Gilded Age and Progressives

Cornelius Vanderbilt

United States financier who accumulated great wealth from railroad and shipping businesses (1794-1877)

mukraking

to search out and expose misconduct of a business

John Rockerfeller

Oil baron, wealthy industrialist and had a monopoly on the oil industry. believed that capitalism and big business were essential to America's economic success, and that too much competition lead to instability. had little to say about society's problems but donated millions to charitable causes.

Andrew Carnegie

A Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist who founded the Carnegie Steel Company in 1892. By 1901, his company dominated the American steel industry. However he donated to the arts.

Henry Ford

United States manufacturer of automobiles who pioneered mass production (1863-1947).

Samuel Gompers

He was the creator of the American Federation of Labor. He provided a stable and unified union for skilled workers.

Terrence V. Powderly

American Labor Leader who led the knights of labor from 1879-1893

Upton Sinclair

Wrote "The Jungle"

Jacob Riis

Early 1900's muckraker who exposed social and political evils in the U.S. with his novel "How The Other Half Lives"; exposed the poor conditions of the poor tenements in NYC and Hell's Kitchen

Herbert Spencer

"Survival of the fittest"; Social Darwinism between societies and cultures

William "Boss" Tweed

Political Machine Leader of NYC's Tammany Hall. Corrupt in spending tax dollars. Benefit voters for votes and politicians for graft/greed.

Theodore Roosevelt

26th President of the United States

James Garfield

the 20th President of the US; he died two months after being shot and six months after his inauguration.

Gilded Age

1870s - 1890s; time period looked good on the outside, despite the corrupt politics & growing gap between the rich & poor

The Gilded Age: A Story of Today by Mark

satirical and political novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner first published in 1873

Mark Twain

United States writer and humorist best known for his novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1835-1910)

Standard Oil

Established in 1870, it was a integrated multinational oil corporation lead by Rockefeller

Carnegie Steel

Steel giant that dominated the industry. Run by rags to riches legend Andrew Carnegie who later teamed up with J.P. Morgan to form U.S. Steel, the first billion dollar corporation in 1900.

Robber Baron

a business leader who became wealthy through dishonest methods

Vertical Integration

Practice where a single entity controls the entire process of a product, from the raw materials to distribution

Horizontal Integration

Type of monopoly where a company buys out all of one aspect of its competition. Ex. Rockefeller buying out all sources of supply

Laissez-Faire

Policy that government should interfere as little as possible in the nation's economy.

The Gospel of Wealth

This was a book written by Carnegie that described the responsibility of the rich to be philanthropists. This softened the harshness of Social Darwinism as well as promoted the idea of philanthropy.

New Immigrants

immigrants who had come to the US after the 1880s from southern and eastern europe

How the Other Half Lives

A book by John Riis that told the public about the lives of the immigrants and those who live in the tenements

Dumbbell Tenements

a new form of housing that was developed in the early 1900's it was designed as a dumbbell and had more apartments for more families and shared restrooms

Ellis Island

An immigrant receiving station that opened in 1892, where immigrants were given a medical examination and only allowed in if they were healthy

Settlement Houses

institutions that provided educational and social services to poor people

Nativism

A policy of favoring native-born individuals over foreign-born ones

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 law that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers

Unions

organizations of workers who bargain with employers as a group

National Labor Union

1866 - established by William Sylvis - wanted 8hr work days, banking reform, and an end to conviction labor - attempt to unite all laborers

Knights of Labor

1st effort to create National union. Open to everyone but lawyers and bankers. Vague program, no clear goals, weak leadership and organization. Failed

American Federation of Labor

1886; founded by Samuel Gompers; sought better wages, hrs, working conditions; skilled laborers, arose out of dissatisfaction with the Knights of Labor, rejected socialist and communist ideas, non-violent.

Strikes

times when workers refuse to work until owners improve conditions

Homestead Strike

Strike at Andrew Carnegie's steel plant in which Pinkerton detectives shut them down

Pullman Strike

violent 1894 railway workers' strike which began outside of Chicago and spread nationwide

Pinkerton

This private detective agency was often used by business to intimidate workers and stop strikes

Social Darwanism

Darwin's theory of evolution to human society for natural selection or survival of the fittest to explain how some companies will flourish while others won't

Tammany Hall

a political organization within the Democratic Party in New York city (late 1800's and early 1900's) seeking political control by corruption and bossism

16th Amendment

Allows the federal government to collect income tax

17th Amendment

Established the direct election of senators (instead of being chosen by state legislatures)

18th Amendment

Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages

19th Amendment

Gave women the right to vote

Populists

A party made up of farmers and laborers that wanted direct election of senators and an 8hr working day

Temperance Movement

A social and political campaign aimed at reducing or prohibiting the consumption of alcoholic beverages, which gained significant momentum in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This movement was often associated with women’s rights and the broader Progressive reform agenda.

Suffrage

An organized campaign to eliminate alcohol consumption

Recall

A procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term.

Referendum

A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment.

Initiative

A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment.

Sherman Antitrust

First federal action against monopolies, it was signed into law by Harrison and was extensively used by Theodore Roosevelt for trust-busting. However, it was initially misused against labor unions

Trust-Busting

Government activities aimed at breaking up monopolies and trusts.

FDA

Food and Drug Administration. The agency that is responsible for determining if a food or drug is safe and effective enough to be sold to the public.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Tragedy

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, a deadly fire that occurred on March 25, 1911, in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City, claimed the lives of 146 garment workers, mostly young immigrant women. The fire, which began on the eighth floor of the 10-story Asch Building, quickly spread, and the victims perished from the fire, smoke inhalation, or by jumping from the windows. The tragedy highlighted the dangerous working conditions and fire safety inadequacies of the time.