US Expansion Flashcards
Manifest Destiny
Americans were chosen by God to expand west and to spread civilization
Sioux assimilation to white life
The Sioux were forced to go to traditional school, couldn’t speak in native tongue, dress as white men do, attend church
Economic Institutions of west
Mining, Agricultural/farming, ranchers
Homestead Act
Offer citizens up to 160 acres in West, stay and maintain land for 5 years, you get title to land
Dawes Act
- Division of Sioux land in 6 district reservations 2. Division of each new reservation into 168 acres for each person 3. Access lands sold to white settlers 4. Railroads added. Statehood for Dakotas, and to put white and Native Americans together
Pacific Railway Act
government gives more than 125 million acres to railroads
capitalism
Private business run most industries, and competition determines how much goods cost and workers are paid
Laissez-faire
“let people do as they choose”; no government interference in business
Corporation
A company that sells shares of ownership, called stock, to investors in order to raise money
Sherman Antitrust Act
Outlawed monopolies and trusts that restrained trade to ensure competition
Industrial working conditions
Children worked 12 hour shifts for pennies a day; me paid more than children, woman and African Americans; workplace unsafe-deaths; weren’t any sick days-didn’t show up lost job
Laborers response to working conditions
Unions-fighting for the rights of working people- eight-hour work day, equal pay for equal work, ending child labor
Reason immigrants came to America
To be with family; more opportunities; job opportunities/education; better life’s for family; escape from something bad
Immigrant life
hard to find jobs; hard to learn English; children had better experience than parents; feeling homesick; discriminated against
Spoils system
Gave favors/jobs to government family/friends or as favors
Civil Service Commission
A government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of public service
Civil Service Reform
Civil service jobs based on exams
Political bosses/political machines
Citizens getting favors/bribes to vote for a certain person so they can become wealthy and gain power through corruption
Graft
unscrupulous use of one’s position to gain profit or advantage
Populist Party supported
William Jennings Bryan
Free silver
idea that we were going to make dollar worth less by making the dollar backed by silver instead of gold
Explain the role Manifest Destiny had in America’s expansion west
- American’s needed to control all of west
- Forced them to kick Native Americans off of their land and make them assimilate to white life
- Caused conflict between Native Americans and America’s during expansion
- MD made it more likely for American’s to move west because God was telling them to expand territory
Explain the impact capitalism and laissez-faire had on shaping the economy and labor force in the US
- Capitalism’s idea of competition was a very big driver for how much worker’s were paid
- gov had to break laissez-faire and regulate trusts and monopolies because those got rid of competition
- Without a little regulation, companies in monopolies would charge a lot for their product and pay workers nothing
- Sherman Antitrust Act to ensure competition
- Capitalism helps make sure workers get paid a good amount and that the price of goods is a fair amount
Explain how the political practices of The Gilded Age impacted communities and voters
- ability of people to get jobs through Spoils System
- communities didn’t trust government as much, and didn’t like where tax dollars were going
- Political machines bribed people so they would get what they wanted
- Samuel Tilden lost presidential election he should have won
- helped communities become more wealthy, unified, and helped build them to what they are today
