Honors US History Test 5

Social Darwinists

People who applied Charles Darwin’s ideas of natural selection to society, arguing that wealth and success were signs of superiority.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A labor union founded by Samuel Gompers that focused on improving wages, hours, and working conditions for skilled workers.

Trust

A group of companies controlled by a single board or corporation to reduce competition and increase profits.

Settlement House

Community centers that provided education, healthcare, and assistance to immigrants and the poor.

New Immigrants

Immigrants arriving mainly from Southern and Eastern Europe between 1880 and 1920.

Realism

A literary movement that portrayed everyday life and society accurately rather than romantically.

Standard Oil Company

Oil company founded by John D. Rockefeller that became one of the largest monopolies in U.S. history.

Reservation System

Government policy that confined Native Americans to designated lands called reservations.

Gold Standard Act

1900 law making gold the sole basis for U.S. currency.

Mining Industry

Industry focused on extracting minerals, coal, gold, silver, and other resources from the earth.

Populists

Members of the People's Party who advocated for farmers and laborers against big business and banks.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 law that prohibited most Chinese immigration to the United States.

Civil Rights Act of 1875

Law guaranteeing African Americans equal access to public accommodations; later declared unconstitutional.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

1890 law designed to prevent monopolies and business combinations that restrained trade.

Interstate Commerce Act

1887 law regulating railroad rates and creating the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).

National Labor Union

The first national labor federation in the United States, founded in 1866.

Knights of Labor

Labor organization that welcomed skilled and unskilled workers and sought broad social reforms.

Tuskegee Institute

School founded by Booker T. Washington to provide vocational education for African Americans.

Dawes Severalty Act

1887 law that divided tribal lands into individual allotments to encourage assimilation of Native Americans

Mechanization of Agriculture

Increased use of machines such as tractors, reapers, and combines to improve farm productivity.

Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

Organization that promoted prohibition of alcohol and various social reforms.

Haymarket Square

Site of an 1886 labor protest in Chicago where a bomb explosion led to violence and anti-union sentiment.

Grandfather Clause

Law allowing voting only if a person's grandfather had voting rights before the Civil War, effectively disenfranchising many African Americans.

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896 Supreme Court case that established the "separate but equal" doctrine and upheld segregation.

Panic of 1873

Economic depression caused by railroad overexpansion and financial speculation.

Land-grant Colleges

Colleges established through federal land grants under the Morrill Act to teach agriculture and mechanical arts.

Liberal Protestants

Protestants who emphasized social reform and adapting religion to modern society.

Battle of Little Bighorn

1876 battle where Native American forces led by leaders including Sitting Bull defeated forces led by George A. Custer.

Battle of Wounded Knee

1890 massacre in which U.S. troops killed hundreds of Lakota Sioux, marking the end of major Native American resistance.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized and exaggerated news reporting used to attract readers.

Gilded Age

Period from about 1870–1900 marked by rapid industrialization, wealth, and political corruption.

Homestead Strike

Violent 1892 labor strike at Carnegie Steel's Homestead plant in Pennsylvania.

Fourth Party System

Period of U.S. politics (roughly 1896–1932) dominated by Republican control and industrial interests.

Pullman Strike

Nationwide railroad strike of 1894 protesting wage cuts by the Pullman Company.

Sharecropping

Farming system where tenants worked land owned by others in exchange for a share of the crop.

National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

Organization dedicated to securing voting rights for women.

Robber Barons

Criticized term for wealthy industrialists accused of exploiting workers and eliminating competition.

Rough Riders

Volunteer cavalry unit led by Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War.

Grover Cleveland

22nd and 24th U.S. President; the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms.

William McKinley

25th U.S. President who led the nation during the Spanish-American War.

William Jennings Bryan

Populist and Democratic leader known for advocating free silver and his "Cross of Gold" speech.

John D. Rockefeller

Founder of Standard Oil and one of America's wealthiest industrialists.

Booker T. Washington

African American educator who promoted vocational training and economic self-reliance.

John Wesley Powell

Explorer and scientist known for surveying the American West and advocating wise water use.

Sitting Bull

Lakota Sioux leader who resisted U.S. expansion and participated in the victory at Little Bighorn.

Andrew Carnegie

Steel industry leader and philanthropist who built a vast steel empire.

William Randolph Hearst

Newspaper publisher famous for promoting yellow journalism.

Chief Joseph

Leader of the Nez Perce who resisted forced relocation by the U.S. government.

Charles Darwin

British scientist who developed the theory of evolution through natural selection.

Tom Watson

Populist politician from Georgia who advocated for farmers' interests.

Mary Ellen Lease

Populist reformer who urged farmers to take political action against economic injustice.

Ida Tarbell

Investigative journalist who exposed abuses by Standard Oil.

Mark Twain

American author who coined the term "Gilded Age" and wrote about American society.

W. E. B. Du Bois

African American scholar and civil rights leader who advocated immediate equality and helped found the NAACP.

Horace Greeley

Influential newspaper editor who encouraged westward expansion with the phrase "Go West, young man."