US History Test 7

Federal Reforms

One of the most important and necessary changes to progressive Era reformers was to make the government more responsive to the needs of the people and more democratic.

The Jungle and the meat inspection Act (1906)

The public outcry following the publication of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair led directly to the passage of the Meatpacking Act (1906). The Meatpacking Act (1906) provided for the federal inspection of meat. The public outcry also led to passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906). The Pure Food and Drug Act regulated the manufacture of foods and required commercially bottled and packaged medicines to be correctly labeled.

Rise of Big Business

The rise of big business, characterized by the investment of huge amounts of resources, turned the US into one of the most economically powerful countries in the world.

16th Amendment (1913) National Income Tax

The sixteenth Amendment allowed the federal government to tax people's incomes. The income of everyone was taxed, but those with higher incomes were taxed more (this is known as graduated or progressive taxation)

The progressive era

The time period from ~1900-~1920 was one the most significant eras of reform in the US. There were significant political reforms at the state and federal levels There were many other social and economic reforms that occurred to address the social tensions that developed due to industrialization, urbanization, and immigration

Pacific Railroad Act

The vast territory of the western frontier was mostly unsettled. To encourage development, railroad companies were given public land to build railroads.

The Gilded Age

"The Gilded Age" is the term used to describe the tumultuous years between the Civil War and the turn of the twentieth century. The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today was a famous satirical novel by Mark Twain set in the late 1800s, and was its namesake. During this era, America became more prosperous and saw unprecedented growth in industry and technology. But the Gilded Age had a more sinister side: It was a period where greedy, corrupt industrialists, bankers and politicians enjoyed extraordinary wealth and opulence at the expense of the working class. In fact, it was wealthy tycoons, not politicians, who inconspicuously held the most political power during the Gilded Age.

Discrimination against the Chinese

- 1790 Naturalization Act prohibited Chinese immigrants— as well as other non-whites—from becoming citizens through naturalization - The California state constitution prohibited counties and towns from hiring Chinese workers. - Chinese immigrants were barred from owning property, testifying in court, having their families join them in the US, and marrying non-Chinese people - In the face of such discrimination, Chinese communities banded together and created community organizations. These organizations provided schools, places of worship, and health care systems. Many of these communities existed in San Francisco

Impacts of the Transcontinental Railroad

- After the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, other western railroads followed. - Between 1865 and 1900, the number of miles of railroad tracks in the US grew from 35,000 to 260,000 miles. - Railroad companies were only profitable if there were settlers on the frontier. Railroad companies sent agents to US cities and Europe to encourage settlement of the frontier. - By 1890, the American frontier had ceased to exist.

The Great Plains

- Before 1850, the land between Missouri and California was referred to as the Great American Desert because it seemed dry, barren, and impossible to farm. By 1850, settlers from the East saw this land in a new light. - During the gold rushes of 1849 and 1859, settlers pushed west in increasing numbers. As a result of the Homestead Act, the end of the Civil War, and the growth in railroads, millions of new settlers moved into the Great Plains

Homestead Act (1862)

- Congress passed the Homestead Act which provided available public lands at no cost to those willing to settle on the land. - The law mandated that any citizen or immigrant intending to be become a citizen could acquire 160 acres of federal land, simply by farming it for five years. - Labor, not money, was the price of a homestead.

Nativist Sentiment in the US

- Nativist sentiment began to grow in the US. - Nativism: policy of protecting the interests of native-born inhabitants against those of immigrants. - A depression in the 1870s led to anti-Chinese sentiment. Chinese laborers became the scapegoats Nativists argued that Chinese immigrants would overtake the US. - Anti-Chinese riots broke out to protest the "yellow peril" in many Western states and territories

Chinese Exclusion Act

- This nativist, anti-Chinese sentiment led to the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act. This act was the first major restriction on immigration to the US. - - This led to a turning point in US immigration policy. - The Chinese Exclusion Act remained in effect until 1943.

Corporations Develop

- Until the mid 1800s, most businesses were run by one person. The businesses remained relatively small and were local - Corporations: a number of people share the ownership of a company. Corporations had access to large amounts of capital (money), allowing them to fund new technology and enter new industries

Settling Western Lands

- When the Republican Party came to power in 1861, one of its main goals was to support agricultural progress by giving away public lands in the West. - Land grants were also given to railroad companies to spur the development of the western frontier.

The Haymarket Riot

A labor rally was organized by the Knights of Labor to support workers who were striking for an eight hour work day The day before police had killed several striking workers. As retaliation, an anarchist threw a bomb at a group of police officers. The police officers fired into the crowd. This led to the death of several civilians and police officers and dozens of people were injured The Haymarket Riot set off a national wave of xenophobia, as scores of foreign- born radicals and labor organizers were rounded up by the police in Chicago and elsewhere. In August 1886, eight men labeled as anarchists were convicted in a sensational and controversial trial in which the jury was considered to be biased and no solid evidence was presented linking the defendants to the bombing. In the aftermath of the Haymarket Riot and subsequent trial and executions, public opinion was divided. For some people, the events led to a heightened anti-labor sentiment, while others (including labor organizers around the world) believed the men had been convicted unfairly and viewed them as martyrs.

Importance of the populist party

After 1900, the Populist Party lost support and members were no longer elected to Congress. However, the two major parties (Democrat and Republican) adopted many reforms of the Populist Party Platform of 1892. The Populist Party, a third party/minor party, demonstrated that even if a third party failed to elect many candidates, it could still have a major influence on national policy.

The Federal Reserve System

Before the establishment of the Federal Reserve System, the government had no way to regulate the money supply (amount of money in circulation). There also was no way for the federal government to ensure that banks had enough cash reserves on hand The US economy was growing and an industrialized nation required an organized banking system These federal Reserve Banks can lend money to private banks The Federal Reserve System is made up of twelve Federal Reserve regional banks. These twelve banks are controlled by the Federal Reserve Board, known as the "Fed" The importance of the Federal Reserve system is that the US government now had the power to regulate the national economy though controlling interest rates, sale of government bonds, and the monetary supply.

Northern Securities co. V. United States

By the end of the 1800s, the Northern Securities Company controlled the railroad system in the Pacific Northwest. In 1901, the Department of Justice began prosecution of the Northern Securities Company under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The case was eventually appealed to the Supreme Court. In its ruling in the Northern Securities Co. v. US, the Supreme Court upheld the judgment against the company and ordered the company to be dissolved. This Supreme Court case cemented Theodore Roosevelt's reputation as a trust buster.

Technological developments

Electricity came to the cities and powers city streets, apartment buildings, and factories. Steel was invented and this led to a strong, lightweight metal. This allowed bridges to be built and skyscrapers to be taller than had ever been imagined before Telegraphs linked the nation; telephones and radios were on the way Mass production, ways for factories to turn out large number of products quickly and expensively, was also key to industrialization

Ida Tarbell, History of the Standard Oil Company

Ida Tarbell was a muckraker who worked for McClure's national magazine. Ida Tarbell wrote a series of magazine articles about John D. Rockefeller's monopolistic and unfair business practices in his company, the Standard Oil Company Ida Tarbell's History of the Standard Oil Company in 1904, set the paradigm which many other muckrakers followed

Labor movement

Factory workers were powerless as individuals to persuade large corporations to treat them fairly. To be more effective, they organized into large labor unions. Strikes by industrial workers were increasingly common in the United States in the 1880s, a time when working conditions were often dismal and dangerous and wages were low. The American labor movement during this time also included a radical faction of socialists, communists and anarchists who believed the capitalist system should be dismantled because it exploited workers.

patterns of immigration

First Wave of Immigration 1820-1880: immigrants come from Northern and Western Europe. Many of these immigrants came from Scandinavia and Germany. Oftentimes, these immigrants had some money and purchased land. They were referred to as "old immigrants". Second Wave of Immigration 1880-1920: These immigrants came from Eastern and Southern Europe. Many of these immigrants came with very little money and settled in cities. In the cities they found jobs in manufacturing and meat packing. Most of these immigrants lived in ethnic enclaves in cities like New York City and Chicago. Second wave immigrants were referred to as "new immigrants" because their cultures were different from the earlier "old immigrant" groups from Western and Northern Europe.

Robber Barons

Gradually consumers, workers, and the federal government came to feel that systems like monopolies gave powerful businessmen an unfair advantage. Most small businesses were bought up or squeezed out of competition. Consumers were harmed by the unfairly high prices that monopolies set on their products. Because of their capacity to swindle the poor, shrewd capitalists became known as "robber barons".

