AP US History Flashcards: Reform In The Gilded Age

What this deck covers

This deck focuses on Reform In The Gilded Age, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for AP US History.

How to use these flashcards

Work through these flashcards in short sessions. Try to answer each prompt before flipping the card, then revisit any cards you miss until the explanation feels automatic.

Flashcard 1: What was the American Federation of Labor (AFL) best known for organizing?

Answer: Skilled workers through craft unions. Samuel Gompers focused on practical gains for skilled trades.

Flashcard 2: Which Supreme Court case (1896) upheld racial segregation under "separate but equal"?

Answer: Plessy v. Ferguson. Legalized Jim Crow laws, reversing Reconstruction gains.

Flashcard 3: What federal agency was created by the Interstate Commerce Act to regulate railroads?

Answer: Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). First federal regulatory agency with power to investigate railroad practices.

Flashcard 4: What was the primary strategy of the Knights of Labor to improve workers' conditions?

Answer: Broad inclusive unionism and political reform for labor. Welcomed all workers regardless of skill, race, or gender.

Flashcard 5: Which federal law (1882) restricted immigration by barring most Chinese laborers?

Answer: Chinese Exclusion Act. First major federal immigration restriction based on nationality.

Flashcard 6: What was the main effect of Southern poll taxes and literacy tests after Reconstruction?

Answer: Disenfranchised many African American and poor white voters. These measures circumvented 15th Amendment voting protections.

Flashcard 7: Which 1892 labor strike at Carnegie Steel ended after state militia intervened?

Answer: Homestead Strike. Violent clash between steelworkers and Pinkerton detectives.

Flashcard 8: What was the central goal of the Social Gospel movement during the Gilded Age?

Answer: Apply Christian ethics to solve urban poverty and inequality. Movement believed religious principles could address industrial society's problems.

Flashcard 9: What was the primary goal of the Social Gospel movement in the Gilded Age?

Answer: Apply Christian ethics to solve social and economic problems. Religious leaders believed faith could address industrial poverty and inequality.

Flashcard 10: What settlement house founded by Jane Addams in 1889 became a model for urban reform?

Answer: Hull House (Chicago). Provided services to immigrants and poor in urban neighborhoods.

Flashcard 11: Which 1896 Supreme Court case upheld "separate but equal" segregation?

Answer: Plessy v. Ferguson. Legitimized Jim Crow laws for nearly 60 years.

Flashcard 12: What monetary policy did Populists mean by "free silver"?

Answer: Unlimited coinage of silver to expand the money supply. Would cause inflation to help debt-burdened farmers.

Flashcard 13: What did the Comstock Laws restrict in the name of public morality?

Answer: Mailing of "obscene" materials, including birth control information. Anthony Comstock's 1873 laws censored "vice" through postal regulations.

Flashcard 14: What was the main purpose of the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883?

Answer: Replace patronage with merit-based federal hiring. Reformed civil service after Garfield's assassination by office seeker.

Flashcard 15: Identify the 1886 event that intensified fears of radical labor after a bombing at a rally.

Answer: The Haymarket Affair. Bomb killed police; anarchists blamed, damaging labor's reputation.

Flashcard 16: Which 1890 federal law sought to curb business monopolies and restraints of trade?

Answer: Sherman Antitrust Act. First federal attempt to break up trusts and promote competition.

Flashcard 17: Which 1895 Supreme Court case weakened the Sherman Antitrust Act by shielding manufacturing?

Answer: United States v. E. C. Knight Co. Court ruled manufacturing wasn't commerce, limiting federal power.

Flashcard 18: Which 1894 strike was broken after a federal injunction and troops were used?

Answer: Pullman Strike. Railroad workers' boycott disrupted mail delivery, justifying federal action.

Flashcard 19: What was the purpose of the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883?

Answer: Create merit-based federal hiring and reduce the spoils system. Replaced patronage with competitive exams after Garfield's assassination.

