The Gilded Age, Progressivism, and American Empire

Gild

To coat something in gold, giving appearance of being more valuable than it is

Gilded Age

A period in the United States in the late 1800s that was marked by rapid economic growth, political corruption, and wealth inequality (1870-1910)

Significance of Gilded Age

Set the stage for social reforms, the rise of labor movements, and shaped modern American capitalism.

Monopoly/trusts

An arrangement that gives a person or corporation the legal power to manage another person's money or another company.

Significance of Monopolies/Trusts

During the gilded age, monopolies/trusts made it so that few large companies controlled entire industries, eliminating competition and prompting widespread desire for government regulation - also led to bad working conditions for workers in order to gain a profit.

Horizontal/Standard Oil

An American company and corporate trust that from 1870 to 1911 was the industrial empire of John D. Rockefeller and associates, controlling almost all oil production, processing, marketing, and transportation in the United States.

Ida Tarbell

A famous female muckraker who wrote an extensive expose on John Rockefeller and Standard Oil which gained popular support.

Vertical Integration

Maximizes profit by controlling (overseeing or owning) every stage of production from the very birth of the product to consumption of the product.

Andrew Carnegie

A Scottish immigrant who liked monopolies/trusts and told the government/citizens that it was essential for the public.

The Gospel of Wealth

An essay written by Andrew Carnegie that argued that extremely wealthy Americans like himself had a responsibility to spend their money in order to benefit the greater good.

Carnegie Steel

Carnegie's steel company that used vertical integration, allowing him to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Significance of Carnegie Steel

Allowed Carnegie to be on the top of the steel industry and made him very wealthy, but also raised concerns about monopolies and exploitation.

Horizontal Integration

A business strategy where a company merges with another company in the same industry to increase the company's market power and control over the supply chain (monopolizing).

Laissez-faire

A policy or attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering - an absence of governments from interfering in the workings of the free market.

Laissez-faire government

A system where the guiding principle for decision making is whatever will make the most money and whatever is the most efficient.

Significance of laissez-faire

By making poor decisions, the system allowed health and safety to be compromised, producing bad products justified by social Darwinism.

The Great Railroad Strike

The first nationwide labor strike that highlighted growing discontent among workers over poor working conditions, wage cuts, and long hours.

Haymarket Riot

A violent confrontation between labor protesters (Knights of Labor) and police that led to the decline of the Knights of Labor party.

Knights of Labor

The first major labor organization in the United States that fought for workers' rights, pushing for reforms like an eight-hour workday and equal pay.

Significance of Knights of Labor

They were seen as a threat to industrial employers and highlighted tensions between the working class and employers.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A national federation of labor unions that aimed to improve conditions for skilled workers, focusing on higher wages and better working conditions.

Significance of AFL

Made up a key part of the labor movement and had more bargaining power than the Knights of Labor.

First wave of immigration

A wave of immigrants from Eastern Europe in the late 1800s who came for job opportunities.

Second wave of immigration

A wave of Chinese immigration, particularly to the West Coast, who came to work on the railroads and in mining.

Tenements

Overcrowded and poorly constructed apartment buildings that housed many new immigrants and working-class families during the Gilded Age.

Significance of tenements

Caused people to want better urban planning and highlighted the disparity between the wealthy and the majority of Americans.

Settlement House

A community center in poor urban areas that provided services like education, healthcare, and housing support to immigrants and the working class.

Worker strikes

Labor actions where workers walked off the job to protest conditions, such as the Great Railroad Strike and Haymarket Riot.

Corruption

A significant problem contributing to increased poverty and wealth inequality during the era.

Monopolies

Market structures where a single seller dominates, leading to issues like wealth inequality and poor working conditions.

Bad working conditions

Poor labor environments that contributed to worker discontent and strikes.

Bad air pollution

Environmental issue exacerbated by industrialization, impacting health and living conditions.

Bad food safety

Concerns regarding the quality and safety of food products during the industrial era.

Social Darwinism

A justification used by laissez-faire proponents to argue that poor health and safety standards were acceptable.

Nativist sentiment

A reaction against immigrants that led to the decline of organizations like the Knights of Labor.

Nativism

a political and social ideology that favors native-born people over immigrants (anti-immigrant sentiments) - an idea that American identity is being devoured by non-american immigrants

Illegal immigration

There were no immigration laws in history so illegal immigration wasn't relevant

Significance of nativism

created friction between immigrants and the companies that they work for and created the Chinese Exclusion Act

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

makes it illegal for anyone of Chinese ancestry to come to America, anti-immigration is expanded (shown through political cartoons)-> immigrant populations as lesser than

Significance of the Chinese Exclusion Act

prevented Chinese from becoming citizens and was ironic because of the nativist sentiment (former immigrants became the rich who won't let in new immigrants)

Significance of Social Darwinism

was a justification for the extreme wealth inequality and laissez-faire capitalism

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists who educated upper/middle-class Americans on political and corporate corruption and "social evils"

Upton Sinclair

socialist journalist who wrote a book called The Jungle, trying to get people to see capitalism as the problem

Significance of Muckrakers

exposed corruption and led to reforms in government and business, and helped to strengthen protections for workers and consumers

Seneca Falls Convention

the first women's rights large meeting in the United States, its goal was to discuss the rights of women in society, religion, and politics

