History Unit 2: The Gilded Age, Big Business, Immigration, and Urban Politics

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, economic theories, tycoons, immigration stations, laws, and urban political systems of History Unit 2.

Gilded Age

The era between 1870 and 1900 characterized by rapid urbanization, industrialization, tremendous economic growth, new technologies, and unprecedented prosperity, accompanied by corruption, greed, social tension, public health challenges, exploitation of workers, racial discrimination, and extreme poverty for the working class.

Laissez-faire

An 18th-century economic philosophy that opposes any government intervention in business affairs, resulting in policies such as having no minimum wage.

Social Darwinism

The idea that some citizens become wealthy and powerful because they are better.

Gospel of Wealth

A theory holding that the rich have a responsibility to spend their money to benefit the greater good and should give back in some way.

Assembly Line (Henry Ford)

A production method whose first major step forward was taking the work to the men instead of the men to the work, allowing one worker to do what required more than four workers only a few years prior.

Robber Baron

A cruel, ruthless businessman who used unethical methods to make a fortune, characterized by exploiting workers, manipulating markets, driving competitors to ruin, and destroying natural resources.

Captain of Industry

An ingenious and hardworking leader who transformed the U.S. economy and revolutionized business operations by providing jobs, increasing productivity, donating generously to charity, and using wealth to benefit society.

John D. Rockefeller

The Gilded Age tycoon of Standard Oil (worth $400 Billion today) who utilized horizontal integration to control approximately 90% of the oil refining industry by 1880.

Andrew Carnegie

The Gilded Age tycoon of Steel and Railroads (worth $373 Billion today) who used vertical integration to significantly reduce production costs and outcompete rivals.

J.P. Morgan

A major Gilded Age business tycoon of the banking industry, whose wealth equates to $2.5 Billion today.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy in which a company owns all steps of production from start to finish to significantly reduce costs and outcompete rivals.

Horizontal Integration

A business strategy in which a company acquires one or more companies at the same level of the supply chain within its industry.

Trust

A set of companies managed by a board of trustees who control the operations, pricing, and business strategy of all involved companies, causing them to cease operating independently even if retaining original names.

Ellis Island

An East Coast immigrant processing center in New York primarily receiving European immigrants, marked by short six-second medical exams, 29 questions, stays of 1 to 2 days, and a low rejection rate of 6% (1.2 Million out of 19 Million).

Angel Island

A West Coast immigrant processing center in San Francisco primarily receiving Asian immigrants, marked by long, detailed medical exams, searched belongings, hundreds of questions, stays of 2–3 weeks to a year, and a 33% rejection rate (50,000 out of 150,000).

Chinese Exclusion Act

A federal law signed on May 6th, 1882, that barred most Chinese immigration by placing a 10-year ban on Chinese laborers, while exempting merchants, diplomats, scholars, and students.

First Wave of Immigration

An early demographic flow of immigrants arriving primarily from Northern and Western Europe, mostly Protestant, alongside incoming Asian immigrants.

Second Wave of Immigration

A demographic wave marked by a significant increase in immigrants arriving from Southern and Eastern Europe, who were mostly Catholic, alongside Asian immigrants who faced growing legal restrictions.

Dumbbell Tenement

A multi-family style apartment building designed for urban housing that was extremely packed and prone to the rapid spread of disease.

Settlement Housing

Community centers created to provide childcare for immigrant children, teach important skills, and educate immigrants on American culture to help them thrive.

Hull House

A prominent example of settlement housing that taught immigrants how to cook, sew, and adapt to the American way of life.

Nativism

Overt favoritism towards native-born Americans that gave rise to anti-immigrant groups and demands for legal restrictions on immigration.

Know Nothing Party

The main nativist political party formed due to anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic sentiment, which advocated extending the waiting period for naturalization and voting from 5 to 21 years and banning immigrants from holding public office.

Political Machine

An organization linked to a political party that controlled local government by providing voters with essential services, jobs, food, housing, support, and money in exchange for their votes.

Graft

The corrupt practice of using political influence for personal gain, such as charging taxpayers $13,000,000 for a building project that only cost $3,000,000.

Election Fraud

Corrupt methods used by political machines to secure victory, including voting multiple times using fake names, casting ballots for deceased voters, altering physical appearances, and using violence and intimidation.

Factors Leading to the Rise of Big Business

Three key developments that enabled industrial growth: a wealth of natural resources such as oil and steel, active government support for businesses, and a rapidly growing urban population that supplied cheap labor and an expanding consumer market.

Pros of Big Business

Three major benefits of corporate expansion: the ability to manufacture goods in larger quantities, the employment of large numbers of workers, and greater operational efficiency that lowered prices for consumers.

Cons of Big Business

Three major drawbacks of corporate monopolies: the widespread exploitation of industrial workers, corrupt and disproportionate influence over politics, and indifference toward environmental harm and resource destruction.

Economic Cause of the Chinese Exclusion Act

Fears among native-born workers that Chinese immigrants would take manufacturing and railroad jobs by accepting lower wages.

Federal Disparity Between Ellis Island and Angel Island

The contrast in government policy where Ellis Island had no legal entry bans and admitted 98% of European arrivals, whereas Angel Island was specifically constructed to detain and exclude Asian laborers under naturalization laws that historically favored white people.

Gilded Age Immigrant Pull Factors

Key attractions drawing newcomers to the United States, including plentiful industrial jobs, opportunities tied to land and infrastructure growth, and urban ethnic enclaves that allowed immigrants to maintain their native customs.

Gilded Age Immigrant Hardships and Obstacles

The severe challenges faced by incoming immigrants, including perilous ocean voyages in cramped conditions, language and cultural barriers, complex legal procedures, and rising nativist hostility.

Municipal Problem Leading to Political Machines

Rapid urban population growth that outpaced the capacity of municipal governments to meet the basic needs of city residents, creating a vacuum filled by neighborhood bosses.

Boss Tweed

The corrupt leader of New York City's Tammany Hall political machine who symbolized Gilded Age graft, famously overbilling taxpayers $13,000,000 for a courthouse construction project that actually cost only $3,000,000.

Police Control by Political Machines

The corrupt tactic of dominating local law enforcement agencies to ensure officers protected machine operations, overlooked illegal graft, and ignored widespread election fraud.