Flashcard 20: What was the core demand of the Knights of Labor regarding workers' rights?

Answer: An eight-hour workday and broad labor reforms. Also advocated cooperatives and political reforms for workers.

Flashcard 21: What distinguished the American Federation of Labor (AFL) from the Knights of Labor?

Answer: AFL focused on skilled workers and "bread-and-butter" unionism. Samuel Gompers led practical approach vs. Knights' idealism.

Flashcard 22: What was the main goal of the Populist (People's) Party in the early 1890s?

Answer: Increase political power for farmers and workers against big business. Third party emerged from farmers' alliances to challenge corporate power.

Flashcard 23: What did the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 seek to prohibit?

Answer: Combinations in restraint of trade, including monopolistic trusts. First federal antitrust law targeting monopolies and cartels.

Flashcard 24: What was the primary goal of the Farmers' Alliances in the late 1800s?

Answer: Increase farmers' bargaining power and pursue economic reforms. Cooperatives and political action addressed falling crop prices.

Flashcard 25: Which reform group most directly challenged political machines by promoting municipal "good government"?

Answer: Middle-class urban reformers and civil service reform advocates. Mugwumps and progressives fought corruption through electoral reform.

Flashcard 26: What was the central aim of the temperance movement during the Gilded Age?

Answer: Reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption. Reformers blamed alcohol for poverty, domestic violence, and social problems.

Flashcard 27: Identify the term for political machines trading jobs and aid for votes in cities.

Answer: Patronage (spoils system). Political bosses controlled votes through favors and government jobs.

Flashcard 28: Which 1896 candidate's "Cross of Gold" speech became associated with free silver?

Answer: William Jennings Bryan. Democratic nominee championed farmers against gold standard.

Flashcard 29: What did the Populist Party mean by "free silver"?

Answer: Unlimited coinage of silver to expand the money supply. 16:1 silver-gold ratio would inflate currency and help debtors.

Flashcard 30: What did "muckrakers" primarily do to promote reform in the late Gilded Age?

Answer: Investigated and exposed corruption and social injustices. Journalists like Ida Tarbell used press to demand reforms.

Flashcard 31: Which 1887 law created the first federal regulatory agency for railroads?

Answer: Interstate Commerce Act. Responded to railroad abuses like price discrimination and rebates.

Flashcard 32: What was the purpose of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)?

Answer: Promote temperance and broader social reform, including suffrage. Led by Frances Willard, linked alcohol prohibition to women's rights.

Flashcard 33: What was the main objective of the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887?

Answer: Regulate railroad rates through the Interstate Commerce Commission. First federal attempt to control monopolistic railroad practices.

Flashcard 34: What did the settlement house movement provide to immigrants and the urban poor?

Answer: Social services such as education, childcare, and job training. Hull House and similar centers helped immigrants adapt to American life.

Flashcard 35: Identify the 1894 strike in which federal injunctions and troops were used against workers.

Answer: The Pullman Strike. Eugene Debs led strike; Cleveland's intervention set anti-labor precedent.

Flashcard 36: What did the "Gospel of Wealth" argue wealthy industrialists should do with their fortunes?

Answer: Use philanthropy to fund public benefits, such as libraries and universities. Carnegie's essay promoted responsible wealth distribution for society.

Flashcard 37: Which 1892 platform called for free silver, a graduated income tax, and railroad regulation?

Answer: Omaha Platform. Populist Party's reform agenda at their national convention.

Flashcard 38: Which 1886 event damaged the labor movement after a bombing at a workers' rally?

Answer: Haymarket Affair. Bomb killed police; anarchists blamed, turning public against unions.

Flashcard 39: What was the key political party that grew out of agrarian reform in the 1890s?

Answer: The Populist Party (People's Party). Founded 1892, represented farmers and workers against elites.

Flashcard 40: What was the "subtreasury plan" proposed by farmers' reformers?

Answer: Federal crop storage with low-interest loans to farmers. Government would store crops as collateral for farmer loans.