HIST 1302 EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE

14th Amendment

granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. (including former slaves), prohibiting states from denying due process or equal protection of the laws, and restricting former Confederates from holding office.

League of Nations

International regulatory body, Wilson's idea, the international organization bringing together world governments to prevent future hostilities, proposed by President Woodrow Wilson in the aftermath of World War I.The United States never became a member state.

American Federation of Labor

The first federation of labor unions in the United States. Founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886, consisted of primarily white, male, skilled workers. Central principles included:
- Bargaining with employers over day-to-day issues is the most promising avenue for labor.
- Organized labor should pursue concrete gains rather than dreamy reforms.
- Labor should avoid entanglement in politics.

Jim Crow laws

State and local statutes enacted in the South from the 1870s to the 1960s to enforce legal racial segregation, aiming to restore white supremacy after Reconstruction. They mandated "separate but equal" facilities, legalized by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), resulting in systemic disenfranchisement and inferior treatment of African Americans.

Robber Barons

Powerful 19th-century American industrialists and financiers who amassed immense wealth during the Gilded Age (approx. 1870-1900) through unethical, monopolistic practices.

Key figures, including John D. Rockefeller (oil), Andrew Carnegie (steel), J.P. Morgan (finance), and Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroads), used trusts, vertical/horizontal integration, and exploited labor to dominate industries.

Battle of Little Bighorn:

Occurred when Custer marched his column of men deep into Sioux territory to stop possible uprising due to his claim to gold in the Black Hills. Custer came upon 2500 Sioux warriors at this place. The colonel and his men were killed and the Native Americans faced revenge from whites.

Transcontinental Railroad

the first continuous rail line connecting the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, built by the Union Pacific (westward from Nebraska) and Central Pacific (eastward from California). Authorized by the Pacific Railway Acts (1862), it linked the nation, revolutionized, lowered shipping costs, and accelerated industrialization and western settlement.

Muckrakers

investigative journalists and writers who exposed corruption in government, big business, and social injustices like poverty and labor exploitation. Coined by Theodore Roosevelt, they used detailed, often sensational reports to spark public outrage, driving major reforms and laying the foundation for modern investigative journalism.

Historicism

Contextualization and historical thinking, requiring students to understand events, documents, and ideas solely within their specific time, place, and cultural setting rather than judging them by modern standards. It involves analyzing origins, development, and situational factors.

Bimetallism

a late 19th-century monetary policy aiming to back U.S. currency with both gold and silver to increase the money supply,, supported by farmers and the Populist Party to combat deflation. It became a central issue in the 1896 election, with William Jennings Bryan’s "Cross of Gold" speech advocating for "free silver" against the deflationary Gold Standard, which favored creditors and industrial interests.

17th Amendment

a Progressive Era reform that established the direct election of U.S. Senators by popular vote, rather than appointment by state legislatures. It was designed to reduce corruption, minimize political machine influence, and increase democratic accountability.

Sociological Jurisprudence

a legal theory emerging in the early 20th century (Progressive Era) that argues law should be understood and applied based on its real-world social impacts, rather than just abstract rules or precedents. It views law as a tool for "social engineering"—a way to solve societal problems, reform conditions, and balance competing interests.

15th Amendment

a Reconstruction-era amendment prohibiting federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". It aimed to secure suffrage for African American men but was largely undermined by Southern states using voter suppression tactics like poll taxes and literacy tests.

The Treaty of Versailles

The 1919 treaty that ended World War I. The agreement redrew the map of the world, assigned Germany sole responsibility for the war, and saddled it with a debt of $33 billion in war damages. Its long-term impact around the globe—including the creation of British and French imperial “mandates” — was catastrophic.

The Lusitania

The 1915 sinking of the British liner by a German U-boat, killing 128 Americans, was a critical turning point in shifting U.S. public opinion against Germany during WWI. It severely damaged American neutrality, prompted diplomatic ultimatums, and served as a key step toward the U.S. entering the war in 1917.

The Zimmerman Telegram

A 1917 intercepted dispatch in which German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman urged Mexico to join the Central Powers and promised that if the United States entered the war, Germany would help Mexico recover Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Published by American newspapers, the telegram outraged the American public and help precipitate the move toward U.S. entry in the war on the Allied side.

