Gilded Age to WWI: Industrialization, Progressives, and Migration

What were the four factors that contributed to the U.S. becoming an industrial powerhouse?

Natural resources, workers, inventions, and little government regulation.

What is the formula for understanding the rapid industrialization of the U.S.?

Resources + Workers + Inventions + Little Government = Industry BOOM.

What were some benefits of Big Business?

Created jobs, made more products, products became cheaper, and helped the economy grow.

What were some criticisms of Big Business?

Monopolies could control entire industries, business owners had too much power, and workers could be treated poorly.

Who were the key figures associated with Big Business in the Gilded Age?

Andrew Carnegie (steel), John D. Rockefeller (oil), and J.P. Morgan (banking/finance).

What were the main reasons labor unions formed?

Workers faced low pay, long hours, dangerous working conditions, and few/no benefits.

What does Nativism mean?

The belief that native-born Americans should be favored over immigrants.

What were the push factors for immigration?

War, hunger, poverty, religious persecution, and lack of jobs.

What were the pull factors for immigration to America?

Jobs, better opportunities, freedom, higher wages, and hope for a better life.

What is urbanization?

The growth of cities as more people move into them.

What problems arose from rapid urbanization?

Dirty/unsafe water, disease, crime, pollution, and overcrowding.

What did Progressives believe about government?

Government should fix problems caused by industrialization and rapid city growth.

What were the four goals of the Progressive movement?

Social welfare, moral improvement, economic reform, and efficiency.

What is a muckraker?

A journalist who exposed problems in society to encourage reform.

What did Jacob Riis expose?

Poor living conditions in tenements.

What did Upton Sinclair expose?

Unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry.

What did Ida B. Wells focus on in her work?

Lynching and racial injustice.

What were the key political reforms during the Progressive Era?

17th Amendment (direct election of U.S. senators), recall, and referendum.

What was the Temperance movement?

A movement aimed at reducing or stopping alcohol use, which eventually led to Prohibition.

What was the significance of settlement houses?

They helped immigrants and poor people with education, childcare, and other services.

What were the main differences between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois?

Washington advocated for economic skills first, while Du Bois demanded immediate social equality.

What were the two main reasons the U.S. entered WWI?

Unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram.

What was the Great Migration?

The movement of many African Americans from the South to Northern cities.

What were the push factors for the Great Migration?

Jim Crow laws, racism, violence, discrimination, and lack of opportunities.

What were the pull factors for the Great Migration?

Factory jobs, better wages, and more opportunities.

What was the homefront during WWI?

What happened in America while the war was happening overseas, including increased government control of the economy.

What was the Sedition Act?

A law that limited what people could say about the government and the war during WWI.

What role did women and people of color play during WWI?

They filled many jobs left by soldiers who went off to fight.