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Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed
A New York political organization founded in 1789, it played a major role in New York’s politics, and aiding immigrants. One of the main supports of the Society of Tammany Hall was William H. Tweed, also known as Boss Tweed. Boss Tweed was most commonly known for bribing judges and other political figures in order for immigrants to be allowed to vote for their candidate. -
Central Park
Central Park was designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead in the heart of New York City, to be a public park open for everyone. In this way it was revolutionary, because it was not separated by class systems and granted access to lower class citizens as well as upper class. Central Park is the first real park that was made in America. -
The Grange Movement
A group of farmers who fought against the idea of a monoply and agribusiness. When farmers began to gets their views across to the state legislature, laws began to be passed that fixed the rates railroads could charge. The laws passed by the state legilature were challenged and the cases were known as the "Granger cases", the most famous being Munn v. Illinois. -
The Begining of the Gilded Age
A time of the rich getting richer and therefore becomoning flashier with their wealth. The term gilded refers to the fact that the only image of America at the time was of the rich when in fact the conditions of the country were in fact artocious while the poor became poorer. -
Knights of Labor
American labor organization that promoted the social and cultural lift of the working man. Also for an 8hr workday and more equality for the workingmen -
Standard Oil Company
An American oil company run by J.D.Rockefeller, who used horizontal integration to gain a monopoly over the oil industry, makings millions. The idea of horizontal integration was based on one company controlling all aspects of involving of production. The process eliminated competitors and ended up controlling up to 95 percent of the process. -
On The Origin of Species and Social Darwinism
A book written by Charles Darwin about the process of natural selection and survival of the fittest which caused people to form their own ideas on Social Darwinism; the idea that people are in a certain place economically because they were not ‘fit’ enough to move ahead. The poor were considered a prime example of Social Darwinism and people believed they should not be helped financially because wealth meant sucess and a person should not be wealthy if they have not accomplished anything. -
Chicago Great Fire
A fire that ravaged the city of Chicago from October 8th to the 10th. Despite the fact that the fire destroyed most of the city, reconstruction began almost immediately which allowed new developments to appear in Chicago. Chicago then became a symbol of American ingenuity and technological prowess. -
Women’s Christian Temperance Union
One of the first female groups of social reform who's leader is Annie Wittenmyer and Frances Willard that was directly tied to the christian belief system. It became one of the largest women's influential groups and is focused on women's suffrage and prohibition. -
Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)
Elected in 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes was the 19th president of the United States. Hayes oversaw the end of reconstruction, and led the United States into the second industrial age -
Munn v. Illinois
The Supreme Court case associated with the Granger Movement. Munn, a grain warehouse firm, was originally found guility of defying the Illinois state law but appealed to the Supreme Court on the claims that the Illinois law supported the unconsitutional deprivation of property. The outcome of the case was that though the government does regulate interstate commerce, a state can produce a law that does not impair upon the federal control. -
Great Railroad Strike of 1887
After large wage-cuts by many rail companies, the outraged workers took to the lines and blocked rail traffic. Bringing the commerce of the country to its knees (successfully organization of people to effect the country) -
Laissez-Faire
When the government takes more of a laid back approach when it comes to interfering with the wrong-doings of the big businesses. -
The Farmers' Alliance and the Colored Farmers’ Alliance
Both were groups of people fighting to end the effects of the crop lien system and promoted high argricultural prices through group action. The famers were struggling against the cost of farming compared to the little money they made from it. The crop-lien system was a way for the farmers to be loaned money in anticipation for the crops they were going to grow. This put many farmers in debt due to the fact that their debt tended to be much greater then the money they made off of their crops. -
Chester Allen Arthur (1881–1885)
Became president in 1881 when James A Garfield was assassinated. He is most known for his anti-Republican actions with him deciding to support the Pendelton Service Act of 1883. -
Coney Island
(initial construction began in 1840) Coney Island was a large amusement park, attracting millions of visitors per year. (Signified the development of the US during the gilded age.) Was also a placed filled with a large number of companies such as the Iron Steamboat company. -
James A. Garfield (1881-1881)