The International Ladies Garment Workers' Union

In 1900, workers in the women's clothing industry organized the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union to protest low pay, long hours, and unsafe working conditions Most of its members were Jewish immigrants employed in sweatshops In 1909, the ILGWU organized its first strike of 2,000 shirtwaist makers, mostly women and children. As a result of this strike, women won a pay raise and a shorter work week. They also establish an arbitration board to settle disputes between labor and management

Steps toward government regulation

In the late 1800s, the federal government began to take the first steps to regulating big business. periodic downturns in the national economy growing criticism of practices that saw big business profit at the expense of the poor and working class increasing grassroots political pressure for change

The Emergence of the Muckrakers

Journalists were vital to the progressive movement because they prompted people to address the wrongs of society. They were able to put a spotlight on corrupt actions by government and businesses National magazines, like the Ladies' Home Journal and McClure's, published lengthy articles about corruption on government and the shocking conditions in factories and slums These journalists drew attention to dirty politics or "muck" —anything that seemed dishonest, immoral, or ugly.

Knights of Labor

Knights of Labor was founded in 1869 and was the first union to become a major economic force. The Knights of Labor invited both skilled and unskilled laborers to join The Knights of Labor wanted to establish an eight hour work day They tried negotiating with employers and then moved to strikes as way to achieve their goals.

Captains of Industry

Many people felt that these business leaders served the nation positively, thus earning the nickname "captains of industry". Factories, steel mills, and railroads provided jobs for an ever- growing labor force. The development of efficient business practices and industrialists' support for developing technology benefitted the nation's economy, stimulating innovation and shaping the US into a strong international leader. Furthermore, many business leaders, like Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt, were important philanthropists. They established universities, museums, and libraries, believing that such institutions made it possible for the disadvantaged to rise to wealth.

Tenement reform

Most immigrants from were forced to live in tenements. Tenements were found in the slums of cities. Tenements are cheap, run-down, poorly maintained apartment buildings. Jacob Riis, a Danish immigrant and reformer wanted to publicize the grim living conditions most immigrants faced. Jacob Riis published the book How the Other Half Lives in 1890. How the Other Half Lives shocked many middle class readers with its detailed description and photographs of overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in tenements.

Restrictions on Immigration

Native-born Americans who descended from immigrants from Northern and Western European countries became concerned with the numbers of "new immigrants" coming from Southern and Eastern Europe. Many of these immigrants were Catholic and Jewish (most earlier immigrants were Protestant). In the period from 1891 to 1915, "new immigrants" numbered over 11 million of the 15.5 million immigrants from Europe This led to an increase in nativist and xenophobic attitudes of many native-born Americans

Railroads

Railroads were essential to industrialization Railroads could transport large amounts of goods quickly, cheaply, and efficiently. Railroads linked the nation; they allowed businesses to obtain raw materials easily and to sell finished goods to larger numbers of people An abundance of natural resources and an efficient transportation system to carry raw materials and finished goods led to industrial growth.

Theodore Roosevelt and trust- busting

Roosevelt saw a difference between "good trusts", which were meant to be subject to only regulation, and "bad trusts", which were to be dissolved. The actions Roosevelt took against big business earned him a reputation as someone who would do trust-busting. In 1903, Roosevelt convinced Congress to form the Bureau of Corporations within the Department of Commerce and Labor. He used the bureau to pressure corporations through investigations and publicity about their actives.

The settlement house movement

Settlement homes were built in many US cities. Settlement homes were located in poor immigrant neighborhoods where women and children could go for help in adjusting to American life. Purposes of the Settlement Homes: protect poor children from the dangers of unsupervised play on city streets They offered free English classes as well as classes in the arts, literature, and music Jane Adams established Hull House in Chicago in 1889. Many settlement homes were constructed throughout US cities following the model of Hull House Many of the women who ran the settlement houses were social workers and they used their knowledge and experience to persuade state legislatures to enact laws to protect children—-especially laws to abolish child labor

Industrialization Ramps Up

The "second industrial revolution" turned the US into an industrial powerhouse The Civil War challenged industries to make products more efficiently than they had before Factories pumped out ammunition, medical supplies, and heavy equipment The food industry developed shelf stable, mass produced goods that could be shipped long distances Railroads expanded

American Federation of Labor

The American Federation of Labor was created by Samuel Gompers Samuel Gompers brought many smaller craft unions into a single organization. The American Federation of Labor was a loose association of unions that permitted unions to continue their separate existence. The American Federation of Labor set an overall policy for achieving common objectives Goals of the American Federation of labor: higher wages,shorter work hours, better working conditions Many unions in the American Federation of Labor discriminated against African Americans and women laborers. As a result, employers often used African Americans to fill the jobs of striking union members ("strike breakers"). This increased racial prejudice against African Americans.

