Second Industrial Revolution & Gilded Age Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key people, inventions, economic concepts, and social movements of the American Second Industrial Revolution and Gilded Age.

Bessemer process

A steelmaking process developed around $1850$ by Henry Bessemer that injected air into molten iron to remove impurities and create steel, which is lighter, more flexible, and rust-resistant.

Assembly line

A manufacturing method that boosted productivity and efficiency in the production of goods.

Thomas Edison

Inventor and businessman who developed the phonograph and the electric light bulb, organized power plants, and established the first research lab.

Alexander Graham Bell

The inventor of the telephone.

Guglielmo Marconi

The inventor of the radio.

John D. Rockefeller

An industrialist who made a fortune in the oil refining industry with his company, US Standard Oil.

Andrew Carnegie

An industrialist who made a fortune in steel in the late $1800$s and was a philanthropist who gave away approximately $350$ million.

J.P. Morgan

Industrialist who started US Steel from Carnegie Steel and other companies; he was known for bailing out the American economy on more than one occasion.

Robber Barons

Wealthy and powerful business leaders who used ruthless or exploitative practices to amass wealth and influence.

Gospel of Wealth

A belief popularized by Andrew Carnegie that the wealthy had a responsibility to use their riches to benefit society.

Captains of Industry

Influential industrialists and businessmen like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and J.P. Morgan who significantly shaped the American economy.

Scientific Management

A theory by Frederick W. Taylor in the late $19^{th}$ century that optimizes industrial efficiency by scientifically analyzing tasks rather than relying on tradition.

Monopoly

A single company or entity that has exclusive control over the supply or trade of a particular product or service, effectively eliminating market competition.

Social Darwinism

The belief that societal progress occurs through the survival of the fittest, often used to justify inequalities and competition as natural and beneficial.

Sherman Antitrust Act

A law aimed at promoting fair competition by prohibiting monopolies and other anti-competitive business practices.

Industrial Working Conditions

Characterized by $12$-hour days, $6$ days a week, low wages, unsafe environments, and no sick leave or workers' compensation.

Child Labor (Gilded Age Statistics)

Children as young as $5$ often worked as much as $12$ or $14$ hours a day for as little as $.27$ a day.

Unions

Organizations formed by workers to advocate for better wages, working conditions, and benefits from their employers.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A union headed by Samuel Gompers that accepted only skilled white males and won higher wages and shorter work weeks for its members.

Knights of Labor

The first union to accept workers of all races and genders, including both skilled and unskilled workers; they pushed for an $8$-hour workday and equal pay for women.

Haymarket Riot 1886

A demonstration in Chicago involving socialists and anarchists where a bomb killed police officers, leading the public to view labor unions as radical and violent.

Homestead Strike 1882

A strike against the Carnegie Steel plant led by anti-union leader Henry Frick where Pinkerton guards were called in and $7$ people were killed.

Philanthropy

The act of donating time, money, or resources to help improve the well-being of others or support charitable causes.

Socialism

An economic or political philosophy that favors public or social control of property and income.

Pull factor

Attractions that draw people to a new country, such as better job prospects, safety, or freedom.

Push factors

Reasons why people leave their home countries, such as poverty, war, or lack of opportunities.

Old Immigrants

Immigrants who came mostly from western and northern Europe, including the Irish, English, and German.

New Immigrants

Immigrants mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe (Italians, Greeks, Slavic, Jewish, Catholic) as well as Mexico, the Caribbean, and China.

Ellis Island

An immigration processing center in New York Harbor where it took about $4$ hours to process each immigrant.

Angel Island

An immigration processing center in San Francisco where most Asians entered the U.S.; it was more restrictive and could take months.

Nativism

Anti-immigrant feelings and policies driven by racism, fear of cultural differences, and concerns over job competition.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

A law that prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the country, which was not lifted until $1943$.

Great Migration

The movement of African Americans who left the South after the Civil War for Northern cities to escape segregation and find work.

Tenements

Multi-story buildings divided into small, often overcrowded apartments typically found in urban areas for lower-income residents.

Tenement Act of 1901

A New York State law that established standards for sanitation, ventilation, and fire safety to improve living conditions in tenements.

Settlement House

community center that provides various services and support to residents of urban neighborhoods, often focusing on education, healthcare, and social welfare programs.

Hull House

A famous settlement house established in Chicago in $1889$ by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr to provide services like childcare and education.

Social Gospel Movement

A social reform movement that sought to address social problems through religious principles.

Political Machines

Organized groups that controlled a political party's activities and city government by providing services to voters in exchange for их votes.

Tammany Hall/Boss Tweed

A famous Democratic Political Machine in New York City headed by a leader who amassed extreme wealth and power through corruption.

Pendleton Civil Service Act 1883

An act that created the Civil Service Commission to ensure government jobs were based on merit via exams rather than patronage or friendship.

Mass Media

Communication forms like newspapers, radio, and magazines that reached large audiences and shaped public opinion.

Nickelodions

Early movie theaters popular in the early $20^{th}$ century that charged $5$ cents for admission to short films.

Vaudeville

Variety shows featuring diverse acts such as singers, dancers, comedians, and animal shows.

Gilded Age

A late $19^{th}$-century period of rapid economic growth and industrialization marked by both accumulation of wealth and systemic corruption.

Horizontal Integration

A process where a company buys out or merges with all competing companies, such as when J.P. Morgan bought Carnegie Steel.

Vertical Integration

A process where a company buys out all of its suppliers, including raw material sources and transportation lines.

Laissez-faire Economics

A policy followed by the U.S. government that prevents interference in business affairs.

Entrepreneur

A person who starts and runs a business, taking on financial risks in hopes of making a profit.