APUSH UNIT 6 (1865-1898)

American Anti-Slavery Society

Founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan was a pivotal abolitionist organization calling for immediate, uncompensated emancipation. It promoted "moral suasion" via pamphlets, lecturers, and newspapers like The Liberator, fueling the abolitionist movement and increasing sectional tensions before the Civil War

Americanization

process where immigrants and Native Americans were pressured to adopt mainstream American culture, language, and customs. Driven by nativism and urbanization, this push aimed to create a "melting pot," often creating ethnic enclaves for survival.

Annexation of Hawaii

was a key example of American imperialism in the late 19th century, driven by economic interests (sugar), strategic military needs in the Pacific, and the influence of missionaries.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

was the first federal law designed to curb monopolies, trusts, and anti-competitive practices that restrained trade. Passed in response to public outcry over industrial greed, it aimed to ensure economic competition, setting a precedent for government regulation of big business. Initially weak due to conservative court interpretations, such as in United States v. E.C. Knight Co. (1895), which hindered its enforcement against manufacturing monopolies.

Clayton Anti-Trust Act

Passed in 1914 under Wilson, it strengthened the 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act by explicitly banning monopolistic practices like price discrimination, interlocking directorates, and anti-competitive mergers. Crucially, it legalized labor unions, peaceful strikes, and boycotts, declaring that labor was not a "commodity

Assimilation

the federal government's policy and cultural movement to force Native Americans to adopt white American culture, customs, and economic practices, aiming to absorb them into mainstream U.S. society and eliminate traditional tribal identities.

Barbed Wire

Invented by Joseph Glidden in 1874, it a revolutionary fencing material used to divide the lumber-scarce Great Plains. It finalized the end of the open-range cattle industry, transformed Western agriculture, and symbolized the technological closing of the American frontier

Battle of Little Big Horn

a major Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne victory in the Great Sioux War, where they defeated the U.S. 7th Cavalry in Montana. Led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, Indigenous forces overwhelmed Lt. Col. George Custer, fighting against US encroachment following black hills gold discovery.

Bleeding Kansas

(approx. 1854–1859) refers to a violent, tumultuous period in the Kansas Territory resulting from the Kansas-Nebraska Act’s application of popular sovereignty. Pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers clashed violently to influence territorial elections, often described as a proxy war that directly foreshadowed the Civil War and intensified sectional polarization

Booker T. Washington

was a dominant African American leader, educator, and founder of the Tuskegee Institute (1881) who advocated for vocational training, economic self-help, and industrial education over immediate social/political equality. He believed that African Americans should accept segregation to gain economic ground, focus on internal community advancement, and that they should work to gradually gain rights and equality.

Carnegie Steel Company

exemplified industrialization through vertical integration, controlling all production stages from iron ore mines to railroads and manufacturing. He represented the "Captain of Industry" vs. "Robber Baron" debate, promoting the "Gospel of Wealth" while dominating the steel industry during the Gilded Age.

Chinese Exclusion Act 1882

was the first major US federal law to restrict immigration based on nationality and race, banning Chinese laborers for 10 years.

The City Beautiful Movement

was a turn-of-the-century (1890s-1900s) urban planning and architectural movement in North America that aimed to improve chaotic, industrial cities by introducing monumental grandeur, aesthetics, and order. It sought to boost civic pride, create a more harmonious social order, and promote moral virtue among city dwellers through beautification projects

Colored Farmer’s Alliance

(1886) was a Texas-founded organization for Black farmers and laborers excluded from the white Southern Farmers' Alliance. It aimed to improve economic conditions through cooperatives and education, eventually boasting over 1 million members, but it faced failure after a failed 1891 cotton pickers' strike.

Commodore Perry's Expedition to Japan

was a U.S. Navy mission tasked with ending Japan’s two-century policy of national seclusion (sakoku) to establish trade, secure fueling stations for American steamships, and guarantee safety for shipwrecked American sailors. By using "gunboat diplomacy"—intimidating the Japanese with advanced warships known as the "Black Ships"—Perry forced the signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854, marking a critical shift in U.S. foreign policy toward imperialist expansion in Asia and triggering Japan's rapid modernization.

