APUSH unit 6 - Gilded Age

i'm cooked

Gilded Age

A period in US history marked by rapid industrialization, economic growth, political corruption, and inequality.

Graft

The use of a political position for personal gain, often in wealth.

Tammany Hall

Dominated Democratic Party politics in the late 19th century.

Boss Tweed

Leader of Tammany Hall, infamous for his corruption.

Machine Politics

Political systems controlled by organizations or 'machines', often corrupt.

Thomas Nast

Political cartoonist known for exposing Boss Tweed.

Pendleton Act

1883 law establishing a merit-based civil service system.

Civil Service

A system where government jobs are given based on qualifications, not on political connections.

Campaign Finance Reform

Efforts to regulate political campaign funding to reduce corruption.

Robber Barons

A derogatory term for corrupted, wealthy, industrialists.

Captains of Industry

Positive term for industrial leaders who helped with economic growth and societal improvements.

Trusts (monopolies)

Large corporate combinations controlling entire industries, reducing competition.

Pools

Agreements between businesses to fix prices or divide markets to limit competition.

Interlocking directorates

Board members serve on multiple companies creating coordinated control over industries.

Vertical integration

Business strategy of controlling all steps in a production process.

Horizontal integration

Merging with competitors to dominate a market.

Stockwatering

Inflating the value of a stock beyond their actual worth, a way of manipulating markets.

Vanderbilt

Industrialist known for his railroad and shipping empire.

Rockefeller

Founder of Standard Oil.

Carnegie

Steel industrialist known for vertical integration strategies.

J.P. Morgan

An influential banker who formed US Steel.

U.S. Steel

A major steel company created by J.P. Morgan.

Adam Smith

Wrote the Wealth of Nations, advocating for laissez-faire capitalism.

Invisible hand

Adam Smith’s concept of regulating markets driven by individual self-interest.

Charles Darwin

Scientist who proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection and survival of the fittest.

Herbert Spencer

Philosopher who applied Darwin’s ideas to society, developing Social Darwinism.

Social Darwinism

Misapplication of evolution to justify social inequalities.

Horatio Alger

Author of rags to riches stories emphasizing hard work and morals.

Grange

Farmer’s organization advocating for agricultural interests.

Patrons of Husbandry

Grange’s full name, aimed to improve farmer’s lives.

Oliver Kelley

Founder of the Grange.

Granger laws

State laws regulating railroads to help farmers.

Munn v. Illinois

1877 Supreme Court case upholding state regulation of business.

Wabash v. Illinois

1886 case that limited states' power to regulate interstate commerce.

ICC

Interstate Commerce Commission, established in 1887 to regulate railroads and eliminate unfair practices.

Sherman Anti-trust Act

1890 law aimed at breaking up monopolies and trusts.

Samuel Morse

Inventor of the telegraph and Morse code.

Thomas Edison

Invented the light bulb.

Alexander Graham Bell

Invented the telephone.

Christopher Sholes

Invented the typewriter.

Elias Howe

Invented the sewing machine.

Bessemer/Kelly

Developers of the Bessemer process for mass production of steel.

Assembly line production

Manufacturing process involving sequential tasks, increasing efficiency.

Commonwealth v. Hunt

1842 Supreme Court ruling that labor unions were legal.

National Labor Union

1866, first national labor federation in the US advocating for workers' rights.

Knights of Labor

Inclusive labor union fighting for workers reforms but declined after Haymarket.

Haymarket Square Bombing

1886 labor rally turned violent, leading to backlash against unions.

Skilled vs. unskilled labor

Division between workers with specialized skills and general laborers.

AFL

American Federation of Labor, established in 1886 focusing on skilled workers' interests.

Samuel Gompers

Founder and leader of the AFL emphasizing 'bread and butter' issues.

CIO

Congress of Industrial Organizations, led by John Lewis, which unionized unskilled workers.

Homestead Strike

Violent labor conflict at Carnegie Steel.

Pullman Strike

Nationwide railway strike led by Eugene Debs, disrupting US commerce.

Eugene Debs

Labor leader and socialist pivotal in organizing strikes.

Know Nothings

Nativist political party opposing immigration.

Nativism

Anti-immigration sentiment favoring native-born citizens.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 law that banned Chinese immigration.

Yellow Peril

Fear and racism against Asian immigrants, prevalent in 1886.

Gentlemen's Agreement

1906 US-Japan agreement limiting Japanese immigration.

Old vs. New Immigration

Contrast between Western Europe and Southern/Eastern Europe immigrant waves.

Ellis Island

Major immigrant processing station in NYC.

Transcontinental Railroad

Railway linking the East and West of the US, promoting commerce.

Homestead Act

1862 law granting land to settlers for westward expansion.

Slaughter of the buffalo

Mass killing of buffalo which devastated Native American cultures.

Dawes Severalty Act

1887 law aimed at assimilating Native Americans.

Helen Hunt Jackson

Author of A Century of Dishonor, criticized US treatment of Native Americans.

