Gilded Age, Populism, and Progressive Era — Vocabulary Flashcards

35 vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, people, events, and reforms from the Gilded Age, Populism, and Progressive Era.

Gilded Age

Late 19th-century era (roughly 1870–1900) of rapid industrial growth and visible political corruption, with great wealth masking deep inequality.

Populist Party (People's Party)

Farmer-led third party formed in 1891 advocating reforms like the subtreasury plan, government control of railroads, income tax, and direct election of U.S. senators.

Cross of Gold

1896 speech by William Jennings Bryan arguing against the gold standard and in favor of silver coinage; famous line about not crucifying mankind on a cross of gold.

Direct Primary

Election in which party members vote directly for a candidate, reducing the influence of party conventions.

Initiative

Direct democracy tool allowing voters to place a bill on the ballot via petition.

Referendum

Direct democracy tool allowing voters to approve or reject a law by ballot.

Recall

Direct democracy tool allowing voters to remove an elected official through petition and vote.

Seventeenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment (1913) establishing direct election of U.S. senators by voters.

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists who exposed social ills and corruption; Roosevelt popularized the term.

Jacob Riis

Muckraker/photographer of How the Other Half Lives, detailing tenement life in New York City.

Ida Tarbell

Muckraker whose exposé on Standard Oil helped spur trust-busting.

Lincoln Steffens

Muckraker known for exposing urban political corruption (Shame of the Cities).

Ray Stannard Baker

Muckraker who documented unsafe working conditions and labor issues in McClure's magazine."

Settlement houses

Community centers providing social services to urban poor, often led by reform-minded women.

Jane Addams

Founder of Hull House; leading figure in the settlement-house movement.

Louis Hine

Photographer for the National Child Labor Committee documenting child labor conditions.

Keating-Owen Act

1916 federal act prohibiting interstate trade of goods produced with child labor; later repealed.

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

1911 New York City factory fire killing 146 garment workers, spurring workplace safety reforms.

Boss Tweed

William M. Tweed, infamous Tammany Hall boss, symbolizing urban political corruption.

Tammany Hall

Powerful New York City political machine known for graft and machine politics.

Civil Service Reform

Movement to end patronage and replace it with merit-based government appointments.

Pendleton Civil Service Act

1883 law creating the Civil Service Commission and requiring merit-based examinations.

Garfield assassination

Charles Guiteau shot President James A. Garfield in 1881, accelerating civil-service reform.

Chester A. Arthur

Garfield's vice president who became president and pushed Pendleton Act and civil-service reforms.

Spoils System / Patronage

Practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs.

Reconstruction

Post-Civil War era of rebuilding the South; ended with the Compromise of 1877 and federal troop withdrawal.

Interstate Commerce Act

1887 law to regulate railroad rates and establish the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC); enforcement initially weak.

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890 act prohibiting monopolies and restraint of trade; early enforcement was limited.

Sherman Silver Purchase Act

1890 act requiring the U.S. Treasury to purchase silver to increase money supply; depleted gold reserves; repealed in 1893.

Gold Standard vs. Silver (bimetallism)

Debate over monetary policy; gold standard vs. expanded silver coinage; linked to Bryan’s Cross of Gold.

Grange (Patrons of Husbandry)

1867 farmers’ organization advocating cooperatives and railroad regulation; led to Granger laws.

Wabash v. Illinois (1886)

Supreme Court ruling that states cannot regulate interstate commerce; undermined Granger laws.

Subtreasury Plan

Plan proposed by the Farmers’ Alliance to store crops in government warehouses and provide loans to farmers.

Coxey's Army

1894 march of unemployed workers to Washington demanding public works programs; led to arrests.

Pullman Strike

1894 nationwide railroad strike led by Eugene V. Debs; federal troops intervened and strike collapsed.

Eugene V. Debs

Labor leader and socialist; head of the American Railway Union; imprisoned after the Pullman Strike.

Klondike Gold Rush (Yukon)

1896–1899 gold discovery in the Yukon; boosted economy and supported gold-based currency.