history / toy
333153853 | Benjamin Harrison | Republican president elected in 1888, defeated Grover Cleveland. He was eloquent, but not personable. He could charm crowds, but he was known as "the White House Ice Chest." Previously a Civil War General. | |
333153854 | James Blaine | Was made secretary of state as a consolation prize for losing the presidential race to Benjamin Harrison. | |
333153855 | Theodore Roosevelt | New Yorker assigned to the Civil Service Commission by Benjamin Harrison. | |
333153856 | Thomas Reed | "Czar" of the House of Representatives, this Speaker of the House from Maine singlehandedly endeavored to change the House rules in 1890. He ignored the Democratic minority, counted as present people who were not there, and caused pandemonium for three days. Finally, he succeeded, and the first "Billion-Dollar" Congress resulted. | |
333153857 | "Billion-Dollar" Congress | The Fifty-First congress, the first to appropriate as much as its eponymous sum. Controlled by Republicans, it aimed to destroy the surplus through spending measure such as the Pension Act and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. | |
333153858 | Pension Act of 1890 | Passed by the Fifty-First congress in 1890 under the direction of president Harrison; it awarded stipends to all Civil War veterans who had fought for at least 90 days and were no longer able to do manual labor. Foreshadowed the "welfare state" of the next century. Won support from the GAR and the GOP. | |
333153859 | Sherman Anti-Trust Act | 1890 act passed by the 51st Congress; helped to quiet the uproar against corporations, but really didn't do much. | |
333153860 | Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 | 1890 act that was a compromise between the western silver agitators and the eastern protectionists. The Westerners agreed to support a higher tariff and the protectionists, this bill. It ordered the Treasury to buy 4.5 million ounces of silver monthly. | |
333153861 | Bland-Allison Law of 1878 | Law passed in 1878, a predecessor to the Sherman Silver Purchase Act; it called for the Treasury to buy only the half of the amount later determined by the Sherman act. | |
333153862 | McKinley Tariff Bill of 1890 | 1890 bill calling for the highest peacetime tariff yet: 48.4 percent. It gave a bounty of two cents a pound to American sugar producers, and raised tariffs on agricultural products. The duties on manufactured goods hurt farmers financially. | |
333153863 | Grover Cleveland | 1892 Democratic candidate against Benjamin Harrison. | |
333153864 | People's Party | Another name for the Populists. They campaigned in the election of 1892; they nominated James B. Weaver as their candidate. They wanted to bring together the aggrieved workers from across the nation, but had support primarily in the West. | |
333153865 | James Weaver | Former Greenbacker; nominated by Populists for the 1892 election. Gained several states of electoral votes, primarily in the West. | |
333153866 | Homestead Strike | Strike at Carnegie's steel plant in Pittsburgh in 1892. Company officials called 300 armed Pinkerton detectives in July to stop strikers angry over pay cuts. Armed strikers forced them to surrender in a battle that killed 10 people and left 60 wounded. Troops were eventually summoned, stopping both the strike and the union. | |
333153867 | Coeur d'Alene | District in Idaho, where in July 1892, federal troops had to be sent to crush a steel workers' strike. | |
333153868 | Colored Farmers' National Alliance | Organization of over 1 million southern black farmers. It worried the conservative white elite in the South, and therefore they would not support any sort of populist movement. | |
333153869 | Jim Crow laws | These laws enforcing racial segregation in the South were backed up by lynchings and other forms of intimidation. Made sure, along with the grandfather clause, that blacks would not have political power. | |
333153870 | depression of 1893 | Economic downturn at the start of Cleveland's presidency; it was the most devastating one of the century. Overbuilding, overspeculation, labor disorders, and agricultural depression contributed. The problem of the "endless cycle" of gold draining from the Treasury necessitated the repealing of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890. | |
333153871 | "endless-chain" operation | This happened when, with the inflation of currency with silver, people redeemed their certificates for gold, thus depleting the Treasury's supply. The gold reserve dropped below the safe $100 million per $350 million paper money, necessitating the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. In 1894 the gold reserve sank below $41 million, requiring Cleveland to seek nongovernmental help. | |
333153872 | Adlai Stevenson | Vice president to Grover Cleveland, supporter of "soft money" who would have made the financial crisis worse if Cleveland had died of his mouth tumor. | |
333153873 | William Jennings Bryan | "The Boy Orator of the Platte." Nebraskan Congressman who spoke for the cause of free silver, advocating against the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. Later, 1896, he gained a Democratic nomination after his famed "Cross of Gold" speech. His platform wanted the unlimited coinage of silver at a 16 to 1 ounce ratio of silver to gold. | |
333153874 | J. P. Morgan | Cleveland was forced to seek the help of this banker in 1895 due to the "endless-cycle" depletion of Treasury gold. The bankers agreed to lend the government $65 million in gold, with a service charge of $7 million (over 10%). Cleveland was accused of secretly plotting with banks. | |
333153875 | Jacob Coxey | Wealthy Ohio quarry owner who marched on Washington in 1894, demanding that government relieve unemployment by an inflationary public works program. His "Commonwealth Army" was arrested for walking on the grass of the capital. | |
333153876 | Pullman Strike of 1894 | 1894 strike against a rail car company after wages were depleted by 1/3 but company town rent was not correspondingly lowered. Strike led by Eugene V. Debs, leader of American Railway Union. Cars were overturned from Chicago to the Pacific Coast, halting rail traffic. Federal troops were brought in on the excuse that the workers were interfering with transit of mail. | |
333153877 | American Railway Union | Union headed by Eugene V. Debs which participated in the Pullman strike. | |
333153878 | Eugene Debs | Head of the American Railway Union and director of the Pullman strike; he was imprisoned along with his associates for ignoring a federal court injunction to stop striking. While in prison, he read Socialist literature and emerged as a Socialist leader in America. | |
333153879 | Olney | Attorney General at the time of the Pullman Strike, disagreed with Illinois governor Altgled about the seriousness of the strike. He used the excuse that the strike was interfering with mail delivery to justify bringing in federal troops. | |
333153880 | Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act of 1894 | 1894 act setting the tariff at 41.3%; not as low as Democrats wanted it to be. Cleveland was outraged that it did not go by his campaign pledges. He had to sign it to have a lower tariff, but he was annoyed with its ineffectiveness. It also was the first bill to introduce an income tax, but that was later struck down as unconstitutional. | |
333153881 | Sixteenth Amendment | This constitutional amendment instated in 1913 the income tax, which had been struck down out of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act. | |
333153882 | Coin's Financial School | 1894 work published by William Hope Harvey campaigning for free silver with beautiful woodcuts. It was enormously popular. It nursed the idea that there was a conspiracy to elevate gold above silver. | |
333153883 | William Hope Harvey | Author/artist of the tract "Coin's Financial School" which promoted free silver. | |
333153884 | William McKinley | Ohio ex-congressman who ran for the Republican party in 1896; he was supported by Marcus Alonzo Hanna, who gave him financial support and promoted his campaign. Though he supported silver, the Republican campaign was for the gold standard. It gained a bit more support when it introduced the concept of international bimetallism. | |
333153885 | Marcus Hanna | Ohio businessman and Hamiltonian who aided McKinley personally and politically. He believed in "trickle down" economics. His campaign helped nominate McKinley. He led the "Gold Bug" movement against Bryan. | |
333153886 | bimetallism | This concept was introduced on the Republican 1896 campaign to gain more support from the silverites. It expanded to include a somewhat doubtful international version, recognizing the gold-silver standard. | |
333153887 | Cross of Gold speech | Speech made by William Henry Bryan which gained him a Democratic nomination and wide popularity. | |
333153888 | 16 to 1 | The ratio of silver to gold promoted by Bryan's Democratic political platform in 1896. | |
333153889 | Gold Bugs | Gold-supporting movement headed by Marcus Hanna; they vented their alarm at Bryan's ideas by defaming him and accusing him of outrageous offenses. They created widespread fear of Bryan and the "silver lunacy." Under this campaign, the Republicans were able to amass the most sizable campaign chest thus far in American history: $16 million to the Democrats' $1 million. | |
333153890 | Dingley Tariff Bill of 1897 | Bill passed under McKinley in 1897; establishing a 46.5% tariff. It had over 850 amendments tacked onto it by lobbyists. | |
333153891 | Gold Standard Act | Act demanded by hard-moneyites that was finally passed in 1900 providing that paper currency was to be redeemed freely for gold. | |
333153892 | Oklahoma | The "Indian Territory" became this state. | |
333153893 | horse | The introduction of this animal to the Indians by the Spaniards drastically changed the lifestyle of the Plains Indians. | |
