US History Test 1

Bessemer Process

A process for making steel more efficiently, patented in 1856.

Boss Tweed

A political boss who carried corruption to new extremes, and cheated NYC out of more than $100 million

Mutual Aid Societies

voluntary associations that provide a variety of economic and social benefits to their members

Thomas Edison

American inventor best known for inventing the electric light bulb, acoustic recording on wax cylinders, and motion pictures.

Knights of Labor

labor union that sought to organize all workers and focused on broad social reforms

Sand Creek Massacre

1864 incident in which Colorado militia killed a camp of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians

Factors of Development

1. Raw materials
2. Labor
3. Capital-money for investment

Terrence Powderly

American Labor Leader who led the knights of labor from 1879-1893

Social Gospel Movement

A 19th century reform movement based on the belief that Christians have a responsibility to help improve working conditions and alleviate poverty

Andrew Carnegie

steel king; made a vast fortune by building steel mills in the country

Jacob Riis

Early 1900's muckraker who exposed social and political evils in the U.S. with his novel "How The Other Half Lives"; exposed the poor conditions of the poor tenements in NYC and Hell's Kitchen

Baseball

Sport that became "American's Favorite Passtime" in the 1860's and 70's

Vertical Integration

When a company owns or controls all of the steps in the production process

American Federation of Labor

The first federation of labor unions in the United States. Founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886

Tenements

Poorly built, overcrowded housing where many immigrants lived; terrible living conditions

The Robber Barons

Refers to the industrialists or big business owners who were giants of the American economy. They controlled almost every major industry

Samuel Gompers

He was the creator of the American Federation of Labor. He provided a stable and unified union for skilled workers.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Separate but equal

John D. Rockefeller

Established the Standard Oil Company, the greatest, wisest, and meanest monopoly known in history

Homestead Strike (1892)

It was one of the most violent strikes in U.S. history. It was against the Homestead Steel Works, which was part of the Carnegie Steel Company, in Pennsylvania in retaliation against wage cuts. The riot was ultimately put down by Pinkerton Police and the state militia, and the violence further damaged the image of unions.

Jane Adams

American social worker and activist, co-founder of Hull house; first woman to win Nobel Peace prize

The Gospel of Wealth

This was a book written by Carnegie that described the responsibility of the rich to be philanthropists. This softened the harshness of Social Darwinism as well as promoted the idea of philanthropy.

Haymarket Riot

In this location, a bomb was hurled toward police officials, and police opened fire on the demonstrators; numerous policemen and demonstrators were killed and wounded; response in nation's press was decidedly anti-union.

Seneca Falls Conference

The first organized women's rights conference

Social Darwinism

The belief that only the fittest survive in human political and economic struggle.

Little Big Horn

Battle between Custer's Seventh Cavalry and the Sioux, Custer's Seventh was decimated

Carrie Chapman Catt

(1859-1947) A suffragette who was president of the National Women's Suffrage Association, and founder of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance. Instrumental in obtaining passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

The New Immigrants

Immigrants who came to the United States during and after the 1880s; most were from southern and eastern Europe.

Anarchy

absence of government

Farmer's Alliance

A Farmers' organization founded in late 1870s; worked for lower railroad freight rates, lower interest rates, and a change in the governments tight money policy

Ghost Dance Movement

The last effort of Native Americans to resist US domination and drive whites from their ancestral lands, came through as a religious movement.

Jim Crow Laws

Poll taxes/literacy tests; designed to enforce segregation by keeping as many AA's from voting as possible; also to restrict poor whites and AA's from voting together

Machine Politics

the process by which citizens of a city used their local ward alderman to work the "machine" of local politics to meet local needs within a neighborhood

Booker T. Washington

African American progressive who supported segregation and demanded that African American better themselves individually to achieve equality.

W.E.B Dubois

1st black to earn Ph.D. from Harvard, encouraged blacks to resist systems of segregation and discrimination, helped create NAACP in 1910

19th Amendment

Gave women the right to vote

Upton Sinclair

author of The Jungle that inspired pro-consumer federal laws regulating meat, food, and drugs

The Populist Party

U.S. political party formed in 1892 representing mainly farmers, favoring free coinage of silver, 8 hour workday and direct election of senators

William Jennings Bryan

Democratic candidate for president in 1896 under the banner of "free silver coinage" which won him support of the Populist Party.

The Progressive Era

period of political and social reform that lasted roughly from the 1890s to the 1920s

Boomers

Settlers who ran in land races to claim land upon the 1889 opening of Indian Territory for settlement

Sooners

In 1889, people who illegally claimed land by sneaking past government officials before the land races began

Muckrackers

Journalists who wrote about corruption in business and politics in order to bring about reform.

Keating-Owen Act

Prohibited the sale of interstate commerce goods produced by children

Alice Paul

suffragette who devoted her life to the cause of women's suffrage and equal rights; endured awful conditions while making her impact

Pullman Strike

widespread railroad strike and boycott that severely disrupted rail traffic in the Midwest of the United States in June-July 1894.

Leon Czolgosz

Killed president McKinley in 1901. He was an anarchist, one who believes in the absence of government.

William McKinley

25th president responsible for Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and the Annexation of Hawaii, imperialism. Is assassinated by an anarchist

Theodore Roosevelt

26th president, known for: conservationism, trust-busting, Hepburn Act, safe food regulations, "Square Deal," Panama Canal, Great White Fleet, Nobel Peace Prize for negotiation of peace in Russo-Japanese War

William Tweed

N.Y. political boss (did not hold a political office) controlled the Democratic political machine known as Tammany Hall; Stole $200 million form New York City