APUSH Unit 7
Robber Barons v. Captains of Industry
-Captains of Industry: a positive impression of their achievements as men of inventiveness who hard work and ingenious strategies transformed the American economy of the post-Reconstruction era and the early 20th century. These men are to also be honored for their charitable activities -Robber Baron: emphasizes the cruel and self-centered entrepreneurs who took advantage of the worker, whether it be immigrant, female, or child to accumulate wealth. The factory was a place where the worker experienced harsh conditions and poor pay.
Jane Addams
1860-1935. Founder of Settlement House Movement and Hull House. First American Woman to earn Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 as president of Women's Intenational League for Peace and Freedom.
Grangers
1867-group whose the leader of which was Oliver H. Kelley. It was better known as the Grange. During the late 1800's, the Grange, strove to regulate railway rates and storage fees charged by railroads, warehouses, and grain elevators through state legislation. These laws that were passed, but eventually reversed, are referred to as the Granger Laws.
Gilded Age
1870s - 1890s; time period looked good on the outside, despite the corrupt politics & growing gap between the rich & poor
Munn v. Illinois
1876-The Supreme Court upheld the Granger laws. The Munn case allowed states to regulate certain businesses within their borders, including railroads, and is commonly regarded as a milestone in the growth of federal government regulation.
Battle of Little Bighorn
1876-a battle in Montana between United States cavalry under Custer and several groups of Native Americans
Greenback Party
1876-formed in reaction to economic depression, the party favored insurance of unsecured paper money to help farmers repay debts, the movement for free coinage of silver took the place of the greenback movement by the 1880's
Brand-Allison Act
1878-increased amount of silver in the gov't
Chinese Exclusion Act
1882-banned Chinese immigration in US for a total of 40 years because the United States thought of them as a threat. Caused chinese population in America to decrease.
Civil Service (Pendleton) Act
1883-passed in reponse to charges of patronage in the awarding of government jobs, created the Civil Service Commission to oversee examinations for potential government employees.
Samuel Gompers
1886-He was the creator of the American Federation of Labor. He provided a stable and unified union for skilled workers.
Wabash v. Illinois
1886-Stated that individual states could control trade in their states, but could not regulate railroads coming through them. Congress had exclusive jurisdiction over interstate commerce.
Interstate Commerce Act
1887-Established the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) - monitors the business operation of carriers transporting goods and people between states - created to regulate railroad prices
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
1890-First United States law to limit trusts and big business. Said that any trust that was purposefully restraining interstate trade was illegal.
Sherman Silver Purchase Act
1890-Required the government to purchase an additional 4.5 million ounces of silver bullion each month for use as currency.
Battle of Wounded Knee
1890-last major armed conflict between the Lakota Sioux and the United States, subsequently described as a "massacre" by General Nelson A. Miles in a letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Populist Party
1891-called for free coinage of silver and paper money, national income tax, direct election of senators, regulation of railroads, and other government reforms to help farmers
Pullman Strike
1894-This was a nonviolent strike which brought about a shut down of western railroads, which took place against the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago, because of the poor wages of the Pullman workers. It was ended by the president due to the interference with the mail system, and brought a bad image upon unions.
Coxey's Army
1894-a protest march on Washington DC by unemployed workers from the United States, led by the populist Jacob Coxey
Gold Standard Act
1900-and stated that all paper money must be backed only by gold. This meant that the government had to hold large gold reserves in case people wanted to trade in their money. Also eliminated silver coins in circulation.
Mugwumps
Republican political activists who supported Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland in the United States presidential election of 1884. They switched parties because they rejected the financial corruption associated with Republican candidate, James Blaine.
Trusts
Firms or corporations that combine for the purpose of reducing competition and controlling prices (establishing a monopoly). There are anti-trust laws to prevent these monopolies.
Horatio Alger
Popular novelist during the Industrial Revolution who wrote "Rags to Riches" books praising the values of hard work
Hull House
Settlement home designed as a welfare agency for needy families. It provided social and educational opportunities for working class people in the neighborhood as well as improving some of the conditions caused by poverty.
homesteaders
Settlers who claimed land on the Great Plains under the Homestead Act.
Credit Mobilier Scandal
This scandal occurred in the 1870s when a railroad construction company's stockholders used funds that were supposed to be used to build the Union Pacific Railroad for railroad construction for their own personal use. To avoid being convicted, stockholders even used stock to bribe congressional members and the vice president.
Gospel of Wealth
This was a book written by Carnegie that described the responsibility of the rich to be philanthropists. This softened the harshness of Social Darwinism as well as promoted the idea of philanthropy.
Salvation Army
This welfare organization came to the US from England in 1880 and sought to provide food, shelter, and employment to the urban poor while preaching temperance and morality.
Andrew Carnegie
United States industrialist and philanthropist who endowed education and public libraries and research trusts (1835-1919)
William Jennings Bryan
United States lawyer and politician who advocated free silver, winning him Populist Party support
Joseph Pulitzer
United States newspaper publisher (born in Hungary) who established the Pulitzer prizes (1847-1911)
William Randolph Hearst
United States newspaper publisher whose introduction of large headlines and sensational reporting changed American journalism (1863-1951)
Emily Dickinson
United States poet noted for her mystical and unrhymed poems (1830-1886)
Mark Twain
United States writer and humorist best known for his novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1835-1910)
YMCA
Young Men's Christian Association, Spiritual organization meant to provide healthy activities for young workers in the cities.
