APUSH VOCAB UNIT 6 (82-96)
82. Assassination of James Garfield
Definition: The assassination of President James A. Garfield took place in Washington,
D.C. on July 2, 1881, at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station. Garfield was shot
by Charles J. Guiteau at 9:30 am, less than four months into Garfield's term as the 20th President
of the United States.
Describe and Explain: President Garfield came to the Sixth Street Station on his way to
his alma mater, Williams College, where he was scheduled to deliver a speech. As President
Garfield entered the waiting room of the station Guiteau stepped forward and pulled the trigger
from behind at point-blank range. One bullet grazed Garfield's shoulder; the other hit him in the
back, passing the first lumbar vertebra but missing the spinal cord before coming to rest behind
his pancreas.
Significance: Garfield's assassination was instrumental to the passage of the Pendleton
Civil Service Reform Act on January 16, 1883. Garfield himself had called for civil service
reform in his inaugural address and supported it as President in the belief that it would make
government more efficient. It was passed as something of a memorial to the fallen
President. Arthur lost the Republican Party nomination in 1884 to Blaine, who went on to lose
a close election to Democrat Grover Cleveland.
Cross Reference: Stalwarts and Mugwumps, James Garfield
83. The Pendleton Act, 1883
Definition: The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of the United States is a federal law
established in 1883 that stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of
merit. The act provided selection of government employees by competitive exams, rather than
ties to politicians or political affiliation.
Describe and Explain: The law also created the United States Civil Service
Commission. A crucial result was the shift of the parties to reliance on funding from business,
since they could no longer depend on patronage hopefuls.
Significance: The law applied only to federal government jobs, not to the state and local
jobs that were the basis for political machines. At first, the Pendleton Act only covered very few
jobs, as only 10% of the US government's civilian employees had civil service jobs. However,
there was a ratchet provision whereby outgoing presidents could lock in their own appointees by
converting their jobs to civil service. After a series of party reversals at the presidential level
(1884, 1888, 1892, 1896), the result was that most federal jobs were under civil service. One
result was more expertise and less politics.
Cross Reference: Sherman Anti-Trust Act 1890
84. Sherman Anti-Trust Act, 1890
Definition: The Sherman Antitrust Act (Sherman Act, is a landmark federal statute in the
history of United States antitrust law (or "competition law") passed by Congress in 1890. It
prohibits certain business activities that federal government regulators deem to be
anticompetitive, and requires the federal government to investigate and pursue trusts.
Describe and Explain: The law attempts to prevent the artificial raising of prices by
restriction of trade or supply. In other words, innocent monopoly, or monopoly achieved solely
by merit, is perfectly legal, but acts by a monopolist to artificially preserve his status, or nefarious
dealings to create a monopoly, are not. Put another way, it has sometimes been said that the
purpose of the Sherman Act is not to protect competitors, but rather to protect competition and
the competitive landscape.
Significance: This act was aimed at taking down the big monopolies of Standard Oil and
Carnegie Steel. However, the Act did not specify what a monopoly was so nothing could be done.
Cross Reference: Clayton Anti-Trust Act, 1914, Northern Securities v US, Standard
Oil v. US, Trust Busting
85. The Populist Party Platform, 1890
Definition: The People's Party, also known as the "Populists", was a short-lived political
party in the United States established in 1891 during the Populist movement (United States, 19th
Century). It was most important in 1892-96, and then rapidly faded away.
Describe and Explain: Based among poor, white cotton farmers in the South (especially
North Carolina, Alabama, and Texas) and hard-pressed wheat farmers in the plains states
(especially Kansas and Nebraska), it represented a radical crusading form of agrarianism and
hostility to banks, railroads, and elites generally. It sometimes formed coalitions with labor
unions, and in 1896 the Democrats endorsed their presidential nominee, William Jennings Bryan.
The terms "populist" and "populism" are commonly used for anti-elitist appeals in opposition to
established interests and mainstream parties.
Significance: The Populists had the choice of endorsing Bryan or running their own
candidate. After great infighting at their St. Louis convention they decided to endorse Bryan but
with their own vice presidential nominee, Thomas E. Watson of Georgia. Watson was cautiously
open to cooperation, but after the election would recant any hope he had in the possibility of
cooperation as a viable tool. Bryan's strength was based on the traditional Democratic vote (minus
the middle class and the Germans); he swept the old Populist strongholds in the west and South,
and added the silverite states in the west, but did poorly in the industrial heartland. He lost to
Republican William McKinley by a margin of 600,000 votes, and lost again in a rematch in 1900
by a larger margin.
Cross Reference: William Jennings Bryan, Election of 1896, Free Silver, The
Grange, Granger Laws
86. The Panic of 1893
Definition: The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States
that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, it was marked by the overbuilding and shaky
financing of railroads, resulting in a series of bank failures.
Describe and Explain: Compounding market overbuilding and the railroad bubble was
a run on the gold supply. The Panic of '93 was the worst economic depression the United States
had ever experienced up to that time.
