Technological Innovations
What process made steel faster and cheaper?
Bessemer Process
What act provided free or cheap land to settlers?
Homestead Act
Where did most people move during the Gilded Age?
Urban (cities)
Andrew Carnegie made his fortune in what industry?
Steel
What was the main goal of labor unions during the Gilded Age?
Improve working conditions and wages
Who invented the telephone and enabled long-distance communication?
Alexander Graham Bell
What type of houses did settlers build due to lack of timber?
Sod houses
What group built much of the Transcontinental Railroad?
Chinese immigrants
John D. Rockefeller made his fortune in what industry?
Oil
Name one early labor union.
Knights of Labor or AFL
What invention by Edison allowed factories to extend working hours?
Lightbulb
What railroad helped populate the Great Plains?
Transcontinental Railroad
What law limited Chinese immigration?
Chinese Exclusion Act
What is a monopoly?
Complete control of an industry
Who led the AFL?
Samuel Gompers
How did the Bessemer Process impact the industry?
Faster, cheaper construction of railroads, bridges, buildings
What was the purpose of the Dawes Act?
Assimilate Native Americans into American culture
Why did Irish families immigrate?
Famine and religious persecution
Why were leaders called both “Captains of Industry” and “Robber Barons”?
Helped the economy but used ruthless tactics
What 1886 event hurt the image of unions?
Haymarket Riot
What innovation connected the East and West coasts after the Civil War?
Transcontinental Railroad
Why did U.S. population grow rapidly from 1850–1900?
Railroads, immigration, and industrial jobs
What were nativists?
People who disliked immigrants and wanted to restrict immigration
What does “Gilded Age” mean?
Looked prosperous but corrupt and unequal underneath
What was one long-term effect of the labor movement?
Better wages, shorter hours, safer conditions