All Flashcards
Define Transcontinental Railroad.
A railroad connecting the East and West coasts of the U.S., completed in 1869.
What is a boomtown?
A town that experiences sudden and rapid growth due to an economic boom.
Define the Chinese Exclusion Act.
A U.S. federal law signed in 1882 that prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers.
What was the Homestead Act?
A law passed in 1862 that granted 160 acres of public land to settlers who agreed to live on and cultivate it for five years.
Define the Grange Movement.
A fraternal organization for American farmers that developed in the wake of the 1873 depression; it sought to counter the power of corporate middlemen.
What was the Farmer's Alliance?
An agrarian movement during the 1870s and 1880s that sought to improve the economic conditions for farmers through the creation of cooperatives and political advocacy.
Define the Ocala Platform.
A set of demands adopted by the Farmers' Alliance in 1890, calling for reforms such as direct election of senators, lower tariffs, and a graduated income tax.
What was the Populist Party?
A political party formed in 1892 representing the interests of farmers and laborers, advocating for reforms such as government regulation of railroads and a graduated income tax.
Define 'open range'.
Vast grasslands owned by the federal government where ranchers could graze their cattle for free.
What is 'free coinage of silver'?
A monetary policy issue advocating for the government to coin silver freely, increasing the money supply and potentially leading to inflation.
What were the causes and effects of the Transcontinental Railroad?
Causes: Government investment, desire to connect East and West. Effects: Economic growth, new markets, settlement in the West.
What were the causes and effects of the Gold Rush?
Causes: Discovery of gold in California. Effects: Rapid population growth, boomtowns, displacement of Native Americans.
What were the causes and effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act?
Causes: Anti-Chinese sentiment, economic competition. Effects: Restricted Chinese immigration, discrimination, long-term impact on Chinese-American community.
What were the causes and effects of the Homestead Act?
Causes: Desire to settle the West. Effects: Westward migration, increased agricultural production, challenges for farmers.
What were the causes and effects of increased agricultural productivity?
Causes: Technological advances, government policies. Effects: Lower prices for farm products, economic challenges for farmers.
What were the causes and effects of the Grange Movement?
Causes: Monopolistic practices of railroads, economic hardship for farmers. Effects: Organized resistance, sense of community, advocacy for farmers' rights.
What were the causes and effects of the Ocala Platform?
Causes: Farmer grievances, economic challenges. Effects: Foundation for the Populist Party, advocacy for reforms.
What were the causes and effects of the Populist Party?
Causes: Government's failure to address farmer issues, economic inequality. Effects: Political advocacy, influence on later reforms.
What were the causes and effects of the open range cattle ranching?
Causes: Availability of vast grasslands, demand for beef in eastern markets. Effects: Growth of the cattle industry, development of cowboy culture.
What were the causes and effects of barbed wire?
Causes: Need to fence off land and control cattle. Effects: End of the open range, more efficient farming practices.
Who was Joseph McCoy?
He helped solve the problem of getting beef to eastern markets by taking cattle to railheads in Kansas.
Who was Henry Clay?
He proposed the American System.