Period 6 APUSH questions/review

Why was the development of the western United States after 1865 different?

The development of the western United States after 1865 was different from colonial and national frontiers because of industrialization. The most obvious difference was the construction of transcontinental railroads across the far west

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How did the **geography of the Great Plains** discourage settlement?

The Great Plains, also known as the “Great American Desert” discouraged settlement because of the lack of trees and the very low amount of rainfall(< 15 in per year), which disallowed farming almost completely. In addition to this, there were very hot dry summers and winter blizzards in the Great Plains.

What states received **early statehood** due to mining booms?

Nevada, Idaho, and Montana received early statehood due to mining booms

What were **boomtowns**?

Boomtowns were overnight towns known for dance hall girls, vigilante justice, and saloons. Most of these towns were caused by the mining booms, but became deserted after the silver and gold had run out

Who are **vaqueros**?

Vaqueros were mexican cowboys that rounded up and raised cattle in Texas

How did **railroads** impact the cattle frontier?

The building of railroads into Kansas opened up eastern markets for the Texan Cattle.

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What factors led to the **decline of the cattle drives**?

The decline of the cattle drives was caused by overgrazing, a blizzard from 1865-1866, which killed off 90% of the cattle, and the arrival of homesteaders, who used barbed wire to cut off access to what was open range

What was the **Homestead Act of 1862**? What were its **effects**?

The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged farming in the Great Plains by offering 160 acres to any family that settled there for five years. This caused hundreds of thousands of families to try to take that deal

What **problems** did the homesteaders face? 

Homesteaders faced extreme weather conditions, plagues of grasshoppers, and little to no water and wood.

What **solutions** did the homesteaders attempt to solve the problems they faced?

Homesteaders used barbed wire to fence off their land, and used mail-order windmills to drill wells in the ground for water

What was dry farming

Dry farming was a farming method that made the most out of the low level of moisture in the great plains and is what most of the successful farmers used in the Great Plains

describe farming rates and threats of farmers

By the end of the 1800s, farmers had become a minority  within American society. While the number of US farms more than doubled between 1865 and 1900, people working as farmers declined from 60 percent of the working population in 1860 to less than 37 percent in 1900. At the same time, farmers faced growing economic  threats from railroads , banks , and global markets.

How did agriculture change for farmers as consumers

* Began to get their food from stores in town
* Began to get their manufactured goods from mail-order catalogs sent by Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck

How did agriculture change for farmers as producers

* Became more dependent on large expensive machinery, such as steam engines, reaper thresher combines, and seeders.
* As farms looked more and more like factories, smaller farmers went out of business because they could not keep up with the larger farms.

why did prices of wheat and corn decline

The prices of wheat and corn declined because of increased production in the US, Argentina, Russia, and Canada

what effects did the decline in the price of wheat and corn cause for farmers

Farmers had to grow more to make up for interest rates and previous debts. This cycle caused more farmers to become tenets or sharecroppers, and caused more foreclosures for banks and debt.

why did farmers believe taxes were unfair?

Farmers believed that taxes were unfair because they taxed land and property very heavily but did not tax income from stocks or bonds.

what are cooperatives

Cooperatives were business owned and ran by farmers to save costs charged by Middlemen

What did Granger laws do?

Granger laws regulated the prices charged by elevators and railroads, made it illegal for railroad companies to give out rebates to privileged customers, and made it illegal for railroad companies to fix prices with pools

What did Munn v. Illinois rule

Munn v. Illinois ruled that states had the right to regulate businesses of public nature, such as railroads.

What reforms did the Ocala platform call for

1.  Lower tariff rates
2.  Direct election of US Senators
3.  A graduated income tax(people of higher incomes would pay more)
4.   A new banking system, which would be regulated by the Feds
5.   The amount of money in circulation should be increased with treasury notes and silver to create inflation
6.  Federal storage for crops, and federal loans which would free farmers from dependency on middlemen and creditors

What was the farmers alliance

***movement during the 1870s and '80s that sought to improve the economic conditions for farmers***

What impact did the Ocala platform have on politics?

