APUSH Gilded Age, Populism, and Progressive Era Key Terms

Second Industrial Revolution

The Second Industrial Revolution was driven by abundant natural resources, a huge railroad network, new energy sources (electricity and oil), major technological innovations (especially steel), expanding corporate investment and finance, a large immigrant labor force, and growing national markets for mass-produced goods.

Trusts

Trusts were business arrangements in which stockholders turned control of multiple companies over to trustees, allowing one group to run an entire industry as a monopoly.

Carnegie & Vertical Integration

Andrew Carnegie built a steel empire through vertical integration by controlling raw materials, transportation, and manufacturing so he could cut costs and outcompete rivals.

Rockefeller & Horizontal Expansion

John D. Rockefeller used horizontal expansion by buying out or crushing competing oil refiners until he controlled most of the industry.

The Theory of the Leisure Class (Veblen)

Thorstein Veblen argued that wealthy Americans proved their social status through conspicuous consumption, meaning they purchased luxury goods mainly to display wealth.

How the Other Half Lives (Riis)

Jacob Riis exposed the poverty and dangerous conditions of urban tenements, helping inspire Progressive-era housing and sanitation reforms.

The Gilded Age

The Gilded Age was a period of rapid industrial growth and extreme wealth that was also marked by political corruption, labor conflict, and widening inequality.

Social Darwinism

Social Darwinism claimed that economic success proved 'fitness,' so the rich deserved their wealth and government efforts to help the poor were misguided.

Liberty of Contract

Liberty of contract was the idea that the Constitution protected the right of employers and workers to make labor agreements without government interference, which courts used to block regulation.

Lochner v. New York

In Lochner v. New York (1905), the Supreme Court struck down a law limiting bakers' work hours, ruling it violated liberty of contract under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Great Railroad Strike

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began after wage cuts and spread nationally, and federal troops helped crush it, showing that government often sided with big business.

Knights of Labor

The Knights of Labor was a major union that organized skilled and unskilled workers and demanded reforms like the eight-hour day, but it declined after setbacks and public fear of labor unrest.

Social Gospel

The Social Gospel movement taught that Christians should address social problems like poverty and inequality through reform and community action.

The Haymarket Affair

The Haymarket Affair in 1886 was a labor rally in Chicago that turned deadly after a bomb exploded, leading to a backlash that weakened unions and increased fear of radicals.

Battle of Little Bighorn

The Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 was a major Native victory over U.S. forces led by Custer, but it was followed by intensified U.S. military campaigns against Plains tribes.

Dawes Act

The Dawes Act of 1887 broke up tribal lands into individual allotments to promote assimilation, and it caused massive loss of Native land to white settlers and railroads.

Elk v. Wilkins

Elk v. Wilkins (1884) ruled that Native Americans were not automatically U.S. citizens simply by leaving their tribe, reinforcing federal control over Native citizenship.

Ghost Dance / Wounded Knee

The Ghost Dance was a Native spiritual movement that U.S. officials feared, and the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 marked the violent end of major Native resistance on the Plains.

Tweed Ring / Credit Mobilier Scandal

The Tweed Ring represented urban political corruption and theft through Tammany Hall, while Credit Mobilier revealed bribery and fraud tied to railroad construction and members of Congress.

Gold Standard

The gold standard backed currency only with gold, which limited the money supply and generally helped bankers and creditors while hurting farmers and debtors who wanted inflation.

Civil Service Act of 1883

The Civil Service Act created merit-based federal hiring through exams, weakening the spoils system and political patronage.

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

The ICC was the first federal regulatory agency, created to oversee railroad practices and reduce unfair rates, even though it was initially weak.

Sherman Antitrust Act

The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was the first federal law meant to curb monopolies and restraints of trade, though early enforcement was limited and inconsistent.

Homestead Strike

The Homestead Strike of 1892 was a violent conflict at Carnegie's steel plant in which management used armed guards to break the union, showing the growing power of corporations over labor.

Farmers' Alliance

The Farmers' Alliance was a cooperative movement of farmers that sought fair railroad rates, lower interest costs, and political reforms to challenge the power of banks and railroads.

People's Party (Populists)

The Populist Party was a political movement of farmers and workers that demanded government action to curb corporate power and expand democracy.

Populist (Omaha) Platform of 1892

The Omaha Platform called for reforms such as free silver, a progressive income tax, government ownership of railroads, and direct election of senators to help ordinary Americans.

Coxey's Army

Coxey's Army was a protest march of unemployed workers during the Panic of 1893 demanding federal public works jobs, showing rising pressure for government responsibility in economic crises.

In re Debs

In re Debs (1895) upheld the federal government's use of an injunction and troops to stop the Pullman Strike, strengthening federal power against labor unions.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

The AFL organized skilled workers into trade unions and focused on practical goals like higher wages and shorter hours rather than broad social change.

Cross of Gold Speech

William Jennings Bryan's 1896 'Cross of Gold' speech attacked the gold standard and demanded free silver, presenting the issue as a moral fight for farmers and workers.

Election of 1896

The election of 1896, in which McKinley defeated Bryan, signaled a shift toward pro-business Republican dominance and weakened the Populist movement.

The New South (conditions)

The 'New South' was the post-Civil War idea that the South would modernize through industry, but in reality it remained economically poor, heavily agricultural, and controlled by a white elite.

