Gilded Age

Urban Population

Provided cheap labor and created new markets for goods

Telegraph

Communication system using electrical signals

Christopher Sholes

Inventor of the typewriter

Land Grants

government gave land to railroad companies to encourage expansion

Major Industries today

textiles

technology

finance

Modern Entrepreneurs

Elon Musk (tech & space)

Mark Zuckerberg (social media)

Jeff Bezos (e-commerce)

Andrew Carnegie

steel tycoon who used vertical integration and the Bessemer Process to dominate the steel industry

J.P. Morgan

Powerful financer and banker who combined businesses and took control of railroads after economic panics

John D. Rockefeller

Founder of the Standard Oil who used horizontal integration to control about 2/3 of the oil industry

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Railroad tycoon who expanded rail networks and lowered shipping costs

Industrial Boom

Rapid growth of industry caused by natural resources, government support, new technology, and cheaper labor

Natural Resources

Coal, iron, oil, timber, and land that fueled industrial growth

Government support

Lands, grants, loans, tariffs, and limited regulation that helped businesses grow

Bypassed the South

Industrial growth focused mainly on the North and Midwest after the Civil War

Electricity

Powered machines, factories, and lighting, allowing businesses to operate longer hours

Thomas Edison

Inventor who developed the lightbulb and promoted widespread use of electricity

Lightbulb

Allowed factories and cities to operate at night, increasing productivity

Morse Code

system of dots and dashes used in telegraph communication

Telephone

Invented by Alexander Graham Bell to transmit voice over long distances

Telephone Operators

Mostly women, as they were considered polite and patient

Typewriter

Machine that standardizes written communication

Carbon Paper

Allowed multiple copies of documents to be made at once

Oil ("Black Gold")

valuable natural resource used for fuel and lighting

Edwin Drake

Used Steam-powered drilling to extract oil efficiently

Kerosene

Fuel used for lamps before widespread electricity

Gasoline

Fuel used for engines, later automobiles

Standard Oil Company

Rockefeller's company that controlled oil production, refining, and distribution

Predatory Pricing

Rockefeller lowered prices to drive competitors out of business

Bessemer Process - Steel Industry

Method of removing carbon from iron to make steel stronger, lighter, and cheaper

Steel

Durable material used for railroads, bridges, skyscrapers, and construction

Railroad Industry

Key industry that connected markets, cities, and resources

Transcontinental Railroad

Railroad connecting the East and West coasts of the U.S.

Central Pacific Railroad

Built eastward from California using mostly Chinese labor

Promontory Summit, Utah

Location where the railroads met on May 10, 1869

Harsh Working conditions

Immigrant workers faced dangerous labor, low pay, and poor treatment

Railroad Expansion

Trach mileage increased sixfold by 1900

Credit Mobilier Scandal

Railroad insiders gave stock to members of Congress to gain support and profit illegally

Stock

certificate representing ownership in a company

Stockholder

person who owns shares of a company

Corporation

business owned by stockholders that can raise money by selling stock

Trust

large business agreement where companies are managed by trustees to reduce competition

Monopoly

Exclusive control of an entire industry

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Law that made monopolies and trust illegal; weakly enforced at first

Ida Tarbell

Journalist who exposed Standard Oil's corrupt practices

Vertical Integration

Company controls suppliers and services it depends on

Horizontal Integration

Company buys competitors producing similar products

Merger

Two or more companies combine into one

Laissez-Faire

Economic belief that government should not regulate businesses

Social Darwinism

Belief that wealth reflects natural superiority and poverty reflects weakness

Philanthropy

Donating money to benefit society

Rockefeller Foundation

Donated over $500 million to medicine and education

Gospel of Wealth

Carnegie's belief that the rich should give back to society

Standard Time Zones

system dividing earth into 24 zones to standardize time

Professor Dowd

Proposed the time zone system

U.S. Time Zones

Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific

Poor Working Conditions

unsafe equipment, long hours, low pay, and no benefits

Child Labor

Children worked long hours in factories and mines

Sweatshops

Crowded factories with dangerous conditions

Workweek

6-7 days, often 12+ hours a day

No worker protections

no sick leave, unemployment insurance, or compensation

Company town

community owned and controlled by a company

Pullman, Illinois

famous company town built by George Pullman

George Pullman

Manufacturer of luxury railroad sleeping cars

Pullman Strike (1894)

strike caused by wage cuts without rend reductions

Eugene V. Debs

Leader of the American Railway Union and socialist

American Railway Union (ARU)

union for unskilled and semi-skilled workers

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

Radical labor union known as the "Wobblies"

Socialism

system where government controls business to ensure equality

Mother Jones (Mary Harris Jones)

labor activist who fought child labor abuses

Pauline Newman

Young labor leader in the garment worker' union

B&O Railroad Strike

Protest against wage cuts; required federal troops

Haymarket Affair

Violent labor protest that hurt public support for unions

Homestead Strike

Steel strike involving Pinkertons and National Guard

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

1911 factory fire killing 146 women; led to safety reforms

The Grangers

Farmers' organization demanding railroad regulation

Granger Laws

Laws setting maximum railroad rates

Munn v. Illinois

Supreme Court case allowing state regulation of railroads

Interstate Commerce Act

Federal regulation of railroad rates

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

Government agency overseeing railroads

Ellis Island

Immigration processing center for Europeans

Angel Island

Processing center for Asian Immigrants

Old Immigrants

Northern and Western Europeans before 1890

New Immigrants

Southern and Eastern Europeans, Asians, and Latin Americans

Push factors

poverty, war, discrimination, lack of opportunity

pull factors

jobs, freedom, democracy, transportation, resources

Urbanization

Movement of people from farms to cities

Tenements

Overcrowded apartment buildings

Settlement Houses

Community centers helping immigrants

Hull House

settlement house founded by Jane Addams

Social Gospel

Movement urging Christians to help the poor

Political Machine

organization controlling politics through favors and corruption

Political Boss

Leader who controlled jobs and votes

Graft

Illegal Political profit

Kickbacks

Payments given in exchange for favors

Tammany Hall

NYC political machine led by Boss Tweed

Boss Tweed

Corrupt leader convicted of fraud

Spoils system

patronage system rewarding political supporters

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Required merit-based government jobs

Rutherford B. Hayes

Ended Reconstruction, used troops during strikes

James A. Garfield

Assassinated, leading to reform