APUSH ch. 22

The Gilded Age

1877-1900; rapid industrialization, urbanization, immigration; rise of big business and the labor movement; the Populist movement

Spoils of Office

The appointive offices that were expected to be filled after an election with individuals on the side of the winning party.

Patronage

(politics) granting favors or giving contracts or making appointments to office in return for political support

New York City Customs House

built 1902-1907 by the federal government to house the duty collection operations for the port of New York

Rutherford Hayes

19th president of the united states, was famous for being part of the Hayes-Tilden election in which electoral votes were contested in 4 states, most corrupt election in US history

Stalwarts

Republicans fighting for civil service reform during Garfield’s term; they supported Cleveland.

Half-Breeds

Favored tariff reform and social reform, major issues from the Democratic and Republican parties. They did not seem to be dedicated members of either party.

Merit Appointments

making appointments to government jobs on the basis of aptitude rather than who you know, or the spoils system

Roscoe Conkling

a politician from New York who served both as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He was the leader of the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party.

James G. Blaine

a U.S. Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, two-time United States Secretary of State, and champion of the Half-Breeds. He was a dominant Republican leader of the post Civil War period, obtaining the 1884 Republican nomination, but lost to Democrat Grover Cleveland

Civil Service

the group of people whose job it is to carry out the work of the government

Bland-Allison Act of 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 The law was replaced in 1890 by the similar Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which in turn was repealed by Congress in 1893.

James A. Garfield

the 20th President of the US; he died two months after being shot and six months after his inauguration.

Pork Barrel

The mighty list of federal projects, grants, and contracts available to cities, businesses, colleges, and institutions available in a congressional district.

Chester A. Arthur

Appointed customs collector for the port of New York – corrupt and implemented a heavy spoils system. He was chosen as Garfield’s running mate. Garfield won but was shot, so Arthur became the 21st president.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

United States federal law passed on May 6, 1882, following revisions made in 1880 to the Burlingame Treaty of 1868. Those revisions allowed the U.S. to suspend immigration, and Congress subsequently acted quickly to implement the suspension of Chinese immigration, a ban that was intended to last 10 years.

Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1882

federal law established in 1883 that stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit.

Mugwump

someone who bolted from the Republican Party during the U.S. presidential election of 1884

Grover Cleveland

22nd and 24th president, Democrat, Honest and hardworking, fought corruption, vetoed hundreds of wasteful bills, achieved the Interstate Commerce Commission and civil service reform, violent suppression of strikes

Wabash Railroad v. Illinois

In this Supreme Court case, the court ruled that individual states do not have authority to regulate the railroads. Therefore, in Cleveland’s mind, the Federal government must act

Interstate Commerce Act of 1887

banned rebates, pools, required railroads to openly publish rates & forbade discrimination against shippers, banned charging more for short haul than long one ;; set up Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

Interstate Commerce Commission

created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, which was signed into law by President Grover Cleveland;regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers.

Benjamin Harrison

23rd President; Republican, poor leader, introduced the McKinley Tariff and increased federal spending to a billion dollars

Granger Movement

1867 – Nation Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry. A group of agrarian organizations that worked to increase the political and economic power of farmers. They opposed corrupt business practices and monopolies, and supported relief for debtors. Although technically not a political party, local granges led to the creation of a number of political parties, which eventually joined with the growing labor movement to form the Progressive Party.

Billion Dollar Congress

gave pensions to Civil War veterans, increased government silver purchases, and passed McKinley Tariff Act of 1890

Patrons of Husbandry Formed

founded as a farmers’ lodge on 4 December 1867, in Washington, D.C. It served as the vehicle through which the Granger movement operated.

Greenback Party

Political party that farmers sought refuge in at first, combined inflationary appeal of earlier Greenabackers w/ program for improving labor

Munn v. Illinois (1877)

1876; The Supreme Court upheld the Granger laws. The Munn case allowed states to regulate certain businesses within their borders, including railroads, and is commonly regarded as a milestone in the growth of federal government regulation.

Farmers’ Alliance

A Farmers’ organization founded in late 1870s; worked for lower railroad freight rates, lower interest rates, and a change in the governments tight money policy

James B. Weaver

He was the Populist candidate for president in the election of 1892; received only 8.2% of the vote. He was from the West.

Populist Party

U.S. political party formed in 1892 representing mainly farmers, favoring free coinage of silver and government control of railroads and other monopolies

Depression of 1893

Profits dwindled, businesses went bankrupt and slid into debt. Caused loss of business confidence. 20% of the workforce unemployed. Let to the Pullman strike.

Cross of Gold Speech

An impassioned address by William Jennings Bryan at the 1896 Deomcratic Convention, in which he attacked the "gold bugs" who insisted that U.S. currency be backed only with gold.

Bimetallism

a monetary standard under which the basic unit of currency is defined by stated amounts of two metals (usually gold and silver) with values set at a predetermined ratio

Presidential Election of 1896

saw Republican William McKinley defeat Democrat William Jennings Bryan in a campaign considered by historians to be one of the most dramatic and complex in American history.

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)

William McKinley

25th president responsible for Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and the Annexation of Hawaii, imperialism. Is assassinated by an anarchist