U.S history 2 midterm Flashcards
Thomas Edison
Great American inventor; invented the telegraphy device during the Civil War and the electric lightbulb as a replacement for the “dangerous” gas light.
Andrew Carnegie
First worked as a cotton worker in his early years. Later invested in the coal, iron and oil companies and a manufacturer of railroad sleeping cars. In 1870, Carnegie co-founded his first steel company and grew to a steel empire.
Trusts
monopoly or cartel associated with the large corporations of the Gilded and Progressive Era who entered into agreements to exercise control over specific products or industries. It was a tool in the 1800s and was pioneered by men such as Andrew Carnegie of the steel industry and John Rockfeller of the oil industry. Trusts were outlawed in the early 1900’s.
Dawes Act
1887, authorized the federal government to break up the tribal lands and assimilate Native Americans into mainstream US society by annihilating their cultural and social traditions.
Gilded Age
period of gross materialism and blatant political corruption in U.S. history during the 1870s that gave rise to important novels and social and political criticism. The nation was rapidly expanding its economy into new eras, especially heavy industry like factories, railroads, and coal mining.
Social Darwinism
the belief that only the fittest survive in human political and economic struggle. “Survival of the fittest.”
Bonanza Farm
very large farms in the United States performing large-scale operations, mostly growing and harvesting wheat. A federal law intended to turn Native Americans into farmers and landowners by providing operating families with 160 acres of reservation land for farming or 320 acres for grazing.
William McKinley
Republican candidate defeated William Jennings Bryan in the 1896 presidential election. As a supporter of big business, he pushed for high protective tariffs. Under his leadership, the U.S. became an imperial world power. He was assassinated by an anarchist in 1901.
Teller amendment
declared that when the United States had overthrown Spanish rule of Cuba it would give the Cubans their freedom (April 20, 1898).
Disenfranchisement
the state of being deprived of a right or privilege, especially the right to vote.
Jane Addams
pioneer American settlement activists/reformer, social worker, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in women’s suffrage and world peace. Created the first settlement house in the U.S., Chicago’s Hull House (1889).
Settlement house
house where immigrants came to live upon entering the U.S. at Settlement Houses, instruction was given in English and how to get a job, among other things. Was also a cause of assimilation for immigrants.
Upton Sinclair
Muckraker who wrote The Jungle - exposing the meat packing industry.
Muckraker
crusading journalists, photographers and authors who published their work in order to raise awareness of social issues and injustices.
“The Jungle”
published in 1906, pointed out the abuses of the meat packing industry. The book led to the passage of the 1906 Meat Inspection Act.
16th amendment
Allows the federal government to collect an income tax from all Americans. (Constitutional amendment passed in 1913 that legalized the federal income tax)
Populist party
A political party formed in 1891 mostly by farmers & members of labor unions who demanded government help with falling farm prices, regulation of railroad rates, and the free coinage of silver.
John D. Rockefeller
an American business magnate and philanthropist. Co-founder of the Standard Oil Company. Then became a monopoly by buying rival refineries and developing companies for distributing and marketing its products around the globe.
17th amendment
passed in 1913, calls for direct election of senators by voters instead of their election by state legislatures. (Progressive reform passed in 1913 that required U.S. senators to be elected directly by voters; previously, senators were chosen by state legislatures)
National origins act
passed in 1924, further restricted immigration by basing the numbers of immigrants allowed from a specific region of the world. System restricted the new immigrants from southern and eatern Europe and Asia.
Robert M. La Follette
Progressive politician, governor of Wisconsin nicknamed “Fighting Bob”. His “Wisconsin idea” was the model for the state progressive government. He used the “brain trust”, a panel of experts, to help him create effective, efficient government.
Open door
policy proposed by the US in 1899, under which ALL nations would have equal opportunities to trade in China.
Plessy Vs Ferguson
case in which the Supreme Court ruled that segregated, “Equal but Separate” public accommodations for blacks and whites did not violate the 14th amendment. This ruling made segregation legal.
Kansas Exodus
Exodus of 1879, refers to the mass movement of African Americans from states along the Mississippi River to Kansas in the late 19th century, and was the first general migration of blacks following the Civil War.
Henry Ford
Father of modern assembly lines, and inventor credited with 161 patents. Founder of Ford Motor Company, pioneer of affordable automobiles with his Model T, which was built using assembly line methods.
Warren Harding
President who called for a return to normalcy following WWI. He had laissez-faire economic policies, and wanted to remove the progressive ideals that were established by Wilson, in efforts to return to “normalcy”.
