UCHS/APUSHa
Semester 2 Review
1865-present
UCHS/APUSH
AP United States History
Semester 2 Review
1865-1975
Plains Indians
The vast number of Indians who inhabited the plains regions of the United States were quite diverse in their way of life with some being migratory while others were more sedentary. For all of them the extended family and the tribe were of key importance.
Reservation System
The reservation system became the dominant policy of the American government towards the Indians in the 1860s. This involved forcing the tribes onto small tribal reservations where they would practice a settled agricultural life.
Custer's Last Stand
In June 1876, General George Custer led a force of 600 soldiers against Sioux Indians who had left their reservation. His force was totally destroyed by the Sioux at the battle of the Little Bighorn River.
Carlisle Indian School
The Carlisle Indian School attempted to "civilize" Indians by teaching them to break with the traditions of their families and their tribes and to accept the skills and outlooks of the whites.
Dawes Severalty Act of 1887
The Dawes Severalty Act tried to end the nomadic way of life of most Indians and turn them into settled farmers who owned private property.
Wounded Knee Massacre
On December 29, 1890 at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, American troops were rounding up some starving and freezing Sioux when an Indian fired at the troops. The troops responded by slaughtering 300 Indians, including seven infants.
The First Transcontinental Railroad
The first transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869. It played a vital role in opening the American west to settlers and in dramatically speeding up communications between California and the East.
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act of 1862 tried to ensure that small farmers and urban workers could get cheap land in the newly opened plains. The act failed and only about one acre out of every nine went to poor pioneers.
The Grange
The Grange was founded in 1867 to provide educational and emotional support for farmers on the frontier. The grangers supported the farming way of life and tried to protect farm interests against the railroads.
The Comstock Lode
The Comstock Lode, discovered in 1858, was one of the richest mining areas of the world. It produced more than $300 million worth of gold and silver. Its discoverer, Henry Comstock, only got eleven thousand dollars and two mules out of it.
Oklahoma Land Rush
In 1889 Congress transferred 2 million acres of federally owned land from the Indians who had been promised it to white settlers. On April 22, 1889, thousands of settlers rushed into the new lands in the hope of gaining good farmland.
The Founding of Yellowstone National Act
In 1872 Congress responded to the views of some explorers and founded the Yellowstone National Park. This was one of the earliest efforts of conservation in the west and showed a new attitude towards the west's natural resources.”
The Interstate Commerce Act
The Interstate Commerce Commission was established in 1887 to regulate the nation's railroads and to end some of their devious practices. However the ICC's regulatory clout was blunted by court decisions and only after 1906 did it have any real authority.
The Carnegie Steel Company
Andrew Carnegie entered the steel business in the early 1870s. By keeping costs down and by building efficient factories he created a very profitable business. It became a powerful symbol of American industrial strength.
The "Trust"
"Trusts" were businesses that gained a monopolistic control over a single product. This control allowed them to raise prices and to earn large profits. A famous example was the control that the Standard Oil Trust gained over the oil business.
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890
Because of the opposition that developed against the monopolistic trusts Congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to control them. It was poorly written and the courts supported the trusts so the Act did not succeed in breaking the power of the trusts.
The "Lost Cause"
The myth of the "Lost Cause" developed among white southerners after the Civil War and led to an idealization of the pre-Civil War South and to an opposition to economic development that would definitively end the "traditional" southern way of life.
New South Creed
The New South creed developed in the 1870s and 1880s. It argued that the South's natural resources and cheap labor made it the natural site for future industrial growth in the United States.
Immigrant Labor
Outside of the South, factory labor was overwhelmingly done by immigrant laborers. Most were fleeing desperate poverty in their homeland and were therefore willing to accept the very low wages and the long hours they found in American factories.
The Gospel of Success
The Gospel of Success was preached by writers like Horatio Alger who argued that any man in America could, if they worked hard and were ready to take advantage of lucky breaks, achieve wealth.
The Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869, tried to create a national union of all laborers. They favored major reforms such as a graduated income tax, equal pay for women workers, and the end of child labor.
The American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was founded in 1886 as a national union of craft unions. It avoided any idealistic long term gains and instead concentrated only on achieving immediate objectives.
The Railroad Strike of 1877
In 1877 wage reductions by railroads led to strikes which became violent. Over one hundred people were killed and President Hayes called out the army to quell the strike.
