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the Reaper
It was created by Cyrus McCormick in 1831. The reaper speeded up harvesting and it saved crops from inclement weather. -
the Steel Plow
The steel plow was made by John Deere. The steel plow made planting more efficient in root-filled soil. -
John D. Rockefeller
John D. RockefellerJohn D. Rockefeller established the Standard Oil Company and processed two or three percent of the country's oil. Within a decade it controlled 90 percent of the refining business. -
Barbed Wire
Barbed wire prevented animals from trampling crops and wanderign off, it helped alot. The fence was made out of sharp spikes that are wound into knots. -
Transcontinental railroad
Transcontinental RailroadThe First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States was built in the 1860s, linking the developing railway network of the Eastern coast with California.This railroad passes a continental land mass at different oceansor continental borders. -
Farmers Alliance
The Grange gave rise to other orginizations, such as Farmers' Alliances. These groups included many others who sympathized with farmers. Alliances sent lectures from town to town to educate people about the topics such as lower interest rates on loans and government control over railroads and banks. -
the Progressive Movement
Political reformers struggled to make government more responsive to the people. Together these reform efforts formed the Progressive Movement. The Progressive Movement aimed to restore economic opportunities and correct injustices in American life. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Chinese Exclusion ActThis act banned entry to all Chinese except students, teachers, merchants, tourists, and goverment officials. In 1892, congress extended the law for another 10 years and in 1902, Chinese immigration was restricted and the law was not repealed until 1943. -
Pendleton Civil Service Act
This act aoutorized a bipartisan civil service commission to make appointments to federal jobs through a merit system based on candidates' performance on an examination. -
Settlement Houses
In 1800's reformers established settlement houses, community centers in slum neighborhoods that provided assistance to people in the area, especially immigrants. By 1900, there were more than 100 settlements in America, eventually there were more than 400 settlements nationwide. -
George Eastman
In 1888, Eastman sold his first roll-film camera. He called his new camera the Kodak, because the made-up name was short and memorable. -
Jane Addams
Jane Addams Jane was a anti-war activist, a sokesperson for racial justice, and an advocate for quality-of-life issues, from infant mortality to better care for the aged. Jane cofounded Chicago's Hull House and also was a co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. -
the Battle of Wounded Knee
The seventh Cavary-Custer's old regiment-rounded up about 350 starving and freezing Sioux and took them to a camp at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. The next day, the soldiers demanded that the Native Americans give up all their weapons. A shot was fired; from which side, it wasn't clear. This war brought the Indian wars - and an entire era-to a bitter end. -
the Americanization Movement
This movement was designed to assimilate people of wide-ranging cultures into the dominant culture and was sponsered by the government and by concerned citizens. Schools and voluntary associations provided programs to teach immigrants skills needed for citizenship, such as English literacy and American history and Government. -
Grandfather Clause
To reinstate white voters who many have failed the literacy test or could not pay the poll tax, several southern states added the grandfather clause to their constitution. It stated that even if a man failed the literacy test or could not afford the poll tax, he was still entitled to vote before Jan. 1st, 1867. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
A legal case reached the U.S. Supreme Court to test the constitutionality of segregation. In 1896, in Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that the seperation of races in public accommodations was legal and did not violate the 14th Amendment. -
Niagara Movement
Dubois founded the Niagara Movement, which insisted that blacks should seek a liberal arts education so that the African-American community would have well-educated leaders. -
Eugene V. Debs
Eugene V. DebsHe became a spokes person for the Socialist party of America and was its candidate for president five times. In 1912, he won about 900,000 votes, an amazing 6 percent of the total. -
the Gold Standard
President Cleveland and the "gold Bugs" favored the gold standard-backing up dollars solely with gold. The backing up was important campaign issue because people regarded paper money as worthless if it could not be turned in for gold or silver. -
William Jennings Byran
Was considered a patron saint of the causes because he let beliefs, not politics, guide his actions. He resigned his position as secratary of state under Woodrow Wilson, for example, to protest the presidents movement away from nueltrality regarding th war in Europe.
