US History Unit 2 Gilded Age and Westward Expansion

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civil service

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The permanent professional branches of a government's administration, excluding military and judicial branches and elected politicians.

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depression

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A long-term economic state characterized by unemployment and low prices and low levels of trade and investment.

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entrepreneur

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A person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for business ventures

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free enterprise

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An economic system in which individuals and businesses regulate the economy with limited government involvement.

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gilded

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Term coined by Mark Twain to describe the tremendous increase in wealth caused by the industrial age and the ostentatious lifestyles it allowed the very rich during the late-1800s; the great industrial success of the U.S. and the fabulous lifestyles of the wealthy hid the many social problems of the time, including a high poverty rate, a high crime rate, and government corruption.

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laissez-faire

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Idea that government should play as small a role as possible in economic affairs.

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Social Gospel Movement

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A movement in the late 1800s/early 1900s which emphasized charity and social responsibility as a means of salvation.

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Transcontinental Railroad

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Completed in 1869 at Promontory, Utah, it linked the eastern railroad system with California's railroad system, revolutionizing transportation in the west.

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Nativist

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A person who favors those born in his country and is opposed to immigrants.

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Assimilation

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Adopting the traits of another culture; often happens over time when one immigrates into a new country.