Westward Expansion
Explain the significance of Railroads (including the Transcontinental RR) in the 19th Century (1800s).
connecting East Coast markets to West Coast markets ($)
Explain the negative impact of urbanization during the Gilded Age
over-population, filth, and disease
Why were Political Machines like Tammany Hall corrupt?
social services were promised to poor immigrants in exchange for votes which helped politicians stay in power and get rich.
What was the Sherman Antitrust Act meant to do?
got rid of monopolies
Teddy Roosevelt’s conservation efforts resulted in what long-term success?
The creation and protection of federal national parks
List three things that led to the settlement of the West and put them in order of significance.
The federal government granted free land (160 acres) that people made their homes on
lots of good farmland
mining of precious metals (gold & silver)
How did electricity impact industrialization?
It allowed for work at night and it helped keep workers safer because they could better see what they were doing.
Explain the nativism surrounding the Chinese Exclusion Act
wanting to keep the Chinese out of the country in fear of them taking jobs
Why was the Interstate Commerce Commission formed?
to stop the railroad monopoly from "robbing" farmers with high prices
Why did Booker T. Washington advocate for vocational training
specialized education =
Good-paying jobs =
improved standard of life/civil rights
Explain the significance of the Homestead Act.
The federal government gave people 160 acres for free if they "improved" it for five years by building a home and farming the land.
Match the correct industry with these Robber Barrons:
John D. Rockefeller -
Andrew Carnegie -
Cornelius Vanderbilt -
1. Oil (petroleum)
2. steel
3. railroad
Explain why immigrants assimilated or Americanized when they came to the US
requirement and prosperity
What were the reasons Labor Unions were formed?
unsafe working environments and poor wages
What was an issue with children that Progressives wished to reform?
creating child labor laws and getting kids into school
How did the Dawes Act impact Native Americans?
It forced them to assimilate and took their lands
Explain the significance of the Bessemer Process
Andrew Carnegie was able to make steel more efficiently (quicker and cheaper=$$$)
Why did nativists push for restrictions on immigration?
to prevent the ethnic mixing of society and prevent competition for jobs
Explain who Jacob Riis intended to help with his work, How the Other Half Lives
Through photographs in a book, he wanted to help poor immigrants living in the cities
Explain the significance of the 19th Amendment.
Women got the right to vote
Explain why the Populists demanded free coinage of silver.
create more money so they could afford to pay their bills
What were some ways that Andrew Carnegie was a philanthropist?
He used his wealth to build schools, libraries, and art museums which benefited society.
Identify at least FIVE push and pull factors that brought immigrants to the US.
escaping political violence
avoiding famine (starvation)
escaping religious persecution
seeking economic opportunities (jobs=$$$)
available land
Explain the causes and effects of the Pure Food and Drug Act
Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" made Americans demand the government do something to fix the problems with horrible stuff in the meat, food, and medicines.
Explain the significance of Jim Crow laws.
They were state laws that justified racial separation and discrimination