APUSH Period 6 Vocabulary

Second Industrial Revolution

A period of rapid industrial growth and technological advancement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Gilded Age

A time of economic growth in the U.S. from the 1870s to about 1900, marked by corruption and social inequality.

Panic of 1893

A severe economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and lasted several years.

Union Pacific Railroad

One of the major railroads in the United States that was built between 1863 and 1869 as part of the first transcontinental railroad.

Central Pacific Railroad

The railroad company that built the western portion of the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S.

Pacific Railway Act of 1861

Legislation that promoted the construction of the transcontinental railroad.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

An American business magnate who made his wealth in railroads and shipping.

Jay Gould

A leading American railroad developer and financier in the late 19th century.

Alexander Graham Bell

Inventor of the telephone.

Thomas Edison

American inventor known for developing the electric light bulb and phonograph.

George Westinghouse

Inventor and industrialist who developed the alternating current (AC) electrical system.

Nikola Tesla

Inventor and electrical engineer known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system.

John D. Rockefeller

Co-founder of the Standard Oil Company and a major figure in the oil industry.

Andrew Carnegie

Industrialist who led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century.

J. Pierpont Morgan

Financier and banker who helped to create General Electric and U.S. Steel.

Sears, Roebuck and Company

A large mail-order and department store retailer based in the United States.

Molly Maguires

A secret society of Irish-American coal miners in Pennsylvania who protested working conditions.

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

A nationwide railroad strike that resulted from wage cuts and poor working conditions.

The Sand-Lot Incident

A series of protests and riots in 1877, particularly against Chinese immigrants.

The Geary Act

An 1892 U.S. law that extended the Chinese Exclusion Act and imposed stricter immigration controls.

National Labor Union

The first major labor organization in the United States, founded in 1866.

The Knights of Labor

A significant labor organization in the U.S. that advocated for improved labor conditions.

The Haymarket Affair

A violent confrontation in 1886 between police and labor demonstrators in Chicago.

Samuel Gompers

Founding president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

American Federation of Labor

A national federation of labor unions in the United States.

Homestead Steel Strike of 1892

A significant labor strike at Carnegie Steel in Pennsylvania that turned violent.

Pullman Strike of 1894

A nationwide railroad strike that disrupted rail traffic and mail delivery.

Eugene V. Debs

Labor leader and founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World.

Mother Jones

Labor organizer and prominent figure in the American labor movement.

The New South

A term used to describe the southern U.S. after the Civil War, emphasizing economic diversification.

Redeemers

Southern Democratic politicians who sought to reclaim the South from Republican rule after Reconstruction.

Bourbons

Conservative Democrats in the South who opposed the progressivism of the Reconstruction era.

The New West

Region in the United States that experienced significant settlement and development in the late 19th century.

Benjamin “Pap” Singleton

A prominent African American leader who promoted settlement in Kansas.

Panning

A method of mining for gold by washing soil and gravel in water to separate the gold.

George A. Custer

A U.S. Army officer and cavalry commander who was defeated at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Great Sioux War

A series of battles between the U.S. and several Native American tribes in the 1870s.

Demise of the Buffalo

The significant decline of buffalo populations due to hunting and habitat loss.

Range Wars

Conflicts between ranchers and farmers or between different ranchers over land use.

Frederick Jackson Turner

Historian known for his work on the significance of the frontier in American history.

Ghost Dance Movement

A religious movement among Native Americans that aimed to restore their ancestral ways.

Ellis Island

An immigration station in New York Harbor where millions of immigrants were processed.

Chinese Exclusion Act

An 1882 U.S. federal law that prohibited all Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S.

Nativist

A person who favors the interests of native-born inhabitants over those of immigrants.

Frederick Law Olmsted

Landscape architect known for designing New York's Central Park.

Education

The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, particularly at a school or university.

Life & Leisure

Elements of personal enjoyment and relaxation outside of work.

Herbert Spencer

Philosopher and sociologist known for his application of evolutionary theory to society.

Social Darwinism

The belief that society progresses through the survival of the fittest.

Pragmatism

A philosophical movement that focuses on practical consequences and real-world applications.

William James

Philosopher and psychologist who was a leading thinker in the pragmatism movement.

Reform Darwinism

An approach that emphasized cooperation and social reform, as opposed to competition.

Political Machine

A political organization that controls election results by awarding jobs and services.

William “Boss” Tweed

A corrupt New York City politician known for his role in the Tammany Hall political machine.

Stalwarts

A faction of the Republican Party that opposed civil service reform.

James Gillespie Blaine

A prominent Republican politician and candidate for U.S. president in the late 19th century.

Mugwumps

Republicans who supported Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland in the 1884 presidential election.

Grover Cleveland

The only U.S. president to serve two non-consecutive terms.

Election of 1888

A presidential election in which Benjamin Harrison defeated incumbent Grover Cleveland.

Granger Movement

An agricultural advocacy group organized to address the issues faced by farmers in the 1870s.

Farmers’ Alliances

Groups formed in the late 19th century to promote the economic interests of farmers.

Populist Party

A political party founded in 1891 to represent the interests of farmers and laborers.

Mary Elizabeth Lease

A prominent speaker and writer associated with the Populist Party.

Depression of 1893

An economic depression that caused widespread unemployment and hardship.

William McKinley

U.S. president from 1897 to 1901 known for his support of protective tariffs and the gold standard.

William Jennings Bryan

A three-time presidential candidate known for his populist views and opposition to the gold standard.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

Mississippi Plan

A strategy adopted in Mississippi in the late 1800s aimed at disenfranchising black voters.

Plessy v. Ferguson

An 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation.

Separate but Equal

A legal doctrine that justified racial segregation under the premise that separate facilities were equal.

Ida B. Wells

An African American journalist and activist who fought against lynching.

Booker T. Washington

A leading African American educator and proponent of vocational training.

WEB Du Bois

An African American sociologist and civil rights activist who co-founded the NAACP.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized news reporting aimed at attracting attention and increasing circulation.

Roosevelt Corollary

An extension of the Monroe Doctrine asserting U.S. intervention in Latin America.

Open Door Policy

A U.S. foreign policy that aimed to ensure equal trading rights in China.

Dr. Walter Reed

A U.S. Army physician known for his work in Yellow Fever research.

De Lome Letter

A private letter from a Spanish diplomat that criticized President McKinley, contributing to the Spanish-American War.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Naval officer and historian who promoted the influence of sea power on global politics.

Social Gospel

A movement that aimed to apply Christian ethics to social problems.

Settlement House

An institution in an inner-city area providing educational, recreational, and other social services.

Jane Addams

Pioneer American social worker and founder of the Hull House in Chicago.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Leader of the early women's rights movement and a key organizer of the Seneca Falls Convention.

Women’s Christian Temperance Movement

A religious movement advocating for the prohibition of alcohol.

National Woman's Suffrage Association

An organization founded to advocate for women's right to vote.

Muckrakers

Journalists who exposed corruption and societal issues in the early 20th century.

Upton Sinclair

Author known for his novel 'The Jungle,' which exposed conditions in the meatpacking industry.

Taylorism

A management theory that analyzes workflows to improve efficiency.

Social Justice

The concept of a society characterized by the equitable distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges.

Progressive Movement

A political and social reform movement that aimed to eliminate corruption in government.

Florence Kelley

Social and political reformer known for her work in labor rights and advocating for women and children.