U.S. History Key Terms: Reconstruction through Imperialism

A set of vocabulary flashcards derived directly from lecture notes covering Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, Western expansion, and American Imperialism.

Andrew Johnson

The 17th President of the United States and Lincoln's vice president who took office after Lincoln was killed; a Southerner who grew up in poverty, supported the common man, and oversaw the initial post-Civil War Reconstruction rebuild.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment ratified in January 1865 that officially abolished slavery throughout the United States.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment defining citizenship to include all persons born in the United States, passed after Congress overrode President Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

Johnson's Impeachment

The trial of President Andrew Johnson following his violation of the Tenure of Office Act by firing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton; he avoided conviction by a single vote, falling short of the required $\frac{2}{3}$ supermajority.

Fifteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that prohibited federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Election of 1868

Presidential election in which Republican war general Ulysses S. Grant defeated Democrat Horatio Seymour, powered by crucial support from newly enfranchised Black voters.

Ulysses S. Grant

Well-known Union war general who served as the 18th President from March 1869; despite having no political experience, he strongly supported Reconstruction and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.

Jim Crow Laws

System of segregation and discriminatory laws enacted across the South after Reconstruction to enforce racial separation and suppress African Americans.

Fisk Scheme

An 1869 financial scheme by Jay Gould and Jim Fisk to corner the U.S. gold market by manipulating government gold sales, resulting in the economic crash known as Black Friday.

Panic of 1873

A severe economic depression triggered by financial failures and overextended railroad investments, leading to widespread business collapses and reduced Northern support for Reconstruction.

Ku Klux Klan

A violent white supremacy group founded in Tennessee in the late 1860s that used intimidation and murder to prevent African Americans from exercising their political rights.

Election of 1876

Highly disputed presidential election between Democrat Samuel J. Tilden and Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, which Hayes won by 1 electoral vote.

Rutherford B. Hayes

The 19th President of the United States, who won the presidency through the disputed Election of 1876 and attempted to implement a merit-based civil service system.

Compromise of 1877

Informal agreement that settled the disputed 1876 presidential election by declaring Rutherford B. Hayes president in exchange for the withdrawal of remaining federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction.

Mississippi Plan

Strategy adopted by Southern state governments in the 1890s using local laws, literacy tests, and constitutional interpretation requirements to disenfranchise Black voters.

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896 Supreme Court ruling originating from Homer Plessy's arrest for sitting in a whites-only railroad car, establishing the legal doctrine of "separate but equal."

Wilmington Insurrection

An 1898 violent coup in Wilmington, North Carolina, where an armed white supremacist mob led by Alfred Waddell killed Black citizens, destroyed Black-owned businesses, and overthrew the elected city government.

Ida B. Wells

Journalist and anti-lynching activist who launched legal challenges against segregation and used journalism to expose the violence and lynchings occurring in the Jim Crow South.

Booker T. Washington

Former slave who became the leader of the Tuskegee Institute, advocating for industrial education and economic self-reliance for African Americans rather than direct confrontation with Jim Crow laws.

American Tobacco Company

Massive cigarette manufacturing monopoly created by the Duke family (led by Washington Duke and his sons) that controlled $90\%$ of the U.S. cigarette business.

Exodusters

African Americans who migrated from the post-Reconstruction South to the West, particularly the Great Plains, seeking economic opportunity and freedom from racial oppression.

Cattle Boom

Rapid expansion of the Western cattle industry centered in Abilene, Kansas, where cattle drives transported livestock to railheads for shipment to Midwestern meatpacking centers.

Meat-packing Industry

Industrial sector centered in Chicago (primarily processing cattle) and Cincinnati (primarily processing pigs) that expanded rapidly due to the invention of refrigerated train cars.

The Gilded Age

Period from the end of Reconstruction to the early 20th century characterized by rapid industrial expansion, massive party loyalty ($80\%$ voter turnout), political corruption, and powerful business monopolies.

Mining Industry

Hazardous Western extraction industry marked by dangerous 10–12 hour workdays, high casualty rates, extensive environmental erosion, and the creation of boomtowns and ghost towns.

Sand Creek Massacre

Violent 1864 attack in Colorado where American soldiers destroyed a peaceful Cheyenne camp and killed and mutilated Native Americans.

Great Sioux War

Conflict in South Dakota and Wyoming sparked by a gold rush on Native lands, highlighted by Colonel George Armstrong Custer's defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Pendleton Act

1883 civil service reform law that created the Civil Service Commission and mandated that $15\%$ of federal government jobs be awarded based on merit rather than political patronage.

Election of 1884

Presidential contest in which Democrat Grover Cleveland defeated Republican James G. Blaine despite personal scandals and intense partisan division.

Grover Cleveland

The 22nd and 24th President of the United States, and the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms; known for his efforts to regulate railroads and push back against robber barons.

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

Federal regulatory agency established under President Grover Cleveland to oversee railroad operations, regulate rates, and prevent unfair pricing practices.

Panic of 1893

Devastating four-to-five-year financial depression triggered by major railroad bankruptcies and bank failures, resulting in widespread unemployment and over 15,000 business collapses.

Pullman Strike

1894 nationwide railroad strike led by Eugene V. Debs against the Pullman Palace Car Company in Illinois that paralyzed Midwest rail traffic until President Cleveland deployed federal troops.

Tenements

Overcrowded, unsanitary urban apartment buildings housing multiple working-class families in dorm-sized rooms, leading to widespread disease and high mortality rates.

Robber Barons

Term for wealthy Gilded Age industrial captains and monopolists who used political influence, vote buying, and aggressive business tactics to control markets and government.

William "Boss" Tweed

Corrupt political boss who ran New York City's Tammany Hall political ring, controlling local elections and public funds through unethical networks.

Party Loyalty

Intense political allegiance during the Gilded Age, handed down through families and resulting in roughly $80\%$ voter turnout, with Republicans dominant in the North and Democrats in the South.

James A. Garfield

The 20th President of the United States, who was assassinated just four months into his presidency by a disgruntled job seeker.

John D. Rockefeller

Industrialist who co-founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870 and created a monopoly that controlled $90\%$ of the U.S. oil industry through horizontal integration.

Andrew Carnegie

Scottish immigrant who rose from cotton factory work to dominate the U.S. steel industry in the 1870s, building the world's largest steel manufacturing business.

J.P. Morgan

Wealthy investment banker who built a corporate empire through company mergers and extensive investments in American railroad systems.

New Immigrants

Large wave of immigrants arriving between 1860 and 1900 from Southern and Eastern Europe (Russia, Italy, Poland, Greece) and Asia (China) who settled in industrial cities and Western mining regions.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 federal law sparked by extreme nativism and anti-Chinese agitation in San Francisco that banned Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States.

Ellis Island

Immigration processing center created by the Bureau of Immigration in New York Harbor that processed up to 5,000 immigrants daily, turning away only $2\%$ of applicants.

Saloons

Primary social and leisure gathering spots for the working class during the Gilded Age, used for socializing, watching sports, and discussing politics.

Realism

Post-Civil War artistic and literary movement that focused on depicting honest, believable, and relatable moments of everyday human life, cities, and nature.

William McKinley

The 25th President of the United States, elected in 1896 via a front-porch campaign, who led the nation through the Spanish-American War and toward overseas expansion.

Imperialism

Policy of extending a nation's authority by acquiring foreign territories and expanding economic and political control overseas.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Naval officer and historian whose book The Influence of Sea Power upon History argued that naval strength, battleships, and canal building were essential for national power.

USS Maine

American warship stationed in Havana, Cuba, that exploded in 1898 killing over 260 sailors, serving as a primary catalyst for the Spanish-American War.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized and exaggerated style of newspaper reporting designed to boost circulation and stir public outrage, which fueled American demand for war with Spain.

Spanish-American War

A four-month conflict in 1898 fought in the Caribbean and Philippines that resulted in an American victory and established the U.S. as a global colonial power.

Rough Riders

The 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry unit led by Theodore Roosevelt, famous for its charge at the Battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War.

Treaty of Paris (1898)

Peace agreement ending the Spanish-American War in which Spain recognized Cuban independence and ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States.