Taming of the West

1. Taming of the West • Manifest Destiny (1812-1860)-belief that the U.S. was destined to expand from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean • Westward expansion led to conflicts with Native Americans including The Sioux War 1876-1881 on the Great Plains • Resistance by Native Americans centered around their refusal to be contained within reservations, give up their cultural beliefs, and assimilate into American society

3. After the victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876-Custer’s Last Stand), the united tribes of the Lakota Nation were unable to hold themselves together as a single entity • In retaliation, the US Army hunted down key leaders like Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, and out of desperation, one by one, Native Americans surrendered themselves in federal Indian agencies • Agencies were corrupt and underfunded; N.A. found themselves in poor living conditions • Dawes Act (1887)-redistributed reservation territory by allotting parcels of land to individual members; further destabilizing tribal unity

5. The Progressive Era (1890-1920) Section 1: Origins of Progressivism

6. Roots of Reform • Outgrowth of earlier reform groups like the Populists, who were farmers based out of the west and south • Evolution of movements like temperance, nativism, purity crusades, electoral reform, charity reform, and the social gospel

7. Progressives, The New Reformers • Reacting to the effects brought on by industrialization, urbanization, and immigration • 4 categories of change: social, moral, political, and economic • Basic beliefs: Government should be more accountable, be able to curb wealthy interests, expand to improve lives of citizens, and be more efficient & less corrupt

8. Muckrakers • Journalist who played a key role in alerting the public to wrongdoing in politics & business • Dubbed by Pres. Teddy Roosevelt in 1906 • Muckrake-pitchfork used to clean the manure out of stables • Leading muckrakers: Thomas Nast, Upton Sinclair, and Ida Tarbell

9. Thomas Nast: Political cartoonist; much of his work was published in Harper’s Weekly Magazine; created D-donkey, R-elephant • Played an active role in disclosing corruption among New York City’s public officials • Well known for his cartoons attacking the infamous Boss Tweed and his control of New York City politics through the Tammany Hall Democratic Party political machine • Resulted in opposition candidates coming to power who brought charges against Tweed • 1873, Tweed convicted of stealing b/w 40 and 200 million dollars of taxpayer money

11. Upton Sinclair: wrote The Jungle, a novel concerning the horrors faced by immigrants in Chicago’s meat packing industry • Led to the development of two 1906 laws: • Meat Inspection Act • required ongoing government inspection of all livestock (alive/dead) and processing plants • allowed the government to condemn meat as unfit for human consumption • Pure Food and Drug Act • forbade the manufacture, sale, or the foreign and interstate commerce of food and patient medicine containing harmful ingredients

12. A Disgusting Job But It Must Be Done

13. Ida Tarbell: wrote The History of Standard Oil Company (1904), using interviews with Henry Rogers to reveal the abuses of the Standard Oil Trust under John D. Rockfeller • 1909, Dept. of Justice sued Standard Oil under Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890), and 1911,US Supreme Court ordered its dissolution into 34 separate companies • Pres. Teddy Roosevelt supported 42 anti-trust suits, gaining the nickname “trustbuster” • Under Pres. Wilson, stronger legislation was passed: Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914) defined which business practices were unlawful under Sherman Anti-Trust

17. Constitutional Amendments • 16th Amendment (1913)-authorized Congress to levy federal income taxes • 17th Amendment (1913)-required the direct election of senators (originally nominated by state senators) • 18th Amendment (1919)-banned the production, sale, or import of alcoholic beverages (Prohibition-repealed 1933 under 21st) • 19th Amendment (1920)-granted women 21 or older the right to vote (Women’s Suffrage)

18. Carrie Chapman Catt • Helped secure the passage of the 19th Amendment • Headed the National American Woman’s Suffrage Association • Worked with Susan B. Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton during the Suffrage Movement

19. Political Reforms • Voters gain power over elections & lawmaking: • Australian Ballot-voters mark secret ballots behind curtains; replaced colored ballots for various political parties • Direct Primary-election in which citizens vote to select nominees for upcoming elections • Initiative-bill originated by the people rather than a lawmaker • Referendum-citizens approve or reject a law passed by the legislature • Recall-permits voters to remove public officials from office prior to the next election

20. Federal Trade Commission (1914)- enacted under President Wilson; the government was authorized to investigate corporations and issue “cease and desist orders” to those engaged in unfair and fraudulent practices Federal Reserve Act (1913)-enacted under President Wilson; created a three level banking system: Federal Reserve Board, Federal Reserve banks (the “banker’s bank”), and private banks. **Divided into 12 districts and governed by the Board of Governors appointed by the President **Responsible for regulating the money supply in the U.S. based upon economic need