333153894 | cholera, typhoid, smallpox | These three diseases were spread amongst the Indians by white settlers. | |
333153895 | Fort Laramie, Fort Atkinson | Treaties were made with Plains Indians in 1851 and 1853 at these two locations. Established boundaries for the territory of each tribe and attempted to split the Indians into two northern and southern "colonies." | |
333153896 | Great Sioux reservation | Reservation in the Dakota Territory. Granted by the government after the massacre of Fetterman's troops on the Bozeman Trail in Wyoming. | |
333153897 | Tenth Cavalry | One of the four 'crack black units' that helped in the western battles against the Indians. | |
333153898 | Sand Creek | Location in Colorado where in 1864, Colonel J. M. Chivington's militia massacred four hundred Indians who thought that they had been granted immunity. | |
333153899 | J. M. Chivington | Colonel whose troops massacred Indians at Sand Creek, Colorado in 1864. | |
333153900 | Bozeman Trail | The Sioux Indians attempted to block the construction of this project in 1866. They massacred William J. Fetterman's men in Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains. | |
333153901 | William Fetterman | Captain whose troops were ambushed and massacred in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming by the Sioux Indians, who were opposed to the construction of the Bozeman Trail. | |
333153902 | Treaty of Fort Laramie 1868 | Treaty signed after the massacre of Fetterman's troops by the Sioux Indians. The government abandoned the construction of the Bozeman trail, and guaranteed the "Great Sioux reservation" to the Indians. | |
333153903 | Black Hills | Area in South Dakota, part of the Sioux reservation, where in 1874 Colonel Custer discovered gold. | |
333153904 | Sitting Bull | A wily leader of the Sioux Indians; he sat out the Battle of the Little Big Horn while Crazy Horse led the assault. | |
333153905 | George Custer | The "White Chief with Yellow Hair," colonel who discovered gold in the Black Hills on the Sioux reservation, and fought the Battle of the Little Big Horn in an attempt to suppress the Indians. He was seen as a big hero in the East. | |
333153906 | Battle of the Little Big Horn | 1876 Battle in the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory where Custer's Seventh Cavalry was massacred when they attempted to suppress the Sioux and return them to their reservation. Crazy Horse led the Sioux in battle, and killed every one of Custer's men. The Indians were later pursued over the plains and crushed in a series of battles. | |
333153907 | Nez Percé | Indians native to Idaho, Washington, Oregon (tri-state area) whose reservation was shrunk by 90% when gold was discovered in 1877. Led by Chief Joseph, they tried to trek to Canada to rendez-vous with Sitting Bull, but they were captured and sent to Kansas, where 40% of them died. | |
333153908 | Apache | Indians of New Mexico and Arizona who were the most difficult to subdue. They were led by Geronimo. They eventually became successful farmers in Oklahoma. | |
333153909 | Chief Joseph | Leader of the Nez Percé Indians; attempted to lead them up to Canada to rendez-vous with Sitting Bull when their reservation was downsized, but failed. They were pursued for three months before being captured. He later wrote a very accurate memoir about his experiences. | |
333153910 | Geronimo | Most famous Apache leader; hated whites. There's a picture of him in the book that looks totally awesome. | |
333153911 | bad medicine wagons | Indian term for locomotives that brought troops, farmers, cattlemen, sheepherders, and settlers. | |
333153912 | buffalo/bison | These animals were first described by Spaniards as "hunchback cows." There were 15 million of them at the end of the Civil War, and by 1885 fewer than 1000 of them were left alive. | |
333153913 | buffalo chips | These pieces of excrement were used as fuel by Indians and pioneers. | |
333153914 | William Cody | "Buffalo Bill;" Killed over 4000 buffalo in 18 months while employed by the Kansas Pacific. | |
333153915 | Helen Hunt Jackson | Massachusetts writer of children's literature; wrote 'A Century of Dishonor' and 'Ramona.' | |
333153916 | A Century of Dishonor | 1881 book written by Helen Hunt Jackson chronicling the government's mistreatment of Indians. | |
333153917 | Ramona | 1884 book by Helen Hunt Jackson; love story of injustice to California Indians. Sold 600,000 copies and inspired sympathy for the Indians. | |
333153918 | pemmican | Thin strips of smoked or sun-dried buffalo flesh mixed with berries and stuffed into rawhide bags. The Plains Indians traditionally prepared buffalo this way. | |
333153919 | Wasichus | Indian term for white people. (found in the Makers of America: The Plains Indians section) | |
333153920 | Sun Dance | Sacred Native American dance that was outlawed by the federal government in 1884, due to the persuasion of zealous white 'reformers.' | |
