APUSH Period 6: Transformation of the West and City Life

Transcontinental Railroads

Railroads that span from coast to coast, significantly contributing to Westward expansion and economic development.

Pacific Railway Act

A 1862 act that granted land subsidies to railroad companies to promote construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Homestead Act

An 1862 law providing 160 acres of public land free for individuals who would improve it for five years.

Cattle Kingdom

A term referring to the extensive cattle ranching that developed in the late 19th century, particularly through the Long Drive.

Wounded Knee Massacre

The 1890 incident where over 200 Lakota were killed by the U.S. Army, marking the end of organized Native American resistance.

Dawes Severalty Act

A 1887 law aimed at assimilating Native Americans by breaking up tribal lands and granting individual plots.

Ghost Dance Movement

A Native American religious movement that prophesied the return of the buffalo and the elimination of white settlers.

Nativism

A policy protecting the interests of native-born inhabitants against those of immigrants.

Chinese Exclusion Act

The first significant law to restrict immigration based on race, prohibiting Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. in 1882.

Old Immigration

The wave of immigrants arriving before 1880, primarily from Northern and Western Europe.

New Immigration

The wave of immigrants arriving between 1880 and 1920, mainly from Southern and Eastern Europe.

Push factors

Reasons that drive people to leave their home country, such as poverty and political persecution.

Pull factors

Attractions that draw people to a new country, including economic opportunities and political freedom.

Settlement House Movement

Initiative where educated middle-class individuals moved into immigrant communities to provide social services.

Jane Addams

A social reformer who founded Hull House in Chicago, which was pivotal in the Settlement House Movement.

Political Machines

Organized groups of politicians that controlled political parties in cities, often providing services in exchange for votes.

Tammany Hall

A notorious political machine in New York City associated with corruption and the leadership of William