American Railway Union

The American Railway Union was formed by Eugene v. Debs in 1893 to represent all railroad employees. When the Great Northern Railroad company decreased wages, the American Railway Union went on strike and shut down the railway for 18 days. The strike was successful and the workers' wages were restored Thousands of railroad workers joined the American Railway Union

Carlisle Schools and Forced Assimilation

The Carlisle Boarding school was established to replace Native American culture with white American culture. This is known as forced assimilation, the main goals of the schools Native American children at the school were given Americanized names and clothes The students were forced to attend Christian church services and were forced to play sports like baseball and football instead of Native American games

Eighteenth Amendment (1919)

The Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in the US. This amendment was the only amendment that tried to regulate the social behavior of US citizens and it is the only one that has been repealed. Once the amendment was ratified and added to the US Constitution, Congress enforced the amendment through the Volstead Act.

The Grange Movement

The Grange: an organization which focused on the economic issues troubling the farmers: how to cope with falling grain prices and rising railroad rates • Railroad companies charged more for short hauls than they did for long hauls. The railroad companies competed with each other for long hauls so they overcharged farmers for the less competitive shorter hauls • To fight the unfair railroad practices, Grangers took political action. They persuaded state legislatures to pass laws in the 1870s regulating the rates of railroad companies ***In Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway v. Illinois in 1886, the Supreme Court ruled that railroad rates set by state laws interfered with Congress's exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce.*** The Federal government passed the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887 to regulate railroads rates

National Origins Act

The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. The quota provided immigration visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia. The 1924 Immigration Act also included a provision excluding from entry any alien who by virtue of race or nationality was ineligible for citizenship. Existing nationality laws dating from 1790 and 1870 excluded people of Asian line age from naturalizing. As a result, the 1924 Act meant that even Asians not previously prevented from immigrating - the Japanese in particular - would no longer be admitted to the United States.

International Workers of the World

The International Workers of the World was founded in 1905. The IWW was a radical labor organization that opposed capitalism and promoted socialism. In a socialist system, the means of productions (factories and mines) would be owned by the workers, not just a few wealthy individuals. The International Workers of the World did not accept unskilled workers, unlike the Knights of Labor. The aim of the International Workers of the World was for workers to control the means of production. The IWW had the most influence in the mining and lumber industries

Pullman Strike

The Pullman Company produced luxury railroad cars. Many of the Pullman company workers were part of the American Railway Union. When the Pullman Company slashed wages, the American Railroad Union voted to support the Pullman workers by refusing to work on any trains that included Pullman cars This strike resulted in a nationwide struggle between the American Railway Union and the owners of the railroad companies In order to break the strike, railway officials ordered Pullman cars to be pulled by US mail trains. This was a ploy to force the federal government to step in and break the strike when the workers refused to work on the US mail trains. President Grover Cleveland sent in troops to end the strike. Eugene V. Debs was arrested and jailed for six months for conspiracy to interfere with the mail, and the American Railway Union collapsed.

19th Amendment (1920) and the suffrage movement

The Suffrage movement (women fighting for the right to vote) began to grow in size and strength since publication of the Declaration of Sentiments at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. The Suffrage movement was initially led by Susan B. Anthony and later by Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt. During the Progressive Era, the suffrage movement was in full swing as women demanded the right to vote Women received the right to vote (gained suffrage) in the 19th Amendment (1920).

Temperance Movement led to prohibition

The Temperance movement was established to protest against the production, sale, and abuse of alcohol Temperance reformers felt that an excessive amount of alcohol consumption increased the poverty of working-class families A religious revivalism also developed during this time which contributed to the Temperance Movement Anti-immigration forces also helped to propel the Temperance Movement because xenophobic elements feared alcohol consumption by the Eastern and Southern European immigrants The Temperance movement persuaded state legislatures in several states to prohibit the production and sale of alcohol Organizations like the Anti-Saloon League and the Women's Christian Temperance Union raised campaign funds and supported politicians who supported the prohibition of alcohol

17th Amendment/ Direct Election of Senators

The original US Constitution specified that state legislatures would elect US Senators The direct election of senators helped to make the government more democratic. It also helped reduce the influence of special interests, big business, and to remove corruption from the federal government.

