Period 6: Glossary (College Board AP® US History): Revision Note

Themes in Period 1

• Geography and environment (GEO)

• American and Regional Culture (ARC)

• Work, Exchange and Technology (WXT)

• Social Structures (SOC)

• Migration and settlement (MIG)

• American and National Identity (NAT)

Contextualizing Period 6

Industrial growth – The U.S. changed rapidly after the Civil War through the growth of business and technology

Gilded Age – This era featured both major wealth and major inequality

Westward Expansion: Economic Development

Transcontinental railroad – The railroad connected regions and sped up settlement and trade

Cattle frontier – Ranching became an important Western industry

Westward Expansion: Social and Cultural Development

Homestead Act – Encouraged western migration by offering land to settlers

Reservation system – The federal government confined many Indigenous (Native) peoples to specific lands

Assimilation – Officials pushed Indigenous (Native) Americans to adopt white American culture

Dawes Act – Broke tribal lands into individual allotments

Populism – A push for government changes to improve economic conditions

The “New South”

New South – Southern leaders promoted industry, though agriculture still dominated

Tenant farming – Laborers rented land and worked for the owner in exchange for a portion of the harvest. Many poor farmers remained dependent and in debt

Technological Innovation

Bessemer process – Made steel production faster and cheaper

Telephone – Improved communication across distances and created stronger connections between regions and communities

Electricity – Changed business, work, and daily life

The Rise of Industrial Capitalism

Corporation – Businesses used a corporate organization to grow larger

Monopoly – One company controlled much of an industry, supply or service

Trust – A business arrangement that reduced competition

Laissez-faire – Many people argued that the government should interfere less in the economy

Robber barons/Captains of industry – Business leaders were viewed as either exploiters or builders

Labor in the Gilded Age

Labor union – Workers organized for better pay, hours, and conditions

Knights of Labor – One of the early large labor organizations

American Federation of Labor (AFL) – Focused on skilled workers and practical gains such as higher wages and safer working conditions

Strike – Workers stopped labor to demand changes

Haymarket – Labor protest associated with violence which led to an anti-union backlash

Pullman Strike – Showed government support for business over labor

Immigration and Migration in the Gilded Age

New immigrants – Many people migrated to the U.S from southern and eastern Europe

Urban migration – People moved to cities for jobs and opportunities

Ethnic neighborhoods – Immigrants built communities that preserved culture and support

Responses to Immigration in the Gilded Age

Nativism – Hostility toward immigrants increased

Chinese Exclusion Act – Federal law that restricted immigration from China

Americanization – Some reformers wanted immigrants to adopt mainstream U.S. culture

Development of the Middle Class

Middle class – Clerical, managerial, and professional jobs expanded, creating a growing middle class

Consumer culture – Department stores and advertising encouraged new spending habits

Reform in the Gilded Age

Settlement houses – Reformers offered services to urban immigrants and the poor

Social Gospel – Religious movement that pushed Christians to address social problems

Controversies over the Role of Government in the Gilded Age

Regulation debate – Americans argued about whether the government should regulate business

Interstate Commerce Act – Early attempt to regulate railroads and their prices

Sherman Antitrust Act – Law aimed at limiting monopolies

Politics in the Gilded Age

Political machines – Urban political organizations which controlled local governments. They traded services for votes

Patronage – Government jobs were often handed out for political support

Civil service reform – Reformers pushed for merit-based government jobs

Plessy v. Ferguson – The Supreme Court upheld segregation under ‘separate but equal.’