HIST1302 - Exam 1

Homestead Act

1862 law that allowed any citizen, or even immigrant who had initiated the citizenship process, to claim 160 acres of land simply by paying a fee of $10. If the citizen "lived upon or cultivated" the land for 5 years it was his for free, or he could get title to the land after 6 months if he paid $1.25 per acre. This act played an important role in settling the West but it never achieved its farmers' intention of creating a prosperous class of independent farmers.

Dawes Severalty Act

1887 Act designed to force the assimilation of American Indians into what Congress perceived as the mainstream of national life. The Act allotted each head of an Indian household 160 acres (80 acres for single adults and 40 acres for minors), or 320 acres if the land was suitable only for grazing. Once the land set aside for the tribe had been divided among the Indians, any remainder would be sold to the public. The Dawes Act, with the goal of turning American Indians into stockmen and farmers like Anglos, failed miserably.

Schenk v. United States

1919 Supreme Court case upholding the constitutionality of the Espionage Act and finding that freedom of speech does not extended to speech that presents a "clear and present danger" of threatening national security or inciting illegal actions.

Woodrow Wilson

28th president of the United States, known for World War I leadership, created Federal Reserve, Federal Trade Commission, Clayton Antitrust Act, progressive income tax, lower tariffs, women's suffrage (reluctantly), Treaty of Versailles, sought 14 points post-war plan, League of Nations (but failed to win U.S. ratification), won Nobel Peace Prize

Emilio Aguinaldo

A Filipino nationalist who led an insurgency against Spain and helped American forces capture Manila. After the war, Aguinaldo (1869-1964) declared the Philippines independent. McKinley disagreed, and the U.S. maintained authority over the islands.

The American West

A general term used to describe a diverse and far-reaching region. The area included the Great Plains, a semi-arid and almost treeless stretch of land that spanned from the Dakotas south to Texas; the High Plains, which was carved into the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona; and the Great Basin of Idaho and Utah, caught between the Rocky, Cascade, and Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Frederick Jackson Turner

A historian of the American West who asserted that the American frontier closed by the mid-1890s. Turner (1861-1932) claimed that the frontier had uniquely shaped America and Americans. As the American continental frontier closed, Americans began to look abroad for new frontiers and new opportunities.

The Populist Party

A political party formed in 1892 and composed of a variety of groups coming together to seek greater government involvement in the lives of its citizens through progressive legislation in the lives of its citizens through progressive legislation or constitutional amendments. Party members articulated their goals in 1892 in Omaha, Nebraska. The Populists made little headway at the time, but many of their ideas became law in the twentieth century.

Booker T. Washington

A prominent African American who received an eduction, led a college for African Americans (Tuskegee University), and became a spokesperson and leader. He urged African Americans to work hard and receive an education. He was often at odds with W.E.B. DuBois over how best to advance their race.

Blanche K. Bruce

A slave who became a successful plantation owner. The second African American to serve in the United States Senate (Mississippi) and the first to be elected to a full term.

The Zimmerman Telegram

A telegram from German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmerman to the German ambassador in Mexico intercepted by British spies. The telegram claimed that Germany would soon be at war with the United States, and that Mexico should ally with Germany and try to regain the territory it lost in the Mexican War. The Zimmerman Telegram was one of the main factors that pushed American public opinion toward war.

Rough Riders

A volunteer calvary troop in the Spanish-American War. Members of the troop, formed by Theodore Roosevelt, became heroes after showing bravery during the Battle of San Juan Heights in Cuba.

W.E.B. DuBois

African American leader who often clashed with Booker T. Washington over how best to advance the needs of African Americans. As the first African American to graduate from Harvard University with a Ph.D., he was destined to bring a strong voice of dissent to southern race relations, discrimination, segregation, and lynching. DuBois urged blacks to seek equal education and equal rights rather than submit to discrimination. DuBois argued for the right to vote, civil equality, and the education of young people according to their abilities. He also helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.

Ida B. Wells

African American reformer who spoke out against lynching and other southern injustices. A journalist and speaker, she also worked for women's suffrage.

