Gilded Age and Progressive Era Flashcards

Industrialization

The rapid growth of factories, machines, and large-scale production in the United States during the late 1800s that transformed the nation from an agricultural economy into an industrial power.

Urbanization

The growth and expansion of cities caused by industrialization, immigration, and migration from rural areas.

Immigration

The movement of people from other countries into the United States in search of jobs, freedom, and better opportunities.

Transcontinental Railroad

A railroad completed in 1869 that connected the eastern United States to the Pacific Coast, encouraging trade, settlement, and economic growth.

George Pullman

Industrialist who created luxury railroad sleeping cars and founded Pullman, Illinois, but became controversial after wage cuts led to the Pullman Strike.

Credit Mobilier

A scandal in which railroad company insiders overcharged the government for construction of the Union Pacific Railroad and bribed politicians to avoid investigation.

Andrew Carnegie

Steel industry leader who used vertical integration and the Bessemer Process to build a massive steel empire and became one of America’s richest men.

Social Darwinism

The belief that successful businesses and wealthy individuals became rich because they were naturally more fit and superior in society.

Monopoly

A situation in which one company controls an entire industry or market with little or no competition.

John D. Rockefeller

Founder of Standard Oil who built a monopoly through horizontal integration and became one of the wealthiest businessmen in history.

J.P. Morgan

Powerful banker and financier who bought and merged companies to create giant corporations such as U.S. Steel.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Railroad and shipping magnate who expanded railroad systems and helped modernize transportation in the United States.

Thomas Edison

Inventor who created the practical electric light bulb, phonograph, and many other inventions that transformed daily life.

Alexander Graham Bell

Inventor credited with creating the telephone, revolutionizing communication.

Henry Bessemer

Inventor of the Bessemer Process, which made steel production faster, cheaper, and more efficient.

Bessemer Process

A method of removing impurities from iron to produce strong steel cheaply and quickly.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy in which a company controls every step of production, from raw materials to finished products.

Horizontal Integration

A business strategy in which a company gains control of competing businesses in the same industry.

Telephone

An invention by Alexander Graham Bell that allowed people to communicate instantly over long distances.

Skyscrapers

Tall steel-framed buildings developed during urbanization that allowed cities to grow upward.

Refrigerated Railroad Cars

Railcars cooled with ice that allowed fresh meat and produce to be shipped long distances.

Expansion of Cities

The rapid increase in city size due to factories providing jobs and attracting immigrants and rural workers.

Overcrowding

A major urban problem in which too many people lived in small city spaces with poor living conditions.

Pollution

Environmental contamination in industrial cities caused by factories, coal smoke, sewage, and waste.

Settlement House

Community centers located in poor urban neighborhoods that provided education, childcare, and social services to immigrants and the poor.

Hull House

A famous settlement house founded in Chicago by Jane Addams to assist immigrants and urban poor families.

Jane Addams

Progressive reformer who founded Hull House and worked to improve urban living conditions.

Social Gospel Movement

A reform movement in which religious leaders applied Christian principles to solve social problems caused by industrialization.

Jacob Riis

Journalist and photographer who exposed the harsh living conditions of urban slums in his book “How the Other Half Lives.”

Tenements

Poorly built and overcrowded apartment buildings where many immigrants lived in cities.

Migration Patterns

The movement of people within and into the United States, including immigration from Europe and migration from farms to cities.

Ellis Island

Immigration processing center in New York Harbor where most European immigrants entered the United States.

Angel Island

Immigration station in California that processed many Asian immigrants and often detained them for long periods.

Old Immigrants

Immigrants mainly from northern and western Europe who arrived before the 1880s.

New Immigrants

Immigrants mainly from southern and eastern Europe who arrived after the 1880s and often faced discrimination.

Chinese Exclusion Act

A federal law passed in 1882 that banned Chinese immigration to the United States.

Nativism

Favoritism toward native-born Americans and hostility toward immigrants.

Gentlemen’s Agreement

A 1907 agreement in which Japan limited emigration to the United States in exchange for fairer treatment of Japanese Americans.

Immigration Act of 1924

Law that set strict immigration quotas favoring northern Europeans and limiting immigrants from other regions.

Melting Pot

The idea that immigrants from many cultures would blend together into a single American culture.

Ellis Island Experience

Immigrants entering through Ellis Island usually faced medical and legal inspections but were often processed quickly.

Angel Island Experience

Immigrants entering through Angel Island experienced harsher questioning, longer detention, and greater discrimination.

Labor Union

An organized group of workers formed to improve wages, hours, and working conditions.

Knights of Labor

A labor union open to skilled and unskilled workers that sought broad social and economic reforms.

American Federation of Labor

A labor union founded by Samuel Gompers that focused on improving wages and working conditions for skilled workers.

Samuel Gompers

Founder of the AFL who believed unions should focus on practical economic goals for workers.

