Chapter 5 Flashcards
Expansion, Industrialization, and Reform
Form of transportation joined in 1869 that linked the nation by railway from east to west
Transcontinental Railroad
Parcels of land set aside by the federal government for the Native Americans
Reservations
The site of the last major conflict between Native Americans and US soldiers. The battle occurred at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota in 1890 and resulted in US soldiers killing many Native Americans, most of which were unarmed and many which were women and children
Wounded Knee
Law passed in an attempt to assimilate Native American to US society by abolishing tribal organizations and dividing up reservations for the purpose of allotting land to individual Native American families. It failed because most Native Americans did not want to assimilate nor did they want to farm
Dawes Act
Invention by Thomas Edison that enabled factories to remain open longer and helped increase US production
Light Bulb
Developed the first alternating current system in 1886. Combined with the invention of an alternating current motor, this innovation allowed businessman to build and locate factories wherever they wanted rather than being limited to areas with waterfalls or accessible deposits of coal necessary for generating motor
George Westinghouse
Process of producing goods in large numbers so as to sell more, thereby charging less and still making profit
Mass Production
Innovative industrialist who revolutionized the auto industry with a more efficient assembly line and mass production techniques that made automobiles more affordable
Henry Ford
Naturally produced resources, such as oil, coal, iron ore, water, lumber, etc., which helped the United States become an industrialized nation
Natural Resources
Name used to describe businessmen who dominated the railroad industry and eventually used to refer to leaders in other industries as well
Robber Barrons
Key figure in the railroad industry, he greatly helped the railroad industry when he extended his New York Central railroad to reach Chicago, Illinois, thereby allowing travelers to go from New York to Chicago without having to transfer trains multiple times
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Capitalist who made his fortune in oil and founded the nation’s first trust in the form of the Standard Oil Company
John D. Rockefeller
Business started by John D. Rockefeller that was the United States’ first trust
Standard Oil
A business arrangement under which a number of companies unite into one system, effectively creating a monopoly as it destroys competition
Trust
Markets in which there is only one supplier of a product and no market competition
Monopolies
Man who truly came to dominate the steel industry through monopolies and vertical integration. He was also a great philanthropist and eventually the richest man in the world for a time
Andrew Carnegie
Finance capitalist who eventually exercised control over banks, insurance companies, and various stock-market operations and formed US Steel after purchasing Carnegie’s steel interests at a price that made Carnegie the richest man in the world
JP Morgan
Arrangement under which directors of one company served as directors for other companies also, allowing them to control entire industries and increase their economic gains as limited competition
Interlocking Directorates
Taxes on imports designed to protect US business
Protective Tariffs
Idea based on the observations of famous scientist and put forth by Herbert Spencer that life is about “survival of the fittest.” Many capitalists and industrial leaders of the early 20th century appealed to this idea to justify laissez-faire capitalism
Social Darwinism
Phase that comes from writer Mark Twain, and refers to the individual age as a time in which it appeared that a thin layer of prosperity was covering the poverty and corruption that existed in much of society
Gilded Age
An economic system in which means of production (factories, machines, and so on) are privately owned. Producers provide goods and services in response to market demand
Capitalism
A grade or level of subsistence and comfort in everyday life enjoyed by a community, class, or individual
Standard of Living
Business increased profits in the United States and began to invest in other countries
International Markets
As urban populations increased, so did this. Poorer citizens, immigrants, other “common people” gradually won greater say in their government
Democracy
Paper money
Greenbacks
Producing so much of a product that the prices fall, and producers often go bankrupt
Overproduction
Organizations which farmers joined in the late 1800s to deal collectively with the financial challenges they were facing, such as the rising price of machinery and railroad rates
The Grange (led to the populist party)
Politcal/Social movement in the late 1800s that began among farmers and appealed to the “common man.” It supported bimetallism, the circulation of greenbacks, increased government regulation of business (particularly railroads and warehouses), the eight hour work day (an effort to win the support of industrial workers in the East), a graduated income tax, and various election reforms
Populist Party
The position that supported backing the dollar with silver; it was a position eventually supported by the Populists and was a huge issue in the 1896 presidential election
Bimetallism
People coming to the US; it has become an issue of intense debate and controversy once more as the US Hispanic population grows, strains on US health care and public services are felt, and the threat of terrorism has raised concerns about the security of the nation’s borders
Immigration
