Reactions Segment
By Jamie Biondi,
Townsend Smith, Nick
Philip, and Bobby Benjamin
Granger Movement
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Founded in 1867 by Oliver H. Kelley in
Washington, D.C.
Gave farmers a political voice
Goals to improve the unfair life that
farmers had
Peaked in 1875 with over 850,000
members
Railroad Practices
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Small companies were
being overcharged while big
businesses like Standard Oil
got rebates
Grange thought that railroad
practices like pools and
rebates were unfair
Grange sought to get these
practices made illegal in
order to avoid being cheated
by big business owners.
Railroads=Public Utility
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Granger movement
and especially Munn
V. Illinois helped to
make public
regulation for private
businesses that were
devoted to public use
Bloc Voting
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Voting used by the Grange to allow
Granger members to get into state
legislature
Once on the inside, the Grange
members would support railroad reforms
Granger State Laws
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Laws proposed by
the Grange
Code by which
railroads had to
abide
Aim was to make
railroad practices
fairer for farmers
Munn v. Illinois (1877)
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Upheld right of states to regulate private
property when it is in the interest of the public
Firm of Ira Munn and George Scott’s
successors used illegal rates for their
warehouses then they appealed to the
Supreme Court when Illinois supreme court
upheld the law
Their complaint was that the Warehouse Act
was in violation of the 14th amendment
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state
of Illinois
Wabash Case (1886)
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St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company v. Illinois
The court declared invalid an Illinois law
prohibiting long- and short-haul clauses in
transportation contracts as an infringement on
the exclusive powers of Congress
The result of the case was denial of state
power to regulate interstate rates for railroads
The decision led to creation of the Interstate
Commerce Commission.
Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
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Created the Interstate Commerce Commission,
the first true federal regulatory agency.
Designed to address the issues of railroad
abuse and discrimination
Required:
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Shipping rates had to be "reasonable and just"
Rates had to be published
Secret rebates were outlawed
Price discrimination against small markets was made
illegal.
Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
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1st legislation enacted by the
United States Congress to
curb concentrations of
power that interfere with
trade and reduce economic
competition.
Named for U.S. senator
John Sherman
One of main provisions
outlaws all combinations
that restrain trade between
states or with foreign
nations.
Collective Bargaining
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An employer or employers agree to discuss the conditions of
work by bargaining with representatives of the employees,
usually a labor union.
Purpose either a discussion of the terms and conditions of
employment or a consideration of the collective relations
between both sides.
The merits of collective bargaining have been argued by
both opponents and proponents of the process
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, known as the
Wagner Act, established the right to collective bargaining in
the United States.
Knights of Labor
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the first major labor
organization in the US
Looking to combine
various unions in one
organization
Fell into decline after
one of their members
was executed for killing
a policeman in the
Haymarket Riot in 1886.
American Federation of Labor
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Sought to organize craft
unions in a federation in
which the individual
unions maintained some
autonomy
Structure differed from
that of the Knights of
Labor, who wanted to
absorb individual unions
Founding leader was
Samuel Gompers.
International Ladies' Garment
Workers Union
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In its early years many members were
sympathetic to various radical
movements.
Grew rapidly in its first years.
(1909-1911) launched two spectacular
and successful mass strikes in the
garment district of New York City. As a
result of the strikes, the dress
manufacturers agreed to deal with the
ILGWU and its affiliates.
Union benefited by the labor policies
of President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, and membership rose to
300,000 in 1942.
In 1995 the 125,000-member ILGWU
merged with the 175,000-member
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile
Workers’ Union to form the Union of
Needletrades, Industrial and Textile
Employees (UNITE).
Thomas Nast
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Caricature artist
Created Democratic Donkey,
Republican Elephant, and
the “Tammany Tiger"
(http://www.boondocksnet.co
m/cartoons/cartoons_nast03
.html)
Known as the "presidential
maker“ after he helped
Grover Cleveland become
the first Democrat president
since 1856.
Commended for life-like
drawings and method of
cross-hatch shading.
Jane Addams (Hull House)
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Pacifist and Reformist
who moved to Chicago
to help the poor
Purchased and repaired
Hull House
Hull house provided
various educational and
cultural activities for poor
immigrants.
For her work, neighbors
called her “Saint Jane”
Resources
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http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0851226.html
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/gildedage/terms.html
http://media20.fastclick.net/w/safepop.cgi?mid=23159&sid=9972&id=1
01300&len=0&c=8&nfcp=1
http://occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/nash5e_awl/ch
apter19/medialib/primarysources1_20_2.html
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~engi202/sherman.html
http://www.marketingpower.com/live/mg-dictionary-view2863.php
http://www.consortiuminfo.org/antitrust/sherman.shtml
http://www.boondocksnet.com/cartoons/cartoons_nast03.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAnast.htmd
http://www.bartleby.com/65/co/collecti-b.html
http://www.svti-unite.com/history.htm
American Odyssey: The United States in the 20th Century