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Bessemer Steel Production
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation with air being blown through the molten iron. -
The Gilded Age
The Gilded Age was an era of rapid economic growth. As wages in America were higher than those in Europe, America saw a great influx of European immigrants -
Labor Unions
A labor union is an organization that represents employees in the the face of corporations. Knights of Labor (1862) is the first national labor organization in the US. It served to protect members from employer retaliations. The American Federation of Labor was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions unaffected by Knights of Labor. Industrial Workers of the World is an international labor union found in 1905. -
Industrialization
Industrialization is the development of industries in a country or region on a wide scale. Industrialization began in America in the 1870s when machines began replacing hand labor as the main means of manufacturing which increases the production capacity of industry. -
Tenement
A tenement house was a run-down and often overcrowded apartment house usually in the poor section of a large city. They barely meet or fail to meet the minimum standards of safety, sanitation, and comfort. -
Initiative, Referendum, Recall
Initiative, referendum, and recall are three powers reserved to enable voters, by petition to propose or repeal legislation. Initiatives allowed ordinary citizens to propose and approve laws. Referendums allowed voters to approve initiatives or amendments. Recall elections were elections initiated by voters to replace public officials before the end of their terms. -
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie helped lead the expansion of the American steel industry through 1872-73. He built the first steel plants. He was one of the most important philanthropist of his era. -
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was the inventor of the first working telephone. He founded the Bell Telephone Company in 1877. He was also known for the refinement of the phonograph. -
Labor Strikes
A labor strike is a work stoppage, caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 started in response to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad cutting wages of workers for the 3rd time that year. The Homestead Strike of 1892 occurred at the steel plant in Homestead, PA when owner, Henry Frick wanted to break the union so they can reduce wages more easily. The Pullman Strike of 1894 stopped the country's railroad system and required federal interference. -
Haymarket Riot
The Haymarket Riot originally started as a labor protest, but escalated when a protester threw a bomb at the police. At least 8 people dies and 8 radical labor activists were convicted. -
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was an American labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor, and served as the organization's president from 1886 to 1894, and from 1895 until his death in 1924. -
Interstate Commerce Act of 1887
The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry. The Act required that railroad rates be "reasonable and just," but did not empower the government to fix specific rates. -
Jane Addams
She was a Progressive reformer and most prominent advocate for the settlement house movement. Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr founded the Hull House which provided social and educational opportunities for working class people in Chicago. -
Ida B. Wells
Ida B. Wells was an African-American journalist and abolitionist. She fought for racial and gender equality. She led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s -
Muckraker
Muckraker was a term used during the Progressive Era to describe journalists who attacked established institutions and leaders as corrupt. -
Settlement House
A settlement house was an institution in an inner-city area providing educational, recreational, and other social services to the community, -
Robber Barons (Captains of Industry)
A robber baron referred to a person who became rich through ruthless business practices. Some famous robber barons include J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew W. Mellon, Henry Ford, and John D. Rockefeller -
Populism and Progressivism
Populism, also known as the People's party, was formed to represent the common folk-especially farmers- against the entrenched interests of railroads, bankers, corporations, and politicians. Progressivism is a term applied to a social movement that later grew into a political movement. They wanted to reform society to make the horrible conditions of industrialization better. -
Political Machines
A political machine is a political group with one boss or small group commands enough votes to maintain political and administrative control of a city, county, or state. -
Jacob Riis
Jacob Riis was a muckraking journalist and social documentary photographer. He is the author of the book How the Other Half Lives which shocked the common public and sparked the start of the the Progressive Era -
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first federal act that outlawed monopolistic business practices. Its purpose is to protect the public from market failure. -
Susan B Anthony
Susan B Anthony was a women's rights activist. She played a prominent role in women's suffrage leading to the 19th amendment to be named in her honor. She is the founder of the National Women Suffrage Organization, but after Elizabeth Cady Stanton resigned from the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Anthony became president.. -
Eugene V Deb
In 1893, Eugene became the president of the American Railroad Union. This union conducted a successful strike against the Great Northern Railway in 1894, but was subsequently arrested in his role in leading the Chicago Pullman Palace Car Company Strike. He was the Socialist party presidental candidate in 1900,1908, 1912, and 1920. -
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan became a Nebraska congressman in 1890. He gave his famous Cross of Gold speech at the 1896 Democratic convention which favored free silver. -
Klondike Gold Rush
On August 16, 1896 Yukon-area Indians Skookum Jim Mason and Tagish Charlie, along with George Carmack found gold in Rabbit Creek, near Dawson, in the Yukon region of Canada. After almost a year, the declaration that someone had more than a ton of gold, the Klondike Gold Rush was under way. Within six months, approximately 100,000 gold-seekers set off for the Yukon. Only 30,000 completed the trip. Many lost interest or died on their journey to the creek due to starvation and malnutrition. -
Theodore Roosevelt
The 26th president of the United States. Created the domestic program Square Deal which advocated for the conservation of natural resources, control of corporations, and consumer protection. He facilitated the construction of the Panama Canal. -
Upton SInclair
Upton was one of the most famous muckrakers of the 1900s. His novel The Jungle helped improve the working conditions in the meat-packing industry. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act prevented the manufacture, sale or transportation of misbranded or poisonous foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors. Upton Sinclair's book The Jungle sparked the public outcry that moved legislation to pass this act. -
Social Gospel
A religious movement that arose in the United States in the late nineteenth century with the goal of making Christian churches more responsive to social problems, such as poverty and prostitution. -
Dollar Diplomacy
Dollar diplomacy was a form of American foreign policy to further its aims in Latin America and East Asia through use of its economic power by guaranteeing loans made to foreign countries. -
16th Amendment
The 16th amendment allows the federal government to collect an income tax from all Americans. It was ratified in 1913 -
17th Amendment
The 17th amendment states that the Senate of the US shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people, for six years; and each shall have one vote. The amendment was ratified in 1913. -
Federal Reserve Act
The Federal Reserve Act is an Act of Congress that created and established the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the US and was created to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible and stable monetary and financial system. The Act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson -
18th Amendment
The 18th amendment prohibits the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. It received much backlash. It was ratified in 1919, but repealed in 1933. -
19th Amendment
The 19th amendment states that the citizens of the United States cannot be refused the right to vote on the account of sex. -
Nativism
Nativism is the political movement that wanted to preserve the status of native inhabitants compared to immigrants. It was the opposite of immigration based on fears that immigrants will replace existing cultural values. -
Tea Pot Dome Scandal
The Teapot Dome Scandal was a bribery scandal involving the administration of United States President Warren G. Harding. Harding secretly granted Henry F. Sinclair of the Mammoth Oil Company exclusive rights to the Teapot (Wyoming) reserves. -
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow was an American lawyer most famous for defending killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial in killing Bobby Frank. He is also known for defending John T. Scopes in the "Monkey Trials"
