APUSH: The Gilded Age

Cutthroat Tactics

*Business arena was a gladiator arena, do anything you could to get out on top -Predatory Pricing (undercut competition): Drop price underneath what competition can charge to run them out of business; once company is gone you put your prices back up -Collusion (price fixing): Competition comes together to fix pay; doesn't allow market to run freely -Intimidation *Corruption in the Railroad Industry -Long Haul - Short Haul discrimination: Cheaper to ship products over long distances rather than short distances -High Volume Discounts: Charged less for high volume shipments to win business of big companies; causes big companies to have cheaper products that run out smaller business -Rebates: Charge everyone same price but give check back to big companies to legally do high volume discounts

Open Range Ranching

-A great deal of free-range cattle free for taking in the West -Crews of cowboys would round up cattle and lead them up to railheads, big business for the cowboys with low costs -The cattle could graze on the grass to the railroads and the grass would grow on the way back -Strategy to purchase waterholes -Dangerous work, but low cost and paid well

United States v. EC Knight Co.

-American Sugar Refining Company buys 4 sugar refineries; controlled 98% of sugar refining in U.S. -One of the companies is the E.C Knight Co. -The E.C. Knight Co. takes American Sugar Refining to court for violating the Sherman Ant-Trust Act -The Supreme Court sided with the American Sugar Refining Company as "Production is not the restraint of trade." -This rendered the Sherman Ant-Trust Act of 1890 meaningless

Edward Bellamy - Looking Backward

-Believed in the socialization of America. -Book set in the year 2000. -America is a socialist society. -Popular in underground circles.

Social Gospel

-Believed slum conditions caused sin and crimes (people do whatever they can to further themselves and survive) -Focused on improving living conditions rather than saving souls -People must have enough to eat and decent living conditions to behave properly; improve cities, give better jobs, improve business -Reform and regulate business and tax the rich

Henry George - Progress and Poverty

-Believed that those who create should reap the benefits. -Disturbed by the landowners profiting from workers. -Believed that land should belong to all humanity. -Felt landowners should be heavily taxed. -His book is critical of the maldistribution of wealth.

Knights of Labor

-Early and big labor union that catered to anyone who wanted to join (unskilled workers and artisans, minorities, women, and immigrants *What did they want -8 hour work day; main issue -Workers' cooperatives -Worker-owned factories -Abolition of child and prison labor -Increased circulation of greenbacks -Equal pay for men and women -Safety codes in the workplace -Prohibition of contract foreign labor -Short-Lived; destroyed over Haymarket Square Riot

Election of 1888 (Tariff Debate)

-Election that focuses on the Tariff issue -Cleveland: Supported lowering tariffs -Harrison: Alarmist about tariffs, if tariffs lowered than people would lose their jobs and harm American Industry

Jim Crow

-Following the "separate but equal" Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, southern and western states implemented a system of segregation -A reality in America until the Modern Civil Rights movement

Boss Tweed

-Head of Tammany Hall, NYC's powerful Democratic political machine in 1868. Between 1868 and 1869 he led the Tweed Ring, a group of corrupt politicians in defrauding the city. -Convicted of crimes, escapes and goes to Spain, recaptured in Spain and sent back to jail, spilled beans to try and reduce the sentence, didn't let him go

Oklahoma Land Rush

-In 1889, former Indian lands in Oklahoma opened up for settlement. -One of the last land rushes in the US as the seemingly endless frontier finally became completely settled -Applied the Homestead Act -2 million acres of land opened up to white settlers -Race to claim 160-acre plots of land

Steel and Tech Development

-Innovations in factory design and tech lead to production efficiency -Enhanced during the Civil War: factories in North working around the clock -American factories began to mature -Bessemer process: steel -Oil Refining: Kerosene; takes out impurities from crude oil to make petroleum products -Refrigeration: Meat Packing; More people in urban areas than rural areas, Demand in city for farm products, before refrigeration animals killed in slaughterhouse much more efficient with refrigeration -Electrical Current: lightbulb

American Federation of Labor

-Labor Union that catered to the skilled worker; not unskilled workers -Understood workers would remain working class; promoted pride in being a worker -Pushed for 8 hour work days -Worker's Safety laws -Maintained a national strike fund -Mediated disputes between management and labor -Still around today

Department Stores

-Large retail organizations characterized by a wide product mix and organized into separate departments to facilitate marketing efforts and internal management. -Following the Civil War, these large stores began to rise to prominence across the US. They were characterized by and made popular because of heavy advertising, low prices, efficient service, and money back guarantees.

