The West and
Gilded Age
Interstate Commerce Commission 1887
• A regulatory agency in the United States which served the purpose of
regulating railroads.
American Federation of Labor
• Consisted of separate unions of skilled workers that joined together
to form a federation.
• The participating craft unions limited their memberships to skilled
workers such as carpenters and cigar makers.
Immigration
• Chinese Exclusion Act: Restricted the immigration of Chinese
immigration into the U.S.
• Nativism: the attitude of wanting to limit immigration into the U.S.
• Immigrants were forced into Americanization.
Industrialization
• The process of machinery using electricity that reduced the need of
human labor.
Homestead Act
• The frontier is defined as the line separating areas of settlement from
unsettled wilderness territory.
• The Homestead Act assisted in the closure of the frontier because it
populated the areas that were not populated.
Andrew Carnegie
• Used the Bessemer process to assist in the speed of steel production.
• He was the only robber baron who gave back to poor.
• Also known as philanthropy
American Indian Policies
• Reservation:
• Once a tribe submitted to federal authority, its members were forced into
reservations.
• Land was smaller and undesirable
• Dawes Act:
• Each family was forced to live on reservation land (land was infertile) and
were forced into Americanization (threatened Native American culture)
• Land that was taken away was then given to White settlers
• American Citizenship Act:
• Granted immediate citizenship to all Native-American Indians born in the U.S.
Political Machines
• Assisted immigrants but stole from city governments through
overpriced contracts
• Provided immigrants with jobs in exchange for their votes
• Dominated voting and controlled the agencies of government
• Example: Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall
Civil Service Reform
• Government jobs were given to those who made contributions to
politicians or who helped with their campaigns
• President Garfield was shot by a person who was angry at not
receiving a government job.
• President Garfield decided to hire a person more qualified
• Pendleton Act was passed by congress in 1883, which created the
Civil Service Commission.
• The Commission gave competitive exams and selected appointees based on
excellence
Women
• Jane Addams:
• Opened Hull House in Chicago
• Assisted immigrant women and children
• The right to vote:
• Passed due to public protest and the 19th Amendment into the U.S.
Constitution
Upton Sinclair
• Wrote “The Jungle” which produced the following:
• The Pure Food and Drug Act: Regulated the food and drug companies to
ensure the safety of all it’s products
Reforms of Government
• Initiative: a law that a group of citizens create and place on a ballot to
be voted on.
• Referendum: a law that is placed on a ballot by the Government that
is to be voted on by the public (Americans)
• Recall: The citizens of America can remove elected officials form
office by voters in a special election
What were the WWI new technologies & and
the reason for their development?
• Machine guns- rapid gun fire
• Trench warfare- protection against machine guns
• Tanks- defense against machine guns
What was the Monroe Doctrine & the
Roosevelt Corollary?
• The Monroe Doctrine blocked further
expansion of Europe in the Western
Hemisphere, while the Roosevelt Corollary
went one step further, where the United States
military would intervene.
How did WWI impact the economy of the
United States?
• The United States emerged as a superpower.
What is the Espionage Act of 1917?
• The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law passed on
June 15, 1917, that allowed a a persons 1st amendment right to be
limited during a time of war.
How did the US enter WWI?
•Germany blew up
the Lusitania using
unrestricted
submarine warfare.
What was the economic effect of the
Spanish American War?
• Businesses used the new territories gained to expand their businesses
to foreign markets.
Social causes of WWI
What caused the Stock Market to crash?
•People were buying products and shares on
credit (with money that they didn’t have)
What was the impact of the Harlem
Renaissance?
• There was a spread of the black culture (music
& literature)
What impact did Social Darwinism have on
society?
• The idea was used to justify that the wealthy
are likely to thrive and survive in society.
What caused the Great Migration?
• African Americans traveled from the south to
the north for better economic opportunites.
What were the terms of President
Harding’s “Return to Normalcy” policy?
• The Return to Normalcy policy focused on trying to
get the US to the way it was before WWI by focusing
on industrialization and by staying isolated.
What are major events of the Transition to
Modern America era?
•Prohibition
•Great Migration
•Harlem Renaissance
•Economic Boom