The New South and Settlement of the West

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from The New South and Settlement of the West. Each card defines a term or concept essential to understanding the lecture notes.

Redeemers (Bourbons)

A powerful, conservative group of Southern oligarchs who dominated post-Reconstruction politics and economy, advocating low taxes, reduced spending, and diminished state services.

Textile manufacturing in the South

Industrial growth pattern where textile production developed similarly to the North’s earlier era; spindles increased about 90% from 1800 to 1900.

American Tobacco Company

A monopolistic company that established a virtual monopoly on smoking products in the South.

Railroad development (South, 1880–1890)

Rapid expansion of railways, with track length doubling during the decade, accelerating transport and markets.

Crop Lien system

A credit system where farmers borrow against future crops, often leading to debt and dependence on merchants.

Furnishing merchants

Merchants who provided farmers with credit and goods on high-interest terms, secured by liens on crops or property.

Southern incomes vs Northern incomes (by 1900)

Southern incomes were only about 40% of Northern levels, reflecting regional economic disparities.

Capital flows (from the North)

Most capital for the South came from Northern investors, shaping regional development.

Agriculture as backbone

Despite industrial growth, farming remained the core of the Southern economy.

Segregation in the New South

Racial segregation policies and practices that persisted after Reconstruction, with little federal support for Black equality.

14th Amendment (weakened)

Supreme Court decisions and political developments weakened the protection of equal rights for Black citizens.

15th Amendment

Prohibited states from denying the right to vote based on race, though subsequent practices undermined its effectiveness.

Civil Rights Cases (1883)

Court cases that allowed discrimination by private individuals or organizations.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court decision upholding "separate but equal" facilities for different races.

Cumming v. Board of Education (1899)

Allowed separate education facilities for whites if no equivalent Black facilities were provided.

Disfranchisement

Systematic removal of voting rights from Black citizens to sustain white supremacy.

Poll taxes

Taxes required to vote, used to suppress Black suffrage.

Literacy tests

Reading/writing tests used to block Black voters from exercising the franchise.

Grandfather clause

Voting exemptions for those whose ancestors voted before Reconstruction, bypassing literacy or property requirements.

Jim Crow laws

State and local laws enforcing racial segregation across the South.

Lynching

Public executions and mob killings of Black people, used to terrorize and maintain white supremacy.

Great Plains settlement

Federal encouragement of settlement on the Plains, aided by acts and rail access, though population grew slowly.

Homestead Act (1862)

Granted 160 acres to settlers for a nominal fee; about 400,000 homesteaders, many later abandoning their land.

Timber Culture Act (1877)

Additional 160-acre plots granted to settlers who planted 40 acres of trees.

Desert Land Act (1877)

Allowed purchase of 640 acres at $1.25 per acre if portions were irrigated within 3 years.

Dawes Act (1887)

Abolished communal land ownership; allotted land to individuals (160 acres to a family head, 80 to a single adult, 40 to a dependent child) with a 25-year period before title; aimed at assimilation but largely failed by WW1.