Gilded Age, Native American Policies, and Labor Movements: Key U.S. History Concepts

How were Native Americans treated by European colonizers? By the U.S. government?

They were forced off land, faced violence, and suffered from disease. The U.S. government later pushed them onto reservations, broke treaties, and tried to erase their culture through assimilation and boarding schools.

How did government policies like the railroad and the Homestead Act change life in the U.S.?

The Homestead Act gave settlers land to farm, encouraging westward expansion. Railroads connected the country, enabling trade and migration. Together, they spurred economic growth, new towns, and industry.

How did Native Americans resist the encroachment of the railroads?

They defended land through battles and raids, such as Red Cloud's War, and tried negotiating with the government, but treaties were often ignored.

How did the railroad, western expansion, and assimilation affect Native Americans' way of life?

Railroads destroyed buffalo populations, western expansion forced tribes onto reservations, and assimilation policies like boarding schools banned Native languages and customs.

What was the Gilded Age?

A period (1870s-1900) of rapid industrial growth, extreme wealth, corruption, and poor working conditions. Big business leaders like Rockefeller and Carnegie dominated the economy.

How did industrialists build wealth during the Gilded Age?

They used monopolies, vertical and horizontal integration, trusts, and government support. Examples: Rockefeller in oil, Carnegie in steel. Workers were often underpaid and exploited.

Describe labor unions and explain the struggles that workers faced in the Gilded Age.

Unions organized workers to fight for better pay, hours, and safety. Workers faced long days, unsafe conditions, child labor, and sometimes violence for striking.

What new philosophies developed to address the growing wealth gap?

Social Darwinism justified wealth inequality; the Gospel of Wealth encouraged charitable giving. Communism argued that workers were exploited and should control production, influencing some laborers.

What is a labor union?

An organization where workers unite to demand better pay, hours, and conditions. Gives workers collective bargaining power.

What did labor unions fight for during the Gilded Age?

Higher wages, shorter workdays, safer conditions, and the end of child labor. Examples include the Haymarket and Pullman strikes.

Why did owners fight against the formation of labor unions?

They feared higher costs, strikes, and loss of control. Owners used strikebreakers, private police, and legal action to stop unions.

What was the Populist Party? Explain its membership, origins, and goals.

Formed in the 1890s by farmers and some workers. Goals: regulate railroads, support silver coinage, lower interest rates, and increase political power for ordinary citizens.

How successful were the Populists as a political party?

They won some local/state elections and influenced debates like the 1896 presidential election, but never won the presidency. Many of their ideas influenced Progressive reforms later.

What issues did farmers face during the late 1800s?

Falling crop prices, high railroad shipping rates, heavy debt, overproduction, and droughts.

What were the big issues of the Gilded Age and how did they affect politics?

Corruption, big business power, labor conflicts, currency debates, and immigration. These issues divided parties and led to reform movements.

How did others (unions, cartoonists) respond to these issues?

Unions staged strikes and protests; cartoonists like Thomas Nast exposed corruption. Both raised public awareness and pressured leaders to reform.

How did immigration change in the Gilded Age and beyond?

Immigration increased from Southern and Eastern Europe. Immigrants settled in cities and worked in factories, changing culture and raising debates about jobs and assimilation.

What was nativism and how did it affect politics in the United States?

The belief that native-born Americans were superior to immigrants. Nativists supported restrictive laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act and literacy tests, influencing elections and policy.