ahm 2020

Thomas Nast

Famous political cartoonist who exposed corruption in New York City, especially 'Boss' Tweed and Tammany Hall.

The New Immigration

The new wave of immigration (1880–1920) from Southern and Eastern Europe that changed America’s population and culture.

Nativism and Xenophobia

Anti-immigrant attitudes and fear of foreigners; many Americans worried immigrants would take jobs or change U.S. culture.

Tenement Housing

Overcrowded and unsanitary apartment buildings where poor immigrants lived in major cities.

Imperialism

A policy of extending a nation’s power and influence through colonization or economic control.

Exploitative Imperialism

Type of imperialism focused on economic profit and exploitation of native peoples and resources.

Beneficent Imperialism

The idea that imperial powers were 'civilizing' less developed societies to justify expansion.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century belief that the U.S. was destined by God to expand across the North American continent.

William H. Seward

U.S. Secretary of State who purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, expanding U.S. influence in the Pacific.

Seward’s Folly

Nickname mocking the purchase of Alaska (seen as foolish), later considered wise after the discovery of gold and oil.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Naval officer and military theorist who argued that sea power determined national greatness.

Influence of Sea Power on History

Mahan’s 1890 book that inspired nations, including the U.S., to build powerful navies.

Henry Cabot Lodge

U.S. Senator who supported American expansion and opposed joining the League of Nations.

John Hay

Secretary of State who authored the 'Open Door Policy,' promoting equal trade opportunities in China.

Theodore Roosevelt

26th U.S. President (1901–1909); Progressive reformer and imperialist advocate known for 'Big Stick Diplomacy.'

Queen Liliʻuokalani

Last queen of Hawaii, overthrown by American planters before Hawaii was annexed by the U.S. (1898).

McKinley Tariff

1890 tariff law that raised import taxes, hurting Hawaii’s sugar exports and pushing annexation efforts.

José Martí

Cuban revolutionary leader who fought for independence from Spain; killed early in the 1895 uprising.

Valeriano Weyler

Spanish general in Cuba known for brutal 'reconcentration camps' that angered American public opinion.

William Randolph Hearst

Newspaper owner who used 'Yellow Journalism' to stir public support for war with Spain.

Joseph Pulitzer

Publisher of the New York World; competed with Hearst through sensational reporting.

Yellow Journalism

Exaggerated or false news stories designed to provoke emotional reactions and sell newspapers.

Dupuy de Lôme

Spanish ambassador whose leaked letter insulting President McKinley angered Americans.

U.S.S. Maine

U.S. battleship that exploded in Havana Harbor (1898); its sinking led to war with Spain.

George Dewey

U.S. admiral who defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay (Philippines).

Teller Amendment

U.S. pledge that it would not permanently annex Cuba after defeating Spain.

Rough Riders

Volunteer cavalry unit led by Theodore Roosevelt; famous for the charge up San Juan Hill.

Peace of Paris (1898)

Treaty ending the Spanish-American War; Spain ceded the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the U.S.

Platt Amendment

Gave the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuba and established Guantánamo Bay naval base.

Bourbon Democrats

Conservative Democrats who opposed populism and supported limited government.

1890 Mid-term Election

Midterm election that hurt Republicans due to public backlash over the McKinley Tariff.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the South.

Political/Social Segregation

Separation of races in voting, education, jobs, and public life.

Mississippi Plan

Strategy to disenfranchise Black voters through taxes and literacy tests.

Poll Tax

Fee required to vote, used to keep poor and Black citizens from voting.

Understanding Clause

Required voters to interpret the Constitution to vote; used to exclude Black voters.

Grandfather Clause

Allowed voting only if one’s grandfather could vote before 1867; excluded most Black men.

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896 Supreme Court case that legalized segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Separate But Equal Doctrine

Legal principle permitting segregation if facilities were 'equal.'

Lynching

Execution without trial, often by mobs, targeting African Americans.

Booker T. Washington

African American leader who promoted vocational education and gradual progress.

Tuskegee Institute

School founded by Washington to teach trade skills to Black students.

Atlanta Compromise

Washington’s 1895 speech urging acceptance of segregation temporarily in exchange for education and jobs.

W.E.B. Du Bois

Civil rights activist who demanded immediate equality and co-founded the NAACP.

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (1909); fought legal battles against segregation.

Progressivism

Early 20th-century reform movement to limit corporate power, improve labor conditions, and expand democracy.

Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives

Journalist who exposed the poor living conditions of immigrants in NYC.

Lincoln Steffens

Muckraker who exposed political corruption in city governments.

McClure’s Magazine

Journal that published many muckraker investigations.

The Shame of the Cities

Steffens’s 1904 book exposing urban corruption.

Ida Tarbell

Investigative journalist who exposed the Standard Oil monopoly.

David Phillips, The Treason of the Senate

Article accusing the Senate of being controlled by big business.

Upton Sinclair, The Jungle

Novel exposing unsanitary meatpacking conditions; led to food safety laws.

Muckrakers

Journalists who investigated and exposed social and political corruption.

Direct Primary

Election reform allowing party members to choose candidates directly.

Initiative, Referendum, Recall

Democratic reforms giving citizens more direct control over laws and officials.

NCLC (National Child Labor Committee)

Organization working to end child labor.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

1911 factory fire in NYC killing 146 workers; led to labor safety reforms.

Jane Addams

Social reformer and founder of Hull House, helping poor immigrants.

Settlement House Movement

Movement creating community centers for social services in urban areas.

Hull House

Chicago settlement founded by Jane Addams in 1889.

Tom Johnson

Progressive mayor of Cleveland promoting public ownership and social reform.

Robert La Follette

Wisconsin governor advocating Progressive reforms ('Wisconsin Idea').

Woodrow Wilson

28th U.S. President; led the U.S. during WWI and promoted the 'Fourteen Points.'

Charles Evans Hughes

Republican candidate who lost to Wilson in the 1916 election.

Hiram Johnson

Progressive leader from California supporting regulation of big business.

Ida B. Wells / Southern Horrors

Journalist who exposed lynching and racial violence in the South.

Temperance Crusade

Movement to reduce or ban alcohol consumption.

Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

Major women’s group promoting temperance and suffrage.

Annie Wittenmyer / Frances Willard

WCTU leaders; Willard expanded its focus to women’s rights.

Anti-Saloon League

Organization that successfully pushed for Prohibition (18th Amendment).

Carrie Nation

Temperance activist famous for attacking saloons with a hatchet.

Local Option Laws

Laws allowing local areas to vote on banning alcohol.

Red-light Abatement Laws

Laws closing brothels and red-light districts.

Mann Act

1910 law banning the interstate transport of women for 'immoral purposes.'

NAWSA

National American Woman Suffrage Association, leading suffrage organization.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Anna Howard Shaw, Carrie Chapman Catt

Key leaders in the women’s suffrage movement; helped win the 19th Amendment.

Anti-Imperialist League

Group opposing U.S. colonial expansion; included Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie.

William McKinley

25th President (1897–1901); led during the Spanish-American War; assassinated in 1901.

Leon Czolgosz

Anarchist who assassinated President McKinley.

Imperial Presidency

Term describing presidents who expand executive power, especially in foreign policy.

Trustbuster

Nickname for Roosevelt for breaking up monopolies using the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

Northern Securities Co.

Railroad monopoly dissolved by Roosevelt in 1904.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

1890 law banning monopolistic business practices.

Conservation / Gifford Pinchot

Movement to protect natural resources; Pinchot was the first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

Frederick Winslow Taylor / Scientific Management

Industrial reform promoting efficiency through 'scientific' work methods.

William Howard Taft

27th President (1909–1913); continued antitrust policies but less progressive than Roosevelt.

Payne-Aldrich Tariff

1909 tariff law criticized for failing to lower rates, dividing Republicans.

Richard A. Ballinger

Taft’s Interior Secretary, accused of favoring corporate land use.

Ballinger-Pinchot Affair

Dispute over land conservation that split Progressives.

Election of 1912

Race between Wilson, Roosevelt, and Taft; Wilson won as Roosevelt and Taft split the vote.

Bull-Moose Party

Progressive Party formed by Roosevelt after leaving the GOP.

Underwood Act

1913 law lowering tariffs and creating income tax.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act

Established the FTC to regulate business practices.

Clayton Anti-Trust Act

Strengthened antitrust laws by banning unfair corporate practices.

Tying Contracts / Interlocking Directorates

Illegal business arrangements that restricted competition.

Federal Reserve Act / Board

1913 act creating the Federal Reserve system to regulate the economy.

16th Amendment

Authorized federal income tax.

17th Amendment

Allowed direct election of U.S. senators.

18th Amendment

Established Prohibition (banned alcohol).