Us History 1865-1900

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William Randolph Hearst:

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Through dishonest and exaggerated reporting, William Randolph Hearst's newspapers whipped up public sentiment against Spain, actually helping to cause the Spanish-American War. Hearst was quite willing to take credit for this, as his New York City newspaper testified in an 1898 headline: "How Do You Like the Journal’s War?"

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Granger Laws:

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The Grangers in various states lobbied state legislatures in 1874 to pass maximum rate laws for freight shipment. The railroads appealed to the Supreme Court to declare the "Granger laws" unconstitutional. Instead, the Court ruled against the railroad’s objections in Munn v. Illinois.

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sharecropping

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It was the farm tenancy system that arose from the cotton plantation system after the Civil War. Landlords provided land, seed, and credit. The croppers contributed labor and received a share of the crop’s value, minus their debt to the landlord. This along with the crop lien system held back African Americans economically.

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DAWES SEVERALTY ACT, 1887:

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It was proposed by Henry L. Dawes, and was passed in 1887. It was designed to reform what well-meaning but ignorant whites perceived to be the weaknesses of Indian life-- the lack of private property, the absence of a Christian based religion, the nomadic traditions of the Indians, and the general instability in their way of life -- by turning Indians into farmers. The main point of the law was to emphasize treating Indians as individuals as opposed to members in a tribe, or severalty

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FREDERICK JACKSON TURNER, FRONTIER THESIS:

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In his analysis of how the frontier, moving from east to west, shaped the American character and institutions, Turner decisively rejected the then common belief that the European background had been primarily responsible for the characteristics of the United States. He also justified overseas economic expansion as a means to secure political power at a time when America began focusing on expanding its influence throughout the world.

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William James:

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James was a philosopher and psychologist, who came up with the philosophy of pragmatism, which is summed up in his lectures entitled Pragmatism: A New Name for Old Ways of Thinking. As a psychologist, he wrote his famous Principles of Psychology which established him as one of the most influential thinkers of the time.

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Tenure of Office Act:

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The Tenure of Office Act was a measure passed by Congress in 1867. It prohibited the president from dismissing any cabinet member or other federal officeholder whose appointment had required the consent of the Senate unless the Senate agreed to the dismissal. Johnson’s violation of this act caused the impeachment crisis.

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Henry George, Progress and Poverty

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George was an economist and social philosopher. In his book Progress and Poverty, he stated that land ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few, and these people reap the benefits of the rise in value of the land. He recommended a shift to what he called a single tax.

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Secretary of War Stanton:

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Edwin Stanton served as the secretary of war under Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, but his dismissal by President Andrew Johnson and his subsequent refusal to leave office act precipitated the impeachment of President Johnson in 1868

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Injunction:

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An injuntion is a court order. It was generally used against strikers. It is an order or decree in the law of equity, requiring a defendant to refrain from committing a specific act, either in process or threatened, injurious to the plaintiff. Injunctions are generally preventive, restraining, or prohibitory in nature.

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black codes:

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The black codes were local laws intended to force African-Americans to continue working as plantation laborers. They imposed prohibitive taxes, harsh vagrancy laws meant to intimidate the freedmen, restrictions on blacks’ ability to own property. Essentially, they condemned the newly-freed slaves to conditions not unlike slavery.

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SOCIAL GOSPEL:

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It was a Protestant liberal movement led by Washington Gladden and Walter Rauschenbusch that applied Christian principles to the numerous social problems that affected the late 19th century United States as a result of industrialization. The movement preached and taught religion and human dignity to the working class in order to correct the effects of capitalism. In 1908 the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America adopted a social creed that called for many improvements in society.

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Freedmen’s Bureau:

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The Freedmen’s Bureau furnished food and medical supplies to blacks, and to needy whites as well. It was also concerned with the regulation of wages and working conditions, the maintenance of schools for illiterate former slaves, and the distribution of lands abandoned by or confiscated from Southern proprietors.

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haymarket square riot:

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Strikers and police had a confrontation while a strike was in progress on May 4, 1886, at the McCormick reaper works in Chicago. Several protesters were shot by police the day before, and a protest against police violence was called. The police were attempting to break up the meeting when a bomb was thrown by a protester. A violent gun battle ensuedin which seven police were killed. Many police and civilians were injured as well.

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scalawags:

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A scalawag was a white Southerner who joined the Republican party during the Reconstruction period. Scalawags were considered traitors to the Southern cause and were condemned by Southern Democrats. The term scalawag was applied both to entrepreneurs who supported Republican economic policies and Whig planters who had opposed secession.

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Compromise of 1877:

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As a result of the electoral vote from the election of 1876, Congress created a 15-member bipartisan commission, on January 29, 1877, to resolve the dispute concerning the electoral votes between Tilden and Hayes. The committee consisted of five Democrats, five Republicans, and five Supreme Court justices. Hayes was unanimously awarded the electoral votes from Oregon and South Carolina and the ones from Louisiana by a commission vote of 8 to 7.

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Thomas Nast

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A political cartoonist and caricaturist, he became an illustrator for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper in 1855. He later worked for Harper’s Weekly. He was best known for his cartoons slandering the corrupt Tammany ring of New York during the period from 1869 to 1872.

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Sherman Silver Purchase Act:

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This act forced the treasury to buy 4.5 million ounces of silver each month.. However, the price of silver did not rise and precious gold was being drained away from the treasury while cheap silver piled up. This act, therefore, helped to precipitate the panic of 1893, and it caused a decrease in foreign investments in the U.S. economy.

