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17th amendments
Enacted that state senators will be elected by state legislatures. This law was passed in order to give regular citizens the right to vote for their senators -
Robber barons (Captains of industry)
Term used for the businessmen and bankers who dominated the United States and industries during the 19th century. These buisessmen included J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew w. Melon, Henry Ford, and John D. Rockfeller. -
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony was best known as being an American women's rights activist. She played a prominent role in women's suffrage movement, which was the movement that put the 19th amendment into place, which is what gave women the right to vote. -
Political Machines
A political machine refers to a group that controls the activities of a political party. The most infamous example of a political machine in the Gilded Age would be Tammany Hall, headquarters of the Democratic Party in New York City. The Tammany Hall political machine used graft, bribery, and rigged elections to bilk the city of over $200 million. -
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie is best known for being the leader of the American steel industry from 1873 to 1901. Carnegie is also the third-wealthiest figure of the modern period. -
Labor strikes
Some of the most well-known labor strikes were the Great Railroad Strike (1877), the Homestead Strike (1892), and The Pullman Strike (1894). The Great Railroad Strike happened when railroad companies cut wages to reduce costs, the railroad strike spread and shut down 2/3 of the nation's rail trackage. The Homestead strike happened when wages were cut by 20% at Carnegie's homestead steel plant. And the Pullman Strike was also occurred due to a cut in pay and was led by Eugene Debbs. -
Settlement houses
Between the 1880s and 1920s, hundreds of settlement houses were established in American cities in response to an influx of European immigrants and urban poverty. Settlement houses were organizations that provided services to the urban poor and European immigrants. These services included education, healthcare, childcare , and employment resources. -
Labor Unions
Labor Unions were groups of workers who sought to improve the economic and social well-being of its members through group action. The unions were part of the labor movement which grew out of the need to protect the common interest of workers. -
Interstate Commerce Act
The Interstate Commerce Act was passed by congress in 1887. The Interstate Commerce Act made railroads the first industry subject to Federal regulation. This law was passed due to public demand that railroads be regulated. -
Jane Addams
Jane Addams is best known for being the founder of the hull house. The Hull house was first opened to European immigrants on September 18, 1889 and it provided resources such as daycare for parents who worked all day and had no one to watch their child. The Hull house was also known as a place where people could socialize with each other. -
Ida B. Wells
Ida B. Wells is best known for being the founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Ida B. Wells was also known for being a leader in the anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s. -
Populism and Progressivism
Populism was a late 19th century political movement demanding that people have a greater voice in government and seeking to advance the interests of farmers and laborers. People who believed in populism were referred to as populist and were part of the Populist party. Progressivism was something that was used to respond to social and economic issues in the country. People who believed in progressivism were referred to as progressives. -
Jacob Riis
Jacob Riis was an Danish-American social reformer and "muck racking" journalist. Jacob Riis is best known for being the writer of "How the Other Half Lives: the Tenements of New York", which contains photographs of the slums of New York. This exposed the unsanitary and poor living conditions. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act was established to prohibit monopolies and sustain competition so as to protect companies from each other and to protect consumers from unfair business practices. -
Eugene V. Debs
In 1893 Eugene V. Debs became president of the president of the American Railway Union. Eugene V. Debs also led the pullman strike which in the end was deemed unsuccessful. -
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow was an American lawyer, and a leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union. Clarence Darrow is best known for being the lawyer who defended Eugene V. Debs, who was arrested on a federal charge arising form the pullman strike. -
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American orator and politician. William Jennings Bryan ran for president in 1896 and became a dominate force in the democratic party, but he never became president. -
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt was the leader of the Rough riders during the Spanish- American war and defeated the Spanish. His victory over the spanish is what helped him become the youngest president in U.S. history. -
Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair is best known for his novel "The Jungle". His novel mainly discussed the dangerous and unsanitary working conditions of the meatpacking industry. Upton Sinclair is also what is known as a muckraker, which was writers who search out and reveal improper conduct in politics and business. -
16th Amendments
The Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. Which basically means that the government ca collect taxes from all Americans. -
Muckraker
A muckraker was a term used during the progressive era to describe journalists exposed corrupt institutions and leaders. The main goal of the Muckrakers was to raise awareness of social injustices, inequality, corruption and the abuse of political power in order to bring about reform -
18th Amendments
The 18th Amendments prohibited the sale, production, and transport of alcohol in the United States, but didn't ban the consumption. 18th Amendment was passed to decrease the amount of crimes in the United States due to the consumption of alcohol, but it only increased organized crime because people wanted to find other ways to purchase and transport alcohol. -
Nativism
Nativism is the belief that someone is a true American and that they were there first. Nativists believed they were the true “Native” Americans, despite their being descended from immigrants themselves. Which led to them creating political parties and trying to limit rights of immigrants.