Labor Issues

-Long work days: 10+ hours a day -Low pay: especially for women -Poor working conditions: Owners wanted to save money, Little sanitation or protection -Industrial accidents: No precautions or regulations -Dissatisfaction with work- monotony; repetitive and boring -No benefits/sick leave/vacation -Child labor: Not uncommon in textile mills, or coal mines, cheaper labor, able to do things adults can't do -Yellow Dog Contracts

Women in the Workplace

-Lower class women worked more and more outside the home -By 1900, about 20% of women in America worked as wage laborers; most were single, 5% married -Mainly worked in textile mills, but food processing too -Later women move into traditional male roles; clerical workers, secretaries, bookkeepers and typists -These jobs lose status as a result; become women's roles -Employers don't need males in many of these positions so they hire women because they were paid lower wages

James Garfield

-Moderate Half-Breed -He appointed half-breeds to important positions - angered stalwarts -Made Chester Arthur (Stalwart) VP -Shot by an office seeking Stalwart Charles Guiteau

City Improvements

-Once the connection was made between filth and disease efforts were made to clean things up -Streets were paved: Easier to clean up horse dung, not stomped into the ground -Streetlights added: Improved society; less likely to get run over or mugged -Trolleys: more folks could live in the suburbs -Suspension bridges increased traffic flows to the suburbs as well (Brooklyn Bridge)

Lynching

-Since the federal government left the South alone, the South feels that they can implement what they want fo racial control -Attempt to "keep blacks in line": continue "superiority" complex -Takes off in the 1890s -4,743 known lynchings; 3,400 were African Americans and 1300 whites -Stories made up to justify this behavior

Cornelius Vanderbilt

-Started in ferry and shipping industries; creates a steamship company-ferried between NY and West Coast -Enters the Railroad Business after selling stocks in steamboats -Created Integrated Rail System - Far More Efficient - Controlled NYC -Merges the NY Central and Hudson RR in 1870; integrates everything -In 1873, he connected his railroad system with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern tracks, and two years later he purchased the Michigan Central as well. -At the time of his death in 1877, he owned over 4,500 miles of track connecting New York with most of the Midwest's largest cities.

Nativists

-The City Conditions were deteriorating and cities were overcrowding -Immigrants were taking American Jobs -They accepted lower wages than Americans -These people asked "What is happening to American Culture?" -Blamed Worker Protests/Riots on Immigrants -Marxists -Disliked Catholics: Papists

Social Darwinism

-Theory to understand the gulf between wealthy and poor differences of world cultures -Applied the survival of the fittest. The wealthy are that way because they are superior

Middle Class

-White-collared workers needed in these huge business operations -Storekeepers, doctors, lawyers, etc, who served this class also increased -They liked material items; nice house, books, furniture -Library, musician, middle class bought cultured goods -Women didn't work -Some managed house and servants -Some got involved in social causes -Many of these had college degrees

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

-Women working in a garment factory; most Jewish/Italian -A fire started and trapped women on 9th floor as they were notified too late; fire started from poor conditions -Doors to stairwells/exits locked; common practice to keep people working/not stealing -146 women died largely because they could not escape -Led to improved safety standards; puts pressure on business to enact safety measures -Women garment makers fought for better working conditions so a similar tragedy didn't happen

Stalwarts

A Conservative faction of the Republican Party: -Typically Radical Republicans -Supported Grant's reelection -Opposed Hayes and his troop withdrawal from the South -Favored Political Patronage: Divvy out government positions to your friends

Thomas Nast

A famous 19th century cartoonist and caricaturist that attacked Catholics, the Irish, and the Tammany Hall political machine through his artwork.

Hull House

A famous settlement house established by Jane Addams in Chicago in 1889 with the goal of feeding and educating the poor. It boasted a gymnasium, a day nursery, and several social clubs.

