Unit 2A Study Guide: Industrialization, Westward Expansion, and Immigration

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key people, events, concepts, and legislative acts from the Unit 2A Study Guide on industrialization, westward expansion, labor, and immigration.

Laissez-faire economics

An economic policy where businesses are allowed to operate with little to no government interference or oversight.

Buffalo (American bison)

The main animal hunted by Native Americans, serving as a primary source of food, clothing, and shelter.

Jacob Riis

A reformer who documented and photographed the living conditions of the urban poor to expose their hardships.

Assimilation

The process and policy used to force Native Americans to adopt white American values, customs, and culture.

Electricity

A power source that allowed factories to operate away from rivers and waterways.

Bessemer Process

An industrial method used to produce steel quickly and cheaply.

Industrialization

The rapid growth of manufacturing and industry in the late 1800s United States, fueled by natural resources and a large labor force.

Cowboys

Ranch hands on the frontier, one-third of whom were African Americans, Mexicans, and Mexican Americans.

Political machines

Organizations that frequently provided jobs and services to immigrants in exchange for their political votes.

Wounded Knee and Little Bighorn

Major military conflicts fought between the U.S. Army and Native Americans, particularly the Sioux (Lakota).

Tenement apartment buildings

Crowded housing where poor and working-class urban families, especially immigrants, typically lived.

Labor unions

Worker organizations that expanded in membership to advocate for higher wages, shorter workdays, and safer working conditions.

Gentlemen's Agreement

A diplomatic arrangement where Japan agreed to restrict immigration to the United States in exchange for California desegregating its public schools.

Andrew Carnegie

An industrialist who made his fortune and achieved prominence through the steel industry.

John D. Rockefeller

An industrialist who achieved prominence and built his wealth in the oil industry.

Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull

Sioux leaders who organized and led the attack against George Custer and his forces.

Geronimo

The Apache leader whose surrender marked the conclusion of major armed Indian resistance against the U.S. government.

Orville and Wilbur Wright

The inventors credited with building and flying the first successful powered airplane.

Ellis Island

The primary federal immigration processing station located in New York harbor.

Angel Island

The federal immigration processing station located in San Francisco Bay.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

Federal legislation that restricted Chinese immigration and denied Chinese immigrants eligibility for citizenship.

Jackie Robinson

The baseball player who broke Major League Baseball's modern color barrier in 1947 and had his number 42 retired across MLB.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

An entrepreneur who amassed great wealth through investments in the railroad and shipping industries.

Chief Joseph

The leader of the Nez Perce tribe during their conflicts and interactions with the U.S. government.

C. F. Dowd

The man who proposed dividing the world into standard time zones to create uniform railroad schedules.

Thomas Edison

The inventor who developed a practical and commercially viable incandescent electric light bulb.

Cincinnati Red Stockings

The first openly all-professional baseball team, founded in 1869.

Nikola A. Otto

The engineer who invented the four-stroke internal combustion engine.

Steel

A strong, versatile material that enabled the construction of high-rise skyscrapers.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A prominent labor union organization that advocated for higher wages, shorter working hours, and improved working conditions.

Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890

A federal law passed to break up monopolies and prohibit business practices that restrained trade.

Thomas Watson

The executive known for leading IBM and developing it into a major force in the business-machine industry.

Standard time zones

Geographic divisions created primarily for the railroad industry to make train travel schedules safer and more reliable.