U.S. History Final Exam Review: Gilded Age to Mid-20th Century

Vocabulary terms and definitions based on practice final exam questions covering American history from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century.

Populism

A rural-based reform movement of the $1890s$ concerned with farmers' economic problems, which found its strongest support among western and southern farmers.

Bessemer process

A technological innovation crucial for the manufacture of steel.

Civil Rights Progress Periods

The two historical periods when the federal government made its greatest efforts to protect black Americans through constitutional amendments and laws were Reconstruction and the $1960s$.

Woodrow Wilson's Foreign Policy

An approach to international relations that appealed to idealism and moralism to justify actions and expressed faith in self-determination for the peoples of the world.

Revisionist Historians (WWI)

Historians who argued the United States intervened in the First World War between $1914$ and $1917$ due to profits from the arms trade and other American economic interests.

Gilded Age Political System

A system characterized by a virtual stalemate between the Republicans and Democrats in both Presidential elections and control of Congress.

Scientific Management

Frederick W. Taylor's system designed to transfer control over production from workers to supervisors to increase efficiency.

“Waving the bloody shirt”

A political tactic used by northern Republicans to label the Democrats as the party of disloyalty to the Union.

Social Darwinism

An ideology featuring the Protestant ethic, individualism, classical laissez-faire economics, and the concept of survival of the fittest to justify American imperialism.

Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson's proposal that included collective security through the League of Nations, lowering of tariffs, freedom of the seas, and arms reductions.

Muckraking

A style of investigative writing, exemplified by Upton Sinclair, used to secure the passage of federal legislation through social critique.

“Cross of Gold” Speech

A famous speech delivered by William Jennings Bryan during the Democratic nominating convention of $1896$ attacking the gold standard.

Frederick Jackson Turner's Thesis

The argument that the existence of free land and the continuous recession of the western frontier explain American development and shaped the national character.

Pendleton Act of $1883$

A law that established the merit and tenure system for the federal administration, marking a significant long-term change in the civil service.

Robber Barons

A derogatory term for Gilded Age businessmen, such as John D. Rockefeller, viewed as ruthless competitors who exploited workers and cheated investors.

Settlement House Movement

An early $1900s$ program, such as Hull House founded by Jane Addams, privately run by native-born women to help assimilate newcomers into American culture.

Mugwumps

A group that influenced the Election of $1884$ by defecting from the Republican party and criticizing its candidate.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

An influential author whose writings argued for the importance of sea power in world history as a foundation for American diplomacy.

Knights of Labor

A labor organization that, unlike the American Federation of Labor, welcomed all skilled and unskilled workers, including blacks and women.

Dollar Diplomacy

The foreign policy associated with William Howard Taft that encouraged using the American dollar to aid states and replace instability with financial stability.

Homestead Act

A Civil War-era law providing that a settler could acquire $160\,\text{acres}$ of land by living on it and improving it for $5\,\text{years}$.

Marcus Garvey

The first leader to gain a mass following among black Americans.

Federal Reserve Act

Legislation passed during the Wilson administration to regulate banking and currency.

Dawes Severalty Act of $1887$

A law intended to assimilate Native Americans into white culture by allotting lands to individuals and breaking up tribal governments.

Scopes Trial

A famous legal case concerning the teaching of evolution in public schools.

Al Smith

A significant political figure and symbol of the rising power of urban Catholics and Jews in American history.

Dawes Plan of $1924$

A strategy to facilitate the payment of reparations and debts by encouraging American private loans to Germany.

Open Door Notes

Secretary of State John Hay's $1899$ statements opposing commercial discrimination by major powers in China within their spheres of influence.