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
Ida B. Wells
Editor of a newspaper editorialized against lynching and jim crow. She fled north due to threats against her
American federation of labor
Grew to over a million members by 1901 and had some modest successes
Pullman strike
Broke up tribal organizations and divided up tribal land and gave U.S. citizenship to natives who "Americanized" themselves
Indian appropriation act
congress sparked a new fight with the Sioux, by passing a law that nullified all previous treaties made with native Americans
Assimilationist movement
Wanted to end indian culture by forcing them to assimilate to American values.
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
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
Anti-Saloon league
Worked to close down saloons
Corrupt political bosses and their followers
Homestead act
Gave settlers 160 acres of land if they lived there for 5 years.
Enabled manufacturers to produce huge quantities of steel
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.
Starting in 1865 many Americans started pushing westward again after the interruption of the civil war
The new south
Idea that the future of the south would be based on economic diversity and industrial growth. Massive growth of population, industry, and railroads. Only in limited industrial centers though.
National union open to ALL laborers. Wanted to end child labor and end trusts
Railroads
Massive extension of the railroad system created a truly national market for goods
John D. Rockefeller
Pioneered horizontal integration, where one company controls every seller in the market.
Labor unions
Required railroad rates to be reasonable and just, and established a federal commission to oversee the railroads
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie argued that those with wealth should invest it into society
Laissez-faire economics
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.
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
Booker T. Washington
former slave who trained other black men to become economically self-sufficient, and argued this was a better way to gain power than to campaign for better voting rights
Sherman antitrust act
Social and educational collective aimed at brining farmers together. Soon became political to lobby for farmers
