end or luxury items as a means to display wealth, status, or affiliation, often as a way to impress others and assert one's social status

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.

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

A violent but ultimately unsuccessful interstate strike, which resulted in extensive property damage and many deaths. The first major interstate strike in us history. The panic of 1873 caused railroad lines to cut wages which caused workers to walk off the job and block the tracks- it eventually turned violent. Federal troops finally quelled the violence. After workers turned violent the public began to blame them for the looting and violence and they lost all sympathy

Eugene Debs

1855-1926. American union leader, one of the founders of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World, and five-time Socialist Party of America Presidential Candidate. Debs was a prominent advocate for workers' rights and socialism in the United States, known for his role in organizing strikes and promoting labor reforms.

Mother Jones

Labor activist who was a member of the Knights of Labor union and who used publicity techniques to create awareness of the plight of mine workers and child laborers.She was instrumental in organizing strikes and advocating for better working conditions, earning her the nickname "the most dangerous woman in America."

Crop-lien system

Similar to sharecropping — merchants loan food and supplies to farmers so they can farm; farmers have to pay them back with some of their crops. When harvests were bad, farmers got deeper and deeper in debt to merchants.

Granger laws

Grangers state legislatures in 1874 passed law fixing maximum rates for freight shipments. The railroads responded by appealing to the Supreme Court to declare these laws unconstitutional

Credit Mobilier

1872, This was a fraudulent construction company created to take the profits of the Union Pacific Railroad. Using government funds for the railroad, the Union Pacific directors gave padded construction contracts to Congress members and used these profits to bribe politicians and secure their interests.

Frederick Taylor

American mechanical engineer, who wanted to improve industrial efficiency. He is known as the father of scientific management, and was one of the first management consultants.