James B. Duke

After the Civil War, tobacco factories sprang up in North Carolina, where tobacco aligned with cotton as a cash crop. In the 1880s, tobacco magnate James B. Duke bought a cigarette-making machine invented by James Bonsack and aggressively advertised and marketed packaged cigarettes. Duke organized the American Tobacco Company in 1890, and Durham grew from a town of 300 in 1865 to 5,000 by 1884.

Compromise of 1877

Agreement that effectively ended Reconstruction. Republican leaders agreed to remove the remaining Union troops from the South, and Southern Democrats agreed to allow Republican Rutherford B. Hayes to win the 1876 presidential election (the outcome of which had been in dispute).

Commodore George Dewey

American naval commander in Asia during the Spanish-American War. Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay and later took Manila, the capital of the Philippines. This gave the U.S. a dominant start to the war.

USS Maine

An American battleship that exploded in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898. 260 American military personnel died in the explosion. Americans blamed Spain, and Congress declared war. The cry "Remember the Maine" resounded across the nation for the duration of the war.

The Open Door Policy

An American foreign policy designed to allow the United States a foothold into the Chinese markets. John Hay, McKinley's secretary of state, stated that the U.S. would respect other countries' trade with Chine, but that other countries must also accept an American position in China as well as growing American economic influence there. The policy became a central tenet of American foreign policy dealing with all countries, not just China.

Lusitania

British passenger liner sunk by German submarines in 1915. Nearly 1200 people died in the incident, including 128 Americans. The American public was outraged, and many people began to believe the nation needed to prepare for possible war. By the end of 1915, Wilson had initiated a policy of preparedness, expanding both the army and the navy in case of war. After Wilson's third letter, Germany issues the "liner pledge", stating they would not attack unarmed passenger liners in violation of international law. In the spring of 1916, however, a German submarine torpedoed the French passenger ship Sussex, claiming that they thought it was a cargo ship. About 50 died (none were Americans). Wilson protested vigorously, and the Germans finally issued the Sussex Pledge, promising to stop sinking all unarmed ships. Why did Germany make this promise? Because they did not want the United States to enter the War.

James A. Garfield

But the legislature operated under the spoils system—officeholders put their party members or friends into office. By the 1870s it seemed as if the "spoils" were the main motivation for winning office. The spoils system came to a head, and discredited itself, when President James A. Garfield was assassinated in 1881. Garfield's assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, claimed that he shot the president because he and his friends had been denied government jobs.

Gifford Pinchot

Chief of the United States Forest Service and Roosevelt's main ally in conservationism. After Pinchot (1865-1946) criticized Richard Ballinger, Taft's Secretary of the Interior, Taft fired Pinchot. This angered progressives, who viewed Taft's actions as anti-conservationist and anti-Roosevelt. This triggered a split in the Republican Party.

Panic of 1893

Cleveland took office for the second time in 1893. Within a few months, the economy collapsed and the Panic of 1893 ensued. The worst depression in United States history to that point followed, lasting four years, bankrupting thousands of businesses, and causing millions of people to lose their jobs. Although the depression was caused by multiple factors, President Cleveland blamed it on the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and the protective tariff.

Charles M. Sheldon

Congregationalist minister (1857-1946) whose novel "In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?" epitomized the Social Gospel movement. The book depicted a Christian congregation whose minister challenge members to ask themselves what Jesus would do in their situation. The congregation then enacted great social reforms and brought about spiritual renewal in the neighborhood. Sheldon's book sold millions of copies and is one of the top-selling books of all time.

The Teller Amendment

Congressional resolution passed when the U.S. went to war with Spain. The amendment prohibited American annexation of Cuba.

John Muir

Environmental reformer who campaigned for the preservation of lands. He formed the Sierra Club to bring together like-minded individuals to work toward the protection of the environment.

Queen Liliuokalani

Hawaii's monarch from 1891-1893. Queen Liliuokalani was a determined nationalist who wanted to remove foreign influences (particularly American) from Hawaii. She was overthrown by a coup organized by sugar planters backed by 150 marines.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Heir to the Austrian throne who was assassinated in Sarajevo in June 1914. This act set into motion a series of events that led to the outbreak of war across Europe.

