APUSH Unit 6 (1865-1898) Notes

Reconstruction Era (1865-1877)

• Major Amendments
  • 13th Amendment: Abolished slavery
  • 14th Amendment: Citizenship and equal protection under the law
  • 15th Amendment: Voting rights for African American men
• Reconstruction Acts
  • Divided the South into five military districts
  • Required Southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment

Gilded Age (1870s-1900)

• Economic Growth
  • Rapid industrialization and urbanization
  • Rise of monopolies and big businesses
  • Key figures: John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie
• Labor Movements
  • Formation of labor unions (AFL, Knights of Labor)
  • Strikes and labor conflicts (Homestead Strike, Pullman Strike)

Westward Expansion

• Homestead Act (1862)
  • Encouraged settlement of the West
  • Provided land to settlers for a small fee
• Native American Relations
  • Conflicts and forced relocation (e.g., Trail of Tears)
  • Assimilation policies (Dawes Act)

Populism and Agrarian Discontent

• Populist Party
  • Emerged from farmers' alliances
  • Advocated for bimetallism, direct election of senators
• Economic Issues
  • Farmers' struggles with debt and railroads

Key Supreme Court Cases

• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
  • Established "separate but equal" doctrine
  • Legalized racial segregation

Foreign Policy

• Imperialism
  • Expansion of American influence overseas
  • Spanish-American War (1898)
• Diplomatic Policies
  • Monroe Doctrine and its applications

Social and Cultural Changes

• Women's Rights Movement
  • Continued push for suffrage
  • Key figures: Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton
• Immigration
  • Increase in immigration from Europe and Asia
  • Nativism and immigration restrictions (Chinese Exclusion Act)