History Unit 6 Tesst

A.P. United States History

Study Guide, Winter 2025

Unit 6

Topics

The South after Reconstruction

Sharecropping - land owners gave land + tools for farmers and farmers have to pay back debt by giving a portion of the farmed crops back to owners

“Jim Crow” laws - after slavery was implemented, instated these laws to continue slavery 

Segregation- seperate but equal jim crow laws that discrimintated the black people

Plessy v. Ferguson - supreme court case that favored segergation, was eventually overturned by brown vs board of education

Booker T. Washington  - advocate for black people to have more rights, plan was to gradaully increase knowlege to help black education

Tuskeegee Institute - education center by washington to help with learning for the blacks

W.E.B. DuBois - severely opposed washington’s methods, and wanted changed immediately

NAACP - national association for the advancement of colored people - development for more rights for colored people

Ida B. Wells - protested and showed horrors of lynching

Rise of Industry

Andrew Carnegie - scottish immigrant who made a monopoly on the steel industry

Steel - good for construction, light and durable

Inventions of Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla

Vertical Integration - own the whole process of making/producing a material: ex: carnegie mine, weld, cast, ship, etc

Horizontal Integration - buy out all other competitors so one company dominates

Monopoly - when dominating a industry

John D. Rockefeller - rich/greedy, owned standard oil company

Standard Oil - oil monopoly, practiced vertical and horizontal integration

J. P. Morgan & banking

Jay Gould and “stock watering” - control stock prices, sold fluctuating high stocks

Munn v. Illinois (1877)  - ability for states to regulate businesses (railroads at the time)

Interstate Commerce Commission - created to regulate railroads and unfair business practices 

Sherman Antitrust Act - break economy 

U.S. v. E.C. Knight (1895) - supreme court case that limited the anti sherman trust act

Rise of department stores and mail-order catalogues - sears, malls, etc

Gospel of Wealth - carnegie, duty to spend wealth

Economic Depressions: 1873-1878; 1893-1897 - series of recessions people faced due to the instability of economy

Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward - utopian world where government controls businesses for the benefit of the people

Henry George, Progress and Poverty -argued  economic inequality, and have tax on monopolies to fix this

Society & Politics in the Gilded Age

Factory life

Unions

Great Railroad Strike

Knights of Labor - advocated workers rights and economic reform

American Federation of Labor - moderate labor union focused on specific economic gains for workers

Pinkerton Detective Agency - beat up unions

Chicago Strike 1886 - haymarket riot, labor protest that turned violent

Homestead Steel Lockout - 1892 - carnegie union strike- turned violent once pinkerton thugs pulled in

Pullman Strike - 1894 - national railroad strike against wage cuts and high rents - led to federal intervention

Eugene V. Debs - socialist leader and organizer, involved in pullman strike

Samuel Gompers - started the AFL - better wage/ working conditions

Mother Jones - protested against american child labor

Immigration increase - large influx of immirgants particularly in south and eastern europe

Growth of cities 

Tenement buildings - poor construction immigrants lived in 

Jane Addams - housed people in the hull house

Hull House - ^  help immigrants and the poor

Florence Kelley - advocate for labor rights and child welfare, particularly in factories

Nativism - preserve US culture by banning/limiting  immigration

Social Darwinism - support free economic activity, the poor become poor and are poorer and rich become successful 

Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 

New York City Tammany Hall

William “Boss” Tweed

Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act 1883 - law that established merit based, hiring for federal jobs

Coxey’s Army - protest march in 1894 by unemployed workers demanding federal jobs

People’s Party Movement, populism

William Jennings Bryan - president that was scared / slow at populist movement, demands, ideas to implemnt

“Cross of Gold Speech” - free coinage of silver from william jennings bryan and more inflation policy

