Gilded age (new version)

Gilded Age

Late 19th‑century era (1870s–1890s) marked by rapid industrialization

The Gilded Age (novel)

Satirical novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner criticizing corruption

Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens)

Author and social critic who used satire to expose political corruption and social hypocrisy.

Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)

Law creating merit‑based federal employment through exams

Industrialization

Expansion of factories

Corporations

Large business organizations that dominated industrial production and markets.

Captains of Industry

Industrial leaders viewed as innovators who built the U.S. economy.

Laissez‑faire

Economic philosophy favoring minimal government regulation of business.

Andrew Carnegie

Steel magnate who used vertical integration and philanthropy; author of the Gospel of Wealth.

Gospel of Wealth

Carnegie’s belief that the rich had a moral obligation to use wealth for public good.

Union Pacific Railroad

Railroad built westward from Omaha as part of the transcontinental railroad.

Central Pacific Railroad

Railroad built eastward from California using Chinese labor.

Pacific Railroad Act (1862)

Federal law funding construction of the transcontinental railroad.

Golden Spike (1869)

Ceremony at Promontory Point

Robber Barons

Industrialists accused of exploiting workers

John D. Rockefeller

Founder of Standard Oil who dominated oil refining through consolidation.

South Improvement Company

Rockefeller‑backed organization that gained secret railroad rebates.

Standard Oil Company

Oil monopoly formed in 1870 that controlled most U.S. refining.

Standard Oil Trust (1882)

First major trust used to control multiple companies.

Horizontal Consolidation

Strategy of merging competing companies to eliminate competition.

Vertical Consolidation

Strategy of controlling all stages of production and distribution.

Henry Clay Frick

Carnegie Steel manager known for union‑busting and efficiency.

U.S. Steel

First billion‑dollar corporation formed by J.P. Morgan.

Thomas A. Edison

Inventor whose technologies revolutionized modern life.

Alexander Graham Bell

Inventor of the telephone and pioneer in communication.

Leland Stanford

Railroad magnate and founder of Stanford University.

James J. Hill

Builder of the Great Northern Railroad without government subsidies.

Great Northern Railroad

Successful privately funded railroad.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Railroad tycoon who promoted consolidation and efficiency.

Bessemer Process

Steel‑making technique that reduced costs and increased production.

Mesabi Range

Minnesota iron ore region crucial to steel industry.

J. Pierpont Morgan

Banker who reorganized railroads and created giant corporations.

Gustavus Swift

Meatpacker who pioneered refrigerated rail transport.

Philip Armour

Meatpacking leader using assembly‑line techniques.

James B. Duke

Tobacco magnate who created American Tobacco Company.

American Tobacco Company

Monopoly dominating cigarette production.

Stock Watering

Issuing stock beyond a company’s real value to inflate profits.

Jay Gould

Speculator who manipulated railroads and gold markets.

Jim Fiske

Partner of Gould in gold market scheme.

Gold Corner (1869)

Attempt to control gold supply

Pools

Informal railroad agreements to fix prices.

Trusts

Legal arrangements allowing centralized corporate control.

Rebates

Secret discounts given by railroads to large shippers.

Holding Companies

Corporations owning controlling interest in others.

Interstate Commerce Act (1887)

First federal law regulating railroads.

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

Agency overseeing railroad practices.

Long Haul vs. Short Haul

Discriminatory railroad pricing harming farmers.

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

Law banning monopolies; initially weakly enforced.

Labor Unions

Worker organizations formed to protect wages and conditions.

National Labor Union

Early labor federation advocating reform.

Knights of Labor

Inclusive labor union advocating broad social reforms.

Uriah Stephens

Founder of the Knights of Labor.

Terence Powderly

Leader of Knights of Labor.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Skilled workers’ union focused on wages and safety.

Samuel Gompers

AFL leader promoting collective bargaining.

Collective Bargaining

Negotiation between unions and employers.

Injunction

Court order used to stop strikes.

Pinkertons

Private strikebreaking detectives.

Closed Shop

Workplace requiring union membership.

Blacklist

Practice of denying jobs to union supporters.

Yellow Dog Contract

Agreement forbidding union membership.

Great Railroad Strike (1877)

Nationwide strike suppressed by federal troops.

Haymarket Square Riot (1886)

Labor rally turned violent

Homestead Strike (1892)

Violent steel strike against Carnegie Steel.

American Railway Union

Industrial union led by Eugene V. Debs.

Pullman Strike (1894)

Railroad strike halted by federal intervention.

Eugene V. Debs

Socialist labor leader and presidential candidate.

Urbanization

Rapid growth of cities during industrialization.

Political Machines

Organizations controlling city politics through patronage.

George Washington Plunkitt

Tammany Hall boss known for “honest graft.”

Boss Tweed

Corrupt leader of New York’s Tammany Hall.

Tammany Hall

Democratic political machine in New York City.

Thomas Nast

Cartoonist who exposed Tweed’s corruption.

Tenements

Overcrowded urban housing for immigrants.

Slums

Worst tenement districts.

Denis Kearney

Anti‑Chinese labor leader.

Workingman’s Party of California

Nativist labor party.

John A. Roebling

Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Architect who pioneered organic architecture.

Anthony Comstock

Morality reformer behind censorship laws.

Comstock Law (1873)

Federal law restricting obscene materials.

Jacob Riis

Journalist exposing urban poverty.

How the Other Half Lives

Riis’s book on tenement conditions.

Melting Pot

Idea immigrants assimilate into American culture.

Salad Bowl

Idea cultures coexist without assimilation.

New Immigration

Southern and Eastern European immigrants after 1880.

Old Immigration

Northern and Western European immigrants before 1880.

Literacy Tests

Immigration restrictions requiring reading ability.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

First law banning immigration by nationality.

American Protective Association

Anti‑Catholic nativist group.

Middle Class Reformers

Citizens seeking to address urban poverty.

Jane Addams

Social reformer and settlement house leader.

Hull House

First U.S. settlement house aiding immigrants.

Social Gospel

Movement applying Christianity to social reform.

Walter Rauschenbusch

Social Gospel leader.

Salvation Army

Religious charity aiding the poor.

YMCA

Organization promoting moral and physical health.

Rev. Josiah Strong

Clergyman warning against urban decline.

Social Darwinism

Belief competition justified inequality.

Herbert Spencer

Philosopher linked to Social Darwinism.