APUSH - Summer Assignment - All Chapters (General Ideas)

What is the big story of Chapters 18–20?

The United States moved from post-Civil War political stability and economic growth into increasing conflict over industrialization, corporate power, labor, farmers' problems, immigration, race, and the role of government, eventually leading to Populism and Progressivism.

What was the major tension of the period from Chapters 18–20?

The economy and society were becoming more modern and industrial, but government and political institutions struggled to respond to inequality, corporate power, labor problems, and social change.

What was industrialization?

The rapid growth of factories, railroads, corporations, and mass production that transformed the American economy and society.

How did industrialization change American society?

It created enormous economic growth and new opportunities but also produced inequality, dangerous working conditions, urban poverty, labor conflict, and powerful corporations.

Why did corporations become a major political issue?

Large corporations and monopolies gained enormous economic and political power, leading many Americans to argue that government needed to regulate them.

What was a monopoly?

A situation in which a company or combination of companies gained enough control over a market to limit competition.

Why did Americans become concerned about corporate power?

Many believed large corporations could exploit workers, manipulate markets, influence politicians, and limit economic opportunity.

What was the relationship between industrial growth and inequality?

Industrialization created enormous wealth, but that wealth was distributed unevenly, producing a growing gap between wealthy business owners and workers.

Why were farmers increasingly frustrated during this period?

Farmers faced falling crop prices, railroad rates, debt, monopolies, and middlemen, leading them to demand government intervention.

What role did railroads play in the farmers' revolt?

Farmers depended on railroads to transport crops but believed railroad companies charged unfair rates and used their power against rural communities.

What was the Grange?

A farmers' organization founded in 1867 that originally focused on rural education, cooperation, and improving rural life before becoming more politically active.

What was the Farmers Alliance?

A farmers' movement that organized around economic problems and helped lay the foundation for the Populist movement.

What was the People's Party?

The Populist political party created in 1892 by Farmers Alliance members and other reformers who wanted major political and economic reforms.

What was Populism?

A political movement that challenged concentrated corporate and financial power and called for government action to protect farmers, workers, and ordinary citizens.

What was the Populist Platform?

A reform program supporting free silver, a graduated income tax, railroad regulation or ownership, direct election of senators, government-run savings banks, and subtreasuries for farmers.

What was free silver?

The proposal to allow silver to be freely coined at a set ratio with gold in order to increase the money supply and make it easier for farmers and debtors to repay their debts.

Why did farmers support free silver?

They believed increasing the money supply would raise agricultural prices and make their debts easier to repay.

Why was the gold-versus-silver debate about more than money?

It represented a larger conflict between financial and economic stability on one side and farmers, workers, and debtors seeking relief from economic power on the other.

What was the "Crime of '73"?

The name given by silver supporters to the 1873 law that ended official silver coinage, which they believed reduced the money supply and harmed farmers and debtors.

What was the Panic of 1893?

A major economic crisis caused by overexpansion and weak demand that led to business and railroad failures, contracting credit, unemployment, and increased political unrest.

How did the Panic of 1893 strengthen reform movements?

The economic crisis exposed the weaknesses of the existing economic system and increased demands for government action to help unemployed workers and struggling farmers.

What was Coxey's Army?

A group of unemployed workers led by Jacob Coxey that marched to Washington in 1894 demanding government-funded public works programs to create jobs.

Who was William Jennings Bryan?

A Democratic politician and major supporter of free silver who became the leading symbol of the movement after his 1896 Cross of Gold speech.

What was the Cross of Gold Speech?

William Jennings Bryan's 1896 speech arguing that the gold standard oppressed farmers and workers and that the economy should not sacrifice ordinary people for financial stability.

What happened in the Election of 1896?

Republican William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan, marking a major political realignment toward Republican dominance.

What was fusion?

The Populists' decision in 1896 to support William Jennings Bryan rather than run their own presidential candidate, which helped advance free silver but weakened the independent Populist Party.

Why did Populism decline after 1896?

The Populists lost the 1896 election, fusion weakened their independent identity, economic conditions improved, and Republicans became increasingly dominant.

What was the significance of McKinley's victory?

It marked the decline of the Populist movement and helped establish Republican political dominance while supporting the gold standard and a more conservative economic direction.

What did the Gold Standard Act of 1900 do?

It officially committed the United States to the gold standard and established a specific gold value for the dollar.

What was the political system like during the late 19th century?

Republicans and Democrats were relatively evenly matched, with strong party loyalty and high voter turnout.

Why did people often identify strongly with political parties?

Party identification was often based on religion, ethnicity, family tradition, and community rather than specific political issues.

