Industrialization, Populism, and the American West – Lecture Review

Question-and-answer flashcards covering key people, laws, economic concepts, and events from the Industrial Age, Populist movement, and the settlement of the American West.

Who delivered the famous 1896 “Cross of Gold” speech in support of bimetallism?

William Jennings Bryan.

What late-1800s philosophy applied Darwin’s survival-of-the-fittest idea to business and justified laissez-faire?

Social Darwinism.

Which inclusive labor union sought an eight-hour day and equal pay but declined after the Haymarket Affair?

The Knights of Labor.

Which industrialist created the Standard Oil trust and dominated the U.S. oil industry?

John D. Rockefeller.

What 1864 scandal featured Union Pacific insiders forming a dummy construction firm to overcharge for railroad work?

The Crédit Mobilier scandal.

Which inexpensive steel-making method enabled mass production and skyscrapers?

The Bessemer Process.

Which steel magnate authored the “Gospel of Wealth,” urging the rich to use fortunes for good?

Andrew Carnegie.

Which labor federation led by Samuel Gompers limited membership to skilled workers and relied on collective bargaining?

The American Federation of Labor (AFL).

What 1890 law outlawed trusts that restrained free trade but was often used against striking workers?

The Sherman Antitrust Act.

Which 1887 law tried—mostly unsuccessfully—to regulate railroad rates and practices?

The Interstate Commerce Act.

What term describes the Industrial Age policy of minimal government interference in the economy?

Laissez-faire.

Which 1862 act gave federal land to states to finance agricultural colleges?

The Morrill Act.

What political party of the 1890s fought for farmers, railroad regulation, and free silver?

The Populist Party.

What organization of farmers sought to curb railroad abuses through state legislation?

The Grange.

Which 1890 massacre of roughly 300 Sioux signaled the end of the Indian Wars?

The Battle of Wounded Knee.

What 1887 act attempted to assimilate Native Americans by allotting 160 acres to each head of household?

The Dawes Act.

Which 1862 law offered 160 acres of free land to settlers willing to farm it for five years?

The Homestead Act.

What policy aimed to have Native Americans abandon their culture and adopt white customs?

Assimilation.

Which monetary system backed U.S. currency only with gold and was favored by creditors?

The Gold Standard.

What alternative monetary system, promoted by farmers, would back currency with both gold and silver?

Bimetallism (Free Silver).

What vast grassland region stretching from Texas to Canada was home to many Plains tribes?

The Great Plains.

What animal provided meat, clothing, shelter, and tools, making it central to Plains Indian life?

The buffalo (American bison).

Which Spanish-introduced animal revolutionized mobility and hunting for Plains Indians around 1600?

The horse.

What Plains practice of touching a live enemy with a coup stick without killing him earned warriors prestige?

Counting coup.

How did Plains Indians traditionally view land ownership?

Land was held in common and could not be privately owned.

What portable dwelling made of buffalo hides did Plains Indians use?

The tipi (tepee).

What staple food was made by drying buffalo meat and mixing it with berries and fat?

Pemmican (buffalo jerky mixed with berries and fat).

Who served as spiritual leaders believed to communicate with powerful spirits in Plains cultures?

Shamans or medicine men/women.

Which 1876 engagement, also called Custer’s Last Stand, exemplified Native resistance to U.S. expansion?

The Battle of the Little Bighorn.

What cattle trail ran from San Antonio, Texas, to Abilene, Kansas, to reach railheads?

The Chisholm Trail.

What 1870s invention allowed farmers to fence land cheaply, ending the open range?

Barbed wire.

Name the three main motives that drew white settlers to the Great Plains after the Civil War.

Searching for gold, cattle ranching opportunities, and farming fertile land.

What form of federal aid spurred rapid settlement by granting land to railroad companies?

Railroad land grants.

About how many buffalo remained on the Plains by 1890 after mass slaughter reduced herds from roughly 65 million?

Fewer than a thousand.

What famous line did Chief Joseph reportedly declare after the final defeat of Native resistance?

"I will fight no more forever."