Political Developments: Political Corruption of the Gilded Age and reactions against Laissez-Faire Politics

Question 1

Define Pork-barrel politics

Answer 1

The way politicians passed laws as a way to give out funds to reward people who had supported their campaign

Question 2

Which political machine did the Tweed Ring have?

Answer 2

Tammany Hall

Question 3

What did the Tammany Hall political machine do to help people?

Answer 3

Helped get immigrants settled in America by finding them a job and somewhere to live

Question 4

What did Tweed tell immigrants to do once he had helped them?

Answer 4

He encouraged them to vote for him in New York elections

Question 5

What act was heavily supported for Congress to pass in 1890?

Answer 5

Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890

Question 6

What did the Sherman Antitrust Act do?

Answer 6

Made it so that monopolies could no longer be formed

Question 7

What was the significance of introducing the Sherman Antitrust Act?

Answer 7

The large force causing a lot of the corruption would now no longer be able to exist

Question 8

Which group of workers especially saw Cartels and Trusts as an enemy?

Answer 8

Farmers

Question 9

Name a large Farmer Trade Union which supported Farmers’ Rights

Answer 9

The Granger Movement

Question 10

When was the Granger Movement founded?

Answer 10

1867

Question 11

What was the scale of the Granger Movement by 1890?

Answer 11

They had 2.5 million members

Question 12

What is the overall subject of workers coming together for the same interests in their work also known as?

Answer 12

Trade Unions

Question 13

What was the main Industrial Trade Union for the 1870s and 1880s?

Answer 13

The Knights of Labor

Question 14

What did all of the Trade Unions want by the time of the Gilded Age?

Answer 14

They wanted legislation passed to reduce corruption

Question 15

Give an example of a Court ruling against the Trade Unions and the year it happened in the Gilded Age

Answer 15

A Supreme Court ruled a case to the benefit of monopoly owners in 1886

Question 16

What year did the Illinois Supreme Court rule a case in favour of Trade Unions?

Answer 16

1877

Question 17

What was the case with Trade Unions before the Civil War?

Answer 17

They were relatively unorganised

Question 18

What was the first properly established Trade Union and when was it founded?

Answer 18

National Labour Union, formed in 1866

Question 19

How many union delegates represented how many workers when the National Labour Union was around?

Answer 19

77 delegates represented 60,000 workers

Question 20

What happened to the National Labour Union?

Answer 20

Due to the 1873 Economic Panic, many workers lost their jobs so the Trade Union fell apart

Question 21

When did the National Labour Union membership peak and how many members did they have?

Answer 21

They peaked in 1872 with 300,000 members

Question 22

How many members did the National Labour Union have by 1877?

Answer 22

50,000

Question 23

Who was Terrence Powderly?

Answer 23

The leader of the Knights of Labor

Question 24

What did Powderly campaign for?

Answer 24

8 hour days for workers

Question 25

When were the Knights of Labor founded?

Answer 25

1869

Question 26

How many members did the Knights of Labor have in 1886?

Answer 26

750,000 members

Question 27

What happened in May 1886?

Answer 27

Haymarket Riot

Question 28

What was the Haymarket Riot initially like?

Answer 28

It was a peaceful demonstration

Question 29

What made the Haymarket Riot in to a riot?

Answer 29

Someone threw a stick of dynamite at a police officer

Question 30

How many ended up being killed in the Haymarket Riot?

Answer 30

11 people

Question 31

What was the short term impact of the Haymarket Riot disaster for the Knights of Labor?

Answer 31

They got most of the blame for being the largest trade union present at the riot

Question 32

What was the Long term impact of the Haymarket Riot on the Knights of Labor?

Answer 32

Within a decade there were barely any of them left

Question 33

What caused the 1877 Railroad strike?

Answer 33

Baltimore and Ohio announced a fourth paycut to their workers wages

Question 34

Why were there so many paycuts for workers in 1877?

Answer 34

Companies were trying to recover after the 1877 Financial Crisis

Question 35

Who dealt with the strikes of 1877?

Answer 35

Military intervention

Question 36

How many troops were killed when trying to prevent the 1877 Railroad Strike?

Answer 36

25

Question 37

How did the 1877 Railroad strike end? What had the workers caused?

Answer 37

The troops brought an end to it but the workers in Pittsburgh alone had caused $10 million worth in damage

Question 38

What was the impact on society of the 1877 Railroad Strike?

Answer 38

It made them worry if there was going to be another form of uprising and a war when the Civil War had only ended 12 years ago.