Major party platforms - Democrats and Republicans

Westward Expansion & Agriculture & Native Americans

1862 Homestead Act - 5 years land buy and keep

Transcontinental Railroad

Frederick Jackson Turner &  “End of the Frontier” - american character was shaped by frontier experience, influence american identity and push for expansion

Federal government & railroads

Land grants by federal government

McCormick Harvesting Reaper 

Growth of farms and farming in West

National Grange / “The Grange”

Farmer’s Alliance

Ranchers

Barbed wire invention

Disappearing bison

Fort Laramie Treaty 1868 - established native american reservations in the west

Reservation system

Geronimo leader of apache, resist US military efforts in force into reservations

Chiricahua Apaches

Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 - divided tribal lands into individual plots, split tribes up and assimilate native americans to american culture

Carlisle Indian Industrial School - boarding school aimed to assimilate native american children

Sand Creek Massacre

Custer, Black Hills, and Little Big Horn

Helen Hunt Jackson, A Century of Dishonor - book chronicled to US mistreatment of native americans

Wounded Knee

Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce: 1000 mile retreat to avoid forced into reservations

The South after Reconstruction:

• Sharecropping: Sharecropping was a system where landowners provided land, tools, and housing to farmers (mostly freed African Americans) in exchange for a portion of the crop. This system often trapped sharecroppers in cycles of debt, making it a form of economic exploitation.

  • Significance: It replaced slavery but kept African Americans tied to landowners in poverty and dependency.

• “Jim Crow” laws: These were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States from the late 19th century into the mid-20th century.

  • Significance: They institutionalized racial discrimination, limiting African American rights in every area of public life, including transportation, schools, and voting.

• Segregation: The separation of races in public spaces, schools, and housing, as codified in Jim Crow laws.

  • Significance: Legalized racial inequality and helped perpetuate white supremacy after Reconstruction ended.

• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): A Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the doctrine of “separate but equal.”

  • Significance: Legitimized racial segregation for almost 60 years until it was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

• Booker T. Washington: An African American leader who believed that vocational and industrial education was key to Black progress and advocated for gradual change through self-improvement.

  • Significance: Washington’s philosophy of accommodation and self-reliance was widely accepted in the South, but faced criticism for not pushing for immediate civil rights.

• Tuskegee Institute: A vocational school founded by Booker T. Washington in Alabama.

  • Significance: Became a symbol of African American self-help and a center for Black education in the South.

• W.E.B. Du Bois: A civil rights leader who opposed Booker T. Washington’s philosophy and argued for immediate equality and higher education for African Americans.

  • Significance: His ideas led to the creation of the NAACP and helped shape future civil rights movements.

• NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People): An organization founded by W.E.B. Du Bois and others to fight for African American civil rights, including fighting segregation and disenfranchisement.

  • Significance: Played a major role in the long-term fight for civil rights, particularly in challenging segregation through the courts.

• Ida B. Wells: A journalist and anti-lynching activist who used her writing to expose the horrors of lynching and push for reform.

  • Significance: Wells became a prominent voice in the fight for racial justice and women's rights.

Rise of Industry:

• Andrew Carnegie: A Scottish immigrant who became one of the richest men in the U.S. by building a steel empire.

  • Significance: Carnegie's steel industry revolutionized American industry and contributed to the U.S. becoming the world’s leading industrial power.

• Steel: A key industry in the Industrial Revolution, transforming construction and manufacturing.

  • Significance: Steel played a crucial role in building infrastructure, such as railroads and skyscrapers, fueling U.S. industrial growth.

• Inventions of Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla: Bell invented the telephone, Edison developed the electric light bulb and power systems, and Tesla advanced alternating current (AC) electricity.

  • Significance: These inventions helped shape modern communications and electrical systems, accelerating industrialization.

• Vertical Integration: A business model where a company controls every step of production, from raw materials to finished goods.

  • Significance: Allowed companies like Carnegie Steel to dominate markets and reduce costs.

• Horizontal Integration: The process of merging with competitors to monopolize a specific industry.