Garfield served only 200 days before he was assassinated in 1881, and his vice president, Chester Allen Arthur became president. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Act was one of the most memorable restrictions on free immigration. Neither skilled nor unskilled workers were allowed to immigrate without a certification from the Chinese government -
What Social Classes Owe to Each Other
Written by William Graham Sumner stated basically stated that there was no reason to aid the poor because they are in their place for a reason and there are few exceptions. -
Pendleton Civil Service Act
Opened selection of federal employees, to be determined by the Civil Service Commission and put and end to the spoils system. -
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge was finished in 1883 and stands today as a major mark in technoogical achievements. -
Grover Cleveland (1885–1889)
Cleveland is the only president to have served two nonconsecutive terms. Cleveland was also a big supporter of the the gold standard. -
Wabash v. Illinois
Denied the states the power to regulate interstate rates for railroads (Government regulates interstate transport rates, reduces monopolies/corrution) -
Haymarket Bombing
An outburst of tension between the workingmen and the police (upper class). After a shooting at a workingman’s athering, another meeting was called in Haymarket Square, where 180 police showed up and told the crowd to disperse. A bomb was thrown at the police, killing 8, at which point the police opened fire upon the crowd. (Heavily believed that the man who threw the bomb was employed by the police force, not proved in court) -
American Federation of Labor
A spin-off of the KoL, they strive for the same goals, but separated because the KoL was funded by unions, but used that money for the leader’s benefits more than for the unions who donated. -
Interstate Commerce Act
A law that requires railroad rates to be “fair and just” (Similar to Wabash v. Illinois, made to protect farmers from RR companies and over charging.) -
Dawes Act
A law stating the guidelines for the distribution for the land that was apart of the former Indian Reservations. Many of the original supporters believed they had the best interests of the Native Americans at heart but in actuality, they were deteriorating the Native American culture. -
The Gospel of Wealth
An essay written by Andrew Carnegie stating that it was dangerous to allow large sums of money to be passed down through ill-equipped people. -
Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893)
Harrison is best remembered for the McKinley Tariff and the Sherman Antitrust Act, and for annual federal spending that reached one billion dollars for the first time. -
Samoan Island of Troy Polomalu
There was a confrontation between the United States, Germany and Great Britain from 1887–1889 over control of the Samoan Islands during the Samoan Civil War. The final result of the Samoan Island was via Tripartite Convention of 1899 deviding the Samoa into American Samoa and German Samoa. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
Prohibited certain business activities that reduce competition (anti monopoly). The law allows the government to investigate trusts, businesses etc to make sure no monopolies are forming. -
National American Woman Suffrage Association
The 1887 merger reinvigorated the movement, led until 1894 by Susan B. Anthony. The merger marginalized of radical voices, and ensured broad support for a national agenda to bring the 19th Amendment to a vote in Congress. -
People's/Populist Party
A political party filled with poor white farmers. The party made many attempts at fighting againsts the banks, the raiload companies and the upper class. -
Carnegie Steel Company and Vertical Integration
The Steel Company owned by Andrew Carnegie. Large employer, run by a man who rose from poverty (success story of Social Darwinism). The process of minimizing costs by owning all the steps involved with producing any product. Created and first used by Andrew Carnegie with the Carnegie Steel Company. -
Ellis Island
Gateway for millions of immigrants to the US. (Ellis Island was the most busy inspection station in the country) -
Homestead Lockout
An industrial strike at the Homstead plant of the Carnegie Steel Company. Workers went on strike because they felt as though they weren't being paid enough for the hours that they worked. When lock out the the mill, the workers blocked the entry for their replacements to get through. Eventually security was brought to the plant and after one of the strikers fired resulting in the failure of the lockout -
Pinkerton Detectives
The armed opposition to the strikers during the Homstead strike. They were called to protect the Steel Company and it resulted in open fire. -
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures. Compounding market overbuilding and the railroad bubble, was a run on the gold supply (relative to silver), because of the long-established American policy of bimetallism, which used both silver and gold metals at a fixed 16:1 rate for pegging -
Grover Cleveland (1893–1897)
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World’s Columbian Exposition
A large fair held in Chicago that showcased the new innovations in society in areas such as electricity and manufacturing. Native Americans were also showcased in the cultural aspect of the exposition. -
American Railway Union