Dawes Act 1887

was a federal law aimed at forcing the assimilation of Native Americans by breaking up communal reservation lands into individual plots (160 acres to heads of families). It aimed to end tribal sovereignty, promote farming, and sell "surplus" land to white settlers, resulting in a loss of over 90 million acres of indigenous land

Distinct Middle Class

refers to the rapidly expanding, urban-based group of salaried managers, professionals, and clerical workers (e.g., engineers, salespeople, accountants). Fostered by large-scale industrialization and corporate growth, they enjoyed higher incomes, increased leisure time, and a distinct consumer culture.

Ellis Island

was the primary federal immigration processing center (1892–1954)

Farmers' Alliances

were organized agrarian movements in the 1870s-1880s (peaking early 1890s) that replaced the Grange to fight against railroad abuses, high bank interest rates, and low crop prices.

Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864

federal laws passed by Congress (and signed by Lincoln) to promote the construction of a transcontinental railroad, providing vast land grants, subsidies, and loans to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads. These acts connected the West to eastern markets, fueling industrial growth, westward migration, and the exploitation of immigrant labor.

Free Silver Movement

advocated for the unlimited, free coinage of silver at a fixed ratio to gold (16 to 1). Primarily supported by Western silver miners, Southern and Western farmers (Populists), and debtors, the movement aimed to expand the money supply to cause inflation, which would help debtors repay loans with "cheaper" money and increase farm prices

Freedmanś Bureau

a U.S. federal agency established by Congress on March 3, 1865, to aid newly freed slaves and impoverished whites in the South during the early Reconstruction era. It it operated from 1865 to 1872, acting as a crucial, though underfunded, bridge for millions of people transitioning from slavery to citizenship.

George Washington Carver

was an influential African American agricultural scientist, educator, and inventor during APUSH Period 6 (1865–1898) and the early 20th century, renowned for promoting sustainable agriculture in the South. He urged poor Southern farmers to diversify their crops to break the cycle of dependence on cotton and soil depletion.

The Gilded Age

(1865–1898) defines a post-Reconstruction era of rapid industrialization, massive urbanization, and huge immigration, masked by immense economic disparities and political corruption. Coined by Mark Twain, it signifies a surface-level glitter (economic boom) covering deep social problems, such as poor labor conditions, monopolies, and the rise of political machines.

The Gospel of Wealth

is an 1889 essay by Andrew Carnegie arguing that the wealthy should act as stewards of their money for the public good. It justified Gilded Age wealth inequality while promoting philanthropy (libraries, schools) over charity.

Telephone

Alexander Graham Bell’s invention revolutionized communication by allowing for instantaneous voice communication over long distances, replacing the telegraph and facilitating the rapid expansion of19th-century business operations

The Omaha Platform

1892 political agenda of the Populist Party (People's Party), demanding radical economic and political reforms to aid farmers and laborers during the Gilded Age. It called for "free silver" (bimetallism), graduated income tax, direct election of senators, and government ownership of railroads/utilities.

The Great Sioux Wars

(primarily 1876–1877) were a series of violent conflicts between the US Army and Sioux/Cheyenne tribes in the Great Plains, driven by gold-seeking settlers violating treaty lands. Sparked by the Black Hills gold rush, this struggle saw significant resistance led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse against US forces.

The Haymarket affair

was a violent confrontation in Chicago between labor protesters and police, arising from a strike for an eight-hour workday. A bomb thrown at police led to deaths and mass arrests of anarchists, devastating the reputation of the Knights of Labor and weakening the national labor movement by associating it with violence and radicalism.

Homestead Strike

a violent labor dispute between the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers and the Carnegie Steel Company in Pennsylvania. It was caused by management—led by Henry Clay Frick—imposing wage cuts and attempting to break the union to cut costs. The strike was broken, weakening labor unions during the Gilded Age

Horizontal Integration

is a Gilded Age business strategy where a company acquires or merges with competitors in the same industry to reduce competition, control market prices, and create a monopoly. Popularized by John D. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil company, this technique consolidated similar businesses into a "trust" to maximize profits and gain immense control over a single stage of production.

How the Other Half Lives

is a pioneering work of photojournalism by muckraker Jacob Riis exposing the squalid living conditions of NYC’s tenement slums. It revealed the extreme poverty, disease, and overcrowding affecting immigrants and the urban poor during the Gilded Age, directly fueling Progressive Era urban reforms.

