us history notes
1. Bessemer Process A method developed in the 1850s for mass-producing
/
steel by blowing air through molten iron to remove impu-
rities, significantly lowering the cost of steel production
and enabling the expansion of railroads and construc-
tion.
2. Kerosene A flammable hydrocarbon liquid derived from petroleum,
first distilled in the 19th century, which became a major
source of lighting and heating before the widespread use
of electricity.
3. Capital Refers to financial assets or resources that can be used
to generate wealth, crucial for entrepreneurs to start and
grow businesses.
4. Patent A legal right granted to an inventor to exclusively pro-
duce, use, and sell an invention for a certain period, en-
couraging innovation by protecting intellectual property.
5. Entrepreneurship The process of starting and running a new business,
often involving risk-taking and innovation to create new
products or services.
6. Limited Liability
vs. Unlimited Lia-
bility
Limited liability protects owners' personal assets from
business debts, while unlimited liability means owners
are personally responsible for all business debts.
7. Reconstruction The period following the Civil War (1865-1877) aimed
at rebuilding the South and integrating freed slaves into
society, marked by significant legislative changes.
8. 13th, 14th, and
15th Amendments
Constitutional amendments that abolished slavery,
granted citizenship and equal protection under the law,
and secured voting rights for African American men,
respectively.
9. Jim Crow Laws State and local laws enacted in the South after Recon-
struction that enforced racial segregation and disenfran-
chised African Americans.
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10. Sharecropping An agricultural system where landowners allowed ten-
ants to farm their land in exchange for a share of the crop,
often leading to cycles of debt and poverty for African
American families.
11. Crop Lien System A credit system used by sharecroppers and farmers
where they borrowed against their future crops, often
resulting in high-interest debts and exploitation.
12. Debt Peonage A system where workers are bound in servitude until
their debts are paid, often used to exploit African Amer-
ican laborers post-Reconstruction.
13. Chivington Mas-
sacre
The 1864 massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho people
by Colorado U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, highlighting the vio-
lent conflicts between settlers and Native Americans.
14. Battle of Little Big
Horn
A 1876 battle where General Custer's forces were de-
feated by a coalition of Native American tribes, symbol-
izing resistance against U.S. expansion.
15. Battle of Wounded
Knee
The 1890 massacre of Lakota Sioux by U.S. troops,
marking the end of armed Native American resistance
in the Great Plains.
16. Assimilation The process by which Native Americans were forced to
adopt European-American culture, often through educa-
tion and land policies.
17. Dawes Severalty
Act of 1887
Legislation aimed at assimilating Native Americans by
allotting them individual plots of land, undermining tribal
sovereignty and communal landholding.
18. Bureau of Indian
Affairs
A U.S. government agency established to manage rela-
tions with Native American tribes, often criticized for its
role in enforcing assimilation policies.
19. Exoduster African Americans who migrated from the South to
Kansas in the late 19th century seeking land and oppor-
tunity after the Civil War.
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20. Hispano and Te-
jano
Terms referring to Spanish-speaking populations in the
U.S., particularly in the Southwest, highlighting the cul-
tural diversity and historical presence of these commu-
nities.
21. "Rain Follows the
Plow"
A belief that agricultural development would lead to in-
creased rainfall, influencing settlement patterns in the
Great Plains.
22. Agricultural Lad-
der
A concept describing the progression of farmers from
tenant farming to land ownership, often hindered by eco-
nomic systems like sharecropping.
23. Bonanza Farm Large-scale farms in the late 19th century that focused
on single crops, often employing mechanization and
hired labor.
24. Dry Farming An agricultural technique used in arid regions that con-
serves moisture in the soil, crucial for farming in the
Great Plains.
25. Advantages of
Corporations
Limited liability, easier capital accumulation, perpetual
existence.
26. US Policies toward
Native Americans
Removal, Assimilation, Reservation, Extermination
27. What was a key as-
pect of land specu-
lation during west-
ward expansion?
Speculators bought large tracts of land at low prices,
anticipating profit as settlers moved westward.
28. What was the
Homestead Act of
1862 intended to
do?
Encourage small-scale settlement in the West.
29. How did spec-
ulators manipu-
They acquired land cheaply and sold it at inflated prices.
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late the Home-
stead Act?
30. What role did rail-
road companies
play in land specu-
lation?
They were granted vast tracts of land and sold it at high
prices to settlers or speculators.
31. What was a sig-
nificant outcome
of mining specula-
tion during the Cal-
ifornia Gold Rush?
Thousands of miners and investors flooded California,
but only a few struck it rich.
32. What was the
Comstock Lode?
A massive silver deposit in Nevada that drew speculators
who often lost fortunes.
33. What was the
Klondike Gold
Rush?
A speculative mining venture in Alaska and Canada that
occurred in 1896.
34. What challenges
did farmers face in
Great Plains farm-
ing?
They underestimated the challenges of aridity and ex-
treme weather.
35. What were
boom-and-bust cy-
cles in agricul-
ture?
High grain prices spurred speculative investment, but
prices later plummeted, leaving many farmers in debt.
36. Railroads as Mod-
ern Enterprise
Innovative logistics, large-scale operations, and national
connectivity.
37. Chisholm Trail the major cattle route from San Antonio, Texas, through
Oklahoma to Kansas