Gilded Age

Vocabulary

Homestead Act

Encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land

Union Pacific Railroad

Irish immigrants were used by this company to build the transcontinental railroad

Central Pacific Railroad

Began in the west and hired Chinese immigrants

Promontory Point

Site in Utah of completion of the first transcontinental railroad

Ellis Island

New York Harbor immigration station for European immigrants

Angel Island

San Francisco Bay immigration station for Asian immigrants

Old Immigration

Occurred before 1890s had been primarily of people from northern and Western Europe

New Immigration

Immigration after 1890 mostly from southern and Eastern Europe

Melting Pot

The mixture of cultures, ideas, and peoples in the United States

Nativism

Prejudice against foreign-born people

Chinese Exclusion Act

Prohibited Chinese workers from entering the United States for 10 years

Gentlemen’s Agreement

Japan agrees to withhold passports to slow immigration to the U.S.

Tenements

Poorly built, overcrowded housing where many immigrants lived

Urbanization

The growth of cities during industrialization

Laissez Faire

Policy that government should interfere as little as possible in the nations economy

Limited Liability

The responsibility of a business’s owners for losses only up to the amount they invest

Monopoly

Complete control of a product or business by one person or group

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Law signed in 1890 by President Harrison that outlawed monopolies in America

Social Darwinism

The belief that only the fittest survive in human political and economic struggle

Knights of Labor

Labor Union that sought to organize all workers and focused on board social reforms

American Federation of Labor

Open to only independent craft or skilled workers

American Railway Union

Led by Eugene Debs, they started the Pullman strike, composed mostly of railroad workers

Haymarket Riot

1886 labor-related protest in Chicago which ended in deadly violence

Homestead Strike

1892 strike against Carnegie’s steelworks in Homestead, Pennsylvania

Pullman Strike

Strike that escalated, halting both railroad traffic and mail delivery

Industrial ladies garment workers union

Labor union for women that fought against child labor and for women’s rights