Ch 14: Westward Expansion, Industrialization & Urbanization: Help and Review
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- Be Ready on Test Day: Use the Westward Expansion, Industrialization & Urbanization chapter exam to be prepared.
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Students will review:
This chapter helps students review the concepts in a westward expansion, industrialization and urbanization unit of a standard high school U.S. history course. Topics covered include:
- The Homestead Act of 1862 and the frontier thesis
- History and impact of the transcontinental railroad
- The conquest and assimilation of Native Americans
- The Second Industrial Revolution's economic policies
- The development of American industry in the Gilded Age
- Andrew Carnegie and the Captains of Industry or Robber Barons
- Fredrick Taylor's managerial theories
- The Second Industrial Revolution's labor conditions
- Gilded Age politics and civil service reform
- Labor unions during the Second Industrial Revolution
- The Granger movement and the Populist party
- Immigration and the rise of nativism
- Urbanization and the rise of urban reform movements
- Middle class opportunities in the late 19th century

1. Westward Expansion: The Homestead Act of 1862 & the Frontier Thesis
Prior to the mid-1800s, America essentially stopped at the Mississippi river. However, miners subsequently began pouring into the west to search for gold and other metals. Then the Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged further western expansion and settlement by giving away 'free' land to non-native individuals. Learn more about these historical events, as well as the Frontier Thesis, which argued that the nation's frontier was the meeting point 'between savagery and civilization.'

2. Expanding the Transcontinental Railroad: History and Impact
On May 10, 1869, the final railway spike was driven into the ground at Promontory Summit, Utah to connect two railroads and create the first American transcontinental railroad. The completion of the railway would change American life for better and worse. Learn about the history of the transcontinental railroad, the rationale behind crossing the continent by rail, and the effects of the transcontinental railroad in America during the late 19th century.

3. Native Americans: Conflict, Conquest and Assimilation During the Gilded Age
In the late 19th century, settlers migrated further to the west and came into conflict with Native American tribes, which prompted the U.S. government to displace indigenous people onto reservations. Learn more about the conquest of Native lands by the U.S. government, the Indian Wars, the massacre at Wounded Knee, the Dawes Act, and the government's attempts at assimilating native youths by kidnapping over 35% of Indian children and adopting them out to white families.

4. Frederick Taylor & Management: Maximizing Productivity & Efficiency
Frederick Taylor revolutionized management practices to maximize productivity and efficiency. Explore his observations, the scientific management approach, and learn about Taylor's four principles of scientific management.

5. The Omaha Platform of 1892: Definition & Goals
The Omaha Platform of 1892 contained the mission, goals, and plans of the Populist Party. Explore the platform's eventual impact on American politics, as well as the roots of the party in the Farmer's Alliance and the 1892 Omaha Convention.

6. Florence Kelley & Jane Addams on Child Labor
In this lesson, we'll discuss Americans Jane Addams and Florence Kelley, who were advocates for many social justice causes, including Child Labor reform.

7. Populist Movement: Definition & Facts
American politics changed a lot between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the heart of this change was the Populist movement. We're going to explore the history of this movement, see where it came from, and how it impacted American politics.

8. Pony Express: History, Route & Facts
The Pony Express is one of the fabled institutions of the Old West, but how much do you really know about it? In this lesson, we'll explore the history and significance of the Pony Express.
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Other Chapters
Other chapters within the High School US History: Help and Review course
- First Contacts: Help and Review
- American History Before the Revolution
- Settling North America: Help and Review
- The Road to Revolution: Help and Review
- The American Revolution: Help and Review
- The Making of a New Nation: Help and Review
- The Virginia Dynasty: Help and Review
- Jacksonian Democracy: Help and Review
- Life in Antebellum America: Help and Review
- Manifest Destiny: Help and Review
- Sectional Crisis: Help and Review
- American Civil War: Help and Review
- Reconstruction: Help and Review
- The Progressive Era: Help and Review
- American Imperialism: Help and Review
- The Roaring 20s: Help and Review
- The Great Depression: Help and Review
- The US in World War ll: Help and Review
- Post-War World: Help and Review
- The Cold War in America: Help and Review
- Protests, Activism and Civil Disobedience: Help and Review
- The 1970s: Help and Review
- The Rise of Political Conservatism: Help and Review
- Contemporary America: Help and Review
- History Resources
- The Second American Industrial Revolution
- The Progressive Era in America
- The Great Depression in America
- Life in the Early American Colonies
- The Constitution of the United States
- The Civil War & the Indian Wars
- History Vocabulary & Concepts
- Historical Research
- Post-War America