Key Topics in U.S. History: Gilded Age, Reconstruction, and Social Movements

us history

Growth of the Middle Class

The expansion of clerical, managerial, and professional jobs created a distinct middle class supported by rising wages and urban growth.

Rise of Consumer Culture

Department stores, chain stores, and mail-order catalogs made goods accessible to more people and reshaped buying habits.

Urban Leisure and Entertainment

Increased free time led to the rise of baseball, basketball, vaudeville shows, and early films as popular entertainment.

Women in the Workforce (1880-1910)

Large numbers of women entered clerical and sales jobs, creating new economic roles and opportunities.

Social Gospel Movement

A religious reform movement arguing that Christians had a responsibility to address poverty, inequality, and social injustice.

Women's Higher Education

New colleges such as Vassar and expanded educational access helped women enter professional and reform roles.

Women's Suffrage in the West

Western states granted women voting rights earlier due to frontier communities' differing social structures and political needs.

Gilded Age Political Stalemate

Divided control of Congress and weak presidential authority resulted in limited legislative progress at the national level.

Political Machines (e.g., Tammany Hall)

Organizations that gained power by helping immigrants with jobs and services in exchange for votes.

Laissez-Faire Economics

The belief that government should interfere as little as possible in economic affairs, allowing markets to regulate themselves.

Populist Party Goals

Called for free silver, a graduated income tax, public ownership of railroads, direct election of senators, and support for farmers and workers.

Election of 1896 Significance

Marked the decline of Populism and the dominance of pro-business Republican politics.

Gospel of Wealth

Andrew Carnegie's idea that wealthy individuals had a moral responsibility to use their fortunes to improve society.

Black Political Participation during Reconstruction

Thousands of Black men held public office, reshaping Southern governance and pushing civil rights forward.

Freedmen's Bureau Purpose

Provided food, clothing, education, and employment support to formerly enslaved people.

Reconstruction Backlash (KKK, Black Codes)

White supremacist violence and discriminatory laws sought to limit Black freedom and political power.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Legalized 'separate but equal,' allowing segregation to become widespread and entrenched.

Civil Rights Cases (1883)

Ruled that the 14th Amendment applied only to state actions, not private discrimination.

Role of Black Churches

Served as political, educational, and community centers during segregation and Reconstruction.

Ida B. Wells and Anti-Lynching

Journalist who exposed the violence of lynching and challenged racial injustice after the murder of close friends.

Compromise of 1877

Ended Reconstruction by withdrawing federal troops from the South.

Mercantilism in the Colonies

The economic theory that colonies existed to enrich the mother country through controlled trade.

Navigation Acts

British laws restricting colonial trade to ensure profits flowed back to England.

Salutary Neglect

Britain's policy of loosely enforcing colonial regulations, allowing colonists to practice self-government.

Mayflower Compact

Early colonial agreement establishing government based on the consent of the governed.

Economic Differences: New England vs. Southern Colonies

New England relied on maritime trade and small industry; the South relied on plantation agriculture and enslaved labor.

Forced African Migration

The Middle Passage brought millions of enslaved Africans to the Americas, transforming demographics and economies.

Tobacco as a Cash Crop

Became a mass-market commodity through global demand and plantation labor systems.

Stono Rebellion

A major slave uprising that exposed tensions within the colonial slave system.

First Great Awakening

Religious revival emphasizing emotional faith and personal conversion, challenging established church authority.

Nativism in the 19th Century

Hostility toward immigrants, especially Catholics and Irish newcomers.

Bleeding Kansas

Violence that erupted when settlers attempted to decide the status of slavery through popular sovereignty.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Allowed slavery to be decided by settlers, undermining the Missouri Compromise and heightening sectional conflict.

Election of 1860

Abraham Lincoln's victory triggered Southern secession and the start of the Civil War.

Cotton and the Global Economy

By 1860, the American South produced over half of the world's cotton, deeply influencing the global market.

Domestic Slave Trade (New Orleans)

New Orleans became a major hub for the buying and selling of enslaved people.

Enlightenment Influence on the Revolution

Ideas about natural rights and social contracts shaped colonial arguments for independence.

Urbanization in the Gilded Age

Factories and industrial jobs drew millions into cities, reshaping demographics and social structures.

Rise of Department Stores

Created new shopping experiences by offering a wide variety of goods at lower prices in centralized locations.

Booker T. Washington's Approach

Emphasized economic improvement and vocational training as the path to Black advancement.

W.E.B. Du Bois's Approach

Called for higher education, political action, and leadership development for immediate civil rights.

William Jennings Bryan and Free Silver

Argued that expanding the money supply through silver coinage would help farmers and working people.

Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

Promoted temperance but also broader social reforms related to morality and family life.

Popular Sovereignty

Allowed settlers in U.S. territories to vote on whether to permit slavery.

Political Impacts of Urban Immigration

Rapid immigration increased the influence of political machines that offered services in exchange for political loyalty.

Reconstruction Voting Restrictions

Literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses worked to disenfranchise Black voters.

"Separate but Equal" Doctrine

Legal framework that justified segregation in schools, transportation, and public spaces.

Industrialization and Leisure Culture

Shorter workweeks and rising incomes opened space for modern sports, entertainment, and recreation.

African American Leadership After Reconstruction

Leaders like Wells, Washington, and Du Bois shaped debates about race, rights, and strategies for advancement.

The Social and Political Role of Education in the Gilded Age

Growing access to colleges expanded civic participation and changed expectations for women and the middle class.