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Many of the mid-nineteenth century advances in public health and science came about thanks to the efforts of French scientist [BLANK-1]. His most notable contribution (alongside the works of Robert Koch) was the development and promotion of the Germ Theory of Medicine. The new understanding that many illnesses are the result of microorganisms led to a sizable rise in the average lifespan across the globe (but particularly in Europe and the United States, where the theory took hold quickly). This scientist also invented the vaccines for rabies and anthrax. Further, he developed an eponymous process of treating some food and beverage items (such as milk, cheese, and beer) by heating them up to kill bacteria within them, making them safer to eat.

[BLANK-1] was a U.S. senator who celebrated America’s victory in the Spanish-American War and welcomed the opportunity for imperialism. He claimed that Americans were an “elect people of God” and had a “mission to perform” and “duty to discharge” around the world. He favored American expansion in the Pacific and viewed anti-imperialism as being anti-American.

More than 100,000 profit seekers and migrants rushed to the Rocky Mountains in the mid-nineteenth century. [BLANK-1] generated an estimated $25.5 million in resources; however, outside parties invested more than double that amount in the region in their quest for a quick profit.

Conservationist Theodore Roosevelt was an environmentalist who sought to preserve nature for the enjoyment and recreation of future generations. He greatly expanded [BLANK-1] and dedicated more land for conservation than any president in history.

In the post-Reconstruction south, southern states attempted novel ways of disenfranchising African Americans. One such effort at disenfranchisement was [BLANK-1]. This policy also prevented a large number of poor whites from voting, but proved an effective measure for limiting the political participation of African Americans. By 1940, only 3% of adult black southerners were registered to vote.

[BLANK-1] was a large group of protestors who marched on Washington D.C. in 1894 to demand that the government create new jobs for the large group of unemployed. In what became a continual pattern in the 1890s, federal troops were used to disperse the protestors (as they would later be used to disperse striking workers while protecting capitalist owners). The Populist Party used the outrage engendered by the treatment of these protestors to attract more workers and common people to their cause.

[BLANK-1] was a congressman and key figure of Radical Republicanism during Reconstruction. He was an idealist who believed in racial equality and pushed forward many advancements for African Americans during this period. There were limits to his efforts, however, as his land redistribution bill failed to come to a vote in congress.

At a massacre known as [BLANK-1], around 300 Native Americans were killed in their encampment by U.S. troops on December 29, 1890. The Native Americans were part of a non-violent, spiritual movement known as the Ghost Dancers. This massacre essentially signaled the end of large-scale Native American resistance in the United States.

Like European imperial powers before them, the United States justified its imperial expansion by claiming a commitment to [BLANK-1]. Proponents of empire argued that it was America’s duty to spread its culture (including language, religion, education, railways, hygiene, legal principles, etc.) to less advanced areas.

[BLANK-1] was founded in 1896 and pushed for an expansion of suffrage.