Period 6 APUSH Project – Flashcards

Definitions from Wikipedia.org: In business, consolidation is the merger and acquisition of many smaller companies into much larger ones. A holding company is a company that owns other companies' outstanding stock. The term usually refers to a company that does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies to form a corporate group. A monopoly or trust exists when one party controls the supply of a good or service. It usually manifests itself in the form of a corporate monopoly. Significance to U.S. History: During the late 19th century, large trusts and monopolies such as Standard Oil (Rockefeller), U.S. Steel (Carnegie), and J.P Morgan Bank were created. The federal government had a "hands off" approach to the economy, also known as "laissez-faire" so business were free to grow with little intervention. These large businesses concentrated a lot of wealth in the hands of a millionaire class of entrepreneurs and business leaders which contributed to an increasing gap between rich and poor. Eventually the government passed laws limiting this strategy with the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in the Gilded Age and then the Clayton Anti-Trust Act in the Progressive Era.

Definition from eoearth.org: Technology innovation is the process through which new (or improved) technologies are developed and brought into widespread use. In the simplest formulation, innovation can be thought of as being composed of research, development, demonstration, and deployment, although it is abundantly clear that innovation is not a linear process - there are various interconnections and feedback loops between these stages, and often even the stages themselves cannot be trivially dis-aggregated. Significance to U.S. History: Innovations such as the typewriter, lightbulb, cash register, and the telephone prompted a radical change in the way of life. People could now communicate by voice with ease over great distances and could accomplish tasks with greater efficiency, such as cleaning a room with a vacuum cleaner or writing a letter with a fountain pen rather than a quill pen.

Definition from Wikipedia.org: Labor unions are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries in the United States. Their activity today centers on collective bargaining over wages, benefits, and working conditions for their membership, and on representing their members in disputes with management over violations of contract provisions. Larger unions also typically engage in lobbying activities and electioneering at the state and federal level. Significance to U.S. History: Unions were an important step to gaining rights for workers. During this time of economic uncertainty, business managers were able to continue and amplify the trend of treating their workers unfairly. Unions were a way for the people to take an active role in increasing their standard of living. Unions were highly controversial (and still are, to some extent), but they certainly helped spur reforms. These reforms were not limited to economic reforms, but also things like social and political reforms. These reforms after the Civil War also helped transition America into the Progressive Era. The Unions led to many reforms that attempted to improve the lives of common people and gave citizens a voice in society.

Definition from Wikipedia.org: Sharecropping is a system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on their portion of land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range of different situations and types of agreements that have used a form of the system. Some are governed by tradition, and others by law. Significance to U.S. History: Sharecropping and Tenant farming characterized the decreasingly agricultural South after the Civil War and its subsequent reforms. The Civil War reforms mostly ended slavery, but the South had not industrialized and still attempted to use traditional agricultural methods. The resulting systems of sharecropping and tenant farming effectively continued slavery under a new (and more legal) name. This also caused the South to continue to fall behind the North, as many refused to modernize until the movement for the New South began. Sharecropping and Tenant farming further expanded the growing national economic sectionalism.

Definition from Wikipedia.org: Rail transportation in the United States consists primarily of freight shipments, while passenger service, once a large and vital part of the nation's passenger transportation network, plays a limited role as compared to transportation patterns in many other countries. Significance to U.S. History: The railroad system revolutionized transportation in the US and boosted the economy. People could travel to farther places faster than before which created a greater opporunity for people with their expanded range of travel. This boosted the economy by providing a fast and efficient method of transportation for resources, increasing the amount of products companies manufactured.

Definition from PBS.org: The Populist movement was a revolt by farmers in the South and Midwest against the Democratic and Republican Parties for ignoring their interests and difficulties. For over a decade, farmers were suffering from crop failures, falling prices, poor marketing, and lack of credit facilities. Significance to U.S. History: The Populist Party had a profound impact during the Gilded Age. During this era, both the Republican and Democrat Parties were not addressing the actual problems of the nation. As Industrial America grew, farmers grew increasingly discontented as they were suffering economically, even with technological innovations. They had particular strife with things like tariffs and railroads. After a while, farmers united to form their own third party, which tackled a variety of issues facing America; the People's Party ultimately advocated increased government regulation of industries, a change that could help common workers all over America. The Populist Party was extremely successful relative to other historical independent political parties, but after a few unsuccessful elections, the party faded away and was absorbed by the Democrat Party. The Populist Party helped reignite political change and advocate economic and political success for American farmers - they worked to alter the relationship between governments and businesses.