Local and state candidates who supported the Ocala Platform’s reforms received heavy support from farmers. The reforms called for by Grange and the Farmer’s alliances became parts of the populist movement, which became very popular in the 1892 and 1896 elections.

When & why did the Census Bureau declare that the entire frontier had been settled?

In 1890, the Census Bureau declared that the entire frontier had been settled (except for a few patches of land). They did this because the Oklahoma territory was opened for settlement the year before and because there was a great land rush of homesteaders.

What did **Frederick Jackson Turne**r claim in his provocative, influential essay “**The Significance of the Frontier in American History”**?

In Fredrick Jackson Turner’s essay, “The significance of the Frontier in American History”, he claimed that settlement was an evolutionary progress and that 300 years of frontier experience had shaped American culture by promoting democracy, individualism, independence, practical mindedness, and inventiveness though it also caused people to become much more wasteful with natural resources

Why have some historians challenged Turner’s thesis in “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”

Some historians have challenged Turner’s thesis by stating that early frontier towns and cities made settlement possible and that settlement in the frontier was dependent on urban markets and cities.

Describe the **Fetterman Massacre** of 1866.

In 1866, during the Sioux war, Sioux fighters attacked an army column under the leadership of William Fetterman, and they wiped out the entire army column.

Describe the Battle at **Little Big Horn** in 1876 (p.360)

During the second Sioux War, led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, Sioux fighters ambushed Colonel George Custer and destroyed his command at Little Big Horn in 1876

Describe the **Massacre of Wounded Knee**. (p.360)

In 1890, the US army shot and killed over 200 Native Americans(men, women, and children), in the massacre of Wounded Knee in the Dakotas and marked an end of the Indian Wars.

What are **reservations**? How were reservations different from traditional native life?

Reservations are large tracts of land with definite borders, and The Federal government began to assign Plains tribes reservations in 1851. Reservations were different from traditional native life because these tribes were nomadic tribes, and restricting them to a tract of land is very different from nomadic lifestyles.

What did **federal agents promise** to isolate Plains Indians for living on reservations?

After trying to isolate plains indians into smaller reservations, federal agents promised governmental support

How did the **discovery of gold** on Indian land impact the reservation system?

The discovery of gold on Indian land made Indian land seem like free reign to gold miners, and they mined gold on reservations because of it. This led Plains Indians to denounce treaties, and the younger Plains Indians to seek ancestral lands

Describe the Jacksonian era of **Federal policy** & specific legislation toward Native Americans

Andrew Jackson’s policy that moved Eastern Native Americans West(Indian Removal Act) was made under the belief that land West of the MS river would remain Indian Land. This belief was false though, as plans to construct a transcontinental railroad were being developed and people began to migrate Westward on the Oregon Trail.

Describe the reservation era of **Federal policy** & specific legislation toward Native Americans

The Federal government began to assign Plains tribes reservations in 1851 with councils in Wisconsin and Wyoming. Plains tribes refused to have their movement restricted and continued to follow Buffalo wherever they roamed anyway.

Describe the Indian Appropriations act era of **Federal policy** & specific legislation toward Native Americans

The Indian appropriations act of 1871 allowed negotiation treaties to be passed without Congress’ consent and ended federal recognition of tribes as independent nations. This act caused several conflicts such as the red river war and the second Sioux War.

Describe the Dawes Severalty act of 1887 era of **Federal policy** & specific legislation toward Native Americans

The Dawes Severalty Act split up Tribal organizations into 160 acre plots in order to make them more civilized. US citizenship was granted to anyone who stayed on that land for 25 years and adopted the habits of a civilized life. This policy turned out to be a failure, as only 200,000 Native Americans survived the disease and poverty that ran rampant in these plots by 1900 because of this act. 90,000,000 acres of former reservation land was also sold to white Americans following this bill’s passing.

Describe the Indian reorganization act era of federal policy and specific legislation toward Native Americans.

In 1924, all Native Americans were granted US citizenship whether or not they had followed the Dawes Act. In 1934, Congress adopted the Indian Reorganization Act as a part of FDR’s new deal, which caused the number of Native Americans in the US to grow over time because it promoted Native American culture and tribal organization.

