"Waving the bloody shirt"
a term of ridicule used in the 1880s and 1890s to refer to politicians-- esp. Republicans-- who, according to critics, whipped up old animosities from the Civil War era that ought to be set aside
Gilded Age
Period of extravagant displays of wealth, growing poverty, and gov.t inaction in the face of income inequality in the late 19th century.
Pendleton Act
an 1883 law establishing a nonpartisan Civil Service Commission to fill federal jobs by examination. It dealt a major blow to the "spoils system" and sought to ensure that gov.t positions were filled by trained, professional employees
Mugwumps
a late 19th century branch of reform-minded republicans who left their party in 1884 to support Democratic presidential candidate Grover Cleveland. Many were classical liberals who denounced corruption and advocated a reduction in gov.t powers and civil service reform
Sherman Antitrust Act
Landmark 1890 act that forbade anti-competitive business activities, requiring the federal gov.t to investigate trusts and any companies in violation of the act
Lodge Bill
AKA the Federal Elections Bill of 1890, a bill proposing that whenever 100 citizens in any district appealed for intervention, a bipartsian federal board could investigate and seat the rightful winner. THe defeat of the bill was a blow to those seeking to defend African American voting rights and to ensure full participation in politics
Omaha Platform
an 1892 statement by the Populists calling for stronger gov.t to protect ordinary Americans
Free silver
a policy of loosening the money supply by expanding federal coinage to include silver as well as gold. Advocates of the policy thought it would encourage borrowing and stimulate industry, but the defeat of the Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan ended this movement and gave republicans to retain the good standard.
Williams v. Mississippi
an 1898 Supreme Court ruling that allowed states to impose poll taxes and literacy tests. BY 1908, every southern state had adopted such measures
"Solid South"
the post- reconstruction goal-- achieved by the early 20th century-- of almost complete electoral control of the South by the Democratic Party
Locher v. New York
a 1905 Supreme Court ruling that New York state could not limit baker's workday to ten hours b/c that violated baker's rights to make contracts
Newlands Reclamation Act
a 1902 law, supported by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, that allowed the federal gov.t to sell public lands to raise money for irrigation projects that expanded agriculture on arid land
Wisconsin Idea
policy promoted by Republican governor Robert La Follette of Wisconsin for greater gov.t intervention in the economy, with reliance on experts, particularly progressive economists, for policy recommendations
Recall
a pioneering progressive idea, enacted in Wisconsin, Oregon, California, and other states, that gave citizens the right to remove unpopular politicians from office through a vote
Referendum
the process of voting directly on a proposed policy measure rather than leaving it in the hands of elected legislatures: a progressive reform
National Child Labor Committee
a reform org. that worked (unsuccessfully) to win a federal law banning child labor. the NCLC hired photographer Lewis Hine to record brutal conditions in mines and mills where 1000s of kids worked
Muller v. Oregon
a 1908 Supreme Court case that upheld an Oregon law limiting women's workday to ten hours, based on the need to protect women's health for motherhood. This divided women's rights activists, b/c some saw it as discriminatory
Talented tenth
a term used by Harvard- educated sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois for the top 10% of educated African Americans, whom he called on to develop new strategies to advocate for civil rights
National Association for the advancement of Colored people (NAACP)
an organization founded in 1910 by leading African American reformers and white allies as a vehicle for advocating equal rights for African Americans, especially through the courts
Industrial Workers of the World
An umbrella union and radical political group founded in 1905, dedicated to organizing unskilled workers to oppose capitalism. Nicknamed the Wobblies, it advocated direct action by workers, including sabotage and general strikes.
New Nationalism
in a 1910 speech, Theodore Roosevelt called for a "New Nationalism" that promoted gov.t intervention to enhance public welfare, including a federal child labor law, more recognition of labor rights, a national minimum wage for women, women's suffrage, and curbs on the power of federal courts to stop reform
Federal Reserve Act
The central bank system of the U.S., created in 1913. It helps set the money supply level, thus influencing the rate of growth of the U.S. economy, and seeks to ensure the stability of the U.S. monetary system
Clayton Antitrust Act
a 1914 law that strengthened federal definitions of "monopoly" and gave more power to the Justice Department to pursue antitrust cases; it also specified that labor unions could not generally be prosecuted for "restraint trade", ensuring that antitrust laws would apply to corporations rather than unions.
Mary E. Lease
American lecturer, writer, and political activist. She was an advocate of the suffrage movement as well as temperance but she was best known for her work with the Populist party
Williams Jennings Bryan
American orator and politician from Nebraska, and a dominant force in the populist wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as the Party's candidate for President of the United States
Theodore Roosevelt
American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist, and reformer who served as the 26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909
Robert La Follette
American Republican politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was the Governor of Wisconsin, and was a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin from 1906 to 1925
Louis Brandeis
American lawyer and associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939. Further showed the problems of the American banking system. Wilson nominated him to the supreme court making him the first jew in that position.
W. E. B. Du Bois
fought immediate implementation of African American rights. Opponent of Booker T Washington, he helped to found Niagara Movement in 1905 to fight for and establish equal rights. This movement later led to the establishment of the NAACP.
Eugene V. Debs
American union leader, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World, and five times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States