Laws and Gov.
During the Gilded Age, the government generally followed laissez-faire policies and limited regulation of business.
What role did the government play in the economy?
Something covered with a thin layer of gold, gold leaf, or a gold-colored substance
What does Gilded mean?
Founder of Standard Oil who built a powerful oil monopoly through horizontal integration.
Who is John D. Rockefeller
Wealthy industrialists accused of exploiting workers and using unfair business practices to gain fortunes.
“Robber Barons”
This sudden 1893 economic collapse triggered the worst financial depression the United States had ever seen up to that point
What is the Panic of 1893?
1890 law intended to break up monopolies and promote competition.
What is the Sherman Antitrust Act
Coined by Mark Twain, the term "Gilded Age" implies that the period featured a thin layer of gold over a core made of this.
Industrialist who revolutionized manufacturing with the moving assembly line and made cars affordable.
Henry Ford
Movement that applied Christian teachings to social problems such as poverty and inequality.
Social Gospel
Triggered by wage cuts, this massive 1877 event became the first nationwide strike in U.S. history and paralyzed the country's infrastructure.
What is the Great Railroad Strike?
Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the doctrine of “separate but equal.”
What is Plessy V. Ferguson
Industrialization, urbanization, immigration, political corruption, monopolies, and growing economic inequality.
Key characteristics of the Gilded Age
Steel industry leader who used vertical integration and became one of the richest men in America.
Andrew Carnegie
Organizations formed by workers to improve wages, hours, and working conditions.
Labor Unions/Labor Movement
1911 factory fire in New York City that killed many workers and led to workplace safety reforms.
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
Law that banned Chinese immigration and reflected growing anti-immigrant sentiment.
What is the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
Ward McAllister coined this term to describe the exact number of people who could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom, representing elite high society.
What is "The Four Hundred"?
Developer of scientific management, which improved factory efficiency through careful study of work processes.
Frederick W. Taylor
This specific group of European immigrants arrived in massive numbers after 1880, hailing primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe
Who are the "New Immigrants"?
This 1890 event in South Dakota marked the tragic, final major armed clash between the U.S. Army and the Plains Indians.
What is the Wounded Knee Massacre?
Political party formed by farmers and laborers demanding economic reforms such as railroad regulation and free silver.
People’s Party/Populists
A period of rapid industrial growth and wealth in the late 1800s that also contained corruption, inequality, and poverty beneath the surface.
What is meant by the term “Gilded Age”?
Populist and Democratic leader known for supporting farmers, free silver, and ordinary workers.
William Jennings Bryan
This faction of the Republican Party, led by Roscoe Conkling, strongly opposed civil service reform and favored traditional patronage.
Who are the Stalwarts?
This massive 1871 disaster destroyed over three square miles of a major Midwestern city and left more than 100,000 residents homeless.
What is the Great Chicago Fire?