What was political patronage?

The practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs.

What was the spoils system?

A system in which political leaders gave government positions to supporters of the winning party.

Why did patronage become a problem?

It encouraged corruption and political machines and meant government jobs could depend more on political connections than qualifications.

What were the Stalwarts?

Republicans who supported traditional political machines and wanted to maintain the patronage system.

What were the Half-Breeds?

Republicans who supported civil service reform while still competing for control of government patronage.

Why was James Garfield's assassination significant?

His assassination by an office seeker highlighted the problems of the patronage system and increased support for civil service reform.

What was the Pendleton Act?

The 1883 law requiring some federal jobs to be filled through competitive examinations rather than political connections.

What did civil service reform attempt to accomplish?

It aimed to make government employment more professional and based on qualifications rather than political loyalty.

What was the Interstate Commerce Act?

The 1887 law regulating railroads by requiring reasonable rates and banning unfair rate discrimination.

What was the Sherman Antitrust Act?

The 1890 law intended to limit monopolies and business combinations that restricted competition.

Why were early antitrust laws limited?

Although the government created laws against monopolies, they were initially weakly enforced and did not immediately eliminate corporate power.

What was the McKinley Tariff?

The 1890 law that raised protective tariffs to very high levels and contributed to Republican losses in the 1890 elections.

What larger problem did the tariff debate reveal?

It showed that government economic policy could benefit some groups while hurting others, creating political conflict over who government should protect.

What was Progressivism?

A reform movement that sought to address problems created by industrialization, urbanization, corporate power, poverty, and political corruption through government action and expert knowledge.

How was Progressivism connected to Populism?

Both movements criticized concentrated economic power and believed government should protect ordinary people, although Progressivism developed broader urban and middle-class reform goals.

What did Progressives believe about government?

They believed government should actively address social and economic problems rather than simply leave them to individuals or the market.

What was the Progressive belief in progress?

Progressives believed society could be improved through science, education, expert knowledge, and government action.

What was the Progressive belief in knowledge?

Progressives believed experts, statistics, scientific research, and professional knowledge could identify social problems and create effective solutions.

What was antimonopoly Progressivism?

The belief that corporations and monopolies had become too powerful and that government should regulate or break up concentrated corporate power.

Who were muckrakers?

Journalists and writers who investigated and exposed corruption, corporate abuses, and social problems in order to encourage reform.

Who was Ida Tarbell?

A muckraker who investigated Standard Oil and exposed its unfair business practices, helping build support for antitrust reform.

Who was Lincoln Steffens?

A muckraker who exposed corruption in city governments in The Shame of the Cities.

Why were muckrakers important?

Their investigations made corruption, corporate abuses, and social problems visible to the public and helped create support for Progressive reform.

What was Hull House?

A settlement house founded by Jane Addams that provided education, childcare, healthcare, and other services to poor immigrants and urban communities.

Why was Jane Addams important?

She represented the Progressive belief that social problems could be addressed through organized reform, education, and community assistance.

How did women contribute to Progressivism?

Women organized around temperance, labor reform, settlement houses, public health, child welfare, and suffrage, creating a major role for women in public reform.

Why was women's reform activism important before suffrage?

Women could not vote nationally, but reform organizations allowed them to organize, lobby, campaign, and influence government.

What was the New Woman?

An educated, increasingly independent woman who entered college, professions, and public life and challenged traditional expectations that women should focus only on marriage and the home.

What was NAWSA?

The National American Woman Suffrage Association, a major organization that fought for women's right to vote through lobbying, state campaigns, and federal pressure.

Who was Alice Paul?

A more militant suffrage activist who used protests, marches, and demonstrations to push for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women's suffrage.

What was the Nineteenth Amendment?

The 1920 constitutional amendment prohibiting denial of the right to vote based on sex and giving women nationwide voting rights.

What was the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire?

The 1911 factory fire that killed 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women, and exposed dangerous workplace conditions.

Why was the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire significant?

It became a major symbol of unsafe industrial working conditions and increased support for workplace-safety reforms.

What was the WCTU?

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union, an organization that fought alcohol consumption and connected temperance to concerns about poverty, domestic violence, and family stability.

What was Prohibition?

The movement to ban alcohol that eventually resulted in the Eighteenth Amendment.

What was the Eighteenth Amendment?

The 1919 amendment establishing national Prohibition by banning the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.

What was the Progressive approach to labor?

Progressives supported reforms such as workplace safety, restrictions on child labor, shorter working hours, and better working conditions.

Why did labor conditions become a major reform issue?

