AP Chapter 20Commonwealth and

Empire

The Growth of Government

• As the U.S. economy grew so did the size

and strength of the fed. govt.

• Interstate Commerce Commission (1887)

created to end pooling and regulate the

RR’s

• Presidents Hayes, Garfield, Arthur,

Cleveland and Harrison did very little

• Southern politics was controlled by

the Democrats and their biggest

concern was the tariff rates

• Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)-

created the Civil Service System to

prevent political patronage that led

to Garfield's death in 1881

• Civil Service is still used today to

award govt. jobs

Farmers and Workers• Populist Movement- 3rd political party

that focused its efforts on helping the

farmers

• Grange- national organization of farm

owners formed after the CW and

many local chapters existed

throughout the country

• Grangers blamed their hard economic

times on the RR’s b/c they controlled the

shipping

• Often times RR’s charged more for a short

haul than a long one

• Granger laws were passed that limited RR

rates

• Munn v. Illinois (1877)- SC upheld the

Granger laws

• Southern Farmers Alliance- movement in

the South and West to help small farmers

Workers Search For Power

• Great Uprising 1877- first nationwide strike

of RR workers that protested wage cuts

• Federal troops were sent in to break up the

strike

• Beginning of the long history of govt.

supporting businesses over unions

Women Build Alliances

• Women helped all movements and

called for “equal pay for equal work”

• Francis Willard led the Woman’s

Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

that pushed to ban alcohol

• WCTU under Willard grew into a very

strong and powerful political force

• National American Woman Suffrage

Assc. (NAWSA) leading group that

pushed for women’s suffrage

• Women gradually gained rights in

western states

Populism and the People’s Party

• Populist Party created in 1890 called for

govt. ownership of banks, RRs,

telephone/telegraph companies, income

tax, 8 hr. workday and limits on

immigration

• Populist Party is also known as the

People’s Party

The Depression of 1893

• Over extension of credit led to a

huge economic downturn

• More than 150 banks closed and

15,000 businesses went bankrupt

• Unemployment rates hit 25% in

some areas

• Populist Jacob Coxey led a march on

Washington D.C. of unemployed

workers demand govt. help

• Only 600 reached the capital and

were called “Coxey’s Army” but

quickly disbanded

Coxey’s Army

Coeur d’Alene

• Mine owners wanted to get rid of the unions

and formed a “protective association” and cut

wages

• Union rejected the wage cut and went on strike

• Strikebreakers were brought in but eventually

dispersed and scab labor was hired

• Owners claimed victory

Homestead Strike 1892

• Carnegie and Frick wanted to break the union

• Workers striking b/c of wage reduction in a

steel mill

• Pinkertons (Strike breakers)- called in to break

up the strike

• Work force was reduced by 25% and so were

wages

Pullman Strike (1894)• American Railway Union (ARU) was

formed by Eugene V. Debs• Workers went on strike b/c of wage

reduction• Workers would not allow the RR cars

to leave Chicago• They stopped interstate mail• Pres. Cleveland sent in federal

troops to break the strike b/c the U.S. Mail was delayed

Eugene V. Debs

The Social Gospel

• Dealt with reconciliation of social reality

with Christian ideals

• Many called for child labor reform

• Regulation of corporations and its profits

• Women played a major role in this

movement

The Election of 1896

• Populist favored “free silver” or the coinage

of silver which would raise inflation and make

it easier for farmers to repay their debts.

• William Jennings Bryan gave his famous

“Cross of Gold Speech” at the convention

• William McKinley (R) defeated Bryan (D/P) in

a close election

• Populist Party gradually lost influence

• 3rd Political Parties often fail at winning

office but their ideas often become laws

• Dingley Tariff of 1897- set tariff rates at

all time high

• Gold Standard 1900- McKinley officially

put the U.S. on the gold standard

The Age of Segregation

• Nativist hated immigrants and passed

the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

• Jim Crow laws were created throughout

the South to separate the races

• Blacks faced literacy tests, grandfather

clause, poll taxes and outright terror

• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) established the

principle of “separate but equal”

• African Americans were barred from public

office and could not serve on juries

• Race riots occurred throughout the

country

• Ida B. Wells became a crusader against

lynching

Imperialism

• Sen. Albert J. Beveridge (R) said the U.S.

needed to find new markets for its goods

• White Man’s Burden- our job to help civilize

and Christianize the people of Africa and

the Pacific

• Mission trips rose to help spread the

Christian faith

Overseas Empire• Purchased Alaska in 1867 “Seward’s

Icebox” for $7.2 million

• Good Neighbor Policy- goal was for peace

and order in Latin America

• Hawaii was annexed in 1898 mainly for

military/trading purposes

• Open Door Policy- Sec. of State John Hay

opened up trade with China

Open Door Policy

The Spanish American War

• Spain had controlled Cuba since the days

of Columbus

• NYC newspapers owned by Hearst and

Pulitzer used Yellow Journalism to sell

papers

• Stories of the atrocities in Cuba were often

sensationalized and angered Americans

• Feb. 1898- U.S. sends the USS Maine to

show the flag but mysteriously blows up

• Papers blame the Spanish and Americans

were furious

• Despite giving into the U.S. demands we

still went to war with Spain in April 1898

• U.S. easily won the war that lasted only a

few months

Outcome of the War

• Platt Amendment- Cuba had to give us a

naval base and we had a lot of control over

them

• We acquired Guam and Puerto Rico and

paid $15 million for the Philippines

• T. Roosevelt referred to it as “A Splendid

Little War”

Issues in the Philippines

• After the war Filipino troops attacked the

U.S. troops when it was apparent that we

were not going to leave

• War dragged on until 1902 and cost over

4,300 American lives

• 1946 Philippines gained its independence

Arguments over Imperialism

For Expansion

• Need a market for

our goods

• White Man’s Burden

• Spread democracy

• If we don’t do it

someone else will

Against Expansion

• Violated the principle

of democracy

• Went against our

policy of neutrality

• We were doing what

the British did to us

Conclusion

• Granger and Populist movements

tried to help the farmers regulate the

RRs

• Unions struggled to gain support

• U.S. became a world power