Gilded Age
The progressive Era
Horrible working conditions, discrimination, a growing gap between the rich and poor, prohibition and other things in U.S. society between 1890 and 1920
The term nativism is?
Belief that native born people should be treated better than immigrants.
Henry Ford
Created the assembly line and mass produced automobiles
He made so many automobiles that the price came way down, making them affordable to the middle class
Thought that all employees of every company should be able to purchase the product that they make.
Plessy V Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson decision allowed for the segregation of Black and white people in public facilities.
The decision was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
Square Deal
Series of laws passed under Theodore Roosevelt.
power to break up trusts, or trust-busting.
What was the importance of the Transcontinental Railroad?
Goods were able to be shipped faster from coast to coast and it helped with settling out west and through the great plains.
What was Ellis Island?
All immigrants coming from Europe and Countries to the East had to go through this island before entering the United States.
Jane Addams
Formed the Hull House (settlement house) which aided immigrants with kindergarten and day care facilities, English and citizenship classes; and theater, music and art classes.
What was laissez-faire?
It meant "hands off" and government will not interfere with the trade, businesses or the market.
Sherman Antitrust Act
Prohibited monopolies
What was sharecropping?
A system where the landlord/planter allows a tenant to use the land in exchange for a share of the crop
What was Angel island?
All immigrants coming from Asian nations had to stop at this island off the coast of San Francisco before coming in.
Angel Island was horrible in contrast compared to Ellis island because the Asian immigrants, especially the Chinese, were treated horribly and sometime imprisoned for weeks before even seeing anyone.
Boss Tweed (Tammany Hall)
Tammany Hall, New York’s democratic party had Boss Tweed as their leader.
Had many “grafts” or illegal use of political influence for personal gain.
Had the New York County Courthouse built for $13 million, but it really only cost 3 million. The profits went to Tweed. Tweed also controlled the Police in New York.
Patronage (Spoils System)
Where a person who just won an election will appoint their supporters to high position of power, regardless of effectiveness.
What is a monopoly?
A monopoly is a business or a group of businesses that have complete control over an industry.
What was the Homestead Act and what did it promise?
accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting families 160 acres of public land for a minimal filing fee and five years of continuous residence on that land.
Settlement houses were used for?
A place that immigrants new to a city could go and learn basic things about America and specific things they needed to know about the city they had just arrived in.
At a settlement house a immigrant could learn English, get help finding a place to live, understand the American culture, and other basic things that a new immigrant would need.
4 robber barons during this time
Rockefeller- Oil
Carnegie- Steel
Vanderbilt- Railroad
Morgan- Loans and Banking
What is a trust?
Trusts were separate businesses that agreed to be under the same board of trustees that controlled the industry.
The use of the steel plow and windmill helped with what?
Cultivating land and watering crops that helped farmers grow more of an abundance of crops
What was the Chinese Exclusion Act?
A set of laws that barred Chinese immigration for 10 years and prevented Chinese already in the country from becoming citizens.
Upton Sinclair
Muckraker who wrote The Jungle to expose light on poor working conditions and unsanitary conditions in the meat packing industry
What is a muckraker?
a person who searches for and tries to expose real or alleged corruption, scandal, or other wrongdoing, especially in politics: The original muckrakers were the journalists who exposed child labor, sweatshops, poor living and working conditions, and government inefficiency in the early 20th century.
What is a robber baron?
negative term given to the leaders of industry like Carnegie or Rockefeller who were considered by the poor working population to be greedy, manipulative, and were keeping other people from achieving the same level of success.