Chapter 26 and 27 Need to Know

Mechanization of agriculture

The development of engine-driven machines, like the combine, which helped to dramatically increase the productivity of land in the 1870s and 1880s. This process contributed to the consolidation of agricultural business that drove many family farms out of existence. (601)

Populists

Officially known as the People’s party, the Populists represented Westerners and Southerners who believed that U.S. economic policy inappropriately favored Eastern businessmen instead of the nation’s farmers. Their proposals included nationalization of the railroads, a graduated income tax, and, most significantly, the unlimited coinage of silver. (605)

Homestead strike (1892)

A strike at a Carnegie steel plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania, that ended in an armed battle between the strikers, three hundred armed Pinkerton detectives hired by Carnegie, and federal troops, which killed ten people and wounded more than sixty. The strike was part of a nationwide wave of labor unrest in the summer of 1892 that helped the Populists gain some support from industrial workers. (606)

Grandfather clause

A regulation established in many southern states in the 1890s that exempted from voting requirements (such as literacy tests and poll taxes) anyone who could prove that his ancestors (“grandfathers”) had been able to vote in 1860. Because slaves could not vote before the Civil War, these clauses guaranteed the right to vote to many whites while denying it to blacks. (606)

Pullman strike (1894)

A strike by railroad workers upset by drastic wage cuts. The strike was led by socialist Eugene Debs but not supported by the American Federation of Labor. Eventually President Grover Cleveland intervened, and federal troops forced an end to the strike. The strike highlighted both divisions within labor and the government’s new willingness to use armed force to combat work stoppages. (610)

Fourth party system

A term scholars have used to describe national politics from 1896 to 1932, when Republicans had a tight grip on the White House and issues such as industrial regulation and labor concerns became paramount, replacing older concerns such as civil-service reform and monetary policy.(615)

Gold Standard Act (1900)

An act that guaranteed that paper currency would be redeemed freely in gold, putting an end to the already dying “free-silver” campaign. (616)

Describe the panic of 1873, the depression that followed, and how it labor responded to it.

The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis triggered by the collapse of railroad speculation, which led to a severe, worldwide economic depression lasting from 1873 to 1879. For the working class, this downturn resulted in massive unemployment and wage cuts. In response, labor movements, though initially weakened, eventually erupted in widespread, organized protests, most notably the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. 

Explain how the growing discontent of farmers transformed into the Populist Party. What were the main objectives of the populists?

Growing discontent among American farmers in the late 19th century, facing economic hardship from high railroad rates, low crop prices, and debt, led to the formation of the Populist Party through groups like the Farmers' Alliance. The Populists' main objectives were to empower farmers and laborers by regulating railroads and banks, promoting an expanded money supply through bimetallism (using both gold and silver), implementing a graduated income tax, and establishing federal control over essential public services to curb the power of monopolies and financial interests. 

Describe the main issues of the Election of 1896. How did McKinley and Bryan each represent the major issues?

The Election of 1896 centered on the economic crisis from the Panic of 1893 and the fierce debate over monetary policy—whether to stick with the gold standard or adopt free silver to inflate currency and ease debt. Republican William McKinley supported the gold standard, high tariffs, and pro-business policies, appealing to industrialists and urban workers. Democrat-Populist William Jennings Bryan championed free silver and populist reforms, rallying farmers and laborers with his “Cross of Gold” speech. McKinley’s victory marked a shift toward urban-industrial dominance and ushered in a new era of Republican political strength.

What were the main reasons for America turning outward (i.e., becoming an international or global power)?

America began expanding outwards because we started exporting more, had more power, better manufacturing capabilities, and wealth, ending our relative isolation. We were starting to become more and more powerful from the inside.

Describe the biggest challenges facing America with the acquisition of island territories?

A huge challenge was to get more workers in Hawaii because there weren't enough whites or natives to fill the demand for sugar. They had to hire Asian workers. Then, they were scared that Japan was trying to get a hold of Hawaii, so they tightened their grip. McKinley passed a tariff raising barriers around their trading. The Hawain queen wanted to keep it under native control, which Americans would not deal with. They forcibly took control.

Explain the main issues in the election of 1900. What change in focus occurred from the previous election?

The election in 1900 was strikingly similar to its predecessor; the major candidates, issues and results were much the same. William McKinley, the incumbent, was easily renominated. A new vice-presidential nominee was needed

What are the main features of Teddy Roosevelt’s Big Stick policy and the Roosevelt Corollary?

The Roosevelt Corollary stated that in future debt problems, the US would intervene in Latin America as oppose to Europe, because Teddy was afraid that otherwise the Monroe Doctrine was being breached. Latin America didn't care for this, feeling like America was being over-bearing. The Big Stick Policy was that the president was the most powerful man on the president. He didn't have to listen to other branches of government

In what ways did the events in China and Japan force America to take on a more international or global attitude?

America noticed that Russia was starting to take over Japan. As a result, Japan went to Roosevelt to oversee a peace council. He did so, and won a Nobel Peace Prize for it. Russia blamed him for taking away their victory.