Significance: As concern for the state of the economy worsened, people rushed to
withdraw their money from banks, and caused bank runs. The credit crunch rippled through the
economy. A financial panic in the United Kingdom and a drop in trade in Europe caused foreign
investors to sell American stocks to obtain American funds backed by gold.
Cross Reference: William McKinley, The Populist Platform 1892, Break in the
Politics of the Status Quo, Coxey’s Army
87. Jacob Coxey’s Army
Definition: Jacob Sechler Coxey, Sr. sometimes known as General Coxey (April 16,
1854 – May 18, 1951) of Massillon, Ohio, was an American politician, who ran for elective office
several times in Ohio.
Describe and Explain: Twice, in 1894 and 1914, he led "Coxey's Army", a group of
unemployed men who marched to Washington, D.C. to present a "Petition in Boots" demanding
that the United States Congress allocate funds to create jobs for the unemployed. (Essentially the
New Deal)
Significance: Although the marches failed, Coxey's Army was an early attempt to arouse
political interest in an issue that grew in importance until the Social Security Act of 1935
encouraged the establishment of state unemployment insurance programs.
Cross Reference: The Panic of 1893
88. Eugene Debbs & The Pullman Strike of 1894
Definition: The Pullman Strike was a nationwide railroad strike in the United States in
the summer of 1894. It pitted the American Railway Union (ARU) against the Pullman Company,
the main railroads, and the federal government of the United States under President Grover
Cleveland.
Describe and Explain: The strike and boycott shut down much of the nation's freight
and passenger traffic west of Detroit, Michigan. The conflict began in Pullman, Chicago, on May
11 when nearly 4,000 factory employees of the Pullman Company began a wildcat strike in
response to recent reductions in wages.
Significance: The federal government secured a federal court injunction against the
union, Debs, and the top leaders, ordering them to stop interfering with trains that carried mail
cars. After the strikers refused, President Grover Cleveland ordered in the Army to stop the
strikers from obstructing the trains. Violence broke out in many cities, and the strike collapsed.
Defended by a team including Clarence Darrow, Debs was convicted of violating a court order
and sentenced to prison; the ARU dissolved.
Cross Reference: InRe Debs, Homestead Strike
89. In RE: Debs, 1895
Definition: In re Debs, 158 U.S. 564 (1895), was a United States Supreme Court decision
handed down concerning Eugene V. Debs and labor unions. Debs, president of the American
Railway Union, had been involved in the Pullman Strike earlier in 1894 and challenged the
federal injunction ordering the strikers back to work where they would face being fired.
Describe and Explain: The injunction had been issued because of the violent nature of
the strike. However, Debs refused to end the strike and was subsequently cited for contempt of
court; he appealed the decision to the courts.
Significance: The court ruled that the government had a right to regulate interstate
commerce and ensure the operations of the Postal Service, along with a responsibility to "ensure
the general welfare of the public." The decision somewhat slowed the theretofore building
momentum of labor unions, which had been making gains in government in respect to legislation,
Supreme Court decisions, etc. Debs would go on to lose another Supreme Court case in Debs v.
United States.
Cross Reference: The Pullman Strike of 1894
90. The Plight of the Coal Miner
Definition: Coal was typically mined in remote areas, often mountainous. The miners
lived in crude housing provided at low cost by the companies, and shopped in company stores.
There were few amenities, and few alternative industries besides the railroads and saloons. The
anthracite mines of Pennsylvania were owned by large railroads, and managed by bureaucrats.
Bituminous mines were locally owned. The social system revolved not so much on occupation
(nearly everyone was an blue collar workers with similar incomes) but on ethnicity.
Describe and Explain: Welsh and English miners had the highest prestige and the best
jobs, followed by the Irish. At a lower status stood recent immigrants from Italy and Eastern
Europe; recent arrivals from the Appalachian hills were lower status. The ethnic groups would
stick together, seldom mingling. Blacks were sometimes brought in as strike breakers. There was
little machinery apart from the railroad. Before mechanization began about 1910 the miners relied
on brute force, pick-axe, hand drills and dynamite to smash lumps of coal out of the wall, and
shovel them into mule-drawn carts that hauled it to the weighing station, and the railroad cars.
The culture was heavily masculine, with strength, virility, and physical courage held in high
regard. Boxing was the favored sport. Opportunities for women were strictly limited, until textile
companies after 1900 started opening small factories in the larger coal towns to employ women.
Religion was in high regard, as each group was fiercely loyal to its denomination. Schooling was
limited. The aspiration of the boys was to get a job helping around the mines until they were old
enough to work underground as a "real" miner.
Significance: Being a miner in the 19th century meant long hours of continuous hard
labor in the dark mines with low ceilings. Accidents were frequent. Young boys were used
outside the mine to sort coal from rocks; they were not allowed underground until age 18. The
breathing of coal dust caused black lung, whose effects few miners knew would have on their
bodies.