How did the US government aim to protect lands through the **Conservation movement**?

Concerns over deforestation caused the creation of the Conservation movement, which utilized photographs and paintings of landscapes of the west to push Congress to preserve these landscapes.

What was the **Ghost Dance** movement?

The Ghost Dance movement was the last ditch effort of the Plains Indians to resist US control. Sioux medicine man, Sitting Bull, was killed during his arrest.

What were the effects of **Helen Hunt Jackson’s** ***A Century of Dishonor*** of 1881?

Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor created sympathy for Native Americans, but it also caused people to want to end Indian culture through assimilation

How did reformers attempt to end Indian culture through **assimilation**?

Reformers attempted to end Indian culture through assimilation through conversion to Christianity, job training, and formal education.

What was the New South

The new South was an idea many Southerners had promoted. The new South would have modernized transportation, improved race relations, modern capitalist values and industrial growth.

which cities exemplified the new south idea

* Birmingham became one of the nation’s leading steel producers
* Memphis became the center for the South’s growing lumber industry
* Richmond, the capital of the confederacy became the capital of the Tobacco industry

Describe the South’s **economic growth** from 1865 to 1900

The South’s rate of postwar growth matched or even surpassed the Northern states’ growth in population, railroads, and industry. NC, GA, and SC became the leading producers of textiles(was NE). By 1900, The south had 400 cotton mills with 100,000 White workers

What factors **slowed southern industrial growth**?

1.  Northern investors dominated the southern economy, with ¾ of southern railroads being controlled by Northern investors and They largely controlled the steel industry in the south as well(by 1900).
2.  Lack of expansion, by local and state governments, of public education. They didn’t invest in technical or engineering schools for white people nor black people, and as a result, most Southerners did not have the skills required to foster industrial development.

What were tenant farmers

Tenant farmers were farmers who rented their land

what were sharecroppers

Sharecroppers were people who paid for their land with a share of the crops grown.

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How did cotton farming change after the civil war?

1870-1890 acres planted in cotton more than doubled, which caused the price of cotton to decrease by more than 50% by 1890 and income of farmers declined causing many to lose their farms.

why did farmers become virtual serfs

The combination of sharecropping  and crop liens kept farmers as virtual serfs  tied to the land by debt. These farmers barely got by from year to year.

How and why did **George Washington Carver** attempt to diversify farming?

George Washington Carver attempted to diversify farming in order to break the dependency on cotton. He promoted the growth of crops such as peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans.

What were the goals of farmers organizations?

The goals of farmers organizations were to rally for political reforms to fix farmers’ economic problems.

Why did the farmers organizations fail?

The farmers organizations failed because the upper class’ economic interests and the racial attitudes of White people stood in their way.

Who were **redeemers**? Who supported them?

Redeemers were Democratic politicians who had gained power in the South after reconstruction had ended. The business community and White supremacists supported them.

How did redeemers govern?

Redeemers used race to deflect interest from the problems of tenant farmers and the poor. They played on the racial fears of White people to exert more and more political power.

How did the Supreme Court rule regarding protecting African Americans from discrimination? (reconstruction, civil rights cases of 1883, Plessy V. Ferguson

**RECONSTRUCTION ERA**

Federal laws protected African Americans from discrimination by local and state governments

**CIVIL RIGHTS CASES OF 1883**

Congress now cannot ban discrimination by private businesses and private citizens.

__**PLESSY V. FERGUSON**__

A Louisiana law, which called for separate but equal accommodations was upheld in this Supreme Court case.

What were Jim Crow laws

Jim Crow Laws called for separate bathrooms, water fountains, and other public facilities. The use of streets or most stores were not separated with these laws though

What were the most common legal devices created to **prevent African Americans from voting**?

1.  Literacy tests
2.  Poll taxes
3.  Political primaries for White people only

What were **grandfather clauses?**

Many southern states adopted grandfather clauses, which gave people whose grandfathers had voted before reconstruction the right to vote.

How many Black men were killed by **Lynch mobs** during the 1890s?

