REVIEW!!
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Before 1877...
American Civil War from 1861-1865
The North wanted to preserve the Union--The South wanted
independence
The big issue was States' Rights
The South lost; from 1865-1877 known as Reconstruction!
Civil War Amendments: 13, 14, 15
Known as Reconstruction b/c we were trying to put the US
back together, but also to rebuild the South where most
fighting had occurred.
Southern way of life and economy was destroyed; many
moved West to start over-- African Americans-exodusters!
REVIEW!!!
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Changes on the Frontier (a frontier is an area
that hasn't been discovered, inhabited,
claimed, or cultivated--> new)
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Ways Around the Law
Jim Crow laws
Poll Taxes
Literacy Tests
Why did they work??
Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896
Separate but Equal doctrine
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The Agrarian Movement
Important Terms
Arid-Dry
Midwest

The Northern
area of the United
States that
stretches from
Ohio to the Rocky
Mountains.
Monetary--Currency System
Deflation

A decrease in Prices
Inflation

An Increase in
Prices
Unite

To Come together
for a common good
Trusts

Acts of business are
controlled by a
“trusted” person
Technology

Scientific
Improvements
Rural—The Country
Legislation
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LAWS
INTERstate
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Transportation
routes that attach
multiple states
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Transcontinental
Railroad
Commerce-- Business
Alliance– Agreement to act as a group
Bimetallic—Two Metals
Silver and Gold... Silver and Gold...
Safety Valve Theory

Theory that states
that when
unemployment was
rising in cities,
people moved west
to farm and were
prosperous. This
was driven by the
Homestead Act of
1862.
The Agrarian Movement
HOORAY! The Indians are Gone!
ASSIMILATION:
DAWES ACT:
The climate on the plains was Arid
with long periods of drought.
Irrigation was hard because there
wasn't a lot of water available. They
dug wells, but many of them were
hundreds of feet deep.
They found a solution...
 They
built
windmills
capable of
pumping the
water from deep
in the ground.
Railroad companies were charging high
prices to move the farmer's produce.
1875- The United States adopted the
gold standard.
We had more dollars than we had gold.
This caused the value of the dollar to
decrease. It led to deflation and prices
remained low.
The farmers wanted inflation, which
would lead to an increase in prices,
and give them more money for their
crops.
The Farmers Unite

Since farmers faced
so many problems,
they began to unite
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The National
Grange was
founded as an effort
by farmers to work
together for change
The Granger Goal
 Limit
Railroad
shipment rates
and end
monopolies
The Interstate Commerce Act
 This
was passed
in 1887. It
regulated
(limited) the
amount railroad
companies could
charge to ship
farmer's
products.
The Populist Party
The Grange
1867
Oliver H.
Kelley
Declined
some in
the 1870s
Farmer’s
Alliance
1880
Northern
Alliance
Southern
Alliance
Populist
s 1892
Political party
aka
People’s
Party
Rise and Fall of Populism
Populist Platform:
(issues they believe are worth fighting for)
 Graduated
Income Tax
 Direct Election of US Senators
 Increased Circulation of Money
 Free and Unlimited Coinage of
Silver
 Government Control
The Populist
(Peoples’) Party
 Founded by James B. Weaver
and Tom Watson.
 Omaha, NE Convention in July,
1892.
 Got almost 1 million popular
votes.
 Several Congressional seats
won.
James B. Weaver,
Presidential Candidate
&
James G. Field, VP
1892 Election
Bi-Metallism
Issue

Causes of the 1893
Panic
Begun 10 days after Cleveland took office.
1. Several major corps. went bankrupt.
 Over 16,000 businesses disappeared.
 Triggered a stock market crash.
 Over-extended investments.
2. Bank failures followed causing a contraction
of credit [nearly 500 banks closed].
3. By 1895, unemployment reached 3 million.
 Americans cried out for relief, but the Govt.
continued its laissez faire policies!!
Here Lies Prosperity
Written by a Farmer
at the End of the 19c
When the banker says he's broke
And the merchant’s up in smoke,
They forget that it's the farmer
who feeds them all.
It would put them to the test
If the farmer took a rest;
Then they'd know that it's the farmer
feeds them all.
Election of 1896
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Populists/Democrats
Cross of Gold Speech
Silver Backed Currency
William Jennings Bryan
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William McKinley
Republicans
Gold Standared
“Cross of Gold”
(read excerpt on page 223
in your book)
…You shall not
press down upon
the brow of
labor this crown
of thorns; you
shall not crucify
mankind upon a
cross of gold!
Bryan: The Farmers
Friend
(The Mint Ratio)
18,000 miles of campaign “whistle stops.”
Democr
atic
Party
Taken
Over by
the
Agrarian
Left
Platform  tariff reductions; income tax; stricter
control of the trusts (esp. RRs); free silver.
1896 Election
Results
Gold Triumphs
Over Silver
 1900  Gold
Standard Act
 confirmed the
nation’s
commitment to
the gold standard.
 A victory for the
forces of
conservatism.
The End of Populism
Urban voters feared inflation
McKinley’s campaign was well-
organized and highly funded
Bryan lost!
McKinley’s victory led to collapse of
Populism