American West, Native American Policies, and 19th Century Innovations

Buffalo

Central to Plains Native American life; populations were decimated by westward expansion.

Homestead Act

1862 law providing 160 acres of public land to settlers willing to farm it, encouraging westward expansion.

Deflation

A decrease in the general price level of goods and services, often hurting farmers and debtors.

Middlemen

Intermediaries who bought goods from producers and sold them to consumers, taking a cut of profits.

National Grange Movement

Farmers' organization founded in 1867 promoting agricultural education, cooperative buying, and political action against railroads.

Cooperatives

Businesses or organizations owned and operated by a group for mutual benefit, often to reduce costs.

Munn v. Illinois

1877 Supreme Court case allowing states to regulate private industries that affected the public, like grain storage.

Ocala Platform

1890s Farmers' Alliance political platform advocating railroad regulation, a sub-treasury plan, and direct election of Senators.

Frederick Jackson Turner

Historian who argued the American frontier shaped democracy, individualism, and national character.

"The Significance of the Frontier in American History"

Turner's 1893 essay claiming the frontier was essential in forming American identity.

Little Big Horn

1876 battle in Montana Territory where Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne forces defeated Custer's 7th Cavalry.

Ghost Dance Movement

Native American religious movement promising restoration of lands and disappearance of white settlers.

Assimilationists

Advocates for absorbing Native Americans into American culture through education and adoption of white customs.

Helen Hunt Jackson

Author and activist exposing government mistreatment of Native Americans, notably in A Century of Dishonor.

Dawes Act

1887 law dividing Native American tribal lands into individual plots to encourage assimilation.

Yellowstone

Established in 1872 as the first national park in the U.S., beginning the conservation movement.

Conservationists

People supporting careful management and use of natural resources for long-term benefit.

Preservationists

People aiming to protect nature from human interference, keeping areas untouched.

John Muir

Naturalist and preservationist who founded the Sierra Club and advocated for wilderness protection.

New South

Post-Civil War vision of a southern economy embracing industrialization while still relying on agriculture.

Henry Grady

Journalist and orator promoting the "New South" and industrialization after Reconstruction.

Tuskegee Institute

Founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881 to provide vocational and industrial education to African Americans.

Booker T. Washington

African American leader advocating vocational education and economic self-reliance for racial uplift.

W.E.B. DuBois

African American leader advocating political activism, higher education, and immediate civil rights.

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896 Supreme Court case upholding "separate but equal" segregation.

Literacy tests

Examinations used in the South to prevent African Americans from voting.

Poll taxes

Fees required to vote, used to disenfranchise Black voters and poor whites.

Grandfather clauses

Laws allowing people to vote only if ancestors had voted before Reconstruction, excluding African Americans.

Lynch mobs

Groups that executed extrajudicial killings, often targeting African Americans to enforce racial control.

Ida B. Wells

African American journalist and activist campaigning against lynching and racial injustice.

Telephone

Communication device invented in the late 19th century allowing instant voice transmission.

Alexander Graham Bell

Inventor of the telephone.

Thomas Edison

Inventor and businessman who developed the electric light bulb and many other devices.

Electric light

Edison's invention that transformed homes, streets, and factories.

Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Retail company selling goods nationwide through catalogs, promoting consumer culture.

Advertising

Promotion of products to encourage consumer spending and brand recognition.

Consumer economy

Economic system driven by buying and selling goods to meet consumer demands.