Gilded Age and Progressive Era Key Vocabulary

A complete set of 53 vocabulary flashcards covering key historical figures, court cases, legislation, movements, and economic concepts of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.

Gilded Age

A period from approximately 1870 to 1900 marked by rapid industrial growth, great wealth, and technological advancements. However, it was also characterized by poverty, political corruption, and poor working conditions.

Grandfather Clause

A law used primarily in Southern states to prevent African Americans from voting by allowing people to vote only if their grandfathers had been eligible to vote before the Civil War. It helped maintain white political power.

Poll Tax

A fee that citizens had to pay before they could vote. Southern states used poll taxes to prevent many African Americans and poor citizens from voting.

Sharecropping

An agricultural system in which farmers rented land from landowners and paid them with a portion of their crops. It often trapped formerly enslaved people and poor farmers in cycles of debt.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation between white and African American people in the South. These laws limited African Americans’ rights and reinforced racial discrimination.

Plessy v. Ferguson

An 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the principle of “separate but equal.” It legalized segregation and allowed discrimination to continue for decades.

Chinese Exclusion Act

An 1882 federal law that banned most Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States. It was the first major federal law restricting immigration based on nationality.

Horace Greeley

An American newspaper editor who founded the New-York Tribune. He supported westward expansion, the Republican Party, and reforms aimed at improving American society.

J. Pierpont Morgan

A powerful banker and financier who helped organize and consolidate major American businesses. He played an important role in the growth of large corporations and modern American finance.

Transcontinental Railroads

Railroad systems that connected the eastern and western United States. They encouraged westward expansion, increased trade, connected markets, and helped grow the national economy.

Bessemer Process

A method of mass-producing steel by blowing air through molten iron to remove impurities. It made steel cheaper and easier to produce, helping expand railroads, bridges, and buildings.

U.S. Steel

A major steel corporation formed in 1901 by J.P. Morgan after combining several steel companies, including Carnegie Steel. It became the first billion-dollar corporation in American history.

Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company v. Illinois

An 1886 Supreme Court case that ruled states could not regulate railroad rates for interstate commerce. The decision increased the federal government’s responsibility for regulating railroads.

Interstate Commerce Act

An 1887 law passed to regulate railroad businesses and prevent unfair shipping rates and discrimination. It created the Interstate Commerce Commission, the first federal regulatory agency.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy in which a company controls multiple stages of production, from obtaining raw materials to manufacturing and distribution. Andrew Carnegie used this strategy to make his steel business more efficient and profitable.

Horizontal Integration

A business strategy in which a company buys or combines with competing businesses in the same industry to control a larger share of the market. John D. Rockefeller used this strategy to dominate the oil industry.

Trust (in business)

An arrangement in which multiple companies combine under one organization to reduce competition and control an industry. Trusts allowed wealthy business leaders to gain enormous economic power.

Interlocking Directorate

A business practice in which the same individuals serve on the boards of directors of multiple corporations. This allowed powerful businessmen and banks to influence several companies at once.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

A wealthy industrialist known as the “Commodore” who built a railroad and shipping empire. He helped expand and consolidate the American railroad industry during the Gilded Age.

Samuel F. B. Morse

An American inventor who developed the practical electric telegraph and Morse code. His inventions allowed people to communicate quickly over long distances and improved business communication.

Alexander Graham Bell

An inventor best known for developing and patenting the telephone in 1876. His invention transformed communication by allowing people to speak over long distances.

Thomas Alva Edison

An American inventor who developed practical electric lighting systems and improved the phonograph. His inventions helped expand electricity and modern technology in American homes and businesses.

George Westinghouse

An American inventor and businessman who helped develop and promote alternating current (AC) electricity. His work made it possible to transmit electricity over long distances.

Andrew Carnegie

A Scottish-American industrialist who built a massive steel empire using vertical integration. He later donated much of his fortune to libraries, education, and other public causes.

John D. Rockefeller

An American businessman who founded Standard Oil and used horizontal integration to dominate the oil industry. He became one of the wealthiest Americans in history.

Standard Oil Company

An oil company founded by John D. Rockefeller that controlled much of the American oil industry through aggressive business practices and horizontal integration. It became a major example of a monopoly during the Gilded Age.

Social Darwinism

The belief that the idea of “survival of the fittest” applied to human society and business. Wealthy industrialists used it to justify economic inequality by arguing that successful people deserved their wealth.

