AP US History Unit 6

Social Darwinism

The application of ideas about evolution and "survival of the fittest" to human societies, particularly as a justification for economic inequality and imperialist expansion

Gospel of Wealth

A book written by Carnegie that described the responsibility of the rich to be philanthropists. This softened the harshness of Social Darwinism as well as promoted the idea of philanthropy.

Socialism

A system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production.

Social Gospel

Application of religious ethics to industrial conditions. Inspired many reformers to take up the causes of alleviating poverty, cleaning up slums, and ending child labor.

Populist Party

U.S. political party formed in 1892 representing mainly farmers, favoring free coinage of silver, government control of railroads, and other reforms to alleviate the gap between rich and poor.

Jane Addams

The founder of Hull House in Chicago, which provided English lessons for immigrants, daycares, and child care classes

Plessy v. Ferguson

A 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were "equal"

Knights of Labor

Labor union that sought to organize all workers and focused on broad social reforms.

American Federation of Labor

The first federation of labor unions in the United States, focused more on skilled laborers. Founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886.

William Jennings Bryan

Democratic candidate for president in 1896 under the banner of "free silver coinage" which won him support of the Populist Party.

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

A large number of railroad workers went on strike because of wage cuts. After a month of strikes, President Hayes sent troops to stop the strike. About 100 people were killed.

Ghost Dance Movement

The last effort of Native Americans to resist U.S. domination and drive whites from their ancestral lands, came through as a religious movement.

Dawes Act

A law that removed Indian land from tribal ownership, divided it, and distributed it among individual Indian families. Designed to break tribal mentalities and promote individualism. Resulted in major losses of land for Native Americans and impoverishment as most of the farms failed.

Robber barons

Refers to the industrialists or big business owners who gained huge profits during the Gilded Age, such as the banker J. P. Morgan. Others referred to these people by the more positive moniker of "captains of industry."

Captains of Industry

Owners and managers of large industrial enterprises who wielded extraordinary political and economic power, such as John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil. Others referred to these people by the more negative moniker of "robber barons."

Standard Oil Company

John D. Rockefeller's company, formed in 1870, which came to symbolize the trusts and monopolies of the Gilded Age. The abuses of power by the company were later exposed by investigative journalist Ida Tarbell.

Vertical Integration

Practice where a single entity controls the entire process of a product, from the raw materials to distribution.

Horizontal Integration

Absorption into a single company of several firms involved in the same level of production and sharing resources at that level

John D. Rockefeller

Was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy.

J. P. Morgan

American banker; he made a fortune taking over and merging businesses built by others, building a reputation for turning around mismanaged companies and making them more efficient. One of the most powerful of the robber barons.

Andrew Carnegie

A Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist who founded the Carnegie Steel Company in 1892. By 1901, his company dominated the American steel industry.

Civil Service Act of 1883

Law that established the Civil Service Commission and marked the end of the spoils system.

Coxey's Army

A protest march by unemployed workers from the United States, led by its populist namesake. They marched on Washington D.C. in 1894, the second year of a four-year economic depression that was the worst in United States history to that time.

Ida B. Wells

African-American journalist who led the fight against lynching.

Booker T. Washington

Prominent black American, born into slavery, who believed that racism would end once blacks acquired useful labor skills and proved their economic value to society, was head of the Tuskegee Institute.

Sharecropping

A system used on southern farms after the Civil War in which farmers worked land owned by someone else in return for a small portion of the crops.

Transcontinental Railroad

Completed in 1869 at Promontory, Utah, it linked the eastern railroad system with California's railroad system, revolutionizing transportation in the West.

Morrill Act

Federal law that gave land to western states to build agricultural and engineering colleges.

Homestead Act

Provided free land in the West to anyone willing to settle there and develop it. Encouraged westward migration.

Exodusters

African Americans who moved from post reconstruction South to Kansas.

The New South

After the Civil War, southerners promoted a new vision for a self-sufficient southern economy built on modern capitalist values, industrial growth, and improved transportation.

Wounded Knee Massacre

In December 1890, Army troops captured some of Sitting Bull's followers and took them to a camp. 300 Sioux men, women, and children were killed.

Haymarket Affair

1886 incident that made unions, particularly the Knights of Labor, look violent because a bomb exploded during a protest of striking workers.

Sitting Bull

American Indian chief, he lead the victory over the U.S. Army at the Battle of Little Bighorn

Chief Joseph

Leader of Nez Perce. Fled with his tribe to Canada instead of reservations. However, U.S. troops came and fought and brought them back down to reservations

Battle of Little Bighorn

In 1876, Indian leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeated Custer's troops who tried to force them back on to the reservation, Custer and all his men died.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 law that barred Chinese laborers from entering the United States.

Frederick Jackson Turner

American historian in the early 20th century best known for his "Frontier Thesis" in which he argued that the spirit and success of the United States was directly tied to the country's westward expansion.

Gold Standard

The monetary system that prevailed between about 1870 and 1914, in which countries tied their currencies to gold at a legally fixed price.

Buffalo Bill Cody

This former pony express rider and Indian fighter and hero of popular dime novels for children traveled around the U.S. and Europe and put on popular Wild West shows. The shows included re-enactments of Indian battles and displays of horsemanship and riflery.