Civil Rights Cases of 1883

A group of cases in 1883 in which the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which had prohibited racial discrimination in hotels, theaters, and other privately owned facilities. The court ruled that the 14th amendment barred state government from discriminating on the basis of race, but it did not prevent individuals, businesses, or organizations from doing so.

Mugwumps

A group of eastern Republicans disgusted with corruption in the party, who campaigned for Democrats in the 1884 elections. These anti-corruption reformers were conservative on the money question and government regulation

Desert Land Act

A land ownership law passed in 1877 that allowed anyone to obtain 640 acres in the arid states for $1.25 an acre provided the owner irrigated part of it within three years. Since the original claimant could transfer the holding, the ranchers set their cowboys and other hands to filing claims, which were signed over to them. Over 2.6 million acres were taken under the act, and according to the best estimate, 95% of the claims were fraudulent -- no sincere effort was made to irrigate the land

Half-Breeds

A moderate faction of the Republican Party: -Supported Hayes' lenient treatment of the South -Favored civil service reform (remove political patronage) -Looked at political corruption as an issue, disliked Grant

Mail Order Catalogs

A number of large department stores and other companies, such as the Sears and Roebuck Co., sent out catalogs containing descriptions, images, and prices for their products to the American people. These catalogs were commonplace in the homes of many Americans during the Gilded Age. Shoppers could look through the catalog, pick out items they liked, and order them by mail. The improvement of the railroads made such a system possible. It allowed isolated western farmers to access products they would never be able to get at their local general store.

Jay Gould

A railroad tycoon at the forefront of the railroad industry in the Southwest. He purchased the Kansas Pacific, with tracks from Kansas City to Denver, and consolidated it with the Union Pacific and the Missouri Pacific (which had tracks running from Kansas City to St. Louis). His grasp of the importance of integrating the separate railroad complexes into a unified system was sound. He and Jim Fisk started Black Friday of 1869

Comstock Lode

A region of Nevada that yielded large amounts of ores worth nearly $4,000 a ton. Named after the miner Henry Comstock, it was primarily home to iron ore and attracted hopeful miners from around the world. It yielded $306 million in gold and silver over a twenty year period.

Great Railroad Strike

A strike that began on the Baltimore and Ohio system in response to a wage cut and spread to other eastern lines and then throughout the West until about two-thirds of the railroad mileage of the country had been shut down. Violence broke out, rail yards were put to the torch, and dismayed and frightened businessmen formed militia companies to patrol the streets of Chicago and other cities. Eventually, President Hayes sent federal troops to the trouble spots to restore order, and the strike collapsed.

Transcontinental Railroads

After the Civil War, there was a rush to build railroads connecting the East and West. However, the railroads were expensive and often brought in little profits at first because portions of the track were often unpopulated which made it difficult to find investors. As a result, many of the transcontinental railroads built during the Gilded Age, including the joint Central Pacific-Union Pacific railroad, relied on government subsidies and land grants (Pacific Railways Act) to finance their work. However, the owners of the railroad companies were often driven by greed to obtain as much of the government subsidies as possible. As a result, the railroads were often poorly built which decreased profits in the long run. The Great Northern, running from St. Paul, Minnesota, to the Pacific, was the only transcontinental railroad built without government subsidies. Under the guidance of their primary financer and guiding genius, James J. Hill, they managed to be the only transcontinental railroad to escape the depression of the 1890s without going into bankruptcy. Many of the transcontinental railroads were controlled by a couple of the industry's leading financiers. In order to gain a competitive edge, these men used predatory tactics such as rebates and the long-short haul evil. However, as government regulation increased many of these practices were made illegal.

Plessy v Ferguson

An 1896 Supreme Court decision that held that racial segregation of public accommodations did not infringe on the "equal protection" clause of the constitution. -"Separate but Equal"

Ellis Island

An immigrant receiving station that opened in 1892, where immigrants were given a medical examination and only allowed in if they were healthy. Processed 12 million people in 60 years.

