10th Grade U.S. History II – Study Guide

1. Westward Expansion (1865–1900)

Key Concepts

● Manifest Destiny: Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the continent.

● Homestead Act (1862): Offered free land to settlers willing to farm it.

● Transcontinental Railroad (1869): Connected the East and West; increased settlement

and trade.

● Native American Removal & Conflicts:

○ Reservation system

○ Battle of Little Bighorn (1876)

○ Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)

● Boomtowns and Mining: Rapid growth followed by decline as resources ran out.

● Cattle Kingdom & Cowboys: Rise of cattle ranching; end due to barbed wire and

railroads.

Important Effects

● Destruction of buffalo populations

● Assimilation policies (Dawes Act, boarding schools)

● Rise of Populism (farmers protesting railroad and bank power)

2. Industrialization (Late 1800s – Early 1900s)

Key Concepts

● Second Industrial Revolution: New technologies—steel (Bessemer process),

electricity, telephone.

● Major Industrialists:

○ Andrew Carnegie (steel)

○ John D. Rockefeller (oil)

○ J.P. Morgan (banking)

● Big Business Practices:

○ Monopolies

○ Trusts

○ Vertical & horizontal integration

● Working Conditions:

○ Long hours, low wages, dangerous factories

○ Child labor

○ Tenements for workers

Labor Movements

● Knights of Labor; AFL (Samuel Gompers)

● Major Strikes:

○ Haymarket Riot

○ Homestead Strike

○ Pullman Strike

Effects of Industrialization

● Rapid economic growth

● Rise of mass production

● Expansion of railroads

● Greater gap between rich and poor

3. Immigration & Urbanization (1880–1920)

Immigration

● Old vs. New Immigration:

○ Old: Northern/Western Europe

○ New: Southern/Eastern Europe, Asia

● Push Factors: Poverty, war, persecution

● Pull Factors: Jobs, freedom, opportunity

● Ellis Island and Angel Island processing centers.

● Nativism: Hostility toward immigrants

○ Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

○ Immigration quotas (later on)

Urbanization

● Growth of cities due to jobs and immigration.

● Living Conditions:

○ Tenements, overcrowding, sanitation problems

○ Political machines (like Boss Tweed)

● Solutions for Urban Problems:

○ Settlement houses (Jane Addams’ Hull House)

○ Public health reforms

○ Mass transit systems

4. Progressivism (1890–1920)

Goals of the Progressive Movement

● Fix problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, and corruption.

Key Reformers

● Muckrakers:

○ Upton Sinclair (The Jungle): meatpacking reform

○ Ida Tarbell: exposed Standard Oil

○ Jacob Riis: tenement photography

● Political Reforms:

○ Initiative, referendum, recall

○ Direct election of senators (17th Amendment)

○ Women’s suffrage (19th Amendment)

● Labor Reforms:

○ Child labor laws

○ Minimum wage, shorter workdays

● Presidential Progressives:

○ Theodore Roosevelt: Trust-busting, conservation

○ William Taft: Broke more trusts, less aggressive

○ Woodrow Wilson: Federal Reserve, Clayton Antitrust Act

Social Reforms

● Pure Food and Drug Act

● Meat Inspection Act

● Temperance and Prohibition (18th Amendment)

5. U.S. Imperialism (Late 1800s – Early 1900s)

Reasons for Imperialism

● Economic: New markets, raw materials

● Military: Naval power (Alfred Mahan’s influence)

● Cultural: Belief in cultural superiority (“civilizing mission”)

Key Events

● Acquisition of Alaska (1867)

● Annexation of Hawaii (1898)

● Spanish-American War (1898):

○ Causes: USS Maine, yellow journalism

○ Territories gained: Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines

○ Cuba becomes a U.S. protectorate (Platt Amendment)

● Philippine-American War over independence

● Panama Canal (1904–1914) increased trade & naval mobility.

● Roosevelt Corollary: U.S. can intervene in Latin America.

Effects of Imperialism

● U.S. becomes a world power

● Greater involvement in global affairs

● Debates over imperialism vs. anti-imperialism

Study Tips

● Review vocabulary: monopoly, muckraker, nativism, imperialism, assimilation, suffrage,

etc.

● Create flashcards for major laws, amendments, and events.

● Practice cause-and-effect relationships (e.g., industrialization → urbanization).

● Know major people and what they did (Roosevelt, Carnegie, Jane Addams).