US History A Unit 1: The Gilded Age

What was the Gilded Age?

The period from about 1870-1900 characterized by rapid industrialization, economic growth, immigration, urbanization, political corruption, and great inequality.

Who was Mark Twain?

An American author who coined the term "Gilded Age" and criticized the corruption and inequality of the era.

Who was George Washington?

The first President of the United States and a leader who warned against political parties and foreign alliances.

Who was Alexander Hamilton?

A Founding Father who supported a strong federal government, a national bank, and the Federalist Party.

Who was Thomas Jefferson?

A Founding Father who supported limited federal government, states' rights, and the Democratic-Republican Party.

Who were the Federalists?

A political party led by figures such as Alexander Hamilton that supported a strong national government, a national bank, and a strong economy.

Who were the Democratic-Republicans?

A political party led by Thomas Jefferson that favored limited federal government, states' rights, and an agricultural economy.

What were the Federalist Papers?

A series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay supporting ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

What are states' rights?

The belief that states have significant powers and authority that should be protected from excessive federal government control.

What was the Homestead Act?

A 1862 law that gave settlers up to 160 acres of public land if they lived on and improved it for a certain period of time.

What was the Morrill Act?

A law that provided federal land to states to help fund colleges focused on agriculture and mechanical arts.

What was mechanization?

The use of machines to perform tasks that were previously done by hand.

What was the Pacific Railway Act?

A law that authorized the construction of the first transcontinental railroad by providing land and financial assistance to railroad companies.

Who was Leland Stanford?

A railroad tycoon and one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad who helped build the transcontinental railroad.

What does laissez-faire mean?

A policy of limited government interference in the economy and business.

What was Promontory?

The Utah location where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met in 1869, completing the first transcontinental railroad.

What was the Long Drive?

The movement of cattle from Texas ranches to railroad towns in the North, where they could be shipped to markets.

What was barbed wire?

A type of fencing made from twisted wire with sharp points that helped farmers and ranchers enclose land.

What was the Battle of Little Bighorn?

A 1876 battle in which Sioux and Cheyenne warriors defeated George A. Custer and the U.S. Seventh Cavalry.

Who was George A. Custer?

A U.S. Army officer who was defeated and killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Who was Sitting Bull?

A Hunkpapa Lakota leader who helped lead Native American resistance against U.S. expansion and was associated with the victory at Little Bighorn.

Who was Geronimo?

A Chiricahua Apache leader who resisted U.S. and Mexican expansion into Apache lands.

Who was Chief Joseph?

A leader of the Nez Perce who resisted removal from their homeland and led his people on a retreat toward Canada.

What was Wounded Knee?

A 1890 massacre in which U.S. soldiers killed many Lakota at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota.

What was assimilation?

The process of forcing or encouraging a minority group to adopt the culture, language, and customs of the dominant society.

What was the Dawes Act?

A 1887 law that divided Native American tribal lands into individual allotments in an attempt to assimilate Native Americans into American society.

What was the Grange?

A farmers' organization founded after the Civil War that promoted cooperation among farmers and supported reforms benefiting agriculture.

What was the Farmers Alliance?

An organization of farmers that promoted economic and political reforms to help farmers deal with low prices, debt, and railroad abuses.

Who were the Populists?

A political movement and party representing farmers and workers that supported reforms such as free silver, government regulation of railroads, and direct election of senators.

Who was William Jennings Bryan?

A Democratic and Populist political leader who supported free silver and became famous for his "Cross of Gold" speech.

What was industrialization?

The development of large-scale manufacturing, factories, machines, and mass production.

Who were the Captains of Industry?

Business leaders who built major industries and were viewed by some as responsible for economic growth and modernization.

Who were the Robber Barons?

Wealthy business leaders accused of using unethical or exploitative methods to gain enormous wealth and control industries.

What was the First Industrial Revolution?

The period of industrialization beginning in the late 1700s that emphasized steam power, textiles, iron, and mechanized production.

What was the Second Industrial Revolution?

The period of rapid industrial growth in the late 1800s based on electricity, steel, oil, chemicals, and mass production.

Why was the light bulb important during the Second Industrial Revolution?

It allowed electric lighting to replace candles and gas lamps and helped expand the use of electricity.

Why was the telephone important?

It allowed people to communicate over long distances almost instantly.

What was the Bessemer Process?

A method of producing large quantities of inexpensive steel by removing impurities from iron using blasts of air.

