Urbanization and Gilded Age Flashcards
“Cross of Gold” speech
a famous speech by William Jennings Bryan in which he asserted the economic importance of ordinary people and made the case for currency based on both silver and gold; suggested that a gold standard hurt farmers and other working-class Americans
allegiance
devotion or loyalty to a person, group, or cause
Americanization
to cause something or someone to have characteristics of American culture
analogy
a comparison of things based on ways they are alike
bank run
a panic in which so many depositors withdraw so much money that a bank collapses
black codes
southern laws that severely limited the rights of African Americans after the Civil War
Boss Tweed
the nickname of William M. Tweed, a corrupt politician who controlled the Tammany Hall political machine in the mid to late 1800s
bribery
the practice of influencing someone’s decisions by offering money or favors
clear-cutting
the process of cutting down and removing every tree from an area
Compromise of 1877
an agreement by Republican presidential candidate Rutherford B. Hayes to end Reconstruction in return for congressional Democrats accepting his inauguration as president after the disputed election of 1876
cooperative (co-op)
a group of people who pool their money to buy or sell goods at wholesale rates
corruption
use of power for personal gain
Coxey’s Army
a public protest group led by Jacob Coxey that marched on Washington, D.C. in 1894 to ask the government to help the unemployed; unofficial name of the Army of the Commonwealth in Christ
Crédit Mobilier scandal
a scandal in which the Crédit Mobilier company overcharged for building the Union Pacific Railroad and then used some of the extra money to bribe high-ranking federal officials
crop-lien
a system in which store owners extended credit to farmers under the agreement that the farmer would give the store owner a portion of their future harvest
Depression of 1893
an economic downturn caused by low bank reserves, overinvestment in railroad stocks, and low gold reserves in the U.S. Treasury
disenfranchise
to deprive someone of the right to vote
Ellis Island
an island in Upper New York Bay that served as a port of entry for immigrants from 1892–1954`
ethnic enclave
an urban area inhabited by members of the same ethnic group
Farmers’ Alliance
an alliance formed from regional groups that represented farmers’ interests
gild
to coat something in a thin layer of gold
Gilded Age
an era of U.S. history from 1870 to 1900 characterized by political corruption and extremes of wealth and poverty
grandfather clause
in the post-Reconstruction South, a law that excused a voter from a literacy test if his grandfather had been eligible to vote on January 1, 1867