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PENDLETON CIVIL SERVICE ACT:

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Because of the Pendleton Civil Service Act, political candidates were forbidden from soliciting contributions from government workers. This act also set up a civil service commission to prepare competitive exams and establish standards of merit for a variety of federal jobs. In 1883, Congress enacted a civil service law introduced by Senator George Pendleton of Ohio. Although President Arthur was a Stalwart, he had the courage to endorse the act which reformed the spoils system.

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Granger Laws:

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The Grangers in various states lobbied state legislatures in 1874 to pass maximum rate laws for freight shipment. The railroads appealed to the Supreme Court to declare the "Granger laws" unconstitutional. Instead, the Court ruled against the railroad’s objections in Munn v. Illinois.

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Rebates

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A rebate is a partial monetary return of an amount paid

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The Interstate Commerce Act

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prohibited rebates for railway rates because they discriminated between different groups. Small farmers were angered that they were required to pay more than other interests were. This Act was passed in 1887 with the Interstate Commerce Commission.

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Louis Sullivan:

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Sullivan was an American architect who used steel frames to design skyscrappers. He was also the founder of what is now the Chicago School of Architects. His most famous pupil was Frank Lloyd Wright, who later became a famous architect. Together with his partner Dankmar Adler, he produced over 100 buildings.

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John Peter Altgeld:

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He served as the liberal governor of Illinois from 1893 to 1897. He was criticized for pardoning the anarchists who threw the bomb in the Haymarket Square Riot and for objecting to the use of federal troops in the Pullman strike. His action was considered dangerously radical by the American public.

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Chief Joseph:

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When he became chief of the Nez Perce Indian tribe in the American Northwest in 1871, Joseph led his people in an unsuccessful resistance to white settlers who were confiscating land. The tribe was ordered to move. Joseph agreed, but when three of his tribe killed a group of settlers, he attempted to escape to Canada with his followers.

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"Cross of Gold Speech":

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William Jennings Bryan won the national Democratic convention's nomination for the presidency in 1896 through a vigorous appeal for free coinage of silver known as the "Cross of Gold" speech. Turning to those who wanted only gold as the monetary standard, he exclaimed: "You shall not crucify mankind upon this cross of gold." As a Populist, he did not support the gold standard since it would deflate the currency, which would make it more difficult for citizens to repay debts.

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Helen Hunt Jackson, A Century of Dishonor:

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This book, by Jackson, was a discourse concerning the plight of American Indians published in 1881. She gathered information regarding American Indians and their lives while serving on a federal commission investigating the treatment of Indians. Jackson also wrote Ramona concerning the same topic.

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Civil Rights Act:

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This act was passed in Congress with nearly unanimous Republican support in March 1866, and it attempted to redress the issue of slavery by defining all persons born in the nation as citizens. It also specified the rights of citizens, the right to sue, make contracts, give evidence in court, hold, convey, and inherit property.

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"Waving the bloody shirt":

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During the election of 1876, the Republicans backed Rutherford Hayes against the Democratic candidate, Samuel Tilden. They resorted to a tactic known as "waving the bloody shirt," which was used in the last two elections. The tactic emphasized wartime animosities by urging northern voters to vote the way they shot.

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Alaska

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Secretary of state William H. Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska in 1867. $7.2 million was paid to Russia for Alaska, and it was highly contested by Congress. Also known as "Seward’s Icebox" or "Seward’s folly," it was generally thought to be useless, but later proved to be an excellent addition.

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Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward, 2000-1887

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He was an essayist and journalist who founded the Springfield Daily News, and then turned toward literature. He published his most famous work in 1888, which was entitled Looking Backward, 2000-1887. This novel was a depiction of an ideal society in the year 2000. This novel led to the formation of many socialistic clubs. To further publicize his views, Bellamy created the journal, New Nation, in 1891.

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Boss Tweed:

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He was an important figure in New York’s political machine, the Tammany Society. He held New York City and state political posts where he increased his power. Forming the Tweed Ring, which bought votes, he controlled New York politics, and encouraged judicial corruption.

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carpetbaggers:

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Carpetbaggers were Northerners who went to the South during Reconstruction. They carried their belongings in carpetbags, and most intended to settle in the South and make money there. The African-American vote won them important posts in Republican state governments

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"forty acres and a mule":

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"Forty acres and a mule" refers to the desire of Radical Republicans such as Thaddeus Stevens to carry out land redistribution in the South. He wanted to subdivide confiscated land and distribute it among the freedmen. Proposals such as these failed in Congress and state legislatures

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Battle of Wounded Knee:

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Convinced that Sitting Bull was going to lead an uprising, the United States Army massacred more than 200 Indians at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on Dec. 29, 1890. After the incident, the Ghost Dance movement which had been recently revived by Indians rapidly died out. This event ended the conquest of the American Indian.

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Anti-Saloon League:

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During and after the American Civil War, the laws regulating many aspects of saloons were either reduced or eliminated. As a result, many people united in this league in the fight against saloons. By 1916 they enacted anti-saloon laws in 23 states and in 1917 they passed the 18th amendment beginning prohibition.

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Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives:

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Riis was a social reformer and writer who wrote one of the most influential, popular, and early social documentaries in American history. He wanted to reform tenement housing and schools. In addition, he was influential in bringing about parks and playgrounds in overcrowded neighborhoods.