Definition from Wikipedia.org: Americanization is the process of an immigrant to the United States of America becoming a person who shares American values, beliefs and customs and is assimilated into American society. This process typically involves learning English and adjusting to American culture, and customs, while keeping the old foods and religion. Significance to U.S. History: Americanization radically changed the various cultures in America during this time period. There were an influx of immigrants during this period, mostly from Asia and South/East Europe, all of whom brought their cultures to America. However, increasing anti-immigrant sentiments, nativism, and white supremacy worked to "Americanize" the migrants. Many white American citizens were afraid that the migrants would gain too much power, and thus worked to subjugate them. Americanization also applied to Native Americans - authorities started programs like schools to teach foreigners and Indians about American culture. This is especially significant in American history as it started a process of devolution - America went from a country founded by immigration to a country that rejects immigrants - an issue that still occurs in modern times.

Definition from Wikipedia.org: A political machine is a political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses (usually campaign workers), who receive rewards for their efforts. The machine's power is based on the ability of the workers to get out the vote for their candidates on election day. Significance to U.S. History: Political machines were a hallmark of the corrupt politics of the Gilded Age. The rapid expansion of businesses and industry had far-reaching effects in politics. Businessmen frequently were able to buy votes by commanding certain urban sectors. This led to politicians being increasingly corrupt, dominated by their thirst for money. This also furthered class differences as America was becoming increasingly dominated by money and industry. Overall these political machines heavily contributed to the corruption of US politics.

Definition from Wikipedia.org: An Indian reservation is a legal designation for an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the US Bureau of Indian Affairs, rather than the state governments of the United States in which they are physically located. Each of the 326 Indian reservations in the United States are associated with a particular Nation. Significance to U.S. History: The reservations in the Gilded Age brought the American-Indian vs. white settler conflict that had been raging for centuries to a close. As more and more migrants moved West, American-Indians were once again forced off their lands. Running out of places to go, the government formed reservations, but they often held poor conditions for the Indians. Several Indian tribes attempted to band together to end this discrimination, but after the Battle (Massacre) of Wounded Knee, they were shattered and were subjugated once and for all (for many years) under the American government. The reservations ended the ancient struggle between migrant and native in America, showing the expanse of white settlers.

Definition from Wikipedia.org: Social Darwinism is a modern name given to various theories of society that emerged in the United Kingdom, North America, and Western Europe in the 1870s, which claim to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology and politics. Economically, social Darwinists argue that the strong should see their wealth and power increase while the weak should see their wealth and power decrease. Significance to U.S. History: Social Darwinism was an Enlightenment ideal that came to the US around the Civil War Era and was used as a means to justify slavery. It was slightly modified in the Gilded Age as a means to justify the growing separation between social classes. Social Darwinism further reinforced the rule of the wealthy over the poor, but eventually did cause certain calls for reform and justice, such as the Gospel of Wealth.

Definition from Wikipedia.org: "The Gospel of Wealth" is an article written by Andrew Carnegie in 1889 that describes the responsibility of philanthropy by the new upper class of self-made rich. Carnegie proposed that the best way of dealing with the new phenomenon of wealth inequality was for the wealthy to redistribute their surplus means in a responsible and thoughtful manner. Significance to U.S. History: The Gospel of Wealth helped bring more focus to the lower class and the upper class' ability to help. This led to the influence of many of the characteristics of the populist party views. This still holds true today where without the existence of this idea, we would be less focused on benefiting society as a whole.

Definition from encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org: Settlement houses were important reform institutions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Chicago's Hull House was the best-known settlement in the United States. Most were large buildings in crowded immigrant neighborhoods of industrial cities, where settlement workers provided services for neighbors and sought to remedy poverty. Significance to U.S. History: The settlement houses were an attempt to reform the troubled society of newly industrialized America. Industrialization and urbanization brought many people to cities, which quickly became overcrowded and polluted. Many poor workers lived in the horrible tenement houses, which characterized the negative parts of the Gilded Age. The movement with settlement houses helped expand basic human rights and living conditions across many different people, such as women, immigrants, and etc. This social change also helped inspire change on an political and economic scale. The settlement houses helped improve the conditions of common people in the Gilded Age.