Chapter 16 Test - The Gilded Age and the West

This set of flashcards covers key terms, concepts, and themes from Chapter 16 concerning the Gilded Age and the West, providing definitions and explanations for each term.

Trusts

Legal arrangements allowing one party to manage another's property for the benefit of a third party.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy that involves acquiring control of all stages of production from raw materials to finished goods.

Horizontal Expansion

The process of a company increasing its market share by acquiring competitors in the same industry.

Robber Barons

Wealthy and powerful 19th-century industrialists often criticized for unethical business practices.

The Gilded Age

A term used to describe the late 19th century, marked by industrial growth and social issues.

Social Darwinism

The belief that society progresses through the survival of the fittest, applied in economics and social policy.

Great Railroad Strike

A significant labor strike in 1877 that protested wage cuts and poor working conditions.

Knights of Labor

An early labor organization encouraging the inclusion of all workers, advocating for broad social reforms.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A national federation of labor unions in the United States founded in 1886 focusing on skilled workers.

Single Tax

An economic reform proposed to replace all taxes with a single tax on land value.

Social Gospel

A movement that advocated for social justice and charity based on Christian ethics.

Haymarket Affair

A labor protest rally that turned violent in 1886, leading to a backlash against labor movements.

Bonanza Farms

Large-scale farms that operated like factories, producing a single crop for commercial sale.

Battle of Little Bighorn

A 1876 battle between U.S. soldiers and Native American tribes famously known as Custer's Last Stand.

Dawes Act

A law passed in 1887 aimed at assimilating Native Americans by allotting them individual plots of land.

Ghost Dance

A Native American spiritual movement in the late 19th century that predicted the return of the buffalo and the disappearance of white settlers.

Wounded Knee Massacre

The 1890 massacre of hundreds of Lakota at Wounded Knee Creek, marking the end of Native American armed resistance.

Gold Standard

A monetary system where a country's currency or paper money has a value directly linked to gold.

Civil Service Act

The 1883 law that established a merit-based system for federal employment, reducing patronage.

Interstate Commerce Act

A federal law aimed at regulating the railroad industry and its monopolistic practices.

Sherman Antitrust Act

A landmark 1890 legislation to prohibit monopolistic business practices.

The Populist Party

A political party formed in the late 19th century advocating for farmers' interests and economic reforms.

Chinese Exclusion Act

The 1882 law that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers into the United States.

New Immigrants

A term referring to immigrants who arrived in the United States from Southern and Eastern Europe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Government's role in the economy during the Gilded Age

The limited intervention by the government in economic affairs, often favoring industrialists and businesses.

Wealth and income inequality during the Gilded Age

A significant gap between the rich and the poor, highlighted by the extreme wealth of industrialists and poverty of workers.

The Labor Movement

A campaign for workers' rights that fought for better wages, working conditions, and labor laws.

The Social Reform Movement during the Gilded Age

A movement advocating for social changes aiming to address issues such as inequality, labor rights, and education.

Government policies toward Native Americans in the West

A series of policies aimed at assimilating or relocating Native American tribes and controlling their lands.

Government corruption and the attempts to bring about reform during the Gilded Age

Efforts to combat the widespread political corruption and patronage systems in the U.S. government.

The challenges facing farmers during the Gilded Age and how they addressed those challenges

Farmers faced issues like debt and low crop prices, leading to the formation of organizations like the Grange and the Populist Party.