Gilded age terms

Labor Unions

Organizations of workers who join together to fight for higher wages, shorter workdays, and safer working conditions

Dawes Act (1887)

A law that forced Native Americans to give up many of their traditions and live like white Americans by dividing tribal lands into individual farms.

Interstate Commerce Act / Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

A law passed in 1887 that created the ICC to regulate railroad companies and make shipping rates fairer.

Labor Strikes

Organized work stoppages by employees demanding better pay or working conditions. Examples include the Pullman Strike and the Haymarket Affair.

Populist Party

A political party that represented farmers and workers and supported railroad regulation, free silver, and workers' rights.

Andrew Carnegie

A steel industry leader who became one of America's richest businessmen and later donated much of his money to libraries, schools, and charities.

William Jennings Bryan

A Democratic politician and Populist supporter who advocated for reforms such as income tax, women's suffrage, and government support for farmers.

Chisholm Trail

A major cattle trail that moved Texas cattle north to Kansas railroad towns where they could be shipped east.

Laissez-Faire

The belief that the government should not interfere in business and that the economy works best when left alone.

Social Darwinism

The idea that successful businesses and wealthy people succeed because they are naturally more capable, similar to Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy where a company controls all stages of production, from raw materials to selling the final product.

Horizontal Integration

A business strategy where a company buys or merges with competing businesses to control an entire industry.

Monopoly

A situation where one company has complete control over an industry and faces little or no competition.

Corporations

Large businesses that are legally separate from their owners and can raise money by selling stock.

Trusts

Groups of companies controlled by a small group of people who work together to reduce competition and increase profits.

Bessemer Process

A new method of producing steel quickly and cheaply, helping fuel industrial growth during the Gilded Age.

Thomas Edison

An inventor known for improving the electric light bulb and developing many technologies that expanded the use of electricity.

Capitalism

An economic system in which businesses and industries are privately owned and operated for profit.

Henry Ford

An automobile manufacturer who used assembly lines to mass-produce cars, making them affordable for ordinary Americans.

Transcontinental Railroad

A railroad that connected the eastern and western United States, making travel and trade faster and easier.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the United States had the right and duty to expand across North America to the Pacific Ocean.

Chinese Exclusion Act

An 1882 law that prohibited most Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States.

Homestead Act

An 1862 law that gave settlers land in the West if they agreed to live on it and improve it for five years.

Tammany Hall

A powerful political machine in New York City known for corruption and the leadership of Boss Tweed.

Exodusters

African Americans who moved west, especially to Kansas, after Reconstruction in search of land and greater opportunities.

Pendleton Act

A law that required government jobs to be awarded based on merit and examination scores instead of political connections.

U.S. Free Enterprise System

An economic system based on private ownership, competition, supply and demand, and the goal of making profits.

Ellis Island / Angel Island

Immigration processing stations; Ellis Island mainly processed European immigrants, while Angel Island mainly processed Asian immigrants.

Tenements

Crowded and often poorly maintained apartment buildings where many immigrant families lived in cities.

Nativists

People who favored native-born Americans and opposed immigration because they believed immigrants threatened jobs and American culture.

Political Machines

Organizations that controlled local politics by rewarding supporters with jobs and favors in exchange for votes and loyalty.