American Federation of Labor

1886; founded by Samuel Gompers; sought better wages, hrs, working conditions; skilled laborers, arose out of dissatisfaction with the Knights of Labor, rejected socialist and communist ideas, non-violent.

Sierra Club

America's oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization founded in 1892 in San Fransisco, Cali first President was John Muir group was pushed by the wealthy bc they wanted to conserve the nature (despite all the land the already own and "corrupted") for their later generations

Booker T Washington

Prominent black American, born into slavery, who believed that racism would end once blacks acquired useful labor skills and proved their economic value to society, was head of the Tuskegee Institute in 1881. His book "Up from Slavery."

Ida B Wells

African American journalist. published statistics about lynching, urged African Americans to protest by refusing to ride streetcards or shop in white owned stores

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(1815-1902) A suffragette who, with Lucretia Mott, organized the first convention on women's rights, held in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. Issued the Declaration of Sentiments which declared men and women to be equal and demanded the right to vote for women. Co-founded the National Women's Suffrage Association with Susan B. Anthony in 1869.

Gospel of Wealth

This was a book written by Carnegie that described the responsibility of the rich to be philanthropists. This softened the harshness of Social Darwinism as well as promoted the idea of philanthropy.

Social Darwinsim

is a social theory that implies only the most competent individuals will survive and flourish with their companies in the market place, and the less fit will be consumed. Monopolies will buy out weaker companies as the market place becomes more cut throat. Carnegie and Rockafeller were prime examples

Chinese Exclusion Act

(1882) Denied any additional Chinese laborers to enter the country while allowing students and merchants to immigrate.

Commerce Act

Passed in 1903 created the department of commerce and helped make more jobs

Gilded Age

1870s - 1890s; time period looked good on the outside, despite the corrupt politics & growing gap between the rich & poor

Referendum

A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment.

Dawes Act

1887 law which gave all Native American males 160 acres to farm and also set up schools to make Native American children more like other AmericansLand-Grant Colleges

Land-Grant Colleges

Are institutions of higher education in the United States that have been designated by each state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890

Hull House

Settlement home designed as a welfare agency for needy families. It provided social and educational opportunities for working class people in the neighborhood as well as improving some of the conditions caused by poverty.

Populist Party

(BH) , Founded 1891 - James B. Weaver, problem was overproduction, called for free coinage of silver and paper money, national income tax, direct election of senators, regulation of railroads, and other government reforms to help farmers

Colored Farmer's Alliance

Excluded on the basis of race from membership in the Southern Farmers' Alliance, the blacks formed a separate organization in Texas in 1886. The Colored Farmers' Alliance comprised both black farmers and farm workers. They were active in the publication of a weekly newspaper and a variety of educational programs. In 1891, a strike of cotton pickers was called, but coordination was poor and the strike failed. Also lost support when the populist party arose.

The Grange

"Patrons of Husbandry"; organization for American farmers that encourages farm families to band together for their common economic and political well-being

Andrew Carnegie

A Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist who founded the Carnegie Steel Company in 1892. By 1901, his company dominated the American steel industry.

Vertical Integration

(435) Company took over all different businesses on which it relied for its primary function (Carnegie Steel came to control not only steel mills but mines, railroads, etc)

Horizontal Consolidation

A form of monopoly that occurs when one person or company gains control of one aspect of an entire industry or manufacturing process, such as a monopoly on auto assembly lines or on coal mining, for example.

Interstate Commerce Act

monitors the business operation of carriers transporting goods and people between states - created to regulate railroad prices

Sherman Anti-trust Act

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

Haymarket Strike

strike in Chicago that turned violent killing 8 policemen and a number of civilians; Workers were striking for an 8 hour work day and better working conditions.

Laissez Faire

Economic liberalism that believes in unrestricted private enterprise and no government interference in the economy.

Indian Reorganization Act of 1934

1934 - Restored tribal ownership of lands, recognized tribal constitutions and government, and provided loans for economic development.

"New South"

The rise of a South after the Civil War which would no longer be dependent on now-outlawed slave labor or predominantly upon the raising of cotton, but rather a South which was also industrialized and part of a modern national economy

Jim Crow Law

(AJohn) , Limited rights of blacks. Literacy tests, grandfather clauses and poll taxes limited black voting rights

WEB DuBois

1st black to earn Ph.D. from Harvard, encouraged blacks to resist systems of segregation and discrimination, helped create NAACP in 1910

Frederick Jackson Turner

(1861 - 1932) He was an American historian in the early 20th century. He is best known for The Significance of the Frontier in American History, where he stated that the spirit and success of the United States is directly tied to the country's westward expansion. According to Turner, the forging of the unique and rugged American identity occurred at the juncture between the civilization of settlement and the savagery of wilderness.

Mark Twain

United States writer and humorist best known for his novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1835-1910)

Joseph Pulitzer

United States newspaper publisher (born in Hungary) who established the Pulitzer prizes (1847-1911), A Hungarian immigrant who had bought the New York World in 1883, pioneered popular innovations, such as a large Sunday edition, comics, sports coverage and women's news.

William R. Hearst

Vigorous promoter of sensationalistic anti-Spanish propaganda and eager advocate of imperialistic war, Newspaper publisher whose yellow journalism style helped create public pressure for Spanish-American War. He once said to Remington, "You provide the pictures and I'll provide the war."

"bloody shirt"

Republican campaign tactic that blamed the Democrats for the Civil War; it was used successfully in campaigns from 1868 to 1876 to keep Democrats out of public office, especially the presidency.

Pendleton Act 1881

republicans reformed spoils system with Pendleton Act would give government jobs based on skills rather than based on connections

McKinley Tariff 1890

raised tariffs to the highest level they had ever been. Big business favored these tariffs because they protected U.S. businesses from foreign competition.

Sherman Silver Purchase Act 1890

Increased the amount of silver the gov. bought for coinage, but the money supply did not increase enough to satisfy silver supporters

Bland-Allison Act 1878

passed over the veto of President Rutherford B. Hayes requiring the U.S. treasury to buy a certain amount of silver and put it into circulation as silver dollars. The goal was to subsidize the silver industry in the Mountain states and inflate prices. The law was replaced in 1890 by the similar Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which in turn was repealed by Congress in 1893.

Panic 1873

Four year economic depression caused by overspeculation on railroads and western lands, and worsened by Grant's poor fiscal response (refusing to coin silver

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)