apush ch 18

patronage system

System that lets the winning party distribute appointive government jobs to loyal party members; also called the spoils system.

Crédit Mobilier

Company created to build the Union Pacific Railroad; in a scandalous deal uncovered in 1872–1873, it sold shares cheaply to congressmen who approved federal subsidies for railroad construction.

Tweed Ring

Name applied to the political organization of William Marcy Tweed. Ring, in this context, means a group of people who act together to exercise control over politics.

Interstate Commerce Commission(ICC)

The first federal regulatory commission, created in 1887 to regulate railroads and require that rates be “reasonable and just.”

William McKinley

(1843–1901) Twenty-fifth president. Served in the House of Representatives and as governor of Ohio before winning the presidency in 1896. Assassinated in 1901.

McKinley Tariff

Tariff passed by Congress in 1890 that sought not only to protect established industries but by prohibitory duties to stimulate the creation of new industries.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Law passed by Congress in 1890 authorizing the federal government to prosecute any “combination … in restraint of trade” ; because of adverse court rulings, it had little initial effect.

Grange

Organization for farmers that combined social activities with education about improved farming methods and cooperative economic efforts; formally called the Patrons of Husbandry.

Granger laws

State laws regulating railroads, passed in several states in the 1870s in response to lobbying by the Grange and other groups.

gold standard

A monetary system based on gold, under which legal contracts typically called for the payment of all debts in gold, and paper money could be redeemed for gold at a bank.

Sherman Silver Purchase Act

An 1890 law requiring the federal government to increase its purchases of silver to be coined into silver dollars.

Mugwumps

Reformers, mostly Republicans, of the 1880s and 1890s who opposed political corruption and campaigned for reform, especially civil service reform, sometimes crossing party boundaries to achieve their goals.

Pendleton Act

An 1883 law that created the Civil Service Commission and instituted a merit system of competitive examinations for federal hiring and jobs

National Woman Suffrage Association

(NWSA) Women’s suffrage organization formed in 1869 and led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony; accepted only women as members and worked for suffrage and related issues such as unionizing female workers.

American Woman Suffrage Association

(AWSA) Bostonbased women’s suffrage organization formed in 1869; it welcomed men and worked solely to win the vote for women.

Australian ballot

A ballot printed by the government, rather than by political parties, and marked privately.

Populists

Members of the People’s Party; held their first presidential nominating convention in 1892; called for federal action to control big business and assist farmers and workers. The more general term populist refers to a politician who attacks, and seeks to mobilize people against, the existing power structure.

Farmers’ Alliances

Organizations of farm families in the 1880s and 1890s, similar to the Grange.

antimonopolism

Opposition to great concentrations of economic power such as large corporations, as well as to actual monopolies.

William Jennings Bryan

Nebraska Democrat who advocated silver coinage, opposed imperialism, and ran for president unsuccessfully three times.

William H. Seward

U.S. secretary of state under Lincoln and Johnson (1861–1869), a former abolitionist who had expansionist views and arranged the purchase of Alaska from Russia.

Monroe Doctrine

Pronouncement by President James Monroe in 1823 that the Western Hemisphere was off limits for future European colonial expansion.

Benito Juarez

President of Mexico who led resistance to French troops occupying his country in 1864–1867; the first Mexican president of Indian ancestry.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Naval officer and historian who stressed the importance of sea power in international politics and diplomacy.

Lili′uokalani

Last queen of Hawai’i, whose desire to restore land to the Hawaiian people and strengthen the monarchy prompted haole planters to remove her from power in 1893.

reconcentration

Spanish policy in Cuba in 1896 that ordered the civilian population into fortified areas so as to isolate and annihilate the revolutionaries who remained outside.

yellow journalism

The use of sensational exposés, embellished reporting, and attention-grabbing headlines to sell newspapers.

U.S.S. Maine

American warship that exploded in Havana Harbor in 1898, inspiring the motto “Remember the Maine!,” which spurred the Spanish-American War.

Teller Amendment

Senate resolution in 1898 promising that the United States would not annex Cuba; introduced by Senator Henry Teller.

Theodore Roosevelt

(1858–1919) Twenty-sixth president of the United States. Politician and writer who advocated war against Spain in 1898; elected vice president in 1900; became president in 1901 upon McKinley’s assassination.

Platt Amendment

An amendment to the Army Appropriations Act of 1901, sponsored by Senator Orville Platt; set terms for the withdrawal of the U.S. Army from Cuba, effectively making the island an American protectorate.

Foraker Act

A 1900 law establishing civilian government in Puerto Rico; provided for an elected legislature and a governor appointed by the U.S. president.

Emilio Aguinaldo

Leader of unsuccessful struggles for Philippine independence, first against Spain, then against the United States.

William Howard Taft

Governor of the Philippines, 1901–1904; president of the United States, 1909–1913; chief justice of the Supreme Court, 1921–1930.

Open Door notes

Diplomatic messages in 1899–1900 by which Secretary of State John Hay announced American support for Chinese autonomy and opposed efforts by other powers to carve China into exclusive spheres of influence.