period 6 vocabs

Gilded Age

1870s - 1890s; time period marked by rapid economic growth, industrialization, and the expansion of railroads in the United States. This era was characterized by significant social changes, the rise of labor movements, political and corporate corruption, spark of wealth diff.

grandfather clause

A clause in registration laws allowing people who do not meet registration requirements to vote if they or their ancestors had voted before 1867.

poll tax

A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote, usually tared to low-income whites and blacks.

sharecropping

a post-Civil War agricultural system in the South where former slaves or poor, rented land from landowners in exchange for a portion of the crops they harvested as rent, often trapping them in a cycle of debt due to the high cost of supplies provided by the landowner

jim crow laws

Laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites, that southern states adopted beginning in the 1870s. These laws required segregated washrooms, drinking fountains,

park benches, and other facilities in virtually all public places.

Plessy v. Ferguson

a 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

law that suspended Chinese immigration into America. first significant law that restricted immigration into the United States of an ethnic working group. Extreme example of nativism of period

Horace Greeley

An American editor of a leading newspaper, a founder of the Republican party, reformer and politician He helped support reform movements and anti-slavery efforts through his New York Tribune newspaper

J. Pierpont Morgan

He was a banker who financed the reorganization of railroads, insurance companies, and banks. He bought out Carnegie and in 1901 he started the United States Steel Corporation.

Transcontinental Railroad

Completed in 1869 at Promontory, Utah, it linked the eastern railroad system with California's railroad system, revolutionizing transportation in the west

Bessemer Process

A way to manufacture steel quickly and cheaply by blasting hot air through melted iron to quickly remove impurities.

U.S. Steel

The largest steel company of the US, created by J.P. Morgan by merging Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel and several other steel companies together; at the time, the largest corporation in existence.

Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company v. Illinois

Supreme Court ruling that stated that states do not have the power to regulate interstate commerce, only the federal government could do that.

interstate commerce act

1887, required railroad rates to be "reasonable and just." It also set up the first federal regulatory agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which had the power to investigate and prosecute pools, rebates, and other discriminatory practices

Vertical Integration

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

Horizontal Integration

Absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in the same level of production and sharing resources at that level

trust (in business)

combination of several companies that eliminate competition by fixing prices

Cornelius Vanderbilt

A railroad owner who built a railway connecting Chicago and New York. He popularized the use of steel rails in his railroad, which made railroads safer and more economical.

Samuel F.B. Morse

inventor of the telegraph that speed up communication

and transportation across the country with railroads.

alexander graham bell

invented the telephone in 1876, which revolutionized communication technology and played a crucial role in the development of large corporations with national reach

thomas alva edison

This scientist received more than 1,300 patents for a range of items including the automatic telegraph machine, the phonograph, improvements to the light bulb, a modernized telephone and motion picture equipment.

george westinghouse

An american entrepreneruer and engineer who invented the railroad and the air brake

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. Popularized the rags to riches

John D. Rockefeller

Established the Standard Oil Company, the greatest, wisest, and meanest monopoly known in history

standard oil company

Founded by John D. Rockefeller. Largest unit in the American oil industry in 1881. Known as A.D. Trust, it was outlawed by the Supreme Court of Ohio in 1899. Replaced by the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey.

social darwinism

The application of ideas about evolution and "survival of the fittest" to human societies - particularly as a justification for their imperialist expansion.

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890 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

United States v. E.C. Knight Co.

1895 case where the government sued E.C Knight Co. due a violation in the Sherman Anti-Trust Act since E.C. controlled 98% of the sugar refinement industry. The court ruled in favor of E.C. Knight, stating that manufacturing was not subject to the act, commerce was. This made regulation more difficult.

adam smith

Scottish economist who wrote the Wealth of Nations a precursor to modern Capitalism.

gospel of wealth

The belief that, as the guardians of society's wealth, the rich have a duty to serve society; promoted by Andrew Carnegie; Carnegie donated more than $350 million to libraries, school, peace initiatives, and the arts

homestead strike

1892 steelworker strike near Pittsburgh against the Carnegie Steel Company bc wages were cut n fired. Ten workers were killed in a riot when "scab" labor was brought in to force an end to the strike.

national labor union

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

knights of labor

second national labor union, advocated a variety of reforms: (1) worker cooperatives "to make each man his own employer," (2) abolition of child labor, and (3) abolition of trusts and monopolies. favored settling labor disputes by means of arbitration rather than resorting to strikes.

