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party organization
A political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives—money, political jobs—and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership control over member activity. -
Nativism
the policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants. -
Homested act
its accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting adult heads of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a minimal filing fee and five years of continuous residence on that land. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was the nation's first law to ban immigration by race or nationality. The act, which was renewed and enforced until 1943, banned Chinese immigration and prohibited Chinese from becoming citizens. -
Muckraker
A muckraker was any of a group of American writers identified with pre-World War I reform and exposé writing. The muckrakers provided detailed, accurate journalistic accounts of the political and economic corruption and social hardships caused by the power of big business in a rapidly industrializing United States. -
Ida B. Wells
Ida Bell Well is an American journalist and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People -
Homestead Strike
The Homestead Strike was a violent labour dispute between the Carnegie Steel Company and many of its workers that occurred in 1892 in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The striking workers were all fired on July 2, and on July 6 private security guards hired by the company arrived. -
16th Amendment
The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1913 and allows Congress to levy a tax on income from any source without apportioning it among the states and without regard to the census. -
W.E.B. Du Bois
W.E.B. Du Bois was an American sociologist, historian, author, editor, and activist who was the most important black protest leader in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. He shared in the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). -
Klondike Gold Rush
In August, 1896, Skookum Jim and his family found gold near the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory. Their discovery sparked one of the most frantic gold rushes in history. Nearby miners immediately flocked to the Klondike to stake the rest of the good claims. Almost a year later, news ignited the outside world -
initiative
An initiative is a means through which any citizen or organization may gather a predetermined number of signatures to qualify a measure to be placed on a ballot, and to be voted upon in a future election -
Referendum
a general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision. -
Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair was a famous novelist and social crusader from California, who pioneered the kind of journalism known as
muckraking. His best-known novel was The Jungle which was an expose of the appalling and unsanitary conditions in the meat-packing industry. -
Recall
a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of office has ended. -
18th amendment
prohibited the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors and started a lot of criminal activities by shipping alcohol in. -
Jane Addams
Jane Addams was the second woman to receive the Peace Prize. She founded the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in 1919, and worked for many years to get the great powers to disarm and conclude peace agreements. -
19th amendment
19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. -
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony was a pioneer crusader for women's suffrage in the United States. She was president (1892–1900) of the National Woman Suffrage Association. Her work helped pave the way for the Nineteenth Amendment (1920) to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote.