Unit 6 Review Cards

Question 1

pool

Answer 1

one of several ways that business owners tried to control profits; business and profits were divided in a specific area.

Question 2

interlocking directories

Answer 2

used most often by JP Morgan; board members from Morgan’s company would be placed on other company’s boards and would influence decisions in favor of Morgan’s company

Question 3

vertical integration

Answer 3

combined all elements of production under one company, from raw materials through final product and distribution, in order to cut costs and eliminate delays

Question 4

horizontal integration

Answer 4

used most by Rockefeller; he controlled his competition by buying up other companies and either combining them with his company, or shut them down; this created an early form of a monopoly.

Question 5

Interstate Commerce Act

Answer 5

passed to help regulate railroads and their shipping prices after individual states were unable to pass legislation to regulate them; included the requirements that shipping rates had to be openly and publicly posted, RRs could not charge more for short distances or discriminate against smaller companies

Question 6

Interstate Commerce Commission

Answer 6

created out of the Interstate Commerce Act; regulatory group who would make sure that all requirements for the ICA were met by RRs

Question 7

Transcontinental Railroad

Answer 7

approved as part of the Homestead Act in 1862; gov’t provided subsidies to build the railroad out of Omaha, NE, in the form of land grants and tax breaks, but didn’t actually have to pay for the track itself before it was completed. Loans were given to RR companies for each mile of track laid.

Question 8

Gospel of Weath

Answer 8

endorsed by Carnegie; idea that those who had wealth should be moral responsible in the use of their $$

Question 9

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Answer 9

early legislation to try to curb monopolies and prohibit trusts (companies buying up other company’s stock and then trying to manipulate the market to make a profit)

Question 10

Factors that drew people to cities

Answer 10

1. modern conveniences like indoor plumbing and electricity
2. nightlife / social scene
3. factory jobs
4. modern marvels like skyscrapers and suspension bridges

Question 11

New Immigrants

Answer 11

were primarily from eastern and southern Europe; had different religious views and usually didn’t speak English. They grouped together in urban areas and created pockets of distinct cultural groups (Little Italy, Chinatown). They usually had little experience with democratic gov’t and were immigrating to escape famine and unstable gov’ts at home, along with possible religious persecution (Eastern European Jews)

Question 12

Old Immigrants

Answer 12

primarily from western and northern Europe; more often they spoke English (but not always), had experience with democratic gov’t and were integrated into American society and cultural much more rapidly than New Immigrants.

Question 13

settlement houses

Answer 13

provided child care for working immigrants, instruction in English and American customs, lobbied for social reforms. Important reformers with the settlement houses include Jane Addams and Florence Kelley - they advocated for an end to child labor and sweatshops.

Question 14

Booker T. Washington

Answer 14

Early Civil Rights activist who supported the idea of an educated and economically independent group of African Americans in the US; he promoted self-help, but many felt his views didn’t go far enough, since they did not challenge segregation.

Question 15

W.E.B. Du Bois

Answer 15

Early Civil Rights activist who demanded more equality for African Americans; his ideas included promoting and educated and talented 1/10th, and he demanded complete equality for African Americans.

Question 16

Dawes Severalty Act

Answer 16

designed to promote Indian assimilation into American society; gave heads of household 160 acres to be held in trust, and if they were “good settlers” would be given the title to the property in 25 years; striped the Natives of communally held land. Goal was to make the Natives as individualistic as the white American settlers

Question 17

Homestead Act

Answer 17

gave 160 acres to settlers if they could show “improvements to the land” within 3-5 years; 160 acres generally was not enough land to make a profit on the plains

Question 18

The Grange

Answer 18

served initially as a group that provided social and educational opportunities to rural farmers; eventually morphed into a political group that strongly influenced national elections

Question 19

Election of 1876

Answer 19

2 sets of returns were submitted from 3 southern states (FL, LA, SC), which tied the electoral votes, causing a stalemate; eventually the Compromise of 1877 settled the conflict.

Question 20

Compromise of 1877

Answer 20

Agreement that finally resolved the 1876 election and officially ended Reconstruction. In exchange for the Republican candidate, Rutherford B Hayes, winning the presidency, Hayes agreed to withdraw the last of the federal troops from southern states. This deal effectively completed the southern return to white-only, Democratic-dominated electoral politics.

Question 21

“waving the bloody shirt”

Answer 21

use of Civil War service record by political candidates and parties to draw votes to their party

Question 22

Plessy v. Ferguson

Answer 22

1896 Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of segregation laws, saying that as long as blacks were provided with “separate but equal” facilities, these laws did not violate the 14th Amendment; decision provided legal justification for the Jim Crow system until the 1950s

Question 23

Pendleton Act

Answer 23

Congressional legislation that established the Civil Service Commission, which granted federal government jobs on the basis of examinations instead of political patronage, which curbed the spoils system of political jobs

Question 24

transcontinental railroad

Answer 24

railroad that stretched across the whole country (east to west); finished in 1869; connected existing rail lines in Omaha to the newly constructed railroad that stretched into Sacramento, CA.

Question 25

Populist Party

Answer 25

officially called the People’s party; Populists represented Westerners and Southerners who believed that US economic policy inappropriately favored Eastern businessmen instead of the nation’s farmers; their proposals included nationalizing the railroads, creating a graduated income tax, and most importantly, the unlimited coinage of silver (free silver)

Question 26

Civil Rights Act of 1875

Answer 26

last piece of federal civil rights legislation until the 1950s; the law promised blacks equal access to public accommodations and banned racism in jury selection, but the Act provided no means of enforcement and was therefore ineffective; in 1883, the Supreme Court declared the Act unconstitutional

Question 27

Credit Mobilier Scandal

Answer 27

Credit Mobilier was a construction company that was formed by the owners of the Union Pacific RR; formed for the purpose of receiving government contracts to build the railroad at highly inflated prices/profits; scandal erupted in 1872 when journalists discovered that the Credit Mobilier Company had bribed congressmen and the Vice President in order to allow the fake company to continue operation

Question 28

Jim Crow Laws

Answer 28

system of racial segregation in the America South from the end of Reconstruction until the mid-20th Century; based on the concept of the “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites, the Jim Crow system sought to prevent racial mixing in public, including restaurants, movie theaters, and public transportation; an informal system, it was generally perpetuated by custom, violence and intimidation.

Question 29

Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company vs. Illinois

Answer 29

Supreme Court decision that prohibited states from regulating the railroads because the Constitution granted Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce. As a result, reformers turned their attention to the federal government, which now held sole power to regulate the railroad industry.