Sioux wars
Sioux initally won a deceive victory against the U.S. army.
Growth of immigration
Bessemer process
Enabled manufacturers to produce huge quantities of steel
Workers formed labor unions to have more negotiating power and fight for better pay and working conditions
Reservation system
Indian nations were assigned land called reservations. However this land was much less than before, and many decided to just keep following buffalo
Pendleton Act
Great railroad strike
Railroad companies cut salaries due to a recession. Railroad workers went on strike in 11 states. When the strike got violent, 11 people were killed before President Hayes sent in federal troops
American federation of labor
Grew to over a million members by 1901 and had some modest successes
Broke up tribal organizations and divided up tribal land and gave U.S. citizenship to natives who "Americanized" themselves
Starting in 1865 many Americans started pushing westward again after the interruption of the civil war
Changes in farming
A new focus on cash-crops in the north and west, and a shift to more expensive mechanized farming methods put smaller farms out of business. Big trusts that farmers relied on (like railroads) also raised prices, making it even harder for farmers to make a living
Ghost dance movement
nationwide movement of resistance. They began to believe that if they took up the ritualistic ghost dance, that their ancestors would return and drive the Americans out.
Interstate commerce act
NAWSA
Worked to secure voting rights for women
Gospel of wealth
Andrew Carnegie argued that those with wealth should invest it into society
Anarchists set off a bomb during a Knights of labor protest in Chicago for an 8-hour workweek. Many people began to see the labor movement as violent and radical
Farmers wanted to print more money so they could more easily pay back their debts, but the bankers and the wealthy wanted to keep the U.S. Dollar on the gold standard
Railroads
Knights of labor
National union open to ALL laborers. Wanted to end child labor and end trusts
Booker T. Washington
Political machines
Corrupt political bosses and their followers
Settlement houses
Provided resources to the poor to enrich the neighborhood. Largely led by women
Populist party
Wanted to correct the concentration of power held by banks and trusts. Proposed the Omaha platform: Direct election of senators, more referendums, graduated income tax, and an 8-hour workday
Wanted to end indian culture by forcing them to assimilate to American values.
Pullman strike
After a railroad car manufacturer cut wages, and the union tried to negotiate, the company failed them all. The railroad union decided to not work on any trains with Pullman cars in them. The railroad owners tied the Pullman cars to mail trains in order to get the government to keep them moving, and the union members were jailed
Panic of 1893
A severe economic depression during which nearly a quarter of railroads declared bankruptcy. This caused bankers to buy up many of the railroads, leading to consolidation.
National Grange movement
Editor of a newspaper editorialized against lynching and jim crow. She fled north due to threats against her
Andrew Carnegie
Pioneered vertical integration, where one company controls every stage of the manufacturing process
