The frontier (undeveloped area) had reached the Pacific Ocean once California became a state

The discovery of gold and silver led to the sudden growth in the West (boomtowns)

Mining companies used the growing railroad network to bring precious metals to the East

In 1859, miner Henry Comstock discovered a huge deposit of gold and silver in Nevada

Comstock Lode began the mining boom

Cattle Kingdom = the Great Plains from Texas to Canada where many ranchers raised cattle

Texas longhorn led to the rise of the Cattle Kingdom because of its little need for water and ability to survive in harsh weather

Cowboy = someone who drives cattle to the plains for grazing Chisholm Trail = one of the most popular cattle drives for cowboys

and ram from Texas to Kansas

1860 – system of messengers carried messages west on horseback

The telegraph put the Pony Express out of business

It was meant to connect the eastern United States to the West The federal government granted railway companies millions of acres

of public land that they could sell for cash May 10, 1869 – the “golden spike” connected the Union Pacific and

Central Pacific railroad lines in Promontory, Utah The transcontinental railroad increased the economy and population

of the West

Sioux leader Treaty of Fort Laramie = first major treaty

between the U.S. and the Plains Indians 1866 – he criticized the U.S. for breaking treaty

promises when the country demanded land from the Sioux

They survived by hunting buffalo The Treaty of Medicine Lodge (1867) established reservations for

Plains Indians Reservation = public land set aside for Native Americans Federal government established reservations so they could use

their land for mining and ranching Plains Indians fought against establishment of reservations because

hunting was not allowed on them

Buffalo soldiers = Plains Indians nickname for African-American cavalry

Lieutenant George Armstrong Custer demanded the Sioux to give up their land in the Black Hills of the Dakotas since his men found gold there in 1874

Battle of the Little Bighorn = Sioux forces led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull surrounded and defeated Custer and his troops

Bighorn was the worst defeat the U.S. Army suffered on the Great Plains

1887 – This act tried to give private land ownership to Native Americans

It promised, but failed to deliver, U.S. citizenship to Native Americans

Homestead Act = gave government-owned land to small farmers

Morrill Act = granted more than 17 million acres of land to the states to be used for colleges that would teach agriculture and engineering

Dry farming = Plains farmers grew crops that did not need irrigation, such as read wheat

Former slaves who made a mass exodus/migration (departure) from the South

Panic was a result of a shortage of gold and failing railroad companies

Many people began to support Populists as a result of the Panic

National Grange = organization created on behalf of farmers

Farmers who supported economic reform (change) They wanted the government to own railroads They gained workers’ votes by supporting a 8-hour workday and limits on

immigration They were mad that farmers had to compete with immigrants for jobs Populists supported William Jennings Bryan because he favored free

coinage of silver (Do not copy) – People would be able to deposit silver bullion at a Federal Mint and in

return receive nearly its weight in silver dollars and other currency.

Populism failed when Democrats lost the election of 1896 Republican William McKinley won the election and became the 25th

President

Oklahoma Land Rush = settlers claimed more than 11 million acres of former Indian land

This land originally belonged to the Creek and Seminole Indians

This was a period of rapid growth in U.S. manufacturing during the late 1800s

Invented by Henry Bessemer in the mid-1850s This was a way to manufacture steel quickly and cheaply Process = blasting hot air through melted iron to quickly

remove impurities

New technologies in the steel industry led to increased productivity in the railroad industry during the late 1800s

Main effect of the expansion of railroads = rapid growth of cities

Telephone (1876) – invented by Alexander Graham Bell The telegraph differed from the telephone because telegraphs

could carry only coded messages Light bulb (1879) – invented by Thomas Edison First lightweight airplane powered by gas (1903) – invented by

Wilbur and Orville Wright Invention of the airplane led to the demand for oil

Introduced the Model T automobile in 1908 He also introduced the assembly line which

greatly reduced the cost of building a product (this made cars more affordable)

Corporations = businesses that sell portions of ownership called stock shares

Stockholders = people who invest stock in a corporation and can sell their shares at any time If a corporation fails, stockholders only lose the money they

invested; they are not responsible for business debts

Steel-making tycoon (businessperson of great wealth and power)

He expanded his business by buying out competitors when steel prices were low

He kept production costs low through vertical integration (owning the businesses involved in each step of the manufacturing of steel)

Oil refining tycoon By the age of 31, he owned the country’s largest oil refining

company (Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company) He expanded his power through horizontal integration (purchasing

all of the businesses in a certain field t control production) Vertical and horizontal integration were strategies designed to

eliminate competition

Many business leaders justified their methods through this belief

It was a view of society based on scientist Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection

They believed in “survival of the fittest” – only the fittest individuals would succeed in society

Trust = a legal arrangement grouping together a number of companies under a single board of directors; trusts tried to get rid of competition to make more money

Monopoly = total ownership of a product or service; critics argued that monopolies raised prices and reduced the quality of products

In 1890, Congress passed this act and made it illegal to create monopolies or trusts that restrained trade

The act was difficult to enforce, so businesses still grew

During the Second Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s, skilled craftspeople were replaced with unskilled machine operators

Working conditions declined because there was an emphasis on high profits and efficiency

Factory specialization = workers repeating the same step over and over again

Injuries increased, and work became boring and tiresome

Labor unions formed to help workers increase their bargaining power in getting better wages and working conditions

Knights of Labor (1870s) = fought for an eight-hour workday, end of child labor and they accepted skilled and unskilled workers

American Federation of Labor = organized individual national unions of skilled workers only; Samuel Gompers was the first president

Collective bargaining = idea that laborers acting together as a group could improve working conditions

Haymarket Riot (1886) – weakened the Knights of Labor due to excessive violence; workers wanted an eight-hour workday (Do Not Copy) - a bomb wounded police and killed eight; police fired

into the crowd Homestead Strike (1892) – violent strike at Carnegie’s steel factory in

Pennsylvania; 16 people died from gunfire Carnegie locked workers out of the factory and hired strike breakers

Pullman Strike (1894) – railroad strike which stopped traffic on many lines Homestead and Pullman strikes were ended by federal troops