U.S. History: Late 19th Century to Early 20th Century Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering major political, social, legal, and economic concepts, figures, and events in U.S. history from Reconstruction through the Interwar Period.

Helen Hunt Jackson

Author of A Century of Dishonor, describing the U.S. government's treatment of Native Americans.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 legislation that barred Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. and forbade citizenship.

Compromise of 1876

Ended Reconstruction in exchange for Rutherford B. Hayes winning the disputed presidency and federal infrastructure money for the South.

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896 Supreme Court case upholding 'separate but equal' racial segregation.

Pendleton Act

1883 act creating the modern civil service with competitive exams and curbing nepotism.

Dawes Severalty Act

1887 law granting land titles and citizenship to Native Americans who abandoned tribal allegiance.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

1890 vague federal law designed to curb monopolies and business trusts.

Ida M. Tarbell

Muckraker who exposed the ruthless business methods of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil.

Upton Sinclair

Author of The Jungle, exposing the meatpacking industry and inspiring food safety laws.

W.E.B. Du Bois

Civil rights leader who called for immediate, complete integration of African Americans into society.

Booker T. Washington

Leader who called for racial separation while working to earn civil rights through labor and economic progress.

Northern Securities Company

Railroad trust broken up by Theodore Roosevelt under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

Coal Strike of 1902

Pennsylvania miners' strike where TR intervened, establishing presidential arbitration and federal involvement in labor disputes.

Payne-Aldrich Tariff

1909 tariff signed by Taft that raised rates on many goods, alienating Progressive Republicans.

Bull Moose Party

Progressive Party formed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 after failing to secure the Republican nomination.

Federal Reserve Act

1913 law establishing a decentralized national banking system with 12 district banks controlled by a central board.

Gospel of Wealth

Andrew Carnegie's essay arguing that the wealthy have a duty to use their fortunes for the public good.

Zimmermann Telegram

1917 intercepted message proposing a German-Mexican alliance against the U.S., helping draw America into WWI.

Espionage and Sedition Acts

WWI-era laws that severely restricted free speech and penalized anti-war activities or criticism of the government.

Palmer Raids

1919-1920 federal crackdowns led by Attorney General Mitchell Palmer against suspected radicals and communists.

Immigration Act of 1924

Established strict national origin quotas and banned Japanese immigration, heavily favoring Northwest Europeans.

Scopes Trial

1925 Tennessee trial centering on the teaching of evolution, highlighting the clash between urban and rural values.

Teapot Dome Scandal

Bribery scandal under Warren G. Harding involving the secret leasing of federal oil reserves by Albert Fall.

Agricultural Adjustment Act

New Deal program that paid farmers subsidies to reduce production and raise crop prices.

Civilian Conservation Corps

New Deal work relief program that employed young unmarried men in public conservation projects.

Glass-Steagall Act

1933 law separating commercial and investment banking and establishing the FDIC to insure savings.

Works Progress Administration

Massive New Deal agency employing millions of workers for public infrastructure, arts, and writing projects.

Social Security Act

1935 law creating retirement stipends, unemployment insurance, and welfare assistance for vulnerable citizens.

Court Packing Plan

FDR's controversial 1937 proposal to add Supreme Court justices to protect New Deal legislation from being struck down.

Roosevelt Corollary

TR's addition to the Monroe Doctrine claiming the U.S. right to intervene in Latin America to maintain order and collect debts.

Fetterman Massacre

Indian victory during the Indian Wars that demonstrated white forces were not invincible.

Battle of the Little Bighorn

1876 battle where Colonel George Custer and over 250 U.S. soldiers were killed by Native American forces.

Sand Creek Massacre

U.S. military victory over Native Americans that was portrayed as a great triumph in the press.

Chief Joseph

Native American leader captured by U.S. forces during the western conflicts.

Geronimo

Apache leader whose capture by the U.S. military marked a significant event in the Indian Wars.

Battle at Wounded Knee

Tragic conflict portrayed in the press as a U.S. victory, wearing down Native American resistance.

Department of War

U.S. government department that favored total war to wipe out resisting Native Americans.

Interior Department

U.S. government department that wanted to negotiate with Native American tribes as separate nations.

Mountain States Mining

Miners who failed to strike it rich in California moved into Mountain states to set up towns and businesses between 1864 and 1890.

Chinese Railroad Labor

Large numbers of Chinese immigrants entered the U.S. to work on railroads, leading to a political backlash.

Cattle Drives

Short-lived practice of driving cattle from Texas to railheads before ranches were established closer to transport.

Buffalo Extermination

Herds were eliminated by the army and railroads to remove competition for cattle grass and weaken Native Americans.

13th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States.

14th Amendment

Guaranteed citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.

15th Amendment

Granted the right to vote regardless of previous servitude, race, or color.

Southern Suffrage Restrictions

States passed literacy tests, property qualifications, and poll taxes to limit voting access after Reconstruction.

Redeemers

Southern political leaders from the Old Planter Class who came to power after Reconstruction and promoted laissez-faire and white supremacy.

Williams v. Mississippi

1898 Supreme Court case upholding state literacy tests for voting without finding racial discrimination.

U.S. v. Harris

1882 Supreme Court case declaring federal laws punishing local crimes like murder unconstitutional.

Jim Crow

A set of ideas, beliefs, and attitudes used to systematically discriminate against African Americans.

Southern Lynching

Major crisis in the post-Reconstruction South averaging around 200 occurrences per year during the 1890s.

