A. P. U.s. History Vocabulary

Front 1

Gilded Age

Back 1

The Gilded Age is defined as the time between the Civil War and World War I during which the U.S. population and economy grew quickly, there was a lot of political corruption and corporate financial misdealings and many wealthy people lived very fancy lives.

Front 2

Transcontinental Railroad

Back 2

A train route across the United States, finished in 1869. It was the project of two railroad companies: the Union Pacific built from the east, and the Central Pacific built from the west. The two lines met in Utah.

Front 3

Monopoly & Trust

Back 3

When a corporation eliminates its competition it becomes what is known as a "monopoly." Monopolies took several organization forms including what were known as trusts. Trust. Stockholders of several competing corporations turn in their stock to trustees in exchange for a trust certificate entitling them to a dividend.

Front 4

Social Darwinism

Back 4

Modern name given to various theories of society which emerged in the United Kingdom, North America, and Western Europe in the 1870s, and which claim to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology and politics.

Front 5

Robber Barons

Back 5

An unscrupulous plutocrat, especially an American capitalist who acquired a fortune in the late nineteenth century by ruthless means.

Front 6

Sherman Antitrust Act

Back 6

A federal law passed in 1890 that committed the American government to opposing monopolies. The law prohibits contracts, combinations, or conspiracies “in the restraint of trade or commerce.

Front 7

Interstate Commerce Act

Back 7

The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices. The Act required that railroad rates be "reasonable and just," but did not empower the government to fix specific rates.

Front 8

Labor Union

Back 8

An organized association of workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests.

Front 9

Dawe's Act

Back 9

A federal law intended to turn Native Americans into farmers and landowners by providing cooperating families with 160 acres of reservation land for farming or 320 acres for grazing.

Front 10

Homestead Act

Back 10

A law passed in the 1860s that offered up to 160 acres of public land to any head of a family who paid a registration fee, lived on the land for five years, and cultivated it or built on it.

Front 11

Granger Movement

Back 11

A campaign for state control of railroads and grain elevators, especially in the north central states, carried on during the 1870s by members of the Patrons of Husbandry (the Grange) a farmers' organization that had been formed for social and cultural purposes.

Front 12

Populist Party

Back 12

A third-party movement that sprang up in the 1890s and drew support especially from disgruntled farmers. The Populists were particularly known for advocating the unlimited coinage of silver.

Front 13

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Back 13

The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act (ch. 27, 22 Stat. 403) of United States is a federal law established in 1883 that decided that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit instead of political affiliation.

Front 14

Old Immigrants

Back 14

Old immigration is defined as the immigration that took place from 1776 to 1890. This period occurred after the Revolutionary War and continued until after the end of the Civil War. Most of these immigrants came from Northern and Western Europe.

Front 15

New Immigrants

Back 15

These immigrants came to America from areas that had not traditionally supplied settlers to the US. The lands of southern Europe and eastern Europe such as Italy, Russia, Poland and Greece, as well as Asian locales such as China and Japan.

Front 16

Melting Pot Theory

Back 16

According to the Melting Pot Theory peoples from various cultures come to America and contribute aspects of their culture to create a new, unique American culture.

Front 17

Nativists

Back 17

1 : a policy of favoring native inhabitants as opposed to immigrants. 2 : the revival or perpetuation of an indigenous culture especially in opposition to acculturation.

Front 18

Muckrakers

Back 18

To search for and expose real or alleged corruption, scandal, or the like, especially in politics. Origin of muckrake Expand. 1675-1685. 1675-85; obsolete muck rake a rake for use on muck or dung.

Front 19

Jacob Riis

Back 19

Jacob August Riis (May 3, 1849 – May 26, 1914) was a Danish-American social reformer, "muckraking" journalist and social documentary photographer.

Front 20

Upton Sinclair

Back 20

Upton Sinclair was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, and short-story writer, whose works reflect socialistic views. He gained public notoriety in 1906 with his novel The Jungle, which exposed the deplorable conditions of the U.S. meat-packing industry.

Front 21

Imperialism

Back 21

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force."the struggle against imperialism"

Front 22

Monroe Doctrine

Back 22

A principle of US policy, originated by President James Monroe in 1823, that any intervention by external powers in the politics of the Americas is a potentially hostile act against the US.

Front 23

Roosevelt Corollary

Back 23

The Roosevelt Corollary was an addition to the Monroe Doctrine articulated by President Theodore Roosevelt in his State of the Union address in 1904 after the Venezuela Crisis of 1902–03.

Front 24

Big Stick Policy

Back 24

Big Stick ideology, Big Stick diplomacy, or Big Stick policy refers to U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy: "speak softly, and carry a big stick.

Front 25

Dollar Diplomacy

Back 25

The use of a country's financial power to extend its international influence.