APUSH Time Period 6

Gilded Age

term coined by Mark Twain to describe the era of 1865-1898 of industrialization that seemed great, but really created a large gap between the upper and lower classes

Railroads

first big business on a national level in the U.S—created time zones, lowered production costs, and created mass production/consumption

Cornelius Vanderbilt

wealthy industrialist—used money earned from steam/shipping to invest in railroads

Union Pacific

Irish workers (went the furthest)

Central Pacific

Chinese workers

Transcontinental Railroad

Union and Central Pacific companies met in the middle- first of its kind

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

first attempt by gov to regulate business in interest of society—established by Interstate Commerce Act of 1887

Laissez Faire

ideology of Gilded Age that gov does not intervene in market and individuals can compete freely in marketplace

Social Darwinism

adapted ideas of Darwin’s writings to create idea of survival of the fittest (done by Herbert Spencer)

Connection between Laissez Faire and Social Darwinism

Laissez faire, by leaving the government out of the marketplace, allows Social Darwinism to occur and the “fittest”/wealthy industrialists to rise to the top through monopolies and other unchecked strategies

Thomas Edison

invented light bulb (creates night shift), phonograph, and motion picture camera

Alexander Graham Bell

invents telephone which expedites business

Wright Brothers

Invented airplane

Monopoly

exclusive control over a good or service by taking over competition

*problem is no competition = no innovation/fair prices

Andrew Carnegie

used vertical integration to make steel company a monopoly

Vertical integration

way of creating a monopoly by buying out all suppliers

Horizontal integration

way of creating a monopoly by buying out all competition

John Rockefeller

used horizontal integration to make Standard Oil Company a monopoly

Trust

a different company name owned by a larger company— a monopoly forms this to hide that it is a monopoly

JP Morgan

banker who eliminates “wasteful competition” by putting his people on other companies’ boards to take them over

Gospel of Wealth

inequality = inevitable and good

Anglo Saxon race = superior

duty to share wealth with poor bc poor is not qualified to help themselves

*wealthy industrialists mostly only donate to businesses that benefit middle/upper classes

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

outlaws monopolies without distinguishing between good and bad monopolies—not effective, too many loopholes to allow businesses to keep benefitting politicians

Labor Unions

groups of workers advocating for better working conditions, pay, and hours

Knights of Labor

inclusive and large labor union (both skilled and unskilled labor)

(AFL) American Federation of Labor

more dominate and exclusive union for skilled workers

Haymarket Riot

peaceful rally gone wrong that gives labor unions a bad rep for violence, anarchy, socialism, and communism (Red Scare)

Wobblies

Labor Union that is openly socialist run by Eugene Debs— increases stigma of radicalism toward labor unions

Urbanization

growth of cities

Megalopolis

uninterrupted/unbroken area of urban development

Mass transit

subways, buses, etc and cities attracting large amounts of people

Class distinctions

upper-class live in downtown (inner core) and working class in outer core

Skyscraper

new technology like steel, central heating and lights allowing this in cities (ex: flatiron in NYC)

Ellis Island

NYC Harbor-most European immigrants entered US here—poor conditions

Angel Island

San Francisco Harbor—most Asian immigrants entered here—Chinese first, then Japanese

Melting Pot

idea of all immigrants in the US blending together to form a new American culture/identity--not always accurate

“New Immigrants”

name for Southern and Eastern European immigrants that have different religions and languages

Nativism

as immigrants increase, preference for Native born Americans arises

WASPS

white Anglo Saxon Protestants

Know Nothing Party

nativist and Anti-Catholic political party

Chinese Exclusion Act

prohibited Chinese immigration for 10 years— example of Nativism and first time gov. regulating immigration for first time (Anti Laissez Faire)

Problems with Urbanization

-housing = not affordable, too much demand

-transportation

-water

-sanitation

-crime

-fire

Tenements

multifamily urban dwelling becomes overcrowded and unsanitary

Jacob Riis

wrote “How the Other Half Lived” to raise awareness of problems of housing for immigrants

Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTV)

alcohol is convenient scapegoat for all problems associated with urbanization—unions lead to 18th Amendment in 1919 (prohibition)

Settlement Houses

community centers in poor areas-provide assistance to immigrants

Social Gospel Movement

led by Jane Addams who preaches salvation through service to the poor

Hull House

Jane Addams’ settlement house in Chicago—shows that women can do things outside of home

Political machines

organized group that controlled political parties in the city-would “graft” and exchange votes for immigrants to get a job/housing

Taminy Hall

Democrat Party political machine run by Boss Tweed

Graft

illegal use of political influence for personal gain- ex: an exchange of votes for immigrants to get a job/housing

Henry Grady

editor of ATL Constitution who believed South was done apologizing for Civil War/ wanted to allow segregation

New South

changing due to industrialization through improving railway systems (which connects rural and urban goods), urbanization, factories and Coca Cola in 1889

Sharecropping

exchanging with workers labor for a share of the crops (controlling economic opportunities for African Americans)

Jim Crow Laws

segregation of whites and African Americans

Poll Taxes

African Americans are taxed to be able to vote

Literacy test

must take assessment to vote

Grandfather clause

exempting people (whites) from the above policies

Plessy vs Ferguson (1896)

ruling upheld constitutionality of Jim Crow segregation— “separate but equal”

Booker T Washington

activist who believed in gradual change, African Americans picking up a trade, prove/learn assets that garner respect

WEB Du Bois

activist who wanted immediate change, African Americans to gain positions of power through education, and to protect themselves through politics/laws

Tuskegee Institute

(made by Booker T) focuses on vocational skills based on needs of community

NAACP

(made by Du Bois) focuses on vocational skills based on needs of community

Homestead Act

passed during Civil War—incentivizes people to move Westward by giving them land which causes conflict with Native Americans (encourages creation of Dawes Act)

Dawes Act

Native Americans will be given citizenship and rights if they separate and become “civilized”—gov wants them to give land to whites settling in West

Populist Party

aimed toward masses/unrepresented lower class (farmers and working class)—ends up partnering with Democrats in Election of 1896

Populism

political approach that appeals to “common man” who are disregarded by elite *immigrants and farmers facing issues due to industrialization

Farmer’s Alliance

labor union for farmers that evolves into Populist/People’s party

McKinley Tariff

motivates farmers to become politically active—catalyst for Farmer’s Alliance and Populist Party

Election of 1896

last of century (meaning people want change)—heavily influenced by Populist Party who partner with Democrats

William Jennings Bryan

great orator and Populist who preaches Bimetallism to the nation

Bimetallism Issue

Republicans want gold standard currency (supported by elite) while Democrats want silver currency then bimetallism (backed by Populists)

Bimetallism definition

Democrats decide on a mix of gold and silver for currency to try and compromise while Republicans stay in favor of gold

Bryan’s Cross of Gold Speech

promoting restructuring the economy on Bimetallism to the country using railroads-(irony)

William McKinley

Republican candidate who is a member of “billion dollar congress”, wants high tariffs, and favors the gold standard

Gold Standard

the use of gold currency across the nation favored by Republicans and wealthy industrialists

Mark Hanna

Robber Baron of Iron Industry who paid for William McKinley’s campaign—nicknamed President Maker—shows how wealthy industrialists control politics

Four Party System

Republican Dominance period as a result of McKinley’s win—Election of 1896 being last time there was a serious effort to win White House with mostly agrarian votes

Wounded Knee

Military kill Lakota Sue Natives after disagreements regarding their ghost dance (told them to assimilate culturally or go to reservation)—escalated to a massacre