Kalie:Historic trends of immigration to the USA 1860-1920 (where are people coming from?)In the late 1800s, people in many parts of the world decided to leave their homes and immigrate to the United States. Fleeing crop failure, land and job shortages, rising taxes, and famine, many came to the U. S.

because it was perceived as the land of economic opportunity.Immigration to the U.S. in the Late 1800s. Between 1870 and 1900, the largest number of immigrants continued to come from northern and western Europe including Great Britain, Ireland, and Scandinavia. But “new” immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were becoming one of the most important forces in American life.Between around 1880 and 1924, more than four million Italians immigrated to the United States, half of them between 1900 and 1910 alone—the majority fleeing grinding rural poverty in Southern Italy and Sicily.

Today, Americans of Italian ancestry are the nation’s fifth-largest ethnic group.Russians and ItaliansHow Americans reacted to those changing trends?Most americans at this time were very hostile about the people fleeing  their country to come to the US. They didn’t like poor, uneducated people coming into their country. Russians and Italians were the two major groups that migrated to the us in this time frame. They were able to drag down american economy because of their lack of skill.What are political machines and how did they work?Def : A political machine is a political group in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses (usually campaign workers), who receive rewards for their efforts.

During gilded age : The most infamous example of machine politics was Tammany Hall, headquarters of the Democratic Party in New York City. Headed by William Marcy Tweed, the Tammany Hall political machine of the late 1860s and early 1870s used graft, bribery, and rigged elections to bilk the city of over $200 million.Boss Tweed, the last of the Tammany Hall politicians was an exception. Machines would grant jobs and government building contracts to those that did them favors. Sometimes the favor was voting and party work in getting others to vote.Sebastian:What is laissez-faire? What does it mean to have a laissez-faire government?Laissez-faire is an economic system in which transactions between private parties are free from government intervention such as regulation, privileges, tariffs, and subsidies. If you have a laissez-faire government then it means that they cannot regulate or do anything with your business between other private companies.

Understand the dual role of Rockefeller/Carnegie/etc. As robber barons and philanthropistsRockefeller and Carnegie were both robber barons and philanthropists in that they both donated large amounts of money to the government and to charity and they were robber barons because they acquired much of their wealth through immoral practices. What is a trustbuster? Who were the trustbuster presidents?A trustbuster is a person or agency employed to enforce antitrust legislation. Theodore Roosevelt was the original trustbuster What was the main aim of the women’s movement?The feminist movement (also known as the Women’s liberation movement, the women’s movement, or simply feminism) refers to a series of political campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women’s suffrage, sexual harassment, and sexual violenceDebora:What was Plessy v. Ferguson and why was it important? This case, issued in 1896, was regarding racial segregation in terms of segregation. The case ruled on the notion, “separate but equal”, meant that the public facilities were separate, but equally maintained. At the time, racial discrimination remained although slavery was abolished. Homer Plessy, who was partly white and African American, sat in the white section of a railroad car in 1892.

He wanted to test the laws regarding impediments for equal opportunities. However, Judge John Howard Ferguson was against Plessy. Plessy’s lawyer stated that the Separate Car Act of Louisiana infringed the 13th and 14th amendments; however, the Supreme Court disagreed, saying that they races were equal in law, but not in society. RhiSocial Darwinism It is the theory that individuals and groups are part of Darwin’s theory regarding natural selection. It is the belief that the working classes were weak while the upper classes were more powerful. Social Darwinists believed in “survival of the fittest” which was a struggle for existence in society.

Additionally, the followed the ideal that this process of natural selection would result in the best competitors surviving. This led to them believing that the people should help the poor as they should remain this struggle for existence as wealth defined success at the time. What were goals of the Progressives and Reformers?From the 1890s to the 1920, the Progressive Era was a period in which social and political reform occurred in the U.S. The goals of the Progressives included protecting social welfare by diminishing the drastic impact of harsh conditions from industrialization. There were settlement houses such as the hull houses established by Jane Addams. Additionally, they wanted to bring about economic reform by reducing the uneven balance of wealth between the rich and poor.

They also worked to promote moral improvement by ameliorating the lives of the poor through prohibition. The reformers worked to ensure civil rights through the NAACP and political reform by allowing voters to have more direct control when it comes to the government. National parks were created during Roosevelt’s presidency to ensure conservation. Mikey M: What were some of the undesirable results of rapid urbanization?Housing problems, Overpopulation, Unemployment, Development of slums, Poor health, etc. This is something that happened when a lot of immigrants moved to New york because there were too many people in new york.

What is a direct primary and why was it adopted?A direct primary is when the people get to vote for the candidate they think should have the position. It was adopted because America is a country that has a democracy meaning that it is ruled by the people and this is a way they get a say in the government. Who were Ida Wells, Ida Tarbell and Jacob Riis and what did they do?These people are muckrakers. Muckrakers were american reporters and they were exposing leaders for things that they did that ruined industries. For example Ida M. Tarbell was really famous for being a Muckraker because she exposed the Standard Oil made by John D.

Rockefeller. She exposed him for being very ruthless as a business leader. ReaganWhy was American growth in the late 1800s so rapid and so successful?The nation expanded westward with vast deposit of coal, lead, and copper. The many forest of the Pacific Northwest provided lumber for building. The government wants growth so they gave generous land grants and subsidies. Tariffs, a tax on imported goods, helped as well. What was blacklisting, who used it and why? A person or group put on a blacklist. What states supported women’s right to vote BEFORE the constitutional amendment that made it a federal right?It was ratified by three-fourths of the states a year later, with Tennessee’s ratification being the last needed to add the amendment to the Constitution.

Most states including California, Nevada, Utah, Washington, South Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Michigan, and New York. These states supported full suffrage just before the Nineteenth Amendment.Nikhil: What did Theodore Roosevelt believe about government regulation of Big Business?As the United States became increasingly urban and industrial, it acquired many of the attributes common to industrial nations—overcrowded cities, poor working conditions, great economic disparity, and the political dominance of big business. At the turn of the twentieth century, Americans had begun to look for ways to address some of these problems. As chief executive, Roosevelt felt empowered by the people to help ensure social justice and economic opportunity through government regulation.

He was not a radical, however; TR believed that big business was a natural part of a maturing economy and, therefore, saw no reason to abolish it.What were initiative, referendum and recall, and why did states adopt them?In political terminology, the initiative is a process that enables citizens to bypass their state legislature by placing proposed statutes and, in some states, constitutional amendments on the ballot.”Referendum” is a general term which refers to a measure that appears on the ballot.

There are two primary types of referenda: the legislative referendum, whereby the Legislature refers a measure to the voters for their approval, and the popular referendum, a measure that appears on the ballot as a result of a voter petition drive.Recall is a procedure that allows citizens to remove and replace a public official before the end of a term of office. Recall differs from another method for removing officials from office – impeachment – in that it is a political device while impeachment is a legal process.