Period 6 Gilded Age

End of the Civil War (1865)

Marked the beginning of rapid industrialization and the Gilded Age

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery in the United States

Freedmen’s Bureau

Federal agency that provided aid, education, and assistance to formerly enslaved people

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Defined citizenship and guaranteed equal protection under the law

14th Amendment

Granted citizenship and equal protection to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S.

Transcontinental Railroad

Linked the eastern and western United States, creating a national market

15th Amendment

Prohibited denying voting rights based on race, color, or previous servitude

Standard Oil Founded

Rockefeller’s oil company that became a powerful monopoly

Panic of 1873

Economic depression caused by railroad overexpansion and speculation

Civil Rights Act of 1875

Attempted to guarantee equal access to public accommodations

Battle of Little Bighorn

Native American victory against U.S. forces led by Custer

Compromise of 1877

Ended Reconstruction by removing federal troops from the South

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

First nationwide labor strike that was crushed by federal troops

Chinese Exclusion Act

Banned Chinese immigration to the United States

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Established merit-based federal employment and ended the spoils system

Haymarket Affair

Violent labor protest that damaged public support for unions

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Labor union for skilled workers focused on wages and working conditions

Interstate Commerce Act

First federal law regulating railroads

Dawes Act

Broke up Native American tribal lands into individual allotments

Sherman Antitrust Act

Federal law intended to limit monopolies and trusts

Homestead Strike

Violent steelworkers strike against Carnegie Steel

Populist Party

Political party formed by farmers demanding economic reform

Panic of 1893

Severe economic depression causing widespread unemployment

Pullman Strike

Railroad strike broken by federal troops

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court case establishing “separate but equal”

Election of 1896

McKinley defeated Bryan, signaling dominance of pro-business politics

Spanish-American War

War that marked U.S. emergence as an imperial power

Andrew Carnegie

Steel industrialist who used vertical integration and promoted the Gospel of Wealth

John D. Rockefeller

Oil tycoon who used horizontal integration to create Standard Oil

J.P. Morgan

Banker who consolidated corporations and stabilized financial markets

Eugene V. Debs

Labor leader associated with the Pullman Strike and socialism

William Jennings Bryan

Populist leader who supported free silver

William McKinley

Pro-business president elected in 1896

Herbert Spencer

Philosopher who promoted Social Darwinism

Terence Powderly

Leader of the Knights of Labor

Gilded Age

Period of rapid industrial growth and extreme inequality

Laissez-faire

Economic policy of minimal government interference in business

Social Darwinism

Belief that economic success reflects natural superiority

Gospel of Wealth

Idea that the wealthy should give back to society

Vertical Integration

Company controls all stages of production

Horizontal Integration

Company controls competitors in one industry

Trust

Group of companies controlled by a single board

Monopoly

Exclusive control of an industry by one company

Knights of Labor

Labor union that included skilled and unskilled workers

Free Silver

Policy calling for unlimited silver coinage to inflate currency

Political Machines

Organizations that controlled cities through patronage and corruption

Nativism

Opposition to immigration

Robber Barons

Critical term for wealthy industrialists accused of exploitation

Captains of Industry

Positive term for business leaders who helped economic growth