U.S. History Unit 2 Review

Gilded Age  Gild: To give false brilliance to.  The Gilded Age refers to an era of American history when the wealth created by industrial expansion also produced large scale corruption.

Key terms for Gilded Age  Stalwarts: Group of people who supported political boss Roscoe Conkling in wanting to prevent reform of The Spoils System.  Graft: The illegal use of political influence for personal gain.  Political Machines: organized group that controlled the activities of a political party in a city. Offered services to voters and businesses in exchange for political and financial support.  Spoils System: Term used to describe giving patronage, or government jobs to people who helped them get elected.  Pendleton Act: Act passed which required appointment of federal jobs to be based on merits of achievement on written exams.

Key Individuals of Gilded Age  Grover Cleveland: President of the United States (D). Only president ever to serve two non-consecutive terms. Tried to lower tariff rates.  Chester Arthur: Became president after Garfield’s assassination. Originally a Stalwart supporter, he advocated different policy upon election with the Pendleton Act.  James Garfield: President who was shot for opposing the spoils system.  Benjamin Harrison: Won election against incumbent Cleveland in Increased tariffs by signing the McKinley Tariff Act.  Rutherford Hayes: President who began the process of challenging the spoils system.

Literacy Test  Test given before someone could vote. Usually used to discriminate against black voters because few had access to education.

Poll Tax  Annual tax that had to be paid before a person could vote. Used to prevent the poor from gaining political power.

Grandfather Clause  Stated that people could vote if their father or grandfather had been eligible to vote before Used to discriminate against blacks.

Plessy vs. Ferguson  Court Case which established the doctrine of “separate but equal” following a dispute over a seat on a train. Made segregation legal.

Jim Crow Laws  Series of segregation laws passed in the South which created separate facilities for blacks and whites.

Booker T. Washington  African American leader who advocated the industrial education of freed slaves in order to help them become economically valuable to the community. He believed this would encourage whites to grant them equal rights.

W.E.B. Dubois  African American leader who criticized Booker T. Washington for not demanding equal rights in all areas. Advocated equal political power, higher education and the idea that talented tenth should lead black society into mainstream American society.

Ida B. Wells  African American woman famous for reporting on and exposing the lynchings of blacks who were acquiring wealth in the American South.

Susan B. Anthony  Advocated the abolition of slavery and womens right to vote.

Gold Standard  Making the value of the dollar tied to the supply of gold.

Free silver  Refers to the movement by farmers and rural dwellers to keep silver as a form of currency.

Grange Movement  A “Grange” was basically a club or group where farmers would meet in order to discuss ways to break the power of the monopolistic railroads and grain elevators.

Populism  Term used to describe the political ideals of the common people or working class.

Increased strength of the 3 rd party.  The third party independents was due to the extreme tension between the two main parties over labor, tariffs and the spoils system.

Tammany Hall  New York City base of powerful Democrat political machine.

Boss Tweed  Political boss of Tammany Hall who swindled the city out of millions by pocketing tax funds for construction projects.

Bimetallism  Call for the use of both gold and silver as a basis for the value of currency.

William Jennings Bryan  Presidential candidate who campaigned against the use of gold as a value because he believed it detrimental to the common man.