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
Pioneered horizontal integration, where one company controls every seller in the market.
Government support for railroads
Railroads supported by the government through money and land grants
Andrew Carnegie
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
Worked to close down saloons
Heavily anti-catholic and Social Darwinists
Massive extension of the railroad system created a truly national market for goods
Pendleton Act
Political appointments were very corrupt after a guy shot the president because he didn't get a job, congress passed the Pendleton Act, which created an exam that was used for deciding who would get a job
Populist party
Gospel of wealth
Political machines
Corrupt political bosses and their followers
Indian appropriation act
congress sparked a new fight with the Sioux, by passing a law that nullified all previous treaties made with native Americans
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
Forced segregation and prevented african americans from exercising their civil liberties
Sioux wars
Sioux initally won a deceive victory against the U.S. army.
Bessemer process
Enabled manufacturers to produce huge quantities of steel
Worked to secure voting rights for women
Settlement houses
Provided resources to the poor to enrich the neighborhood. Largely led by women
Homestead act
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.
Views on immigration
Feared that factory owners would use immigrants to keep wages low and to replace striking workers
Chinese exclusion act
Nativists successfully pressured Congress to stop the flow of Chinese immigrants who were coming over during the gold rush.
Interstate commerce act
Required railroad rates to be reasonable and just, and established a federal commission to oversee the railroads
Social and educational collective aimed at brining farmers together. Soon became political to lobby for farmers
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.
Growth of immigration
16 million immigrants (mostly from Europe) came looking for better economic opportunities
Tammany Hall
The most famous political machine organized and met the needs of immigrants and the poor in exchange for votes
