All Flashcards
What is the spoils system?
The practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs.
Define 'Waving the Bloody Shirt'.
A Republican tactic of invoking Civil War memories to gain support.
What is a political machine?
A political organization that controls votes and patronage in a city or district.
What is patronage?
The power to control appointments to office or the right to privileges.
Define 'laissez-faire' economics.
An economic system with minimal government intervention.
What is civil service?
A system of hiring and promoting government employees based on merit.
What is the gold standard?
A monetary system where a country's currency is directly convertible to gold.
Define 'trust' in the context of the Gilded Age.
A large business combination that seeks to monopolize a market.
What is a protective tariff?
A tax on imported goods designed to protect domestic industries.
Define 'initiative' and 'referendum'.
Initiative: voters propose laws; Referendum: voters approve laws.
When was the Pendleton Civil Service Act?
- It established a merit-based system for government jobs.
What was the Bland-Allison Act?
An 1878 act requiring the government to purchase and coin silver.
What was the Sherman Antitrust Act?
1890 act to limit monopolies, but initially ineffective.
What was the McKinley Tariff Act?
1890 act that raised tariff duties to unprecedented levels.
What was the Sherman Silver Purchase Act?
1890 act increasing silver purchases but failing to satisfy silver supporters.
What was the Panic of 1893?
A severe economic depression triggered by a stock market crash.
What was Coxey's Army?
A protest march in 1894 demanding government jobs for the unemployed.
What was the Dawes Act?
An 1887 act intended to assimilate Native Americans by dividing tribal lands.
What was the Interstate Commerce Act?
An 1887 act that created the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroads.
What was the Omaha Platform?
The 1892 platform of the Populist Party outlining their political and economic reforms.
Compare Stalwarts and Halfbreeds.
Both were Republican factions vying for patronage; Stalwarts defended the spoils system, Halfbreeds favored some reforms.
Compare the Bland-Allison Act and Sherman Silver Purchase Act.
Both dealt with silver coinage; the Sherman Act was a later, larger attempt to address the silver issue.
Compare the Populist and Greenback parties.
Both supported inflationary monetary policy; Populists had a broader platform of reforms.
Compare Grover Cleveland's first and second presidencies.
First term focused on civil service reform; second term was dominated by the Panic of 1893.
Compare the Republican and Democratic parties during the Gilded Age.
Republicans: business, middle class, Protestants; Democrats: Solid South, immigrants, urban political machines.
Compare the effects of the McKinley Tariff and previous tariffs.
McKinley Tariff raised duties to unprecedented levels, increasing protectionism.
Compare the goals of the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Interstate Commerce Act.
Sherman Antitrust Act aimed to regulate monopolies; Interstate Commerce Act aimed to regulate railroads.
Compare the conditions that led to the Panic of 1873 and the Panic of 1893.
Panic of 1873: railroad speculation; Panic of 1893: stock market crash and run on gold.
Compare the views of farmers and industrialists on monetary policy.
Farmers favored silver coinage for inflation; industrialists favored the gold standard for stability.
Compare the effectiveness of the Pendleton Act in the short term and the long term.
Short term: affected few jobs; long term: significantly reduced corruption and expanded civil service.