Terrence Powderly

An important leader of the Knights of Labor during the organization's peak

Jane Addams

An important social reformer of the Gilded Age. She helped co-found the Hull House, a Chicago settlement house, in 1889. She also developed a cultural program that included art and music classes and a "little theater" group. She fought for improved public services and all kinds of social legislations. She even became the garbage inspector in her ward at one point and hounded local landlords and garbage contractors until they established a decent garbage service.

Thomas Edison

An inventor best known for inventing the incandescent lamp, or the electric lightbulb. He made a number of contributions toward solving what he called the "mysteries of electrical force," including a multiplex telegraph capable of sending four messages over a single wire at the same time. At Menlo Park, New Jersey, he built the prototype of the modern research laboratory. During his lifetime he took out more than 1,000 patents dealing with machines as varied as the phonograph, the motion picture projector, the storage battery, and the mimeograph. In 1882, the Edison Illuminating Company opened a power station in New York City where they supplied current for light to 85 customers.

Barbed Wire Wars

As cattle associations continued to fight over land claims, they looked for ways to secure the land they believed was rightfully theirs. When Joseph F. Glidden invented barbed wire in 1874, cattle ranchers began placing miles and miles of barbed wire fences to "protect" the land they claimed. Ranchers threatened others not to cut their fences, and violence became more common across the range. Additionally, the implementation of barbed wire hurt the cattle industry by restricting the grazing land of cattle (which resulted in the deaths of thousands of cattle).

Tenement Houses

As cities became overcrowded with poor immigrants, they were packed into small and poorly constructed apartment-style housing. These houses were overcrowded, extremely dirty, and riddled with disease and crime. Some cities attempted to create and enforce restrictions to improve conditions inside the houses, but they were often ineffective.

New Immigrants

Between 1866 and 1915, a wave of "new" immigration to the United States occurred. Unlike previous immigrants (mostly English, Irish, and German) to the US, the "new" immigrants were largely from southern and eastern Europe (Italy, Russia, Poland) as well as China. Many of the new immigrants didn't speak English and had cultures that stood out in American society. Before 1880, only 200,000 southern and eastern Europeans had immigrated to the US, but between 1880 and 1910, that number exceeded 8.4 million. These "new" immigrants weren't well received by many nativists, but they are the reason that America is the "melting pot" that it is today. Between 1866 and 1915, roughly 25 million people immigrated to the US. The need for a larger labor force due to industrialization was one of the largest pull factors encouraging foreigners to make the voyage to America. Additionally, the introduction of the steamship made travel across the oceans much safer, faster, and cheaper than ever before. The main push factor for the "new" wave of immigration was the desire for economic betterment, but many also immigrated due to religious or political persecution. This immigration was completely unrestricted at first, but a few minor restrictions were passed by Congress beginning in the late 19th century.

Andrew Carnegie

Born in Scotland, this successful steel tycoon moved to the US in 1848 at the age of 12. In 1868, after spending years saving money and making investments, he had a yearly income of $50,000. He eventually decided to specialize in the steel industry, and he spent the next few years amassing factories. By 1890, the Carnegie Steel Company dominated the industry. However, this dominance led to concern from the steel-product industry who considered making their own raw steel to control his power. Carnegie, as ruthless of a competitor as ever, responded by threatening to manufacture wire, pipes, and other steel products himself. In the late 1800s, he longed to retire in order to focus on philanthropic work. The opportunity arrived for him to do just that when J.P. Morgan offered to buy the Carnegie Steel Company from him. He agreed and received $250 million from the deal. After retiring, Carnegie dedicated himself to philanthropic work and fulfilling what he referred to as the Social Gospel.

Settlement Houses

Community centers located in poor urban districts of major cities that sought to Americanize immigrant families and provide them with social services (jobs, shelter, and other necessities). Many women just out of college worked at these places because these places provided an outlet for their hopes and energies

Yellow Dog Contracts

Contracts between workers and their employers in which the workers agreed not to form or join a union while employed for that factory. Many businesses forced workers to sign these before they were hired. They restricted the ability of workers to negotiate for improved working conditions.