Over 1,400 Black men were killed by Lynch mobs during the 1890s

How did **economic discrimination** impact southern African Americans?

Economic discrimination kept Southern African Americans out of skilled work and factory jobs, leading many to engage in farming and low pay domestic work.

How did **Ida B. Wells** resist segregation and disenfranchisement?

Ida B. Wells campaigned against Jim Crow Laws and Lynchings, but this led to several death threats and to the destruction of her printing press.

What did the **International Migration Society** do?

The International Migration Society, formed by Bishop Henry Turner in 1894, helped Black people emigrate to Africa.

What was the **Atlanta Compromise**?

The Atlanta Compromise was the idea that African Americans should not agitate for political and social equality, but should instead work hard, earn respect and acquire vocational training in order to participate in the economic development of the South.

What did Booker T. Washington do?

cultivated the spread of vocational schools and colleges for African Americans across the South and created the Atlanta Compromise

Who supported **Booker T. Washington’**s emphasis on racial harmony and economic cooperation?

Booker T. Washington’s emphasis on racial harmony and economic cooperation was supported by many White people such as Andrew Carnegie and Theodore Roosevelt.

Why did some people criticize Booker T. Washington

Some people criticized Washington because he was too willing to accept discrimination

Who was W.E.B. Du Bois and what did he call for

W.E.B Du Bois was an African American leader, who called for the end of segregation and for equal civil rights to be granted to all Americans.

Describe the first radical change in the speed of communication.

The first radical change in the speed of communication was the development of the telegraph by Samuel F. B. Morse in 1844 and by the civil war, communication by telegraph became commonplace in the Northern States

How did the **transatlantic cable** transform communication?

The transatlantic cable transformed communications because it allowed countries on completely different continents to send messages to one another within minutes and by 1900, there was a complete network of global communication. This device internationalized markets and prices of basic commodities, which gave international forces an advantage over smaller producers.

What noteworthy inventions were made in the late 19th century?

* (1867): typewriter
* (1876): telephone(Alexander Graham Bell)
* (1879) the cash register
* (1887) the calculating machine
* (1888) the adding machine
* (1888) George Eastman’s Kodak Camera
* 1884 the fountain pen(Lewis E. Waterman)
* (1895)King Gilette’s safety razor and blade

Describe the rise of the steel industry in the 1850s.

In the 1850s, both Henry Bessemer(England) and William Kelly(USA) discovered that blowing air into molten iron created high quality steel, this discovery led to an easier method of creating more steel of a higher quality. The Great Lakes region became the center of steel production because of its access to abundant iron ore and coal reserves

Who was Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison was an inventor that owned a research laboratory in Menlo Park, NJ in 1876

What did Thomas Edison invent

Thomas Edison invented the dynamo, the phonograph, the mimeograph, the motion picture camera, and the first practical electric lightbulb.

Who was George Westinghouse and what did he invent

George Westinghouse was another inventor that invented air brakes for railroads and high voltage AC in addition to hundreds of other things.

How did **changes in transportation** impact urban life?

Changes in transportation impacted urban life by causing the growth of cities. By the 1890s, electric trolleys, subways, and elevated railroads replaced horse drawn cars and cable cars because they could allow city residents to travel even farther from the city’s commercial center.

When was the **Brooklyn bridge** built? What were its effects?

The Brooklyn Bridge was built in 1883 and made large commutes from residential areas to city centers possible.

What factors led to the development of **skyscrapers**?

Greater land values in central business districts caused building taller buildings to become more profitable and in 1885, the first skyscraper was built in Chicago

How did the **marketing of consumer goods** change with the increased output of US factors and the invention of new consumer goods?

The marketing of consumer goods changed with the increased output of US factors and the invention of new consumer goods because businesses were enabled to sell merchandise to a large public

What were **mail order companies**? How did they change American consumer society?

Mail order companies were used the improved rail system to ship their products from their catalogs to customers

How did **packaged foods** change US society?

Packaged foods changed US society because it encouraged companies to create mass produced meat and vegetable products for the US public to eat.

What were the effects of **advertising** and new marketing techniques?

Advertising and new marketing techniques promoted consumerism and created a consumer culture that labeled shopping, a pastime.

describe the shift in the nature of industrial production after the civil war

The late 19th century witnessed a major shift in the nature of industrial production. Early factories had concentrated on producing textiles , clothing , and leather products. After the Civil War, a Second Industrial revolution resulted in the growth of large-scale industry and the production of large-scale industry, and the production of steel, petroleum, electric power and the industrial machinery to produce other goods.

Describe the **growth of the railroad system** in the United States after the Civil War.

By 1900, the railroad mileage more than quintupled after the Civil war.

How did railroads transform markets in the United States

Railroads created a national market for goods, which encouraged mass production of goods, economic specialization, and mass consumption.

When & why did the **American Railroad Association** divide the country into time zones?

In 1883, the American Railroad Association divided the country into time zones because prior to 1883, the US had 144 timezones.

Why was **consolidation** of railroad lines needed?

Consolidation of railroad lines was needed because in the early days of railroading there were differences in the distance between tracks and incompatible equipment, and the consolidation of railroad lines mostly fixed those issues

Describe J.P Morgan’s background and business practices

A financial panic in 1893 made 25% of railroads bankrupt and JP Morgan took control of these railroads and consolidated them so that he could reduce debts and stabilize rates.

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Created regional railroad monopolies through interlocking directorates(competing railroads have the same director)

Describe Cornelius Vanderbilt’s background and business practices

Used money that he had earned from his business to merge local railroads to the NY Central railroad in 1867

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Earned millions from a steamboat business

Describe Andrew Carnegie’s background and business practices

Born in Scotland in 1835, but moved to the US and eventually became the superintendent of a PA railroad. 

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Started manufacturing steel in the 70s and his combination of technology and salesmanship put him at the top. His company controlled every individual piece of the steel production process(vertical integration), and produced more steel than all of the mills in Britain by 1900.

Describe John D. Rockefeller’s background and business practices

1863: 4 years after the first oil well was drilled in the US, John D. Rockefeller created a company that destroyed all competition and had control of most of the oil refineries in the US \n

Took control of 90% of the oil refinery business and became known as standard oil Trust in 1881. When he retired, he had amassed $900,000,000. He extorted rebates and cut prices to force rivals to sell out

What is **laissez-faire** capitalism?

Laissez-faire capitalism is capitalism that is absent of any economic regulation.

What did **Adam Smith** argue in *The Wealth of Nations*?

In “The Wealth of Nations”, Adam Smith argued that mercantilism(highly regulated) wasn’t as efficient as letting businesses be guided by supply and demand.

How did 19th century industrialists justify their methods using Smith’s theory?

19th century industrialists justified their methods using Smith’s theory, that mercantilism(highly regulated) wasn’t as efficient as letting businesses be guided by supply and demand, by appealing to it to help their monopolies.

How did **Herbert Spencer** apply **Social Darwinism** to laissez-faire economics?

Herbert Spencer applied Social Darwinism to laissez-faire economics by concentrating wealth into the hands of those the fit in the “survival of the fittest” was best for the economy and for everyone.

How was the **Protestant Work Ethic** used to justify the wealth of successful industrialists?

The protestant work ethic was used to justify the wealth of successful industrialists by saying that the wealth that they had acquired was a sign of God’s favor

Describe the concentration of wealth in the US by the 1890s

By the 1890s, the richest 10% of the US population controlled 90% of the wealth

What is the idea of the “**self-made man**”? Was it attainable for all?

The idea of the self made man was the idea that one could become rich from hardwork, honesty, and a little luck, but this was not attainable for the majority, as mainly white anglo-saxon protestant men, whose father had been in banking or business were wealthy businessmen, and were middle or upper class.

What happened as a result of the **financial panic of 1893**

As a result of the financial panic of 1893, 25% of all railroads had declared bankruptcy

what is a monopoly

A monopoly is a company that dominates a market to such an extent that it faces little to no competition from other companies

what is a trust

A trust is an organization or board that manages the assets of other companies. Under Rockefeller, Standard Oil became a trust, in which one board managed the assets of once competing companies