U.S. History - Fall Final Review

Gilded Age

Term created by Mark Twain. Many underlining issues in this era regarding social and political issues but appeared good from the outside.

Vertical Integration

Resources, manufacturing, and distribution controlled by one company.

Horizontal Inegration

Joins together corporations that produce similar product. This eliminates competition.

Bessemer Process

A method that improved quality of steel and made it easier to produce.

Corporation

A legal entity that is separate from its owners.

Andrew Carnegie

Steel Industry

John D. Rockefeller

Oil Industry

Thomas Edison

Light Bulb

Robber Barons

Those accused of being monopolists because of profits earned from restriction of goods and raising prices of said goods.

Captains of Industry

Business leaders whose money positively contributed to the country in some way.

Progressive Movements

Political movement interested in furthering social and political reform

Suffragists

People who advocate for enfranchisement

Muckrakers

People who exposed big businesses, dangerous working conditions, child labor, unsafe products, and political corruption.

Labor Unions

Groups of people who want to protect workers rights and improve workers pays and keep them protected.

Susan B. Anthony

National Woman Suffrage Association

Theodore Roosevelt

Believed that federal government should step in and deal with problems if the state government cannot solve the problem.

William Howard Taft

Cautious progressive agenda. Enacted a corporate tax. Removed 1 million acres of forest from the reserved list.

Woodrow Wilson

Wanted to attack trusts, tariffs, and high finance.

Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890

Prohibits activities that restricted interstate commerce and competition in the market place.

Imperialism

Policy extending a country’s power and influence via military force.

Protectorate

A state or country that’s protected by a larger, stronger country.

Yellow Journalism

Wrote distortions to sell to papers. They built up public pressure for war.

Open Door Policy

Nations would share trading rights with the US. No nation would have a monopoly on trade. No nation could raise prices on railroads, harbors, or tariffs.

Triple Alliance / Central Powers

Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.

Triple Entente / Allied Powers

France, Britain, Russia, and Italy**

**Italy later switched sides.

Selective Service Act

Government authorized a military draft. 24 million registered for the draft. 2.8 million drafted in WWI (national lottery). Men drafted from ages 21-30.

Mobilization

The act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war.

Why did the US enter WWI?

The sinking of the lusitania and the Zimmermann telegram.

Flapper

Women who broke social norms and experimented with clothing and behaviors. They would ultimately settle down but it still paved the way for future women.

Mass Media

A means of communication that could reach large amounts of people in a short amount of time.

Prohibition

The ban of alcohol and its production / distribution put forth by the 18th amendment.

Evolution

A new thought process within the scientific community about how humans came about. Most people rejected this due to religion and social norms.

Dust Bowl

Caused by intensive farming practices and extreme weather. Mainly affected parts of the midwest and Texas. Often caused Dust pneumonia.

Black Tuesday

October 29th. The bottom fell out of the market and stockholders rushed to sell.

Hoovervilles

Makeshift towns made out of any materials people could find, often cardboard.

Life during the Great Depression

Very poor conditions. People had almost no money, so they weren’t able to afford food. Some people had to sell their children. Many couldn’t eat and breadlines could go on for miles.