Unit 1: The Gilded Age and Naturalism (1865–1900)

Vocabulary study guide covering key terms, primary sources, literary works, and historical concepts for Honors American Studies Unit 1 (The Gilded Age, Progressivism, Naturalism, Populism, and Immigration).

The Gilded Age (1865–1900)

The post-Civil War era in American history marked by rapid industrialization, massive economic growth, and conspicuous wealth, alongside significant political corruption, labor struggles, and social inequality.

Assembly Line

An industrial manufacturing method in which parts are sequentially assembled as a product moves past specialized workers, greatly increasing production speed and efficiency.

Social Darwinism

A 19th-century theory applying the concept of 'survival of the fittest' to human societies and the economy, often used to justify extreme wealth inequality and corporate dominance.

Laissez-Faire Economics

An economic doctrine advocating minimal government intervention, regulation, or interference in the free market and corporate business practices.

-Often associated with the term “Let them”

Monopolies

Economic situations in which a single company or corporate entity gains exclusive control over the supply, production, or trade of a specific commodity or service, eliminating competition.

Unionization Efforts

Organized collective actions by industrial laborers during the Gilded Age to form unions to negotiate for better wages, safer working environments, and shorter workdays.

Captains of Industry / Robber Barons

Contrasting terms for prominent late-19th-century business leaders, characterizing them either as ingenious economic visionaries who expanded industry (Captains of Industry-positive) or as ruthless, exploitative monopolists (Robber Barons-negative).

-Andrew carnegie, john d rockefeller, cornelius vanderbilt

The Gospel of Wealth

An influential 1889 article written by industrialist Andrew Carnegie arguing that the self-made wealthy have a moral responsibility to use their surplus fortunes for the philanthropic benefit of society.

Progressivism

A broad reform movement responding to the societal, economic, and political problems created by rapid industrialization, urbanization, and political corruption in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Tenements

Narrow, multi-story, overcrowded urban apartment buildings with inadequate light, ventilation, and sanitation that housed the working-class and immigrant poor during the Gilded Age.

Hull House

A famous settlement house founded in Chicago by Jane Addams to provide educational, recreational, and social services to immigrants and working-class urban residents.

Muckrakers

Progressive Era investigative journalists, writers, and photographers who sought to expose corporate monopolies, political corruption, and dangerous living and working conditions.

Important Muckrakers: Ida Tarbell, Jacob Riis, and Upton Sinclair

Boss Tweed

William M. Tweed, the corrupt leader of New York City's Tammany Hall political machine who epitomized political patronage, graft, and machine corruption during the Gilded Age.

How the Other Half Lives

A pioneering 1890 work of photojournalism and text by Jacob Riis documenting the squalid living conditions of New York City's tenement slums to prompt Progressive social reform.

The Jungle

A 1906 novel by muckraker Upton Sinclair exposing the unsanitary practices and harsh worker exploitation within the Chicago meatpacking industry, prompting major federal food safety reforms.

Thomas Nast Political Cartoons

Satirical visual illustrations published in popular periodicals that effectively exposed the corruption of Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall, influencing public opinion and political reform.

Naturalism

A late-19th-century literary genre and philosophical movement that depicted human beings as largely subject to and shaped by heredity, environment, and social or economic forces beyond their control.

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

An 1893 Naturalist novella by Stephen Crane portraying the inescapable, tragic impact of a brutal urban slum environment on a young girl's life.

The Yellow Wallpaper

An 1892 short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that uses Naturalist elements and psychological deterioration to critique contemporary medical practices and the patriarchal oppression of women.

Populism

A late-19th-century agrarian-based political movement and party representing farmers and laborers that fought corporate monopolies, high railroad rates, and restrictive monetary policies.

The Silver Question / Bimetallism

A major economic debate centered on whether the U.S. monetary system should back currency with both silver and gold (bimetallism) to inflate the money supply and relieve debtor farmers, or maintain a strict gold standard.

The Cross of Gold

An impassioned 1896 speech delivered by William Jennings Bryan at the Democratic National Convention advocating bimetallism (free silver) and condemning the economic burdens placed by the gold standard on working-class citizens.

Using the metaphor: “you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold".

Ellis Island / Angel Island

The primary federal immigration processing stations located in New York Harbor (Ellis Island, processing primarily European immigrants) and San Francisco Bay (Angel Island, processing primarily Asian immigrants).

Nativism

A sociopolitical philosophy and movement promoting the interests of native-born inhabitants over immigrants, characterized by anti-immigrant sentiment and policies during the Gilded Age.

The Chinese Exclusion Act

An 1882 federal law prohibiting the immigration of Chinese laborers into the United States, representing the first major U.S. law restricting immigration based explicitly on race and nationality.