A tiny island near the Statue of Liberty, it opened in 1892 and became a well-known reception center for immigrants arriving by ship
Ellis Island
Refers to when people from many different cultures live within close proximity to one another, leading to cultures mixing with one another and affecting how one another live
Cultural pluralism
Neighborhoods within inner-cities where immigrants from a certain region or country tended to live together due to their common culture, language, and heritage
Ethnic Ghettos
Attitude/Movement strongly opposed to immigration
Nativism
Process of the very young working as part of the labor forcer
Child Labor
Makeshift factories set up by private contractors in small apartments or unused buildings which were often poorly lit, poorly ventilated, and unsafe. They relied on poor workers (usually immigrants) who worked long hours for little pay
Sweat Shops
Places in cities that were poor, inner-city neighborhoods in which many immigrants and poor laborers lived in overcrowded apartments known as tenements
Urban Slums
Technological advancement that fueled the rise in new middle class and suburb by allowing people to live further out and commute into the city for work and entertainment
Electric Trolleys
New urban culture brought about by industrialization led to demand for new forms of leisure and entertainment. Saloons, dance halls, amusement parks, vaudeville shows, movies, spectator sports, and city parks became popular
Leisure and Entertainment
An unofficial entity meant to keep a certain party or group in power
Political Machine
Organizations of workers formed to protect the interests of its members. Craft unions were unions open to skilled workers who practiced a specific craft, while trade unions tended to be open to less skilled workers, often working within the same or similar industries.
Labor Unions
Notable early unions joined to form these two labor organizations
Knights of Labor/AFL
Union leader of the AFL
Samuel Gompers
Refusal of employees to work until employers meet certain demands
Strikes
Method often used by unions in which laborers refused to buy or pay for certain products or services in the hopes of forcing producers to change their policies or actions
Boycotts
A workplace in which employers could hire only union members. It forced employers to deal with the union because they could not look elsewhere for workers
Closed Ships
Notable union leader of the early 20th century who believed in socialism and even ran for president
Eugene Debs
Court orders that forbade strikes because they violated the law or threatened public interests
Injunctions
Event which involved the large form of transportation industry and showed employers that they could appeal to the federal government for help in dealing with striking workers
Great Strike
Event in Chicago which turned violent and resulted in public opinion turning against the unions as many in the nation began to identify strikes with anarchy and violence
Haymarket Riot
Event that broke out among steel workers in 1892 at the Carnegie steel plant in Pennsylvania and ended in a shootout between strikers and Pinkertons. It resulted in the public once again perceiving the striking workers as instigators of the violence
Homestead Strike
Event which involved the nation’s railroads and established a precedence for factory owners appealing to the courts to end strikes
Pullman Strike
At the end of the 1800s, the country was riddled with government corruption at all levels. At the turn of the century, this movement was a time of political, social, and economic change in the United States
Progressive Movement
Writers who wrote stories exposing abusing in government and big business
Muckrakers
Book by muckraker, Upton Sinclair, which horrified readers as it uncovered the truth about the US meat packing industry. Its impact helped lead to the creation of a federal meat inspection program
Upton Sinclair’s (The Jungle)
Founder of the Hull House and key figure in the settlement house movement
Jane Addams
Movement aimed at outlawing alcohol in the United States. Eventually won ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment
Temperance Movement
Prohibited the making, selling, or transporting of any alcoholic beverage in the United States. Commonly referred to as “Prohibition,” this amendment later proved to be a failure and was repealed
18th Amendment
Movement aimed at women winning the right to vote. It was led by women like Susan B. Anthony and eventually won ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment
Women’s Suffrage Movement
She served as president of the NAWSA and founded the League of Women voters
Carrie Chapman Scott
She served as national chairwoman for the NAWSA’s congressional committee. She led many of the efforts in Washington to convince Congress to support the Nineteenth Amendment and send it to the states for ratification
Alice Paul
Progressive republican president who aggressively went after monopolies during the Progressive Period. He eventually ran as the presidential nominee for the Progressive Party in 1912 but lost to Woodrow Wilson
Theodore Roosevelt (Teddy)
Democrat who was elected president in 1912. He defeated republican Taft and progressive candidate Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Act passed in 1913 that established a system to oversee banking in the United States. The Federal Reserve gave the federal government greater control over the circulation of money and helped prevent bank failures
Federal Reserve Act
Gave Congress the power to collect taxes on the incomes of businesses and individuals
16th Amendment
Established the US Senators would be elected directly by the people rather than by state legislatures
17th Amendment