Who was Andrew Carnegie?

A steel industrialist who built a massive steel company and became one of the wealthiest Americans before donating much of his fortune to philanthropy.

Who was John D. Rockefeller?

An oil industrialist who founded Standard Oil and became one of the wealthiest Americans.

Who was J.P. Morgan?

A powerful banker and financier who helped organize and consolidate major businesses and industries.

Who was Cornelius Vanderbilt?

A wealthy railroad and shipping entrepreneur who built a major railroad empire.

What is vertical integration?

A business strategy in which a company controls multiple stages of production and distribution of a product.

What is horizontal integration?

A business strategy in which a company buys or combines with competing companies in the same industry.

What were labor unions?

Organizations formed by workers to negotiate for better wages, working conditions, hours, and benefits.

What were the Knights of Labor?

A large labor organization that sought to unite skilled and unskilled workers and advocated for better working conditions and an eight-hour workday.

What was the American Federation of Labor (AFL)?

A labor organization founded by Samuel Gompers that focused mainly on skilled workers and practical improvements such as higher wages and shorter hours.

What was the B&O Railroad Strike?

A major 1877 railroad strike caused by wage cuts that spread to other railroads and led to violence and federal intervention.

What was the Haymarket Square incident?

A 1886 labor protest in Chicago where a bomb was thrown at police, leading to violence and damage to the labor movement's reputation.

What was the Homestead Strike?

A violent 1892 strike at Carnegie Steel's Homestead plant between workers and the company, involving Pinkerton guards.

What was the Pullman Strike?

A 1894 nationwide railroad strike that began when workers at the Pullman Company protested wage cuts and high rents.

Who was Eugene V. Debs?

A labor leader who helped lead the Pullman Strike and later became a major socialist political figure.

What was the Sherman Antitrust Act?

A 1890 federal law designed to limit monopolies and business practices that restrained competition.

What was urbanization?

The growth of cities as people moved from rural areas to urban areas for jobs and opportunities.

What are push factors?

Conditions that encourage people to leave their current home, such as poverty, persecution, famine, or lack of jobs.

What are pull factors?

Conditions that attract people to a new place, such as jobs, freedom, land, and better opportunities.

What is nativism?

The belief that native-born Americans should receive preference over immigrants and that immigration should be restricted.

What was Ellis Island?

A major immigration processing station in New York Harbor where millions of immigrants were processed after arriving in the United States.

What was the Chinese Exclusion Act?

A 1882 law that prohibited most Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States.

What were tenements?

Crowded, inexpensive apartment buildings where many working-class and immigrant families lived in cities.

Who was Jane Addams?

A social reformer who founded Hull House in Chicago to provide services and education to immigrants and the urban poor.

What was Social Darwinism?

The belief that ideas about natural selection and "survival of the fittest" could be applied to society, often used to justify wealth inequality.

What was the Gospel of Wealth?

Andrew Carnegie's belief that wealthy people had a responsibility to use their fortunes to benefit society through philanthropy.

What was the Social Gospel?

A movement that applied Christian principles to social problems and encouraged Christians to help address poverty, inequality, and poor working conditions.

Who was Boss Tweed?

A powerful New York City political boss who controlled Tammany Hall and became notorious for political corruption.

What were political machines?

Political organizations that controlled local governments by providing jobs and services in exchange for political support.

What was the Millionaires' Club?

A nickname for the U.S. Senate during the Gilded Age because many senators were extremely wealthy and often connected to big business.

Who was Ulysses S. Grant?

The 18th President of the United States and former Union general whose administration was affected by several corruption scandals.

Who was Rutherford B. Hayes?

The 19th President of the United States who took office after the disputed election of 1876 and ended Reconstruction.

Who was James A. Garfield?

The 20th President of the United States who was assassinated in 1881 by Charles Guiteau.

Who was Chester A. Arthur?

The 21st President of the United States who supported civil service reform after becoming president following Garfield's assassination.

Who was Grover Cleveland?

The 22nd and 24th President of the United States and the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms.

Who was Benjamin Harrison?

The 23rd President of the United States who supported protective tariffs and signed the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Who was William McKinley?

The 25th President of the United States who supported high tariffs and led the country during the Spanish-American War.

What was the Pendleton Act?

A 1883 law that created a merit-based federal civil service system and reduced the spoils system.

What was the spoils system?

The practice of giving government jobs to political supporters and friends rather than choosing people based on qualifications.