The Gilded Age, the New South, and Industrial Expansion Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the Gilded Age, the New South, industrialization, western expansion, and Native American conflicts based on the lecture notes.

Gilded Age

An era characterized by the rise of giant corporations, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and significant political and corporate corruption.

Lost Cause myth

A perspective promoted by Southern apologists that sanitized the Civil War and idealized the Old South while resenting Reconstruction policies.

The New South

A vision for the post-war South involving a transition from the plantation system to small farms and the growth of industries like textiles and tobacco.

Henry Grady

An advocate for the New South who promoted the transformation of the Southern economy through industrialization.

Washington Duke

An ex-Confederate soldier who founded the American Tobacco Company (ATC) and helped establish the tobacco industry in the South.

Crop-Lien System

A post-war economic system where landowners and merchants dictated what was planted and harvested, and workers pledged a portion of their yield to creditors.

Sharecroppers

Individuals who owned no land and worked on farms in exchange for shelter and supplies, sharing a portion of the crops with the landowner; by certain estimates, $80\%$ of those in the system were sharecroppers.

Mississippi Plan ($1890$)

A series of state constitutional amendments designed to disenfranchise African American voters through residency requirements, tax payments, and disqualification for certain crimes.

Grandfather Clause

A legal mechanism used in states like Louisiana ($1898$) that allowed individuals to vote only if their ancestors could vote in $1867$, effectively bypassing the $15\text{th}$ Amendment for white voters.

Exodusters

Thousands of African Americans who migrated to Kansas between $1890$ and $1894$ to escape Southern racism and seek land.

Benjamin Singleton

An ex-slave who promoted African American migration to the West and purchased land in Kansas for Exodusters.

Plessy v. Ferguson ($1896$)

A Supreme Court ruling involving Homer Plessy (a $\frac{1}{8}$ black man) that established the "separate but equal" precedent, allowing states to legally segregate public facilities.

Jim Crow

A system of segregation laws named after a popular $19\text{th}$-century blackface song and dance; these laws affected schools, cemeteries, and water fountains.

Vaqueros

Spanish-speaking cowhands who taught Anglo-Americans cattle ranching techniques in the West.

Joseph McCoy

An Illinois livestock dealer who bought $250$ acres in Abilene, Kansas, in $1867$ to create a major cattle industry hub.

Second Industrial Revolution Factors

A period of growth driven by three main factors: modern transportation and communication systems, the creation of electrical power, and improved industrial processes through research.

Robber Barons

A derogatory title given to business moguls who used shady practices to eliminate competition and create monopolies.

Alexander Graham Bell

The inventor of the telephone ($1876$) and founder of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).

Thomas Edison

A famous inventor who held $1,093$ patents and perfected the first practical lightbulb in $1879$.

John D. Rockefeller

The founder of the Standard Oil Company ($1870$) who became the nation's largest oil refiner by using horizontal integration.

Horizontal Integration

A strategy where a dominant corporation buys or forces out its competitors to monopolize an industry.

Andrew Carnegie

A Scottish immigrant who rose to dominate the steel industry, utilizing the Bessemer converter for mass production and authoring the "Gospel of Wealth."

Bessemer converter

A technological tool that revolutionized industry by accelerating the conversion of iron into steel.

J.P. Morgan

A powerful investment banker who consolidated various businesses, eventually creating U.S. Steel, the first billion-dollar corporation.

Pacific Railway Acts ($1862$-$1864$)

Policies passed by a Republican-led Congress that authorized the construction of the transcontinental railroad, promoting competition between the Union Pacific and Central Pacific companies.

Golden Spike

The symbolic spike driven into the ground in the Utah Territory to mark the meeting of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads.

Homestead Act ($1862$)

A law providing $160$ acre plots of land in the West to individuals who agreed to work and improve the land.

Laissez-Faire

A French phrase meaning "let them do as they will," defining the Gilded Age stance of minimal government regulation of business.

Knights of Labor

An inclusive labor union formed in the $1870\text{s}$ that endorsed reforms such as the $8$-hour workday and equal pay.

Mother Jones

An Irish immigrant and organizer for the Knights of Labor who campaigned for workers' rights and child labor laws for $30$ years.

Haymarket Riot ($1886$)

A protest in Chicago for an $8$-hour workday that turned violent after a bomb was thrown at police; its aftermath led to the collapse of the Knights of Labor.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A labor organization founded by Samuel Gompers in $1886$ that focused on concrete economic gains like higher wages and better working conditions for skilled workers.

Pullman Strike ($1894$)

A major strike led by Eugene Debs against the Pullman Palace Car Company after wage cuts and layoffs; it eventually collapsed due to government pressure.

Sioux Uprising ($1862$)

A conflict in Minnesota where the Sioux nation raided U.S. settlements after treaties were broken; it resulted in the hanging of $38$ Sioux leaders by order of President Lincoln.

Sand Creek Massacre ($1864$)

An event in Colorado where Colonel Chivington's militia indiscriminately massacred $250$ friendly Cheyenne and Arapaho natives despite promises of safety.

Great Sioux War ($1876$)

A conflict sparked by U.S. claims to the Black Hills, featuring the Battle of Little Bighorn where Colonel George Custer was defeated by Sioux forces.

Dawes Act ($1887$)

A policy aimed at Americanizing Native Americans by breaking up tribal lands into small individual farm plots and selling the remainder to white settlers.

Indian Schools

Boarding institutions, such as the Carlisle School, where Native American children were forced to abandon their customs, traditions, and language to assimilate into American culture.