Jane Addams

Helped found Hull House, the most famous settlement house, in Chicago in 1889. Hull House offered a variety of services to Chicago's poor, including domestic classes, academic classes, daycare, and theater. Jane Addams (1860-1935) is the most famous of the women who worked in settlement houses. The settlement house efforts represented the first reform movement with widespread participation by women.

Homestead Strike

In June, 1892, members of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (the AA) went on strike in Homestead, Pennsylvania, against the Carnegie Steel Company. Conflicts ensued, and several people died on both sides. The governor called out the National Guard, which remained in the town for months. In the end, Carnegie's company won and the power of the AA was broken.

Election of 1912

In addition to the incumbent Republican Taft, the Progressive Roosevelt, and the Democratic Wilson, Socialist Eugene V. Debs also ran for the presidency in 1912. Although the popular vote was close, Wilson won the presidency by an overwhelming majority in the Electoral College. Roosevelt came in second with two million fewer popular votes than Wilson. Taft ran a close third, but his campaign represented the worst failure for an incumbent in American history. Even though Debs came in fourth and secured no electoral votes, he received almost one million popular votes, the largest number ever received by a Socialist candidate for president. Although Wilson got a minority of all votes cast, the election of 1912 was an overwhelming endorsement of progressivism. Debs, Roosevelt, and Wilson all ran on platforms for reform.

Yellow Journalism

Journalism that is based upon sensationalism and crude exaggeration. William Randolph Hearst's "The New York Journal" and Joseph Pulitzer's "The New York World" were engaged in a circulation war. Both publishers knew that conflicts and atrocities sell stories. They sent people to Cuba, made up stories and exaggerated Spanish atrocities. This helped provoke enthusiasm for war with Spain. This is used to increase newspaper sales.

Henry Cabot Lodge

Leader of the "Reservationists", senators who would only sign the Treaty of Versailles if Wilson accepted their reservations on the document. Lodge chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, causing Wilson to start a cross-country tour to try to gain public support for the treaty.

The Election of 1896

More so than any election since Rutherford B. Hayes' 1876 victory ended Reconstruction, the election of 1896 had long-term consequences. The Populists' decision to join the Democrats, and their combined loss, signaled the end of the Populist Party. Eventually prosperity returned to the United States and the depression ended. The Democratic Party made a major shift, changing from Grover Cleveland's laissez faire, conservative style of leadership to a reform-oriented party. It never returned to a conservative platform. The push for reform started by the Populists did not end in 1896. Widespread calls for reforms returned with the Progressives a decade later, and several tenants of the Populist platform eventually became law. Learn more about the cultural impact of the election of 1896 by playing the Wizard of Oz interactive.

Upton Sinclair

Muckraker who wrote "The Jungle", exposing the dangerous and unsanitary conditions in the nation's meat packing industry (1878-1968). Sinclair's work strongly influenced the passage of regulatory legislation, such as the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Naval officer whose theories greatly influenced the push for American expansion and imperialism. Thayer's "The Influence of Sea Power upon History" argued that great nations must possess strong, modern navies.

17th Amendment

Passed in 1913, mandating that United States Senators be elected by voters, rather than by state legislators. Progressives believed that direct election of Senators would force Senators to be accountable to their constituents and would force the national government to focus on the needs of average Americans, rather than the desires of a few special interests.

Election of 1916

Presidential election in which incumbent Woodrow Wilson narrowly defeated the Republican nominee, Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes. Planning ahead, Woodrow Wilson had taken and gain their votes for 1916 election. Those actions proved somewhat irrelevant, however, as the major issue of the election turned out to be foreign policy. Wilson's campaign slogan ended up being "he kept us out of war", a statement he would not be able to continue making for long.

Assimilation

Process in which minority groups are absorbed into a majority culture, adopting the traits of the dominant group. The Bureau of Indian Affairs led an unsuccessful government campaign to assimilate the Native Americans. The Dawes Severalty Act was an attempt to force the assimilation of Native Americans into a white American lifestyle.

19th Amendment

Ratified in 1920, granting the right to vote to women nationwide.

General Valeriano Weyler

Spanish governor of Cuba. Reports that Weyler (1838-1930) placed Cubans in concentration camps angered the American public and began to create animosity toward Spain. This was an important factor leading to the Spanish-American War.

