Sioux wars
Sioux initally won a deceive victory against the U.S. army.
Interstate commerce act
Required railroad rates to be reasonable and just, and established a federal commission to oversee the railroads
Anti-Saloon league
Worked to close down saloons
Corrupt political bosses and their followers
Enabled manufacturers to produce huge quantities of steel
Labor unions
Workers formed labor unions to have more negotiating power and fight for better pay and working conditions
Assimilationist movement
Wanted to end indian culture by forcing them to assimilate to American values.
Growth of immigration
16 million immigrants (mostly from Europe) came looking for better economic opportunities
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
Tammany Hall
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
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
Chinese exclusion act
Nativists successfully pressured Congress to stop the flow of Chinese immigrants who were coming over during the gold rush.
Debates over money
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
Haymarket square riot
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
Knights of labor
National union open to ALL laborers. Wanted to end child labor and end trusts
Grew to over a million members by 1901 and had some modest successes
Gospel of wealth
Andrew Carnegie argued that those with wealth should invest it into society
Views on immigration
Feared that factory owners would use immigrants to keep wages low and to replace striking workers
Laissez-faire economics
There was an extreme lack of government regulation of the economy at the time
Starting in 1865 many Americans started pushing westward again after the interruption of the civil war
congress sparked a new fight with the Sioux, by passing a law that nullified all previous treaties made with native Americans
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.
Ida B. Wells
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.
Andrew Carnegie
Pioneered vertical integration, where one company controls every stage of the manufacturing process
Sherman antitrust act
Made monopolizing an entire market illegal
Worked to ban alcohol, had over 500,000 members
NAWSA
Worked to secure voting rights for women
