Period 6: 1865-1898 Flashcards

Flashcards covering key concepts and events from the period of 1865-1898 in United States History.

Large-scale industrial production (1865-1898)

Rapid economic development and business consolidation due to technological change, expanding international communication networks, and pro-growth government policies.

Government Subsidies (Post-Civil War)

Government subsidies for transportation and communication systems that helped open new markets in North America after the Civil War.

Technological Innovations & Increased Production

Business strategy to dramatically increase the production of goods by using technological innovations, greater access to natural resources, redesigned financial and management structures, advances in marketing, and a growing labor force.

Laissez-faire Policies

Economic theory that promotes economic growth in the long run through competition and opposes government intervention during economic downturns.

Sharecropping and Tenant Farming

Agricultural system prevalent in the South after the Civil War that continued to be the primary economic activity despite some industrialization.

Local and Regional Cooperative Organizations

Farmers responded to increasing consolidation in agricultural markets and their dependence on the evolving railroad system.

People’s (Populist) Party

A political party created by agrarian activists that called for a stronger governmental role in regulating the American economic system.

Urban Neighborhoods (late 1800s)

Neighborhoods based on particular ethnicities, races, and classes that provided new cultural opportunities for city dwellers.

Political Machines

Provided immigrants and the poor with social services in an urban atmosphere where access to power was unequally distributed.

Self-Sufficiency and Independence (Westward Expansion)

Ideal pursued by migrants moving to the West for opportunities such as building railroads, mining, farming, and ranching.

Competition for Land and Resources in the West

Led to an increase in violent conflict in the West among white settlers, American Indians, and Mexican Americans.

Government Policies towards American Indians (late 1800s)

The U.S. government confined American Indians, denied tribal sovereignty, and promoted assimilation.

Social Darwinism

Theories used to justify the success of those at the top of the socioeconomic structure as both appropriate and inevitable.

Gospel of Wealth

The idea that the wealthy had a moral obligation to help the less fortunate and improve society, often through philanthropic contributions.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court decision that upheld racial segregation and marked the end of most of the political gains African Americans made during Reconstruction.