Literally everything about the Gilded Age

What was the Gilded Age?

The period roughly 1870-1900, named by Mark Twain to suggest a glittering surface concealing serious social problems.

What was the Second Industrial Revolution?

The post-Civil War wave of industrialization driven by steel, railroads, oil, and electricity.

What was vertical integration?

A business strategy of controlling every stage of production.

What was horizontal integration?

Buying out or merging with competitors in the same industry to dominate a market.

What was a trust?

A legal arrangement where competing companies handed control to a board of trustees in exchange for stock.

What was Social Darwinism?

The application of Darwin's 'survival of the fittest' to economics and society.

What was the 'Gospel of Wealth'?

Andrew Carnegie's argument that the rich had a moral obligation to use their wealth for the public good.

What were the railroads' economic effects?

Created a national market, lowered shipping costs, and stimulated steel and coal industries.

What was the significance of the Bessemer process?

A cheap, fast method for converting iron into steel, enabling large-scale steel production.

What were 'robber barons'?

A critical term for industrialists like Rockefeller and Carnegie, highlighting their monopolistic practices.

What were the main grievances of Gilded Age workers?

12-16 hour workdays, dangerous conditions, child labor, low wages, and no job security.

What was the Great Railroad Strike of 1877?

The first major national labor strike over wage cuts, suppressed by federal troops.

What was the Knights of Labor?

The first major national labor organization, advocating for an 8-hour workday and abolition of child labor.

What was the Haymarket Affair (1886)?

A labor rally that turned violent, leading to the conviction of eight anarchists.

What was the American Federation of Labor (AFL)?

Founded by Samuel Gompers, it focused on skilled workers and practical goals.

What was the Homestead Strike (1892)?

A strike by Carnegie Steel workers that was violently suppressed.

What was the Pullman Strike (1894)?

A strike over wage cuts and rent, leading to federal intervention.

What was the significance of the Pullman Strike for labor law?

It established the precedent of federal intervention against strikes.

What was a 'yellow-dog contract'?

A condition of employment requiring workers to promise not to join a union.

What was the significance of child labor in the Gilded Age?

Hundreds of thousands of children worked in mines and factories, reflecting the lack of worker protections.

What was the Spoils System / patronage?

The practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs regardless of qualification.

What was Tammany Hall?

The Democratic Party political machine that dominated New York City politics.

What was the Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)?

The first major federal reform of the spoils system, creating a merit-based Civil Service Commission.

What was the 'Gilded Age party stalemate'?

Republicans and Democrats were nearly evenly matched, producing legislative gridlock.

What was the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)?

The first federal law targeting monopolies, declaring illegal 'every contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade.'

What was the Interstate Commerce Act (1887)?

Created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to regulate railroad rates — the first federal regulatory agency.

What was 'Gilded Age laissez-faire'?

The dominant ideology that government should not interfere in the economy, backed by Social Darwinism and Supreme Court rulings.

What was the significance of Wabash v. Illinois (1886)?

The Supreme Court ruled states could not regulate interstate railroad rates — only Congress could.

What problems did Gilded Age farmers face?

Falling crop prices, rising railroad freight rates, debt from mortgages, deflation, and monopolies.

What was the Grange (Patrons of Husbandry)?

Founded in 1867, it was the first major farmers' organization promoting cooperative buying and lobbying for railroad regulation.

What was the Farmers' Alliance?

A large agrarian movement of the 1880s advocating for government-owned railroads and a graduated income tax.

What was the Populist (People's) Party?

Founded in 1892, it united farmers and laborers behind demands for government ownership of railroads and free silver.

What was the 'free silver' debate?

Farmers wanted the government to coin silver freely to inflate the money supply and raise crop prices.

What was the significance of the Election of 1896?

Republican William McKinley defeated Democrat-Populist William Jennings Bryan, marking the collapse of Populism.

What was William Jennings Bryan's 'Cross of Gold' speech (1896)?

Bryan's address attacking the gold standard, which won him the Democratic nomination but failed to win the presidency.

What was the 'New Immigration'?

The shift after 1880 from immigrants primarily from Northern and Western Europe to those from Southern and Eastern Europe.

What was Ellis Island?

The main federal immigration processing center opened in 1892, where over 12 million immigrants passed through.

What were tenements?

Cramped, poorly ventilated multi-family apartment buildings in immigrant neighborhoods, symbolizing urban poverty.

What was nativism in the Gilded Age?

Anti-immigrant sentiment rooted in racial, religious, and economic fears, leading to laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act.

What was the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)?

The first federal law to ban a specific ethnic group from immigrating, targeting Chinese laborers.

What was the significance of urban political machines for immigrants?

Machines like Tammany Hall provided jobs and assistance to immigrants in exchange for votes.

What was Hull House?

A settlement house founded by Jane Addams in 1889, providing education and social services to immigrant communities.

What was the 'Nadir of American Race Relations'?

The period from 1877 to 1920 when conditions for Black Americans reached their lowest point since slavery.

What were Jim Crow laws?

State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the South after Reconstruction.

What was Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)?

The Supreme Court upheld racial segregation under the doctrine of 'separate but equal.'

What was the convict leasing system?

Southern states leased Black prisoners to private companies for labor, extending slavery by other means.

What was Ida B. Wells's contribution?

A journalist who documented lynching in the South, connecting it to economic competition and racial control.

What was Booker T. Washington's philosophy?

Advocated for Black economic self-improvement and vocational training through the 'Atlanta Compromise.'

What was W.E.B. Du Bois's critique of Washington?

Du Bois demanded full civil rights immediately and higher education for the 'Talented Tenth.'

What was the Dawes Act (1887)?

Broke up communal tribal lands and distributed individual allotments to Native Americans, destroying tribal sovereignty.