the Gilded Age & Industry
This era, named by Mark Twain, appeared to be "glittering" on the outside with wealth but was actually filled with corruption and poverty on the inside.
What is The Gilded Age?
This is an organization of workers formed to protect and further their rights and interests, such as better pay or safety.
What is a Labor union?
This was the name given to African Americans who migrated from the South to Kansas in the late 1800s to escape oppression and seek new opportunities.
Who are the Exodusters?
Completed in 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah, this connected the Atlantic and Pacific coasts by rail.
What was the Transcontinental Railroad?
During the late 1800s, these were often dangerous, involving 12-hour days, loud machinery, and poor ventilation.
What were working conditions in the 1800s?
This process allows for the manufacturing of large quantities of standardized products, often using assembly lines.
What is Mass production?
This is the process where a labor union negotiates with an employer on behalf of all workers to reach an agreement on wages and hours.
What is Collective bargaining?
This term refers to the goal of Southern "Bourbon Democrats" to "save" the South from Republican rule and return to pre-war social orders.
What is to Redeem? (often referred to as the "Redeemers").
This industry was the largest consumer of steel, helping men like Andrew Carnegie become incredibly wealthy.
What is the railroad industry?
Because they could be paid less and had small hands for fixing machines, many families sent their children to work, a practice known as this.
What is child labor?
This term describes the strategy of "not putting all your eggs in one basket" by adding more variety to an economy or business, rather than relying on just one crop or industry.
What is to Diversify?
Factory owners used this tactic to share the names of pro-union workers so other employers would not hire them.
What is a Blacklist?
This brutal system allowed states to "rent out" prisoners to private companies for labor, often replacing the labor lost after slavery was abolished.
What is Convict Leasing?
This immigrant group provided the majority of the dangerous labor for the Central Pacific railroad.
Who were Chinese immigrants?
This 1911 tragedy in a New York garment factory led to new safety laws after 146 workers died.
What was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire?
These were the specific environments workers faced in the 1800s, often characterized by long hours, low pay, and dangerous machinery.
What are Working conditions in the 1800s?
These two major groups, the Knights of Labor and the AFL, were the primary examples of these organizations in the late 1800s.
What are Labor Unions?
This agency was created right after the Civil War to provide food, clothing, and education to formerly enslaved people.
What was the Freedmen’s Bureau?
To encourage building, the government gave these to railroad companies—essentially free land for every mile of track laid.
What are land grants?
This specific union was unique because it allowed women and African Americans to join, unlike many other early unions.
Who were the Knights of Labor?
This critical infrastructure project connected the East and West coasts, making it easier for people and goods to move across the country.
What is Expanding the Railroads?
This was a common practice where factory owners hired young children because they could be paid less and were small enough to fit into tight machine spaces.
What is Child Labor?
This 1896 Supreme Court case ruled that "separate but equal" was legal, leading to decades of Jim Crow laws.
What was Plessy v. Ferguson?
This 1877 event was the first major nationwide strike, caused by wage cuts and suppressed by the US Army.
What was the Great Railroad Strike of 1877?
To save money, many factory workers lived in these crowded, unsanitary apartment buildings.
What are tenements?