1.4 Challenging The Gilded Age

Gilded Age

Coined by Mark Twain, it refers to an era of greed and corruption where power was concentrated in the hands of industrialists and politicians, despite the false impression that corruption dominated all aspects of life.

Patronage System

The practice of distributing government jobs based on political connections rather than merit, leading to corruption and nepotism, which was significantly reformed after President Garfield's assassination.

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Passed in response to Garfield's assassination, it prohibited federal officeholders from making political contributions and introduced competitive examinations for government jobs, aiming to reduce corruption in the civil service.

Greenback Party

A political party in the 1870s advocating for a national currency not backed by gold, aiming to address the limited money supply tied to gold and help farmers and entrepreneurs in debt.

Grange

Also known as the Patrons of Husbandry, it was an organization of farmers promoting economic cooperation, collective action, and legislation to regulate monopolistic practices like those of railroads.

Readjusters

A political movement in Virginia led by William Mahone, seeking to reduce state debt and adjust government spending, uniting poor whites and blacks against the planter elite, but ultimately defeated due to racial and political opposition.

Knights of Labor

A secret worker's fraternity with utopian goals of collective ownership of factories, advocating for economic restructuring and social reforms, which gained significant membership in the late 19th century.

Labor Day

A day of worker solidarity declared after a national work stoppage on May 1, 1886, by various trade unions representing skilled laborers.

Haymarket Affair

A labor protest in Chicago on May 4, 1886, where a bomb explosion led to the deaths of several policemen and bystanders, resulting in the arrest and execution of anarchists.

American Exceptionalism

The belief that America is unique from other nations, fostering a faith in economic opportunity and individual advancement rather than collectivism.

Knights of Labor

A labor union that faced suspicion and declining membership due to connections with radicalism and violence, contrasting with the American belief in upward mobility.

New Departure

A strategy in the women's suffrage movement advocating for equal rights and citizenship as the basis for women's right to vote, without the need for specific laws enfranchising women.

Victoria Woodhull

A stockbroker, author, editor, presidential candidate, and radical women’s rights advocate who defied conventions in the late nineteenth century.

Susan B

A prominent figure in the women's suffrage movement who challenged the laws barring women from voting and was arrested for attempting to vote in Rochester.

New Departure

A strategy followed by suffragists like Sojourner Truth, Mary Ann Shadd Cary, and others to push for women's suffrage by attempting to vote and challenging the laws.

Minor v

A Supreme Court case where Virginia Minor sued the registrar who disqualified her vote, leading to a ruling that voting was not an inherent right of citizenship.

Gender and Democracy

The debate sparked by women like Susan B. Anthony and Virginia Minor challenging the norms and laws regarding suffrage, leading to a reconsideration of assumptions about gender and democracy in the late nineteenth century.