American History unit 5

Subsidy

Money given by the government to help businesses achieve a public goal.

Vigilante

A person without legal authority who takes the law into their own hands.

Homesteaders

People who claimed and settled on land promised to them by the Homestead Act.

The Homestead Act

1862 law that provided free land in the West to people willing to settle and develop it.

Cooperative

An organization in which people share costs and profits.

Populist

Related to the political idea of focusing on average people.

Frontier

The border of a settled area and the land beyond it.

Reservation

Land set aside by the government for a specific group, often Indigenous people.

Allotment

A portion or share of land.

Dividends

Money paid to shareholders from a company's earnings.

Stock

A share of a company that gives its owner part of its profits.

Capital

Financial assets or money used for business.

Monopoly

When one company or person controls an entire market.

Trust

A group of companies controlled by one corporate board.

Gilded Age

1870s to 1890s period when America looked wealthy but had corruption and a growing gap between rich and poor.

Collective Bargaining

When workers act together to negotiate with management.

Strike

When workers refuse to work to demand better conditions.

Anarchist

A person who opposes government or laws.

Assimilate

To blend into another culture or society.

Sweatshop

A factory with poor working conditions and low wages.

Consumerism

A focus on buying and using more goods.

Temperance

Avoiding drinking alcohol.

Prohibition

The period in American history when alcohol was illegal.

Suffrage

The right to vote.

Social Darwinism

The idea that advanced societies should rule over less advanced societies.

Imperialism

A policy of gaining control over other nations or acquiring colonies.

Armistice

A temporary agreement to stop fighting.

Protectorate

A country protected and controlled by a more powerful country.

Isthmus

A narrow piece of land connecting two larger land areas.

Corollary

A conclusion that naturally follows from another idea.

Arbitration

Settling a disagreement with help from a neutral third party.

Diplomatic Recognition

When a country is officially recognized by other governments.

Horizontal Integration

When a company combines with other companies at the same level of production.

Vertical Integration

When one company controls every stage of making and distributing a product.

Progressivism

A movement that fought corruption, limited corporate power, expanded democracy, and promoted equal rights.