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Capitalism

An economic system based on private property and free enterprise.

Monopoly

the exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service.

Social Darwinism

The belief that only the fittest survive in human political and economic struggle.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 law that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers

Natvism

the policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants.

Assimilation

the social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another

political machine

a strong organization that can control political appointments and deliver votes

Dawes Act

An act that removed Indian land from tribal possesion, redivided it, and distributed it among individual Indian families. Designed to break tribal mentalities and promote Americanization

Ellis Island

Immigration processing center that open in New York Harbor in 1892

labor union

An organization of workers that tries to improve working conditions, wages, and benefits for its members

Haymarket Riot

In this location, a bomb was hurled toward police officials, and police opened fire on the demonstrators; numerous policemen and demonstrators were killed and wounded; response in nation's press was decidedly anti-union.

Settlement Houses (Hull House)

Community centers located in the slums and near tenements that gave aid to the poor, especially immigrants

Tenement

A building in which several families rent rooms or apartments, often with little sanitation or safety

rural

countryside

urban

city

Communism

A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

Laissez-faire

Idea that government should play as small a role as possible in economic affairs.

steam engine

an engine that uses the expansion or rapid condensation of steam to generate power.especially in the railroads

Poltical Machine

a political boss promises favors to poor/ immigrants in exchange for their votes. He then uses those votes to get senators elected and the senators than owe the boss favors.

andrew carnegie

A Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist who founded the Carnegie Steel Company in 1892. By 1901, his company dominated the American steel industry.

Vanderbilt

Railroad Monopoly

J.P. Morgan

Banking Monopoly

Rockefeller

Standard Oil/ Oil monopoly

Gospel of Wealth

This was a book written by Carnegie that described the responsibility of the rich to be philanthropists. This softened the harshness of Social Darwinism as well as promoted the idea of philanthropy.

philanthropy

Charitable donation to public causes

Homestead Act

1862 - Provided free land in the West to anyone willing to settle there and develop it. Encouraged westward migration.

Industrialization

The development of industries for the machine production of goods. (change from agricultural work to manufacturing)

Social Gospel

A movement in the late 1800s / early 1900s which emphasized charity and social responsibility as a means of salvation.

Jane Adams (1860-1935)

She founded Hull House, America's first settlement house, to help immigrants assimilate through education, counseling, and municipal reform efforts. She also advocated pacifism throughout her life, including during World War I, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.

Immigration

New Immigrants: From Eastern Europe. Came through Ellis Island Also Chinese Immigrants, who came through Angel Island. The Chinese were detained for long periods of time at Angel Island.

E pluribus unum

from many, one

Boss Tweed

A political boss who carried corruption to new extremes, and cheated the city out of more than $100 million

Monopoly

Complete control of a product or business by one person or group

Vertical Integration

Practice where a single entity controls the entire process of a product, from the raw materials to distribution

Horizontal Integration

Absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in the same level of production and sharing resources at that level

Interstate Commerce Act

1887 law passed to regulate railroad monopolies

Sherman Antitrust Act

an 1890 law that banned the formation of trusts and monopolies in the United States. Not very effective due to political corruption.

Child Labor

Children were viewed as laborers throughout the 19th century. Many children worked on farms, small businesses, mills and factories. They could be paid less, had small hand (used o fix machines), and complained less than adults.

Ellis Island

An immigrant receiving station that opened in 1892, where European immigrants came through

Angel Island

The immigration station on the west coast where Asian immigrants, mostly Chinese gained admission to the U.S. at San Francisco Bay. Between 1910 and 1940 50k Chinese immigrants entered through Angel Island. Questioning and conditions at Angel Island were much harsher than Ellis Island in New York.

Melting Pot Theory

Analogy of American Immigration in which the ingredients in the pot (people of different cultures, races and religions) are combined so as to develop a multi-ethnic society.

Lassiez Faire

idea that government should stay out of business and economic affairs as much as possible

Populist Party Platform

Free coinage of silver (bimetallism), direct election of senators, and national income tax.

Transcontinental Railroad

Railroad connecting the west and east coasts of the continental US

Reasons people moved west

1. Gold Rush, Railroads, Homestead Act (cheap land)

New inventions and Impact

Alexander Graham Bell -Telephone- improves communication. Faster, safer.

Samuel Morse -Telegraph/ Morse Code- improves communication. Faster, safer, over long distance.

Thomas Edison -incandescent light bulb- lengthens the work day. No longer dependent on sunlight.

Thomas Savery -Steam engine-makes transporting goods and people faster a