Semester Vocabulary Exam Flashcards
American Petroleum pioneer who drilled the first commercial oil well in the US, drawing oil prospectors to the West.
Edwin L. Drake
Irish-American labor organizer who helped organize coal miners in the Great Strike of 1877 and led a march of injured child workers to expose the cruelties of child labor.
Mary Harris Jones
Leader of the American Railway Union and supporter of the Pullman Strike; he was the Socialist Party candidate for president five times.
Eugene V. Debs
A cheap and effective process for making steel, developed around 1850.
Bessemer process
American inventor with over 1,000 patents, who invented the light bulb and established a power plant that supplied electricity to parts of New York.
Thomas Alva Edison
African-American inventor who invented the carbon filament and played a key role in helping Thomas Edison develop a long-lasting incandescent light bulb.
Lewis H. Latimer
American inventor and newspaper editor who invented the typewriter in 1867, changing the world of work.
Christopher Sholes
American inventor and educator whose interest in electrical and mechanical devices to aid the hearing impaired led to the development and patenting of the telephone.
Alexander Graham Bell
American industrialist and owner of the Pullman Palace Car Company; he invented the railroad sleeping car, started a factory to build them, and founded the town of Pullman, Illinois, to house the workers.
George M. Pullman
A railroad line linking the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States, completed in 1869.
Transcontinental Railroad
American business leader who controlled the New York Central Railroad and up to 4,500 miles of railroad track.
Cornelius Vanderbilt
A construction company formed in 1864 by owners of the Union Pacific Railroad, used to fraudulently skim off railroad profits for themselves.
Credit Mobilier
An 1877 case in which the Supreme Court upheld states’ regulation of railroads for the benefit of farmers and consumers, thus establishing the right of the government to regulate private industry to serve the public interest.
Munn vs. Illinois
A law enacted in 1887 that reestablished the federal government’s right to supervise railroad activities and created a five-member Interstate Commerce Commission to do so.
Interstate Commerce Act
American industrialist and humanitarian who focused his attention on steelmaking and made a fortune through his vertical integration method.
Andrew Carnegie
In French, meaning ‘to let do,’ a form of capitalism that allows companies to conduct business without intervention by the government.
Laissez-faire
An economic and social philosophy, supposedly based on biologist Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection, holding that a system of unrestrained competition will ensure the survival of the fittest.
Social Darwinism
A company’s taking over its suppliers and transportation to gain control over the availability and cost of its product.
Vertical integration
The merging of companies that make similar products.
Horizontal integration
American banker who made a fortune taking over and merging businesses built by others, building a reputation for turning around mismanaged companies and making them more efficient.
J.P. Morgan
American industrialist and philanthropist who made a fortune in the oil business and used vertical and horizontal integration to establish a monopoly on the oil business.
John D. Rockefeller
A business organization in which competing companies are under the control of a single group of trustees.
Trust
Having complete control in the marketplace without any outside competition.
Monopoly
A law enacted in 1890 that was intended to prevent the creation of monopolies by making it illegal to establish trusts that interfered with free trade.
Sherman Antitrust Act
American labor leader who helped found the American Federation of Labor to campaign for workers’ rights.
Samuel Gompers
Negotiation between employers and an organized group of employees on conditions of employment such as wages or hours.
Collective bargaining
An alliance of trade and craft unions formed in 1886
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
A labor organization for unskilled workers formed by a group of radical unionists and socialists in 1905.
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
Question. Who was the novelist whose 1906 book “The Jungle” depicted the unsanitary conditions at a meat packaging plant? Public outcry from the book led to consumer protection laws.
Answer. Upton Sinclair
Question. This was a novel by Upton Sinclair, published in 1906, that portrays the dangerous and unhealthy conditions prevalent in the meatpacking industry at the time.
Answer. “The Jungle”
Question. He was the 26th president of the US. He focused his efforts on trust-busting, environmental conservation, and strong foreign policy. Who is he?
Answer. Theodore Roosevelt
Question. President Theodore Roosevelt’s program of progressive reforms designed to protect the common people against big business was called what?
Answer. The Square Deal
Question. This law, enacted in 1906, established strict cleanliness requirements for meat packers and created a federal meat inspection program. What act is it?
Answer. The Meat Inspection Act
Question. A law enacted in 1906 to halt the sale of contaminated foods and drugs and to ensure truth in labeling?
Answer. The Pure Food and Drug Act
Question. The planned management of natural resources involving the protection of some wilderness areas and the development of others for the common good is called?
Answer. Conservation
Question. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, an organization founded in 1909 to promote full racial equality, is known by what acronym?
Answer. NAACP
Question. Conservationist who was chief of the Forest Service; under his leadership, millions of acres of conservation land were added as National Forests, Monuments, and Parks.
Answer. Gifford Pinchot
Question. 27th president of the US; he angered progressives by moving cautiously toward reforms and by supporting the Payne-Aldrich Tariff?
Answer. William Howard Taft
Question. A set of tax regulations enacted by Congress in 1909 that failed to significantly reduce tariffs on manufactured goods?
Answer. The Payne-Aldrich Tariff
Question. A name given to the Progressive Party, formed to support Theodore Roosevelt’s candidacy for the presidency in 1912?
Answer. The Bull Moose Party
Question. The 28th president of the US; he proposed the League of Nations, enacted reform legislation including direct election of senators, prohibition, child labor laws, and women’s suffrage, and created the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Trade Commission?
