APUSH Units 6 and 7 Vocab

Speculation

The practice of engaging in risky financial transactions in the hope of profit, often involving the buying and selling of assets.

Vertical integration

A business strategy where a company controls multiple stages of production or supply chain, from raw materials to final product.

Horizontal integration

A strategy where a company acquires or merges with other companies at the same level of the supply chain to increase market share.

Bessemer Process

An industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron, using air to remove impurities.

Credit Mobilier

A scandal involving the Union Pacific Railroad and the Credit Mobilier construction company, which overcharged for railroad construction and bribed politicians.

Interstate Commerce Act of 1886

Legislation that established the federal government's right to regulate interstate commerce, particularly railroads.

Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890

A landmark federal statute that outlawed monopolistic business practices and aimed to promote competition.

Haymarket Bombing

A violent confrontation in 1886 during a labor rally in Chicago, which resulted in deaths and led to a backlash against labor movements.

Pullman Strike

A nationwide railroad strike in 1894 that began at the Pullman Company and escalated into a major conflict involving federal troops.

Laissez-faire

An economic philosophy of minimal government intervention in the economy, allowing businesses to operate freely.

Social Darwinism

A theory that applies the concept of natural selection to social, political, and economic issues, often used to justify inequality.

Gospel of Wealth

An essay by Andrew Carnegie that argued wealthy individuals have a moral obligation to distribute their wealth for the greater good.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

A federal law that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States, reflecting racial and economic tensions.

Homestead Act

A law enacted in 1862 that encouraged western migration by providing settlers with land at little or no cost.

Assimilation

The process by which individuals or groups adopt the cultural norms of another group, often leading to the loss of original identity.

Dawes Act of 1887

Legislation aimed at assimilating Native Americans by allotting them individual plots of land and granting them U.S. citizenship.

Plessy v. Ferguson

A landmark Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States after the Reconstruction period.

National Grange Movement

An organization of farmers that advocated for agricultural education, cooperative buying, and political reforms in the late 19th century.

Immigration Act of 1882

A law that imposed a tax on immigrants and established grounds for deportation, marking the beginning of federal immigration control.

Tenements

Urban apartment buildings that were often overcrowded and poorly maintained, housing low-income families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Tammany Hall

A political organization in New York City known for its influence in local politics and its role in the Democratic Party.

Settlement houses

Community centers in urban areas that provided social services, education, and support to immigrants and the poor.

Social Gospel

A religious movement that emphasized the importance of social justice and improving the conditions of the poor and marginalized.

Pendleton Act of 1881

Legislation that established a merit-based system for federal employment and reduced patronage in government jobs.

McKinley Tariff of 1890

A high tariff law that raised duties on imports to protect American industries, leading to increased prices for consumers.

Omaha Platform

The platform adopted by the Populist Party in 1892, outlining their demands for economic reforms and political changes.

Cross of Gold Speech

A famous speech delivered by William Jennings Bryan in 1896 advocating for the free coinage of silver and criticizing the gold standard.

Yellow Journalism

A style of sensationalist journalism that exaggerates news stories to attract readers, particularly prominent in the late 19th century.

De Lome Letter

A private letter written by the Spanish ambassador to the U.S. that criticized President McKinley, contributing to tensions leading to the Spanish-American War.

Teller Amendment

An amendment to the 1898 declaration of war against Spain, stating that the U.S. would not annex Cuba.

Platt Amendment

A provision added to the Cuban constitution in 1901 that allowed the U.S. to intervene in Cuban affairs and established Guantanamo Bay as a naval base.

Open Door policy

A U.S. diplomatic policy aimed at ensuring equal trading rights for all nations in China and maintaining China's territorial integrity.

Big-stick policy

A foreign policy approach associated with Theodore Roosevelt, emphasizing diplomacy backed by the threat of military force.

Dollar diplomacy

A foreign policy strategy that aimed to use economic power to influence and control other countries, particularly in Latin America.

