Unit 6 APUSH Vocab

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Gilded Age

A period marked by rapid industrialization, massive wealth, technological growth, and significant social change, but also deep poverty, corruption, and inequality; this term was coined by Mark Twain

Urbanization

The massive shift of Americans from rural areas to and the development of cities

Monopolies

Massive trusts controlling entire industries with little to no competition

Social Darwinism

In the Gilded Age, this theory applied “survival of the fittest” to society, arguing the rich succeed due to natural ability, justifying laissez-faire capitalism, inequality, and minimal government intervention

Conspicuous Consumption

Where the newly wealthy (like “Robber Barons” spent lavishly on luxury goods not for need, but to publicly flaunt their immense wealth and social status, starkly contrasting with the poverty of the working class and sparking social criticism and reform movements

Unions

Worker organizations formed during the Gilded Age to fight for better wages, hours, and conditions through collective bargaining

New South

A post-Civil War vision for the American South focused on industrialization, diversification from agriculture, and racial reconciliation (though often failing in practice), promoted by figures like Henry Grady

Tenant Farming

An agricultural system post-Civil War where landless farmers (Black and white) rented plots from landowners, paying rent with a share of their crops (sharecropping) or cash, keeping them in cycles of debt and poverty, and serving as a crucial labor source for the “New South” but without economic independence

Conservation

Sustainable management of resources to ensure their availability for future generations

Preservation

Protecting resources and historical sites form destruction or overuse, keeping them untouched for future generation

Populist Party

Also known as the People’s Party, this late 19th-century political movement of farmers and laborers fought elite power (banks, railroads) with demands like bimetallism (free silver), graduated income tax, direct election of senators, and government ownership of railroads, as outlined in the Omaha Platform, aiming to empower common people but ultimately failing to win the presidency, though influencing later Democratic reforms

Political Machines

Powerful, boss-led urban organizations in the Gilded Age that controlled local politics through exchanging jobs, favors, and aid (especially for immigrants) for votes, often involving bribery and fraud

Settlement House

Community centers in poor urban areas, e.g., Jane Addams’ Hull House in Chicago, offering immigrants and the poor education (English, job skills, civics), childcare, recreation, and advocating for social reforms like labor laws, embodying the Progressive Era’s push for social uplift and community integration by bringing educated middle-class women into close contact with the working-class/immigrant experience

Transcontinental Railroad

The first continuous railroad line across the United States, completed in 1869, connecting the East and West coasts and revolutionizing travel and trade across the country.

Reservation

Limited lands established by the federal government for Native Americans to live on, disrupting their nomadic lifestyle, separating them from white Americans, and displacing many from their original homelands

Assimilation

“The absorption and integration of people, ideas or culture into a wider society or culture” (Oxford Languages)

Laissez-faire

An economic philosophy that governments shouldn’t interfere in the workings of the free market

Plessy v. Ferguson

A landmark 1896 Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine

Socialists

A person who believes that society, often through the government, should collectively own and manage major resources and businesses, instead of private individuals, to ensure wealth and necessities are shared more equally, preventing extreme poverty and massive wealth gaps, and focusing on cooperation over competition for the common good

Jane Addams

A Progressive Era reformer made famous for founding Chicago’s Hull House (the first U.S. settlement house) in 1889 with Ellen Gates Starr, providing crucial social services (education, healthcare, childcare) to immigrants and the urban poor, advocating for labor laws (child labor, factory safety), women’s suffrage, and world peace (Nobel Prize in 1931)

Gospel of Wealth

Andrew Carnegie’s idea that the rich have a moral duty to use their fortunes for the public good, acting as trustees to help the poor improve themselves through education and opportunity, not just handouts, thereby bridging the gap between the rich and poor in the Gilded age

Capitalism

An economic system where private individuals or businesses own the means of production and operate them for profit, driven by market forces like supply & demand, competition, and self-interest

Mexican-American

Refers to the people of Mexican descent in the newly acquired U.S. territories (like California and Texas), whose lives, cultures, and economic self-sufficiency were drastically impacted by American expansion, leading to land dispossession, cultural conflict, and challenging identities as they navigated being “stuck between two cultures” amidst westward expansion and industrial growth

Educational Institutions

Schools, colleges, and universities, which grew in the U.S. during this time and provided new opportunities for a rising middle class and specific demographic groups (e.g., HBCUs for Black Americans)

Political Machines

Powerful urban party organizations, led by a “boss”, which controlled city politics by trading favors like jobs, housing, and services for immigrant votes, often through corruption, patronage, and election fraud

Holding Companies

Business entities (usually corporations or LLCs) that own controlling stock in other companies but typically don’t produce goods or services themselves

Trusts

Business arrangements where competing companies surrender stock to a single board of trustees, creating a monopoly to control production, eliminate competition, and fix prices for maximum profit

Corporations

Legal entities separate from its owners (shareholders) that allow businesses to raise large capital, limit owner liability, and operate indefinitely

Pacific Rim

The region that encompasses the countries and territories of the Pacific Ocean, including East Asia, Oceania, and the western coasts of the Americas, which became attractive to American businesses and foreign policy makers in an effort to gain greater control over markets and natural resources

Social Gospel

A late 19th and early 20th century movement where Protestant reformers applied Christian ethics to social problems, arguing for social justice and charity as essential for salvation

Utopianism

The belief in or pursuit of an ideal society, envisioning a perfect world free from conflict, suffering, and imperfection