U.S. History Exam 1 - FLASHCARDS - 1_28 Lecture 5

Question 1

What was the Dawes Act of 1887?

Answer 1

Granted voluntary removal of native Americans to 160 acres of land. After 25 years of living on that land, they would be given citizenship

Question 2

Why did the Dawes Act fail?

Answer 2

The plots of land were too small for sustainable agriculture. The Native American Indians lacked tools, money, experience or expertise in farming.

Question 3

When was the end of the frontier?

Answer 3

When the Census Bureau announced it in 1890

Question 4

How much land was settled by Whites between 1870 and 1890?

Answer 4

430 million acres

Question 5

What was the California Gold Rush of 1849?

Answer 5

When James Marshall discovered gold in the Sacremento valley. The news of gold brought 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad.

Question 6

What was the Homestead Act of 1862?

Answer 6

160 acres of land for anyone who lived on land for over 5 years

Question 7

How many acres of land were awarded through the Homestead Act between 1862 and 1900?

Answer 7

500 million acres of land

Question 8

What was the National Reclamation Act of 1902?

Answer 8

Allowed for public sale of land and money to be used in irrigation projects to aid farmers in 16 western states

Question 9

What lecture did Frederick Jackson Turner deliver in Chicago in 1893?

Answer 9

“The Significance of the Frontier in American History”

Question 10

What were some arguements of Turner’s thesis?

Answer 10

He only talked about whites moving out west, not blacks or native Americans. They believe the west wasn’t the key to American history. He doesn’t talk about the second industrial revolution, slavery, or immigration.

Question 11

How did the urban population grow from 1865 to 1900?

Answer 11

from 8 million people to 30 million people

Question 12

By 1920, how many Americans were living in cities?

Answer 12

Over 1/2 of all Americans

Question 13

What 3 cities had populations of 1 million by 1900?

Answer 13

New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia

Question 14

How did the New York City population grow from 1800 to 1880?

Answer 14

Doubled each decade

Question 15

How did New York deal with the massive ppulation growth?

Answer 15

Construction of tenements

Question 16

What were tenements?

Answer 16

Low-rise apartment buildings 8 stories high with 30 four room apartments packed into a small lot

Question 17

By 1890, what percentage of dwellings in NYC were tenements

Answer 17

1/2 of all NYC dwellings were tenements

Question 18

What were the drawbacks of tenements?

Answer 18

cramped, little air, poor construction, poor light

Question 19

What was the Tenement House Act of 1867?

Answer 19

Set construction regulations and required 1 toilet for every 20 people

Question 20

Who was Jacob Riis?

Answer 20

Published “How the Other Half Lived” in 1889, which helped inspire future reforms

Question 21

How many children died in the tenements before what age?

Answer 21

One in every ten children died before the age of 1

Question 22

How many people had filterted water in 1900?

Answer 22

Only 1 in every 100 Americans

Question 23

When were the first sewer lines?

Answer 23

By 1875

Question 24

When did trash collection begin?

Answer 24

By 1900

Question 25

What were some illnesses caused by dirty water?

Answer 25

Cholera, typhoid & dysentery

Question 26

How many saloons did Chicago have in 1905?

Answer 26

Chicago had as many saloons as grocery stores, dry goods stores, and meat markets combined. One for every 50 people

Question 27

By 1900, how many residents from cities were foreign born?

Answer 27

Nearly 30 percent

Question 28

What five countries made up the bulk of immigration?

Answer 28

Germany, Britain, Ireland, Italy, and Austrian Hungarian Empire

Question 29

From 1820 to 1930, how many people left their countries and how many traveled to the USA?

Answer 29

62 million left their countries and 40 million traveled to America

Question 30

By 1890, what percent of the population was foreign born?

Answer 30

15 percent of the population was foreign born. 4 out of every 5 people

Question 31

What was Ellis Island?

Answer 31

Opened in 1892 as a main point of entry for immigrants

Question 32

What were the Old Immigrants?

Answer 32

Immigrants prior to the 1880s. Came from Northern and Western Europe. Mostly catholic and Protestant.

Question 33

What were New Immigrants?

Answer 33

Immigrants after 1890. Came from Southern and Eastern Europe. Primarily Orthodox Christian, Jewish, and Roman Catholic. Many were unskilled men.

Question 34

What was the Panic of 1893?

Answer 34

Economic depression when 3.5 million immigrants came from Eastern Europe

Question 35

Why were New immigrants viewed as bad?

Answer 35

People thought they were members of distinct race and were viewed as less civilized and a danger to democracy. Anti-Catholicism & Anti- Semitism became popular

Question 36

What was the Chinese Exclusion Act if 1882?

Answer 36

Barred all Chinese from the US for 10 years. First federal law against a specific group of people based on race. Renewed in 1902 with the Geary Act

Question 37

What was the Immigration Restricton League of 1894?

Answer 37

Required literacy tests for immigrants passing through Ellis Island. Grover Cleveland vetoes it because it was against immigrant traditions