  • Significance: Used by John D. Rockefeller in the oil industry to create Standard Oil, which controlled most of the U.S. oil market.

• Monopoly: A market structure where one company dominates an entire industry.

  • Significance: Monopolies like Standard Oil stifled competition and allowed for unchecked corporate power.

• John D. Rockefeller: Founder of Standard Oil, one of the most powerful monopolies in U.S. history.

  • Significance: Revolutionized the oil industry and became a symbol of both corporate success and greed.

• Standard Oil: Rockefeller’s oil company that controlled 90% of U.S. refineries and pipelines.

  • Significance: The company’s monopolistic practices led to anti-trust laws, which regulated business practices.

• J. P. Morgan & Banking: A powerful banker who helped consolidate industries and finance major railroads and corporations.

  • Significance: Morgan’s financial power helped shape the U.S. economy, and he played a key role in stabilizing the economy during financial crises.

• Jay Gould and “stock watering”: Gould manipulated stock prices, inflating the value of companies to profit from their sale.

  • Significance: His practices led to financial instability and helped prompt calls for corporate regulation.

• Munn v. Illinois (1877): A Supreme Court case that upheld the ability of states to regulate businesses that affect the public interest, such as railroads.

  • Significance: It was a landmark decision that allowed for some government control over business practices.

• Interstate Commerce Commission: Created to regulate railroads and prevent unfair business practices.

  • Significance: This was one of the first federal regulatory agencies and laid the foundation for future economic regulation.

• Sherman Antitrust Act: A law passed in 1890 aimed at breaking up monopolies and preventing anti-competitive practices.

  • Significance: It was the first major attempt by the federal government to regulate monopolies and promote competition.

• U.S. v. E.C. Knight (1895): A Supreme Court case that limited the effectiveness of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

  • Significance: The Court ruled that manufacturing (even monopolistic) was not subject to federal regulation under the Sherman Act, limiting the government's power to break up monopolies.

• Rise of Department Stores and Mail-Order Catalogs: Stores like Sears and Macy’s transformed retail, making goods more accessible and affordable.

  • Significance: These innovations helped shape consumer culture and expanded markets.

• Gospel of Wealth: A philosophy promoted by Andrew Carnegie that wealthy individuals should use their fortunes for the benefit of society.

  • Significance: Carnegie’s philanthropic efforts shaped the U.S. approach to wealth distribution.

• Economic Depressions (1873-1878, 1893-1897): These were periods of economic downturns caused by over-speculation and mismanagement in industries like railroads.

  • Significance: These depressions exposed the volatility of industrial capitalism and led to reforms like labor unions and government regulation.

• Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward: A novel that envisioned a utopian society where government controlled business for the common good.

  • Significance: It inspired the Socialist and Progressive movements, calling for more government regulation and social reform.

• Henry George, Progress and Poverty: A book that argued economic inequality stemmed from land monopolies and proposed a single tax on land to remedy this.

  • Significance: George’s ideas influenced the Progressive movement and debates on tax reform.

Society & Politics in the Gilded Age:

• Factory Life: Workers faced long hours, low wages, and dangerous conditions.

  • Significance: It highlighted the exploitation of labor during industrialization and led to the rise of labor unions.

• Unions: Workers began organizing to demand better wages, conditions, and hours.

  • Significance: The rise of unions like the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor marked the beginning of organized labor movements in the U.S.

• Great Railroad Strike (1877): A nationwide strike over wage cuts in the railroad industry.

  • Significance: It was one of the first major strikes and led to widespread labor unrest.

• Knights of Labor: An early national labor organization that advocated for workers' rights and economic reforms.

  • Significance: It helped promote the idea of labor rights and equal pay for equal work.

• American Federation of Labor (AFL): A more moderate labor union focused on specific economic gains for workers.

  • Significance: The AFL became a major force in advocating for workers' rights in the U.S.

