APUSH Period 6 Terms

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Gilded Age

A period in U.S. history from the 1870s to about 1900 characterized by rapid economic growth, industrialization, and social issues.

Third Party System

The political system in the United States from the 1850s to the 1890s, marked by the dominance of the Republican and Democratic parties.

Bourbon Democrats

A faction of the Democratic Party in the late 19th century that favored conservative policies and opposed reforms.

Stalwarts

A faction of the Republican Party in the late 19th century that supported the traditional party machine and opposed civil service reform.

Half-breeds

A faction of the Republican Party in the late 19th century that advocated for civil service reform and a merit-based system.

Mugwumps

Republican political activists who bolted from the party in the 1884 election to support the Democratic candidate due to corruption.

Chinese Exclusion Act

A U.S. federal law enacted in 1882 that prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers.

Pendleton Act

An 1883 law that established a merit-based system for federal employment and created the Civil Service Commission.

Sharecropping

A system of agriculture where a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in exchange for a share of the crops produced.

Convict lease

A system where prisoners were leased to private businesses for labor, often under brutal conditions.

Slaughter-House Cases (1873)

A landmark Supreme Court case that limited the scope of the 14th Amendment and the rights of citizens.

Civil Rights Cases (1896)

A group of Supreme Court cases that weakened the federal government's ability to protect civil rights.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

A Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Jim Crow laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

Poll tax

A tax levied as a prerequisite for voting, often used to disenfranchise poor and minority voters.

Literacy test

A test administered to prospective voters to determine their literacy skills, often used to disenfranchise African Americans.

Grandfather clause

A provision that allowed individuals to bypass literacy tests and poll taxes if their grandfathers had been eligible to vote before the Civil War.

Atlanta Compromise

An agreement proposed by Booker T. Washington that suggested African Americans accept segregation and disenfranchisement in exchange for economic opportunities.

W. E. B. Du Bois

An African American sociologist and civil rights activist who opposed the Atlanta Compromise and advocated for full civil rights.

Exodusters

African Americans who migrated from the Southern United States to Kansas in the late 19th century seeking land and opportunity.

Panic of 1873

A financial crisis that triggered a severe economic depression in the United States lasting until 1879.

Panic of 1893

A major economic depression that began in the United States due to railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing.

U.S. Steel

An American integrated steel producer formed in 1901 by J.P. Morgan, it was the first billion-dollar corporation.

Standard Oil

An American oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company established by John D. Rockefeller in 1870.

War of the Currents

The late 19th-century battle between Thomas Edison's direct current (DC) and Nikola Tesla's alternating current (AC) for electrical power distribution.

Taylorism

A theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows to improve economic efficiency, developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor.

Pools

Agreements between competing companies to fix prices and limit competition.

Trust

A legal arrangement where a group of companies is managed by a single board of trustees to reduce competition.

Holding company

A company created to buy and hold shares of other companies, effectively controlling them.

Horizontal integration

The process of a company increasing production of goods or services at the same part of the supply chain.

Vertical integration

The combination of two or more stages of production normally operated by separate companies.

Carnegie Steel

A steel company founded by Andrew Carnegie that became the largest of its kind in the world by the early 20th century.

Gospel of Wealth

An article written by Andrew Carnegie that argued wealthy individuals have a responsibility to use their wealth for the greater good.

Social Darwinism

A social theory that applies the concept of natural selection to human societies, often used to justify inequality.

Knights of Labor

An American labor organization founded in 1869 that sought to protect the rights of workers and promote social reforms.

American Federation of Labor

A national federation of labor unions in the United States founded in 1886 that focused on skilled workers' rights.

Great Railroad Strike

A nationwide strike in 1877 in response to wage cuts and poor working conditions in the railroad industry.

Haymarket

A labor protest rally in Chicago in 1886 that turned violent, leading to a backlash against labor movements.

Homestead Strike

A violent labor dispute in 1892 between the Carnegie Steel Company and its workers.

Pullman Strike

A nationwide railroad strike in 1894 that began at the Pullman Company and escalated into a major conflict.

Transcontinental Railroad

A railroad that connects the eastern U.S. with the western U.S., completed in 1869.

Turner Thesis

An argument by historian Frederick Jackson Turner that the American frontier shaped the nation's democracy and character.

Dawes Severalty Act

An 1887 law that aimed to assimilate Native Americans by allotting them individual plots of land.

Ghost Dance

A Native American spiritual movement in the late 19th century that sought to restore indigenous culture and way of life.

New Immigration

The wave of immigrants coming to the United States from Southern and Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

How the Other Half Lives

A book by Jacob Riis published in 1890 that documented the living conditions of the urban poor in New York City.

Dumbbell tenements

A type of apartment building designed in the late 19th century that had minimal space and light for urban residents.

Skyscrapers

Tall, continuously habitable buildings that became prominent in urban architecture in the late 19th century.

Political machines

Organizations that used political patronage and corruption to maintain power in urban areas.

Tammany Hall

A New York City political organization that played a major role in controlling New York City politics in the 19th century.

Election of 1896

A pivotal presidential election between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan that highlighted economic issues.

William Jennings Bryan

A prominent American politician and orator known for his advocacy of populism and the 'Cross of Gold' speech.

Cross of Gold speech

A famous speech delivered by William Jennings Bryan in 1896 advocating for the free coinage of silver.