Transcontinental Railroad
What was the transcontinental railroad?
Any continuous rail road that connects the East Coast and the West Coast of the US.
Define a robber-baron?
Negative term used to describe the wealthy industrialist leaders during the Gilded Age that hoarded money and resources.
What were the working conditions like during the Gilded Age?
Very dangerous and unfair.
What were the names of the two main immigration stations during the Gilded Age?
Ellis Island (New York) and Angel Island (California)
What was the Populist Party (People's Party)?
formed in the late 19th century as a response to the economic difficulties and political corruption facing farmers and laborers in the United States.
What were the two railroad companies that built these railroads?
Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroad
Define a captain of Industry
A positive term used to describe a wealthy industrialist that gave back to society through money, programs, and jobs.
Describe the Haymarket Riot?
A labor protest turned riot that was fighting for an eight hour work day.
What act was passed in that prohibited Chinese immigrants from coming to the United States?
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
Why did the Populist Party want to introduce silver into the United States' currency?
They argued that increasing the money supply would help alleviate the financial pressures they faced.
What is one way that the construction of the transcontinental railroads had a negative effect on the United States?
What is a monopoly?
A single company has control over a certain market and can control the price of goods.
What was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and why was it important?
A fire that killed over 100 women workers in a factory that led to the creation of many working and safety regulations.
Name some pull factors for migrants during the Gilded Age in America.
To get a new start, to get away from war and revolutions, famine, no jobs or land, religious persecution.
What was the patronage system?
Politicians would give important government positions to friends, family members, and/or supporters in exchange for support or money.
What were some positive effects of the transcontinental railroad?
Faster travel, lower cost of goods, jobs.
What was the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890?
A federal law that limited monopolies in business to create fairness in competition.
Describe how urbanization had a negative effect on farmers?
The country went from having a primarily agriculture focused economy to industrialization being its main source of income. People migrated to the North and away from the rural South.
Land, employment, join family and friends, religious and political freedom.
Who was Boss Tweed and what was he the "boss" of?
He was the leader of Tammany Hall, the Democratic political machine in New York City. His influence extended through a vast network of patronage, which enabled him to control the city’s politics and finances until his corruption was exposed and he was convicted.
Who was Sitting Bull?
The Hunkpapa-Lakota Leader (Native American Leader).
Name at least two of the four main Industrialist we studied.
Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and Vanderbilt
What were the apartment like quarters that people in the city commonly lived in during the Gilded Age?
Tenements
Northern and Western Europe=Old Immigrants
Eastern and Southern Europe and Asia= New Immigrants
Who exposed Boss Tweed and how?
Thomas Nast and through his political cartoons.