• Pinkerton Detective Agency: Hired by businesses to break strikes and spy on workers.

  • Significance: The use of Pinkertons in strikes became a symbol of corporate oppression of labor.

• Chicago Strike (1886): Known as the Haymarket Riot, it was a labor protest that turned violent.

  • Significance: It damaged the labor movement’s reputation and showed the tensions between workers and industrialists.

• Homestead Steel Lockout (1892): A strike at Carnegie’s steel plant that turned violent when Pinkerton agents were brought in.

  • Significance: It highlighted the tension between labor and management and the use of force to control labor unrest.

• Pullman Strike (1894): A nationwide railroad strike against wage cuts and high rents.

  • Significance: It led to federal intervention and marked a significant moment in the labor movement’s history.

• Eugene V. Debs: A socialist leader and labor organizer who was involved in the Pullman Strike.

  • Significance: Debs became a prominent advocate for workers’ rights and ran for president several times as a socialist candidate.

• Samuel Gompers: Founder of the American Federation of Labor.

  • Significance: Gompers led the AFL to focus on practical gains for workers, like better wages and working conditions.

• Mother Jones: A prominent labor activist who fought for workers, particularly children in mines.

  • Significance: She became a symbol of the labor movement and women's role in pushing for reforms.

• Immigration Increase: The late 19th century saw a large influx of immigrants, particularly from Southern and Eastern Europe.

  • Significance: Immigrants provided cheap labor but faced discrimination and poor working conditions.

• Growth of Cities: Urbanization accelerated as industrial jobs drew people to cities.

  • Significance: Urban growth led to overcrowded slums, poor living conditions, and the rise of political machines.

• Tenement Buildings: Poorly constructed apartments that housed many immigrants in cities.

  • Significance: They became symbols of the squalid living conditions that many poor Americans endured.

• Jane Addams: A social reformer who founded Hull House to help immigrants and the poor.

  • Significance: Addams was a key figure in the settlement house movement and worked to improve urban living conditions.

• Florence Kelley: An advocate for labor rights and child welfare, particularly in factories.

  • Significance: She played a key role in the reform movements that led to labor laws protecting women and children.

• Nativism: A movement that sought to limit immigration and preserve U.S. culture.

  • Significance: Nativism fueled anti-immigrant policies like the Chinese Exclusion Act and contributed to racial tensions.

• Social Darwinism: The belief that the strong survive and the weak should be allowed to fail, often used to justify inequality.

  • Significance: It provided intellectual support for laissez-faire capitalism and social inequality.

• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882): A law that prohibited Chinese immigration and citizenship.

  • Significance: It was the first major law to restrict immigration based on race and ethnicity.

• New York City Tammany Hall: A political machine that controlled New York politics for much of the late 19th century.

  • Significance: Tammany Hall symbolized corruption and patronage in American politics.

• William “Boss” Tweed: Leader of Tammany Hall who used his position for personal gain.

  • Significance: Tweed’s corruption scandal was one of the most famous in U.S. political history.

• Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act (1883): A law that established merit-based hiring for federal jobs.

  • Significance: It reduced patronage and corruption in government hiring practices.

• Coxey’s Army: A protest march in 1894 by unemployed workers demanding government jobs.

  • Significance: It reflected the frustrations of the unemployed during the depression and increased calls for government intervention.

• People’s Party (Populism): A political movement that advocated for the interests of farmers and laborers.

  • Significance: The Populist movement highlighted the economic struggles of rural America and pushed for reforms like the free coinage of silver.

• William Jennings Bryan: A leader of the Populist movement and a three-time Democratic presidential candidate.

  • Significance: His “Cross of Gold” speech advocated for the free coinage of silver and a more inflationary monetary policy.

• Major Party Platforms: The Democrats generally supported limited government and states’ rights, while the Republicans favored tariffs, business interests, and federal intervention in economic matters.

  • Significance: These party platforms reflected the ongoing debates about the role of government in regulating the economy.

