Military campaign during the American Civil War when Union General William Tecumseh Sherman led his troops from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia, in late 1864. The goal was to cripple the Confederacy’s war resources by destroying infrastructure, supplies, and morale along the way via total warfare.
Shermans March to the Sea
What is the 13th amendment of the U.S Constitution?
abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime.
The U.S. government agency established in 1865 to help formerly enslaved people in the South during the Reconstruction era was known as the _______________________________
Freedmen's Bureau
Name a major labor strike from the Gilded Age:
Pullman Strike (1894) – nationwide railroad strike involving federal troops.
Great Railroad Strike (1877) – violent strike against wage cuts across multiple states.
Haymarket Riot (1886) – strike for an eight-hour workday in Chicago that turned violent.
the Homestead Strike of 1892 at Carnegie Steel in Pennsylvania.
The rapid industrialization promoted by the US Gov, created more industrial job opportunities in cities including _________, ____________, and ______
Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Pittsburgh
What was Angel Island?
Angel Island was an immigration station in San Francisco Bay that primarily processed immigrants from Asia, especially China, between 1910 and 1940. immigrants there often faced long detentions and harsh questioning due to restrictive immigration laws and nativist attitudes.
What event directly led to Southern states leaving the Union?
Abraham Lincoln winning the election of 1860
The ______________________________________ divided the former Confederate states into 5 districts, each controlled by a Union general
Military Reconstruction Act
What is a Captain of Industry / Robber Baron? (Provide an example in your response)
A Captain of Industry, or Robber Baron, was a powerful business leader during the Gilded Age who dominated an industry and amassed great wealth. Some were seen as innovative and charitable, while others were criticized for exploiting workers and eliminating competition. An example is Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and J.P. Morgan
What are Tenements?
Overcrowded and poorly maintained apartment buildings for working-class families. These buildings were often poorly ventilated and led to the spread of disease such as tuberculosis, cholera, and typhus
The ___________ repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty and led to violence in those areas.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
What was the central argument presented in Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense?
The colonies should seek independence from Britain
In the Compromise of 1877, the Republican party won the presidency with the appointment of Rutherford B. Hayes as POTUS.
What did the Democrats receive in return?
Federal troops being removed from the South
How did the Captains of Industry/Robber Barons gain so much power?
Vertical integration: When a company controls every stage of production for its product, from raw materials to finished goods. (Example: Andrew Carnegie controlling steel mines, factories, and distribution.)
Horizontal integration: When a company buys or merges with competitors in the same industry to dominate the market. (Example: John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil buying other oil refineries.)
What was the main goal of the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)?
How was the Sherman Anti-Trust Act used?
The main goal of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was to break up trusts and prevent monopolies
However, the act was initially used to break up labor unions, representing how the government prioritized business over labor at this time.
What is Social Darwinism:
Social Darwinism is the belief that only the strongest individuals or businesses survive in society and the economy, similar to the idea of “survival of the fittest” in nature. During the Gilded Age, it was often used to justify wealth, monopolies, and the limited help for the poor, suggesting that success or failure was a natural result of ability and effort.
The _____ was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, and thus they could not enjoy the rights and privileges the Constitution conferred upon American citizens
Dred Scott vs. Sandford
The ________________________________________ were a group of Congress members who advocated for a more extreme approach to Reconstruction, including stronger measures to protect the rights of freed slaves.
Radical Republicans
Describe the differences in approaches between the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor:
The Knights of Labor welcomed all workers, including women and African Americans, and focused on very broad social reforms like ending child labor.
The American Federation of Labor (AFL), led by Samuel Gompers, focused only on skilled workers and aimed for practical goals such as higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions.
Describe the role of political machines in urban cities and give one example
Political machines were organized groups that controlled city governments by using patronage, bribery, and favors to gain votes and maintain power. They often provided jobs, services, or aid to immigrants and the poor in exchange for political support. One famous example is Tammany Hall in New York City, led by William “Boss” Tweed, which used corruption to dominate city politics in the late 19th century.
Describe the 3 parts of the Anaconda Plan
The plan called for a naval blockade of the Confederate coast, sending troops down the Mississippi, and the strangulation of the South by Union land and naval forces
Which major event exposed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and led to the convening of the Constitutional Convention?
Shay's Rebellion
Explain how the Reconstruction era came to an end. (Include the Panic of 1873 in your response)
The Panic of 1873 caused a severe economic depression, which shifted national attention away from Southern reconstruction and civil rights. Additionally, Northern support for Reconstruction waned, and the Compromise of 1877, which resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election, resulted in the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.
How did nativism influence society during the Gilded Age?
Nativism during the Gilded Age led to widespread discrimination against immigrants, especially those from Southern and Eastern Europe and Asia. It influenced society by promoting restrictive immigration laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, anti-immigrant sentiment and the rise of the KKK, exploitation of immigrants with Tammany Hall, and favoritism toward “native-born” Americans in jobs and politics.
What is “scientific management,” and how did Frederick Taylor apply it in industry?
Scientific management is a system of improving efficiency in the workplace by studying tasks and establishing the “best” way to perform them. Frederick Taylor applied it by timing workers with a stopwatch, breaking tasks into smaller steps, and training workers to follow precise procedures to maximize productivity and reduce wasted effort.
This also includes the introduction of interchangeable parts and the assembly line.