Reconstruction and Gilded Age Key Terms

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering important vocabulary and concepts related to the Reconstruction era and the Gilded Age.

Reconstruction

The period post-Civil War aimed at rebuilding the United States and integrating formerly enslaved individuals into society.

Presidential Reconstruction

The initial phase of Reconstruction led by President Andrew Johnson that aimed for a quick restoration of the Southern states without protections for former slaves.

Congressional Reconstruction

The phase of Reconstruction led by Congress that sought to impose stricter conditions on the Southern states for reentry into the Union.

Military Reconstruction Act

Legislation that divided the South into military districts controlled by the Union Army to enforce Reconstruction policies.

13th Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution that abolished slavery.

14th Amendment

An amendment that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., ensuring equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

An amendment that prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on 'race, color, or previous condition of servitude.'

Freedmen's Bureau

A government agency established to aid freed slaves during the Reconstruction era.

Black Codes

Laws passed in Southern states to restrict the rights of freedmen and maintain white supremacy.

Sharecropping

A system of farming where tenants work land owned by another in exchange for a share of the crops.

Ku Klux Klan

A secretive organization that emerged during Reconstruction, known for its terroristic methods to suppress African American rights.

Disenfranchisement

The revocation of the right to vote, often applied to African Americans through laws like literacy tests and poll taxes.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

An industrial giant in railroads and shipping, known for his contributions to the Gilded Age.

John D. Rockefeller

Founder of Standard Oil and one of the wealthiest individuals in history, known for monopolistic practices.

Andrew Carnegie

A leading industrialist who led the expansion of the American steel industry and was a major philanthropist.

JP Morgan

A powerful banker who helped finance the reorganization of railroads and other major industries.

Push Factors

Reasons that drive people to leave their home country, such as poverty or persecution.

Pull Factors

Positive attributes of a new country that attract immigrants, such as economic opportunities or political freedom.

Ellis Island

The primary immigration station in the U.S. where millions of immigrants were processed from 1892 to 1954.

Angel Island

An immigration station in San Francisco Bay that processed Asian immigrants from 1910 to 1940.

New Immigrants

Immigrants who arrived in the U.S. after 1880, often from southern and eastern Europe.

Old Immigrants

Immigrants who arrived in the U.S. before 1880, primarily from northern and western Europe.

Assimilation

The process by which immigrants adapt to and integrate into the culture of their new country.

Immigration Acts of 1921 and 1924

Legislation that restricted immigration, particularly from southern and eastern Europe.

Gilded Age

A term used to describe the late 19th century in America, characterized by rapid economic growth and social problems.

Grandfather clause

A law that allowed individuals to vote only if their grandfather had been eligible to vote, effectively disenfranchising many African Americans.

Muckraker

Investigative journalists who exposed corruption and social issues in the early 20th century.

Literacy test

A test administered to potential voters to determine their literacy skills, often used to disenfranchise African Americans.

Poll tax

A fee required to vote, used to restrict voting rights for African Americans and poor individuals.

Election of 1876

A disputed presidential election that ended Reconstruction and resulted in the Compromise of 1877.

Bargain of 1877

An agreement that resolved the 1876 election and led to the withdrawal of federal troops from the South.

Plessy v. Ferguson

A landmark Supreme Court case that upheld the doctrine of 'separate but equal.'

Jim Crow Laws

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

Industrialization

The process of developing machine production of goods, which transformed American society.

Human Resources

The labor force available for the production of goods and services.

Natural Resources

Raw materials supplied by nature that are used in production.

Capital Resources

Assets that can be used in the process of production, such as machinery or buildings.

Inventions - Bessemer Process, Telegraph, Barbed Wire

Important innovations during the Industrial Revolution that transformed American industry and life.

Tariff

A tax imposed on imported goods, often used to protect domestic industries.

Laissez Faire

An economic philosophy that advocates minimal government interference in the economy.

Homestead Act

A law that provided 160 acres of public land to settlers in exchange for a modest fee and the requirement to improve the land.

Railway Act

Legislation related to the establishment and operation of railroads in America.

Union Pacific

A major railroad company that played a key role in building the first transcontinental railroad.

The Central Pacific

The railroad company responsible for the western portion of the first transcontinental railroad.

Promontory Point

The site in Utah where the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed.

Reservations

Areas of land set aside for Native American tribes.

Battle of Little BigHorn

A notable battle fought in 1876 between U.S. forces and Native Americans, resulting in a significant victory for the latter.

Buffalo

A vital resource for many Native American tribes, significant to their way of life, especially on the Great Plains.

Ghost Dance

A religious movement among Native Americans that aimed for a return to ancestral ways and the removal of white settlers.

Wounded Knee

The site of a massacre of Sioux Indians in 1890, marking a tragic end to Native American resistance.

Dawes Act

A law that aimed to assimilate Native Americans by allotting them individual plots of land.

Exodusters

African Americans who migrated from the South to Kansas in search of better opportunities after the Civil War.

Chinese Exclusion Act

A federal law that prohibited Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S.

Monopoly

The exclusive control or possession of the supply of or trade in a service or commodity.

Horizontal integration

A business strategy where a company acquires its competitors to gain market share.

Vertical integration

A business strategy where a company controls all aspects of production, from raw materials to finished products.

Lewis Hine

A photographer known for his documentation of child labor and social injustices.

Fair Labor Standards Act

Legislation that established minimum wage, overtime pay, and youth employment standards.

W.E.B. DuBois

A prominent African American scholar and civil rights activist who co-founded the NAACP.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

An organization founded in 1909 to fight for civil rights and combat racial discrimination.

Booker T. Washington

An African American educator and civil rights leader who advocated for vocational training.

Tuskegee Institute

A historically black college founded by Booker T. Washington to provide education to black students.

Ida B. Wells

An African American journalist and activist known for her anti-lynching campaigns.

Alice Paul

A leading figure in the women's suffrage movement, known for her militant tactics.

19th Amendment

An amendment that granted women the right to vote.

Theodore Roosevelt

The 26th President of the U.S. known for progressive reforms and conservation efforts.

Conservation

The preservation and management of natural resources.

Ida Tarbell

A journalist famous for her critical studies of the Standard Oil Company.

Sherman Antitrust Act

A federal law that aimed to prevent monopolies and promote competition.

Clayton Antitrust Act

An act that strengthened antitrust laws and protected labor unions from being prosecuted.

Temperance

A social movement against the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Women's Christian Temperance Union

An organization that promoted temperance, particularly among women.

18th Amendment

An amendment that prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.

Jacob Riis

An influential photographer and journalist who documented the living conditions of the urban poor.

Jane Addams

A social reformer and co-founder of Hull House, known for her work in social justice and women’s rights.

Upton Sinclair

An author known for his novel 'The Jungle,' which exposed labor abuses in the meatpacking industry.

Meat Inspection Act

A law that established sanitary standards for meat packing and quality inspections.

Pure Food and Drug Act

Legislation that ensured the safety and labeling of food and pharmaceuticals.

Thomas Nast

A political cartoonist who was influential in promoting social and political reform.

Pendleton Act

A law that established a merit-based system for federal government jobs.

17th Amendment

An amendment that established the direct election of U.S. Senators.

Triangle Shirtwaist

The site of a deadly factory fire in 1911 that led to major reforms in labor safety laws.

Foreign Policy

A government's strategy in managing its relationships with other countries.

International Trade

The exchange of goods and services between countries.