US HIST Mid terms

have fun studying (although i would advise seperately studing more important terms like fundamentalism or radio)

“Robber Barons”

Powerful industrialists of the late 19th century who amassed great wealth through monopolies and sometimes unethical business practices (e.g., Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt).
Time Period: Late 1800s (Gilded Age).
Historical Context: Emerged during rapid industrialization and minimal government regulation.
Significance: Symbolized economic inequality, sparked calls for reform, and led to antitrust movements and labor unrest.

Social Darwinism

Who/What: The belief that human societies and individuals compete in a struggle for survival, with the fittest rising to the top.
Time Period: Late 19th century.
Historical Context: Used to justify laissez-faire capitalism and limited government intervention.
Significance: Justified wealth inequality and imperialism, influencing U.S. business and racial ideologies.

Gospel of Wealth

Who/What: Philosophy by Andrew Carnegie arguing the wealthy had a moral duty to use their riches for social good.
Time Period: 1889 (Gilded Age).
Historical Context: Response to vast wealth accumulation and criticism of inequality.
Significance: Encouraged philanthropy and social investment among industrialists

Dawes Act

Who/What: Law dividing Native American lands into individual plots to encourage assimilation.
Time Period: 1887.
Historical Context: U.S. policy aimed to dismantle tribal culture and promote private land ownership.
Significance: Led to massive loss of Native lands and cultural destruction.

Ghost Dance

Who/What: Spiritual movement among Native Americans seeking to restore their lands and way of life.
Time Period: Late 1880s–1890.
Historical Context: Emerged amid Native displacement and federal oppression.
Significance: Seen as a threat by U.S. authorities, leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre.

Wounded Knee

Who/What: Massacre of Lakota Sioux by U.S. troops.
Time Period: 1890.
Historical Context: U.S. attempt to suppress the Ghost Dance movement.
Significance: Marked the end of armed Native resistance in the West.

Homestead Act

Who/What: Law granting settlers 160 acres of land for farming after five years of residence.
Time Period: 1862.
Historical Context: Encouraged westward expansion after the Civil War.
Significance: Expanded U.S. settlement but displaced Native populations.

Chinese Exclusion Act

Who/What: Federal law banning Chinese immigration.
Time Period: 1882.
Historical Context: Rising anti-immigrant sentiment and labor competition in the West.
Significance: First major U.S. immigration restriction based on race and nationality.

Bonanza Farming

Who/What: Large-scale commercial farms using machinery and hired labor.
Time Period: Late 1800s.
Historical Context: Result of technological advances and rail expansion.
Significance: Increased production but created debt cycles and displaced small farmers.

Frederick Jackson Turner

Who/What: Historian who proposed the “Frontier Thesis.”
Time Period: 1893.
Historical Context: Claimed the frontier shaped American democracy and character.
Significance: Influenced views on expansion and American identity.

Chain Migration

Who/What: Process where immigrants follow family or community members to a new country.
Time Period: Late 19th–early 20th century.
Historical Context: Common among European and Asian immigrants to the U.S.
Significance: Built ethnic communities and shaped urban demographics.

Populism / Omaha Platform / Populist Party

Who/What: Political movement/party representing farmers and laborers demanding reforms like free silver and government control of railroads.
Time Period: 1890s.
Historical Context: Response to economic inequality and agricultural depression.
Significance: Influenced Progressive reforms and challenged corporate power.

Nativism

Who/What: Policy favoring native-born Americans over immigrants.
Time Period: Late 1800s–1920s.
Historical Context: Reaction to waves of immigration and cultural change.
Significance: Led to restrictive immigration laws and xenophobia.

Knights of Labor

Who/What: Labor union seeking broad reforms for workers.
Time Period: Founded 1869, peak 1880s.
Historical Context: Early attempt to unite skilled and unskilled labor.
Significance: Paved the way for later unions despite decline after Haymarket Riot.

