StudyGuide l

Freedmen's Bureau

Established in 1865, it assisted freed slaves and poor whites in the South with food, housing, education, and legal assistance after the Civil War.

Sharecropping

An agricultural practice where landowners allowed tenants to farm in exchange for a share of the crop, often leading to economic exploitation and a cycle of debt.

Black Codes

Restrictive laws enacted in Southern states after the Civil War to control the newly freed African American population and limit their civil rights.

Thirteenth Amendment

Ratified in 1865, it abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as punishment for a crime.

Fourteenth Amendment

Ratified in 1868, it granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., including former slaves.

Fifteenth Amendment

Ratified in 1870, it prohibited states from denying the right to vote based on race, color, or condition of servitude.

Ku Klux Klan

Founded in 1866, it is a secret society that aimed to undermine Reconstruction and maintain white supremacy through violence and intimidation.

Redeemers

A political coalition in the late 1870s in the South, mainly Democrats, seeking to regain control from Republican rule and restore white supremacy.

Bargain of 1877

A compromise that resolved the 1876 presidential election by agreeing to withdraw federal troops from the South, ending the Reconstruction era.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy where a company controls multiple stages of production or supply, aimed at reducing costs and improving efficiency.

Captains of Industry

Prominent business leaders who advanced the U.S. economy through innovation and entrepreneurship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Robber Barons

Unscrupulous businessmen in the late 19th century who amassed wealth through exploitative practices, often leading to social inequalities.

Dawes Act

An 1887 law aimed at assimilating Native Americans by allotting them individual plots of land, dismantling tribal landholding.

Ghost Dance

A spiritual movement among Native Americans that aimed to restore traditional life, misinterpreted as a threat leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre.

Indian Boarding Schools

Institutions established to forcibly assimilate Native American children into Euro-American culture, erasing Indigenous identities.

Social Darwinism

A theory applying Darwin’s evolution concepts to societies, used to justify social inequalities and the wealth of the industrialists.

Knights of Labor

One of the first significant labor organizations in the U.S., formed in 1869, advocating for worker rights and social reforms.

Social Gospel

A religious movement promoting the application of Christian principles to social issues, focusing on social justice and the welfare of the poor.

Haymarket Affair

A labor protest in 1886 that turned violent, resulting in heightened mistrust of labor movements and a crackdown on organized labor.

The Peoples Party/Populists

A political movement in the late 19th century focused on addressing the struggles of farmers and advocating for the rights of the common people.

Free Silver

A 1890s movement advocating for the unlimited coinage of silver to increase the money supply and assist farmers with their debts.

Disenfranchisement

Methods used to suppress voting rights of African Americans and poor whites, primarily in the South, following the Reconstruction era.

Plessy v. Ferguson

A landmark 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the doctrine 'separate but equal.'

Lynching

Extrajudicial killings, particularly of African Americans in the South, often justified as maintaining social order.

New Immigrants

Immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe in the 1890s who faced significant cultural and economic challenges in the U.S.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

The first federal law to prohibit immigration based on ethnicity, specifically targeting Chinese laborers.

Booker T. Washington

An African American educator advocating for vocational education and economic independence who founded the Tuskegee Institute.

Spanish-American War

A brief 1898 conflict between the U.S. and Spain over Cuban independence that marked a shift in U.S. foreign policy.

The Philippine War

A conflict between the U.S. and Filipino revolutionaries (1899-1902) following the Spanish-American War, reflecting American imperialism.

Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire

A 1911 industrial disaster that killed 146 workers, leading to labor reforms and improved safety regulations.

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists in the early 20th century who exposed corruption and social injustices during the Progressive Era.

The Jungle

A 1906 novel by Upton Sinclair exposing conditions in the meatpacking industry, leading to food safety regulations.

Scientific management

A management theory aimed at improving efficiency and productivity through systematic study of workflows.

Seventeenth Amendment

Ratified in 1913, it established the direct election of U.S. Senators by voters, enhancing democratic practices.

Jane Addams and Hull House

Jane Addams co-founded Hull House in 1889 to provide social services to immigrants and promote social reform.

Sixteenth Amendment

Ratified in 1913, it authorized the federal government to impose an income tax, shifting fiscal policy in the U.S.

Lusitania

A British ocean liner sunk by a German U-boat in 1915, leading to public outrage and influencing U.S. entry into WWI.

Zimmerman Telegram

A secret German proposal for a military alliance with Mexico in 1917, inflaming U.S. public opinion against Germany.

Alice Paul

A prominent suffragist who advocated for women's voting rights and played a crucial role in the women's suffrage movement.

The Espionage Act of 1917

Legislation aimed at preventing military interference and disclosing national defense information during WWI.

The Sedition Act of 1918

An extension of the Espionage Act, targeting disloyal language about the U.S. government and curtailing free speech.

NAACP

Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People aims to combat racial discrimination and promote civil rights.

The Great Migration

The mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to urban areas in the North during 1910-1920 for better opportunities.

The Red Scare

A period of intense fear of communism and radicalism in the U.S. following WWI, leading to civil rights abuses.

Sacco-Vanzetti Case

The controversial trial and execution of two Italian immigrants accused of robbery and murder, emblematic of anti-immigrant sentiment.

Rise of the Stock Market Crash

The speculative investment behaviors leading to the 1929 stock market crash marked by an economic bubble.

Flapper

A cultural phenomenon of the 1920s, representing a new generation of liberated women who defied traditional norms.

Hays Code

Implemented in 1922, it was a set of guidelines for moral standards in filmmaking, influencing Hollywood until the 1960s.