Westward Expansion & Agriculture & Native Americans:

• 1862 Homestead Act: Gave land to settlers who would farm it for five years.

  • Significance: Accelerated westward migration and settlement, but also led to conflicts with Native Americans.

• Transcontinental Railroad: Connected the East and West, enabling faster transportation of goods and people.

  • Significance: It opened the West for settlement, commerce, and further exploitation of resources.

• Frederick Jackson Turner & “End of the Frontier”: Turner’s frontier thesis argued that the American character was shaped by the frontier experience.

  • Significance: His ideas influenced American identity and the push for further expansion.

• Federal Government & Railroads: The U.S. government provided land grants and subsidies to encourage railroad construction.

  • Significance: The railroads were crucial to westward expansion and the development of the national economy.

• McCormick Harvesting Reaper: A machine that revolutionized farming by speeding up the harvest of grain.

  • Significance: It contributed to the growth of agriculture in the West.

• National Grange / “The Grange”: A farmer’s association that advocated for agricultural reforms.

  • Significance: The Grange pushed for regulations on railroads and grain elevators to help farmers.

• Farmer’s Alliance: A coalition of farmers who worked to address economic hardships and promote political reforms.

  • Significance: Their efforts led to the rise of the Populist Party and political advocacy for the agrarian community.

• Ranchers: Cowboys and ranchers were crucial to the economy of the West, raising cattle on vast ranges.

  • Significance: The cattle industry became central to the economy of the Great Plains.

• Barbed Wire Invention: Allowed farmers to fence in large areas of land, ending open-range cattle grazing.

  • Significance: Barbed wire transformed agriculture by protecting crops from cattle.

• Disappearing Bison: The bison population was decimated due to hunting and destruction of habitat.

  • Significance: The loss of bison was devastating to Native American cultures that depended on them for food and materials.

• Fort Laramie Treaty (1868): Established Native American reservations in the West.

  • Significance: The treaty represented the U.S. government’s efforts to confine Native Americans to specific areas.

• Reservation System: Native Americans were confined to designated areas, often unsuitable for traditional lifestyles.

  • Significance: This system marked the beginning of the systematic dispossession and displacement of Native peoples.

• Geronimo and Chiricahua Apaches: Geronimo was a leader of the Apache resistance against U.S. military efforts to force Native Americans onto reservations.

  • Significance: Geronimo became a symbol of Native American resistance to U.S. policies.

• Dawes Severalty Act of 1887: Divided tribal lands into individual plots for Native American families.

  • Significance: The goal was to break up tribal communities and assimilate Native Americans into mainstream American culture.

• Carlisle Indian Industrial School: A boarding school that aimed to assimilate Native American children into white American culture.

  • Significance: It represents U.S. efforts to erase Native cultures and integrate them into mainstream society.

• Sand Creek Massacre: U.S. soldiers killed over 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho people in Colorado.

• Massacred innocent/protected native indians

• Significance: This massacre fueled Native American resistance and increased tensions between settlers and tribes.

• Custer, Black Hills, and Little Big Horn: General George Custer’s defeat at Little Big Horn by Native American forces led by Sitting Bull.

Custer underestimated indians and died, indian victory

• Significance: It was a rare victory for Native Americans, but it led to increased military pressure on tribes.

• Helen Hunt Jackson, A Century of Dishonor: A book that chronicled the U.S. government’s treatment of Native Americans.

  • Significance: It sparked public awareness and calls for reform in U.S. policy toward Native Americans.

• Wounded Knee: The massacre of hundreds of Lakota Sioux by U.S. soldiers in 1890.

  • Significance: Marked the end of armed Native American resistance in the Great Plains.

• Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce: Chief Joseph led his people in a 1,000-mile retreat to avoid being forced onto reservations.

  • Significance: His surrender symbolized the tragic end of Native American resistance to U.S. expansion.