Haymarket Square bombing

On May 4, 1886, a protest against police violence at Chicago's Haymarket Square where someone threw a bomb killing one policeman and 7 others fatally wounded, policemen then fired into the crowd and killed an equal amount of people

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.

samuel gompers

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

Pullman Strike

1894, in Chicago, Pullman cut wages but refused to lower rents in the "company town", Eugene Debs had American Railway Union refuse to use Pullman cars, Debs thrown in jail after being sued, strike achieved nothing

national grange

Social and educational organization founded in 1867 to gain more political representation for farmers and to improve their living standards + regulate railroads.

granger laws

Grangers state legislatures in 1874 passed law fixing maximum rates for freight shipments. The railroads responded by appealing to the Supreme Court to declare these laws unconstitutional

farmers' alliance

A Farmers' organization founded in late 1870s; worked for lower railroad freight rates, lower interest rates, and a change in the governments tight money policy

Populist (People's) Party

founded in 1892 advocated variety of reform issues, including free coinage of silver, gradual income tax, postal savings, regulation of railroads, and direct election of U.S. senators

booker t. wahsington

founded the Tuskegee Institute for African Americans because he believed that the way to achieve freedom was by acquiring skills like agriculture. (followers and helpers were Rockefeller and Carnegie)

W.E.B. DuBois

1st black to earn Ph.D. from Harvard, encouraged blacks to resist systems of segregation and discrimination, achieve high edu, helped create NAACP in 1910

nativism

the policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants. (favoring native-born)

new immigration

second wave of Immigrants (25mil) from Southern and Eastern European countries and Asia arriving in the late 1800s

social gospel

Movement led by watler Rauschenbusch, - supported the cause of social justice of poor, the importance of applying Christian principles to social problems.

settlement house

est. by jane adams as a center for underprivileged area that provides community services

Women's Christian Temperance Union

founded by Frances Willard, a prominent 19th-century American organization, focused on advocating for the prohibition of alcohol, often using moral arguments and religious influence to push for social reform, particularly within the context of family life

Tuskegee Institute

Black educational institution founded by Booker T. Washington to provide training in agriculture and crafts

land-grant colleges

Colleges and universities created from allocations of public land through the Morrell Act of 1862 and the Hatch Act of 1887. These grants helped fuel the boom in higher education in the late nineteenth century, and many of the today's public universities derive from these grants.

national american women suffrage association

a group formed by leading suffragist in the late 1800s to organize the women's suffrage movement. Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

homestead act

1862 - Provided free land in the West to anyone willing to settle there and develop it. Encouraged westward migration.

Realism (in art and literature)

A form of representing things in a way as they actually or naturally are.

winslow homer

broke the Old World traditions in art, and was vigorously American in his paintings of New England maritime life and other native subjects.

Henry George, Progress and Poverty

Ran for public office in 1869 for Democratic nomination for State Assembly. Wrote a book named "Progress and Poverty" and explained why poverty exists against advances in technology and in places where there is lots of wealth. He was a social theorist and economist.

