Key Terms and Concepts in Gilded Age and Imperialism

Gilded Age

Rapid economic growth combined with extreme inequality and social instability

Trust

A business arrangement that consolidated companies to eliminate competition and control markets

Horizontal Integration

Controlling multiple companies within the same industry to dominate a market

Vertical Integration

Controlling all stages of production and distribution within an industry

Monopoly

A single company dominating an industry and controlling prices and output

Laissez-faire

Economic belief that government should not interfere with business practices

Social Darwinism

The idea that economic success reflects natural superiority and competition

Knights of Labor

Labor organization that included skilled and unskilled workers and pushed for broad social reform

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Labor union focused on skilled workers and practical economic improvements like wages and hours

Labor Strike

A collective work stoppage used by workers to demand better conditions or pay

Collective Bargaining

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

Injunction

A court order used to stop strikes or labor actions

Urbanization

Rapid growth of cities due to industrialization and migration

Tenement

Overcrowded and poorly built housing for urban working-class residents

Political Machine

Organization that traded services or favors for political support and votes

New Immigrants

Immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe who faced discrimination and cultural resistance

Nativism

Opposition to immigrants based on fear of cultural or economic threat

Chinese Exclusion Act

First major U.S. law restricting immigration based on ethnicity

Ellis Island

Federal immigration processing center symbolizing mass immigration and bureaucratic control

Melting Pot

The idea that diverse immigrant groups blend into a single American culture

Assimilation

Process by which immigrants adopt dominant cultural norms

Robber Baron

Term used to criticize industrialists for exploiting workers and corrupt practices

Captain of Industry

Term used to praise industrialists for driving economic growth and innovation

Subsidy

Government financial support given to businesses to encourage growth

Protective Tariff

Tax on imports designed to support domestic industries

Industrialization

Shift from hand production to machine-based factory production

Mass Production

Large-scale manufacturing using standardized processes

Consumer Culture

Economic system where people increasingly buy goods produced by large industries

Department Store

Large retail store offering a variety of goods in one place, symbolizing consumer expansion

White Man's Burden

Belief that Americans had a duty to civilize and govern nonwhite peoples

Imperialism

Expansion of a nation's power through territorial or economic control abroad

Annexation

Adding territory to a nation

Sphere of Influence

A region where a country has economic or political dominance

Open Door Policy

U.S. policy promoting equal trade access in China

Spanish-American War

Conflict that expanded U.S. influence overseas and marked emergence as a global power

Roosevelt Corollary

Policy asserting U.S. right to intervene in Latin America to maintain stability

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized media used to influence public opinion and support war