The Gilded Age and Westward Expansion

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key terms, dates, people, and concepts from the Gilded Age and Westward Expansion lecture notes.

Gilded Age Time Period

The historical era spanning from 1870 to 1900.

First Transcontinental Railroad Completion

Completed on May 10, 1869 (authorized by Congress in 1862).

Homestead Act

An 1862 act aimed at helping American expansion and farming settlements in the West by giving 160 acres to settlers who improved the land for 5 years.

Sitting Bull

The leader of the Sioux in the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Battle of Wounded Knee

A conflict between Native Americans and the U.S. government that occurred in 1890.

Union Pacific Railroad

The railroad company that worked westward from Nebraska, employing mostly Irish workers.

Central Pacific Railroad

The railroad company that worked eastward from California, employing mostly Chinese workers.

Barbed Wire

An invention used by farmers to close off land, which stopped ranchers from grazing longhorns and led to the decline of the open range.

Decline of Buffalo Populations

An event on the Great Plains that starved Native Americans and destroyed their economic foundation and nomadic lifestyle.

Challenges of Homesteaders

Difficulties faced on the Great Plains including unwatered lands, limited rainfall, sod houses, and a lack of timber/wood, which led to 60% failing to build a house.

Open Range

Land used by ranchers to graze longhorns during the 3-month drive, which eventually declined due to farmers planting barbed wire.

Chinese Exclusion Act

Legislation passed that marked the end of Chinese immigration to the United States.

Americanization

The U.S. government policy aimed at assimilating Native American tribes into American culture, turning the U.S. into a 'Melting Pot'.

Thomas Edison

A major inventor from the Gilded Age who invented the light bulb.

Alexander Graham Bell

A major inventor from the Gilded Age who invented the telephone, helping American society economically, as well as in transportation and communication.

R.O.S.E.

An acronym representing the key drivers of the Industrial Revolution: Railroads, Oil, Steel, and Electricity.

The Railroad Industry

Recognized as the first 'big business' in America.

Railroad Contributions to Industrial Growth

Drove economic growth by generating demand for oil and steel, and led to the development of the first time zones.