Massive extension of the railroad system created a truly national market for goods
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
Pendleton Act
Railroads supported by the government through money and land grants
Feared that factory owners would use immigrants to keep wages low and to replace striking workers
National union open to ALL laborers. Wanted to end child labor and end trusts
Ida B. Wells
Editor of a newspaper editorialized against lynching and jim crow. She fled north due to threats against her
NAWSA
Worked to secure voting rights for women
Gospel of wealth
Andrew Carnegie argued that those with wealth should invest it into society
Anti-Saloon league
Worked to close down saloons
congress sparked a new fight with the Sioux, by passing a law that nullified all previous treaties made with native Americans
Chinese exclusion act
Nativists successfully pressured Congress to stop the flow of Chinese immigrants who were coming over during the gold rush.
Starting in 1865 many Americans started pushing westward again after the interruption of the civil war
Sherman antitrust act
Made monopolizing an entire market illegal
Andrew Carnegie
Pioneered vertical integration, where one company controls every stage of the manufacturing process
Heavily anti-catholic and Social Darwinists
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
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
16 million immigrants (mostly from Europe) came looking for better economic opportunities
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.
International migration society
Facilitated the migration of black people to africa
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.
Homestead act
Gave settlers 160 acres of land if they lived there for 5 years.
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
Jim Crow laws
Women's Christian Temperance Union
By 1890, the U.S. Census Bureau declared that the frontier was officially settled
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
Workers formed labor unions to have more negotiating power and fight for better pay and working conditions
Haymarket square riot