Caretaker Presidents

Term for late 19th-century U.S. presidents during an era when Congress dominated the government.

Gilded Age Party Politics

Era from 1868 to 1900 where political information was gathered strictly from partisan sources and voter turnout averaged 70%.

Spoils System

Government patronage system where jobs were awarded to political supporters, inviting bribery and corruption.

Grand Old Party (GOP)

Republican Party name emphasizing themes of patriotism, postwar prosperity, and morality, counting on Union veterans and freedmen.

Tammany Hall

Powerful Democratic political machine based in New York City that dominated urban politics.

Ulysses S. Grant Presidency

18th U.S. President (1868-1876) whose administration was plagued by scandals among his appointees rather than personal corruption.

Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871

Legislation signed by Grant that temporarily suspended habeas corpus and resulted in over 7,000 arrests to break the Klan.

Wyoming Territory 1869

Granted women the right to vote, initially aimed at drawing more women to the territory.

Samuel Tilden

Democratic governor of New York who won the popular vote in the disputed 1876 presidential election.

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidency

19th U.S. President (1876-1880) whose election marked the end of Reconstruction via a special congressional committee deal.

Lucy Webb Hayes

First Lady known as 'Lemonade Lucy' for instituting a strict alcohol-free policy at the White House.

James A. Garfield Assassination

20th U.S. President shot in 1881 by a disgruntled office seeker named Charles Guiteau.

Chester Arthur Presidency

21st U.S. President (1881-1884) who surprised critics by supporting civil service reform.

Contract Labor Law

Legislation prohibiting companies from bringing in foreign immigrants under contract to break domestic strikes.

Grover Cleveland Presidency

22nd and 24th U.S. President and the only Democrat elected to the office between the Civil War and Woodrow Wilson.

Interstate Commerce Act

1887 law created to regulate railroad trade across state lines and curb price discrimination.

Benjamin Harrison Presidency

23rd U.S. President (1888-1892) who signed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and oversaw a massive steel navy expansion.

Sherman Silver Purchase Act

Law requiring the U.S. government to purchase silver monthly as a concession to western miners.

McKinley Tariff

1890 tariff that raised rates to an average of 48% to provide straight protectionism for domestic industry.

William McKinley Presidency

25th U.S. President (1896-1901) who led the nation through the Spanish-American War before being assassinated by an anarchist.

Leon Czolgosz

Anarchist who assassinated President William McKinley in September 1901.

Progressive Movement Characteristics

Middle-class intellectual reform movement characterized by faith in democracy, hostility to concentrated power, and public regulation.

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists named by Theodore Roosevelt who exposed social and corporate corruption.

The Shame of the Cities

Lincoln Steffens' exposé detailing political corruption in major American urban centers.

The Treason of the Senate

David G. Phillips' investigative work exposing Senate corruption, leading to the direct election of senators via the 17th Amendment.

The Bitter Cry of the Children

John Spargo's book highlighting the exploitation and abuse of child labor.

Following the Color Line

Ray Stannard Baker's study describing the erosion of civil rights and the practice of lynching in the South.

Wisconsin Idea

Progressive initiative using state universities as research centers to improve public life and draft policy.

Margaret Sanger

Pioneering advocate for birth control education who founded the American Birth Control League in 1921.

Mann Act

1910 law making it illegal to transport women across state lines for immoral purposes to curb prostitution.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidency

26th U.S. President (1901-1909) who expanded executive power and championed progressive reforms through his 'Square Deal'.

Bully Pulpit

The presidency viewed as an active platform from which to advocate an agenda and shape public policy.

Elkins Act

1903 law requiring railroads to strictly adhere to published shipping rates.

Hepburn Act

1907 law granting the Interstate Commerce Commission the power to set maximum railroad rates and standardize bookkeeping.

Pure Food and Drug Act

Legislation requiring accurate ingredient labeling on food and consumable medicines.

Meat Inspection Act

Law establishing federal sanitary standards for meatpackers, prompted by Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.

William Howard Taft Presidency

27th U.S. President (1909-1913) whose administration was fractured by tariff disputes and the Ballinger-Pinchot conservation affair.

Ballinger-Pinchot Affair

Dispute between Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot and Interior Secretary Richard Ballinger that triggered a major rift among Republicans.

New Nationalism

Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 platform calling for a strong federal government, social justice, and trust regulation.

Woodrow Wilson Presidency

28th U.S. President (1913-1921) who implemented the 'New Freedom' agenda, lowering tariffs and establishing the Federal Reserve.

Underwood Tariff

1913 tariff signed by Wilson that substantially lowered protective import duties.

Louis Brandeis

First Jewish Supreme Court justice appointed by Woodrow Wilson in 1916.

U.S. Industrial Rise

Rapid transformation that propelled the United States from behind European powers in 1860 to the world's leading industrial nation by 1900.

United States v. E.C. Knight Co.

1895 Supreme Court ruling that limited the application of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act by separating manufacturing from interstate commerce.

Old Immigrants

Immigrants arriving between 1860 and 1900 primarily from Northwestern Europe who settled largely in the Midwest.

New Immigrants

Immigrants arriving between 1890 and 1910 primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe who settled in coastal cities.

The Passing of the Great Race

1916 book by Madison Grant warning against 'lesser breeds' and championing eugenics.

The Grange

Early agricultural coalition formed by farmers in the 1870s to advance economic and political interests.

Farmers' Alliance

Massive agrarian movement in the South and West calling for free silver, income taxes, and banking reform.