Gilded Age & Progressive Era Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering major historical eras, themes, and prominent figures of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era.

The Gilded Age

A period in late nineteenth-century United States history characterized by rapid industrialization, economic growth, and the concentration of immense wealth, accompanied by political corruption and social inequality.

The Progressive Era

A period of widespread social activism and political reform in the United States from the 1890s through the 1920s aimed at addressing the economic, political, and social issues caused by industrialization and urbanization.

Urbanization

The mass movement of populations from rural areas to cities, leading to the rapid growth of urban centers and development of industrial urban life.

Nativism

An attitude or policy favoring native-born individuals over foreign-born immigrants, often leading to anti-immigrant hostility and restrictive immigration policies.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy in which a single company controls all or most stages of production and distribution of a product, from raw materials to final sale.

Horizontal Integration

A business strategy of combining or acquiring competing companies within the same industry to reduce competition and control market share.

Monopoly / Trust

An economic arrangement or corporate combination where a single company or group of companies exercises dominant or exclusive control over the supply of a commodity or service.

Robber Barons

A derogatory term used to describe powerful late-nineteenth-century American business magnates accused of accumulating vast wealth through ruthless, uncompetitive, or exploitative practices.

Political Machine

An authoritative political organization that controls local politics and elections by dispensing patronage, jobs, and services in exchange for political support and votes.

Graft (honest and dishonest)

The acquisition of money, gain, or advantage by dishonest or unfair means in politics; honest graft involves profiting from inside knowledge, while dishonest graft involves outright theft, bribery, or extortion.

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists, writers, and photographers during the Progressive Era who exposed corporate corruption, urban poverty, and political scandals to prompt reform.

Laissez-Faire

An economic philosophy asserting that governments should avoid interfering in or regulating the free market and private enterprise.

Social Darwinism

A late nineteenth-century theory applying Charles Darwin's concepts of natural selection and 'survival of the fittest' to human societies, used to justify socioeconomic inequality and imperialism.

Chinese Exclusion Act

An 1882 federal law that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers into the United States, representing a significant manifestation of nativist policy.

Andrew Carnegie

A Scottish-born industrialist and philanthropist who led the expansion of the American steel industry by implementing vertical integration and advanced manufacturing techniques.

Gospel of Wealth

An essay written by Andrew Carnegie arguing that wealthy individuals have a moral obligation to manage and distribute their surplus wealth philanthropically for the greater good of society.

John D. Rockefeller

An American industrialist and founder of the Standard Oil Company who used horizontal integration and trust formations to dominate the oil refining industry.

William "Boss" Tweed

The political boss who led Tammany Hall, the powerful Democratic political machine in New York City, notorious for orchestrating massive political graft and corruption.

Ida B. Wells

An African American investigative journalist, educator, and early civil rights leader who led a nationwide anti-lynching crusade and advocated for women's suffrage.

Booker T. Washington

An African American educator, author, and leader who founded the Tuskegee Institute and urged economic self-reliance, vocational education, and gradual social progress.

Jane Addams

A pioneering Progressive Era social reformer who co-founded Hull House in Chicago and became a leader in the settlement house movement.

W.E.B. DuBois

A prominent African American scholar, civil rights activist, and co-founder of the NAACP who demanded immediate political equality and higher education for African Americans.

Settlement House Movement

A reform movement in which middle-class volunteers lived in community centers within low-income urban neighborhoods to provide education, childcare, healthcare, and social services to immigrants and the poor.

Upton Sinclair

A muckraking author whose 1906 novel The Jungle exposed the harsh conditions and unsanitary practices of the meatpacking industry, spurring federal food regulation.

Theodore Roosevelt

The 26th President of the United States, known for his progressive domestic agenda (the Square Deal), trust-busting, consumer protection legislation, and extensive conservation programs.