1. The Great West and the Rise of the Debtor
U.S. History Goal 4 Notes
The Great West and the Rise of the Debtor

2. Morrill Land Grant Act Passed in 1862
Gave land in the West to the states to be sold in order to fund colleges that would teach the agricultural and mechanical arts
NC State University is a land-grant college that was funded by land from the Morrill Act – that is why its focus is agriculture and engineering

3. Homestead Act Passed in 1862
Gave 160 acres of land in the West to settlers who promised to farm it for at least 5 years
Why do you think the government would want to give away free land?

4. Populist Party
Formed out of the Grange (a social organization for farmers)
Ideas dominated the federal elections of 1892 and 1894
Proposed policies aimed to help the farmer and the “common man”
Which of our founding fathers would have approved of their mission?

5. Omaha Platform PLATFORM IN THE 1892 ELECTION Gradudated income tax
Government ownership of transportation services (like railroads)
Direct Election of Senators
8 hour workday
Initiative: voters can initiate new ideas for laws
Referendum: voters can vote for or against new laws
And bimetallism
Which of these became new laws? When?

6. Populist plans for Monetary Policy
Gold Standard: all currency is backed by gold  you could literally turn in a dollar bill for its equivalent value in gold
Free silver/bimetallic standard: unlimited minting of silver coins; all currency backed by gold and silver  Why would the Populists want this?
Because it would cause crop prices to increase…i.e. INFLATION!

7. Munn v. Illinois, 1877 In Wabash v. Illinois, 1886 
Allowed states to regulate business (like railroads) within their borders
In Wabash v. Illinois, 1886 
Railroads argued that since they crossed state lines (i.e. interstate commerce) states could not regulate them… this overturned Munn v. Illinois

8. Interstate Commerce Act
Passed in 1887 to fix the problem caused by the Wabash case
Regulated railroad prices to keep them from charging high rates
Outlawed rebates  refunds to favored customers
Established the Interstate Commerce Commission to enforce the laws
Supported the idea that the federal government could and would regulate interstate commerce

9. Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce
Vowed to his father that he would never surrender his tribe’s land in Washington state
Though he fought the federal government, the Nez Perce were forced to Oklahoma’s Indian Territory
Chief Joseph is famous for saying, “Hear me chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.”

10. Government Indian Policy
Dawes Act: divided up reservation land into individual family plots
Century of Dishonor by Helen Hunt Jackson: called attention to the ill treatment of Native Americans by the American government

11. Buffalo Soldiers
African Americans serving in the U.S. military in the West
Term applied to all of the first peacetime all-black regiments in the Army

12. Transcontinental Railroad
Authorized by the Pacific Railway Act in 1862
Built by the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroad Companies
Completed at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869

13. Significance of the Transcontinental Railroad
Connected the east coast to the west coast
United the nation during and after the Civil War
Served as a pull factor to the West for workers who built the railroad  Irish, Chinese, and Civil War veterans.
Mormons also worked on the railroad to encourage its path through Utah
Helped to populate the West more quickly

14. End of the Frontier 1890 Census declared the West populated
When Joseph Glidden perfected barbed wire, the free range was closed
Bonanza farming took the place of many small farms: operations controlled by large businesses, managed by professionals, and raising massive quantities of single cash crops

15. William Jennings Bryan
Prominent Democrat and silverite who also received the Populist party’s presidential nomination in 1896
Gave the “Cross of Gold” speech at the 1896 Democratic convention  “You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”

16. Monetary Policy
Gold standard: all currency backed by gold; advocated for by the “gold bugs”
Bimetallic standard: all currency backed by gold and silver  required the unlimited minting of silver coins (aka free silver); would cause inflation; advocated for by silverites
Greenbacks Party: formed to advocate for paper money not backed by any metal  believed it would eliminate bank control of the American economy

17. Corrupt Business Practices
Horizontal integration/consolidation: companies buy up competitors in the marketplace
Vertical integration/consolidation: companies buy up other companies in their supply chain
Interlocking directorates: the president of one company serves on the board of one or more other companies