Wilson-Gorman Tariff

During Grover Cleveland's second term, Congress proposed this bill in response to the McKinley Tariff. It contained a modest tariff decrease and a 2% income tax on incomes over $200,000 to make up for the lost government revenue. However, the SC ruled that the income tax was unconstitutional and the bill was shot down. It was the first proposed income tax in US history.

Morrill Land Grant Act

Each state was given 30,000 acres of federal land for each congressman and senator. The land sales from this would go toward education, with concentration on agriculture and home economics

Laissez-Faire Economics

Economic system where government should not interfere in the marketplace. The market takes care of itself as long as there is competition. The only time the government should step in is when there is no competition.

Chester Arthur

Following the death of James Garfield, his Vice President became president. Despite being a Stalwart, he was appalled by his predecessors assassination and therefore supported civil service reform as president, alienating the Stalwarts in the process. The Pendleton Act of 1882 was passed while he was in office.

Haymarket Square Riot

Following the death of a striker at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, a small group of anarchists called a protest at Haymarket Square of May 4, 1886. Police intervened and attempted to break up the protest, but somebody (who was never identified) threw a bomb into the police ranks, killing seven police officers and injuring many more. The riot led to the downfall of the Knights of Labor because they took much of the blame for the attack. Immigrants were also blamed for bringing European anarchist ideas to America in the first place.

The New South

Following the end of Reconstruction, the South's Redeemer governments hoped to bring glory back to the South. Although industry grew and diversified across the South, northern interests remained in control of much of it. The South struggled with poverty because it was late to industrialization and had a poorly educated workforce. Much of the South remained agricultural as the practice of sharecropping became common. After Union troops left the South, much of the progress made towards racial equality was erased as the South became segregated and blacks voters were suppressed.

Sears and Roebuck Co.

Founded by Richard Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck, this department store and mail-order company became famous across America for their wide variety of products offered at cheap prices. They were one of the first companies to use mail-order catalogs and allowed consumers to purchase items on credit.

Walter Rauschenbusch

Gained recognition as the leader of the Social Gospel

Homestead Act of 1862

Granted 160 acres of government land to any person who would improve the land, was not a confederate, and must fill out an application and sign a deed. The Government tried to get people to move west. The south does not like this as northerners will move out there, eventually there will be free states.

Sam Gompers

He formed the American Federation of Labor which was the most successful labor union of the late 1800's

Bessemer Process

Henry Bessemer and William Kelly discovered that a stream of air directed into a mass of molten iron caused the carbon and other impurities to combine with oxygen and burn off. When measured amounts of carbon, silicon, and manganese were then added, the brew became steel. Before this process steel had been a rare metal and too uncommon to use but after this it was able to be used in buildings, bridges, railroads, etc.. In 1870, 77,000 tons of steel were produced, but by 1890 over 5 million tons were being manufactured yearly.

John Rockefeller

In 1870, this successful oil tycoon founded the Standard Oil Company of Cleveland, Ohio. By 1879, he controlled 90% of the country's oil-refining capacity, a network of oil pipelines, and large reserves of petroleum in the ground. Rockefeller was the most ruthless competitor in a ruthless industry, and often either crushed his competitors or joined forces with them. He ran into a problem when he amassed property from around the country because the Standard was technically an Ohio company and therefore couldn't own plants in other states by law, but avoided the issue by forming a trust. The stock of all of Rockefeller's assets was placed under the control of nine trustees who were empowered to "exercise general supervision" over all the properties. Stockholders received trust certificates on which dividends were paid. By 1892, Rockefeller was worth over $800 million.

Booker T. Washington - The Atlanta Compromise

In 1881, he founded Tuskegee University in Alabama with the financial help of northern philanthropists. His belief that blacks must live themselves up by their own bootstraps but also accommodate themselves to white prejudices earned him a nationwide reputation as a "reasonable" champion of his race. His fame grew so large that Harvard awarded him an honorary degree in 1891. In an 1895 speech at the Cotton States International Exposition in Atlanta, he delivered the Atlanta Compromise to a mixed audience. The speech won Washington economic support from all regions of the country as he became one of the most powerful men in the country.

Immigration Act - 1882

In 1882, this act placed restrictions on the immigration of undesirable persons, such as paupers, criminals, convicts, and mentally incompetent. Had to pass inspections

Homestead Steel Strike

In 1892, a strike took place at Andrew Carnegie's Homestead steel plant outside of of Pittsburgh. Strikers attacked 300 private guards hired to protect the strikebreakers. Seven of the guards were killed, and the rest were forced to surrender. The strike was part of an ongoing dispute between capital and labor in the steel industry that resulted in the defeat of the 24,000 member Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (an important element of the AFL). This destroyed unionism as an effective force in the steel industry and set back the progress of organized labor all over the country

Panic of 1893

In 1893, the Reading Railroad went bankrupt and left banks with outstanding loans to the railroad with no way to collect the money they were owed. As a result, banks began to close and country spiraled into economic disaster. President Cleveland believed the controversy over silver was responsible for the panic, so in an effort to fix the issue he called a special session of Congress and managed to obtain the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in October 1893. This was unsuccessful in fixing the issue, and the panic plunged the US into economic depression for a number of years afterwards as a number of "armies," such as Coxey's army, dissatisfied with the government's attempts to fix the issue protested around the country. J.P. Morgan helped bring the nation out of depression by underwriting a $62 million dollar bond issue and guaranteeing half of the gold would come from Europe. However, the public was infuriated that a private banker had saved the nation from bankruptcy. The panic lasted from 1893 to 1897.

Henry Lloyd - Wealth Against Commonwealth

In 1894, this independent journalist published Wealth Against Commonwealth. He had spent years compiling research and data before putting it together in a scathing attack on the Standard Oil Company. Although many of his arguments were exaggerations, they convinced thousands

Pullman Strike

In 1894, workers at George Pullman's Palace Car factory outside of Chicago walked out in protest against wage cuts. Some of the Pullman workers belonged to the American Railway Union who voted to refuse to handle trains with Pullman cars. The resulting strike tied up railroad lines going in and out of Chicago. Railroad owners pleaded with President Cleveland to send troops, and he eventually did. Eugene V. Debs, head of the American Railway Union, defied a federal injunction to end the walkout and was jailed as a result, ending the strike.

Voting Restrictions

In an effort to disenfranchise African Americans, Southern States introduced literacy tests and poll taxes. Poll taxes were a formidable economic boundary for poor whites, but the literacy tests provided a loophole for poor illiterate whites to gain voting rights

Trusts

In an effort to hide monopolies, companies would mask their operations behind multiple companies that despite having different names and supposedly being independent, were essentially under the control of one leadership committee.

Political Machines

In many of America's biggest cities, corrupt organizations attempted to gather votes for a certain political party by granting easy favors to the masses of confused immigrants pouring into the cities. The groups were led by a city boss with many other ward bosses beneath them. Despite their seemingly kind acts towards immigrants, members of these organizations were only attempting to line their own pockets by winning elections. Examples of Acts: Handed out soup and bread to immigrants, got people jobs and housing, 4th of July picnics, provide coal and medical care, bail out of jail and provide legal help, etc.

Indian Ring Scandal

In order to trade with Indian Reservations, you need permits. Secretary of War William Bellknap, in charge of permits, was impeached for selling permits to trade on Indian Land

Catholic Schools

In response to the curriculum of common schools being built around the Protestant King James version of the Bible as well as overall anti-Catholic sentiments in America, these schools were established.

Coxey's Army

In response to the depression following the Panic of 1893, a number of "armies" of the unemployed formed in the spring of 1894. One particular army, led by Ohio businessman Jacob J. Coxey, was particularly large. Over 500 men marched on Washington under Coxey and demanded that the government undertook a program of federal public works and other projects to hire unemployed workers to build roads. Upon reaching Washington, Coxey and another leader were arrested for trespassing on the grounds of the US Capitol and club-wielding officers dispersed the remaining protestors. These events convinced Americans that the government had little concern for the plight of the poor.

Horizontal Monopolies

In this type of monopoly, a company dominates one step in the production process for their respective industry. However, by doing so they are able to receive high volume discounts, rebates, etc. on transportation, raw materials, etc. because those companies want the business of the biggest player in the production aspect of the industry. John Rockefeller held this type of monopoly on oil and the American Sugar Refining Co. held this monopoly in the sugar refining industry.