Collective Bargaining

Negotiation between workers and employers over wages, hours, and working conditions.

Eugene V. Debs

Labor leader and socialist who supported industrial unionism and led the Pullman Strike.

Industrial Workers of the World

Radical labor union known as the Wobblies that aimed to unite all workers into one large union.

Wobblies

Nickname for members of the Industrial Workers of the World.

Great Strike of 1877

Nationwide railroad strike that was crushed by federal troops after violent clashes.

Haymarket Square Riot

Violent labor protest in Chicago in 1886 where a bomb exploded during a workers’ rally.

Homestead Strike

Violent steelworkers’ strike against Carnegie Steel in 1892 that ended after state militia intervention.

Pullman Strike

Railroad strike in 1894 that disrupted mail delivery and was ended by federal troops.

Federal Government Response to Strikes

The government usually sided with business owners by using troops, injunctions, or police force against striking workers.

Yellow Dog Contracts

Agreements in which workers promised not to join labor unions as a condition of employment.

Scabs

Replacement workers hired to break strikes.

Political Machine

An organization that controlled local politics by exchanging jobs and services for votes.

Rutherford B. Hayes

President who used federal troops to end the Great Strike of 1877.

Political Boss

Powerful political leader who controlled a political machine and influenced elections and government jobs.

James A. Garfield

President assassinated by a disappointed office seeker, increasing support for civil service reform.

Graft

The use of political power for personal gain through dishonest or illegal means.

Kickbacks

Illegal payments made in return for political favors or contracts.

Chester A. Arthur

President who supported civil service reform and signed the Pendleton Civil Service Act.

Tammany Hall

Powerful Democratic political machine that controlled New York City politics.

Grover Cleveland

President known for opposing political corruption and supporting limited government.

Boss Tweed

Corrupt leader of Tammany Hall who stole millions through political fraud.

Benjamin Harrison

President during the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act and McKinley Tariff.

Tweed Ring

Group of corrupt politicians associated with Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall.

William McKinley

Republican president associated with high protective tariffs and victory in the Spanish-American War.

Thomas Nast

Political cartoonist who exposed corruption in Tammany Hall and helped bring down Boss Tweed.

William Jennings Bryan

Populist and Democratic leader who supported free silver and appealed to farmers and workers.

Patronage

The practice of giving government jobs to political supporters.

Populist Party

Political party formed by farmers and laborers seeking economic reforms and greater government regulation.

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Law creating a merit-based system for federal jobs instead of patronage.

Sherman Antitrust Act

Federal law intended to break up monopolies and limit trusts that restrained trade.

McKinley Tariff Act of 1890

Law that raised tariffs on imported goods to protect American industries.

Interstate Commerce Act

Law regulating railroads and requiring fair railroad rates.

Laissez-Faire

Economic policy in which the government avoids interfering in business affairs.

Battle of Little Bighorn

1876 battle in which Lakota and Cheyenne forces defeated General Custer and the U.S. Army.

Wounded Knee Massacre

1890 massacre in which U.S. troops killed hundreds of Lakota Sioux, marking the end of armed Native American resistance.

Carlisle Indian School

Boarding school designed to force Native American children to adopt white American culture.

“Kill the Indian, Save the Man”

Phrase describing the assimilation policy that aimed to erase Native American culture.

Assimilation

The process of forcing minority groups to adopt the culture of the dominant society.

Dawes Act

Law that divided Native American tribal lands into individual plots in order to encourage assimilation.

Ghost Dance

Native American spiritual movement that promised the return of buffalo and the disappearance of white settlers.

Reservations

Areas of land set aside by the federal government for Native American tribes.

Buffalo Bill Show

Traveling Wild West show that romanticized frontier life and Native American culture.

Buffalo

Animal central to Plains Native American life that was nearly exterminated by westward expansion.

The Grange

Organization founded by farmers to improve economic conditions and fight railroad abuses.

Farmers Alliance

Farmers’ organization that pushed for economic reforms and later influenced the Populist Party.

Great Plains

Large grassland region in the central United States settled by farmers and ranchers.

Barbed Wire

Fencing material that allowed farmers and ranchers to enclose land cheaply on the Great Plains.

Progressivism

Reform movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s that aimed to solve problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, and political corruption.

Theodore Roosevelt

Progressive president who expanded federal power, regulated corporations, and promoted conservation.

William H. Taft

Progressive president who pursued antitrust lawsuits but split the Republican Party.

Woodrow Wilson

Progressive president who supported banking reform, antitrust legislation, and tariff reduction.

Booker T. Washington

African American leader who promoted vocational education and gradual economic advancement.

W.E.B. Du Bois

African American intellectual who demanded immediate civil rights and helped found the NAACP.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Civil rights organization founded to fight racial discrimination and segregation.