Unit 5 Test Flashcards
Battle of Little Bighorn
1876, near Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory, pitted federal troops by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer against Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne. Tensions rose since gold discovery on Indian lands. Tribes didn’t move to reservations so U.S. Army confronted them.
Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
1868 between the U.S. Government and the Sioux Nation, the U.S. recognized the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation, set aside for exclusive use by the Sioux people.
Sioux & the Ghost Dance
A religious revitalization campaign of dancing, singing, religion. Fortells a day of returning to traditional Indian life.
Massacre at Wounded Knee
Far of uprising government troops killed 200 Indians which was then applauded in the news. This led to American’s efforts to limit mainstream religions (animism and Mormon).
The Dawes Act (vs. Homestead Act)
Senator Henry L. Dawes (chair of Senates’ Indian Affairs Committee) broke up tribal land into small parcels of land which was redistributed to Indian families (not communities to promote Christian family values) and auctioned off some to white purchasers. This led to a loss of tribal land and traditions.
Homestead Act
an applicant (families) could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead.
Assimilation
Government forced Indians to surrender land and exchange religious way of life for American ideals which eliminated deals with the Indians.
“Buffalo soldiers”
United States Army that primarily comprised African Americans, to serve on the American frontier.
Boarding schools for indigenous children
To westernize Indian and assimilate them through modern education and removal of cultural identity
Construction of the Transcontinental RR
Funded by private investments and government grants which tripled amount of existing railroads which opened vast new areas to commercial farming and national market for manufactured goods. Major railroad companies divided nation into 4 time zones
Laborers & labor conditions of the transcontinental railroad workers
Made up mostly of Chinese immigrants which were unrecognized for their dangerous and unregulated work.
Impact of Transcontinental RR on West & the nation as a whole
Raised transport fees which put many farmers into debt and others. Was a large influential monopoly. They were key to America’s industrial success. Railroads raised commerce and integrated the America market which allowed national brands to emerge.
Cowboys & Cattle
Collection of white, Mexican, and Black men conducted cattle drives and these “cowboys” became symbols of a life of the freedom on the open range land.
Panic of 1873
After the Civil War, the US banking system grew rapidly and seemed to be set on solid ground. But the country was hit by many banking crises. One of the worst happened in 1873 – during the time of the Freedman’s Bank. “Long Depression”. EXAMPLE: One of the biggest banks in New York City was Jay Cooke & Company. It had invested a lot of money in the railroads, and when the railroads started having problems, Jay Cooke & Company went bankrupt. When people saw that such a big bank failed, they began to run to their banks, demanding all of their money back.
Rockefeller & Oil
Corporations bought up rivals. Standard Oil controlled 90% of U.S. oil industry.
Carnegie & Steel
American steel company founded by Scottish-born American industrialist Andrew Carnegie. 1889 the Carnegie Steel Company was launched with an astounding integrated network of steel and iron supply, manufacture, and transport.
Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth
1889, Andrew Carnegie’s essay “The Gospel of Wealth” believed in giving wealth away during one’s lifetime (philanthropy).
JP Morgan & banking
Horizontal vs. vertical integration
Horizontal: big firms bought up smaller ones to create a monopoly
Vertical: Firms bought up all aspects of production process (raw materials–> production –> transportation –> distribution)
Panic of 1893
Federal Reserve
Collapse of several Wall Street brokerage houses, over 600 banks and 16,000 businesses failed, unemployment 20%r, little relief. Thousands of farmers lost their land, the Populist Party gained momentum as a voice of reform and government intervention in the economy.
New Middle-Class
Many artisans and small merchants, who owned small factories and stores, did manage to achieve and maintain respectability in an emerging middle class. Lacking the protection of great wealth, the middle class agonized over the fear that they might slip into the ranks of wage laborers
Old vs. New immigrants (and numbers)
Old Immigrants: 1820-1880 German and Irish immigrants (10 million) most similar to native white Americans and from Northwest Europe (like UK)
New Immigrants: 1900 From Southern and Eastern Europe in addition to China and other Asian countries (Italy + Russia + Austro-Hungarian Empire) (12 million)
Push vs. pull factors
Pull: Free religious practice + economic opportunities + American dream + less regulations + industrialization
Push: political and religious persecution, economic hardship, and social unrest. Many countries experienced political instability, such as revolutions and wars, which forced people to seek a more stable and secure life elsewhere.
Chinese Exclusion Act
Congress temporarily excluded all Chinese immigrants because they are seen as criminals, uneducated, and reasons for all economic miseries.
Restrictions placed on immigration
- long time for citizenship (weeks to years)
- health checks
- No criminals, poor people, ill of those likely to become a public charge (homeless).
Nativism
Favoritism for “native white born” Americans.
Ellis Island vs. Angel Island
Ellis Island: New York (east) immigration station, processed in a few hours. Women couldn’t leave without a man accompanying hedrf
Angel Island: San Francisco (west) longer detentions
“Melting Pot”
Metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, through the mix of foreign cultures
Tenement housing
Small multi-building low-quality and unhygienic housing.
Typical work for immigrants
Unskilled work such as factory (assembly-lines), construction, domestic work.
Sweatshops
Crowded workplace with very poor, illegal/unacceptable working conditions. The manual workers are poorly paid, work long hours, and poor working conditions.