Vertical Monopolies

In this type of monopoly, a company owns their own share in each step of the production process. Although there are initial costs involved to buy shares in each step, companies could lower costs and maximize efficiency and profits after breaking even. Eventually, you could turn your small shares in each step of the process into larger and larger shares. Andrew Carnegie held this type of monopoly on steel and Gustavus Swift held this type of monopoly on meat packing.

Samuel Morse

Inventor of the telegraph and Morse Code

Alexander Graham Bell

Inventor of the telephone who had been led to the study of acoustics through his interest in the education of the death. The invention of the telephone soon proved its value. By 1900 there were almost 800,000 telephones in the country.

Contract Labor Act (Foran Act) - 1885

It outlawed companies from bringing in skilled workers under contract, advancing them passage money and collecting it in installments from their paychecks. The goal of the law was to protect American jobs.

Panic of 1873

Jay Cooke was the head of the largest investment banking firm at the time. Cooke's company goes out of business (lends money to railroads with many being bought out or running out of business). Cooke is not paid when the railroads fail. His business going under has a ripple effect across the US economy. As people quickly sold their stocks in various industries, an economic panic ensued. The NY Stock Exchange closed for ten days and banks began to collapse. As a result, people couldn't take out loans and their companies began to go bankrupt as well. The panic lasted from 1873 until 1879.

Black Friday - 1869

Jim Fisk and Jay Gould notice in 1869 that gold is devalued. They come up with a plan to buy gold quickly in order to raise the price of the gold left in the market. Once the gold booms they planned to sell gold quickly at an elevated price. However, the government noticed what they were doing and responded by selling off some of its gold reserves to combat their attempts to artificially raise prices. For a short period of time this impacts the stock market; drops 20 points. Some went from riches to rags in one day

Pacific Railways Act (Checkerboarding)

Land grants were given by the government to railroad companies. It gave the builders of railroad tracks five square miles of public land on each side of their right-of-way for each mile of track laid. Allotted in alternate sections, the land formed a checkerboard pattern with one group of alternating squares representing railroad property and the other representing government property. The railroad companies could use the land to populate the region around their railroads, therefore quickly creating profits. The railroad provided an incentive for people to move onto the land, making it easy to find prospective movers.

Concerns about Competition

Many Americans were fearful of monopolies 1. Price Manipulation ↑ 2. No incentive to improve quality 3. Barriers to entering the industry 4. Disrupts the market when things go south

American Dream

Many immigrants came to America because they believed society offered opportunity -White collar jobs offered this -Public Education System: Introduction of vocational training -Work Ethic: believed working hard brought good things

Credit Mobilier Scandal

Owners of Union Pacific Railroad made a fake company that applied for federal grants that funneled into the company that line their pockets. Bribed politicians with stocks in the company and Union Pacific Railroad

McKinley Tariff

Passed during the Harrison presidency, this bill raised the tariff rate to 48%, an all time high.

Pendleton Act of 1882

Passed in 1882 during the presidency of Chester Arthur, this bill created the bipartisan Civil Service Commission to administer civil service exams to all government employees to determine if they had the necessary qualifications for the job.

Horatio Alger

Popular novelist during the Gilded Age who wrote a series of books on "rags to riches" stories.

Whiskey Ring Affair

Tax on whiskey at the time. Whiskey distillers, including whiskey distillation in Wisconsin, paid off tax collectors with bribes, including the Secretary of the Treasury, so they didn't have to pay taxes

Ethnic Neighborhoods

The "new" immigration of the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to the development of ________ _________ in many of America's largest cities. These people wanted to be by people who they knew, spoke the language, had a similar culture, ease homesickness. Observers noted these neighborhoods had a foreign appearence.

Hall v DeCuir

The Louisiana Supreme Court awarded a settlement to Josephine DeCuir, a black woman, after she was denied a seat on a steamboat. The federal Supreme Court overturned the ruling because the steamboat company was an interstate company so a Louisiana state law banning segregation could be ignored. The decision made by the federal SC ignored the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

The first federal antitrust law passed by Congress in 1890. Every contract, combination in the form of a trust or otherwise in the restraint of trade or commerce among the several states or foreign nations is hereby declared illegal.

