American Nation II Chapter 18-19 (Gilded Age & Growth of Cities)

25 million

number of immigrants who came to the US between 1850 and 1920

British, Irish, and German

immigrant groups that were the most common during the first wave of immigration

southern/eastern European (Italian, Russian, etc.)

immigrant groups that were the most common during the second wave of immigration

The New Colossus

poem written to help raise money to build the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty

Ellis Island

immigration processing center that opened in New York Harbor in 1892

social segregation

term for the informal/unintentional division of neighborhoods based on income or ethnicity

enclave

a distinct neighborhood that forms in a city based on the common characteristics of its inhabitants (such as race or culture)

How the Other Half Lives

book published by photojournalist Jacob Riis that was designed to show wealthy Americans how wide the gap was between rich and poor in the US

1893

year of the worst economic depression the US had seen up to that point

sweatshops

the term for small factory rooms filled with many workers

12 hours

typical length of a workday for wageworkers during the 19th century

white-collar

term for professional, office, or administrative jobs that developed in the 19th century

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

nationwide strike that began when the B&O Railroad cut wages and raised dividends at the same time; one of the first major steps toward labor organization in the US

Knights of Labor

first mass organization of the U.S. working class; began as a secret society; designed to bridge gaps between common wageworkers & master craftsmen, men & women, race, etc.

American Federation of Labor

organization that coordinated the activities of craft unions throughout the U.S.; focused on workplace issues like wages & working conditions

Samuel Gompers

founded the American Federation of Labor

Haymarket Riot

rally called to protest the killing of strikers by the Chicago police; bomb was thrown into the police, resulting ultimately in several deaths; turned sentiment against labor unions

May Day rally

nationwide general strike organized in support of the 8-hour workday

William "Boss" Tweed

leader of the Tammany Hall political machine & most notorious city boss of the period

political machine

highly organized political party designed to win elections & reward supporters

Tammany Hall

Democratic political machine in New York City that was the most famous political machine

World's Columbian Exposition

largest world's fair in U.S. history held in 1893; held in Chicago

White City

nickname for the fairgound of the Chicago World's Fair

13th Amendment

amendment that abolished slavery

14th Amendment

amendment that established the citizenship process, due process and equal protection for all citizens

15th Amendment

amendment that established universal male suffrage

speculation

term for buying/selling stocks aggressively; risky investments

railroads

first big business in the US

capitalism

an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production & their operation for profit (emphasis on competition)

industrial capitalism

system in which economic power is dominated by industrialists operating as individuals

finance capitalism

system in which investment is sponsored by banks & bankers (power is held by financial institutions rather than individual capitalists)

laissez-faire

"to leave alone," capitalism free from government regulation

consolidation

the merging of existing companies into a large corporation

Andrew Carnegie

investor/philanthropist who built the biggest steel business in the world during the Gilded Age

vertical integration

strategy where a company controls every aspect of the business

John D. Rockefeller

oil tycoon who popularized the use of the trust as a business structure

trust

representatives of a company (trustees) hold stock in other companies & essentially create a monopoly

horizontal integration

strategy where one person/company controls all of one kind of business

Standard Oil

Company which controlled 90% of the oil business by 1890

Alexander Graham Bell

invented the telephone

Thomas Edison

invented the phonograph, motion picture camera, incandescent light bulb filament

Robber Barons

negative term often used to describe wealthy businessmen who controlled the largest industries in the US during the Gilded Age

JP Morgan

leader in finance capitalism & prominent banker during the Gilded Age

Darwinism

Charles Darwin's biological theory that the process of evolution is determined by natural selection (adaptation to environment)

Social Darwinism

the application of the idea of natural selection to the economic/social world

spoils system

system in which supporters of winning political candidates were rewarded with government jobs

Jim Crow laws

laws that established legalized segregation in the South

disenfranchisement

depriving someone or a group of people of the right to vote

lynching

informal & unauthorized executions, frequently by a mob; usually racially motivated

Ida B. Wells

leader of the antilynching movement

Susan B. Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton

women who founded the National Woman Suffrage Association (1869)

temperance movement

movement to end drunkenness in the US

Women's Christian Temperance Union

organization founded to protest against alcohol/drunkenness in the US

Frances Willard

radical president of the WCTU

Stalwarts

faction of the Republican Party during the Gilded Age that supported the patronage system

Half-Breeds

faction of the Republican Party during the Gilded Age that was less openly corrupt

Mugwumps

faction of the Republican Party during the Gilded Age that reformers who advocated against the spoils system and in favor of civil service reform

Pendleton Civil Service Act

1883 law that established the Civil Service Commission, put jobs under merit system with examinations required, and made it illegal for federal employees to contribute to campaigns

Interstate Commerce Act

first federal law regulating railroads; little enforcement power

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890 law that outlawed trusts, said businesses couldn't enter agreements to restrict competition

protective tariff

a tax on imported goods designed to stimulate American industry

free silver

the idea that the government should buy silver & mint silver currency (instead of only gold)

Greenback Labor Party

political party that didn't want paper money to be tied to the gold supply

gold standard

system in which the value of currency was linked directly to gold