Gilded Age and the Birth of Modern America Vocabulary Flashcards

A set of 30 vocabulary flashcards covering industrialization, key economic concepts, labor movements, immigration, and political corruption from the Gilded Age lecture notes.

The Gilded Age

A term coined by Mark Twain describing a period from 1865 to 1900 characterized by serious social and political problems masked by economic growth.

Edwin Drake

The first person to successfully use a steam engine to drill for oil in 1859.

Entrepreneur

A person who takes financial risks to start and manage their own business within a free enterprise system.

Ragged Dick

A popular novel written by Horatio Alger, Jr. that promoted the 'rags to riches' idea that anyone could achieve wealth through hard work.

Protective Tariffs

Taxes imposed on imported goods to make them more expensive, designed to protect American industries from foreign competition.

Laissez-faire

A government policy allowing businesses to operate with little to no government interference ('hands off').

Patent

A grant issued by the federal government giving an inventor the exclusive right to develop, use, and sell an invention for a set period of time.

Alexander Graham Bell

The inventor who patented the telephone in 1876, revolutionizing communication and expanding job opportunities for women as secretaries.

Thomas Edison

An inventor who held patents on over 1,000 inventions, perfected the incandescent light bulb, and founded the General Electric Company (GE).

George Westinghouse

An inventor who developed technology to transmit electricity over long distances to power homes and factories.

Bessemer Process

An efficient and inexpensive method for manufacturing strong steel, enabling the construction of skyscrapers, elevators, and suspension bridges.

Mass Production

Manufacturing systems designed to turn out large quantities of products quickly and efficiently.

Corporation

A business structure in which a group of investors shares ownership, limiting individual financial risk to their investment amount and enabling massive growth.

Monopoly

A market condition in which a single company gains complete control of an entire product or service, allowing it to dictate prices.

Horizontal Integration

A business strategy that involves acquiring or merging with competing companies that manufacture the same product.

Vertical Integration

A business growth strategy that involves gaining control of companies across all stages of a product's production and distribution pipeline.

Robber Barons

A critical term applied to powerful industrial magnates accused of exploiting workers, eliminating competition through trusts, and overcharging consumers.

Captains of Industry

A favorable term applied to business leaders credited with driving economic expansion, creating employment, and engaging in large-scale philanthropy.

Gospel of Wealth

An 1889 essay written by Andrew Carnegie asserting that wealthy individuals have a moral obligation to redistribute their surplus wealth for the public good.

Social Darwinism

The application of Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection to human society, claiming that wealth and success were proof of individual fitness.

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

The first federal regulatory body, created in 1887 to monitor business practices, specifically overseeing the railroad industry.

Sherman Antitrust Act

An 1890 federal law that prohibited trusts and business combinations that restrained or interfered with interstate commerce.

Company Towns

Isolated communities established by employers near factories, where workers lived in employer-owned housing and bought goods from company stores, often causing debt and 'wage slavery'.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A craft union founded by Samuel Gompers that catered exclusively to skilled workers and focused on workplace reforms like higher wages and shorter hours.

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

A radical labor union founded in Chicago in 1905, nicknamed the 'Wobblies', which welcomed all workers regardless of skill or demographic background.

Eugene V. Debs

A prominent socialist labor leader who co-founded the IWW, led the American Railway Union, and ran for U.S. president under the Socialist Party ticket.

Yellow Dog Contracts

Agreements that employers forced job candidates to sign, promising not to join or participate in a labor union.

Nativism

An anti-immigrant ideology held by native-born Americans who believed they were superior to incoming foreign populations.

Chinese Exclusion Act

An 1882 federal statute that suspended the immigration of Chinese laborers and denied Chinese immigrants a pathway to U.S. citizenship.

Political Machine

An unofficial, highly structured political organization that maintained city control by offering employment, housing, and social services to voters in exchange for political support.