Key Figures and Legislation in Gilded Age and Progressive Era

William Jennings Bryan

Populist/Democratic politician; three-time presidential candidate. Championed the common man, bimetallism ("free silver"), and anti-imperialism; known for his "Cross of Gold" speech. Represented rural agrarian interests vs. industrial elites.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Railroad and shipping magnate. Symbol of the Gilded Age industrial elite; consolidated railroads and helped shape modern transportation networks.

Andrew Carnegie

Steel industry tycoon, immigrant turned industrialist. Perfected vertical integration in steel; wrote "Gospel of Wealth" promoting philanthropy; symbolized both opportunity and inequality of industrial capitalism.

Robber Barons

Nickname for wealthy 19th-century industrialists. Criticized for exploiting labor, corrupting government, and crushing competition during rapid industrial growth.

Purity Crusade

Late-19th-century reform movement to clean up moral behavior (drinking, prostitution, obscenity). Reflected Progressive-Era moral reform and rising middle-class anxieties about urbanization and immigration.

Comstock Law (1873)

Federal law banning obscene materials, including birth control information. Reflected conservative backlash to changing gender and moral norms; restricted women's reproductive rights.

Conspicuous Consumption

Term by Thorstein Veblen (1899). Critique of Gilded Age elites showing wealth through lavish spending—symbolized inequality and materialism.

Gospel of Wealth

Essay by Andrew Carnegie (1889). Justified wealth inequality—argued the rich had a moral duty to use fortunes for the public good (philanthropy).

Horatio Alger

Author of "rags-to-riches" stories. Popularized idea that success came from hard work and virtue, reinforcing American Dream ideology.

Pullman Strike (1894)

Railroad strike over wage cuts. Crushed by federal troops; highlighted growing labor unrest and government's alignment with business interests.

Haymarket Riot (1886)

Labor rally in Chicago that turned violent when a bomb killed police. Linked labor activism with radicalism/anarchism, damaging the labor movement.

Eugene Debs

Labor leader; founded the American Railway Union and later the Socialist Party of America. Advocated workers' rights and socialism; jailed for Pullman Strike and opposing WWI.

I.W.W. (Industrial Workers of the World)

Radical labor union nicknamed "Wobblies." Sought to unite all workers, challenged capitalism directly; suppressed during WWI.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)

Deadly factory fire in NYC killing 146 workers (mostly women). Exposed unsafe conditions, leading to labor reforms and fire-safety laws.

Cross of Gold Speech (1896)

William Jennings Bryan's pro-silver speech at Democratic convention. Became rallying cry for Populists and farmers opposing the gold standard.

Omaha Platform (1892)

Populist Party platform.

Dawes Act (1887)

Divided tribal lands into private plots for Native Americans.

Homestead Act (1862)

Granted 160 acres to settlers who improved land for 5 years.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

First major federal law restricting immigration by race/nationality.

Roosevelt System

Theodore Roosevelt's progressive reform agenda (a.k.a. the Square Deal).

Bull Moose Party (1912)

Progressive Party led by Theodore Roosevelt after split from Republicans.

Northern Securities Case (1904)

Roosevelt's antitrust lawsuit against a railroad monopoly.

Election of 1912

Contest between Taft, Roosevelt, and Wilson.

Upton Sinclair

Muckraking author of The Jungle (1906).

Ghost Dance

Native American religious movement promising the return of ancestors and buffalo.

Wounded Knee (1890)

U.S. Army massacre of Lakota Sioux.

First Transcontinental Railroad (1869)

Linked East and West coasts.

Crédit Mobilier Scandal (1872)

Railroad construction company bribed Congress members.

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

Federal law regulating labeling and safety of food/drugs.

Jane Addams

Social reformer; founded Hull House in Chicago.

Eugenics

Movement to "improve" human population through selective breeding.

Social Darwinism

Belief that "survival of the fittest" applied to people and business.

Reconstruction Amendments

13th (end slavery), 14th (citizenship/equal protection), 15th (voting rights).

Black Codes

Southern laws restricting freedpeople's rights post-Civil War.

Muckrakers

Progressive-era journalists exposing corruption and social injustice.

Ida B. Wells

Journalist and anti-lynching activist.

Jim Crow Laws

Segregation laws in the South.

Booker T. Washington

Black educator and founder of Tuskegee Institute.

W.E.B. Du Bois

Scholar and civil rights leader; co-founder of NAACP.

Code of the West

Unwritten set of cowboy/frontier ethics.

AFL (American Federation of Labor)

Union led by Samuel Gompers.

Knights of Labor

Early labor union (1869).

Compromise of 1877

Ended Reconstruction—Hayes became president in exchange for troop withdrawal from the South.

Accommodationism

Strategy of gradual acceptance of segregation (associated with Booker T. Washington).

Sand Creek Massacre

U.S. troops killed over 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho, mostly women and children.

Helen Hunt Jackson / A Century of Dishonor

Author who exposed U.S. mistreatment of Native Americans.

Taylorism (Scientific Management)

System to improve industrial efficiency (Frederick Taylor).

Positive State

Idea that government should actively promote social welfare and economic fairness.

Laissez-Faire

Policy of minimal government interference in business.

Depression of 1893

Severe economic downturn caused by railroad overbuilding and banking collapse.

Vertical Integration

Owning all stages of production (raw materials → distribution).

Settlement House Movement

Urban reform effort led by middle-class women (e.g., Jane Addams).