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Industrialization
After the Civil War, technology advanced significantly. Machines replaced hand labor as the main means of production, increasing productivity. This rapid industrialization lead the United States into one of the major world powers. -
Urbanization
A result of the American industrialization, urbanization is the rapid growth of cities. Families migrated from all around the globe to American in search of a better life and employment. Factories were commonly built near cities which lead to giant population boosts. -
Missionaries
A missionary is a person sent on a religious mission. Since there was a large amount of missionaries during the 19th century, that century is called the Great Century. -
Immigration
There was a huge influx of immigrants between 1815 - 1865. Many come from Northern and Western Europe especially from Ireland. They came in search of a better life for their families and for employment. After news of the California Gold Rush broke, immigrants from Asia, predominantly Chinese, settled in California in search of gold. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine was a United States policy of opposing European colonialism in the Americas beginning in 1823. This was the first step in America's plan to become a major world power. -
Americanization
The Americanization movement was a nationwide event that called for foreign immigrants to assimilate into one dominant culture. It begin around the 1830s when Chinese and Irish immigrants began moving to the United States in search of work. -
Assimilation
Assimilation is the process of adapting or adjusting to the culture of a group or nation, or the state of being so adapted -
Homestead Act of 1862
It accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting adult heads of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a minimal filing fee and 5 years of continuous residence on that land. -
Homesteader
It is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. Farmers only produced enough food and materials to supply their families. It also describes an owner of land granted to them by the Homestead Act. -
Great Plains
The vast grassland that extends through the central portion of North America, from Texas northward to Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains. It was populated with Native Americans following the buffalo before the construction of the railroad and settlement of American citizens. With the Homestead Act of 1862, settlement of the Great Plains was accelerated. -
Civil War Amendments (13,14,15)
Also known as the Reconstruction Amendments, these three amendments granted equal rights to all people. The 13th amendment abolished all slavery, the 14th amendment requires all states to provide protection to all people, not just citizens, and the 15th amendment granted voting rights to all citizens regardless of "race, color or previous servitude." -
Transcontinental Railroad
The first transcontinental railroad was constructed between 1863 to 1869. May 10, 1869 was the day the railroad connected from both ends of the country. It was mostly built by Asians and North Europeans. It stretched from across Omaha, Nebraska to San Francisco Bay. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
This act prohibited the immigration of Chinese workers. This act, however, affected all immigrants of asian background. -
Closing of Western Frontier
In 1890, the US Government declared there is no more unsettled/unexplored land in the United States. Instead they focused on improving their foreign policy and encouraged foreign trade. -
Imperialism (Expansionism)
Literally meaning the domination by one country or people over another group of people. America decided to participate in imperialism for economic, political, and social growth. The idea was brought up in Alfred Thayer Mahan's book The Influence of Sea Power upon History. -
Alfred Thayer Mahan
He was the author of the influential "The Influence of Sea Power upon History." It was a revolutionary analysis of the importance of naval power as a factor in the rise of the British Empire. His book gave rise to imperialism. -
Yellow Journalism
It is journalism that is based upon sensationalism and crude exaggeration. This was the type of writing that was used during the Spanish-American War. The term originated in the competition over the New York City newspaper market between major newspaper publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. -
Klondike Gold Rush
On August 16, 1896 Yukon-area Indians Skookum Jim Mason and Tagish Charlie, along with George Carmack found gold in Rabbit Creek, near Dawson, in the Yukon region of Canada. After almost a year, the declaration that someone had more than a ton of gold, the Klondike Gold Rush was under way. Within six months, approximately 100,000 gold-seekers set off for the Yukon. Only 30,000 completed the trip. Many lost interest or died on their journey to the creek due to starvation and malnutrition. -
Spanish-American War
This war was initiated by the explosion of the U.S.S Maine in Havana Harbor. Many thought Spain was responsible for the explosion and America declared war on Spain. Yellow journalism helped gather the public's approval of the war through exaggeration of events happening in Cuba. The war was ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. -
Spanish-American Acquisitions
The Philippine Islands - purchased from Spain after a military victory
Puerto Rico - annexed from Spain after a military victory
Guam - annexed from Spain after a military victory -
Henry Cabot Lodge
Lodge served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and served as the first Senate majority leader. Cabot is most remembered for his opposition to the League of Nations and, thusly, the Treaty of Versailles. Lodge was a strong backer of U.S. intervention in Cuba in 1898, arguing that it was the moral responsibility of the United States to do so -
Sanford B. Dole
Sanford was president of the Republic of Hawaii and, after its annexation to the United States in 1898, first governor of the Territory of Hawaii. -
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore became the 26th president of the United States in 1901 after the assassination of former president William McKinley. He was elected for a second term in 1904. During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment, which he led on a charge at the battle of San Juan.
