APUSH Unit 6 Key Terms

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts related to the rise of industrial capitalism in the United States from 1865 to 1898.

Pacific Railway Act

Legislation that gave Congress the ability to grant land and cash to companies to build a transcontinental railroad.

Chinese Exclusion Act

The first major exclusion law targeted to limit immigration from China to the United States, established in 1880.

Homestead Act

Passed in 1862, it provided large plots of land in the West to settle for five years.

Morrill Tariff

A tariff that protected small companies from international competition by taxing imports.

Urbanization

The increasing population in urban areas due to internal migration from rural areas.

Thomas Edison

He invented the lightbulb, revolutionizing electric lighting and making it widely accessible.

Sherman Anti-trust Act

The 1890 law designed to regulate monopolies and promote competition among businesses.

Tammany Hall

A political organization in New York City known for its influence and corruption, led by William 'Boss' Tweed.

The Souls of Black Folk

A book by W.E.B. Du Bois advocating for immediate equality for African Americans.

Bonanza Farms

Large farms in the West focused on a single crop, utilizing mechanization to maximize efficiency.

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

A regulatory agency established to oversee and manage railroad and interstate commerce.

American Federation of Labor

A national federation of labor unions in the United States that focused on skilled workers and achieved lasting success.

Eight Hour Movement

A movement advocating for the reduction of the workday to eight hours.

Ghost Dances

Religious movements among Native Americans aimed at restoring traditional practices and addressing grievances, Americans saw this as a threat.

Dawes Severalty Act

The 1887 law that divided Native American reservations into individual plots for families.

Telegraph

A technological development that led to the rise of industrial capitalism, expanded the ability to communicate instantaneously over long distances and revolutionized business operations, invented by Samuel Morse in the 1830s.

Telephone

A technological innovation that led to the rise of industrial capitalism, it eventually replaced the telegraph and allowed people to talk over long distances. It was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876.

Dumbbell tenements

Narrow residential buildings with dumbbell-shaped floor plans for maximum occupancy, mainly immigrants lived in these.

New Immigration

The wave of immigrants who arrived in the United States from the 1880s to 1920’s, primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe.

American Protection Organization

This group began lobbying congress to expand naturalization period for immigrants after the wave of new immigration.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Titan of industry who focused on railroad consolidation.

J.P. Morgan

A major banker of the gilded age, who was responsible for financing the conglomeration of many markets, including railroads.

John D. Rockefeller

Titan of industry known for his standard oil business and his use of vertical integration to dominate the oil industry.

Munn v. Illinois

Court case that determined that congress can regulate railroad companies if they travel interstate.

Andrew Carnegie

Titan of industry who led the expansion of the American steel industry and is known for his philosophy of philanthropy.

Laissez-Faire

An economic philosophy advocating minimal government intervention in the economy, promoting free markets and competition.

Horizontal integration

When a person or company buys off all competitors in a particular industry to consolidate market share.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy where a company controls multiple stages of production or distribution in the supply chain, reducing costs and improving efficiency.

Republican Economic Agenda

A political plan focusing on tax cuts, deregulation, and free-market policies to stimulate economic growth and support businesses, remember with Patel Hates Mr. Nelson.

Trusts and Holding Companies

Entities that hold shares in other companies to control them, often used to limit competition and monopolize industries.

Political Machines

Organizations that influenced political outcomes through corruption, patronage, and control over local government.

Thomas Nast

An American cartoonist known for his satirical illustrations and his role in exposing political corruption, particularly targeting political machines like “Boss” Tweed and Tammany Hall.

Social Gospel Movement

A religious movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that aimed to apply Christian ethics to social issues, advocating for social justice and reform.

How the other ½ lives

A book by Jacob Riis that documents the conditions of the urban poor in New York City, highlighting issues of poverty, tenement housing, and social injustice.

Settlement houses

Community centers established to assist the urban poor, providing services such as education, childcare, and health care, while promoting social reform. A part of the Social Gospel Movement.

Jane Addams

A prominent Social Gospel Movement member and founder of Hull House in Chicago, she advocated for the settlement house movement and promoted social justice, women's suffrage, and labor rights.

Exodusters

African Americans who migrated from the South to Kansas in the late 1800s, seeking better opportunities and escaping racial violence.

