U.S. History: Gilded Age, Native Policies, and Labor Movements

The Kansas Exodus (1879)

Migration of African Americans ("Exodusters") to Kansas after Reconstruction.

Completion of the Transcontinental Railway (1869)

Connected the eastern U.S. with the Pacific coast; enabled nationwide shipping and migration.

Wounded Knee (1890)

Massacre of over 150 Lakota Sioux by U.S. troops; marked the end of Native resistance.

Dawes Act (1887)

Broke up tribal lands and promoted assimilation of Native Americans.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

First major U.S. immigration restriction; targeted Chinese laborers.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that Americans were destined to expand across the continent.

Forced cultural assimilation of Native Americans

Native children were sent to boarding schools to adopt white culture.

Native American exclusion from U.S citizenship

Most Natives were not granted U.S. citizenship until 1924.

Near-extermination of the bison

Population fell from 50 million to 500; replaced by cattle during the "golden age of the cowboy."

Andrew Carnegie

Steel tycoon and philanthropist; funded public libraries (St. Louis, Joplin, etc.).

Which tycoon was famous for library donations, including the St. Louis Public Library?

Andrew Carnegie

John D. Rockefeller

Founder of Standard Oil; created a monopoly; funded University of Chicago and Rockefeller Foundation.

Wong Kim Ark

Affirmed birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of immigrants Supreme Court case (1898)

James Garfield

U.S. president, assassinated in 1881 by Charles Guiteau.

Whose assassination helped inspire the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883?

James Garfield

William Jennings Bryan

Democratic and Populist presidential candidate (1896); championed "Free Silver."

The Populist Party joined forces with which party in 1896?

Democratic Party

William McKinley

Republican president (1896-1901); supported tariffs; assassinated in 1901.

Dominant corporations of the Gilded Age

Sears (mail-order catalogs), Standard Oil, Carnegie Steel, Anheuser-Busch.

Knights of Labor

Labor union open to all workers; supported 8-hour day; declined after Haymarket Affair.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Union for skilled workers; focused on moderate reforms.

The AFL was more moderate and limited than the Knights of Labor.

True

The Grange and Farmers' Alliance

Farmer organizations pushing for railroad regulation and co-ops.

People's Party (Populists)

Emerged from Farmers' Alliance; supported income tax, direct election of senators, and nationalizing railroads.

Pendleton Act (1883)

Civil Service Reform Act; required some federal jobs to be awarded by merit, not patronage.

Interstate Commerce Commission (1887)

First federal regulatory agency; weak early enforcement of railroad rates.

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

Prevented monopolies, but was first used against unions.

United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898)

Affirmed birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

Civil Rights Cases (1883)

Struck down the Civil Rights Act of 1875, weakening protections for Black Americans.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Upheld "separate but equal"; legalized segregation.

Who created the new system of U.S. time zones in 1883?

Railroad companies

Federal acquisition of western lands

Government gained massive areas in the West for settlement, ranching, and parks.

Reversal of the Chicago River (1900)

Engineering project redirected sewage downstream, improved water safety.

Great Railroad Strike (1877)

First nationwide strike; violently suppressed by government troops.

Haymarket Affair (1886)

Labor rally bombing in Chicago; crackdown on unions followed.

Homestead Strike (1892)

Violent clash at Carnegie Steel between workers and Pinkerton agents; crushed by militia.

1896 presidential election

McKinley (Republican, pro-tariff, gold standard) vs. Bryan (Democrat/Populist, Free Silver).

Role of the railroad in U.S. economy

Created a unified national market; enabled shipping nationwide.

Bonanza farms

Huge Great Plains farms producing crops for the market.

Kansas City

Hub for cattle trade and railroads.

Urban inequality

Overcrowded tenements for the poor vs. lavish mansions for the rich.

Robber barons / Captains of industry

Tycoons seen as either corrupt exploiters or visionary leaders.

Social Darwinism

Idea that competition and "survival of the fittest" justified inequality.

Spoils system

Government jobs awarded through patronage; led to corruption.

Limits of late 19th-century reforms

Pendleton Act, ICC, and Sherman Act were weak compared to labor and Populist demands.

Gilded Age tariff debate

Republicans favored tariffs (protect industry); Democrats opposed (hurt consumers and farmers).

Jim Crow laws

Racial segregation in the South upheld by Plessy v. Ferguson.

Working animals (horses)

Horses as workers

Animals as food

KC stockyards: second-largest livestock market in the nation, innovative ways to get animal foods fast and in large amounts

Organization that helped with animal welfare

ASPCA (the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, founded after the Civil War)

Perception of animals

Animals seen as pests; attempt to exterminate animals like rats that were blamed for spreading disease

Introducing new species to American cities

European starling brought across the Atlantic; the eastern gray squirrel purposfully brought into city parks