Lodge Corollary

An extension of the Monroe Doctrine proposed by Henry Cabot Lodge, asserting that non-European powers should be excluded from the Western Hemisphere.

Moral Diplomacy

A foreign policy approach advocated by Woodrow Wilson that emphasized promoting democratic ideals and moral principles in international relations.

Gentlemen's agreement

An informal agreement between the U.S. and Japan in 1907 to limit Japanese immigration to the U.S. in exchange for better treatment of Japanese immigrants already in the U.S.

Muckrakers

Journalists and writers in the early 20th century who exposed corruption, social injustices, and abuses in society and government.

Seventeenth Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution that established the direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote.

Initiative

A process that allows citizens to propose legislation and vote on it directly, bypassing the legislature.

Referendum

A direct vote in which an entire electorate is invited to vote on a particular proposal and can result in the adoption of new laws.

Recall

A political process through which voters can remove an elected official from office before the end of their term.

Muller v. Oregon

A landmark Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of limiting women's working hours based on their health and welfare.

Square Deal

The domestic program of President Theodore Roosevelt that aimed to protect the consumer, control corporations, and conserve natural resources.

Elkins Act

A 1903 law that imposed penalties on railroads that offered rebates and on shippers that accepted them, aimed at regulating railroad rates.

Hepburn Act

A 1906 law that strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission's authority to set maximum railroad rates.

Pure Food and Drug Act

A 1906 law that established regulations to ensure the safety and labeling of food and pharmaceuticals.

New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson's domestic policy that aimed to promote antitrust modification, tariff reform, and banking reform.

Sixteenth Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution that allows Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states.

Clayton Antitrust Act

A law enacted in 1914 that strengthened antitrust laws and protected labor unions from being prosecuted as monopolies.

Nineteenth Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution that granted women the right to vote.

Selective Service Act

A law enacted in 1917 that authorized the federal government to draft soldiers for World War I.

Espionage Act

A law passed in 1917 that imposed severe penalties for spying, sabotage, or obstruction of the war effort during World War I.

Sedition Act

An act passed in 1918 that made it a crime to speak or write against the government or the war effort during World War I.

Schenck v. United States

A Supreme Court case that upheld the conviction of a socialist who urged resistance to the draft during World War I, establishing the 'clear and present danger' standard.

Fourteen Points

A statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations to end World War I, proposed by President Woodrow Wilson.

Red Scare

A period of intense fear of communism and radical leftism in the United States, particularly after World War I.

Teapot Dome

A major political scandal during the 1920s involving the secret leasing of federal oil reserves by the Secretary of the Interior.

Scopes Trial

A 1925 legal case in which a teacher was tried for violating a Tennessee law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in schools.

Volstead Act

A law that provided for the enforcement of the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.

21st Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution that repealed the 18th Amendment, effectively ending Prohibition.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

An international agreement signed in 1928 in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve disputes.

Dawes Plan

A plan formulated in 1924 to help Germany pay reparations after World War I by restructuring its debt and stabilizing its economy.

Buying on margin

The practice of purchasing stock with borrowed funds, which can amplify both gains and losses.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

A high tariff enacted in 1930 that raised duties on imports, contributing to the Great Depression by reducing international trade.

20th Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution that changed the dates of congressional and presidential terms, also known as the 'Lame Duck Amendment.'

Indian Reorganization Act

A 1934 law aimed at decreasing federal control of American Indian affairs and increasing Indian self-government.

Appeasement

A diplomatic policy of making concessions to an aggressor in order to avoid conflict, notably used in the context of pre-World War II Europe.

Lend-Lease Act

A program under which the U.S. supplied Allied nations with vast amounts of war material during World War II.

Korematsu v. U.S.

A Supreme Court case that upheld the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as a wartime necessity.

Double V

A campaign during World War II advocating for victory against fascism abroad and racial discrimination at home.