APUSH unit 6 - Gilded Age

1. Gilded Age - a period in US history marked by rapid industrialization, economic growth, political corruption, and inequality

2. Graft - the use of a political position for personal gain often in wealth

3. Tammany Hall - dominated Democratic Party politics in the late 19th century

4. Boss Tweed - leader of Tammany Hall, infamous for his corruption

5. Machine Politics - political systems controlled by organizations or “machines”, often corrupt

6. Thomas Nast - Political cartoonist known for exposing Boss Tweed

7. Pendleton Act - 1883 law establishing a merit-based civil service system

8. Civil Service - a system where government jobs are given based on qualifications, not on political connections

9. Campaign Finance Reform - efforts to regulate political campaign funding to reduce corruption

1. Robber Barons - a derogatory term for corrupted, wealthy, industrialists. 

2. Captains of Industry - positive term for industrial leaders who helped with economic growth and societal improvements

3. Trusts" or monopolies - large corporate combinations controlling entire industries, reducing competition

4. Pools - agreements between businesses to fix prices or divide markets to limit competition

5. Interlocking directorates - board members serve on multiple companies creating coordinated control over industries

6. Vertical integration - business strategy of controlling all steps in a production process

7. Horizontal integration - merging with competitors to dominate a market

8. Stockwatering - inflating the value of a stock beyond their actual worth, a way of manipulating markets

9. Vanderbilt - industrialist known for his railroad and shipping empire

10. Rockefeller - founder of Standard Oild

11. Carnegie - steel, known for vertical integration strategies

12. J.P. Morgan - an influential banker who formed US Steel

13. U.S. Steel - a major steel company created by J.P. Moegan

1. Adam Smith - wrote the Wealth of Nations, laissez-faire capitalism

2. "invisible hand" - Adam Smith’s concept of regulating markets driven by individual self-interest

3. Charles Darwin - scientist who proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection and survival of the fittest

4. Herbert Spencer - philosopher who applied Darin’s ideas to society, developing Social Darwinism

5. Social Darwinism - wrong use of evolution to justify social inequalities

6. Horatio Alger - author of rags to riches emphasized hard work and morals

7. Grange - farmer’s organization advocating for agricultural interests 

8. Patrons of Husbandry - Grange’s full name wanted to improve farmer’s lives

9. Oliver Kelley - founded Grange

10. Granger laws - state laws regulating railroads to help farmers

11. Munn v. Illinois -1877 - Supreme Court case upholding state regulation of business 

12. Wabash v. Illinois - 1886 - limited states power to regulate interstate commerce

13. ICC - 1887 - established to regulate railroads and get rid of unfair practices

14. Sherman Anti-trust Act - 1890 - first federal law aimed at breaking up monopolies and trusts

1. Samuel Morse - inventor of the telegraph and Morse code

2. Thomas Edison - invented the light bulb

3. Alexander Graham Bell - invented the telephone

4. Christopher Sholes - invented the typewriter

5. Elias Howe - invented the sewing machine

6. Bessemer/Kelly - developers of the Bessemer process for mass production of steel

7. Assembly line production - manufacturing process involving sequential tasks, increasing efficency

8. Commonwealth v. Hunt - 1842 - supreme court ruling that labor unions were legal

9. National Labor Union - 1866 - first national labor federation in the US advocating for worker’s rights

10. Knights of Labor - inclusive labor union fighting for workers reforms but declined after Haymarket

11. Haymarket Square Bombing - 1886 - labor rally turned violent leading to backlash against unions

12. "skilled vs. unskilled" labor - division between workers with specialized skills and general laborers

13. AFL - 1886 - American Federation of Labor, focused on skilled workers interests

14. Samuel Gompers - founder and leader of the AFL emphasizing “bread and butter” issues

15. CIO - John Lewis - Congress of Industrial Organizations, led by Lewis which unionized unskilled workers

16. Homestead Strike - violent labor conflict at Carnegie Steel

17. Pullman Strike - nationwide railway strike led by Eugene Debs, disrupting US commerce

18. Eugene Debs - Labor leader and socialist , pivotal in organizing strikes

1. Know Nothings - Nativist political party who opposed immigration

2. Nativism - anti-immigration sentiment favoring native-born citizens

3. Chinese Exclusion Act - 1882 - Law that banned Chinese immigration

4. "Yellow Peril" - 1886 - Fear and Racism against Asian immigrants

5. Gentlemen's Agreement -1906 - US-Japan agreement limiting Japanese immigration

6. Old v. New Immigration - Contrast between Western Europe and Southern/Eastern Europe immigrant waves

7. Ellis Island - Major immigrant processing station in NYC

8. Transcontinental Railroad - Railway that linked the East and West of the US promoting commerce

1. Homestead Act - 1862 - Law granting land to settlers for westward expansion

2. Slaughter of the buffalo - mass killing of buffalo which devastated Native American cultures

3. Dawes Severalty Act - 1887 - Law aimed at assimilating Native Americans 

4. Helen Hunt Jackson - Author of A Century of Dishonor and criticized US treatment of Native Americans

5. Chief Joseph - Nez Perce leader who resisted US relocation policies

6. Frederick Jackson Turner - Historian who emphasized the frontier’s role in shaping American Identity

7. Sun dance - Native American religious ritual banned by US authorities

8. Ghost dance - Native spritual movement associated with resistance to US policies

9. reservations - Areas designated for Native American tribes by the government

McKinley - 25th US president, led during Spanish-American War and supported the gold standard
Hanna - Political manager who helped McKinley win the presidency
William Jennings Bryan - populist leader known for his “Cross of Gold” speech advocating for free silver
Free Silver - Movement for unrestricted coinage of silver to expand money supply
Cross of Gold - Bryan’s famous speech opposing the gold standard
Coxey's March - Protest by unemployed workers during the Panic of 1893
Wilson-Gorman Act - 1894 Tariff law reducing rates but including a controversial income tax