Old West, Mining, and the Gilded Age - Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering mining, western expansion, communication and transportation innovations, and the rise of big business during the Gilded Age.

Transcontinental Railroad

The railroad completed in 1869 that linked the East and West Coasts, built by the Central Pacific (west) and Union Pacific (east) with federal loans and incentives.

Central Pacific Railroad

The company building the western portion of the Transcontinental Railroad, starting in Sacramento, California.

Union Pacific

The company building the eastern portion of the Transcontinental Railroad, starting in Omaha, Nebraska.

Telegraph

1844 invention by Samuel Morse that transmitted coded messages along wires, revolutionizing long-distance communication.

Morse code

The dot-and-dash system used to encode messages for transmission over telegraph lines.

Telephone

Invention by Alexander Graham Bell in the 1870s, enabling widespread voice communication over distances.

Bessemer process

A steel-making method adopted by Carnegie to produce stronger, cheaper steel, boosting industrial growth.

Carnegie

Scottish immigrant who built a massive steel empire, innovated production, and funded libraries and endowments.

Standard Oil

Rockefeller’s oil refining company that dominated the industry and exemplified early trust-building and monopoly practices.

Trust

A corporate arrangement where a central board controls multiple companies, reducing individual stockholder influence.

J. P. Morgan

A financier who merged firms, created holding companies, and helped form the United States Steel Corporation.

United States Steel Corporation

The first billion-dollar corporation, formed by mergers under Morgan, and vertically integrated in steel production and distribution.

Vertical integration

A business model where one company controls multiple stages of production and distribution.

Laissez-faire

An economic policy of minimal government interference; promoted by reformers like William Sumner; linked to big-business growth and fewer regulations.

Gilded Age

The 1870–1900 period of rapid industrialization, wealth concentration, and rise of big businesses in the United States.

Monopoly

Market domination by a single company or trust, resulting in reduced competition.

Homestead Act (1862)

A law granting 160 acres to settlers who paid a small fee or farmed the land for five years.

160 acres

The standard land allotment offered under the Homestead Act to qualify for title.

Sod house

A home built from blocks of prairie sod due to limited timber on the plains.

Great Plains climate

A continental climate with extreme temperature swings and limited water, shaping farming and homesteading.

Frontier closure

By 1890, the U.S. Census Bureau claimed the western frontier was effectively closed; by 1900 the West was integrated into the national economy.

Boom-bust cycle

Recurring cycles of economic growth followed by panics or depressions in the 19th century U.S.

Panic of 1907

A financial crisis during which J. P. Morgan helped avert disaster, illustrating the need for financial reform.

New York Stock Exchange

Major stock market that facilitated capital formation for large corporations during the Gilded Age.

Carnegie Endowment / Endowments

Philanthropic foundations funded by Carnegie, supporting libraries, arts, and public institutions.

Immigrant labor (railroads)

Labor used to build railroads; Chinese workers in the West and Irish workers in the East.

Prostitution in mining towns

A notable social phenomenon in mining towns; legal in many areas, with brothels and social problems linked to gender imbalances and addiction.

Hydraulic mining

A mining method using high-pressure water to wash away earth and release ore, often causing environmental damage like silt and chemical runoff.