333153921 | Ghost Dance cult | Indian cult formed in reaction to the banning of the Sun Dance ritual. When it spread to the Dakota Sioux, it was stopped in 1890 at the Battle of Wounded Knee. The tribes believed that the shirts and spirits of their ancestors would protect them and save their land. | |
333153922 | Battle of Wounded Knee | 1890 battle where the Ghost Dance cult was stamped out in the Dakota Sioux. 200 Indian men, women, and children, as well as 29 invading soldiers, died. | |
333153923 | Dawes Severalty Act | 1887 act promoting forced assimilation. It dissolved many tribes as legal entities, stopped tribal ownership of land, and gave 160 acres apiece to individual family heads. If Indians were good, they would receive citizenship and the rights to their holdings in 29 years. Land not given to Indians was to be sold to RR's and white settlers. | |
333153924 | Carlisle Indian School | Pennsylvania school for Indians funded by the government; children were separated from their tribe and were taught Engilsh and white values/customs. Motto of founder: "Kill the Indian and save the man." | |
333153925 | field matrons | In the 1890's, these women were sent to the reservations to teach Indian women the art of sewing, and to teach chastity and hygiene. | |
333153926 | Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 | This 1934 act partially reversed the individualistic approach of the Dawes Act and belatedly tried to restore the tribal basis of Indian life. | |
333153927 | bullets, bottles, and bacteria | The "three B's" that reduced the Indian population to 243,000 by 1887. | |
333153928 | Pike's-Peakers | Another name for "fifty-niners;" reflects their intended destination. | |
333153929 | Comstock Lode | Lode of gold and silver found in Nevada, prompting a huge influx of miners in 1859. More than $340 million of gold and silver was mined from 1860-1890. The influx of settlers led to Nevada being prematurely admitted to the Union in 1864. | |
333153930 | dime store novels | Most people learned about Indians from these cheap publications, which can be equated to today's comic books. | |
333153931 | talking leaves | Indian term for written documents, a concept which stupefied them. | |
333153932 | Crazy Horse | Led the Sioux assault on Custer's forces at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Currently, the Sioux Nation is working on a monument for this chief that is intended to be 5x the size of Mt. Rushmore. | |
333153933 | buffalo robes | This fashion trend contributed to the slaughter of the plains buffalo. | |
333153934 | Jim Thorpe | Gifted athlete, an attendee of the Carlisle Indian School. Helped the school team beat Notre Dame college in football. Won the decathlon and pentathlon in the Olympics. Said "Thanks, King!" to King Gustav of Sweden. | |
333153935 | American Indian Movement | More pacifistic movement to promote modern Indian rights; similar outlook to NAACP or SCLC. | |
333153936 | Native American Movement | More militant movement for the rights of modern Indians; held demonstration in the 70's at Wounded Knee, want to publicize the plight of Indians. | |
333153937 | boom towns | These "Helldorados" sprang up suddenly across the west, and contained many saloons. | |
333153938 | ghost towns | Term for abandoned boom towns that were left empty when mines were depleted. | |
333153939 | surface mining | Panning and sluicing are examples of this type of mining. | |
333153940 | hard rock mining | This mining required heavy equipment and was usually undertaken only by businesses with sufficient capital. | |
333153941 | Bonanza | No. 1 TV show for several years in the 60's, depicted gold rush life. | |
333153942 | Levi Strauss | European immigrant who brought heavy canvas fabric to California, intending to make tents. Ended up making pants, and started a very profitable business. | |
333153943 | Nîmes | Region of France that Levi Strauss outsourced to; we get the term 'denim' from its name. | |
333153944 | Genes | Region of France that Levi Strauss outsourced to; we get the term 'jeans' from its name. | |
333153945 | vigilantism | This legal practice grew in boom towns; people took justice into their own hands. | |
333153946 | hangtowns | Term for towns where vigilantism was practiced. | |
333153947 | Placerville | In this town, a man sentenced to hang requested fried oysters as his last meal. In the intervening days it took them to get this meal, he was able to prove his innocence. | |
333153948 | open range | Term for the Great West before it was fenced off; herds of cattle could roam freely. | |
333153949 | Andalucia | Longhorn cattle from this region of Spain were brought to US. They were scrawny and valued mostly for their hides. | |
333153950 | Swift and Armour | These "beef barons" helped industrialize the meat-packing industry, placing it as a major pillar of the economy. | |
333153951 | Long Drive | Term for the journey cowboys would make to take their herds to railroad terminals, or "cow towns" where they could be to the East. Along the way, the cows grazed for free on government grass. | |
