Untitled Flashcards Set

Silver Money – Bland-Allison Act

A law requiring the government to buy and coin silver to increase the money supply.

Patronage

Giving government jobs or favors to political supporters.

Omaha Platform

The Populist Party’s platform demanding free silver, a progressive income tax, and government control of railroads.

Populist Party

A political party formed to represent farmers and workers, advocating economic reforms like free silver and railroad regulation.

William Jennings Bryan – “Cross of Gold”

A speech supporting free silver and opposing the gold standard, symbolizing the Populist cause.

Election of 1896 – McKinley

A presidential election where William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan, affirming the gold standard.

Great American Desert

A term for the arid plains west of the Mississippi, once thought unsuitable for farming.

Buffalo Herds

Massive bison herds central to Native American life, nearly wiped out by settlers.

Cattle Drives

Moving large herds of cattle to railroads for shipment to markets.

National Grange Movement

A farmers' organization aimed at addressing economic and social issues, especially high railroad rates.

Ocala Platform

A set of demands by farmers for economic reforms like free silver and lower tariffs.

Frederick Jackson Turner

Historian who argued the American frontier shaped the nation’s democracy and culture.

Dawes Act of 1887

A law dividing Native American lands into individual plots to promote assimilation.

Indian Reorganization Act

A 1934 law that ended allotment policies and supported Native American self-governance.

Alexander Graham Bell

Inventor of the telephone, revolutionizing communication.

Henry Bessemer

Creator of the Bessemer Process, which made steel production cheaper and faster.

Thomas Edison

Inventor known for the light bulb and systems for electrical power distribution.

Otis Elevator

Invented a safety brake for elevators, enabling skyscrapers.

Mail-Order Catalogs – Sears

Retail catalogs that allowed rural consumers to buy goods by mail.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

A railroad tycoon who expanded transportation networks in the U.S.

Rebate

A discount secretly given by railroads to favored customers.

Pools

Agreements between companies to fix prices and limit competition.

J. Pierpont Morgan

A powerful banker who consolidated industries and financed major corporations.

Interlocking Directorates

When the same people serve on boards of competing companies, reducing competition.

Andrew Carnegie

Steel magnate who used vertical integration to dominate the industry.

John D. Rockefeller

Founder of Standard Oil, known for horizontal integration and controlling the oil market.

Trust

A group of companies controlled by a single board to reduce competition.

Horizontal Integration

Controlling one step in the production process by merging with competitors.

Vertical Integration

Controlling all steps of production from raw materials to finished products.

Laissez-faire

A belief in minimal government interference in the economy.

Social Darwinism

The belief that the strongest businesses or people naturally succeed, justifying wealth and power.