Frederick Law Olmsted

American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. Best known as the father of landscape architecture in the United States.

sitting bull

A prominent Lakota Sioux chief and spiritual leader known for his resistance against U.S. government policies aimed at displacing Native American tribes during westward expansion.

george a. custer

United States Army officer and cavalry commander during the Civil War and Indian Wars. Most known for his role in the Battle of Little Bighorn where he and his troops were defeated by Native American tribes.

little big horn

A Battle that took place in 1876 against George A. Custer and his troops & the combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Native American tribes. The Native American tribes won, and the battle took place due to Native Americans wanting to defend their territory from white gold-seekers.

chief joseph

The leader of the Nez Perce who became famous for his eloquent speeches advocating for his people's rights and his leadership during the Nez Perce War.

geronimo

A prominent leader of the Apache tribe, known for his fierce resistance against the encroachment of settlers and the U.S. government in the late 19th century.

sioux wars

lasted from 1876-1877. These were spectacular clashes between the Sioux Indians and white men. They were spurred by gold-greedy miners rushing into Sioux land. The white men were breaking their treaty with the Indians. The Sioux Indians were led by Sitting Bull and they were pushed by Custer's forces. Custer led these forces until he was killed at the battle at Little Bighorn. Many of the Indian were finally forced into Canada, where they were forced by starvation to surrender.

Nez Percé

A Native American tribe originally from the Pacific Northwest. They are known for their rich culture and resistance against U.S. expansion during the 19th century.

apache

A group of Native American tribes originally located in the Southwestern United States, particularly in areas that now include Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

ghost dance

A spiritual and religious revival that emerged among Native American tribes in the late 19th century. It sought to restore traditional ways of life, bring about the return of deceased ancestors, and resist colonial oppression. The movement was characterized by dance rituals.

battle of wounded knee

A tragic and violent event that took place on December 29, 1890. U.S. troops killed over 250 Lakota Sioux men, women, and children at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. It was the deadliest mass shooting in American history, and part of the U.S. military's efforts to repress the Plains peoples.

Dawes Severalty Act (1887)

A federal law aimed at assimilating Native Americans into American society by allotting them individual plots of land and granting them U.S. citizenship.

reservation system

the practice of the US government setting aside specific areas of land where Native American tribes were forced to live, effectively removing them from their traditional lands to facilitate westward expansion by white settlers (assimilating Native Americans into white American culture)

"waving the bloody shirt"

A post-Civil War political strategy in U.S. history. It involves appealing to voters by recalling the passions and hardships of the recent war, particularly focusing on Reconstruction issues. The term was used by Radical Republicans to gain public attention during elections.

tweed ring

A group of corrupt officials in New York City during the 19th century. Led by William Marcy Tweed, also known as "Boss" Tweed, they used embezzlement, bribery, and kickbacks to siphon massive amounts of New York's budget into their own pockets. The Tweed Ring controlled the city until 1870.

Credit Mobilier Scandal

A major political scandal in the United States during the 1870s involving the Union Pacific Railroad and a construction company, Credit Mobilier, which was established to build the railroad. It came to light in 1872 when it was discovered that Union Pacific Railroad officials were using Credit Mobilier to inflate construction costs and pocket profits.

panic of 1877

An economic depression in the United States that led to unemployment, eviction, and physical abuse for many people, including blacks who faced discrimination. The panic also had significant effects on politics and society, including the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and the end of Reconstruction in the South.

samuel tilden

Hayes' opponent in the 1876 presidential race, he was the Democratic nominee who had gained fame for putting Boss Tweed behind bars. He collected 184 of the necessary 185 electoral votes.

compromise of 1877

Agreement that ended the disputed election of 1876 between Rutherford Hayes and Samuel Tilden; under its terms, the South accepted Hayes's election. In return, the North agreed to remove the last troops from the South, support southern railroads, and accept a southerner into the Cabinet. The Compromise of 1877 is generally considered to mark the end of Reconstruction.

Pendleton Act of 1883

Federal legislation which created a system in which federal employees were chosen on the basis of competitive examinations, therefore making merit, or ability, the reason for hiring people to fill federal positions.

William Jenings Bryan

This Democratic candidate ran for president most famously in 1896 (and again in 1900). His goal of "free silver" (unlimited coinage of silver) won him the support of the Populist Party. Though a gifted orator, he lost the election to Republican William McKinley. He ran again for president and lost in 1900. Later he opposed America's imperialist actions, and in the 1920s, he made his mark as a leader of the fundamentalist cause and prosecuting attorney in the Scopes Monkey Trial.