U.S. HISTORY SINCE
1877 (Unit 1, Chapter
10 Vocabulary)
THE GILDED AGE
Thomas Nast "-- Father of American Cartoons"; drew political
cartoons during Reconstruction; created popular images of Santa,
Uncle Sam, and the Donkey and Elephant political symbols
The age of the “fat cats”
FOREIGN IMMIGRANTS
Ellis Island -- Immigration processing center that opened in New York
Harbor in 1892
nativism -- A policy of favoring native-born individuals over foreignborn ones; arose in the 1840's and 1850's in response to the influx of
Irish and German Catholics.
Americanization -- process of assimilating immigrants into American
culture by teaching English, American history, and citizenship.
Chinese Exclusion Act -- barred Chinese laborers from entering the U.S.;
stemmed from American workers feeling like Chinese laborers drove
down wages and took away jobs
"New" immigration -- A second major wave of immigration to the U. S.
Unlike earlier immigration, which had come primarily from Western
Europe, "New" Immigrants came mostly from Southern and Eastern
Europe. Language barriers and cultural differences produced mistrust by
Americans.
IMMIGRATION AND NATIVISM IN AMERICA
(who is the president featured in the cartoon?)
RURAL (COUNTRY) LIFE IN 1800S AMERICA
McCormick reaper -- mechanized the
harvest of grains, such as wheat,
allowing farmers to cultivate larger
plots; fueled the large-scale
establishment of commercial
agriculture in the Midwest
NOT ALL LAND WAS A FERTILE AS IS SHOWN IN THIS IDEALIZED IMAGE
THE POLITICAL MONSTERS OF THE 1800s:
political machines -- powerful organizations that used
both legal and illegal methods to get their candidates
elected to public office; appealed to immigrants and
urban poor; provided services in exchange for support
Boss Tweed -- head of New York City's powerful
Democratic political machine - Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall -- a political organization within the
Democratic Party in New York city, during the late 1800's
and early 1900's, seeking political control by corruption
and bossism
Tammany Hall was widely-satirized by the “muckraking” and
“yellow journalism” newspapers of the Gilded Age period
THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT
Homestead Act -- 1862; provided 160 acres of
free land in the West; must live on land five
years, build a home and plant crops; encouraged
westward migration.
Transcontinental Railroad -- completed in 1869 at
Promontory, Utah; linked the eastern railroad
system with California's railroad system,
revolutionizing transportation in the west
… imagine traveling 1000-2000 mi. in one of these!
THE QUESTION OF NATIVE AMERICANS
The Dawes Act -- 1887; purpose was to
"Americanize" the Native Americans; the act
broke up the reservations into individual
parcels of land to farm
The American Indian Citizenship Act -granted immediate U. S. citizenship to all
Native Americans born in the United States;
basically rescinded the Dawes Act
A FEW WESTBOUND EUROPEANS RESPECTED
THE NATIVES & MOST TRIBES WERE FRIENDLY
CITY (RURAL) LIFE IN 18OOS AMERICA
tenement -- A building in
which several families rent
rooms or apartments, often
with little sanitation or
safety
MEDICALLY, MANY CITY DWELLERS WERE IN HEALTH DANGER DUE TO THE EXTREME SQUALOR
The Presidents of the time (2 were assassinated!):
Rutherford B. Hayes -- 19th President; ended reconstruction by removing
federal troops; disputed Tilden/Hayes election resulted in the Compromise of
1877
James Garfield -- 20th President; assassinated by Charles Julius Guiteau
after a few months in office
Chester Arthur -- 21st President; took Rutherford B. Hayes place when he
was assassinated; passed the Pendleton Act
Grover Cleveland -- 22nd and 24th President; achieved the Interstate
Commerce Commission and civil service reform; suppression of violent labor
strikes
Benjamin Harrison -- 23rd President; introduced the McKinley Tariff;
increased federal spending to a billion dollars
William McKinley -- 25th President; Spanish-American War; annexed Hawaii;
put US currency on the Gold Standard; he was assassinated in 1901 by Leon
Frank Czolgosz
Arthur was himself a well-to-do fellow who liked the super-rich moguls of the time
TERMS TO KNOW -Gilded Age -- 1870s - 1890s; era looked good on the
outside, despite the corrupt politics & growing gap
between the rich & poor
Philanthropy -- Efforts to improve the well-being of
humankind, generally through giving money
depression -- A period of low economic activity and
rising unemployment
laisez-faire -- French term for "Hands off"; means no
government intervention in business.
Some Gilded Age fat cats could afford to be philanthropists – considering
many had the equivalent of what would today be $BILLIONS$ of dollars
The Captains of Industry
captains of industry -- a business leader whose means of
amassing a personal fortune contributes positively to the
country in some way
robber barons -- an American capitalist who acquired a fortune
in the late nineteenth century by ruthless means.
The Gospel of Wealth -- Andrew Carnegie description on how
rich people had the duty to redistribute their wealth to the poor.
Andrew Carnegie -- Creates Carnegie Steel; Gets bought out by
banker JP Morgan and renamed U.S. Steel; used vertical
integration by buying all the steps needed for production
John Rockefeller -- American industrialist and philanthropist,
founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil
industry and was the first great U.S. business trust.
Be the first to tell me which guy this is for 20 bonus pts.
New Inventions of the Era & New govt. acts legislated-Bessemer Steel Process -- a manufacturing technique that cut the
cost and increased the manufacturing of steel
Pendleton Act -- made compulsory campaign contributions from
federal employees illegal, and established the Civil Service
Commission to make appointments to federal jobs on the basis of
examination rather than cronyism
16th Amendment -- Graduated income tax
17th Amendment -- Direct Election of Senators
Sherman Anti-Trust Act -- law to limit trusts and monopolies
Some thought the 16th Amendment might slow down the bigwigs: IT DIDN’T
THE WORLD OF LABOR – included a huge lower class of society
American Federation of Labor -- Led by Samuel Gompers; union of skilled workers ; focus was
issues such as higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions
Haymarket Riots -- which included a bombing, in Chicago in 1886; associated anarchists with the
labor
entrepreneurship -- the process of starting, organizing, managing, and assuming the
responsibility for a business
labor unions -- an organized association of workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to
protect and further their rights and interests.
free enterprise system -- people are free to operate their businesses as they see fit, with little
government interference.
horizontal integration -- Practice of joining or consolidating with ones competitors to create a
monopoly.
vertical integration -- Practice where a single entity controls the entire process of a product,
from the raw materials to distribution
It was from these times that we got our idea of an 8-hour work day: