US History
Fall Midterm Review
Unit 7:
The Gilded Age
(1870-1900)
USA in the Gilded Age: 1870-1900
Ranching, Mining, Farming
Industrialization
Reconstruction &
Rise of Jim Crow
USA in the Gilded Age: 1870-1900
The South:
After the failure of
Reconstruction in 1877, the
South entered the Jim Crow era
Sharecropping & Segregation
USA in the Gilded Age: 1870-1900
The West:
Farmers,
ranchers, &
miners
closed the
last of the
frontier at
the expense
of Indians
Mining was the
1st attraction to
the West;
Miners created
“instant towns”
in areas where
gold or silver
was discovered
Cattle Ranchers on the “Open Range”
The Farming Bonanza
■ In 1862, the U.S. government began the
Homestead Act which encouraged
farmers to settle in the West by offering
160 acres of land to families who
promised to live there for 5 years
A pioneer sod house
Irish workers made up a large percentage
of laborers on the eastern section
Chinese workers made up a
large percentage of laborers
on the western leg
1st transcontinental railroad connected the west
coast to eastern cities in 1869
Populists
■ Populists were westerners who wanted
–“Free silver”
(Bi-metalism)
–Regulation of
railroads
–Income tax
–Direction election
of senators
Native
Americans
in the West:
Major Battles &
Reservations
Indiansurrounded
tribes retained
• Little Big Horn—Sioux
&
only a few
reservations
killed US Army division
led by
Custer
set aside
by killed
the U.S.
• Wounded Knee—Indians
were
to
government
stop performance of Ghost
Dance ritual
USA in the Gilded Age: 1870-1900
The North:
Experienced an industrial revolution,
mass immigration, & urbanization
America became the world’s leader in
Railroad, Oil, Steel, Electricity
Vertical & Horizontal Integration
“Big Business”
■ Monopolies (trusts): Companies that
controlled the majority of one industry:
–Rockefeller’s
Standard
Oil
–Carnegie’s
U.S. Steel
–Vanderbilt’s
railroads
Working & Living Conditions
“New Immigration” & Urbanization
Robber Barons or Captains of Industry?
Unit 8:
The Progressive
Era (1890-1920)
The Progressive Era (1890-1920)
■ Social Gospel
■ Jane Addams &
settlement houses
■ Women’s Christian
Temperance Union
■ Political Reforms:
–City commissions
–Initiative, recall,
referendum
History of Standard
Oil helped push for
the break-up of
monopolies
The Jungle led
Muckraking Journalism
the gov’t to
pass the Meat
Inspection Act
in 1906
Anti-Trust Reform
Progressive Reform in the States
■ Progressives made state governments
more democratic:
–Initiatives—citizens (not politicians) can
put an issue on a state ballot & vote to
make laws
–Referendums—citizens vote on an issue
(such as tax increases) suggested by
state legislatures
–Recalls—citizens can remove an
elected official by popular vote
–17th amendment allowed for the direct
election of Senators
Reforming Society
■ Social Reform:
–Jane Addams’ settlement houses for
poor urban workers
–NAACP formed to help fight
discrimination against blacks
–18th Amendment: prohibition
–19th Amendment: gave women the
right to vote