Untitled Flashcards Set

  • Silver Money – Bland-Allison Act
    A law requiring the government to buy and coin silver to increase the money supply.

  • Patronage
    Giving government jobs or favors to political supporters.

  • Omaha Platform
    The Populist Party’s platform demanding free silver, a progressive income tax, and government control of railroads.

  • Populist Party
    A political party formed to represent farmers and workers, advocating economic reforms like free silver and railroad regulation.

  • William Jennings Bryan – “Cross of Gold”
    A speech supporting free silver and opposing the gold standard, symbolizing the Populist cause.

  • Election of 1896 – McKinley
    A presidential election where William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan, affirming the gold standard.

  • Great American Desert
    A term for the arid plains west of the Mississippi, once thought unsuitable for farming.

  • Buffalo Herds
    Massive bison herds central to Native American life, nearly wiped out by settlers.

  • Cattle Drives
    Moving large herds of cattle to railroads for shipment to markets.

  • National Grange Movement
    A farmers' organization aimed at addressing economic and social issues, especially high railroad rates.

  • Ocala Platform
    A set of demands by farmers for economic reforms like free silver and lower tariffs.

  • Frederick Jackson Turner
    Historian who argued the American frontier shaped the nation’s democracy and culture.

  • Dawes Act of 1887
    A law dividing Native American lands into individual plots to promote assimilation.

  • Indian Reorganization Act
    A 1934 law that ended allotment policies and supported Native American self-governance.

  • Alexander Graham Bell
    Inventor of the telephone, revolutionizing communication.

  • Henry Bessemer
    Creator of the Bessemer Process, which made steel production cheaper and faster.

  • Thomas Edison
    Inventor known for the light bulb and systems for electrical power distribution.

  • Otis Elevator
    Invented a safety brake for elevators, enabling skyscrapers.

  • Mail-Order Catalogs – Sears
    Retail catalogs that allowed rural consumers to buy goods by mail.

  • Cornelius Vanderbilt
    A railroad tycoon who expanded transportation networks in the U.S.

  • Rebate
    A discount secretly given by railroads to favored customers.

  • Pools
    Agreements between companies to fix prices and limit competition.

  • J. Pierpont Morgan
    A powerful banker who consolidated industries and financed major corporations.

  • Interlocking Directorates
    When the same people serve on boards of competing companies, reducing competition.

  • Andrew Carnegie
    Steel magnate who used vertical integration to dominate the industry.

  • John D. Rockefeller
    Founder of Standard Oil, known for horizontal integration and controlling the oil market.

  • Trust
    A group of companies controlled by a single board to reduce competition.

  • Horizontal Integration
    Controlling one step in the production process by merging with competitors.

  • Vertical Integration
    Controlling all steps of production from raw materials to finished products.

  • Laissez-faire
    A belief in minimal government interference in the economy.

  • Social Darwinism
    The belief that the strongest businesses or people naturally succeed, justifying wealth and power.