Scientific Racism

Who/What: Pseudoscientific belief that races have inherent hierarchies.
Time Period: Late 1800s–early 1900s.
Historical Context: Used to justify imperialism, segregation, and eugenics.
Significance: Supported discriminatory policies and racial inequality.

Great Railroad Strike

Who/What: First major national labor strike protesting wage cuts.
Time Period: 1877.
Historical Context: Economic depression and harsh working conditions.
Significance: Marked rise of labor unrest and federal intervention in strikes.

Haymarket Square Riot

Who/What: Labor protest in Chicago that turned violent after a bomb exploded.
Time Period: 1886.
Historical Context: Fight for an eight-hour workday.
Significance: Weakened labor movements and fueled fears of radicalism.

Sharecropping

Who/What: Farming system where tenants worked land for a share of crops.
Time Period: Post–Civil War–1930s.
Historical Context: Replaced slavery in the South.
Significance: Kept African Americans and poor whites in poverty and debt.

White Man’s Burden

Who/What: Idea that whites had a duty to civilize “lesser” races.
Time Period: 1899 (imperialist era).
Historical Context: Justified imperialism and colonization.
Significance: Reinforced racial hierarchies and U.S. expansionist policies.

Muckrakers

Who/What: Journalists exposing corruption and social injustices.
Time Period: Progressive Era (1900–1917).
Historical Context: Part of reform movement challenging big business and government.
Significance: Led to public awareness and reforms like food safety and labor laws.

Poll Taxes / Literacy Tests / Plessy v. Ferguson / “The Lost Cause”

Who/What: Measures enforcing racial segregation and disenfranchising Black voters.
Time Period: Late 19th–early 20th century.
Historical Context: Post-Reconstruction Jim Crow South.
Significance: Institutionalized racism and upheld “separate but equal.”

Women’s Suffrage

Who/What: Movement for women’s right to vote.
Time Period: 1848–1920.
Historical Context: Culminated in the 19th Amendment.
Significance: Major step toward gender equality and political inclusion.

Settlement House Movement

Who/What: Reform effort providing social services to immigrants and the poor.
Time Period: 1880s–1920s.
Historical Context: Urban poverty during industrialization.
Significance: Promoted social work and Progressive Era reforms.

Eugenics

Who/What: Movement to improve human genetics through selective breeding.
Time Period: Early 1900s–1930s.
Historical Context: Influenced by scientific racism and social reform.
Significance: Led to forced sterilizations and discriminatory laws.

Social Gospel Movement

Who/What: Religious movement applying Christian ethics to social issues.
Time Period: Late 19th–early 20th century.
Historical Context: Reaction to industrialization and urban poverty.
Significance: Inspired Progressive reforms and social activism.

Lusitania / Zimmerman Telegram / Espionage and Sedition Acts / Treaty of Versailles / Influenza Epidemic / Harlem Hellfighters / Committee on Public Information / Selective Service Act / Wilson’s Fourteen Points

Who/What: Key events and policies of WWI involving U.S. entry, propaganda, and aftermath.
Time Period: 1914–1919.
Historical Context: U.S. global involvement and domestic tensions.
Significance: Redefined U.S. foreign policy and civil liberties.

Henry Ford / The Flapper / Harlem Renaissance / Marcus Garvey / Scopes Trial / Consumerism / The Roaring Twenties / Suburbanization / Automobile Industry / Radio / Fundamentalism

Who/What: Icons and trends of the 1920s representing modernization and cultural conflict.
Time Period: 1920s.
Historical Context: Postwar prosperity and social change.
Significance: Reflected tensions between tradition and modernity.

Hoovervilles / Dust Bowl / Bonus Army / The New Deal / WPA / National Labor Relations Act / Fair Labor Standards Act / Social Security Act

Who/What: Events and programs of the Great Depression era addressing economic collapse.
Time Period: 1930s.
Historical Context: Response to mass unemployment and poverty.
Significance: Expanded federal power and reshaped U.S. government’s role in society.