Sherman Antitrust Act

An 1890 federal law designed to prevent monopolies and business practices that restrained trade. It was intended to protect competition, although it was initially difficult to enforce.

United States v. E. C. Knight

An 1895 Supreme Court case that limited the federal government’s ability to regulate monopolies under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Court ruled that manufacturing was different from interstate commerce, making it difficult to break up monopolies.

Adam Smith

An 18th-century Scottish economist who wrote The Wealth of Nations. He supported capitalism, free markets, and limited government interference in the economy.

Gospel of Wealth

An essay written by Andrew Carnegie in 1889 arguing that wealthy people had a responsibility to use their fortunes to improve society. He believed the rich should support education, libraries, and charitable organizations.

Homestead Strike

An 1892 labor conflict at Carnegie Steel’s Homestead factory in Pennsylvania. A dispute over wages led to violence between striking workers and private security guards, ending in a major defeat for the union.

National Labor Union (NLU)

One of the first major national labor organizations in the United States, founded in 1866. It fought for higher wages, better working conditions, and an eight-hour workday.

Knights of Labor

A major labor organization founded in 1869 that welcomed skilled and unskilled workers, including women and African Americans. It fought for better wages, shorter working hours, and improved working conditions.

Haymarket Square Bombing

An 1886 labor protest in Chicago supporting the eight-hour workday that turned violent after a bomb exploded and police responded with gunfire. It damaged the public image of labor unions and increased fears of radical movements.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A labor organization founded in 1886 that focused mainly on skilled workers. It fought for practical improvements such as higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions.

Samuel Gompers

The longtime leader and founder of the American Federation of Labor. He focused on improving workers’ wages, hours, and working conditions through collective bargaining.

Pullman Strike

An 1894 nationwide railroad strike that began after the Pullman Company cut workers’ wages without lowering rents in its company town. The federal government sent troops to stop the strike, showing its support for businesses over organized labor.

National Grange

An organization founded in 1867 to support farmers through education, cooperation, and political action. It worked to protect farmers from unfair railroad rates and other business practices.

Granger Laws

State laws passed during the 1870s to regulate railroad and grain storage companies. They were created to protect farmers from unfair prices and business practices.

Farmers’ Alliance

A farmers’ organization that developed during the late 1800s to fight high railroad rates, debt, and unfair business practices. It helped create the foundation for the Populist movement.

Populist (People’s) Party

A political party formed in 1891 that represented farmers and workers who opposed wealthy corporations and banks. It supported reforms such as government regulation of railroads, a graduated income tax, and the free coinage of silver.

Jacob S. Coxey

An Ohio businessman and political activist who led “Coxey’s Army” to Washington, D.C., in 1894. He wanted the federal government to create public jobs and provide economic relief during the depression.

Jane Addams

A social reformer who co-founded Hull House in Chicago in 1889. She helped immigrants and poor families by providing education, childcare, and other community services.

Florence Kelley

A social reformer who fought against child labor, unsafe working conditions, and unfair wages. She helped promote labor laws and improve conditions for women and children.

Charles Darwin

An English naturalist who developed the theory of evolution through natural selection. His ideas influenced scientific thinking and were later misused by supporters of Social Darwinism to justify inequality.

Booker T. Washington

An African American educator and leader who encouraged Black Americans to focus on vocational education, economic independence, and gaining practical skills. He believed economic progress would help African Americans achieve greater equality.

W. E. B. Du Bois

An African American civil rights leader who demanded immediate racial equality, higher education, and voting rights. He helped found the NAACP in 1909 and disagreed with Booker T. Washington’s gradual approach to equality.

Nativism

A movement that favored native-born Americans over immigrants. Nativists often believed immigrants threatened American jobs, culture, and society, leading to discrimination and immigration restrictions.

New Immigration

A wave of immigration during the late 1800s and early 1900s, mainly from Southern and Eastern Europe. Many immigrants came seeking jobs and better opportunities but often faced discrimination and difficult living conditions.

Social Gospel

A religious movement that believed Christians should work to solve social problems such as poverty, inequality, and poor working conditions. It encouraged churches to support social reform and help struggling communities.

Settlement House

A community center established in poor neighborhoods that provided services such as education, childcare, healthcare, and job assistance. Settlement houses helped immigrants and low-income families adjust to American society.

Hull House

A settlement house founded in Chicago in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. It provided education, childcare, and social services to immigrants and poor families and became an important center for social reform.