Chapter 20

Politics and Expansion in an Industrializing Age, 1877-1900

James Garfield: self made president, corrupt term in office, assassinated
Stalwarts vs Half-Breeds: two sides in the split of the Republican party, divided over patronage jobs
Laissez-faire: no government involvement in business, unregulated competition brings the most progress
Democrats: supported in S and cities w/ large immigrant populations, opposed governmental interference
in economy (ex: no tariffs), passed laws helping immigrants (ex: anti-prohibition)
Republican: supported in rural and small town NE, PN, upper Midwest
Grand Army of the Rep. & the bloody shirt: social and political N lobbying organization of civil war
veterans, supported Republicans
Rutherford B. Hayes: Restored respect for presidential office after Grant scandals
Monetary debate on greenbacks:
-Issue: how to create money supply w/o producing inflation, should greenbacks be phased out
until leaving only a currency backed by gold or not
-Bankers/creditors wanted definite money supply while debtors/farmers wanted expanding money
supply
Sherman Silver Purchase Act:
-Issue: congress required treasury to make silver coins w/ discovery of new silver mines but the
treasury refused to circulate them
-Solution: ordered government to mint a certain amount of silver, and issue treasury notes
redeemable in silver
Rotation in office: originally successful candidates rewarded supporters w/ seats in office-spoils system,
reformers were against this system
The Pendleton Civil Service Act: set up commission to prepare competitive exams and establish
standards of merit for federal jobs, forbade political candidates from soliciting contributions from
government workers
Election of 1884: Cleveland vs. Blaine
Grover Cleveland: won 1884 election, Democrat, favored laissez faire, mainly asserted power through
veto
Tariff debate: industrialists wanted high tariffs to protect their goods but low tariffs on raw materials,
farmers opposed tariffs
Pension debate: high tariff created high budget surplus which tempted legislatures to use money as
pensions for veterans or in expensive public work projects in their home cities
1888 election: Harrison vs. Cleveland
The Grange: organization that offered support (information, fellowship) to new homesteaders, promoted
cooperative to buy equipment (failed b/c farmers didnt have the money to contribute)
Oliver H. Kelley: leader of the Grange
Granger laws: Grangers lobbied to state legislatures in IL, WI, MN and IW to pass laws fixing minimum
rates for freight shipments (triggered by railroad corruption)
Munn v. Illinois: railroads appealed to make these laws unconstitutional but congress ruled against them
and upheld IL law setting max rate for the storage of grain
Wabash v. Illinois: prohibited states from regulating interstate railroad rates, reaffirmed Feds authority to
do that (modified munn v. IL)
-Grange movement eventually failed b/c railroads were able to repeal many of the regulations and
the grange couldnt financially help the farmers
The Farmers Alliances: first arose in the S and Wadvocated farming cooperatives to purchase
equipment and supplies, made up of mainly poor, single crop, isolated farmers
Jerry Simpson: became major KN alliance leader
Mary Ellen Lease: KN lawyer, fiery alliance orator
The Populist Party: alliance leader organized this party, called for direct popular election of senators,
increased gov. action on behalf of farmers, lower tariffs, public ownership of railroads, etc.
James Weaver: populist party presidential nominee of 1892
Grandfather clause: southern states began making voting requirements to ensure blacks could not vote
(ex: literacy test), grandfather clause excluded anyone who had an ancestor that voted in1860 from these
requirements

Convict-lease system: when companies/employers rented prison gangs and forced them to work under
slave-like conditions, many blacks subject to this system, brought needed income to state governments,
gave cheap labor supply to companies
Lynchings: blacks often lynched
Plessy v Ferguson: courts upheld Louisiana law requiring segregated rail cars
Booker T. Washington: main black leader in 1890s, wrote up from slavery,
Atlanta Address (Compromise): Booker said blacks needed to become skilled workers and then racism
would inevitably be eliminated
Solid South: the rise of racism in the South, defying reform laws instituted after the civil war
Panic of 1893:
-started w/ economic collapse of railroad industry
-Causes: weak confidence in gold, failure of main London bank, congress veterans pension
spending
Coxeys Army: Jacob Coxy proposed solution to unemployment- 500 mil public-works program funded
w/ paper money not backed by gold but by designated legal tender (modern system) marched around
Washington to advocate his plan
Wilson-Gorman Tariff: lowered duties but made many concessions to protectionist interests
William Jennings Bryan: Democratic nominee for 1896 election
Coins Financial School: book supporting free coinage of silver
16 to 1: at 1896 Democratic convention, delegates called for free and unlimited coinage of silver at ratio
to gold of 16 to 1
Cross of Gold speech: Speech made by Democrat congressman William Bryan supporting Western
agrarian interests
Mark Hannah: industrialist, campaign manager for McKinley, used posters/pamphlets to help campaign
William McKinley: Republican nominee
1896 election: McKinley won
The Dingley Tariff: raised tariffs to counteract Wilson-Gorman tariff
The Currency Act of 1900: Officially committed U.S to gold standard
Alfred T. Mahan and The Influence of Sea Power upon History: equated sea power w/ national
greatness, urged U.S to build up navy (at a time when other countries were gaining new territories and
people advocated getting new territories to support market)
Josiah Strong: urged U.S to gain territory in order to Christianize the world
Henry Cabot Lodge: senator, preached imperial greatness and military might
Hawaiian Islands: islands had strategic (English trading ships came to islands) and economic (many
American owned sugar plantations) significance
Pearl Harbor: U.S built naval base there
Liliuokalani: American economic dominance and increase of foreigners angered natives, welcomed antiAmerican female to the throne
-U.S eliminated Hawiis duty free status, hurt planters, so planters disposed of queen and asked to
become a state
Valeriano Weyler: anti-Spanish rebellion was breaking out, not supported by government who invested
much in Cubas sugar, but supported by common people especially after learning that Weyler was herding
Cubans in concentration camps (2000 died)
William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer: Two competing newspaper owners, exploited Cuban
crisis, stories became more and more exaggerated
Yellow journalism: exaggerated journalism, got name from Hearsts comic strip the yellow kid
Maine: Explosion hurt battle ship Maine in Havanas harbor, caused by fire in the bunker, people blamed
it on Spain and blamed McKinley for not being harsh w/ Spain, eventually McKinley declared war on
Spain
Teller amendment: U.S could not annex Cuba and had to leave the control of the Island to its people
George Dewey: U.S fleet captain, captured all Spanish ships in Manila Bay in the Philippines, lost only
one life
San Juan Hill, the Rough Riders, Teddy Roosevelt: Theodore led the rough riders to capture strongly
defended Spanish garrison-San Juan Hill
Treaty of Paris of 1898: Ended Spanish-American war, Spain gave 20 mil, the Philippines, Puerto Rico,
and Guam to the U.S

General Leonard Wood: Commander of U.S army in Cuba from 1898-1902, improved health,
education, sanitation but violated teller amendment
The Platt Amendment: authorized American withdrawal only after Cuba agreed not to make any treaty
w/ a foreign power limiting its independence and not to borrow beyond its means, U.S can intervene in
Cuba, maintain a naval base there
The Anti-Imperialist League: believed in violation of Constitution to rule others, had strong people but
eventually disintegrated
Emilio Aguinaldo: Leader of Philippine independence movement intended to drive out Spain, after U.S
drove out Spain he declared Philippines an independent republic, when U.S tried to annex them he
resisted w/ force but eventually was crushed
-led to long guerilla conflict b/t U.S and Philippines
Philippine Government Act: president elects governor for Philippines