Boomtowns

Towns that popped up seemingly overnight, and often went away just as fast, in response to the wave of western migration.

Populist Party

A political party formed in the 1890s that advocated for the rights and interests of farmers and laborers, promoting issues like the free coinage of silver and government regulation of railroads.

Mary E. Lease

A prominent Populist orator and activist in the late 19th century, known for her speeches advocating for farmers' rights and social reforms.

Reservation System

A policy established by the U.S. government in the 1850s that designated specific areas of land for Native American tribes, often resulting in the forced relocation of these communities from their ancestral lands.

Treaty of Ft. Laramie

An 1851 agreement between the U.S. government and several Native American tribes, establishing boundaries for tribal lands and aiming to ensure peace between settlers and Native tribes, although it was later violated.

Buffalo Soldiers

African American soldiers who served in the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars and the Spanish-American War, known for their bravery and contributions to military efforts in the late 19th century.

Carlisle Indian School

A former boarding school established in 1879 in Pennsylvania aimed at assimilating Native American students into Euro-American culture, promoting education and vocational training.

Wounded Knee

A site in South Dakota where a brutal massacre occurred in 1890, marking the end of the Indian Wars and symbolizing the violent suppression of Native American resistance.

Whiskey Ring

A scandal involving government officials and distillers in the 1870s who conspired to defraud the federal government by avoiding taxes on whiskey production.

Civil Service Reform

Legislation aimed at improving the hiring and promotion of government employees through merit-based principles, reducing corruption and patronage in federal jobs.

Cross of Gold Speech

A famous speech delivered by William Jennings Bryan in 1896, advocating for the use of gold and silver in currency to support farmers and laborers, symbolizing the Populist movement.

Gold Standard

A monetary system where a country's currency is directly tied to gold, requiring the government to hold gold reserves equal to the amount of currency in circulation.

Knights of Labor

A labor organization founded in 1869 that advocated for broad reforms including an eight-hour workday, equal pay for equal work, and the involvement of workers in management. It was the largest labor union, consisting mainly of unskilled workers and New Immigrants.

Samuel Gompers

A key figure in the American labor movement, he founded the American Federation of Labor in 1886, advocating for skilled workers' rights and better working conditions.

Communism

A political and economic ideology advocating for a classless society where all property is publicly owned, and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

A significant nationwide labor strike in the United States that began in response to wage cuts by railroads, leading to widespread unrest and violence, highlighting the tensions between laborers and employers.

Homestead Strike

An 1892 labor strike at the Carnegie Steel Company's Homestead plant, resulting in a violent confrontation between strikers and private security agents, symbolizing the fierce struggle between labor unions and industrial management.

Eugene V. Debbs

A prominent American socialist and labor leader, founder of the American Railway Union, who advocated for the rights of workers and ran for President of the United States multiple times as a socialist candidate.

Progress and Poverty

A book by Henry George published in 1879, critiquing economic inequalities and proposing a single tax on land to address wealth disparity and promote social reform.

Social Darwinism

A sociological theory applying ideas of natural selection to society, suggesting that certain individuals or groups are naturally superior and thus destined to succeed, often used to justify social inequality and imperialism.

Gospel of Wealth

A philosophy proposed by Andrew Carnegie that argued wealthy Americans had an obligation to use their riches for the greater good of society, promoting philanthropy as a means to address social issues.

The New South

A term used to describe the economic, social, and political changes in the Southern United States after the Civil War, emphasizing industrial growth, economic diversification, and attempts to modernize society while addressing the legacies of slavery and Reconstruction.

Ida B. Wells

An African American journalist and activist, she led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States and co-founded the NAACP, advocating for civil rights and social justice.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws that legalized racial segregation in the Southern United States, enforced from the late 19th century until the civil rights movement.

Plessy v. Ferguson

A landmark 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws under the "separate but equal" doctrine, legitimizing Jim Crow laws.

Booker T. Washington

An African American educator and leader in the early civil rights movement, he emphasized vocational training and economic self-reliance for African Americans.

Atlanta Exposition

A 1895 speech by Booker T. Washington focusing on racial uplift and economic progress for African Americans, advocating for vocational education.

W.E.B. Du Bois

A prominent African American intellectual and civil rights activist who opposed Booker T. Washington's approach. He advocated for full civil rights, higher education, and the Talented Tenth.