Cornelius Vanderbilt
a railroad owner who built a railway connecting Chicago and New York. He popularized the use of steel rails in his railroad, which made railroads safer and more economical.
Pools
agreements between companies to maintain prices at a certain level
Stephen Crane
author of The Red Badge of Courage
Vertical / Horizontal Integration
beginnings of trusts (destruction of competition); vertical- controlling every aspect of production (control quality, eliminate middlemen - Rockefeller); horizontal- consolidating with competitors to monopolize a market (highly detrimental)
Depression of 1893
caused by excessive building and overspeculation as well as a continued agricultural depression along with the free coining of silver and the collecting of debts by European banking houses. Profits dwindled, businesses went bankrupt and slid into debt. Caused loss of business confidence. 20% of the workforce unemployed. Led to the Pullman strike.
James J. Hill
railroad entrepreneur who built and operated the Great Northern Railroad from St. Paul, Minnesota to Everett, Washington; without any federal grants or subsidies, the Great Northern Railroad made money by shipping goods to Asia, GNR became the most successful transcontinental railroad and the only one that wasn't eventually forced into bankruptcy
Boycotts
refusals to buy products as ways of protesting prices or poor treatment
2nd School of American Literature
school which taught the importance and techniques used in American Literature and what defined the American novel
John D. Rockefeller
was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy.
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.
Old v. New Immigrants
Old: North/Western Europe New: Southern/Eastern Europe, Russia
Stalwarts
A faction of the Republican party in the late 1800s. Supported the political machine and patronage. Conservatives who hated civil service reform.
Boss Tweed
A political boss and head of Tammany Hall who carried corruption to new extremes, and cheated the city out of more than $100 million
Mark Hanna
An industrialist and Republican politician from Ohio. The campaign manager of McKinley in the 1896, in what is considered the forerunner of the modern political campaign, and subsequently became one of the most powerful members of the U.S. Senate.
Frontier "bonanza"
Farms specializing in mass production of one crop
J.P. Morgan
Business man -refinanced railroads during depression of 1893 - built intersystem alliance by buying stock in competeing railroads - marketed US governemnt securities on large scale
cowboys
Cattle handlers who drove large herds across the southern Great Plains. The era of the cowboy lasted from 1870 to the late 1880s.
Holding Companies
Companies that hold a majority of another company's stock in order to control the management of that company. Can be used to establish a monopoly.
Yellow Dog Contracts
Contracts that force employees to agree not to join a union or participate in any union activity as a condition of employment
rebates
Developed in the 1880s, a practice by which railroads would give money back to its favored customers, rather than charging them lower prices, so that it could appear to be charging a flat rate for everyone.
Laissez-faire
Idea that government should play as small a role as possible in economic affairs
IWW (Wobblies)
Industrial workers of the world, most radical group. Under Haywood, envisioned utopian state run by workers. Small group, but accepted blacks, women, and immigrants
cattlemen
Moved west to get rich off of owning / herding cows, Long ride to cow towns, faced loneliness, fear, long hot tiring days, little pay
Thomas Nast
Newspaper cartoonist who produced satirical cartoons, he invented "Uncle Sam" and came up with the elephant and the donkey for the political parties. He nearly brought down Boss Tweed.
Social Darwinism
The application of ideas about evolution and "survival of the fittest" to human societies - particularly as a justification for their imperialist expansion.
long v. short haul
The railroad practice to charge higher rates on lines where there was no competition than on routes where several lines were operating. This often meant that the cost of shipping goods a short distance was greater than over a long distance., Different railroad companies charged separate rates for hauling goods a long or short distance. The Interstate Commerce Act made it illegal to charge more per mile for a short haul than a long one.
Interlocking Directories
The same people serving on the board of directors of several companies
Strikes
The unions' method for having their demands met. Workers stop working until the conditions are met.
Closed / Open shop
closed shop-employees are required to be in union if hired. "open shop"-employee cannot be compelled to join the union. Can't be fired for joining. The employee has the "right to work", can't be forced into joining the union.
Lillian Wald
founded the Henry Street Settlement and Visiting Nurse Service which provided nursing and social services and organized educational and cultural activities. She is considered the founder of public health nursing
Farmers' Alliances
groups of farmers of those in sympathy with farming issues, whosent lectures from town to town to educate people about agricultural and rural issues,
miners
in the mid 19th century, groups of miners searching for precious metal (gold and silver) began the surge into the West, beginning the boom-bust cycles of settlement
Railroad subsidies
land grants by the government- For each mile of track the company got 20 square miles of land- So they use it for towns and basically controlled where the West would prosper and were able to sell the land.
Blacklists
lists of people not to hire, usually people associated with unions or rebels
Party Bosses
party leaders, usually in an urban district, who exercised tight control over electioneering and patronage
Tenements
poorly built, overcrowded housing where many immigrants lived
