APUSH Unit 6 Key Terms

Political Machine

• political organization where a boss commands the support of the local group of citizens, businessowners, and politicians who receive rewards for keeping the machine in power

• usually Democrats (party of immigrants)

• boss: gets power and money through votes and graft

• campaign supporters: business leaders, get jobs and money, spoils system

• voters: immigrants, get welfare

Boss Tweed

• boss of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party’s political machine

• American politician 1853-1874

• stole hundreds of millions of dollars through corruption

• exposed by famous journalist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast in 1870s

Urbanization

• huge growth of American cities in the 1860-1880s

• caused by:

  • rise in technology (electric lighting, communication improvements, intra-city transportation)

  • immigration (Irish and German)

Homestead Act

• government land act in 1862

• gave 160 acres of land for free (even to Black people and women) in exchange for improvements to the land within 5 years

• led to westward migration and further decimation to native American culture as they were forced onto reservations

Pacific Railway Act

• government act in 1862 granting railway companies land to complete the transcontinental railroad

• shows how government is supporting westward expansion as well as fostering the growth of business

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

• act passed during presidency of Chester A. Arthur

• an absolute 10-year ban on Chinese laborers immigrating to the United States

• supported by Democrats/westerners

The Long Drive

• a system by which cowboys herded cattle hundreds of miles north from Texas to Dodge City and the other cow towns of Kansas

• Facilitated by the completion of the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1865

Dawes Severalty Act

• government act passed in 1887 under President Grover Cleveland

• allowed the federal government to break up tribal lands

• only Native Americans who accepted the individual allotments were allowed to become US citizens

Massacre at Wounded Knee

• massacre of the Lakota people by US soldiers in 1890

• the last major armed conflict between the Lakota Sioux and the US

Battle of Little Bighorn

• a decisive victory in 1876 for the Sioux in the short term, but in the long term, it worsened relations between Native Americans and the US

• US increased their efforts to force native peoples onto reservation lands, led to Massacre at Wounded Knee

Exodusters

• a name given to African Americans who migrated from the South to Kansas

• Exodus of 1879

• first big Black migration movement after the Civil War

Social Darwinism

• the belief that only the fittest survive in human political and economic struggle

• “the poor are lazy and will die off”

• wealth comes from hard work alone

• used to justify laissez-faire capitalism, that business should be a pure, free-range competition for the best results for society

Gospel of Wealth

• extremely wealthy Americans had a responsibility to spend their money in order to benefit the greater good

• invest in libraries & schools

• wealthy people know best for the people, economic feudalism

Laissez-faire

• when individuals are allowed to pursue their self-interest, and that this selfishness will create a net positive on society

• competition will create a strong, balanced economy

• everything balances out, as if controlled by an invisible hand

• no government intervention

Andrew Carnegie

• 1835-1919 poor Scottish immigrant who created a steel monopoly

• rags to riches story

• coined the term Gospel of Wealth

John D. Rockefeller

• 1839-1937 founded Standard Oil Company

• richest man during the Gilded Age

• used unethical business practices to force competitors out and established monopoly

Standard Oil

• corporation founded by Rockefeller

• business practices

  • political bribery

  • terrible working conditions, low wages

  • horizontal & vertical integration to establish a monopoly

  • trusts

Trust

• a monopoly formed by combining the ownership of several formerly separate corporations under a board of trustees

• examples: Standard Oil Company

American Federation of Labor

• labor union founded by Samuel Gompers in 1880s

• only accepted skilled workers; “pure and simple unionism”

• didn’t want to change society, only better pay and working conditions

• most effective labor union during the Gilded Age

Horatio Alger Myth

• the idea that anyone can rise above their circumstances to achieve success through hard work

• based on a novel about a poor boy who becomes rich due to hard work

• supports Social Darwinism

Knights of Labor

• labor union founded by Terence Powderly (crazy mustache guy) in 1869

• inclusive to any gender, skill level, and race

• goal was societal change (child labor laws, job security, etc.); socialist policies

• not effective

Samuel Gompers

• founder of the American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Eugene Debs

• socialist, political activist, trade unionist, founder of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in 1905, 5-time presidential nominee

