Industrialization
& Big Business
& Big Business
What is a single company called when it controls nearly all of an industry and can set prices without competition?
Monopoly
What were the crowded, poorly built apartment buildings where many immigrants lived called?
Tenements
What were the three primary goals of labor unions during the Gilded Age?
Improved pay, better (shorter) hours, and safer working conditions
What were organizations called that traded jobs and favors for votes and political power?
Political machines
What were journalists who exposed corruption, unsafe conditions, and social injustices called?
Muckrakers
What method made steel cheaper and stronger, helping expand railroads and skyscrapers?
The Bessemer Process
What belief led many native-born Americans to fear and discriminate against “new immigrants”?
Nativism
What is the process where workers negotiate as a group rather than individually called?
Collective bargaining
What was the most powerful political machine in New York City? And what was the name of it's leader?
Tammany Hall led by Boss Tweed
What were two opposing values for how to handle income inequality in the Gilded Age, and how were they different?
Social Darwinism: argued inequality was natural and the poor should not receive help
Social Gospel: taught that society had a moral duty to fight poverty and improve living conditions.
What business strategy involves buying out competitors at the same level of production to dominate an industry?
Horizontal integration
What public health problems in cities resulted from pollution, waste, and poor infrastructure?
Sanitation problems
What did workers during the Pullman Strike put pressure on railway companies?
They refused to handle Pullman railcars, causing a national rail shutdown.
What were secret payments or inflated contracts used to steal public money called?
Kickbacks
What were two laws that increased standards for food processing and consumer safety?
The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.
What were three things industrial leaders like Carnegie and Rockefeller did that caused many Americans to praise them as “captains of industry”?
They expanded production, created jobs, and helped lower consumer prices
What movement saw millions of African Americans relocate to cities for better jobs and cultural opportunities?
The Great Migration
What was generally the government's response to strikes or conflicts between corporations and unions?
They almost always sided with businesses, using courts or federal troops to shut down strikes.
How did political machines win support from immigrant communities?
By offering assistance like housing, jobs, and legal help in exchange for votes.
According to the Gospel of Wealth, what responsibility did the wealthy have toward society?
To use their fortunes to support libraries, schools, and other public institutions.
How did railroad corruption—like rate discrimination and kickbacks—hurt farmers and small businesses?
It forced them to pay unfairly high shipping rates.
What two factors (one push, one pull) most commonly caused immigrants to come to the United States?
Push factors:poverty or political conflict
Pull factors: available jobs or greater safety
What happened at the Haymarket Square strike, and how did it impact the Knights of Labor?
Someone threw a bomb at police during the rally, and the Knights of Labor were blamed, which badly damaged their reputation and caused their membership to collapse.
What was the main goal of civil service reform?
That government jobs were given through merit (to the people who deserved them) instead of patronage (the friends and supporters of the politician in charge).
What did the 17th Amendment do to fight corruption?
Allowed voters—not state legislatures—to elect U.S. senators