James Weaver

The Populist Party entered candidates James Weaver, a former Union officer into the presidential election in 1892 but did not win.

Louis Brandeis

The creator of much of Wilson's New Freedom platform. Wilson later appointed Brandeis (1856-1941) to the Supreme Court; he became the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice in American history. Brandeis was a strong progressive and an advocate of social justice legislation.

Henry Clay Fricke

The man whom Carnegie had placed in charge of company operations at the Homestead Steel Plant.

The Redeemers

The new Democratic office holders were known as Redeemers because they redeemed the South from federal intervention. For the most part, these New South leaders came from the middle classes. They were lawyers, businessmen, and industrialists, while a few were planters with large estates. Most had served the Confederacy, and thus they cashed in on their military service and their loyalty to the Lost Cause.

Transcontinental Railroad

The railroad stretching across the nation that resulted from joining the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad. The two companies started building the rail line from opposite points in the country and came together at Promontory Point, Utah, in May 1869. The railroad began regular service connecting Omaha, Nebraska, and Sacramento, California. This dramatically reduced the time it had once taken to travel this distance.

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt, who resigned as assistant secretary of the navy, formed a volunteer cavalry troop called the "Rough Riders" and expressed his exasperation at the disorganization and chaos that accompanied the American army as it assembled to invade Cuba. In 1905, Theodore Roosevelt accepted and offered to mediate an end to the Russo-Japanese War. The resulting treaty proved unpopular in Japan because many felt that Roosevelt had protected the imperial position of the Russians. Roosevelt believed he had successfully preserved America's Open Door Policy in the region diplomatically rather than through the use of force. The President had projected American diplomatic power half-way across the globe while at the same time strengthening the country's position in its own backyard.Throughout his tenure as president Theodore Roosevelt actively sought to raise the United States to a first rate world power. Became the 26th President in 1901.

The Gilded Age

Tremendous urbanization and industrialization characterized the decades following the Civil War. During these years, the population of the United States tripled and the number of workers employed in industry increased twelve times. By 1900, the United States was the world's greatest industrial power. Industrialization proved to be a mixed blessing for the United States. While the nation became immensely more powerful and wealthy, it was also a period marked by divisive problems.

World War I (The Great War)

WWI began in 1914 in Europe and lasted until 1918. The war involved the worlds most powerful nations (Germany, U.S., Great Britain, France). Started with assassination of Francis Ferdinand, brought an end to social reform.

Committee on Public Information

Wartime agency in charge of propaganda and public opinion. Headed by journalist George Creel, the CPI was charged with bolstering public opinion in favor of the war and inspiring patriotism. CPI speakers and writers spread messages across the nation, declaring that the United States needed to fight to protect liberty and democracy. CPI propaganda also illustrated Germany as an evil enemy. The CPI produced many posters during the war, including the iconic "I Want You" Uncle Sam recruiting poster.

Fourteen Points

Wilson's plan for peace without victory to end World War I. Wilson outlined this moral, idealistic plan in a speech before Congress in January of 1918. The Fourteen Points covered three categories. The first five provisions dealt with general international diplomatic issues, such as freedom of the seas. The next eight points called for changing or restoring various boundaries in Europe to help ensure lasting peace. The fourteenth point called for the creation of a League of Nations: an organization designed to promote peace and security, while fostering cooperation among nations in dealing with economic, military, and social issues.

Robert La Follette

Wisconsin politician who served as governor of his state, as well as in the United States House of Representatives and the Senate. A progressive politician, La Follette (1855-1925) modernized his state's government and fought political machines. He created the "Wisconsin Idea", which was very successful and was imitated across the nation. The Wisconsin Idea advocated, among other things, conservationism, business reform, a graduated income tax, and regulations regarding labor and social justice.

The Frontier Thesis

idea set forth by historian Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893. In the "Significance of the Frontier in American History", Turner argued that America's unique experience in the West made the overall American form of democracy stronger and uniquely different from European antecedents. Turner thought that the American Frontier created the conditions necessary for what he saw and celebrated in American society: nationalism, individualism, and democracy. He also argued that the frontier closed in the 1890s, evidenced by the 1890 census.