New York State Tenement Housing Commission

Theodore Roosevelt was the governor of New York State before he became president of the US. The publication of Jacob Riis' book How the Other Half Lives prompted the New York State Legislature as well as NYS Governor Theodore Roosevelt to create the New York State Housing Commission in 1900. The purpose of this commission was to research the tenement conditions in New York City so they could be addressed through governmental actions.

Broken Treaties

U.S. Treaties had guaranteed the Native Americans' right to this land for "as long as the rivers shall run and the grass shall grow" - or until the settlers came. In the 1850's, as settlers started building mining towns and cattle towns in the region, the Native Americans' way of life was threatened Despite treaty rights, Native Americans had their land taken from them as the settlers moved West in larger and larger numbers. Often the U.S. military supported the takeover of Native American lands.

Upton Sinclair and the jungle

Upton Sinclair went undercover to investigate the conditions of the Chicago Stockyards. He wrote The Jungle, a novel designed to expose the high unsanitary and exploitative conditions in the meatpacking industry. The Jungle follows a family of Lithuanian immigrants who struggled to survive, living in the slums and working dangerous, poorly paid jobs. Sinclair had hoped to elicit sympathy for workers—many of them immigrants—working in the meatpacking industry. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair led to widespread disgust in regard to food safety.

Reactions to the labor movement

Workers' strikes were extremely common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many ended in violence, as strikers clashed with police and federal troops in some cases Many of these strikes involved disputes with the nation's largest corporations. Most Americans supported the government's use of troops to break strikes. They viewed the strike leaders as revolutionaries who challenged the traditional values of society. However, a growing minority sympathized with the unions and pointed to the plight of the workers as evidence—their low wages, long hours, and dangerous working conditions Government in the 1800s consistently sided with business against unions. But over time, the government would change its position and support both business and labor in the 20th century.

Why did corporations dominate the US economy?

• Corporations worked to maximize profits by paying workers low wages • Some corporations became monopolies. • A monopoly is when one corporation controls the entire market for a particular good or service. • Monopolies are created when a corporation either takes over its competition or drives the competition out of business. Once consumers had no other choices for a given product, the sole remaining company was free to set its own prices • Trusts: Companies assign their stock to a board of trustees, who combine them into a new organization. The trustees run the organization, paying themselves dividends on profits.

Monopolies dominate the US

• In the 1870s and 1880s many companies became monopolies • In every industry, businesses were becoming less and less competitive as more and more businesses merged • When companies have little or no competition, they are free to set prices for their goods and/or services • When a company has a monopoly in a particular field, workers, too are left without choices. The company can set wages. • The government faced public and political pressure to do something to restrain the actions of big business and maintain some level of competition

Margaret Sanger & birth control

• Many working-class women risked their lives and suffered increased poverty because of frequent births. Margaret Sanger, a nurse who working among immigrant families in NYC, witnessed the struggles of these working-class women, many of whom were immigrants. Margaret Sanger believed one way to address this situation was to provide information to women on ways to prevent pregnancy In 1914, she started publishing a magazine on birth control entitled What Every Girl Should Know and opened a clinic in Brooklyn in 1916. Margaret Sanger launched a movement for informed parenthood which gained strength in later years. The modern-day Planned Parenthood Organization credits Margaret Sanger as their founder

Horizontal Integration vs. Vertical Integration

• Businessmen created new ways to increase profits and decrease costs • Horizontal Integration: consolidation of many firms in the same business. • John D. Rockefeller used this method for his company, the Standard Oil Company. At its height, the Standard Oil Company controlled 90% of the nation's oil industry. • Vertical Integration: when companies increase their control by gaining control of the many different businesses that make up all phases of a product's development. This process allowed companies to reduce costs and charge higher prices to competitors. • Andrew Carnegie used this method for his company, Carnegie Steel Corporation

Chinese immigration and the railroads

• Chinese immigrants were the first non-Europeans to emigrate to the US (voluntarily). • Many Chinese immigrants came to California in the 1850s, many of whom were drawn by the gold rush. • Many more thousands of Chinese immigrants were recruited by the Central Pacific Railroad to build railroads. 12, 000 of the company's 13,500 workers were Chinese immigrants. • Chinese immigrants built some of the most hazardous parts of the railroad by dynamiting tunnels through the Sierra Nevada mountain range. They were forced to work from dusk to dawn in very dangerous conditions. • Chinese immigrants were paid less than their white counterparts.

