Agricultural surplus
One of two components, together with social stratification, that enables the formation of cities; agricultural production in excess of that which the producer needs for his or her own sustenance and that of his or her family and which is then sold for consumption by others.
Business Monopolies
control all of that thing in the market (no competition), no laws on monopolies- happening all over the place
Cross of Gold
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.
Framers Alliance
Group of farmers, or those in sympathy with farming issues, who sent lecturers from town to town to educate people about agricultural and rural issues.
Grange
an association formed by farmers in the last 1800s to make life better for farmers by sharing information about crops, prices, and supplies
Granger Laws
Grangers state legislatures in 1874 passed law fixing maximum rates for freight shipments. The railroads responded by appealing to the Supreme Court to declare these laws unconstitutional
Homestead Act (1862)
Encouraged westward settlement by allowing heads of families to buy 160 acres of land for a small fee ($10-30); settlers were required to develop and remain on the land for five years. Over 400,000 families got land through this law.
Gold Standard
a monetary standard under which the basic unit of currency is defined by a stated quantity of gold
Bimetallism
A monetary system in which the government would give citizens either gold or silver in exchange for paper currency or checks
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
Social Darwinism
19th century of belief that evolutionary ideas theorized by Charles Darwin could be applied to society.
interstate Commerce Act (1887)
Established the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) - monitors the business operation of carriers transporting goods and people between states - created to regulate railroad prices
Populism
the political doctrine that supports the rights and powers of the common people in their struggle with the privileged elite
Urbanization
An increase in the percentage and in the number of people living in urban settlements.
Laissez-Faire
Hands off. No government intervention in business.
Ellis Island
An immigrant receiving station that opened in 1892, where immigrants were given a medical examination and only allowed in if they were healthy
Angel Island
The immigration station on the west coast where Asian immigrants, mostly Chinese gained admission to the U.S. at San Francisco Bay. Between 1910 and 1940 50k Chinese immigrants entered through Angel Island. Questioning and conditions at Angel Island were much harsher than Ellis Island in New York.
Push-Pull factor
Conditions that draw people to another location (pull factors) or cause people to leave their homelands and migrate to another region (push factors)
Expansion of Trade
Commercial Revolution
Vertical integration
Practice where a single entity controls the entire process of a product, from the raw materials to distribution
Horizontal integration
Absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in the same level of production and sharing resources at that level
Bessemer process
A way to manufacture steel quickly and cheaply by blasting hot air through melted iron to quickly remove impurities.
Railroads
Networks of iron (later steel) rails on which steam (later electric or diesel) locomotives pulled long trains at high speeds. First railroads were built in England in the 1830s. Success caused a railroad building boom lasting into the 20th Century (704)
Telegraph
An apparatus that used electric signals to transmit a message via a wire; use of Morse Code (a series of dots and dashes representing letters of the alphabet)
monopolies
Corporations that gain complete control of the production of a single good or service.
Entrepreneurs
Accepting the risk of starting and running a business.
Holding Companies
Companies that hold a majority of another company's stock in order to control the management of that company. Can be used to establish a monopoly.
Trusts
Firms or corporations that combine for the purpose of reducing competition and controlling prices (establishing a monopoly). There are anti-trust laws to prevent these monopolies.
Corporations
1811 New York passed law making it easier for businesses to incorporate and raise capital, owners risked only small amount of money, facilitated raising large sums of capital
Alexander Graham Bell
He was an American inventor who was responsible for developing the telephone. This greatly improved communications in the country.
Thomas Edison
American inventor best known for inventing the electric light bulb, acoustic recording on wax cylinders, and motion pictures.
George Pullman
American inventor of the Pullman sleeping car and founder of Pullman, Illinois
Henry Ford
1863-1947. American businessman, founder of Ford Motor Company, father of modern assembly lines, and inventor credited with 161 patents.
Wright brothers
Orville Wright credited with the design and construction of the first practical airplane. They made the first controllable, powered heavier-than-air flight along with many other aviation milestones, also showing the beginning of the individual progressive spirit.
Madame C.J. walker
A leading African American entrepreneur who was one of the first women in the United States to become a millionaire.
George Westinghouse
An american entrepreneruer and engineer who invented the railroad and the air brake
The Chinese Exclusion Act
Law passed in 1882 the prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the country.
Gentlemens Agreement with japan
Agreement when Japan agreed to curb the number of workers coming to the US and in exchange Roosevelt agreed to allow the wives of the Japenese men already living in the US to join them
Nativism
An anti-foreign feeling that arose in the 1840's and 1850's in response to the influx of Irish and German Catholics.
Immigration Act of 1924
(LBJ) Established new immigration system that allowed more immigrants into the U.S.