Big Sister policy (1880s)

A foreign policy of Secretary of State James G. Blaine aimed at rallying Latin American nations behind American leadership and opening Latin American markets to Yankee traders. The policy bore fruit in 1889, when Blaine presided over the First International Conference of American States. (621)

Great Rapprochement

After decades of occasionally “twisting the lion’s tail,” American diplomats began to cultivate close, cordial relations with Great Britain at the end of the nineteenth century—a relationship that would intensify further during World War I. (622)

McKinley Tariff (1890)

Shepherded through Congress by President William McKinley, this tariff raised duties on Hawaiian sugar and set off renewed efforts to secure the annexation of Hawaii to the United States. (622)

insurrectos

Cuban insurgents who sought freedom from colonial Spanish rule. Their destructive tactics threatened American economic interests in Cuban plantations and railroads. (623)

Maine (1898)

American battleship dispatched to keep a “friendly” watch over Cuba in early 1898. It mysteriously blew up in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, with a loss of 260 sailors. Later evidence confirmed that the explosion was accidental, resulting from combustion in one of the ship’s internal coal bunkers. But many Americans, eager for war, insisted that it was the fault of a Spanish submarine mine. (624)

Teller Amendment (1898)

A proviso to President William McKinley’s war plans that proclaimed to the world that when the United States had overthrown Spanish misrule, it would give Cuba its freedom. The amendment testified to the ostensibly “anti-imperialist” designs of the initial war plans. (625)

Rough Riders (1898)

Organized by Theodore Roosevelt, this was a colorful, motley regiment of Cuban war volunteers consisting of western cowboys, ex-convicts, and effete Ivy Leaguers. Roosevelt emphasized his experience with the regiment in subsequent campaigns for governor of New York and vice president under William McKinley. (627)

Anti-Imperialist League (1898–1921)

A diverse group formed to protest American colonial oversight in the Philippines. It included university presidents, industrialists, clergymen, and labor leaders. Strongest in the Northeast, the Anti-Imperialist League was the largest lobbying organization on a U.S. foreign-policy issue until the end of the nineteenth century. It declined in strength after the United States signed the Treaty of Paris (which approved the annexation of the Philippines), and especially after hostilities broke out between Filipino nationalists and American forces. (630)

Foraker Act (1900)

Sponsored by Senator Joseph B. Foraker, a Republican from Ohio, this accorded Puerto Ricans a limited degree of popular government. The first comprehensive congressional effort to provide for governance of territories acquired after the Spanish–American War, it served as a model for a similar act adopted for the Philippines in 1902. (631)

Insular Cases (1901–1904)

Beginning in 1901, a badly divided Supreme Court decreed in these cases that the Constitution did not follow the flag. In other words, Puerto Ricans and Filipinos would not necessarily enjoy all American rights. (631)

Platt Amendment (1901)

Following its military occupation, the United States successfully pressured the Cuban government to write this amendment into its constitution. It limited Cuba’s treaty-making abilities, controlled its debt, and stipulated that the United States could intervene militarily to restore order when it saw fit. (631)

Open Door note (1899–1900)

A set of diplomatic letters in which Secretary of State John Hay urged the great powers to respect Chinese rights and free and open competition within their spheres of influence. The notes established the “Open Door policy,” which sought to ensure access to the Chinese market for the United States, despite the fact that it did not have a formal sphere of influence in China. (635)

Boxer Rebellion (1900)

An uprising in China directed against foreign influence. It was suppressed by an international force of some eighteen thousand soldiers, including several thousand Americans. The Boxer Rebellion paved the way for the revolution of 1911, which led to the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. (635)

Hay-Pauncefote Treaty (1901)

A treaty signed between the United States and Great Britain giving Americans a free hand to build a canal in Central America. The treaty nullified the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850, which prohibited Britain or the United States from acquiring territory in Central America. (638)

Roosevelt Corollary (1904)

A brazen policy of “preventive intervention” advocated by Theodore Roosevelt in his Annual Message to Congress in 1904. Adding ballast to the Monroe Doctrine, his corollary stipulated that the United States would retain a right to intervene in the domestic affairs of Latin American nations in order to restore military and financial order. (644)

Gentlemen’s Agreement

Responding to anti-Japanese tensions on the West Coast, President Theodore Roosevelt and the Empire of Japan negotiated a compromise in 1907. Japan agreed to issue no new passports for Japanese citizens seeking employment in the United States. The Americans agreed to admit family members of Japanese already resident in the United States, and Roosevelt prevented the segregation of Japanese-American schoolchildren in California’s public schools. Secured without formal congressional approval, the arrangement was dubbed the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” and was eventually superseded by the Immigration Act of 1924, which banned all immigration from Asia. (645)

Root-Takahira agreement (1908)

Agreement by which the United States and Japan agreed to respect each other’s territorial possessions in the Pacific and to uphold the Open Door in China. The agreement was credited with easing tensions between the two nations, but it also resulted in a weakened American influence over further Japanese hegemony in China. (645)