Chief Joseph

Nez Perce leader who resisted US relocation policies.

Frederick Jackson Turner

Historian emphasizing the frontier’s role in shaping American identity.

Sun dance

Native American religious ritual banned by US authorities.

Ghost dance

Native spiritual movement associated with resistance to US policies.

Reservations

Areas designated for Native American tribes by the government.

McKinley

25th US president, led during the Spanish-American War and supported the gold standard.

Hanna

Political manager who helped McKinley win the presidency.

William Jennings Bryan

Populist leader known for his 'Cross of Gold' speech advocating for free silver.

Free Silver

Movement for unrestricted coinage of silver to expand the money supply.

Cross of Gold

Bryan’s famous speech opposing the gold standard.

Coxey's March

Protest by unemployed workers during the Panic of 1893.

Wilson-Gorman Act

1894 tariff law reducing rates but including a controversial income tax.

JANE ADDAMS

Founded the Hull House in 1889 in South Chicago.

HULL HOUSE

Chicago’s first social settlement that was created with intent to help acclimatize poor European immigrants to the U.S., and provide opportunities for the working class people. Here, these immigrants were able to receive education, eat, sleep, and learn life skills (such as cooking and sewing). Additionally, the children of these immigrants were taken care of in the Hull House’s nursery and Kindergarten.

FLORENCE KELLEY

The woman responsible for transforming the Hull House into a center of social reform. She contributed to the passing of the Illinois Factory Act in 1983 after researching sweatshops in Chicago. 

MINIMUM WAGE

Kelley was a significant contributing factor to the earning of shorter work days with a minimum wage, as well as restricting child labor. She fought for government protection of working children and women.

LILLIAN WALD

Founder of the Henry Street Settlement, Wald was the first public health nurse who both advocated for public healthcare and helping bring healthcare to the Lower East Side in New York towards the end of the 19th century. 

HENRY STREET SETTLEMENT

Founded in 1893 by Lillian Wald, this settlement house aimed to provide social services for those (such as the many Jewish immigrants in the area) in the Lower East Side. It provided healthcare and education for these families/individuals. By 1913, the organization had expanded to 7 buildings with 92 nurses making approximately 200,000 home calls per year.  The organization helped house many families in individual apartments, which was much better than the previous conditions they were living in. Staff and Volunteers also helped female workers to unionize.

Anthony Comstock -

Social reformer who championed Victorian moral standards.

ComStock Law (1873) -

Prohibited the distribution of obscene materials through the mail, including information on birth control and abortion.

Victoria Woodhull -

Leader of women’s suffrage and rights movement

First woman to run for President of the United States in 1872

Clara Barton -

Nurse and humanitarian who founded the American Red Cross in 1881. Medical care during the Civil War earned her the nickname “Angel of the Battlefield.”

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

Groundbreaking in its unflinching portrayal of societal realities and human desires.

Initially controversial for its candid depiction of a morally complex protagonist.

Anti-Saloon League

founded in 1893, was a part of the temperance movement and its goal was to raise anti-alcohol sentiments and enforce existing temperance laws

Mary Elizabeth Lease

was a leader of the populist party who advocated for more rights for farmers. 

Frances Willard

was the founder and leader of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and they wanted to abolish the liquor trade, consumption of alcohol

Susan B. Anthony

was a social reformer in the abolition, temperance, and women’s suffrage movements

was the president of the National Woman Suffrage Association from 1892-1900

Edward Bellamy “Looking Backwards”

American author known for his influential novel Looking Backward (1888). The book tells the story of Julian West, who wakes up in the year 2000 to find a utopian society based on equality and cooperation. Bellamy's vision included nationalized industries, equal wealth distribution, and technological advancements improving daily life. The novel inspired political movements and discussions about socialism and reform.

Henry George “Progress and Poverty”

(1879) In this book economist Henry George, analyzes the direct relationship between progress and poverty. He proposed the idea of a “single tax” which was a property tax that was charged based on the land and not the improvements along with the abolishment of all other taxes to help increase equality amongst social classes.

John Muir

John Muir, a Scottish-born man deeply engaged in writing and the natural world, advocated for the preservation of the American wilderness. The words that he wrote were impactful in the establishment of national parks and the conservation movement during the mid to late 19th century. His activism helped to save Yosemite Valley and other wilderness areas.

Frederick Jackson Turner

A Historian who was known for his “frontier thesis” and support of the colonization of the frontier.

Turner’s Thesis

States how the settling along the frontier was important to American Democracy.

Louis Sullivan

Louis Sullivan is referred to as the “father of skyscrapers”

He helped create the modern skyscraper

Sullivan was a key figure in the Chicago School of architecture

His work laid the groundwork for modernist architectural practices

Frank Lloyd Wright

American architect and engineer in the 19th century

Considered one of the greatest architects of all time

Pioneered a new approach to architecture, the Prairie style

Designed over 1,100 buildings