Child Labor
Children were viewed as laborers throughout the 19th century. Many children worked on farms, small businesses, mills and factories.
Class System
A social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility.
Migration from farms to cities
More jobs in the cities led to migration to the cities
Social Gospel Movement
A social reform movement that developed within religious institutions and sought to apply the teachings of Jesus directly to society
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.
Socialist Party
Political parties formed in the unity of an international organization with a set beliefs inspired by the writings of Karl Marx. They desired economic and political philosophy favoring public or government control of property and income. Their goal was to end the capitalist system, distribute wealth more equally, and nationalize American industries
Labor Laws
Laws which regulated how workers could be paid and treated
Knights of Labor
1st effort to create National union. Open to everyone but lawyers and bankers. Vague program, no clear goals, weak leadership and organization. Failed
Labor unions
An organization formed by workers to strive for better wages and working conditions
Government Regulation
businesses have to comply with the rules set by the government so that they do not face liability charges
Great Migration
(WW) , movement of over 300,000 African American from the rural south into Northern cities between 1914 and 1920
Haymarket Riot
100,000 workers rioted in Chicago. After the police fired into the crowd, the workers met and rallied in Haymarket Square to protest police brutality. A bomb exploded, killing or injuring many of the police. The Chicago workers and the man who set the bomb were immigrants, so the incident promoted anti-immigrant feelings.
Homestead strike 1892
It was one of the most violent strikes in U.S. history. It was against the Homestead Steel Works, which was part of the Carnegie Steel Company, in Pennsylvania in retaliation against wage cuts. The riot was ultimately put down by Pinkerton Police and the state militia, and the violence further damaged the image of unions.
Pullman Strike
in Chicago, Pullman cut wages but refused to lower rents in the "company town", Eugene Debs had American Railway Union refuse to use Pullman cars, Debs thrown in jail after being sued, strike achieved nothing
Sherman Antitrust Act 1890
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
Market Economy
Economic decisions are made by individuals or the open market.
Capitalism
An economic system based on private ownership of capital
Socialism
a system in which society usually in the form of the government, owns and controls some means of production, such as factories and utilities
Communism
A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.
Anarchy
a lack of government and law
Political Machine
A party organization that recruits voter loyalty with tangible incentives and is characterized by a high degree of control over member activity
Boss Tweed
William Tweed, head of Tammany Hall, NYC's powerful democratic political machine in 1868. Between 1868 and 1869 he led the Tweed Reign, a group of corrupt politicians in defrauding the city. Example: Responsible for the construction of the NY court house; actual construction cost $3million. Project cost tax payers $13million.
Tammany Hall
a political organization within the Democratic Party in New York city (late 1800's and early 1900's) seeking political control by corruption and bossism
Thomas Nast
A famous caricaturist and editorial cartoonist in the 19th century and is considered to be the father of American political cartooning. His artwork was primarily based on political corruption. He helped people realize the corruption of some politicians
YMCA
Spiritual organization meant to provide healthy activities for young workers in the cities
Womens Christian Temperance Union
This organization was dedicated to the idea of the 18th Amendment - the Amendment that banned the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol. The pres of the company was Frances Willard.
Eugene Debs
..., 1855-1926. American union leader, one of the founders of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World, and five-time Socialist Party of America Presidential Candidate.
Carrie Chapman Catt
(1859-1947) A suffragette who was president of the National Women's Suffrage Association, and founder of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance. Instrumental in obtaining passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
Alice paul
A suffragette who believed that giving women the right to vote would eliminate the corruption in politics.
Theodore Roosevelt
1858-1919. 26th President. Increased size of Navy, "Great White Fleet". Added Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine. "Big Stick" policy. Received Nobel Peace Prize for mediation of end of Russo-Japanese war. Later arbitrated split of Morocco between Germany and France.
William Taft
27th president of the U.S.; he angered progressives by moving cautiously toward reforms and by supporting the Payne-Aldrich Tariff; he lost Roosevelt's support and was defeated for a second term.
Woodrow Wilson
..., 28th president of the United States, known for World War I leadership, created Federal Reserve, Federal Trade Commission, Clayton Antitrust Act, progressive income tax, lower tariffs, women's suffrage (reluctantly), Treaty of Versailles, sought 14 points post-war plan, League of Nations (but failed to win U.S. ratification), won Nobel Peace Prize
Upton Sinclair
muckraker who shocked the nation when he published The Jungle, a novel that revealed gruesome details about the meat packing industry in Chicago. The book was fiction but based on the things Sinclair had seen.
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)
Muckrakers
1906 - Journalists who searched for corruption in politics and big business