Dawes Act

• In the late 1880s, some white Americans began to recognize that Native Americans were not being treated fairly. • Reform minded Congressmen hoped to improve conditions on the reservations by encouraging Native Americans to adopt the lifestyle of U.S. farmers • The Dawes Act offered 160 acre plots of land to the heads of households. It was assumed that Native American farmers would become self supporting and "Americanized." • However, the Dawes Act was not successful. Native Americans with a nomadic hunting culture did not easily become farmers. Many Native Americans rented or sold the homesteads to white settlers for cash

The Plight of Farmers

• In the post Civil War Era, new advances in science and technology made American farms more productive than before. At the same time, the price for corn and grain decreased. The farmers were producing many more tons of crops but receiving less and less money for their crops • Land was cheap, especially because of the Homestead Act, but the farmers still had to pay for farm machinery, grain storage, and transporting their crops on railroads. Farmers had to purchase items on credit. • Farmers resented always being at the mercy of the railroads, merchants and banks. The situation was compounded by the fact that the farmers produced larger crops but prices were decreasing.

The Americanization process

• Many "new immigrants" found life in the US to be far different than life in their home country. They often settled in ethnic enclaves (neighborhoods) to preserve their customs and language and find support among fellow countrymen • Usually, the immigrants' children became Americanized far more easily than their parents. • The increase in the amount and quality of US public education went hand in hand with the rise in immigration. It reflected Americans' desire to have children of immigrants embrace the language and culture of the US. • There was a focus of assimilation in US public schools. Students were submersed in English-only classrooms without any accommodations. Newcomers were often placed in 1st grade classrooms regardless of their age, causing many early dropouts.

push/pull factors

• Push Factors: factors that "push" immigrants from their home countries. Immigrants were escaping harsh conditions including lack of economic opportunities, religious discrimination, and conflict in their home countries • Europe's population increased and led to overcrowding and economic competition • religious and ethnic minorities, like Jews in Russia and Poland, faced discrimination and violence. • Pull Factors: factors that "pull" immigrants to the US. They came for jobs and the hope to increase their standard of living. The availability of jobs in the US because of industrialization drew immigrants to the US • Many Europeans felt that US factory jobs might be easier to find and offer better pay • Railroad and steamship companies often sent agents to European countries to promote the idea of emigration (the act of leaving one's own country to settle permanently in another). Recruiters gave the impression that after a few years of work, everyone could expect to become rich in the US

Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois (1886)

• Railroads competed with one another for business on long routes. They commonly made up for their losses by overcharging farmers for the less competitive shorter hauls. • Farmers took political action to fight the high railroad rates. The farmers persuaded state legislators in the 1870s to pass laws regulating the rates of railroad companies. Companies who faced the state regulations challenged the laws in court. • In the case of Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway v. Illinois in 1886, the Supreme Court ruled that railroad rates set by state laws interfered with Congress's exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce.

Lewis Hines and the national child labor committee

• The 1900 census revealed that approximately 2 million children were working in mills, mines, fields, factories, stores, and on city streets across the United States. • The census report helped spark a national movement to end child labor in the United States. • In 1908, the National Child Labor Committee hired Lewis Hine as its staff photographer and sent him across the country to photograph and report on child labor.

The Rise of the Populist Party

• The Grange Movement declined but farmers still faced declining crop prices. The prices were so low that farmers burned their corn for fuel instead of selling it at low prices • Farmers all across the country joined a new political party called the Populist Party. • The Populist Party convened their first national convention in 1892. Included in their party platform (statement of political ideas) were the following reform ideas: • unlimited silver coinage to increase the money supply (farmers felt that if there was more money in circulation this would increase crop prices and ease their debt burden) • graduated income tax (the higher a person's income, the more taxes they would pay) • government ownership and operation of the railroad companies • direct election of senators rather than selection by state legislatures • an eight-hour day for all factory workers

Sherman Antitrust Act

• The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was the first major attempt to restrain the growth of monopolies, thus increasing competition. The Sherman Antitrust Act was an attempt to reduce the power pf business owners in an effort to protect individual workers and consumers. • It stated that "every contract, combination in the form of a trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce...is hereby declared to be illegal." • This act was only moderately successful because the law was vaguely written. Terms such as trust, conspiracy, and restraint of trade were not defined. As a result, no trusts were successfully prosecuted in the 1890s. • When the federal government tried to enforce the act, the Supreme Court, in United States v. E.C. Knight Company (1895), ruled that many businesses were exempt from the law. In addition, some other corporations were able to circumvent the law.