Kansas Exodus

The Kansas Exodus was the movement of thousands of Black Southerners to Kansas in the late 1870s to escape violence, poverty, and discrimination after Reconstruction.

Disenfranchisement

Disenfranchisement was the systematic removal of Black voting rights through measures like poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and intimidation.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine, providing constitutional cover for Jim Crow laws.

Lynching

Lynching was extrajudicial racial violence used to terrorize Black communities and enforce white supremacy, especially in the South.

New Immigrants

New immigrants were people arriving mainly from southern and eastern Europe in the late 1800s, and they faced strong nativist hostility and pressure to assimilate.

Immigration Restriction League

The Immigration Restriction League was a nativist organization that pushed for limits on immigration, especially through literacy tests designed to reduce arrivals from southern and eastern Europe.

Chinese Exclusion Act

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned most Chinese immigration and was the first major federal law to restrict immigration based on nationality.

United States v. Wong Kim Ark

United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) ruled that anyone born in the United States is a citizen under the Fourteenth Amendment, including children of Chinese immigrants.

Yellow Press

Yellow journalism used sensational headlines and emotional stories to sell newspapers, and it helped stir public support for war with Spain.

Spanish-American War of 1898

The explosion of the U.S.S. Maine and intense public pressure helped push the U.S. into war, while the Teller Amendment promised the U.S. would not annex Cuba.

Platt Amendment

The Platt Amendment limited Cuban independence by allowing U.S. intervention and giving the U.S. a naval base at Guantánamo Bay.

Open Door Policy

The Open Door Policy argued that all nations should have equal trading access in China, reflecting U.S. interest in overseas markets without formal colonization.

Philippine War

The Philippine-American War was a violent conflict in which the United States fought Filipino independence forces after taking the Philippines from Spain.

Insular Cases

The Insular Cases ruled that full constitutional rights did not automatically apply to people in U.S. territories, creating a legal basis for holding an overseas empire.

Anti-Imperialist League

The Anti-Imperialist League opposed U.S. annexation of territories like the Philippines, arguing that empire contradicted American ideals of self-government.

Triangle Shirtwaist Company

The 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire killed many workers and led to major workplace safety reforms, including fire codes and factory inspections.

Progressivism

Progressivism was a reform movement that sought to use government power to reduce corruption, regulate big business, and improve living and working conditions.

Muckraking

Muckrakers were journalists who exposed corruption and injustice in business and politics to build support for reform.

The Jungle (Sinclair)

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle exposed dangerous and unsanitary meatpacking conditions, pushing the federal government toward stronger food regulation.

Ellis Island & Angel Island

Ellis Island served mainly European immigrants, while Angel Island processed many Asian immigrants and often subjected them to harsher questioning and detention.

Consumer Freedom

Consumer freedom was the Progressive belief that people needed protection from dangerous products and deceptive practices in order to have real choice in the marketplace.

Fordism

Fordism combined assembly-line production with higher wages to produce cheap goods for mass markets and encourage mass consumption.

A Living Wage (Ryan)

John Ryan argued that workers had a moral right to wages high enough to support a decent life and a stable family.

Scientific Management (Taylorism)

Taylorism used scientific studies of time and motion to increase efficiency, often making work more repetitive and reducing worker control.

Socialist Party

The Socialist Party sought to reduce inequality by promoting public control or strong regulation of major industries and by expanding protections for workers.

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

The IWW was a militant union that organized many unskilled workers and promoted direct action like strikes to challenge capitalism.

New Feminism

New Feminism emphasized women's independence through education, employment, and political rights, challenging older expectations about women's roles.

Birth-Control Movement

The birth-control movement fought for legal access to contraception as part of women's health and personal freedom.

Society of American Indians

The Society of American Indians was a Native-led reform group that advocated for citizenship rights and fair treatment within American law and society.

Effective Freedom

Effective freedom meant that liberty required real economic and social opportunities, not just the absence of government interference.

Initiative / Referendum / Recall

These Progressive reforms increased democracy by letting voters propose laws, vote directly on laws, and remove corrupt officials from office.

17th Amendment

The 17th Amendment established the direct election of U.S. senators, reducing corruption and increasing popular control of government.

Jane Addams / Hull House

Jane Addams founded Hull House to provide services for immigrants and the poor, and it became a center for Progressive urban reform.

Muller v. Oregon

Muller v. Oregon (1908) upheld limits on women's work hours using social science evidence, supporting reform while reinforcing separate gender roles.

Pure Food & Drug Act

The Pure Food and Drug Act required truthful labeling and banned harmful substances, marking a major federal step toward consumer protection.

John Muir / Conservationism

John Muir championed preserving wilderness and helped expand national parks, promoting protection of nature for its own sake.

Sixteenth Amendment

The Sixteenth Amendment authorized a federal income tax, giving the government a stronger revenue base for reform programs.

Election of 1912

The Election of 1912 split Republicans between Taft and Roosevelt, allowing Wilson to win and bringing Progressive reform ideas to the national stage.

New Freedom

Wilson's New Freedom aimed to restore competition by breaking up monopolies and reforming tariffs and banking rather than building a large welfare state.

New Nationalism

Roosevelt's New Nationalism accepted large corporations but demanded strong federal regulation and social welfare policies to protect the public.

Federal Trade Commission

The FTC was created to investigate and stop unfair business practices, strengthening federal regulation of corporations.