SSUSH11-SSUSH13 Flashcards
Industrialization (23 cards)
Upton Sinclair
United States writer whose novels argued for social reform (1878-1968)
The Jungle
This 1906 work by Upton Sinclair pointed out the abuses of the meat packing industry. The book led to the passage of the 1906 Meat Inspection Act.
Ida Tarbell
muckraker who targeted the unfair practices of big business. Her articles about the standard oil company led to demands for tighter controls on trust.
Muckraker
one who spreads real or alleged scandal about another (usually for political advantage)
labor union
an organization of workers that tries to improve working conditions@ wages@ and benefits for its members
Monopoly
A single entity that controls of a commodity or service in a particular market@ or a control that makes possible the manipulation of prices
Trust
a combination of firms or corporations formed by a legal agreement@ especially to reduce competition
Cornelius Vanderbilt
a railroad owner who built a railway connecting Chicago and New York. He popularized the use of steel rails in his railroad@ which made railroads safer and more economical.
John D. Rockefeller
an American industrialist and philanthropist. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy. In 1870@ Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company and ran it until he retired in the late 1890s. He kept his stock and as gasoline grew in importance@ his wealth soared and he became the world’s richest man and first U.S. dollar billionaire@ and is often regarded as the richest person in history
Andrew Carnegie
A Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist who created a steel monopoly. By 1901@ his company dominated the American steel industry.
Gilded Age
1870s - 1890s; time period looked good on the outside@ despite the corrupt politics & growing gap between the rich & poor
Thomas Edison
American inventor best known for inventing the electric light bulb@ acoustic recording on wax cylinders@ and motion pictures.
Social Darwinism
Applied Darwin’s theory of natural selection and “survival of the fittest” to human society – the poor are poor because they are not as fit to survive. Used as an argument against social reforms to help the poor.
new immigrants
immigrants who had come to the US after the 1880s from southern and eastern europe
Chinese Exclusion Act
(1882) Denied any additional Chinese laborers to enter the country while allowing students and merchants to immigrate.
Ellis Island
Entry point for European immigrants
Angel Island
The immigration station on the west coast where Asian immigrants@ mostly Chinese gained admission to the U.S. at San Francisco Bay. Between 1910 and 1940 50k Chinese immigrants entered through Angel Island. Questioning and conditions at Angel Island were much harsher than Ellis Island in New York.
Nativism
A policy of favoring native-born individuals over foreign-born ones
Knights of Labor
Led by Terence V. Powderly; open-membership policy extending to unskilled@ semiskilled@ women@ African-Americans@ immigrants; goal was to create a cooperative society between in which labors owned the industries in which they worked
American Federation of Labor
1886; founded by Samuel Gompers; sought better wages@ hrs@ working conditions; skilled laborers@ arose out of dissatisfaction with the Knights of Labor@ rejected socialist and communist ideas@ non-violent.
Labor Strikes
a work stoppage intended to force an employer to respond to demands
Homestead Act
1862 - Provided 160 acres free land in the West to anyone willing to settle there and develop it. Encouraged westward migration.
Dawes Act
An act that removed Indian land from tribal possession. Designed to break tribal mentalities and promote assimilation.
