Section 3: Gilded Age & Populism (1890s)

Hist 221 midterm

Railroad Strike of 1877

Workers, Hayes, 1877, West Virginia, First major national labor strike; exposed power imbalance tensions in the Gilded Age

Knights of Labor

Terence v Powderly, workers, 1869-1880s, labor union 8 hour days and equal pay; declined after the Haymarket riot

Haymarket Riot/Affair

Chicago workers, anarchists, police, 1886, Chicago, Bomb at labor rally killed police; linked unions to violence, hurting the labor movement

Pullman Strike

Eugene V. Debs, railway workers, Prez Cleveland, 1894, Chicago, Strike over wage cuts; federal intervention showed government siding with business

Chinese Exclusion Act

Congress, chinese immigrants, 1882, West Coast, Banned Chinese labor immigration; first major federal immigration restriction

Social Darwinism / Herbert Spencer

Spencer, Gilded Age elites, 1870-90, US and Britain, justification for discrimination

Gospel of Wealth

Carnegie, 1889, US, Essay for rich to use wealth for public good; early philosophy of philanthropy.

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Factory Women, 1911, NYC, Deadly factory fire led to labor and safety reforms; symbol of Progressive workplace change.

Mary Lease

Populist reformer, 1890, Kansas, Farmers rights, less big business; famous for “raise less corn and more hell.” Kansas

Omaha Platform

populist party, nebraska, 1892, called for significant gov reforms to aid farmers during the Guilded Age. Silver, income tax, gov owned railroads, direct election of senators. Never won, but provided reforms

Cross of Gold Speech

William Jennings Bryan, 1896, Democratic national Convention, Chicago, Defended silver coinage; symbolized farmers’ protest against economic injustice.

Election of 1896

William McKinley (R) vs. WJ Bryan (D), 1896, US, Marked victory for big business and the gold standard; end of Populist movement.

New Immigration

S and E Europeans, 1880-1920, Urban US centers, Massive immigration wave that reshaped cities and culture; spurred nativist backlash.