333153952 | cow towns | Depots where cowboys would take their cattle to on the Long Drive. Also called "spike towns." | |
333153953 | spike towns | Alternate term for "cow towns." | |
333153954 | James Hickok | "Wild Bill," a fabulous gunman who maintained order at the cow town of Abilene, killing only for self-defense or in the line of duty. He was shot in the back while playing poker. | |
333153955 | winter of 1886-1887 | This terrible winter with blizzards and -68 F temperatures decimated the cow herds of the cowboys. | |
333153956 | Wyoming Stock Growers' Association | This group, especially in the 1880's virtually controlled the state of Wyoming and its legislature, demonstrating the power of the big business stockmen. | |
333153957 | Homestead Act of 1862 | This law provided that settlers could acquire 160 acres of land (1/4 section) by living on it and improving it over 5 years, and paying $30. OR 6 month's residence and $1.25/acre. It intended to encourage the filling of the open range with family farms. | |
333153958 | dummy homesteaders | These people were employed by unscrupulous corporations to take advantage of the Homestead Act of 1862. | |
333153959 | Northern Pacific Railroad | This railroad was a leader in "induced colonization" designed to improve the profitability of railroads. It advertised abroad to entice immigrants to purchase land. | |
333153960 | sodbusters | Term for the settlers who had to break through the prairie sod to farm in the (mistakenly named) Great American Desert. | |
333153961 | sod houses | Term for the dwellings many pioneers built out of the prairie sod that they had to break through to farm. | |
333153962 | A&M colleges | Term for colleges that trained students in agricultural and mining technology and technique. | |
333153963 | UC Davis | This UC was originally an A&M College. | |
333153964 | 100th meridian | Line north to south from the Dakotas through west Texas. Lands west of this line were generally poor and marginal. Settlers rashly tried to farm here in the 1870's and met ruin. | |
333153965 | John Wesley Powell | Director of the U.S. Geological Survey who warned in 1874 that the lands westward of the 100th meridian were not viable due to insufficient rainfall. | |
333153966 | dry farming | This farming technique utilized drought-resistant crops and frequent shallow cultivation. It was successful but eventually created "Dust Bowl" conditions. | |
333153967 | dwarf wheat | This short strain of wheat was developed and was much more drought resistant. | |
333153968 | barbed wire | Invention of Joseph F. Glidden; contributed to the fencing-off of the West where there was a shortage of wood. | |
333153969 | Joseph Glidden | Invented and patented barbed wire in 1874. | |
333153970 | Colorado | This state was admitted to the Union in 1876 as "the Centennial State." It was the offspring of the Pike's Peak gold rush. | |
333153971 | Utah | This state was admitted in 1896, though the Mormon church had finally banned polygamy in 1890. | |
333153972 | sooners | Overeager and armed settlers who entered the Oklahoma lands before legally allowed and had to be evicted repeatedly by federal troops. | |
333153973 | Guthrie | Oklahoma boom town formed in 1889 when the federal government opened up Oklahoma for settlement. | |
333153974 | Oklahoma | Admitted to the Union in 1907 as "the Sooner State." | |
333153975 | Oklahoma! | The first musical written by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. | |
333153976 | Frederick Jackson Turner | Wrote the important "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," detailing the "safety valve theory" regarding the frontier as a place for the "pressure" of urban areas to be relieved. | |
333153977 | Turner thesis | "Up to our own day American history has been in a large degree the history of the colonization of the Great West. The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward, explain American development." 1893 | |
333153978 | safety valve theory | Theory presented in the Turner thesis that the frontier serves as an outlet for the pressure of population in urbanized areas. Not entirely truthful; few city dwellers migrated out, or had the capital or skill to farm. Most of the migrants were farmers from older farming areas that were being encroached on by the cities. | |
333153979 | Chicago | City that became the US's "second city" to New York. | |
333153980 | Aaron Montgomery Ward | Established in 1872 a mail-order firm for manufactured goods based in Chicago. | |
333153981 | combined reaper-thresher | This "combine" piece of equipment was drawn by 20-40 horses and both cut and bagged grain. Invented in the 1880's. | |
333153982 | bonanza | This type of wheat farm in the Minnesota-North Dakota area was enormous, in some instances larger than 15,000 acres. Foreshadowed the giant agribusiness of the next century. | |