Laissez-faire
Laissez-faire was the economic theory favored by Americans who were sympathetic to capitalism. It called on the government not to attempt to control or to regulate American businesses.”
The Old Immigrants
"Old immigrants" were people coming to the United States from northern and western Europe. Before the Civil War almost all European immigrants to the United States came from these areas and they remained a common source for immigrants after the Civil War.
The New Immigrants
By the 1890s there were many Europeans coming to the United States from eastern and southern Europe, areas which before this time had not sent many people to the U.S. Italians, Slavs, Greeks and Jews were some of the main groups that were now crossing the Atlantic.
The City "Machine"
City "machines" held political power in many large cities in late nineteenth century America. The machine provided some support for the poor, mostly immigrants, while using corrupt methods to gain large profits for themselves.
The Salvation Army
One attempt to deal with the poverty in many American cities was the Salvation Army, which came to the United States in 1880. It offered food and assistance to the poor and tried to teach them middle class virtues such as temperance, hard work, and self-discipline.
The Moral-Purity Campaign
For many middle and upper class Americans the problems of the poor stemmed from their liking for such centers of vice as gambling dens, saloons, and brothels. Vigorous attempts were made to force these to close so as to increase the purity of American cities.
The Social Gospel
The Social Gospel movement came out of the 1870s when some clergymen argued that middle-class and upper-class Americans had a duty to fight the social injustices that caused poverty.
The Settlement-House Movement
The settlement-house advocates, such as Jane Addams, argued that relief workers should take up residence in the poor neighborhoods they hoped to reform where they could experience firsthand the struggles of the poor.
The Skyscraper
After the great fire of 1871 Chicago's business district was rebuilt with skyscrapers. The skyscraper relied on three key inventions; fireproofing, the internal metal frame, and the elevator.”
Victorian Morality
Most middle-class Americans believed in the Victorian moral code, which not only gave rise to reform movements, such as the one against slavery, but also led to an intense preoccupation with personal behavior and an attempt to force conventional morality on slum dwellers who were accused of being immoral.
The Cult of Domesticity
Nineteenth century women were expected to make the home a protected retreat from the corrupt outside world. By the end of the century they were also expected to foster an artistic environment there that would nurture their family's cultural improvement.
The Department Store
The department store changed American attitudes towards shopping at the end of the nineteenth century. They were large stores with a diverse inventory and a constant flow of new products. They could have lower prices due to their volume.
Vaudeville
Vaudeville provided theatrical entertainment throughout the small and large towns of America. Traveling groups of performers provided lighthearted performances and musical shows that women could enjoy as well as men.
Ragtime
Ragtime was a new kind of music developed by black musicians in the saloons and brothels of the South and Midwest. It was a product of the long tradition of black music in America. In the 1890s it expanded and became popular with white audiences as well.
Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
Founded in the 1870s the WCTU allowed women to become active outside the home but without challenging the Victorian views of women's proper role. They believed that in calling for the abolition of alcohol they would help solve most of America's social problems.
The Bicycle
In the 1880s the bicycle suddenly became very popular. It provided exercise for middle class Americans. It particularly appealed to women who found it a means of escaping from the traditional Victorian lifestyle into one with greater freedom.”
The Money Question
After the Civil War a particularly sharp political question was over whether American monetary policy should or should not be inflationary. Farmers and debtors generally wanted an inflationary policy and opposed the generally tight money policy of the government.
The Spoils System
Even before the Civil War the policy had begun of victorious candidates giving their supporters public jobs. This often led to corruption because job holders would be expected to contribute financially to the campaigns of the politicians who had arranged their appointment.
The Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883
The Pendleton Act set up a civil-service commission that would set up competitive examinations so that civil service posts could be awarded on merit. It also forbade politicians solicit ting civil servants for financial contributions to their political campaigns.
The Tariff Question
Democrats generally wanted lower tariffs and Democrat president Grover Cleveland called for lower tariffs. But since all congressmen wanted their local industries to be protected little was achieved.
The Farmers Alliance Movement
The alliance movement spread in the 1880s as farmers organized to deal with the hardships they faced. They helped to organize farmer cooperatives and helped farmers realize that by working together they might force changes on the political system.
