Gilded Age Politics Flashcards by Jacob Fresia

What were some specific examples of corruption during the Grant Administration?

Credit Mobilier Affair: VP & members of Congress involved in a RR stock scandal
2 Whiskey Ring: Private secretary of Grant helped steal 3 million from the federal government in a tax corruption scheme.

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What’s an example of a political machine?

Tammany Hall with Boss Tweed

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What were political machines?

Local politicians who not only controlled the politics of the city but also the politicians. They gained support from immigrants by offering basic welfare

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What was the Panic of 1873?

Severe economic collapse due to overproduction in industries such as railroads and over speculation by bankers

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What was a debate that arose between debtors and loaners during the Panic of 1873?

“Hard Currency” vs “Greeenbacks”

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What was the Compromise of 1877?

The South agreed to recognize Hayes as President while the North agreed to pull federal troops out of the remaining southern states therefore ending Reconstruction.

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What was the Civil Rights Act of 1875?

It protected rights by making it a crime for any individual to deny full and equal use of public places

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What were some ways the Court undermined Reconstruction?

Civil Rights Case of 1883
Plessy V. Fergusen

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What was the Civil Rights Case of 1883?

The Supreme Court said that the 14th Amendment only protected against government violations of Civil Rights. It led to Jim Crow Laws

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What was Plessy V Fergusen?

Justified Jim Crow Laws by saying that racial segregation was constitutional if equal facilities were made available to each race

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How did you see the slow and systematic disenfranchisement of Southern blacks through the 15th Ammendment?

Literacy Tests
Poll Taxes
Property Requirements
Grandfather Clauses

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What was the first national policy of discrimination?

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

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What did the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 state?

It prohibited further immigration of Chinese laborers.

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What is patronage?

Civil Service jobs given to supporters

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What were the two sides of the debate regarding Civil Service Reform?

Half-Breeds: Advocated for Civil Service Reform
Stalwarts: Supporters of patronage

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Who is an example of a Half-Breed?

James Blaine

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Who is an example of Stalwart?

Roscoe Conkling

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What was the Pendleton Act?

Civil Servants had to take federal exams to prove they were capable of doing a job

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What did the People’s Party advocate for?

Unlimited coinage of silver
Graduated income tax
Government ownership of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones
Direct Election of US Senators
1-term limit for presidency
Adoption of initiative and referendum procedures
Shorter workdays
Immigration Restriction

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How did the government facilitate western railroad expansion?

By giving land and loan subsidies to railroad companies

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What are examples of a new business practices introduced by railroad companies?

The Modern Stockholder Corporation, business management strategies, financing, and regulation of competition

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How does consolidation led to the standardization of the industry?

Steel Rails
Standard Gauges

What led to the standardization of the railroad companies?

Consolidation

What was Munn V. Illinois?

States could not regulate interstate commerce

What did the Interstate Commerce Act do?

1. Set up the Interstate Commerce Commission 2. Federal Government would oversee 3. Banned pooling, rebates, and rate-fixing

What were “pools”?

Secret agreement between companies to fix rates and share profits

What were “rebates”?

Discounts oftentimes given to favored shippers. Small farmers were oftentimes charged higher rates

What are some examples of the rise of heavy industry?

1. John D. Rockefeller - Standard Oil 2. Andrew Carnegie - Steel Industry

Who believed in the Gospel of Wealth?

Andrew Carnegie in his Article “Wealth”

What was the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890?

Outlawed trusts & other monopolies hat fixed prices. Ended up being used to attack labor unions

What were some examples of challenges for labor unions?

Scabs - Replacement workers Court Injunctions Blacklist

What were some examples of labor unrest?

1. Great Railroad Strike of 1877 2. Haymarket Bombing 3. Homestead Strike 4. Pullman Strike

What were some examples of labor unions?

Knights of Labor, American Federation of Labor, and the National Labor Union

What’s a specific example of a tenement?

Dumbbell Tenement where cholera spread

What are some examples of neighborhoods separated by race or ethnicity?

1. Little Italy (NYC) 2. Lower Eastside Jewish Community 3. Polish Neighborhood of Pilsen 4. Southside of Chicago

What was the racial response to changing immigration?

New immigrants were seen as racially inferior (not Anglo-Saxon)

What was the American Protective Association?

Anti-Catholic group made up of American Protestants who wanted to keep Protestants out. Told horrible stories about nuns

What was the Social Gospel Movement?

Christians had a responsibility to deal with urban poverty

What’s an example of a Settlement House?

Hull House created by Jane Addams

Who was Booker T. Washington?

Former slave who argued that African-Americans should acquire vocational skills to gain self-respect and economic security

Who was W.E.B. Dubois?

An African-American who demanded immediate political and social equality for black people

Who is an example of critic during the pro-business climate of the Gilded Age?

Edward Ballamy writer of Looking Backward talked about a utopian society that fixed their economic and social injustices

What were some difficulties with the Homestead Act?

1. Quality of the land 2. High Cost of supplies 3. Mother Nature 4. Fraud 5. Fluctuating crop prices

What was the Pacific Railroad Act?

Authorized the building of a transcontinental railroad along a northern route facilitating western expansion

What are some examples of the mining industry that facilitated western expansion?

1. Pike’s Peak in Colorado

How was the west more democratic?

Allowed women’s suffrage. Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote

What are examples of conflicts between Europeans and Native Americans?

1. Sand Creek Massacre 2. Battle of Little Big Horn 3. Wounded Knee & the Ghost Dance Movement

What was the Century of Dishonor?

Document of mistreatment by the federal government amongst Natives

What was the Dawes-Severalty Act?

Ended tribal ownership of land by splitting the revelations into 160 acre private farms

Who was Frederick Jackson Turner?

Writer of the Significance of the Frontier in American History who emphasized the importance of the frontier on American identity

What Coxey’s Army?

(1894) Unemployed march to DC demanding the federal government hire jobless for public work jobs. Shows growing frustration of capitalism.

What was the Pullman Strike?

President Cleveland uses the army and court injunction to stop the Strike

What is pragmatism?

Evidence-based politics over strict ideologies