APUSH Period 6 Ultimate Master Note Guide (1865–1898)

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture notes on APUSH Period 6, focusing on themes such as westward expansion, industrialization, labor movements, immigration, and populism.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century doctrine that westward expansion of the United States was both justified and inevitable.

Homestead Act (1862)

A law that provided 160 acres of public land to settlers for a small fee, requiring them to live on the land for five years.

Morrill Land Grant Acts

Laws that granted federal land to states to finance the establishment of colleges focusing on agriculture and engineering.

Transcontinental Railroad

A railroad connecting the east and west coasts of the United States, facilitating economic integration and faster movement of goods and people.

Credit Mobilier scandal

A major political scandal involving the Union Pacific Railroad and the construction company that was created to build the railroad.

Dawes Act (1887)

A law aimed at assimilating Native Americans by allotting them individual plots of land and promoting individual farming.

Social Darwinism

The belief that social and economic success stems from natural selection and that the wealthy are superior to the poor.

Gospel of Wealth

The philosophy advocating that wealthy individuals have a responsibility to engage in philanthropy and give back to society.

Knights of Labor

One of the first national labor organizations, advocating for inclusive membership and cooperative ownership.

Haymarket Riot (1886)

A labor protest in Chicago that turned violent, discrediting the labor movement and leading to widespread anti-union sentiments.

Nativism

The policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants.

Populist Party Platform

An agenda calling for free silver, regulation of railroads, an income tax, and direct election of senators.

Sharecropping

An agricultural system in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in exchange for a share of the crops produced.