Significance of the Seneca Falls Convention

drafted the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions which stated that all men and women are created equal, led to the creation of the 19th amendment by Woodrow Wilson

Women's suffrage

movement to grant women right to vote

Progressivism

a movement that pushed for reforms for better working conditions, women's suffrage, government regulation of business, and improved public health/education

Significance of Progressivism

created progressive reformers and the 16th-19th amendments

Progressive Reformers

Wanted to improve food safety and wealth inequality, change woman's suffrage, and worker safety

Temperance movement

sought to limit alcohol in society

Significance of the Temperance movement

Led to prohibition - 18th amendment

Progressive Amendments

16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th amendments

16th Amendment

(1913) - gave Congress the power to levy an income tax without regard to population

17th Amendment

(1913)- direct election of senators, changed to direct representation from virtual where the senators were decided by the legislature

18th Amendment

(1918) - prohibition - backfired, caused by the temperance movement

Black Market

Causes rise in black market

Crime

Rise in crime

19th Amendment

Universal suffrage, ratified in 1920

Progressive Legislation

Various progressive legislation (There is a lot!)

Pure Food and Drug Act

Required the producers of food and medicine to host government inspectors

FDA

Food and Drug Administration, says there are limits to what profit can get you

Meat Inspection Act

Established sanitary standards for the slaughter and processing of meat

Federal Reserve Act

Established the Federal Reserve System as the central bank of the United States

Woodrow Wilson

Became the most progressive candidate in the Election of 1912

National Park System

A success of the Progressive Movement

Jim Crow Laws

Rules in the southern U.S. that kept Black and white people separate and treated Black people unfairly

Reconstruction Amendments

Amendments 13-15 related to the rights of formerly enslaved people

13th Amendment

Slavery is illegal EXCEPT as a punishment for a crime

14th Amendment

If you are born in the US you are a citizen, including formerly enslaved people

15th Amendment

Grants the right to vote to all male citizens regardless of ethnicity/prior slave status

Captains of Industry

Dominated their industries and made the U.S. very powerful compared to Europe

Robber Barons

People who think the rich can get whatever they want and the poor can't

Frontier Thesis

Historical theory proposed by Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893 about the American frontier shaping the nation's character

Mahanism

Idea that naval power is crucial to a country's global dominance

Annexation of Hawaii

United States incorporated the Hawaiian Islands as a U.S. territory

Spanish-American War

Brief conflict in 1898 between the United States and Spain

Yellow Press/Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized reporting prioritizing dramatic headlines over factual accuracy

USS Maine

A United States Navy battleship that exploded in Havana Harbor, Cuba, in 1898

Platt Amendment

U.S. law that outlined conditions for the withdrawal of American troops from Cuba

Open Door Policy

A U.S. proposal for equal trading rights for all nations in China

Philippine War

Conflict between the United States and Filipino revolutionaries who sought independence after the U.S. took control of the Philippines following the Spanish-American War.

Significance of Philippine War

Showed the U.S. shift toward imperialism - US had suppressed a fight for independence and established control over the Philippines, sparking debate about American values and foreign policy.

Insular Cases

Series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that determined how the Constitution applied to territories acquired by the United States.

Significance of Insular Cases

Allowed the U.S. to govern new territories (like Puerto Rico and the Philippines) without granting full constitutional rights to their people, reinforcing unequal treatment and justifying American imperialism.

Panama Canal

A man-made waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Isthmus of Panama, completed in 1914.

Significance of Panama Canal

Dramatically shortened shipping routes, boosting global trade and U.S. economic and military power - America gained influence in Latin America also.

Roosevelt Corollary

An addition to the Monroe Doctrine, stating that the U.S. could intervene in Latin American countries to maintain stability and prevent European interference.

Significance of Roosevelt Corollary

Justified U.S. intervention in the Western Hemisphere, reinforcing American dominance in Latin America and expanding the role of the U.S. as a police power in the region.

Moral Imperialism

Refers to the belief, particularly promoted by President Woodrow Wilson, that the U.S. had a responsibility to spread democracy and moral values by intervening in other nations' affairs.

Significance of Moral Imperialism

Justified U.S. interventions in Latin America and other regions because they claimed to promote peace but it also gave the U.S. more control over those countries.

RMS Lusitania

A large British passenger ship that was sunk by a German submarine.

Significance of RMS Lusitania

Its sinking, which killed many civilians including Americans, helped turn U.S. public opinion against Germany and pushed the U.S. closer to joining the war.

Zimmerman Telegram

A secret message sent by Germany to Mexico in 1917, asking Mexico to join the war against the United States.

Significance of Zimmerman Telegram

When the message was discovered and made public, it angered Americans and helped lead the United States to enter World War I.

Espionage and Sedition Acts

U.S. laws that made it illegal to speak out against the government/war effort during World War I.

Fourteen Points

A set of ideas proposed by Woodrow Wilson in 1918 to promote peace and prevent future wars after World War I, influenced the Treaty of Versailles and led to the creation of the League of Nations.

Consumer Culture

A growing focus on buying goods and services for enjoyment and status, driven by mass production and advertising, which rose as an outcome of the 1920s economic growth.

Great Migration

The mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to urban areas in the North and West, primarily between 1916 and 1970, seeking better economic opportunities and escaping the Jim Crow South.

Suburbia

An area that surrounds an urban area, where whites went to flee from black people, facilitated by the creation of the automobile.