Eugene Debs

The head of the American Railway Union during the Pullman strike. He defied a federal injunction to end the walkout and was jailed as a result, ending the Pullman strike. However, during his time in jail he was visited by a number of socialists and in 1897 he became a socialist himself.

Common Schools (Public)

There was a push for the establishment of common schools (some with required attendance) across the country. However, because America was largely a Protestant nation, the common school curriculum was designed around the King James version of the Bible, a Protestant version. Catholics, who felt alienated by Protestants, responded by forming their own Catholic schools.

Boomtowns

These towns were synonymous with the mining craze that swept the West in the mid-to-late 1800s. In a newly discovered location, a town of 5,000 could quickly appear, but they often disappeared just as quickly as discouraged miners travelled elsewhere in search of wealth. They were often characterized by greed and corruption. Dance halls, saloons, brothels, and gambling dens lined the streets, and crime was rampant due to the lack of law enforcement.

Frederick Jackson Turner

This American historian published an essay on his frontier thesis in 1893 called "The Significance of the Frontier in American History." He claimed that the frontier experience, which all regions of America had undergone at one point, had shaped the thinking of American people and shape of American institutions. The isolation and need to create civilization anew that each new wave of frontier America experienced was responsible for the individualism of America and its democratic society. He argued that everything unique about American culture could be traced to the frontier. Although his claims were not entirely true, they were influential in changing the way the next generation of historians studied American history and culture. He also posed the question of what will happen to American democracy now that the frontier is officially declared to be closed (1890).

Charles Guiteau

This Stalwart helped James Garfield get elected but Garfield doesn't return the favor by giving him a government position. Angry at Garfield, he shoots and kills him a few months after Garfield took office.

Gustavus Swift

This business tycoon of the Gilded Age invented the refrigerated train car, and in doing so revolutionized the cattle industry because cows could now be slaughtered before being sent east, allowing more meat to fit onto each train car. He held a vertical monopoly on the meat packing industry.

Jacob Riis - How the Other Half Lives

This photojournalist brought attention to the plight of poor immigrants and factory workers in the slum of New York in How the Other Half Lives. He believed in the Social Gospel and attempted to help people living in the slums through his work. He wanted to enlighten people on these bad conditions.

Election of 1884

This presidential election pitted the dynamic Republican James G. Blaine against the honest and hardworking Democrat Grover Cleveland. Both parties had nearly identical political platforms, and as a result the election was decided by the candidates' personal issues. Blaine was a very popular candidate but his reputation was tainted by the publication of the "Mulligan letters," which connected him with the corrupt granting of congressional favors to the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad. However, Cleveland's reputation took a hit as well when it was discovered that he had fathered an illegitimate child. Cleveland narrowly defeated Blaine by a margin of less than 25,000 votes. Cleveland's victory came in large part from the mugwumps, a group of Republicans that pushed for civil service and therefore voted Democrat because of Blaine's past involvement in corruption.

The Gospel of Wealth

This was a book written by Carnegie that described the responsibility of the rich to be philanthropists. "The man who dies rich, dies disgraced," a sin to die wealthy -Wealthy must give back to society; give to society as a whole, not just bring up poor -Libraries, universities, arts

Billion Dollar Congress

Under President Benjamin Harrison, Congress exceeded $1 billion in spending in a single term during peacetime. During this time, Congress raised the tariff to an all-time high and passed the Sherman Antitrust Act.

J.P. Morgan

When many of the nation's railroads were reorganized following the depression of the 1890s, most of the nation's big systems came under the control of financiers such as this successful business tycoon. His representatives sat on the boards of every major railroad system and wielded major influence over the rest of the board. They opposed rebating and other competitive practices, and largely centralized control of the railroad companies. When he died in 1913, "Morgan Men" dominated the boards of countless railroad systems. In 1901, he established United States Steel, the world's first billion dollar corporation. His purchase of the Carnegie Steel Company and its assets made up a large portion of US Steel, but he had also amassed other steel factories and producers of finished steel products across the country. He helped finance a deal with the US government to bring the country out of the Panic of 1893.