US History: The Gilded Age (Industrialization)

Transcontinental Railroad

Transcontinental Railroad

The railroad that stretched from Omaha Nebraska, to Sacramento, California changed travel and many aspects of life in the U.S.

Hell on Wheels Town

These where towns that would be temporary and move as a railroad was being built.

Union Pacific RR Co

One of the biggest railroad companies at the time. was used in the making of a transcontinental railroad. 

Central Pacific RR Co

One of the biggest railroad companies at the time. was used in the making of a transcontinental railroad. 

Exodusters

A name given to African Americans who migreated along the Mississippi river to Kansas during the gilded age.

Charlie Chaplin

comedic actor and player of the “Tramp”.

Modern Times

Modern times created by Charlie Chaplin shows the “Tramp” his character working in a factory and there he goes crazy and demonstrates the life of a factory worker (not great btw).

Industrialization + what are the 4 causes?

“the development of industries in a country or region on a wide scale.” Easier acsess †o naturle resources, gorwinh pop., explosion of inventions, declcing death rate.

Automation

Where tech takes place of human working.

The Jungle

A fictional book based upon the realities of working in a meat factory. It epicts the grotesque and horrible work conditions.

Upton Sinclair

Muckraker and poltictical activist.

Muckraking

The process of “racking the muck” on someone or somebody. Muckrakers went out of there way to dig deep on a certain issue and would houghn in on that issues bringing all of the muck to the surface.

Frederick Taylor

Father of Scientific Management and “Taylorism” (the science of dividing specific tasks to allow)

Scientific Mgmt of Work-

Taylorism

Time & Motion Study

Process in which T&M studies takes over and reorganizes the factory to work more efficiently to bring the business more profit.

Laissez-faire capitalism

Economic philosophy of free-market capitalism that opposes gov intervention. PA was very Laissez-faire capitalism and so were all Robber Barons.

Unions

A group of workers that are banded together to bring an issue or request to the light of the business owner.

Strike

When a union refuses to work when conditions have not been met or a request/demand has not been met my the business owner.

Wildcat Strike

A type of strike where workers spontaneously walk out, very unorganized.

“Scabs”

A derogatory term for workers that replace union workers after a busniess owner dispells and fires/blacklists previous union workers.

Organized Labor

Union.

Anarchists

“a person who advocates or promotes anarchism or anarchy.” Somone who belives there should be no gov.

Homestead Strike

• Strike at Andrew Carniege steal factory. Carnegie was away and Frick was in charge. Wages were loaded due to inflation and workers weren’t having it. they threaten to strike. A wall was put up and “scabs” were brought in to replace workers. Pinkertons were also brought in to protect the facilty but things did not go to plan. The union workers busted down the wall and fought the Pinkertons; some died, and many were ingured and in the end the workersw one the battle but not the war.

• 1892

Pinkertons

A group of hired body guards that were used in the homestead strike.

Andrew Carnegie

Owner of steal places. He was born very poor but apprenticed under a RR guy and showed his talents as a good manager. He started his business with vertical integration and then switched into horizontal creating big moneys. He was a BIG philthorpist donating to hundred of collages, libraries, and charity. But was known for not paying his workers very much and caused the homestead strike.

Henry Clay Frick

Was the right-hand man of Carnegie. He was in charge during the Homestead strike. Known to be a stern man and wanted to keep everything under control so he hired the Pinkertons. Attempted assassination upon him by Alexander Berkman.

Alexander Berkman

An anarchist who was an immigrant from Russia. Tried and failed to assassinate Henry Clay Frick. One of the worst assassination attempt ever, couldn’t have done it any worse.

George Pullman

Owner of Pullman sleeper cars.

Eugene Debs

Socialist, political activist, unionist, and one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World. (Need more info)

Pullman Strike

Pullman lowered the wages of his workers and made rent higher in his townhouses and apartments which workers were required to stay at. This caused a huge uprising and the union striked against this. Started peaceful butb turned violent killing 10 people. In the end the workers lost and Pullman won but his image sufferd.

American Railway Union

Was one of the unions at this time in 1893, founded by Eugene Debs. 90% of all railways were not working at this time due to the Pullman strike. Any train that had a Pullman car would not be serviced, which was practically all trains. Eventually, the U.S. gov swooped in because mail was not being transported, and the military took over the jobs of the rail workers.

Haymarket Riot

In May, 1886 Chicago Illinois, Worker’s wages were lowered and an 8-hour strike took place. It then quickly turned violent when a police officer was shot and killed after evoking violence in a protest. A homemade bomb went off and caused a ruckus and soon after, a large shooting/brawl occurred.

JP Morgan

Born wealthy and became an accountant. Was in the banking/finance/investing. Not an industrilist but bought and invested many industries. One of the major peeps that created the new financial system. Was the guy who would loan money to start ups like standard oil that would then become big industries.

