Bessemer Process
A process for making steel more efficiently, patented in 1856.
Boss Tweed
A political boss who carried corruption to new extremes, and cheated NYC out of more than $100 million
Mutual Aid Societies
voluntary associations that provide a variety of economic and social benefits to their members
Thomas Edison
American inventor best known for inventing the electric light bulb, acoustic recording on wax cylinders, and motion pictures.
Knights of Labor
labor union that sought to organize all workers and focused on broad social reforms
Sand Creek Massacre
1864 incident in which Colorado militia killed a camp of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians
Factors of Development
Raw materials
Labor
Capital-money for investment
Terrence Powderly
American Labor Leader who led the knights of labor from 1879-1893
Social Gospel Movement
A 19th century reform movement based on the belief that Christians have a responsibility to help improve working conditions and alleviate poverty
Andrew Carnegie
steel king; made a vast fortune by building steel mills in the country
Jacob Riis
Early 1900's muckraker who exposed social and political evils in the U.S. with his novel "How The Other Half Lives"; exposed the poor conditions of the poor tenements in NYC and Hell's Kitchen
Baseball
Sport that became "American's Favorite Passtime" in the 1860's and 70's
Vertical Integration
When a company owns or controls all of the steps in the production process
American Federation of Labor
The first federation of labor unions in the United States. Founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886
Tenements
Poorly built, overcrowded housing where many immigrants lived; terrible living conditions
The Robber Barons
Refers to the industrialists or big business owners who were giants of the American economy. They controlled almost every major industry
Samuel Gompers
He was the creator of the American Federation of Labor. He provided a stable and unified union for skilled workers.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Separate but equal
John D. Rockefeller
Established the Standard Oil Company, the greatest, wisest, and meanest monopoly known in history
Homestead Strike (1892)
It was one of the most violent strikes in U.S. history. It was against the Homestead Steel Works, which was part of the Carnegie Steel Company, in Pennsylvania in retaliation against wage cuts. The riot was ultimately put down by Pinkerton Police and the state militia, and the violence further damaged the image of unions.
Jane Adams
American social worker and activist, co-founder of Hull house; first woman to win Nobel Peace prize
The Gospel of Wealth
This was a book written by Carnegie that described the responsibility of the rich to be philanthropists. This softened the harshness of Social Darwinism as well as promoted the idea of philanthropy.
Haymarket Riot
In this location, a bomb was hurled toward police officials, and police opened fire on the demonstrators; numerous policemen and demonstrators were killed and wounded; response in nation's press was decidedly anti-union.
Seneca Falls Conference
The first organized women's rights conference
Social Darwinism
The belief that only the fittest survive in human political and economic struggle.
Little Big Horn
Battle between Custer's Seventh Cavalry and the Sioux, Custer's Seventh was decimated
Carrie Chapman Catt
(1859-1947) A suffragette who was president of the National Women's Suffrage Association, and founder of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance. Instrumental in obtaining passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
The New Immigrants
Immigrants who came to the United States during and after the 1880s; most were from southern and eastern Europe.
Anarchy
absence of government
Farmer's 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
Ghost Dance Movement
The last effort of Native Americans to resist US domination and drive whites from their ancestral lands, came through as a religious movement.
Jim Crow Laws
Poll taxes/literacy tests; designed to enforce segregation by keeping as many AA's from voting as possible; also to restrict poor whites and AA's from voting together
Machine Politics
the process by which citizens of a city used their local ward alderman to work the "machine" of local politics to meet local needs within a neighborhood
Booker T. Washington
African American progressive who supported segregation and demanded that African American better themselves individually to achieve equality.
W.E.B Dubois
1st black to earn Ph.D. from Harvard, encouraged blacks to resist systems of segregation and discrimination, helped create NAACP in 1910
19th Amendment
Gave women the right to vote
Upton Sinclair
author of The Jungle that inspired pro-consumer federal laws regulating meat, food, and drugs
The Populist Party
U.S. political party formed in 1892 representing mainly farmers, favoring free coinage of silver, 8 hour workday and direct election of senators
William Jennings Bryan
Democratic candidate for president in 1896 under the banner of "free silver coinage" which won him support of the Populist Party.
The Progressive Era
period of political and social reform that lasted roughly from the 1890s to the 1920s
Boomers
Settlers who ran in land races to claim land upon the 1889 opening of Indian Territory for settlement
Sooners
In 1889, people who illegally claimed land by sneaking past government officials before the land races began
Muckrackers
Journalists who wrote about corruption in business and politics in order to bring about reform.
Keating-Owen Act
Prohibited the sale of interstate commerce goods produced by children
Alice Paul
suffragette who devoted her life to the cause of women's suffrage and equal rights; endured awful conditions while making her impact
Pullman Strike
widespread railroad strike and boycott that severely disrupted rail traffic in the Midwest of the United States in June-July 1894.
Leon Czolgosz
Killed president McKinley in 1901. He was an anarchist, one who believes in the absence of government.
William McKinley
25th president responsible for Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and the Annexation of Hawaii, imperialism. Is assassinated by an anarchist
Theodore Roosevelt
26th president, known for: conservationism, trust-busting, Hepburn Act, safe food regulations, "Square Deal," Panama Canal, Great White Fleet, Nobel Peace Prize for negotiation of peace in Russo-Japanese War
William Tweed
N.Y. political boss (did not hold a political office) controlled the Democratic political machine known as Tammany Hall; Stole $200 million form New York City