Industrial Capitalism

is an economic system characterized by private ownership of factories and railroads, mass production, and competitive markets, which thrived during the Gilded Age. It fueled massive economic expansion, consolidation through trusts and monopolies, and intensified labor issues, shifting the U.S. from agrarian to industrial.

The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887

was a landmark federal law regulating railroad monopolies. It required "just and reasonable" shipping rates, prohibited long-haul/short-haul discrimination, and established the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)—the first independent federal regulatory agency—to oversee railroad industry practices.

Jane Addams’ Hull House/Settlement houses

Progressive Era centers providing education, daycare, healthcare, and job training to immigrants and the poor in urban, industrialized areas. Led by college-educated women, they served as hubs for social reform, labor advocacy, and women’s activism.

Jim Crow Laws

were state and local statutes enacted primarily in the Southern U.S. from the post-Reconstruction era (late 19th century) until the 1960s. They enforced strict racial segregation and disenfranchised African Americans, upholding a system of white supremacy. Key elements included separate public facilities, voter restrictions, and the "separate but equal" doctrine.

Knights of Labor

was a prominent, inclusive American labor union during the Gilded Age that aimed to organize all workers—regardless of skill, gender, or race—to improve labor conditions, advocate for an eight-hour workday, and create a cooperative society. Led by Terence V. Powderly, they reached peak membership in the mid-1880s but declined after the 1886 Haymarket Riot linked them to labor violence.

Migration Trails (Oregon, California, Mormon)

were major overland wagon routes used during the 1840s-1860s for westward expansion (Manifest Destiny), primarily beginning in Missouri. These routes brought hundreds of thousands of settlers west for farming, religious freedom, or gold, facing arduous conditions while crossing mountains and plains.

Nativism

is the intense opposition to immigration and the prioritizing of native-born, white Protestant citizens over "new" immigrants from Southern/Eastern Europe and Asia. Fueled by economic anxieties and cultural prejudices during the Gilded Age, it resulted in discriminatory legislation and increased anti-immigrant sentiment.

New Immigrants

refers to the surge of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe (e.g., Italy, Poland, Russia, Greece) and Asia, arriving roughly 1880s–1920s. Unlike "Old Immigrants," they were largely Catholic, Jewish, or Orthodox, frequently settled in urban ethnic neighborhoods (ghettos), worked unskilled industrial jobs, and faced intense nativism

Old Immigrant

refers to immigrants arriving before the 1890s, primarily from Northern/Western Europe (Germany, Ireland, Britain, Scandinavia). They were generally Protestant (except Irish), often skilled, and assimilated more easily than "New Immigrants," facing less

Party Patronage

was the Gilded Age political system where parties rewarded loyal supporters, campaign workers, and voters with government jobs, contracts, and favors, also known as the spoils system. It focused on winning elections over policy, fueling political machine corruption until largely replaced by the civil service/merit system via the 1883 Pendleton Act.

Populist Party

an agrarian-based political movement that sought to aid struggling farmers and laborers against monopolistic railroads, banks, and big business. Key goals included free silver (bimetallism), a graduated income tax, and government control of railroads

Plessy v. Ferguson

was a landmark Supreme Court case that established the "separate but equal" doctrine, legalized Jim Crow segregation laws, and upheld Louisiana's Separate Car Act

Political machines

they are highly organized, often corrupt urban party organizations, controlled by a "boss" or small group, that commands enough votes to maintain control of local government. They traded services (housing, jobs) for immigrant votes and enriched themselves via graft/kickbacks

Pullman Strike

a nationwide railroad boycott and violent strike in Chicago, led by Eugene V. Debs and the American Railway Union (ARU). Triggered by wage cuts without rent reduction in Pullman’s company town during the 1893 depression, it paralyzed rail traffic. President Cleveland broke the strike using federal troops, citing interference with mail delivery

Seward’s Folly

was the US acquisition of 586,412 square miles of land from Russia for $7.2 million, orchestrated by Secretary of State William Seward, the land covered what would become Alaska.