The largest labor union of its time, and one of the first industrial unions in the United States. It was founded on June 20, 1893, by railway workers gathered in Chicago, Illinois, and under the leadership of Eugene V. Debs (locomotive fireman and later Socialist Presidential candidate), the ARU, unlike the trade unions, incorporated a policy of unionizing all railway workers, regardless of craft or service. Within a year, the ARU had hundreds of affiliated local chapters and claimed 150,000 mem -
Cripple Creek Miners’ Strike
The Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894 was a five-month strike by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) in Cripple Creek, Colorado, USA. It resulted in a victory for the union and was followed in 1903 by the Colorado Labor Wars. It is notable for being the only time in United States history when a state militia was called out (May/June 1894) in support of striking workers. It was the first successful worker strike in the late 19th century and it was characterized by firefights and use of dyna -
Coxey’s Army
A protest march by unemployed workers from the United States, led by Ohio businessman Jacob Coxey. The marched on Washington DC in 1894, the second year of a four-year economic depression that was the worst in US history to that time. -
Pullman Strike
A strike began against the Pullman Company over low wages and twelve-hour workdays, and sympathy strikes, led by American Railway Union leader Eugene V. Debs, soon followed. By June 1894, 125,000 railroad workers were on strike, paralyzing the nation's commerce. Because the railroads carried the mail, and because several of the affected lines were in federal receivership, Cleveland believed a federal solution was appropriate. -
Venezuelan Crisis
The Venezuela Crisis of 1895 occurred over Venezuela's longstanding dispute with the United Kingdom about the territory of Essequibo and Guayana Esequiba, which Britain claimed as part of British Guiana and Venezuela saw as Venezuelan territory. As the dispute became a crisis, the key issue became Britain's refusal to include in the proposed international arbitration the territory east of the "Schomburgk Line", which a surveyor had drawn half a century earlier as a boundary between Venezuela and -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The Supreme Court case that debated equality clause in the Fourteenth Amendment. The outcome of the case was that the equality clause was not being interfered with if the rule was that it was "separate but equal". -
William Jennings Bryan and The Cross of Gold Speech
William Jennings Bryan was a Nebraska senator who unsucessfully ran for president three times. He was an important force in income tax, enforcing prohibition and women's suffrage. He also was an advocate for inflation. -
William McKinley (1897-1901)
McKinley adopted the gold standard, raised the tariff, went to war with Spain over Cuba, and took control of Hawaii and the Philippines. -
Rough Riders
A band of soldiers led by Colonel Theodore Roosevelt during the Cuban-American war. There were many African American soldiers. THe most important aspect about the Rough Riders was that they consitently beating the odds especially concerning the Battle of Santiago. -
Open Door Policy (2)
which declared that no power could levy preferential duties in the Congo. As a specific policy with regard to China, it was first advanced by the United States in the Open Door Notes of September–November 1899, authored by William Woodville Rockhill. The open door policy stated that all European nations, and the United States, could trade with China. -
Open Door Policy
This term usually refers to the policy in 1898 allowing multiple Imperial powers access to China, with none of them in control of that country. As a theory, the Open Door Policy originates with British commercial practice, as was reflected in treaties concluded with Qing Dynasty China after the First Opium War (1839–1842). Although the Open Door is generally associated with China, it was recognized at the Berlin Conference of 1885, which declared that no power could levy preferential duties in.. -
The Maine
The US ship that was destroyed by the Spanish. Urging from secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt, led the United States to declare war with the Spanish. -
The Spanish American War
A war between the Spanish and the Americans caused by the bombing of the Maine and Cuba wanting freedom. The Americans used the bombing as well a the yellow papers to gain support for the war. -
The 1898 Treaty of Paris
The treaty signed between the Americans and the Spanish on October 1 1898 that ended the Spanish American War. It also decided the fate of Cuba, Peurto Rico and the Philippnes. -
Boxer Uprising
The increase of foreign missionaries caused Chinese resent towards the interference of missionaries in village life and the preference and protection they afforded their Christian converts. Many Chinese boxers stood up and rebel, not against the Chinese Qing government, but the foreign missionaries. However, the rebels were finally crushed by both the Chinese government and foreign armies. The term “Righteous Harmony Fist" was first invented in 1897 and there both rebels in 1898 and 1899 but fi -
Platt Amendment
The Platt amendment, proposed to congress by Senator Orville H Platt in 1901. The amendment defined the role of the U.S. in Cuba and the Caribbean.