John D. Rockefeller

Owner of standard oil. Started off very poor but monopolized the oil industry controlling 90%. WAs. not a huge philanthropist. Got his wealth from horizontal integration.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Started off very poor but made a ferry business that grew steadily. He offered very low prices and eventually made a ferry business worth billions. He then started to buy railroads and monopolized parts of the transport industry. He was not a philanthropist only making one large donation to a collage.

Standard Oil

Largest oil company and manolpy that was owned by Rockefeller. It controlled 90% of the market, all oil, car, heating, etc. was form standard oil. It caused many laws to be put in place to avoid monoply such as this one. It was broken apart.

Trusts

Monoply

Monopoly

Exclusive possession or control over a supply or trade of a material or object, Ex: Standard oil owned 90% of the market.

Vertical Integration

Where one owns all of the levels/process that make a product. For ex: A mine, a RR to transport ore, a refinery, etc. They own all levels of the process.

Horizontal Integration

Where one company tries to buy out all of the other companies doing the same thing. Ex: An oil company buys another oil company, and another, and another until it becomes large than the rest and continues to consume more companys.

Robber Baron

“a person who has become rich through ruthless and unscrupulous business practices”

Captain of Industry

“ someone who owns or manages a large, successful business or company.” opposite of a robber baron.

Philanthropy

Donating generous amounts of money to good causes. (Libarys, schools, charity, etc.)

Horatio Alger

Wrote many stories of the “American dream” featuring young boys who go from rags to riches through hard and honest work but also a whole lotta luck. These were very popular in and out of the U.S. and promoted the idea that hard and honest work was the way to go but also that you can’t do anything without a lot of luck.

Political Corruption

“use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain”

Political Machine

Organization that controls the activities of a political party. Machines offer services to voters to exchange money for votes. Usually, it is a “You scratch my back, I scratch yours” situation.

Boss Tweed

Politically connected individual and leader of the Tammany in New York. He was nota mayor or senator but he was the one who elected them. He controlled everything behind the scenes of who was in office and who was not. Very VERY corrupt and dint care, everyone knew.

Patronage

“the power to control appointments to office or the right to privileges.” giving political jobs to supporters who helped you get elected.

Civil Service

called for job to be based upon merit and skill rather than a name or corrupt system.

Pendleton Act: Civil Service Act

Was put in place to deat with civil patronage (To avoid more Boss Tweed’s)

• Had to have merit and skills

• Had to take exams and had to have good work ethic

• etc.

Thomas Nast

A Muckraker that targeted Boss Tweed and the Tammany.

Nativism

The practice of favoring native-born persosn over immigrants.

Immigration: Push factors

War, famine, over-population, political prosecution, religious prosecution, unemployment.

Immigration: Pull factors

Free/cheap farmland, plentiful jobs, freedom, a better life.

Immigration: 1st Wave

Pre-Gilded age before 1870. Most from western europe and Africa. Geroge Washington Era.

Immigration: 2nd Wave

Arrived duribg the Gilded Age 1870-1918. Southern and Eastern Europe.

Immigration: 3rd Wave

Arrived Post-1965. From Europe and Asia

Immigration: Middle Wave

Arrived between 1920-1964. From Americas and Asia.

Urbanization

“the process of making an area more urban.”

Tenements

“a room or a set of rooms forming a separate residence within a house or block of apartments.” (not very nice, usually imigrant housing.)

Jacob Riis

Immigrant from Denmark and became a photo - journalist NYC, photographed tenements.

Ellis Island

A main island where immigrants were “processed” and allowed or denided entrance form the U.S

Angel Island

Siumlar to Ellise Island this island was a “processing” place for immigrants.

Assembly Line

“a series of workers and machines in a factory by which a succession of identical items is progressively assembled.” These were used primarily in factories. but also the gilded age can be referred to as an “assembly line” of the U.S

Chinese Exclusion Act

An act passed to limit (and then fully cut off) Chinese immigrants coming into the united states. this passed after the transcontinental RR was finished in 1882.

Gentlemen’s Agreement

An informal and non-legally binding agreement between two or more parties. Most are part of an unspoken agreement.

• An agreement was made with Japan.

• Example of nativism

Union Busting

The busting or taking apart of a union. These happend quite often during the gilded age especially during inflation.

Immigration

“

“the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country.”

Name the strikes in order from earliest to latest.

Pullman (1894), Homestead (1892), Haymarket (1892), Great railway (1877).

What is taylorism?

Scientific management = getting rid of rule of thumb and trying to make factories as successful as possible through making jobs faster.

Protective tarrif

A tax on imported goods to make in nation goods more appealing to masses.

Lewis Hine

Muckraker of child labor, one of the first major muckrakers.

• Photojournalist

• Did a similar thing as to Riis.

Graftt

Political corruption: extortion

• ex: