Alfred Thayer Mahan naval officer and specialist on naval history who stressed the importance of sea power in international politics and diplomacy

American Protective Association anti-Catholic organization founded in Iowa in 1887 and active during the next decade

anarchists radicals who opposed all government, arguing that governments were created by the wealthy to protect their property

antimonopolism opposition to great concentrations of economic power such as trusts and giant corporations, as well as to actual monopolies

armistice agreement to halt fighting, at least temporarily

Atlanta Compromise Booker T. Washington’s 1895 speech in which he urged African Americans to temporarily accept segregation and disfranchisement and to work for economic advancement as a way to recover their civil rights






balance of power in international politics, the notion that nations may restrict one another’s actions because of the relative quality of their naval or military forces, either individually or through alliance systems

Booker T. Washington former slave who became an educator and founded Tuskegee Institute, a leading black education institution; he urged southern African Americans to accept disenfranchisement and segregation for the time being

boxcar enclosed railroad car with sliding side doors, used to transport freight

Boxer Rebellion 1900 uprising in china directed against foreign powers who were attempting to dominate China; it was suppressed by an international army that included American participation






Civil Rights cases series of 1883 Supreme Court cases in which the Court ruled that private companies could legally discriminate against individuals based on race

commodity market financial market in which brokers buy and sell agricultural products in large quantities, thus determining the prices paid to farmers for their harvests

Coxey’s Army unemployed workers led by Jacob S. Coxey who marched to Washington to demand relief measures from Congress following the depression of 1893






Emiliano Aguinaldo leader of unsuccessful struggles for Philippine independence, first again Spain and then against the US

Enrique Dupuy de Lôme Spanish minister to the US whose private letter criticizing President McKinley was stolen and printed in the New York Journal, increasing anti-Spanish sentiment

Eugene V. Debs American Railway Union leader who was jailed for spearheading the Pullman strike; he later became a leading socialist and ran for president






Farmers’ Alliances agricultural organizations of the 1880s and 1890s that carried forward agrarian causes after the decline of the Grange

filibuster delaying tactic, such as a long speech by a bill’s opponents to delay legislative action; applies to extended speeches in the US Senate, which has no time limit on speeches and where a minority may therefore try to “talk a bill to death” by holding up all other business

financial panic widespread anxiety about financial and commercial matters, prompting hasty measures to prevent losses, which often lead to financial disaster; for example, in a panic, investors may sell large amounts of stock to cut their own losses, only to drive prices much lower

Foraker Act 1900 law that established civilian government in Puerto Rico; it provided for an elected legislature and a governor appointed by the US president






gold reserves stockpile of gold with which the federal government backed up the currency

gold standard a monetary system based on gold; legal contracts typically called for the payment of all debts in gold, and paper money could be redeemed in gold at a bank

Gold Standard Act 1900 law that made gold the monetary standard for all currency issued in the US

graduated income tax proportional tax levied on income so that individuals with the least income pay taxes at the lowest rate

grain elevator storehouses for grain located near railroad tracks; such structures were equipment with mechanical lifting devices (elevators) that permitted the grain to be loaded into rail cars

grandfather clause provision in Louisiana law that permitted a person to vote if his father or grandfather had been entitled to vote in 1867; designed to permit white men to vote who might otherwise be disfranchised by laws targeting blacks. Often applied to any law that permits some people to evade current legal provisions based on past practice

guerrilla warfare an irregular form of war carried on by small bodies of men acting independently






House Ways and Means Committee one of the most significant standing committees of the House of Representatives, responsible for initiating all taxation measures

Hull House settlement house founded by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in 1889 in Chicago






imperialism the practice by which a nation acquires and holds colonies and other possessions, denies them self-government, and usually exploits them economically

indemnity payment for damage, loss, or injury

industrial union union that organizes all workers in an industry, whether skilled or unskilled, and regardless of occupation

initiative procedure allowing voters to petition to have a law placed on the ballot for consideration by the general electorate

injunction court order requiring an individual or a group to do something or to refrain from doing something

Insular cases 1901 Supreme Court cases concerning Puerto Rico; ruled that people in new island territories did not automatically receive the constitutional rights of US citizens

insurgents rebels or revolutionaries






Joseph Pulitzer New York World newspaper publisher who printed sensational stories about Cuba that precipitated the Spanish-American War






legation diplomatic mission in a foreign country






McKinley Tariff 1890 tariff that sought not only to protect established industries but by prohibitory duties to stimulate the creation of new industries; it soon became extremely unpopular

mediation attempt to bring about the peaceful settlement of a dispute through the intervention of a neutral party






nativism view that old-stock American values and social patterns were superior to those of immigrants

normal school trains teachers






Open Door notes 1899-1900 exchange of diplomatic letters by which Secretary of State John Hay announced American support for Chinese autonomy and opposed efforts by other powers to carve China into exclusive spheres of influence






Philippine Islands Pacific islands southeast of China that came under US control in 1898 after the Spanish-American War; they became an independent nation after WWII

Platt Amendment amendment to the Army Appropriations Act o 1901; set terms for the withdrawal of the US Army from Cuba

Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 Supreme Court decision that upheld a Louisiana law requiring the segregation of railroad facilities on the grounds that “separate but equal” facilities were constitutional under the 14th Amendment

poll tax annual tax imposed on each citizen; used in some southern states as a way to disfranchise black voters

Populists People’s Party; held their first presidential nominating convention in 1892; called for federal action to reduce the power of big business and to assist farmers and workers

protectorate a country partially controlled by a stronger power and dependent on that power for protection from foreign threats

Pullman car railroad passenger car with private compartments and sleeping berths






Queen Lili’uokalani last reigning queen of Hawai’i, whose desire to restore land to the Hawaiian people and perpetuate the monarchy prompted haole planters to remove her from power in 1893






reconcentration Spanish policy in Cuba in 1896 that ordered the civilian population into fortified camps so as to isolate and annihilate the Cuban revolutionaries who remained outside the camps

referendum procedure whereby a bill or constitutional amendment is submitted by the voters for their approval after having been passed by a legislative body

repudiate to reject as invalid or unauthorized

Rough Riders First Volunteer Cavalry, a brigade recruited for action in the Spanish-American War by Theodore Roosevelt, who served first as its lieutenant colonel, then its colonel






settlement house community center operated by resident social reformers in a slum area in order to help poor people in their own neighborhoods

Sherman Anti-Trust Act 1890 law authorizing the federal government to prosecute any “combination in restraint of trade”; because of adverse court rulings, at first it was ineffective as a weapon against monopolies

Sherman Silver Purchase Act 1890 law requiring the federal government to increase its purchases of silver to be coined into silver dollars

Social Gospel late-19th-century reform movement led by Protestant clergy who drew attention to urban problems and advocated social justice for the poor

sphere of influence a territorial area where foreign nation exerts significant authority






Teller Amendment 1898 resolution by the US Senate by which the US promised not to annex Cuba

tenement multifamily apartment building, often unsafe, unsanitary, and overcrowded

Theodore Roosevelt American politician and writer who advocated war with Spain in 1898; McKinley’s vice president in 1900, he became president in 1901 upon McKinley’s assassination

Treaty of Paris 1898 treaty ending the Spanish-American War; Spain granted independence to Cuba, ceded Puerto Rico and Guam, and sold the Philippines to the US for $20 million






US marshal federal law-enforcement official

USS Maine American warship that exploded in Havana harbor in 1898, inspiring the motto “Remember the Maine!” which spurred the Spanish-American War






William Howard Taft 1901-1904 governor of the Philippines; elected president of the US in 1908 and became chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1921

William Jennings Bryan Nebraska congressman who advocated free coinage of silver, opposed imperialism, and ran for president unsuccessfully three times on the Democratic ticket

William Randolph Hearst New York Journal newspaper publisher who sensationalized and distorted stories and actively promoted war with Spain






yellow journalism the use of sensational exposés, embellished reporting, and attention-grabbing headlines to sell newspapers