The Gilded Age

Communication technology

Innovations like the telegraph and telephone that improved long distance communication.

Steel Industry

Industry producing steel, essential for railroads, buildings, and bridges.

Electric power light

Widespread use of electricity for lighting and machines.

Transportation technology

Innovations like railroads, streetcars, and steamships improving travel and trade.

Department stores

Large retail stores offering many products under one roof.

Consumer economy

Economy driven by mass consumption of goods by the public.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Industrialist who built wealth in railroads and shipping.

Jay Gould

Powerful and often corrupt railroad financier and speculator.

JP Morgan

Banker who controlled railroads and helped form major corporations.

Andrew Carnegie and US Steel

Industrialist who dominated the steel industry and promoted vertical integration.

John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil

Industrialist who dominated oil through monopolies and trusts.

Corporate power organization structures

Ways businesses organized to maximize profit, like trusts and holding companies.

Laissez Faire capitalism

Economic policy of minimal government interference in business.

Adam Smith

Economist who promoted free markets and competition.

Social Darwinism

Belief that only the strongest businesses and people succeed in society.

Concentration of Wealth

Large wealth held by a few industrialists while workers earned low wages.

Wage workers abuse

Factory and labor employees often treated unfairly and paid poorly.

Labor discontent

Worker frustration over long hours, low pay, and unsafe conditions.

Industrial warfare

Strikes and conflicts between workers and employers.

Collective bargaining

Negotiation between workers and employers over wages and conditions.

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

Nationwide strike over wage cuts and poor working conditions.

Knights of Labor

Labor union open to all workers, advocated for broad reforms.

Haymarket Bombing

1886 Chicago protest that turned violent, hurting labor movement support.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

union focused on skilled workers and practical labor goals.

Pullman Strike

1894 nationwide railroad strike over wage cuts and high rents in company town.

White collar workers

Office or professional workers, not manual laborers.

Middle management

Supervisors between workers and executives in companies.

“Gospel of Wealth”

Carnegie’s idea that rich people should use wealth to benefit society.

Growth of suburbs

Expansion of residential areas outside cities due to transportation improvements.

W.E.B. Du Bois

African American activist who pushed for civil rights and higher education.

Growth of leisure time

Increased free time for recreation and entertainment in the late 19th century.

Push and Pull Factors

Reasons immigrants leave home (push) and are attracted to a new place (pull).

Jazz, Blues, ragtime

Popular music genres reflecting African American culture.

“Old” v. “new” immigrants – Old: northern

western Europe; New: southern eastern Europe.

Asian immigration

Migration of Chinese, Japanese, and other Asians, often facing discrimination.

Ethnic neighborhoods

Immigrant communities preserving culture in U.S. cities.

Political Stalemate (Rs v. Ds)

Little progress due to close competition between Republicans and Democrats.

Rise of the Populist Party

Political movement of farmers demanding economic reforms.

Omaha Platform

1892 Populist Party plan calling for free silver, regulation of railroads, and more.

Panic of 1893

Severe economic depression with bank failures and high unemployment.

1896 Presidential Race

Election of William McKinley vs. William Jennings Bryan, focused on gold vs. silver.

William didn’t win but won more states - showed that they need to start taking in the farmers’ opinions

William Jennings Bryan

Populist/Democratic politician who supported free silver.

Populist Demise

Decline of the Populist Party after 1896 election loss.

Interstate Commerce Act

1887 law regulating railroad rates and practices

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890 law to limit monopolies and promote competition.

Civil Service Reform

Efforts to hire government workers based on merit, not politics.

“Soft” v. “hard” money

debate over paper money (soft) vs. gold backed currency (hard).

Greenback Party

Political party advocating for paper money to help farmers and debtors.

“Crime of 1873”

Name for U.S. ending silver coinage, harming farmers and debtors.

Henry George

Writer who promoted a single tax on land to reduce inequality.

Edward Bellamy

Author advocating for socialist reforms in “Looking Backward”

Social Gospel Movement

Christian movement promoting social justice and helping the poor.

NAWSA

National American Woman Suffrage Association, fought for women’s right to vote.

Temperance Movement

Campaign to limit or ban alcohol.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Architect known for modern, organic designs.

Statue of Liberty

Symbol of freedom and welcome for immigrants.

American Protective Association

Anti - immigrant, nativist group.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 law restricting Chinese immigration.

Tammany Hall

Political machine in New York City, often corrupt but helped immigrants.

Settlement Houses/ Jane Addams

Community centers providing education and services for immigrants; Jane Addams founded Hull House

Homestead Strike

Violent 1892 steel strike against wage cuts at Carnegie’s plant.

International Longshoremen’s Union (ILWU)

A labor union representing dockworkers and longshoremen (people who load and unload ships), fighting for better wages, hours, and working conditions.