Answer. Woodrow Wilson
Question. Women’s suffrage leader and activist; as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, she developed a plan for achieving women’s suffrage that helped lead to the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Answer. Carrie Chapman Catt
Question. A law enacted in 1914 that made certain monopolistic business practices illegal and protected the rights of labor unions and farm organizations?
Answer. Clayton Antitrust Act
Question. A federal agency established in 1914 to investigate and stop unfair business practices is known by what acronym?
Answer. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Question. A national banking system, established in 1913, controls the US money supply and the availability of credit in the country. What is it called?
Answer. Federal Reserve System
Question. An amendment to the US Constitution, adopted in 1920, that gives women the right to vote is known as what?
Answer. The 19th Amendment
Question: This individual served as the United States Secretary of State under President William McKinley and issued the Open Door Notes to ensure that no single nation would monopolize trade with any part of China.
Answer: John Hay
Question: These messages, sent by Secretary of State John Hay in 1899 to Germany, Russia, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan, requested that these countries not interfere with U.S. trading rights in China.
Answer: Open Door Notes
Question: In 1900, this rebellion saw members of a Chinese secret society aim to free their country from Western influence.
Answer: Boxer Rebellion
Question: This artificial waterway, which cuts through the Isthmus of Panama to provide a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, opened in 1914.
Answer: Panama Canal
Question: An extension of the Monroe Doctrine announced by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904, this policy stated that the U.S. had the right to protect its economic interests in Western Hemisphere nations by military intervention.
Answer: Roosevelt’s Corollary
Question: This U.S. policy involves using the nation’s economic strength to influence other countries.
Answer: Dollar Diplomacy
Question: This Mexican bandit and revolutionary leader led revolts against Carranza and Huerta. Though pursued by the U.S., he managed to evade General Pershing.
Answer: Francisco “Pancho” Villa
Question: This Mexican revolutionary led a revolt against Porfirio Díaz in the south of Mexico during the Mexican Revolution.
Answer: Emiliano Zapata
Question: This American Army Commander led the expeditionary forces into Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa.
Answer: John J. Pershing
Question: Queen of the Hawaiian Islands, she opposed U.S. annexation but lost power following a U.S.-supported revolt, leading to the establishment of a new Hawaiian government.
Answer: Queen Liliuokalani
Question: This policy involves extending a nation’s authority over other territories through economic, political, or military means.
Answer: Imperialism
Question: This U.S. Admiral was a strong advocate for the creation of a modern U.S. Navy.
Answer: Alfred T. Mahan
Question: This United States Secretary of State, under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia.
Answer: William Seward
Question: Established in Hawaii in 1887, this U.S. naval base served as a refueling station for American ships.
Answer: Pearl Harbor
Question: This American sugar magnate played a key role in the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani and later became the president and governor of Hawaii.
Answer: Sanford B. Dole
Question: A Cuban writer and independence fighter, this individual symbolized Cuba’s struggle for freedom.
Answer: José Martí
Question: This Spanish general used brutal tactics to suppress the Cuban rebellion, which intensified calls for American intervention in Cuba.
Answer: Valeriano Weyler
Question: This term refers to the sensationalized, exaggerated reporting by newspapers or magazines to attract readers.
Answer: Yellow journalism
Question: This U.S. warship mysteriously exploded and sank in the harbor of Havana, Cuba on February 15, 1898.
Answer: USS Maine
Question: A commodore in the U.S. Navy, this individual spearheaded the attack in the Pacific during the Spanish-American War.
Answer: George Dewey
Question: This revolutionary cavalry regiment, commanded by Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt, served in the Spanish-American War.
Answer: Rough Riders
Question: This location marked a significant victory for American infantry during the 1898 conflict in Cuba against Spain.
Answer: San Juan Hill
Question: This treaty, which concluded the Spanish-American War, saw Spain freeing Cuba, handing over Guam and Puerto Rico to the U.S., and selling the Philippines to the U.S. for $20 million.
Answer: Treaty of Paris
Question: Passed by Congress in 1900, this legislation ended U.S. military rule in Puerto Rico and established a civilian government.
Answer: Foraker Act
Question: In 1901, this series of provisions was imposed on Cuba’s new constitution by the U.S., restricting Cuba’s foreign policy and financial decisions, and granting the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and acquire Cuban land.
Answer: Platt Amendment
Question: A country whose political, economic, or military policies are controlled or heavily influenced by a stronger nation is known as a:
Answer: Protectorate
Question: Self-proclaimed president of the new Philippine Republic in 1899, this leader fought for Filipino independence.
Answer: Emilio Aguinaldo
Question: A devotion to the interests and culture of one’s nation.
Answer: Nationalism
Question: The policy of building up armed forces in aggressive preparedness for war and their use.
Answer: Militarism
Question: The group of nations, originally consisting of Great Britain, France, and Russia, and later joined by the US, Italy, and others, that opposed the Central Powers.
Answer: Allies
Question: The group of nations led by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire that opposed the Allies in World War I.
Answer: Central Powers
Question: A system in which each nation or alliance has equal strength.
Answer: Balance of power
Question: Archduke and heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary whose assassination by a Serbian nationalist started World War I.
Answer: Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Question: Military operations in which the opposing forces attack and counter-attack from systems of fortified ditches rather than on an open battlefield.
Answer: Trench warfare