The Social Gospel

a late 19th/early 20th-century Protestant-led movement applying Christian ethics to solve urban industrial problems like poverty, inequality, and unsafe labor conditions. It promoted the "Kingdom of God" on earth, driving progressives and organizations like the YMCA and Salvation Army to seek social reforms.

The Election of 1876

Aa highly contested, fraudulent U.S. presidential election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden. Tilden won the popular vote, but 20 electoral votes in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina were disputed. A special commission awarded all votes to Hayes, sparking the Compromise of 1877, which ended Reconstruction.

The Gilded Age

a period of rapid industrialization, urbanization, and unprecedented wealth concentration in the U.S., masked by social unrest, political corruption, and labor strife. Coined by Mark Twain, it saw the rise of monopolies (Rockefeller, Carnegie), mass immigration, and the shift from agriculture to corporate capitalism.

Dawes Severalty Act of 1887

The goal was to lift the Native Americans out of poverty and to stimulate assimilation of them into mainstream American society. Consequently, this broke up communal tribal lands into individual plots and about 60% of indigenous land was loss after a few decades. Native Americans who accepted the allotments and "adopted the habits of civilized life" were granted U.S. citizenship, though this often came with the loss of traditional tribal rights.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Homer Plessy tries to sit in a whites only train car

Supreme Court case in which "separate but equal" was upheld

reaffirms a segregated south

Industrial Revolution

shifted the US from agrarian, home-based production to a factory system, driven by steam power, interchangeable parts, and improved transportation (canals, railroads). This spurred urbanization, immigration, and a market economy, creating a new working class, middle class, and the "cult of domesticity".

Populism

a late 19th-century (1890s) agrarian-based political movement in the Midwest and South that sought to curb the power of elite bankers, railroads, and industrial trusts. Rooted in the Farmers' Alliance and the Grange, they advocated for the unlimited coinage of silver, a graduated income tax, direct election of senators, and government ownership of railroads, as outlined in their Omaha PLatform

Homestead Act of 1862

a U.S. government law that accelerated Western expansion by granting 160 acres of public land to any citizen—including freed slaves, women, and immigrants—for a small filing fee. Settlers had to improve the land (e.g., farming or building a dwelling) and live on it for five continuous years to gain ownership.

Organized Labor

associations of workers uniting to improve rights, wages, hours, and safety conditions through collective bargaining and strikes. Rising during industrialization, it aimed to counter corporate power, featuring major groups like the Knights of Labor and AFL, often facing violent resistance from employers and government.

Eugenics Laws

Refer to early 20th-century state and local legislation aimed at improving the human race by controlling reproduction, specifically by preventing those deemed "unfit" or "genetically inferior" from having children.

Civil Service Reform

a late-19th-century movement to end the corrupt "spoils system" (patronage), replacing it with a merit-based hiring process for government jobs. Sparked by Gilded Age corruption and Garfield's assassination, it culminated in the Pendleton Act (1883), creating competitive exams and the Civil Service Commission.

William Jennings Bryan 1896 speech

Delivered at the Democratic National Convention, championed free silver (bimetallism) to help farmers and laborers, opposing the gold standard. His iconic closing line, "You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold," secured him the nomination, bridging Populist and Democratic interests.

Settlement Houses

late 19th/early 20th-century community centers established in poor, immigrant urban slums to provide education, healthcare, childcare, and job training. Often run by college-educated women, they facilitated assimilation, fostered social reform, and functioned as centers for the Progressive Movement.

The most famous example is Jane Addams's Hull House (1889

Progressivism/ the Progressive Era

A movement, or groups of different reform movements, that took place at the turn of the 20th century until WWI directly caused by industrialization and urbanization. This movement sought to improve life in the industrial age by making moderate political changes and social improvements through governmental action. They wanted to limit the power of corporations, improve the democracy so it benefited the people, and strengthen justice.

Reconstruction

Desperate need to rebuild economic life, banks/businesses were uinred due to inflation; transportation system- railroad- broke down; agriculture had huge downfall in the South, no slave labor, more labor intensive for white men

Andrew Johnson

President to follow Abraham Lincoln; favored attention in North but not South; vice president to Lincoln; Southerner who did not understand North; Democrats accepted by Republican; president not elected to white house

Ulysses S. Grant

Being a virgin to politics, he became the first president elected to office after the Civil War. He was previously a Union General who defeated General Lee at Appomattox Courthouse, thus ending the Civil War.

