US History Semester 1 Final Exam Review

Corporation

  • Business organization for investors to buy stock and share profits/losses.

Robber Baron

  • Powerful industrialists (e.g., Rockefeller, Carnegie) using ruthless methods.

Laissez-faire

  • Minimal government interference in the economy.

Social Darwinism

  • Belief applying "survival of the fittest" to business and society.

Inflation

  • General price rise reducing money value; desired by farmers in the 1890s.

William Jennings Bryan

  • Populist Democratic candidate; famous for the "Cross of Gold" speech.

Populist Party

  • 1890s party advocating for farmer and worker rights, including railroad regulation.

Pullman Strike

  • 1894 strike that highlighted government support for businesses over labor.

Eugene V. Debs

  • Labor leader and later Socialist Party presidential candidate.

Immigrant Waves

  • Old (pre-1880s): Mainly Northern/Western Europe. New (1880s-1920): Southern/Eastern Europe and Asia.

Bimetallism

  • Economic system using both gold and silver; supported by farmers/workers.

Homestead Strike

  • Violent 1892 strike weakening labor unions.

Factors for Industrial Growth

  1. Weak regulation allowed business monopolies.

  2. Abundant natural resources.

  3. Large labor supply from immigration.

  4. Advanced technologies (railroads, steel).

Economic Concerns of Nativists

  • Belief that immigrants took jobs and diminished wages.

William Jennings Bryan’s Promises (1896)

  • Support free silver, regulate railroads and banks, help farmers/workers.

Trust

  • Combination of companies controlling industries, targeted by Progressives.

Suffrage

  • Women's right to vote.

Muckraker

  • Journalists exposing corruption/social problems of the Progressive Era.

Progressive Amendments

  • 16th: Federal income tax.

  • 17th: Direct election of senators.

  • 18th: Prohibition of alcohol.

  • 19th: Women's suffrage.

Imperialism

  • Strong nations controlling weaker territories for resources.

Yellow Journalism

  • Sensational news stories inciting public emotions.

Spanish-American War

  • War resulting from Cuban revolt, leading to US territorial gains.

Roosevelt Corollary

  • Extension of Monroe Doctrine asserting US intervention in Latin America.

Dollar Diplomacy

  • Taft’s policy promoting American economic interests abroad.