Native American Wars

• The Sioux Tribe actively resisted the U.S. military takeover of their land. Led by Chief Crazy Horse, the Sioux killed 210 U.S. soldiers. In return, the U.S. army took its revenge by massacring 300 Sioux, including women and children at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. The Sioux were then forced on to a reservation • In 1877, the Nez Perce resisted being forced onto reservations. They attempted to escape to Canada but were forced to surrender and move onto a reservation. • The Apache of Arizona was the last Native American tribe to fight U.S. troops • By 1900, most Native Americans lived peaceably but unhappily on reservations

Capitalism is king

• The US economic system was based on the system of capitalism, or free enterprise, in which individuals own most businesses • Entrepreneurs, are people who invest money in a product or enterprise in order to make a profit. Entrepreneurs fueled industrialization. The factories, railroads, and mines they established created jobs and also attracted investment • The federal government's policies encouraged the growth of businesses. • Protective tariffs—imports were heavily taxed so that American produced goods would be purchased • Laissez -faire policies ("hands-off"), allowed businesses to operate under minimal government regulation and oversight

Keating-Owen Act

• The first federal law to regulate child labor was the Keating-Owen bill of 1916. • The Keating-Owen Act used the government's ability to regulate interstate commerce to regulate child labor. The act banned the sale of products from any factory, shop, or cannery that employed children under the age of 14, from any mine that employed children under the age of 16, and from any facility that had children under the age of 16 work at night or for more than 8 hours during the day. • Although the Keating-Owen Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional in Hammer v. Dagenhart 247 U.S. 251 (1918) because it overstepped the purpose of the government's powers to regulate interstate commerce. The Supreme Court would eventually overturn its decision in Hamer v. Dagenhart and rule that the commerce clause did allow Congress to regulate working conditions for children and adults.

Theodore Roosevelt

• The first three presidents of the 1900s—Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson-are known as the Progressive presidents. • Theodore Roosevelt, elected vice president in 1900, became president when President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901. He was elected in his own right in 1904 • Theodore Roosevelt saw his job as president as one of stewardship—leading the nation in the public interest • Theodore Roosevelt felt that the president had any powers not specifically denied to the executive in the Constitution • Theodore Roosevelt's administration was known as the Square Deal because of the many reforms he made during his presidency.

Life on the reservations

• The lands assigned to subjugated Native American societies by the U.S. government, called reservations, were not their native lands • Feuding tribes were often forced to live together • Native Americans who had been nomadic hunters were forced to become farmers • They were not allowed to leave the reservation and were forced to dress like whites. Christian missionaries tried to force them to give up their spiritual beliefs • Reservation lands were often barren and poorly suited to supporting life. Unable to hunt for food as in the past, Native Americans were reduce to lives of poverty and hopelessness

Interstate commerce

• The purpose of the Interstate Commerce Act was to regulate the anti- competitive practices of the railroad companies. The Interstate Commerce Act created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to enforce the following regulations: • railroads had to be "reasonable and just" • pools—-associated of competing railroads that agreed to charge the customers the same amount —were illegal • railroads could not charge more for a short haul than a long haul • Although court decisions kept the commission ineffective for several years, its establishment set the precedent for federal regulation of interstate commerce.

Transcontinental Railroad

• The transcontinental railroad traversed though the western lands to the Pacific Coast. • The building of a transcontinental Railroad was one of the greatest achievements of Northern industry during and after the Civil War. • The Union Pacific Railroad headed west from Omaha, Nebraska and the Central Pacific Railroad, started in Sacramento, California heading East. • In 1869, after three years of back-breaking work, the two railroads met in Promontory, Utah. • The length of time it took to travel from the East to California was reduced from six months to two weeks.