4.4

McCormick Reaper

Mechanized the harvest of grains, such as wheat, allowing farmers to cultivate larger plots; 1831; fueled the large-scale establishment of commercial agriculture in the Midwest

Urbanization

An increase in the percentage and in the number of people living in urban settlements.

William McKinley

25th president responsible for Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and the Annexation of Hawaii, imperialism. Is assassinated by an anarchist

Overproduction

A condition in which production of goods exceeds the demand for them

Sharecropping

A system used on southern farms after the Civil War in which farmers worked land owned by someone else in return for a small portion of the crops.

Cross of Gold speech

An impassioned address by William Jennings Bryan at the 1896 Deomcratic Convention, in which he attacked the "gold bugs" who insisted that U.S. currency be backed only with gold.

Money Question

Bryand demanded for the use of Silver as the currency. He believed that this would raise the prices farmers received for their crops and make it easier for them to pay off their loans.

Interstate Commerce Act of 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 Antitrust Act of 1890

First federal action against monopolies, it was signed into law by Harrison and was extensively used by Theodore Roosevelt for trust-busting. However, it was initially misused against labor unions

Granger Laws

Grangers state legislatures in 1874 passed law fixing maximum rates for freight shipments. The railroads responded by appealing to the Supreme Court to declare these laws unconstitutional

Steel Plow

Invented by John Deere and was strong enough to cut through the tough prairie sod of the Midwest and the Plains.

Presidential Election of 1896

Republican William McKinley defeat Democrat William Jennings Bryan in a campaign considered by historians to be one of the most dramatic and complex in American history. It ushered in a long period of Republican political power.

Income Tax

Tax paid to the state, federal, and local governments based on income earned over the past year.

free coinage of silver

The unrestricted minting of silvery money called for by William Jennings Bryan.

William Jennings Bryan

United States lawyer and politician who advocated free silver and prosecuted John Scopes (1925) for teaching evolution in a Tennessee high school (1860-1925)

Populist Party

U.S. political party formed in 1892 representing mainly farmers, favoring free coinage of silver and government control of railroads and other monopolies

Gold Standard

backing dollars solely with gold

Debt

something, typically money, that is owed or due

Granger Movement

the agrarian movement organized in the 1870s as a protest against railroad power over the farmers

Bimetallism

the use of both gold and silver as a basis for a national monetary system