US History since 1877 - Key Concepts (Chapters 1-7) Flashcards

Question-and-answer flashcards covering key themes, people, inventions, and economic ideas from Chapters 1–7 of the notes.

What are the two big themes of nineteenth-century American history highlighted in Chapter 1?

Civil War (1861–1865) and industrialization, especially in the second half of the century.

By 1900, how did the United States compare in industrial output to other countries?

It dwarfed all other countries.

What energy sources defined the First Industrial Revolution, and what powered early factories?

Water power and steam power (water wheels and steam engines).

What characterizes the Second Industrial Revolution in the United States after the Civil War?

Expansion driven by coal, oil, and electricity, a boom in mass production, and a national economy linked by railroads.

What industry expansion created a national economy by connecting raw materials to factories and markets?

The railroad expansion.

Which two railroads built the Transcontinental Railroad?

Union Pacific and Central Pacific.

Where did the Union Pacific start, and where did the Central Pacific start?

Union Pacific began in Omaha; Central Pacific began in Sacramento.

Where did the rails meet to complete the Transcontinental Railroad, and what symbol marked the event?

Promontory Point, Utah; the Golden Spike.

What term describes railroad magnates for perceived greed and ruthless practices?

Robber barons.

Who was the powerful railroad magnate who linked the Northeast to Chicago and was part of the Vanderbilt family?

Cornelius Vanderbilt (Commodore Vanderbilt).

What wealth symbol in Asheville, North Carolina exemplified industrial-era riches?

The Biltmore House.

What phrase did Mark Twain use to describe the era 1865–1900?

The Gilded Age.

What process enabled mass steel production and the construction of steel rails?

The Bessemer process (steel purification).

Who were central figures in the AC vs DC electricity debate, and which company helped popularize AC?

Thomas Edison (DC) and Nikola Tesla (AC); George Westinghouse helped popularize AC.

Who invented the telephone?

Alexander Graham Bell.

What technology allowed beef and other perishables to be transported long distances?

Refrigerated railcars.

Who refined crude oil into kerosene and helped launch Standard Oil?

Benjamin Silliman.

What company did Rockefeller form to control oil refining and distribution?

Standard Oil Company of Ohio (the Standard Oil Trust).

What methods did Rockefeller use to control production networks?

Trusts and horizontal integration; later holding companies.

Which antitrust law eventually dissolved Standard Oil's trust?

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890).

Who consolidated Carnegie Steel and Bethlehem Steel into US Steel, creating the first billion-dollar company?

J. P. Morgan (John Pierpont Morgan).

What is The Gospel of Wealth and who authored it?

Andrew Carnegie's idea that the wealthy have a moral obligation to distribute wealth for the public good.

What does Mark Twain’s Gilded Age critique about wealth distribution?

A thin veneer of gold over mass poverty; an era of vast wealth for a few and poverty for the many.

What is Social Darwinism and who was its prominent proponent in the notes?

Applying Darwinian ideas to society; Herbert Spencer argued the fit should prosper and government should stay out.

Which thinker promoted eugenics and the belief in breeding the ‘fit’ to improve society?

Francis Galton (eugenics).