Guilded Age
Homestead Act
1862 law that gave 160 acres of land to citizens who met certain requirements and paid a small fee
Americanization
Learning to dress, speak and act like other Americans
Indian Wars
Little Big Horn, Wounded Knee, Sand Creek Massacre.
American Indian Citizenship Act 1924
Made all Indians citizens of the United States
Boss Tweed
Manipulated New York City politics for his own benefit
New Immigrants
Mostly from Southern or Eastern Europe; mostly Catholic or Jewish
Cattle drive
Movement of cowboys of cattle to rail stations in the north to connect to markets in the east
ASSIMILATION
Process by which people of one culture merge into and become part of another culture
Jacob Riis
Wrote "How The Other Half Lives" describing the deplorable conditions of the city
Great Plains
area of the country settled by farmers brought to the are from the east by the Trans RR
Political "Boss"
corrupt city government officials promising to provide services and jobs in exchange for votes
Dawes Act
divided reservation into individual plots, each family received 160 acres to farm hoping to establish pride in ownership
Nativist
favoring Naïve born Americans over Immigrants
Chinese Exclusion Act
first federal law restricting Asian Immigrants to the United States
Urbanization
growth of large cities
Klondike Gold Rush
in 1896 miners were attracted to the area by discovery of precious metals
Frontier
line between areas of settlement and those areas dominated by nature and Native Americans
Tammany Hall
most notorious political machine designed to keep Democrats in control of New York City
Ghettos
neighborhoods made up of people of similar nationality, language, and cultural
Immigration
primary reason for the growth in US cities by early 1900's doubling the number of Us cities with population in excess of 500,000
Tenements
single room apartments often without heating lighting or sewage
Political Machine
unofficial city organization designed to keep a party in power usually led by single boss
Ellis Island
vast government center in New York City where most immigrants were processed into the US
Push and Pull Factors
war, famine, drought, economic opportunity, education