Industrial workers often faced dangerous workplaces, low wages, long hours, and little protection from employers.

What was the Social Gospel?

A Protestant reform movement arguing that Christians had a responsibility to address poverty, inequality, and social problems.

Who was W. E. B. Du Bois?

A Black intellectual and activist who demanded immediate civil and political equality for African Americans and rejected gradual approaches to racial justice.

What was the NAACP?

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, founded in 1909 to fight racial discrimination and segregation through activism, public pressure, and court cases.

What was eugenics?

A pseudoscientific movement claiming society could be improved by controlling reproduction among people considered "fit" and "unfit." It contributed to racism, forced sterilization, ableism, and nativism.

How did Progressivism address race?

Some Progressives supported racial reform and organizations such as the NAACP, but Progressive reform was not universally committed to racial equality and could also coexist with racism and eugenics.

Who was Eugene Debs?

A Socialist leader and labor activist who ran for president multiple times and advocated workers' rights, public ownership, and greater economic equality.

What was the IWW?

The Industrial Workers of the World, a radical labor organization founded in 1905 that sought to unite workers across industries and promoted industrial unionism and worker control.

Why did socialism struggle to become dominant?

Some Progressive reforms absorbed socialist demands, while repression, divisions within socialism, and economic prosperity weakened the movement.

Who was Theodore Roosevelt?

A reform-minded Republican president who believed the federal government should actively regulate corporations, protect workers and consumers, and act as a steward of the public welfare.

What was Roosevelt's view of federal power?

Roosevelt believed the federal government should actively intervene when necessary to protect the public from corporate power and economic abuses.

What was the Northern Securities Company?

A powerful railroad holding company that Roosevelt challenged under the Sherman Antitrust Act, demonstrating that the federal government could regulate powerful corporate combinations.

Why was the Northern Securities case important?

It showed that the federal government was becoming more willing to challenge large corporations and monopolies.

What was the Hepburn Act?

The 1906 law that strengthened federal regulation of railroads by giving the Interstate Commerce Commission greater power over railroad rates.

What was the Pure Food and Drug Act?

A 1906 law regulating contaminated or falsely advertised food and medicine and requiring more accurate labeling.

What did Progressive consumer protection reflect?

The belief that government had a responsibility to protect consumers from unsafe products and corporate abuses.

What were the competing conservationist visions?

Gifford Pinchot supported efficient use and management of natural resources, while John Muir emphasized preserving wilderness from development.

Who was Gifford Pinchot?

Roosevelt's chief conservation adviser who promoted scientific management and efficient use of forests and natural resources.

Who was John Muir?

A preservationist who wanted wilderness protected from development.

What was Hetch Hetchy?

A Yosemite valley that was dammed to provide water for San Francisco, illustrating the conflict between resource use and wilderness preservation.

What did the Tennessee Coal and Iron controversy show about Roosevelt?

It showed that Roosevelt was not simply anti-business; he wanted to regulate corporate power while also maintaining economic stability.

Who was William Howard Taft?

Roosevelt's successor who continued some Progressive reforms but became increasingly associated with conservatives and became involved in conflicts with Progressive Republicans.

What was the Payne-Aldrich Tariff?

A 1909 tariff that maintained or increased many high protective duties, angering Progressives who wanted tariff reform.

What was the Ballinger-Pinchot Dispute?

A controversy over western land development that deepened the split between Taft and Roosevelt's Progressive supporters.

What was New Nationalism?

Roosevelt's 1910 program calling for strong federal power to regulate corporations, protect workers, and promote social justice.

What was the Progressive Party?

The political party Roosevelt created in 1912 after breaking with the Republicans. It supported stronger federal regulation, social welfare reforms, women's suffrage, and other Progressive reforms.

What was the Bull Moose Party?

The nickname for Roosevelt's Progressive Party, based on Roosevelt's statement that he felt "as fit as a bull moose."

What was Wilson's New Freedom?

Woodrow Wilson's Progressive program focused on restoring competition, breaking up monopolies, and reducing government favoritism toward large corporations.

How did Wilson's New Freedom differ from Roosevelt's New Nationalism?

Wilson initially emphasized restoring competition and limiting monopoly power, while Roosevelt emphasized using strong federal power to regulate corporations and protect the public.

What was the Underwood Tariff?

A 1913 tariff that lowered tariff rates as part of Wilson's New Freedom.

What was the Federal Reserve Act?

The 1913 law that created the Federal Reserve System and gave the federal government a stronger role in regulating banking and the money supply.

How did Progressive reform change the role of government?

Government became more involved in regulating corporations, protecting consumers and workers, managing economic institutions, and addressing social problems.