Gilded Age

An era characterized by the rise of giant corporations and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, marked by political corruption and government policies that often favored corporate interests over fair treatment for workers.

New South

A vision promoted by Henry Grady to transform the Southern economy from a plantation-based system to one centered on industrialization, textiles, and small farms.

Lost Cause myth

A narrative created by Southern apologists that sanitized the history of the Civil War and depicted the old South as a victim of Northern aggression.

Henry Grady

The advocate and spokesperson for the New South who sought to diversify the Southern economy through industrial growth.

Washington Duke

An ex-Confederate soldier who founded the American Tobacco Company (ATC) and significantly impacted the New South's industrial landscape.

Appalachian Coal Industry

A sector of the New South's economy that saw a massive production increase from $5 mil$ to $49 mil$ during the industrial expansion.

Redeemers

Southern Democrats who advocated for a diversified economy and the New South but used fraud and terror to regain political control and disenfranchise Black citizens.

Crop-Lien System

A post-war economic arrangement where landowners or merchants provided supplies, food, and clothing to workers in exchange for a portion of the harvest as credit.

Sharecroppers

Workers who owned no land and worked on farms for shelter and supplies, pledging a share of their crops to the owner; by the late $19th$ century, $80\, \%$ were in this system, which often functioned as disguised slavery.

Mississippi Plan (1890)

A series of state constitutional amendments designed to disenfranchise African Americans through residency requirements, tax-paying status, and disqualification for certain crimes.

Grandfather Clause

A voting provision enacted in states like Louisiana in $1898$ and Oklahoma in $1910$ that allowed individuals to vote if their grandparents could vote in $1867$, used to bypass disenfranchisement laws for white voters.

Exodusters

Thousands of African Americans who migrated to Kansas between $1890$ and $1894$ to escape Southern racism and seek land, led by ex-slave Benjamin Singleton.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

A Supreme Court case involving Homer Plessy ($1/8$ Black) that ruled states had the right to segregate public places, establishing the 'separate but equal' legal precedent.

Jim Crow

A system of segregation laws named after a popular Blackface song and dance that mandated separate public facilities, including churches, cemeteries, and water fountains.

Joseph McCoy

An Illinois livestock dealer who bought $250\, \text{acres}$ in Abilene, Kansas, in $1867$ to establish a major cattle hub connected by railroad lines.

Robber Barons

A derogatory title given to powerful business moguls who used shady practices and cutthroat competition to eliminate rivals and dominate their industries.

Bonanza Farm

Also known as agribusiness, these were large-scale commercial farms that utilized new technology to increase agricultural production.

Alexander Graham Bell

The inventor who created the telephone in $1876$ and founded the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).

Thomas Edison

A famous inventor credited with $1039$ patents who created the first practical lightbulb in $1879$ and founded over $100$ companies.

John D. Rockefeller

The founder of Standard Oil Co in $1870$, which became the nation's largest oil refiner through the use of horizontal integration.

Horizontal Integration

A business strategy where a dominant corporation buys out or forces out its competitors to monopolize a specific industry.

Andrew Carnegie

A Scottish immigrant who revolutionized the steel industry by using the Bessemer converter and founded Carnegie Steel Co in $1892$.

Gospel of Wealth

An essay and philosophy written by Andrew Carnegie arguing that the wealthy had a responsibility to use their riches for the greater good of society.

Pacific Railway Acts (1862-1864)

Legislation passed by the Republican-led Congress to authorize the construction of the transcontinental railroad, promoted through competition between companies like Union Pacific and Central Pacific.

J.P. Morgan

A banker who established J. Pierpont Morgan & Co and consolidated various businesses to create U.S. Steel, the first billion-dollar corporation.

Homestead Act (1862)

A policy where Congress provided $160\, \text{acre}$ plots in the West for free to individuals who worked and improved the land.

Laissez Faire

A French phrase meaning 'let them do as they will,' describing the Gilded Age government stance of minimal regulation over business activities.

Knights of Labor

A labor group from the $1870s$ that endorsed reforms including an $8\, \text{hr}$ workday and equal pay, reaching a membership of $700,000$ by $1886$.

Mother Jones

An Irish immigrant and labor organizer who joined the Knights of Labor, advocated for strikers, and was instrumental in establishing child labor laws.

Haymarket Riot (1886)

A violent labor protest in Chicago where $40,000$ protesters demanded an $8\, \text{hr}$ workday, leading to a bomb explosion and the deaths of seven police officers.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A federation of national craft unions created by Samuel Gompers in $1886$ that focused on concrete economic gains like higher wages and better working conditions.

Pullman Strike (1894)

A strike led by Eugene Debs and the American Railway Union after George Pullman laid off $3,000$ employees and slashed wages by $25\, \text{-} \, 40\, \%$ during an economic depression.

Sioux Uprising (1862)

A conflict in Minnesota where the Sioux nation raided U.S. settlements after treaties were broken; it resulted in the hanging of $38$ Sioux leaders ordered by President Lincoln.

Sand Creek Massacre (1864)

The indiscriminate killing of over $250$ friendly Cheyenne and Arapaho natives by $700$ U.S. militiamen led by Colonel Chivington in Colorado.

Great Sioux War (1876)

A conflict involving $15$ battles triggered by the U.S. claiming the Black Hills; it included the Battle of Little Bighorn, where Colonel George Custer was defeated.

Dawes Act (1887)

A federal policy aimed at the assimilation (Americanization) of Native Americans by cutting reservations into farmable plots and selling the remainder to white settlers.

Carlisle School

A well-known Indian boarding school designed to force Native American children to abandon their customs, traditions, and language in favor of American culture.