U.S. History Fall Exam Review

1. U.S. HistoryFall Exam Review 2010

2. Timeline • Reconstruction 1865-1877 • Rebuilding after Civil War • “reconstructing” the South and the nation • Gilded Age 1877 – 1900 • Riches covering up poverty/corruption • U.S. Imperialism 1890 – 1915ish • Manifest Destiny • Expanding/acquiring territory • Spanish-American War • Progressive Era 1890-1920 • Making progress as a nation by cleaning up the messes of the Gilded Age • Reforms, new laws, women’s rights, African-American rights

3. Business cycle– cycles where the economy grows then contracts (boom & bust) Laissez-faire – belief that government should not interfere in business – “hands off” - policy during Gilded Age Nativism – movement discriminating against immigrants – favoritism of native born Americans – restrict immigration (hmm…..is there any nativist thinking today?) Social Darwinism – “survival of the fittest” in business or success – government shouldn’t interfere in business -

4. Jim Crow– discriminatory statutes & practices against African-Americans – segregation in public places Poll Tax – a tax a person had to pay before they could vote – used to discourage voting by African-Americans Grandfather Clause – special laws that protected white voting rights…. referendum – process that allows citizens to reject or accept a law passed by the legislature

5. Constitutional Amendments 15th– gave African American males the right to vote 16th – gave Congress right to levy income tax 17th – provided for direct election of U.S. Senators 18th – prohibited manufacture and sale of alcohol 19th – Granted women full suffrage

6. Recall– procedure that allows voters to remove an elected official from office before the next election. Initiative – a way citizens can put a proposed new law on the ballot by collecting voters signatures on a petition Economies of scale – as production increases cost of each item produced decreases Land speculators – people who would buy up large plots of land hoping the price would increase and they would make huge amounts of $$$$

7. Gilded Age Circa 1877-1900 Era of tremendous industrial growth Robber barons/ captains of industry Large groups of immigrants Large gap between super-rich and poor (mostly poor) Political corruption Urban growth – tenement living Unsafe working conditions – child labor “gild” covered all the corruption, poverty, unsafe working conditions, etc.

8. Vertical Consolidation Carnegie invested in steel Quickly prospered and was able to buy out companies that performed all the phases in steel production Carnegie Steel Company Coke fields Iron ore deposits Steel mills Ships Railroads ALL purchased by Carnegie

9. Horizontal Consolidation Rockefeller cut production costs, set lower prices and was able to undersell his competitors Expanded his business by trying to buy out all other oil refineries Standard Oil Company Purchased by Rockefeller Independent Oil Refineries

10. Monopoly– when the production of an item or supply of an item is controlled by a single owner, factory, corporation etc. no competition • Trust – when a group of companies join together under a board of trustees – limits competition (a new kind of monopoly) ex: Rockefeller Trust (Standard Oil) • Cartel – an association of businesses that make the same product – they can control the market by limiting the supply – keeps the price high aka. - price fixing

11. Sooners- - settlers who sneaked into Indian Territory early & illegally to stake a land claim (boooooo) Boomers – settlers who raced to claim land in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) in 1889

12. Graft– pay off to a city official to gain favors – a major way political machines (aka Boss Tweed) made money in the Gilded Era Vice – immoral or corrupt behavior Corruption – misuse of political power for personal gain – like paying off a politician for favors. (Boss Tweed was corrupt) Bessemer Process – a process that made steel stronger and easier to produce – led to huge industrial growth

13. 4. How did the growth of railroads effect the development of the West? opened up more land for settlement – provided for transportation of goods to markets 5. Morrill Land Grant – provided ways for settlers to get land - $ from sale of land to build colleges (A&M) 6. Homestead Act – provided ways for settlers to get land – 7. Manifest Destiny – the idea that it was the “destiny”/fate of the U.S. to spread across North America (this idea is going to lead to U.s. imperialism)

14. TCRR – 1st railroad to extend from coast to coast – the government gave loans and land grants to companies to build the railroad • What made possible the American industrial growth in the late 1880’s? Technological advances, abundance of workers (immigration) • What revolutionized American communications in the late 1880s? Telephone and telegraph

15. Critics of powerful industrialists during the Gilded Age referred to them asRobber Barons • The goal of the Sherman Antitrust Act was to do what? Encourage competition, outlaw monopolies and trusts • According to the theory of Social Darwinism the government should do what? Leave business alone -

16. 14. How did industrial growth affect the distribution of wealth in the U.S.?Huge gap between the rich and the poor – most $ in the hands of a few wealthy • Why did many children work in factories during the late 1800s? Families needed the children’s wages to survive • How did Andrew Carnegie gain control of the steel industry? Vertical consolidation • Employers used what types of tactics in their attempts to crush labor strikes? Yellow dog contracts, scabs, fear

17. 19.As a result of the Pullman Strikes for the next 30 years the government … did not recognize the rights of the unions to exist 20.Between 1860-1900 14 million immigrants come to the U.S. Why? To have a better life, opportunity

18. 21. Children had to work in the factories in the 1880's. why? Families needed income to survive 22. Labor unions were created in the 1800's because why? Poor working conditions in factories 23. What was a major incentive in the settling of the West? Cheap land

19. 24. What drew many new immigrants to the West? gold & land 25. Describe the lifestyle of homesteaders? harsh & difficult 26.Many agreements between Native Americans and the federal government fell apart why? Differing concepts of land ownership

20. 26. The Interstate Commerce Act was passed to do what? regulate railroad rates & practices 27. The challenges and hardships of settling the Great Plains led settlers to do what? return home to the east 28. Most African American Exodusters migrated west for what reason? to escape racial violence in the south

21. 29. One way the government sought to change Native Americans was by doing what to them? assimilation 30. Frederick Jackson Turner’s thesis held that the frontier meant what? it helped create the strong, individualistic American spirit 31. As American settlers moved west in search of land, what happened to many Native American nations? they were pushed off of their land & violence erupted between settlers, Federal Government and Native Americans

22. 32. What were the major beliefs of the Republican Party during the Gilded Age? The Democratic Party? The Populist Party? Republican party- gold standard, high tariffs, and limits on immigration Democratic part- increased money supply, lower tariffs, and higher farm prices Populist party ( Western Farmers)- free silver, increased crop prices, 8 hour work day, and government ownership of railroads

23. 33. Why did farmers favor inflation? to increase crop prices 34. William Jennings Bryan lost the election of 1896 because he could not do what? carry the industrial and urban centers

24. 35. During the late 1800s, the port of entry for the majority of immigrants was where? New York City 36. What attracted many Asians to the United States in the late 1800s? a chance for a better life 37. Why did many immigrants support city political machines? political machines provided them with jobs

25. 37. The Pendleton Civil Service Act was passed to do what? to do away with the spoils system so that those seeking Government jobs must take a test to show they are qualified. 38. In the 1890s, immigration patterns shifted dramatically, with most immigrants now coming from which areas? Southern & Eastern Europe

26. 39. The main objective of the nativists was to do what? restrict immigration 40. prohibitionists and purity crusaders both worked to do what? stop the sale/consumption of Alcohol