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Homestead Act
The Homestead Act was created to encourage the act of westward expansion on May 5th, 1862. It awarded citizens to move to the unsettled areas of the United States; Colorado, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and California. This was accomplished by awarding 160 acres of land to anyone who was in favor of relocating from the Midwest or eastern seaboard to these western lands. This offered people who were incapable of complex work to gain free lands to farm on in the fertile plains. -
First Transcontinental Railroad
The first transcontinental railroad, completed in May of 1869, connected newly settled land in the west to the rest of the country. The railroad provided new lives for many giving a healthy future for many lives. Many of the American population wanted a new start and a new place to grow and start businesses to make a living by earning money. -
Pendelton Act
The Pendleton Act was created to eliminate the corrupt system of electing government officials, by awarding those who were qualified to have the position, rather than giving it to those who were connected to the head government official in some way. This issue sprung about in the early forms of small government, when they became corrupt. These early officials were often accused of earning kickbacks and committing political graft. -
The Socialist Party
The socialist party was a socialist and social democratic political party in the United States formed in 1901. It was led by Eugene V Debs. and Victor Berger. It was formed to promote public control of the means of production and distribution. Many socialist parties have explicit connections to the labor movements and trade unions. -
The Jungle
Written by Upton Sinclair in the early 1900's, The Jungle is one of the biggest finds by 20th century muckrakers. Sinclair set out to record the life of immigrants who were employed in meat factories. When recording the events of workers revealed disgusting facts about what was going into the American meat, the focus of The Jungle shifted. It became a story to expose the horrendous sanitation of the meat packing industry. Americans were outraged, and standards were changed.
