Period 6 APUSH IDs – Flashcards

involved the Union Pacific Railroad and the Credit Mobilier of America Construction Company in the building of the eastern portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. It was a scandal where money was stolen from the federal government. It was designed to set up a dummy company to siphon off profits of the transcontinental railroad construction. The fears of it being discovered led to the bribing of congressmen, senators, and cabinet officers.

were a political faction of the United States Republican Party in the late 19th century. The Half-Breeds were a moderate-wing group, and were the opponents of the Stalwarts, the other main faction of the Republican Party. The main issue that divided the Stalwarts and the Half-Breeds was political patronage. Led by Maine senator James G. Blaine, were in favor of civil service reform and a merit system. The Half-Breeds put through Congress the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, and Arthur signed the bill into law on January 16, 1883. The act put an end to the spoils system placing a significant number of federal employees under the merit system and putting the government on the road to true reform.

The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of United States is a federal law established in 1883 that decided that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit instead of political affiliation. The act provided selection of government employees by competitive exams, rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation. It also made it illegal to fire or demote government officials for political reasons and prohibited soliciting campaign donations on Federal government property. It got rid of the spoils system and replaced it with the merit system. The Act also allowed for the president, by executive order to decide which positions could be subject to the act and which would not.

The Mint Act was deemed outdated so, a general revision of the laws relating to the Mint of the United States was made. In abolishing the right of holders of silver bullion to have their metal struck into legal tender dollar coins, it ended bimetallism in the United States, placing the nation firmly on the gold standard.

was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices. The Act required that railroad rates be "reasonable and just," but did not empower the government to fix specific rates. It also required that railroads publicize shipping rates and prohibited short haul or long haul fare discrimination, a form of price discrimination against smaller markets, particularly farmers. The Act created a federal regulatory agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which it charged with monitoring railroads to ensure that they complied with the new regulations. The Act was the first federal law to regulate private industry in the United States. It was later amended to regulate other modes of transportation and commerce.

Wabash Case, popular name for Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company v. Illinois. The decision narrowed earlier ones (see Munn v. Illinois) favorable to state regulation of those phases of interstate commerce upon which Congress itself had not acted. 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 granted by the commerce clause of the Constitution. The result of the case was denial of state power to regulate interstate rates for railroads, and the decision led to creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission. The Court held that Illinois had violated the Commerce Clause by placing a direct burden on interstate commerce. Under the Commerce Clause only Congress had the power to do so and states could only place indirect burdens on commerce.

Garfield's accomplishments as president included a resurgence of presidential authority against senatorial courtesy in executive appointments, energizing American naval power, and purging corruption in the Post Office, all during his extremely short time in office. Garfield made notable diplomatic and judiciary appointments, including a U.S. Supreme Court justice. Garfield advocated agricultural technology, an educated electorate, and civil rights for African-Americans. He also proposed substantial civil service reform. He was assassinated and his term only lasted 200 days.

was one of the two Democrats (alongside Woodrow Wilson) elected to the presidency in the era of Republican political domination dating from 1861 to 1933. He is the only President in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office. Cleveland was the leader of the pro-business Bourbon Democrats who opposed high tariffs, Free Silver, inflation, imperialism, and subsidies to business, farmers, or veterans. His crusade for political reform and fiscal conservatism made him an icon for American conservatives of the era. He relentlessly fought political corruption, patronage and bossism. As his second term began, disaster hit the nation when the Panic of 1893 produced a severe national depression, which Cleveland was unable to reverse. It ruined his Democratic Party. The Progressive Era was launched. His death led to civil service reform.

was convicted of the assassination of James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States. A frustrated office-seeker, Guiteau shot Garfield in Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1881; Garfield died two months later, on September 19. After being convicted, Guiteau was sentenced to death and hanged for the crime. The assassination of Garfield led to civil service reform. It brought attention to the reformation of the spoils system. The civil service or merit system was created with the Civil Service or Pendleton Act.

The original company was created under an act of Congress entitled Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. The act was approved by President Abraham Lincoln, and it provided for the construction of railroads from the Missouri River to the Pacific as a war measure for the preservation of the Union. It was constructed westward from Council Bluffs, Iowa to meet the Central Pacific Railroad line, which was constructed eastwardly from San Francisco Bay. The line was constructed primarily by Irish labor who had learned their craft during the recent Civil War. The two lines were joined together at Promontory Summit, Utah, hence creating the first transcontinental railroad in North America. The Credit Mobilier scandal was exposed in 1872, and it involved bribing congressmen and stock speculations.

was a secret order founded in 1867 to advance the social needs and combat the economic backwardness of farm life. It was founded by Oliver H. Kelley. In addition to farming practices, it was to provide insurance and benevolent aid to members. He promoted the equal status of women and the principle of equal pay for equal work. They promoted the economic and political well-being of the community and agriculture. The Grange was founded after the Civil War in 1867. The main goal of the Grange was to regulate rising fare prices of railroad and grain elevator companies after the American Civil War. The laws upset major railroad companies.

is an economic system in which transactions between private parties are free from government interference such as regulations, privileges, tariffs, and subsidies. In the 19th century, this philosophy became mainstream in the U.S. It wasn't long after this that the 'free market' approach started to display problems, such as large gaps in distribution of wealth, poor treatment of workers, and lack of safety in the workplace. By the mid-19th century, governments in most advanced countries became more involved in protecting and representing the safety and concerns of workers and the general population. This was the beginning of many of the factory laws and consumer protection laws that are being established and modified today.

was an act of United States Congress requiring the U.S. Treasury to buy a certain amount of silver and put it into circulation as silver dollars. Though the bill was vetoed by President Rutherford B. Hayes, the Congress overrode Hayes' veto on February 23, 1878 to enact the law. Western miners and debtors regarded the Bland-Allison Act as an insufficient measure to enforce unlimited coinage of silver, but opponents repealed the act and advocated for the gold standard. The effect of the Bland-Allison act was also blunted by the minimal purchase of silver required by the Hayes administration. Although the act was a near turning point for bimetallism, gold continued to be favored over the bimetallism standard.

was a law in the United States which restored the nation to the gold standard through the redemption of previously unbacked United States Notes and reversed inflationary government policies promoted directly after the American Civil War. The decision further contracted the nation's money supply and was seen by critics as an exacerbating factor of the so-called "Long Depression" which struck in 1873. Seeking to raise revenue for the American Civil War effort without exhausting its reserves of gold and silver, the United States federal government suspended specie payments, or the payments made in gold and silver in redemption of currency notes. Early in 1862, the United States issued legal-tender notes, called greenbacks. However, when people found greenbacks to be on par with gold, they lost their desire for redemption.

The "Stalwarts" were a faction of the United States Republican Party that existed briefly following the Reconstruction Era. Led by U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling. The group of Republican politicians known as the Stalwarts are mostly identifiable through their support of the presidency and reelection of Ulysses S. Grant. They were pitted against the "Half-Breeds" (moderates) for control of the Republican Party. They opposed Hayes' civil service reform.