The Populist Party
The Populist Party was founded in 1892 to provide a challenge to the two established parties who were accused of ignoring the needs of the farmers. They favored reforms like Tariff reduction, a graduated income tax, public ownership of railroads, and an inflationary monetary policy.
Plessy v. Ferguson
In this 1896 case the Supreme Court in effect legalized segregation by declaring that public facilities could be restricted to whites alone. Theoretically equal facilities were to be provided for blacks, but this was almost never done.
The Panic of 1893
Widespread railroad speculation in the 1880s resulted in a crash when the railroad market collapsed. A weak dollar and a shortage of government-held gold reserves led to a disastrous economic collapse.
The Depression of 1893-1897
This was begun by the Panic of 1893 but grew more severe in the next few years. Unemployment was estimated to range from 20 to 25 percent. Recent immigrants were particularly devastated by the depression.
The Presidential Election of 1896
The election of 1896 between the Republican McKinley and the Democratic-Populist Bryan saw the voters being given a greater choice than in any election since the Civil War. McKinley's victory helped turn back the anger of rural Americans at the hard times they were undergoing.
The Spanish-American War of 1898
In this war the United States quickly defeated Spain. Because of it Cuba won its independence and Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines were annexed by the United States.
The Platt Amendment
By the Platt Amendment of 1901 the United States withdrew its troops which had been occupying Cuba. In return, however, Cuba had to accept terms that severely limited its sovereignty. In this way, the United States retained control over Cuba.
The Annexation of the Philippines
After the Spanish-American War the United States decided to annex the Philippines. A Filipino independence movement resisted the Americans and only after a very bloody three-year war did America have complete control over the Philippines.
The Panama Canal
President Theodore Roosevelt was determined to build a canal in Panama. Panama was then part of Colombia and when, in 1903, the Colombians resisted American terms the Roosevelt administration helped organize a revolt in Panama which led to an independent Panama that accepted American terms.”
"Jim Crow" Laws
"Jim Crow" laws in the early twentieth century established a system of strict segregation throughout the South. All public facilities were to be open only to one race. The facilities offered to blacks were invariably far inferior.
United States Steel Corporation
This company, founded in 1901 by J. P. Morgan, became a leading symbol of the huge corporations which were now dominating American industry. It controlled 80% of the steel production in the United States.
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
The Industrial Workers of the World was founded in 1905 as a union that tried to organize the most oppressed and downtrodden workers in America. It was far more radical in its goals than traditional unions in America.
Eugene Debs
Eugene Debs was an Indiana labor leader who converted to socialism in the 1890s. He ran for president on five occasions as a socialist and represented the views of thousands of Americans to whom the capitalist system was not satisfactory.
The Progressive Movement
The Progressive Movement was dominated by middle class reformers reacting to the vast changes brought to America by industrialization, urban growth, the concentration of corporate power, and the widening of class divisions.
Muckrakers
Muckrakers were journalists who tried to expose urban political corruption, corporate wrongdoing and other problems of American society during the Progressive Era.
The Prohibition Movement
The movement to prohibit Alcoholic beverages in America boomed during the Progressive Era. By forcing Americans to stay sober it was believed that many social problems would be solved.
Racism and Progressivism
There was a strong racist wing to the progressive movement typified by calls for immigration restriction and by the support that many southern progressives gave to the movements for black disenfranchisement and segregation.
The NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in 1909 by black and white reformers who opposed racism in America. The NAACP called for full political equality for blacks and an end to racial discrimination.
The Woman-Suffrage Movement
After 1900 the movement to win women the right to vote greatly increased its support. Women throughout America joined rallies, lobbied political leaders, distributed literature, and conducted referenda in the eventually successful struggle to the gain the right to vote.
"Trust busting"
President Theodore Roosevelt made the first effective attacks on monopolistic corporations, in particular in his 1902 attack on the Northern Securities Company, a railroad trust company.
The Progressive Party
In 1912 Theodore Roosevelt and his supporters believed that he had been cheated out of the Republican nomination for the President. They created the Progressive party and Roosevelt ran for the presidency with the support of many elements of the progressive movement.
The Federal Reserve Act
The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 created twelve regional Federal Reserve banks under the overall control of the Federal Reserve Board. After 1913 the Federal Reserve Board gradually became the directing force of the nation's monetary policy.”