During Grant's presidency, several scams occurred, although Grant was never proven to be involved with any of them.

Also, the Panic of 1873 (due to over-speculation) came about during his reign. He served out two consecutive terms and was not re-nominated to run for a third.

James A. Garfield

elected to the presidency in 1880. He barely won the popular vote, but won by a huge margin in the electoral college.

He was assassinated, so that the Stalwarts could be in power in the government. This brought about reforms in the spoils system.

Andrew Carnegie

Revolutionized the steel industry in the late 19th century, becoming a dominant "captain of industry" through vertical integration and his Steel Company.

As a proponent of Social Darwinism and the author of The Gospel of Wealth (1889), he argued that the wealthy had a moral obligation to act as trustees of their money for the public good.

Eddie Rickenbacker

• World War I, a race car driver, and later a pioneer in commercial aviation.

• The most successful US fighter pilot with 26 confirmed aerial victories, earning the Medal of Honor

• Became a national icon, representing American bravery, ingenuity, and the rise of air power.

• Changed his last name from "Rickenbacher" to "Rickenbacker" during WWI to remove German connotations due to anti-German sentiment

John D. Rockefeller

A pivotal Gilded Age industrialist who revolutionized the oil industry by founding the Standard Oil Company in 1870. Utilizing horizontal integration and trusts, he controlled 90-95% of U.S. oil refineries by the late 1870s. Often labeled a "robber baron," he used ruthless, competitive tactics before becoming a major philanthropist.

W.E.B Du Bois

born in 1868 in Massachusetts (North)

- received a doctorate from Harvard

- opposed Booker T.'s accommodation policies

- Niagara Movement (1905): Niagara Falls, Canada and wanted an end to segregation and discrimination

- NAACP: goal to ensure equality and end discrimination

o still around today

- believed in Talented Tenth: leaders in the African American community should have full access to education and American life

Woodrow Wilson

the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921 and leader of the Progressive Movement.

Eenacted "New Freedom" reforms—Federal Reserve, Clayton Antitrust Act—before leading the U.S. through WWI (1917–1918). He pushed "Moral Diplomacy," proposed the Fourteen Points and League of Nations, but failed to get the Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles

Booker T. Washington

- Born in 1856, in Virginia, as a slave (South)

- Established the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama

o college for African Americans

- believed in vocational training: learning a specific skill

- The Atlanta Compromise (1895): speech which said African Americans should accept segregation in exchange for economic opportunities

Robert La Follette

• Wisconsin Idea: As governor (1901–1906), he implemented a "laboratory of democracy," using academic experts to create legislation, including initiative, referendum, recall, and direct primaries.\

• Progressive Movement Leader: He fought against railroad monopolies and supported income/inheritance taxes.

• Senate Career (1906–1925): He advocated for labor rights and investigated the Teapot Dome scandal.

• WWI Opposition: He was a vocal opponent of entering World War I and criticized wartime restrictions on civil liberties.

• 1924 Election: He ran for president on the Progressive Party ticket, earning 16.6% of the popular vote.

John J. Pershing

• American Expeditionary Forces (AEF): He commanded the AEF, transforming a small, peacetime army into a force of nearly 2 million soldiers in France by 1918.

• Independence in Command: He refused to allow U.S. troops to be "siphoned off" to British and French units, insisting on a distinct American identity in combat.

• Key Battles: He led the AEF through major engagements, including the pivotal 47-day Meuse-Argonne Offensive in 1918.

• Pre-WWI Experience: Before WWI, Pershing led the 1916–1917 Pancho Villa Expedition in Mexico, an attempt to capture the revolutionary leader, which highlighted his operational capabilities.

• Military Strategy: Known for his strict, rigorous training methods (earning the nickname "Iron General"), he emphasized traditional, aggressive infantry tactics adapted for modern warfare.

Alvin C. York

Definition: Sergeant in WW1 and is known for killing almost 20 Germans and capturing over 100 by himself.

Historical Significance: He was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading the attack on a German machine gun nest.

Grover Cleveland

22nd and 24th president, Democrat, Honest and hardworking, fought corruption, vetoed hundreds of wasteful bills, achieved the Interstate Commerce Commission and civil service reform, violent suppression of strikes