Cross Reference: In RE: Debs, 1895, United Mine Workers, 16 Tons, Company
Towns
91. Social Impact of the Great Depression of 1893-94
Definition: Hard times intensified social sensitivity to a wide range of problems
accompanying industrialization, by making them more severe. Those whom depression struck
hardest as well as much of the general public and major Protestant churches, shored up their civic
consciousness about currency and banking reform, regulation of business in the public interest,
and labor relations.
Describe and Explain: Public opinion began to slowly swing toward governmental
activism and interventionism associated with modern, industrial societies, erecting in the process
the intellectual foundation for the reform impulse that was to be called Progressivism in twentieth
century America.
Significance: The depression was a reminder of business slumps, commonweal above
avarice, and principle above principal.
Cross Reference: The Panic of 1893, Social Gospel, Hull House
92. Regional Literature: Samuel Clemens et. al.
Definition: Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better
known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He wrote The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(1885), the
latter often called "the Great American Novel." Was the cornerstone of the Populist Party
Platform of 1892.
Describe and Explain: His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned praise from
critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.
Significance: Twain began his career writing light, humorous verse, but evolved into a
chronicler of the vanities, hypocrisies and murderous acts of mankind. At mid-career,
with Huckleberry Finn, he combined rich humor, sturdy narrative and social criticism. Twain was
a master at rendering colloquial speech and helped to create and popularize a distinctive
American literature built on American themes and language.
Cross Reference: Social Impact of the Depression of 1893
93. “Free Coinage of Silver at a ratio of 16:1!”
Definition: Free silver was a Central United States policy issue in the late 19th century.
Its advocates were in favor of an inflationary monetary policy using the "free coinage of silver" as
opposed to the less inflationary gold standard; its supporters were called "Silverites".
Describe and Explain: The Silverites promoted bimetallism, the use of
both silver and gold as currency at the ratio of 16 to 1 (16 ounces of silver would be worth
1 ounce of gold). Because the actual ratio was about 32 to 1 at the time, most economists warned
that the cheaper silver would drive the more expensive gold out of circulation.
Significance: The issue peaked from 1893 to 1896, when the economy was in a severe
depression—called the Panic of 1893—characterized by falling prices (deflation), high
unemployment in industrial areas, and severe distress for farmers.
Cross Reference: The Panic of 1893, Populist Party, William Jennings Bryan
94. William Jennings Bryan and the “Cross of Gold Speech”
Definition: The Cross of Gold speech was delivered by William Jennings Bryan, a
former United States Representative from Nebraska, at the Democratic National
Convention in Chicago on July 9, 1896. In the address, Bryan supported bimetallism or "free
silver" which he believed would bring the nation prosperity.
Describe and Explain: Bryan decried the gold standard, concluding the speech, "you
shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold." Bryan's address helped catapult him to
the Democratic Party's presidential nomination; it is considered one of the greatest political
speeches in American history.
Significance: Bryan had been a dark horse candidate with little support in the
convention. His speech, delivered at the close of the debate on the party platform, electrified the
convention and is generally credited with getting him the nomination for president. However, he
lost the general election to William McKinley and the United States formally adopted the gold
standard in 1900.
Cross Reference: “Free coinage of Silver at a Ratio of 16:1!”, Populist Party
95. William McKinley and the Gold Standard
Definition: William McKinley (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was
the 25th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1897, until his assassination in
September 1901, six months into his second term.
Describe and Explain: McKinley led the nation to victory in the Spanish–American
War, raised protective tariffs to promote American industry, and maintained the nation on
the gold standard in a rejection of inflationary proposals. He also made the decision to take the
Philippines as a colony.
Significance: The Gold Standard Act confirmed the United States' commitment to
the gold standard by assigning gold a specific dollar value (just over $20.67 per Troy ounce). This
took place after McKinley sent a team to Europe to try to make a silver agreement with France
and Great Britain.
Cross Reference: William Jennings Bryan and the “ Cross of Gold Speech”, Teddy
Roosevelt
96. The Election of 1896- The Rise of the 3rd Party
Definition: The United States presidential election of 1896 was the 28th
quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1896. It climaxed an intensely
heated contest in which Republican candidate William McKinley defeated Democrat William
Jennings Bryan in one of the most dramatic and complex races in American history.
Describe and Explain: For three years, the nation had been mired in a deep economic
depression, marked by low prices, low profits, high unemployment, and violent strikes. Economic
issues, especially silver or gold for the money supply, and tariffs, were central issues. Republican
campaign manager Mark Hanna pioneered many modern campaign techniques, facilitated by a
$3.5 million budget. He outspent Bryan by a factor of five.
Significance: The presidential election of 1896 demonstrated a sharp division in society
between urban and rural interests. It is seen to be the beginning of a new era in American politics,
or a 'realignment' election, highlighting the changes that were occurring in American society at
the turn of the 19th century. This was the last election in which a candidate tried to win the White
House with mostly agrarian votes.
Cross Reference: William Jennings Bryan, William McKinley