American Studies-Industrialization and Progressivism

Main economic transformation in the U.S.

From an agricultural economy to an industrial economy

Corporation

A business owned by shareholders that allows for large amounts of capital investment

Heavy industry impact on U.S. economy

It produced steel, oil, and railroads that fueled industrial growth and urban expansion

Mechanized farming effect

It increased crop yields but reduced the demand for farm labor

Technological innovations impact

They improved communication, efficiency, and quality of life for many Americans

Significance of the assembly line

It made production faster and cheaper, leading to mass production and lower prices

Shift in labor due to industrialization

From skilled to unskilled labor in factories

Impact of mass immigration around 1900

It filled the demand for workers and diversified American culture

Nativism influence on American society

It led to prejudice and restrictions against immigrants

Great Migration

The movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North for jobs and less discrimination

Urbanization change in American cities

Cities became more crowded, with poor sanitation, crime, and tenement housing

Role of public transportation in urban growth

It allowed workers and middle-class citizens to commute for jobs and leisure

Laissez-faire policy

A hands-off government approach that allowed big businesses to grow unchecked

Laissez-faire policies effect on monopolies

They allowed corporations to dominate industries without regulation

Labor unions goals during industrialization

Shorter hours, better pay, safer conditions, and limits on child labor

Collective bargaining

Negotiation between workers and employers to improve working conditions

Labor unions pressure tactics

Strikes and boycotts

Haymarket Riot (1886)

A labor rally turned violent after a bomb exploded, leading to distrust of unions

Homestead Strike (1892)

A violent labor conflict at Carnegie Steel that weakened unions

Purpose of the Homestead Act (1862)

To give settlers 160 acres of land if they farmed it for five years

Impact of the Homestead Act on Native Americans

It displaced them from their ancestral lands

Plains Wars

Conflicts between Native tribes and the U.S. Army over land and resources

Battle of Little Bighorn

Custer and the U.S. Army were defeated by Sioux and Cheyenne warriors

Significance of the Battle of Little Bighorn

It was the greatest Native victory but led to harsher U.S. policies

Ghost Dance Movement

A Native spiritual movement hoping to restore lands and buffalo

U.S. officials' worry about the Ghost Dance

They saw it as a threat, which led to the Wounded Knee Massacre

Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)

U.S. troops killed hundreds of Sioux, ending Native armed resistance

Jim Crow laws

State laws enforcing segregation and racial discrimination

Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

That 'separate but equal' segregation was constitutional

Impact of groups like the Ku Klux Klan after Reconstruction

It increased racial violence and intimidation, limiting civil rights