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A series of conflicts between Native American tribes and the U.S. government as settlers expanded westward.
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A U.S. naval mission led by Commodore Matthew Perry that opened Japan to trade with the West through the Treaty of Kanagawa.
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Laws providing federal support for the construction of a transcontinental railroad.
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Legislation granting 160 acres of public land to settlers willing to live on and improve the land for five years.
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The U.S. acquisition of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, often referred to as “Seward’s Folly.”
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An organization of farmers that worked to improve conditions, particularly by fighting against railroad monopolies.
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A spiritual movement among Native Americans that sought to restore their traditional way of life and resist U.S. policies.
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A labor union that aimed to organize all workers and advocate for an eight-hour workday and other reforms.
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State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the South after Reconstruction.
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A religious movement advocating for social reform, including better living and working conditions for the poor.
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A belief that “survival of the fittest” applied to societies and justified inequality and imperialism.
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An oil monopoly founded by John D. Rockefeller that controlled most of the U.S. oil industry until antitrust actions broke it up.
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Tactics used in the South to disenfranchise African American voters.
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Legislation that prohibited Chinese immigration to the U.S. for ten years, later extended indefinitely.
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A law that established a merit-based system for federal employment, replacing the spoils system.
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A labor union led by Samuel Gompers that focused on skilled workers and aimed for practical economic gains.
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A Supreme Court case ruling that states could not regulate interstate commerce, leading to the creation of the Interstate Commerce Act.
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Legislation establishing the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroad rates and practices.
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A law aimed at assimilating Native Americans by dividing communal tribal lands into individual plots.
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An essay by Andrew Carnegie arguing that the wealthy have a moral obligation to use their riches to improve society.
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A settlement house founded by Jane Addams in Chicago to help immigrants and the poor.
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A law aimed at breaking up monopolies and promoting fair competition in business.
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The massacre of hundreds of Lakota Sioux by U.S. soldiers, marking the end of major Native American resistance.
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An art movement that depicted urban life and the gritty realities of city living.
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A violent labor dispute at Andrew Carnegie’s steel plant in Pennsylvania, highlighting tensions between workers and management.
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The Populist Party’s platform advocating for economic reforms such as bimetallism and government regulation of railroads.
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Andrew Carnegie’s steel company, a key player in the industrialization of the U.S., which later merged to form U.S. Steel.
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A severe economic depression caused by over-speculation and a collapse in railroad financing.
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Historian Frederick Jackson Turner’s argument that the American frontier shaped the nation’s character and democracy.
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A nationwide railway strike that disrupted commerce and was ended by federal intervention.
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A protest march on Washington, D.C., by unemployed workers demanding government action to address the depression.
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A Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine.
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A famous speech by William Jennings Bryan advocating for bimetallism and criticizing the gold standard.