Period 6 Part Two

Grange

Grange

an organization that brought farmers together to promote their economic and social needs

Granger Laws

laws passed by midwestern states in the late 1860s and 1870s to help farmers by regulating railroads

Farmers Alliance

farmer’s organization in the 1870s and 1880s that supported government railroad regulation , establishment of an income tax, and cheap money (INFLATION) to help debtor farmers

Colored farmers alliance

-organization of African American Farmers in Texas who had been barred from joining the original farmers alliance

-fought against rising farm cost and high interest rates

Las Gorras Blancas (“White Caps”)

secret organization of Spanish speaking New Mexicans that fought against Anglo-Americans who had taken land away from Hispanic families

Populist Party

• political party created by farmers (south and midwest) who had been hurt by debt, low market prices, and railroad monopolies

James B. Weaver

People’s party candidate (1892)

Omaha Platform

• political platform of the Populist party in the election of 1892

  • called for silver:gold ratio to decrease, abolition of national banks, income tax, gov control of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones

Gold Standard

monetary system where currency is backed by a fixed quantity of gold.

Free Silver

central cause of Populist movement

They wanted to inflate the American economy and allow farmers to pay back debt easily

Free Silver Movement

• battle between people who wanted a strict gold standard and those who wanted bimetallism(silver and gold) to back currency

• farmers mainly fought for free coinage of silver

  • to put more money in circulation >cause inflation> make debts easier to pay back

• Populist called for ratio of silver to gold to be changed from 32:1 to 16:1 ( 2x the amount of money would be allowed to be printed)

Cross of Gold Speech

• speech delivered by William Jennings Bryan at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago

  • speech fought against the Gold Standard and advocated for the use of bimetallism(silver to gold)to back currency

William Jennings Bryan

• US representative from Nebraska who was nominated by BOTH democratic and populist parties in 1896 after his Cross of Gold Speech

Regional Alliances(of the populist Party)

mostly small farmers in the Midwest and Great Plains but some support in the south as the movement gained strength

Successes of the Populist Party

• first to include women in their affairs

• Open discussion regarding need for poor whites and poor blacks to work towards a common goal

• elected 10 governors, 6 senators, and 39 House of Representatives

• Alliance with the Democratic Party

• Most successful 3rd party in the history of America

Failures

• Alliance with the democratic party essentially ends the populist party

• Not successful in the National level (never elected a president)

• Much of the Populist platform never came to fruition, but national awareness was raised( many populist goals became progressive achievements

Railroad Subsidies

• Government grants of land/money to railroad companies to build railroads in the West

  • In many instances, railroads were constructed without regard to the environment or Natives already living there

Morrill Land-Grant Acts

• laws passed that granted federal to states for the purpose of building colleges

• Texas AnM an example of university that resulted from the act

US Fish Commission

government agency created to investigate causes of decrease in fish and aquatic animals in US Coastal and inland waters

Sierra Club

grassroots environmental organization founded in San Francisco by the conservationist John Muir

Department of the Interior

executive department of the US government that dealt with natural resource management, Native affairs, wildlife conservation, and territorial affairs

Great Sioux War

war between the US and the tribes(Latoka, Cheyenne, and Arapaho) that took part in the battle of the Little Big Horn

War ended in 1881 with the surrender of Sitting Bull

Little Big Horn

river in Montana where George Custer and US cavalry attacked an Indian encampment

Dawes Severalty Act

• law that intended to break up Native reservations into individual farms and turn Natives into homesteaders(settlers)

• designed to end common ownership of the land and turn Natives into independent farmers

• surplus lands were sold to raise money for Indian education

  • forced assimilation of Natives (“kill the Indian, save the man”)

Ghost Dance

Native belief that centered on a ritual dance