Untitled Flashcards Set

Plains Indians: Native American tribes that lived on the Great Plains, such as the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Comanche, known for their nomadic lifestyle and reliance on buffalo.

Massacre at Wounded Knee: A tragic event in 1890 where U.S. troops killed hundreds of Lakota Sioux men, women, and children, marking the end of the Indian resistance to U.S. expansion.

Ghost Dance: A religious movement among Native Americans in the late 19th century, which was believed to restore their ancestral way of life and remove white settlers.

Frederick Jackson Turner: Historian who proposed the "Frontier Thesis" in 1893, suggesting that the American frontier played a key role in shaping the nation's democracy and character.

Railroad: A system of tracks used for trains to transport goods and people, crucial in the industrialization and expansion of the U.S. in the 19th century.

Sheep Ranching: The practice of raising sheep for wool and meat, which was a significant industry in the western U.S.

Barbed Wire: A type of wire with sharp edges, used for fencing livestock and marking boundaries in the West during the late 19th century.

Bonanza Farming: Large-scale farms focused on growing a single crop, often wheat, using advanced machinery.

Bimetallism: A monetary system where both silver and gold are used as currency, advocated by some during the late 19th century to inflate the economy.

Plessy v. Ferguson: A landmark 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the doctrine of "separate but equal."

Electricity: A form of energy used for power, lighting, and communication, which revolutionized life and industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

George Pullman: An industrialist known for creating the Pullman Company, which built luxury railroad cars, and for the Pullman Strike of 1894.

Social Darwinism: A belief that society and businesses operate under the same natural selection principles as evolution, justifying inequality and laissez-faire economics.

Gospel of Wealth: A philosophy popularized by Andrew Carnegie, encouraging wealthy individuals to use their riches to benefit society.

Jim Crow Laws: State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW): A labor union founded in 1905, known for advocating for workers' rights and organizing in industries across the U.S.

Eugene Debs: Labor leader and founder of the IWW, who ran for president as a socialist candidate several times.

American Federation of Labor (AFL): A major labor union founded in 1886, focusing on skilled workers and advocating for better wages, hours, and working conditions.

Samuel Gompers: The founder and first president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

Transcontinental Railroad: A railroad system that connected the eastern U.S. to the western U.S., completed in 1869, facilitating westward expansion and economic growth.

Push-Pull Theory: A theory explaining migration patterns, where "push" factors (like poverty or war) drive people to leave their home countries, and "pull" factors (like job opportunities) attract them to new countries.

Ellis Island: A major immigration station in New York Harbor, where millions of immigrants were processed upon arrival in the U.S. from 1892 to 1954.

Angel Island: An immigration station in San Francisco Bay, primarily used for processing immigrants from Asia, especially China, during the early 20th century.

New Immigrants: Immigrants arriving in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily from Eastern and Southern Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Old Immigrants: Immigrants who came to the U.S. in the early to mid-19th century, mostly from Western and Northern Europe, particularly Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia.

Irish: An ethnic group from Ireland, many of whom emigrated to the U.S. during the Great Famine in the mid-1800s.

Chinese: An ethnic group from China, many of whom immigrated to the U.S. in the mid-1800s, especially to work on the Transcontinental Railroad.

Germans: An ethnic group from Germany, many of whom immigrated to the U.S. in the 19th century for economic opportunities.

Italians: An ethnic group from Italy, many of whom immigrated to the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often seeking better work conditions.

Cowboys: Workers who herded cattle on the open range, often depicted in the mythology of the American West.

Dawes Act of 1887: A law aimed at assimilating Native Americans by dividing tribal lands into individual plots and encouraging farming, which led to the loss of much Native American land.

Settlement Houses: Community centers in urban areas, primarily in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, that offered services such as education and healthcare to immigrants and the poor.

Jane Addams: A social reformer and co-founder of the Hull House, a famous settlement house in Chicago.

Hull House: A settlement house in Chicago founded by Jane Addams, which provided social services and educational opportunities to immigrants.

Grandfather Clause: A law that allowed white voters to bypass literacy tests and poll taxes, while preventing African Americans from voting.

Literacy Test: A test used to determine a person's ability to read and write, often used to prevent African Americans from voting in the South.

Poll Tax: A tax levied on voting, which was used in the South to disenfranchise African Americans.

Homestead Act: A law passed in 1862 that gave 160 acres of land to any settler who would farm it for five years, encouraging westward expansion.

The Grange: A farmers' organization founded in the 1860s that advocated for economic and political reforms to benefit farmers.

Farmers Alliance: A network of farmers' organizations in the late 19th century that sought to address economic issues such as high railroad rates and deflation.

Tenements: Overcrowded and often unsanitary apartment buildings, commonly found in urban areas during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Tammany Hall: A powerful Democratic political machine in New York City, known for corruption and patronage.

Boss Tweed: A political leader who ran Tammany Hall and was known for his corrupt practices in New York City during the 19th century.

Political Machines: Political organizations that controlled local government through patronage and bribes, often at the expense of public interests.

Thomas Nast: A political cartoonist known for his work exposing corruption, especially related to Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed.

Andrew Carnegie: A Scottish-American industrialist who made his fortune in steel, and later became a philanthropist, donating large amounts of his wealth to public causes.

Monopoly: A market structure where a single company or entity dominates an industry, limiting competition.

Steel: An important industrial product, primarily made from iron, which was essential for building infrastructure such as railroads and buildings.

Oil: A vital natural resource that became the foundation of industries like energy, transportation, and manufacturing.

Horizontal Integration: A business strategy where a company acquires competitors in the same industry to eliminate competition and increase market share.

Vertical Integration: A business strategy where a company controls all stages of production, from raw materials to finished goods.

Labor Unions: Organizations formed by workers to protect their rights and improve wages, working conditions, and benefits.

Gilded Age: A period of rapid industrialization, economic growth, and political corruption in the late 19th century, characterized by a thin "gilded" surface of prosperity hiding social and economic problems.

Nativists: People who favor the interests of native-born citizens over those of immigrants, often showing hostility toward foreign-born individuals.

Robber Baron: A derogatory term used to describe wealthy and powerful industrialists who were seen as exploiting workers and manipulating the system for their own gain.

Captain of Industry: A term used to describe wealthy business leaders who were viewed as contributing to the economy through innovation and philanthropy.

Yellow Journalism: Sensationalist and often exaggerated news reporting, typically used to attract readers and influence public opinion.

Jim Crow Laws: State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States, which persisted well into the 20th century.

Booker T. Washington: A prominent African American educator and leader who advocated for vocational training and economic self-sufficiency for African Americans.

NAACP: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, an organization founded in 1909 to fight for the civil rights of African Americans.

Carlisle School for Natives: A U.S. government-funded school aimed at assimilating Native American children into European-American culture.

Assimilation: The process by which minority groups adopt the customs and practices of the dominant culture, often losing their own cultural identity.

WEB Du Bois: A prominent African American scholar and civil rights activist who co-founded the NAACP and advocated for equal rights and higher education for African Americans.