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Tammany Hall
Originally a political machine that helped immigrants get a rise in American politics, became a den of corruption when under the lead of Boss Tweed. A fine example of the ideas of the time giving the powerful the excuse to get ahead for themselves no matter the cost. -
Iron Law of Wages
A "law" of economics that suggested that all wages would tend to lean toward the minimum wage necessary for a worker to live. As society at the time would show it to be false, that every time it drifted towards below minimum there would be strikes and fighting back that would ultimately be won by the company anyway. -
Vertical Integration
When companies buy and control their suppliers and distributors to cut costs and was a major reason monopolies could grow to power. -
Horizontal Integration
An idea wherein a company dominates a market by increasing the production of the goods they sell and a contrast to vertical integration, but just as good at building monopolies. -
Baseball
A development of an old English game called Rounders revived in North America for entertainment -
Ellis Island
An island in New York Harbor that was once used to inspect immigrants coming into America, the beginning of the new lives of the thousands of immigrants coming into the country at the time. -
Purchase of Alaska
America's purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire. People were mixed at the purchase saying the land was either useless, or a possible gateway to the east. -
Standard Oil
An American oil company founded by J.D. Rockefeller. It used both vertical and horizontal integration to build itself up as a trust and destroying its competition. -
2nd Industrial Revolution
A time when manufacturing technology advanced quickly and lead to the acceptance of technological systems throughout the country, and made production for companies way easier and more effective. Which helped their rise to prominence in the years to come. -
Laissez-Faire Capitalism
The idea that companies should be able to do anything without any regulation. A big driving idea of most companies that lobbied for control, did what they wanted to their workers with little regard for their well being, and the trend towards monopolies. -
Social Darwinism
The idea that certain people are born superior and more worthy than others and that if they succeed it was because they were meant to. A major justification for eugenics, and fits hand in hand with laissez-faire capitalist ideas of the time that drove corporations. -
Greatest Show on Earth
The tagline to the Barnum and Bailey circus, and an example to the laissez-faire capitalist mindset of people getting quick bucks out of people sometimes even with blatant lies just to get ahead. -
Panic of 1873
A crisis and economic collapse that spread through North America and Europe with many causing factors from the Franco-Prussian war to strain on bank reserves. -
Crime of 1873
An act that pushed America purely on the gold standard and denounced the silver dollar. Upsetting many who had relied on the use of silver and causing them to call it a crime. -
WCTU
A reform group bent on prohibiting alcohol and its ruining of home lives and such. And run by women who probably had a very valid reason for organizing. The "Woman's Christian Temperance Union". -
Telephone
Invented by Alexander Graham Bell, it was a telecommunication device that made it much more efficient to have conversations over long distances as it carried human voice. -
Social Gospel
The use of religion to push for various social reforms. Part of the rising movement of reforms like the Hull Houses and such that were starting to pick up at the time. -
Time Zones
A concept invented by time differences in different areas when mechanical clocks became a big thing. -
Tuskegee Institute
A school for African Americans that fought for education even in the backdrop of violent protest. Became a center for black America and the hope of the African Americans involved. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
An Act passed in 1882 that prohibited Chinese immigrants from entering the country. One of the many things born of growing xenophobia at the time that was starting to be kicked up by nativists. -
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
A traveling vaudeville performance founded by Buffalo Bill Cody, and made a name as one of the various entertainment shows that the public turned their attention to. -
Pendleton Act
A government reform that made government positions a measure of merit and not affiliation. It also made it illegal to fire or demote people in said positions for political reasons. -
Haymarket Bombing
A bombing that took place during a strike and lead to the injuring of many and execution of Anarchists arrested for conspiracy. Another example of the untimely fate of strikes at the time. -
AFL
A national labor union and probably the most successful union in this time period, but certainly the least inclusive being nativist, racist, and sexist which other unions didn't have trouble with. Probably a reason for its success having more in common with the companies they negotiated with. -
Gospel of Wealth
A book by steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie that described the importance of giving back some to the world for the wealthy and explaining their responsibility to do so. Which was adopted by rich men of the time, though who's to say if it was for Carnegie's reasons or publicity. -
Billion Dollar Congress
The congress under President Harrison's first two years, infamous for excessive spending within the first 303 days that the public was not pleased with. Another example of the government failing the people during the time for their own interests. -
Hull House
A settlement house co-founded by Jane Addams and opened to European Immigrants giving them a start in the new country they arrived in. -
NAWSA
The "National American Woman's Suffrage Association", exactly what it sounds like. And an addition to the growing amount of social reforms in the country. -
Sears, Roebuck
Originally a mail order watch business, later became a whole mail order catalog where people could get things they used to have to get at a general store, making life more convenient for people. -
Omaha Platform
The platform adopted by the populist party that called for the elimination of private banks, eight hour work day, direct election of senators, and various other things of that sort that the people wanted after the government's failures of the time period. -
Anti-Saloon League
Another reform group intent on shutting down saloons and instating prohibition. Supported and run mainly by religious leaders and their followers. -
Panic 1893
Another economic depression that lead to the election of William McKinley due to the upheaval it caused in society. -
Pullman Strike
A nationwide railroad strike that shut down a lot of freight and passenger travel. It was caused by the lowering of wages and sustaining of high rent that rightfully lead to strike. However after riots broke out the government sent the army to quell it. -
Plessy V. Ferguson
A landmark supreme court case that decided segregation was alright as long as the facilities were equal, birthing "separate but equal" as a term and justifying racist pro-segregation attitudes of the time. -
Cross of Gold
A speech given by populist William J. Bryan where he denounced the gold standard which the people had also been fed up with and helping give the people's concerns a voice as the populist party attempted to do during this time period. -
US Steel
An American steel producing company founded by J.P. Morgan and his colleagues when they merged a couple related steel companies together. -
Boxing
A type of combat sport originally invented by the Greeks but brought back to the modern day as a form of entertainment in 1904. -
Angel Island
Another immigration inspection Island, this one in San Francisco Bay and usually examining immigrants from Asian countries. -
Indian Wars
A collection of separate wars going as far back as the 1600s. They were the result of growing American land mass and American identity that decided the natives must get out of the way for the new American culture and land. And pushing them back and around farther and farther. -
American RR Association
An association of major North American Railroads and the industry, mostly keeping an eye out for the people instead of the companys.
