Gilded Age

Gilded Age

A period from the 1870s to 1900 characterized by rapid industrialization, urbanization, and economic growth, but also marked by political corruption, income inequality, and social unrest.

Monopolies/trusts

Single companies that control entire industries, eliminating competition; legal entities where companies combine under a board of trustees to dominate markets.

Vertical integration

A business strategy where a company controls every step of production, from raw materials to distribution.

Horizontal integration

A strategy where a company buys out competitors to monopolize an industry.

Laissez faire

An economic philosophy advocating minimal government interference in business.

JP Morgan

A powerful banker who financed industrial consolidations and created U.S. Steel in 1901 by merging Carnegie Steel.

Bessemer process

A process that made steel production faster and cheaper by blasting air through molten iron.

Rebates

Secret discounts offered by railroads to large shippers, disadvantaging smaller businesses.

Homestead Strike

A violent strike at Carnegie Steel over wage cuts, which ended with federal troops intervening.

Chinese Exclusion Act

The first U.S. law restricting immigration based on race or nationality.

Assimilation

The policy of integrating Native Americans into mainstream American society.

Muckrakers

Progressive Era journalists who exposed social ills and corporate/political corruption.

Plessy v Ferguson

A Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.

Sharpening Antitrust Act

The first federal law to prohibit monopolies and trusts, though initially ineffective.

Social Gospel

A Protestant movement applying Christian ethics to social problems like poverty and inequality.

Trustbusting

The breaking up of monopolies, notably pursued by Theodore Roosevelt.

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt's domestic program balancing the interests of business, consumers, and conservation.

New Nationalism vs New Freedom

New Nationalism advocates for stronger federal regulation, while New Freedom focuses on restoring competition and limiting federal power.

Federal Reserve

Central banking system created to stabilize the nation's monetary and financial system.

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, founded to advance justice for African Americans.

Alice Paul

Suffragist who organized militant tactics like parades and hunger strikes to advocate for women's voting rights.

Gospel of Wealth

Andrew Carnegie's idea that the wealthy were morally obligated to use their money to benefit society.

The Jungle

A novel by Upton Sinclair exposing unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry.

Tammany Hall

A political machine in New York City led by Boss Tweed that controlled local politics through corruption.