Development of the Middle Class - AP U.S. History
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What term describes paid employees who performed clerical and managerial work, often seen as middle class?
What term describes paid employees who performed clerical and managerial work, often seen as middle class?
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White-collar workers. Non-manual laborers in offices, contrasted with blue-collar factory workers.
White-collar workers. Non-manual laborers in offices, contrasted with blue-collar factory workers.
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What reform movement sought to curb alcohol use and was strongly supported by many middle-class Protestants?
What reform movement sought to curb alcohol use and was strongly supported by many middle-class Protestants?
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The temperance movement. Linked sobriety to moral respectability and social order.
The temperance movement. Linked sobriety to moral respectability and social order.
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What phrase describes the middle-class ideal that women should be pious, pure, submissive, and domestic?
What phrase describes the middle-class ideal that women should be pious, pure, submissive, and domestic?
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The Cult of Domesticity. Also called True Womanhood, defined ideal feminine virtues.
The Cult of Domesticity. Also called True Womanhood, defined ideal feminine virtues.
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What ideology held that men should work in public life while women managed the home, shaping middle-class life?
What ideology held that men should work in public life while women managed the home, shaping middle-class life?
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Separate spheres. Victorian ideal dividing gender roles between public and private realms.
Separate spheres. Victorian ideal dividing gender roles between public and private realms.
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Which sector’s growth after the Civil War most directly increased clerical and sales jobs for the middle class?
Which sector’s growth after the Civil War most directly increased clerical and sales jobs for the middle class?
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The service sector. Banking, insurance, and retail expanded rapidly post-1865.
The service sector. Banking, insurance, and retail expanded rapidly post-1865.
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What business practice created large administrative workforces that expanded the middle class in the late 1800s?
What business practice created large administrative workforces that expanded the middle class in the late 1800s?
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The rise of corporations. Required managers, accountants, and clerks to run complex operations.
The rise of corporations. Required managers, accountants, and clerks to run complex operations.
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What communication innovation in the 1840s accelerated business coordination and middle-class office work?
What communication innovation in the 1840s accelerated business coordination and middle-class office work?
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The telegraph. Invented by Morse, allowed instant long-distance business communication.
The telegraph. Invented by Morse, allowed instant long-distance business communication.
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Which transportation innovation most directly expanded national markets and boosted middle-class commerce in the 1800s?
Which transportation innovation most directly expanded national markets and boosted middle-class commerce in the 1800s?
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Railroads. Connected distant markets and enabled mass distribution of goods.
Railroads. Connected distant markets and enabled mass distribution of goods.
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What term describes the social group between wealthy elites and manual laborers that expanded in the 1800s?
What term describes the social group between wealthy elites and manual laborers that expanded in the 1800s?
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The middle class. Emerged between aristocracy and working class during industrialization.
The middle class. Emerged between aristocracy and working class during industrialization.
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What concept emphasized hard work, self-discipline, and thrift as signs of respectability in the middle class?
What concept emphasized hard work, self-discipline, and thrift as signs of respectability in the middle class?
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The Protestant work ethic. Calvinist belief linking material success to moral virtue.
The Protestant work ethic. Calvinist belief linking material success to moral virtue.
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What term describes the middle-class practice of buying goods to display respectability and social status?
What term describes the middle-class practice of buying goods to display respectability and social status?
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Conspicuous consumption. Veblen's term for purchasing to signal wealth and status.
Conspicuous consumption. Veblen's term for purchasing to signal wealth and status.
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Which retail innovation offered fixed prices and a wide selection, encouraging middle-class consumer culture?
Which retail innovation offered fixed prices and a wide selection, encouraging middle-class consumer culture?
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Department stores. Macy's and others made shopping respectable for middle-class women.
Department stores. Macy's and others made shopping respectable for middle-class women.
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What late-1800s urban housing pattern reflects middle-class separation from industrial pollution and immigrants?
What late-1800s urban housing pattern reflects middle-class separation from industrial pollution and immigrants?
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Suburbanization. Streetcars enabled escape from crowded, dirty city centers.
Suburbanization. Streetcars enabled escape from crowded, dirty city centers.
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What term describes the expansion of public schools and colleges that helped credential a growing middle class?
What term describes the expansion of public schools and colleges that helped credential a growing middle class?
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Public education expansion. Common schools and land-grant colleges democratized education.
Public education expansion. Common schools and land-grant colleges democratized education.
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Which post-1865 institution trained many middle-class professionals through standardized curricula and degrees?
Which post-1865 institution trained many middle-class professionals through standardized curricula and degrees?
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Universities and professional schools. Medical, law, and business schools professionalized careers.
Universities and professional schools. Medical, law, and business schools professionalized careers.
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Which group most directly filled many new clerical jobs as typewriters and offices expanded in the late 1800s?
Which group most directly filled many new clerical jobs as typewriters and offices expanded in the late 1800s?
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Women clerical workers. Typing seen as respectable work for unmarried middle-class women.
Women clerical workers. Typing seen as respectable work for unmarried middle-class women.
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Identify the main political goal of many middle-class Progressives regarding government and business in $1890$–$1920$.
Identify the main political goal of many middle-class Progressives regarding government and business in $1890$–$1920$.
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Regulation to curb corporate abuses. Sought antitrust laws and consumer protections against monopolies.
Regulation to curb corporate abuses. Sought antitrust laws and consumer protections against monopolies.
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Which organization is most associated with skilled labor and the “labor aristocracy” linked to middle-class respectability?
Which organization is most associated with skilled labor and the “labor aristocracy” linked to middle-class respectability?
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American Federation of Labor (AFL). Gompers' union focused on skilled trades, not unskilled workers.
American Federation of Labor (AFL). Gompers' union focused on skilled trades, not unskilled workers.
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What consumer practice became a major marker of middle-class identity in the late 1800s?
What consumer practice became a major marker of middle-class identity in the late 1800s?
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Mass consumption (department stores, branded goods). Purchasing power distinguished middle class from subsistence workers.
Mass consumption (department stores, branded goods). Purchasing power distinguished middle class from subsistence workers.
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What term describes the social group of salaried professionals and small proprietors that expanded in the 1800s?
What term describes the social group of salaried professionals and small proprietors that expanded in the 1800s?
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The middle class. Emerged between working class and wealthy elites as industrialization created new occupations.
The middle class. Emerged between working class and wealthy elites as industrialization created new occupations.
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What market change in the early 1800s most directly expanded middle-class jobs in the United States?
What market change in the early 1800s most directly expanded middle-class jobs in the United States?
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The Market Revolution (growth of a national market economy). Created demand for clerks, managers, and professionals in expanding businesses.
The Market Revolution (growth of a national market economy). Created demand for clerks, managers, and professionals in expanding businesses.
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What transportation innovation most accelerated national commerce and middle-class growth in the 1820s–1840s?
What transportation innovation most accelerated national commerce and middle-class growth in the 1820s–1840s?
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Canals and railroads. Connected regional markets, creating jobs in commerce and administration.
Canals and railroads. Connected regional markets, creating jobs in commerce and administration.
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What workplace shift reduced artisan independence and expanded wage labor for clerks and managers?
What workplace shift reduced artisan independence and expanded wage labor for clerks and managers?
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The rise of factories and the wage-labor system. Factory system needed supervisors and office workers, not just manual laborers.
The rise of factories and the wage-labor system. Factory system needed supervisors and office workers, not just manual laborers.
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What white-collar occupation became a hallmark of the growing middle class in the 1800s?
What white-collar occupation became a hallmark of the growing middle class in the 1800s?
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Clerical work (clerks, bookkeepers, office staff). Non-manual labor requiring literacy and numeracy skills.
Clerical work (clerks, bookkeepers, office staff). Non-manual labor requiring literacy and numeracy skills.
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What ideology defined the ideal middle-class home as a moral refuge separate from the marketplace?
What ideology defined the ideal middle-class home as a moral refuge separate from the marketplace?
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The cult of domesticity. Promoted women's role as homemakers maintaining family virtue.
The cult of domesticity. Promoted women's role as homemakers maintaining family virtue.
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What phrase describes the gendered split between men in paid work and women in the home?
What phrase describes the gendered split between men in paid work and women in the home?
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Separate spheres. Men worked in public business; women managed private households.
Separate spheres. Men worked in public business; women managed private households.
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What term describes the belief that self-control, hard work, and thrift lead to success in a market society?
What term describes the belief that self-control, hard work, and thrift lead to success in a market society?
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The Protestant work ethic. Linked material success to moral virtue and divine favor.
The Protestant work ethic. Linked material success to moral virtue and divine favor.
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What reform movement most directly promoted middle-class values of temperance and self-discipline?
What reform movement most directly promoted middle-class values of temperance and self-discipline?
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The temperance movement. Opposed alcohol as threat to productivity and family stability.
The temperance movement. Opposed alcohol as threat to productivity and family stability.
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What reform movement expanded public schooling and reinforced middle-class ideals of order and citizenship?
What reform movement expanded public schooling and reinforced middle-class ideals of order and citizenship?
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The common school movement. Tax-funded schools taught discipline and civic values to all children.
The common school movement. Tax-funded schools taught discipline and civic values to all children.
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Which educator is most associated with the common school movement and middle-class educational reform?
Which educator is most associated with the common school movement and middle-class educational reform?
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Horace Mann. Massachusetts reformer who standardized public education nationwide.
Horace Mann. Massachusetts reformer who standardized public education nationwide.
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