333153983 | Central Valley | Area of California that was phenomenally productive and phenomenally irrigated. CA farms were more than 3x larger than the national average. | |
333153984 | railroad refrigerator car | This 1880's invention made the California fruits and vegetable crops very profitable. | |
333153985 | grasshopper | This insect ruined prairie crops. | |
333153986 | cotton-boll weevil | This insect wreaked havoc on Southern crops around the 1890's. | |
333153987 | Grange | The National ______ of the Patrons of Husbandry, organized in 1867. Leader Oliver H. Kelley. Primary objective at first: stimulate the minds of the farm fold by social, educational, and fraternal activities. By 1875 had 800,000 members. Later shifted from focus on individual improvement to the improvement of the lot of all farmers. Their influence faded after the Supreme Ct. ruling in the Wabash case. | |
333153988 | Granger Laws | Term for laws passed due to the influence of the Patrons of Husbandry; they were often badly drawn and bitterly fought in high courts. They strove to regulate railway rates and the storage fees charged by railroads and by the operators of warehouses and grain elevators. | |
333153989 | Greenback Labor party | This political party combined the inflationary financial tract with support for laborers. They polled over 1 million votes and elected 14 members of Congress. In 1880, they supported James B. Weaver as a candidate for the presidency. | |
333153990 | James Weaver | The candidate of the Greenback Labor Party in the 1880 election. He was an old Granger, a favorite of Civil War veterans. Polled only 3% of the popular vote. | |
333153991 | Farmers' Alliances | These organizations cropped up everywhere in the late 1880's, incorporating North and South, white and black. They organized cooperatives and sought to better the lot of farmers. | |
333153992 | Populists | These people, members of the People's party, emerged in the early 1890's. They were zealous and attracted people from the Farmers' Alliances. Ignatius Donnelly of Minnesota was a notable figure. | |
333153993 | Ignatius Donnelly | A Minnesota populist know as a "spellbinder;" elected three times to Congress. | |
333153994 | Mary Elizabeth Lease | Known as "Mary Yellin'" and "the Kansas Pythoness," she made about 160 speeches in 1890. She criticized Wall Street and the wealthy, and cried that Kansans should raise "less corn and more hell." | |
333153995 | mail order brides | Frontiersmen in search of a spouse could send out for information on one of these women, selected from a viewbook. | |
333153996 | Sarah, Plain and Tall | A book about a man whose wife dies. He sends for a mail order bride. | |
333153997 | Sioux | Plain Indians that aggressively expanded at the expense of the Crows, Kiowas, and Pawnees. | |
333153998 | Sheridan | Stated "The only good Indian is a dead Indian." | |
333153999 | Continental Divide | Area where the Nez Perce Indians fled towards but failed and were sent back to Kansas. | |
333154000 | human zoos | Another term for Indian reservations. | |
333154001 | Yellowstone National Park | Modern-day location of over a thousand bison, largely for tourist purposes | |
333154002 | Fifty-niners | People who poured into Nevada in 1859 after the Comstock Lode was discovered. | |
333154003 | Silver Senators | Senators representing the sparsely populated western states, using their disproportionate influence to promote the interests of the silver miners | |
333154004 | induced colonization | The act of corporations hiring 'dummy' homesteaders to 'improve' the land while grabbing the best properties containing timber, minerals, and oil | |
333154005 | Centennial State | Colorado's joining the Union in 1876 gave it this name. | |
333154006 | Sooner State | Oklahoma's nickname because about five hundred thousand people illegally entered that state before it became an offical state in 1907. | |
333154007 | Oliver Kelley | Led the Grange, was a shrewd and energetic Minnesota farmer then working as a clerk in Washington. | |
333154008 | dance-hall girls | Prostitutes at cathouses in boomtowns. | |
333154009 | Preemption Act of 1841 | A law which stated that squatters could stake out claims ahead of the land surveys and later get 160 acres at the minimum price of $1.25 per acre. | |
333154010 | Pinkerton detectives | Hired by company officials to crush a strike by steelworkers at Andrew Carnegie's Homestead steel plant. | |
333154011 | grandfather clause | One attempt in the south to restrict blacks from voting. | |
333154012 | Commonwealth Army | The name of Coxey's followers that marched on the nation's capital. | |
333154013 | front-porch campaign | McKinley's act of staying at home and making speeches that were broad-casted. | |
333154014 | fourth party system | A new American political period of Republican political dominance, diminishing voter participation in elections, a weakening of party organizations, and greater concern for industrial regulation and labor welfare. |