Rebuilding the Union (1877-1910)

Alexander Graham Bell

Was an inventor, teacher, and scientist who is best known for inventing the telephone.

Andrew Carnegie

An American industrialist and philanthropist. Introduced many innovations into the steel industry, such as inexpensive mass production and vertical integration of supplies. He also created several endowment to fund science, education, and the arts. Concerning his philanthropic efforts, he was fond of saying, “The man who dies rich dies disgraced.

Angel Island

Is the largest of the islands in California’s San Francisco Bay. From 1910 until 1940, this island served as the principal processing center for Asian immigrants to the United States.

Chinese Exclusion Act

This legislation prohibited all immigration of these people into the United States for 10 years. The targets of the legislation were these laborers. Native-born Americans feared they would have to compete with these laborers for jobs.

Civil Liberties

The freedoms protected by the laws or constitution of a country such as the right to free speech and freedom from unreasonable searches

Cornelius Vanderbilt

A businessperson who developed successful steamboat and railroad companies. Started his own steamship company in 1829 that became very profitable. In 1847, he formed a new shipping company that took passengers from the East Coast to San Francisco, California. Expanded his business by purchasing several railroad lines in the New York City area. By 1873, he offered the country’s first rail service from New York City to Chicago, Illinois. He was responsible for building Grand Central station in New York City and gave $1 million to a university in Tennessee, which was later renamed after him in his honor

Ellis island

Located in upper New York Bay, approximately one mile southwest of the island of Manhattan. From 1892 until 1924, this place served as the main processing center for European immigrants to the United States. As many as 12 million immigrants passed through here during this time.

Gilded Age

The 1870s and 1880s in the United States have come to be known as this, a time when some Americans became extraordinarily wealthy and was a time of serious political corruption.

Industrial Revolution

A period of change for the economy and society of much of the world. Many countries transitioned from primarily agricultural societies, in which most goods were handmade, to societies in which machines were used to manufacture goods.

John D. Rockefeller

An American industrialist who founded Standard Oil company. Was an aggressive businessperson who soon began buying out his competitors. By 1882, he had nearly established a monopoly on the U.S. oil industry. He placed the stock of Standard Oil and other companies he owned in a trust, the first such trust in the United States. He was regarded as ruthless, someone who would not let anyone, or anything get in the way of making money. At the end of the 1800s, he began devoting himself entirely to philanthropy; during his lifetime, he gave away more than $500 million.

Labor Union

An organization of workers who join together to ensure fair wages, benefits, and working conditions for its members. They generally represent workers from specific trades or industries.

Monopoly

A term that relates to market economies. It is the control, by a single owner or group, of most or all of the means of producing or selling a good or service. This reduces or elimantes competition, meaning that the owner can set almost any price for their product because no substitutes, or onl poor ones, are available.

Muckraker

Was a pre-World War l journalist who exposed business abuses and government corruption in American society. The term grew out of the sensational news reporting in the late 1800s known as yellow journalism.

Political Machine

An organization that exercises enough influence over voters to control a city, county, or state government.

Progressive Movement

Arose in the late 1800s as a response to problems caused by the rapid urbanization and industrialization of the United States after the Civil War. These problems included corrupt political machines,slums poverty, and the exploitation of workers. These people took on these problems and tried to uphold the U.S. ideals of popular sovereignty and equal rights.

Propaganda

The spread of information to influence public opinion. It may be true, false, or some combination of the two. The goal of spreading this is to gain support, usually for a political view or cause.

Robber barons

This term was applied to business tycoons who used unethical and often illegal business practices. They coupled these methods with far-reaching political influence to amass fortunes of historic proportions.

Tenement

Is an overcrowded and often run-down apartment building typical of big U.S. cities in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Thomas Edison

Remains one of the foremost inventors in the U.S. history. He is responsible creating many things we take for granted today, including the microphone transmitter and speakers. He is also credited with the technology behind the modern electric light bulb and early versions of the equipment needed to make movies.

Yellow Journalism

A type of reporting that exaggerates or sensationalizes stories to sell more newspapers.