U.S. Imperialism, Populism, and Progressive Era Key Terms

Boxer Rebellion

A Chinese uprising against foreigners and outside influence. An international force reached Peking and ended the siege in Beijing.

Emilio Aguinaldo

Led Filipino resistance against US occupation after 1898 in the Philippines. His March 1901 capture helped Americans control the islands more firmly.

Farmers Alliance

Farmer movements that began in Texas and spread widely across the South. They formed cooperatives and attacked corporate and financial power in politics.

Foraker Act

Created a formal colonial government for Puerto Rico under U.S. rule. It established an American governor and a two-chamber legislature for the island.

Free Silver

Proposed using silver, alongside gold, as currency to expand money supply through coinage. It became a major Populist issue in the 1890s nationwide.

Half-Breeds

A Republican faction led by James G Blaine during party conflicts. They competed with Stalwarts and favored reform in government.

Interstate Commerce Act

Required railroads to publish rates and called them reasonable for the public. It banned discrimination and created the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroads.

Jacob Coxey

An Ohio businessman and Populist who advocated massive public works and inflation to fight unemployment. He led Coxey's Army march to Washington in 1894 demanding jobs.

Mary E. Lease

A Kansas Populist orator who urged farmers to fight corporations and big business. She famously said, 'raise less corn and more hell' to inspire protest.

Open Door

Notes made by John Hay that asked powers to respect equal trading rights in China for all nations. They opposed dismemberment and tariff discrimination in Chinese markets.

Panic of 1893

Began March 1893 after major failures in business and railroads. Stock market collapse caused bank failures and credit contraction across the nation.

Pendleton Act

Began civil service reform in federal jobs to reduce patronage. Some positions required written examinations, not patronage or political favors.

Platt Amendment

Required Cuba to accept US limits after the war. It barred treaties, let America intervene, and required naval stations on Cuban land.

Populism

Was the People's Party movement built on discontented farmers during the 1890s. Populists demanded reforms to limit corporate and financial power in America.

Sherman AntiTrust Act

Congress's first major antitrust law against big trusts. It had little immediate effect until the twentieth century when enforced more.

Stalwarts

A Republican faction led by Roscoe Conkling of New York in the 1880s. They supported machine politics and patronage as a system.

The Grange

United farmers for education and community in rural areas. It organized cooperatives and promoted railroad regulation through early 1870s Granger laws in states.

William Jennings Bryan

Gave the 1896 'Cross of Gold' speech supporting free silver as policy. Democrats nominated him for president, but McKinley defeated him in the election.