• 1855-1926

Great Railroad Strike 1877

• huge strike due to railroad wage cuts (caused by Panic of 1873)

• escalates to 11 states and over 50,000 workers

• President Hayes ends strike with federal troops

Homestead Strike

• major strike taking place at Carnegie’s steel plant in 1892

• provoked by pay cut

• Pinkerton's and troops were used to end the strike

Scientific Management

• a system of management that maximizes efficiency

• often at the expense of workers; workers are replaceable

Frederick Taylor

• Father of Scientific Management

• mechanical engineer; sought efficiency in management

Populist Party

• political party of farmers, known as the People’s Party

• beliefs: socialism, coinage of silver (for inflation), abolish national bank, government controls businesses like railroads & telephones

• William Jennings Bryan: candidate for 1896 election, “Cross of Gold” speech

The Grangers

• a commune for farmers to support each other financially

• will pool in money so that they can afford machinery and tools, group buying

• agricultural education, social activities

• not extremely political

Election of 1896

• election between William Jennings Bryan and William McKinley

• William Jennings Bryan: Democratic Party nominee, Populist, “Cross of Gold” speech, lost the election due to alienating economic policies (coinage of silver to pump inflation)

• William McKinley: Republican, conservative, support big business, “sound money”

William Jennings Bryan

• populist politician, Democratic Party Nominee in 1896 election

• “Cross of Gold” speech

• policies: coinage of silver, abolish national bank, support farmers and the poor

The “New” Immigration

• immigration in the 1880-1920s from southern/central Europe

• settled in NYC and urban areas

• mostly Jewish immigration escaping persecution

• sparked rise in nativism and xenophobia

US v. Wong Kim Ark

• Supreme Court case in 1898 where the US government officially recognized US-born Chinese as citizens

• application of 14th Amendment

Jim Crow

• laws created by white southerners to enforce racial segregation

• 1870-1960s

• segregation of public schools, public places and public transportation, restrooms, restaurants and drinking fountains, etc.

Plessy v. Ferguson

• Supreme Court case in 1896 that held that state-mandated segregation laws did not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

• “separate but equal”

• Jim Crow laws were constitutional

Grandfather Clause

• you can only vote if your grandfather had voted

• meant to prevent Black people from voting

Literacy Tests

• extremely hard test given to Black people to see if they were viable to vote

• meant to prevent Black people from voting

Poll Taxes

• a high fee that you must pay if you vote

• meant to prevent Black people from voting

The “New South”

• a new vision for a self-sufficient Southern economy built on modern capitalist values, industrial growth, and improved transportation

• still closed off opportunities to Black people

WEB DuBois

• 1868-1963 sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist

• one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909

Booker T. Washington

• 1856-1915 Black author, educator, orator, philanthropist

• founded Tuskegee University in 1881, helping create a rising Black middle class

Ida B. Wells

• 1862-1931 prominent Black journalist, women’s suffragette, and anti-lynching activist

• one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909

Atlanta Exposition

• event held in 1895 by Brooker T. Washington to show the South’s economic progress

• in Dr. Washington’s speech, encouraged Black people to make the most of their situation in the South rather than migrate North

• purpose: to showcase the economic progress of the South since the Civil War, to encourage international trade, and to attract investors to the region

NAWSA

• women’s suffrage organization founded in 1890

• founders: Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone

• goal: voting rights for women, better education, child and women labor laws, and liquor prohibition

WCTU

• international temperance organization founded in 1874

• founded by Frances Willard and Annie Turner Wittenmyer

• wanted to abolish the liquor trade, reduce consumption of alcohol, and secure pledges of abstinence

Jane Addams

• 1860-1935 sociologist, reformer, women’s suffragette, and Nobel Peace Prize winner

• led the settlement house movement, helping poor communities by providing food and shelter

Settlement House Movement

• provided support services to the urban poor and European immigrants, often including education, healthcare, childcare, and employment resources

• led by Jane Addams

Social Gospel

• a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems in the Gilded Age

• aimed to solve problems such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, child labor, etc.

• led by Washington Gladden and Lyman Abbott