The Industrial Transformation Pt.1

What significant event marked the beginning of the transformation of the Southern U.S.?

The Civil War (1861-1865)

What was the central question regarding slavery leading up to the Civil War?

Whether slavery would be allowed to spread into new territories.

What did the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) achieve?

It declared most enslaved people in Confederate states to be free.

What did the Thirteenth Amendment (1865) accomplish?

It abolished slavery throughout the entire United States.

What era followed the Emancipation and what were its approximate years?

The Reconstruction Era (roughly 1865-1877)

What rights did the Fourteenth Amendment (1867) grant?

It granted citizenship and equal protection under the law.

What did the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) ensure?

It granted voting rights regardless of 'race, color, or previous condition of servitude' to Black men.

What is sharecropping?

A system where former slaves and poor whites worked land owned by someone else in exchange for a share of the crop, often leading to debt and poverty.

What was the purpose of racial repression in the post-Civil War South?

To subjugate and disenfranchise Black citizens.

What were some methods of racial repression used during this period?

The rise of the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow laws, and violence to maintain white supremacy.

What does the term 'Gilded Age' refer to?

A period of rapid economic growth and wealth creation that masked underlying social problems, poverty, and corruption.

Who coined the term 'Gilded Age'?

Mark Twain

What was a major consequence of the Civil War for the Southern economy?

A dramatic shift from an agrarian economy reliant on slavery to a more industrialized economy.

What were Jim Crow laws?

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

What was the primary economic shift in America during the Gilded Age?

The shift from an agrarian economy to an industrial economy.

How did agricultural practices change during the Industrial Transformation?

Farming expanded through mechanized processes and new lands.

What role did railroads play in American industrial growth?

Railroads linked raw materials, factories, and consumers, creating a national market.

How did electrical power impact American industry?

It revolutionized factory production, urban life, and communications.

What does Gross National Product (GNP) measure?

The total value of all finished goods and services produced by a country's residents.

What was the urban population percentage in America in 1860?

20% of the population lived in urban areas.

What was the urban population percentage in America in 1900?

40% of the population lived in urban areas.

What significant demographic milestone occurred in 1920 regarding urban population?

For the first time, more Americans lived in cities than in rural areas, with 52% urban population.