APUSH Period 6: 1865 - 1898

Expansion and Government Involvement

• Post-Civil War Economic Opportunities

  • Mining, farming, cattle industry in the West
  • Government policies like the Homestead Act (160 acres of land) and Pacific Railroad Act
  • Role of government in facilitating western movement, including removal of Native Americans

• Conservation vs. Corporate Interest

  • Rise of conservationist movement; battle over natural resources
  • Department of the Interior (est. 1849) for land management
  • U.S. Fish Commission (est. 1871) created to preserve fisheries
  • John Muir and establishment of the Sierra Club (1892)

Native American Policies

• Conflict and Assimilation
  • Violent conflicts: Sand Creek Massacre, Battle of Little Big Horn, Battle of Wounded Knee
  • Assimilation policies: Dawes Severalty Act (1887), Native American schools

Industrialization and Labor Movement

• Technological and Business Expansion

  • Large-scale production, new inventions, and improved communication
  • Industry leaders like Carnegie (steel) and Rockefeller (oil) using horizontal and vertical integration

• Labor Unions and Strikes

  • Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor (AFL)
  • Key strikes: Homestead Strike (1892), Pullman Strike (1894)
  • Division and challenges within labor movements

Agricultural Changes

• Impact on Farmers
  • Mechanization and railroad dependency
  • Falling crop prices and debt issues
  • Farmers' organizations: Grange Movement, Farmer's Alliance, and the Populist Party

Political and Economic Regulation

• Corruption and Reform
  • Gilded Age politics tied to big business
  • Government regulation emerges with Interstate Commerce Act and Sherman Antitrust Act

Migration and Urbanization

• Movement of Populations

  • Westward movement encouraged by Homestead Act and railroads
  • Urban migration and Great Migration of African-Americans
  • New immigration patterns from Southern and Eastern Europe

• Response to Immigration

  • Rise of nativism and Chinese Exclusion Act
  • Formation of ethnic communities in urban areas

Social Changes and Reform Movements

• Economic and Social Inequality

  • Contrast between wealthy and poor; rise of tenement housing
  • Child labor and efforts for cultural assimilation

• Reform Efforts

  • Gospel of Wealth, settlement house movement
  • Social Gospel and critiques of capitalism

• Women's and Civil Rights Movements

  • NAWSA and women's suffrage
  • Booker T. Washington's advocacy for vocational skills
  • Ida B. Wells' anti-lynching campaign

This summary provides an overview of key themes and events in Period 6 of the APUSH curriculum, emphasizing the role of government, industrialization, labor, and social reform movements.