Push and Pull Factors

re conditions forcing people to leave their homes (poverty, persecution), while Pull Factors are attractions drawing them to the U.S. (jobs, freedom). Driven by Gilded Age industrialization, these factors caused massive migration to cities, creating a, "New Immigrant" wave from southern/eastern Europe and fostering westward expansion

Reservation system

a US federal policy restricting Native Americans to specific lands, aimed at controlling them, facilitating westward expansion, and enforcing cultural assimilation. This system replaced treaties with dependency on government rations and culminated in the Dawes Act (1887), which broke up communal lands into individual allotments to destroy tribal structure

Rockefeller (Oil)

Rockefeller revolutionized the oil industry by founding Standard Oil Company (1870) and dominating it through horizontal integration, controlling nearly 90% of U.S. refining by the 1880s. He created a trust to eliminate competition, often regarded as a "robber baron" who exploited the laissez-faire economy of the Gilded Age.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. mail-order catalog

(founded 1886) was a transformative, mass-consumer retail tool, allowing rural families to buy goods. It fueled the rise of national consumer culture and standardized consumption, surpassing competitors like Montgomery Ward to dominate retail by 1900.

Social Darwinism

applied Charles Darwin’s "survival of the fittest" theory to human society, justifying the massive wealth concentration of the Gilded Age. It argued that the rich were naturally superior ("fittest") and that aiding the poor hindered progress, promoting laissez-faire capitalism and opposing government regulation of corporations.

Social Gospel

was a Protestant intellectual and reform movement in the late 19th century that applied Christian ethics to social problems, particularly poverty, inequality, and labor rights, in response to the harsh realities of the Gilded Age

Spoils System

was the corrupt Gilded Age practice of rewarding political supporters with federal jobs, fueling inefficiency and party machines

Pendleton Civil Service Act

was a key Gilded Age reform that ended the federal spoils system, replacing patronage with a merit-based, competitive examination system for government jobs. Sparked by President Garfield's assassination, it professionalized the civil service and reduced political party corruption.

Treaty of Paris 1898

the United States acquired the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico, and established a protectorate over Cuba. This marked the transition of the U.S. into a colonial world power, sparking intense domestic debate over imperialism

Treaty of Fort Laramie

a pivotal agreement ending Red Cloud's War, intended to bring peace between the U.S. and Sioux by creating the Great Sioux Reservation in the Black Hills, South Dakota.

Turner Thesis

argued that the closing of the Western frontier (marked by the 1890 Census) signaled the end of a defining, 300-year era of American development. Turner believed westward expansion created American democracy, fostered individualism, and shaped a unique national identity, creating anxiety about the nation's future without a "safety valve" for social discontent

Unions

emerged as a response to the rapid industrialization, low wages, and dangerous working conditions of the Gilded Age.

Vanderbilt (Railroad)

consolidated smaller rail lines into the massive New York Central Railroad system, linking NYC to Chicago.

Vaudeville

was a popular form of inexpensive, variety entertainment that became a staple of American urban popular culture during the Gilded Age

Vertical Integration

a Gilded Age business strategy where a corporation controls all stages of production—from raw materials to distribution—to cut costs, eliminate middlemen, and increase efficiency

Horizontal Integration

is a business strategy where one company acquires or merges with its competitors within the same industry to eliminate competition and control market share

Montgomery Ward (Mail Order Catalog)

using the expanded railroad network to bring manufactured goods to rural consumers. It facilitated the rise of consumer culture and helped bridge the rural-urban divide, alongside Sears, Roebuck.

Wounded Knee Massacre

in South Dakota marked the final, tragic end of Native American armed resistance against U.S. expansion on the Great Plains. After the US 7th Cavalry massacred nearly 300 Lakota Sioux—many women and children—the government suppressed the spiritual Ghost Dance movement, forcing remaining tribes onto reservations.

Ghost Dance Movement

was a spiritual revival among Native Americans, notably the Lakota Sioux, aimed at resisting white encroachment and restoring traditional life.

Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

founded in 1874, was a pivotal Progressive Era organization (Unit 7, 1890-1945) that grew into the largest women’s group of its time, advocating for prohibition, women's suffrage, labor reform, and prison reform. Led by Frances Willard, it targeted alcohol to protect families, directly influencing the 18th Amendment.