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Social Darwinism
was a leading philosophy during the mid 1800s. It stated that only the strongest and the fittest would survive and flourish in society, while the weak and unfit should be allowed to die. Social Darwinists believed that the government should not interfere with social ills such as poverty. Their "law of the jungle" attitude is used to justify their beliefs that humans, like plants and animals, should compete in a struggle to survive. -
manifest destiny and settlement of the west
Throughout the 1840s westward expansion gained pace. People living in the crowded east were lured west with promises of inexpensive land and open spaces. -
Bessemer Process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron prior to the open hearth furnace. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The process was independently discovered in 1851 by William Kelly.[1][2] The process had also been used outside of Europe for hundreds of years, but not on an industrial scale.[3] The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxi -
Eugenics
Eugenics, as a modern concept, was originally developed by Francis Galton. It has roots in France, Germany, Great Britain and the United States in the 1860s-1870s.[5] Galton had read his cousin Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, which sought to explain the development of plant and animal species, and desired to apply it to humans. Galton believed that desirable traits were hereditary based on biographical studies.[6] In 1883, one year after Darwin's death, Galton gave his research a name. -
The Homestead
On January 1, 1863, Daniel Freeman, a Union Army scout, was scheduled to leave Gage County, Nebraska Territory, to report for duty in St. Louis. At a New Year's Eve party the night before, Freeman met some local Land Office officials and convinced a clerk to open the office shortly after midnight in order to file a land claim. In doing so, Freeman became one of the first to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Homestead Act, a law signed by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 186 -
immigration
The Gilded Age was an era of enormous growth, especially in the North and West. This attracted millions of emigres from Europe. However, the Gilded Age was also an era of enormous poverty. The average annual income for most families was $380, well below the poverty line -
American Dream
In the early 1800's the United States was divided between the hard labored low-income workers and the upper-class workers. The drive for the lower class was to bring home enough money to pay bills, and scrounge what little they had left for food. As time progressed, however a change started to come about. Entrepreneurs became the elite social class, inventions were becoming numerous, industrialization was making its way into the light, and many were striving for material wealth and comfort. Soon -
John D. Rockefeller
Industrialist who founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870. An incredibly ruthless businessman, Rockefeller employed horizontal integration to make Standard Oil one of the nation’s first monopolistic trusts. -
political corruption
The population of post-Civil War America ballooned with a new tide of immigration. In spite of the terrible losses during the war, the census of 1870 reported a population of 39 million Americans, up over 25% from the decade before. The U.S. had become the third most populous nation in the Western world after Russia and France. While farmers struggled and barely maintained their numbers, business and industry boomed with America’s increasing demand for goods and services. -
Political Machines
An unofficial city/state/ ornation organization designed tokeep a particular party or groupin power. These machines grew in the 19
the century because of rapid growthwith poorly organizedgovernments. They were able to win votes byoffering favors to any supportsincluding:
Giving out jobs
Giving out patronage homes
Giving out lucrative government contracts
All just for their votes in theelections -
Growth of Railroads
Beginning in the early 1870s, railroad construction in the United States increased dramatically. Prior to 1871, approximately 45,000 miles of track had been laid. Between 1871 and 1900, another 170,000 miles were added to the nation's growing railroad system. Much of the growth can be attributed to the building of the transcontinental railroads. In 1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act, which authorized the construction of a transcontinental railroad. The first such railroad was complete -
Barbed Wire
The first patent in the United States for barbed wire was issued in 1867 to Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio, who is regarded as the inventor.[4][5] Joseph F. Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois, received a patent for the modern invention in 1874 after he made his own modifications to previous versions.
Barbed wire was the first wire technology capable of restraining cattle. Wire fences were cheaper and easier to erect than their alternatives. -
urbanization in the Gilded age
The Gilded Age was the time period following the Civil War, when just about everything changed in the United States. America industrialized on a large scale during this time, which caused many Americans to opt for the urban lifestyle. Widespread urbanization followed, and with that came immigrants from all over who wanted to join in and discover the American dream. The urbanization of the United States during the Gilded Age was not completely positive nor negative. It had many aspects of -
Boss Tweed in the Gilded Age
William Magear Tweed, popularly known as "Boss Tweed", was a Democratic New York politician during the nineteenth century. He was a very successful politician, and led Tammany Hall, a Democratic section of New York politicians. He was the third largest land owner in New York City at the time, owning hotels, banks, a printing company, and railroads. He ensured that his constituents, who were mostly immigrants, were given jobs, orphanages, hospitals, and shelter. During his term as New York repres -
nativism
the Immigration Restriction League of the 1890s, the anti-Asian movements in the West, resulting in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the "Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907" by which Japan's government stopped emigration to the U.S. Labor unions were strong supporters of Chinese exclusion and limits on immigration, because of fears that they would lower wages and make it harder to organize unions -
Haymarket Riot
a labor protest rally near Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police. At least eight people died as a result of the violence that day. Despite a lack of evidence against them, eight radical labor activists were convicted in connection with the bombing. The Haymarket Riot was viewed a setback for the organized labor movement in America, which was fighting for such rights as the eight-hour workday -
Labor union
The Knights of Labor emerged as a major force in the late 1880s, but it collapsed because of poor organization, lack of effective leadership, disagreement over goals, and strong opposition from employers and government forces.The American Federation of Labor, founded in 1886 and led by Samuel Gompers until his death in 1924, proved much more durable. It arose as a loose coalition of various local unions. It helped coordinate and support strikes and eventually became a major player in national. -
the invention of the Automobile
The year 1886 is regarded the year of birth of the modern automobile - with the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, by German inventor Carl Benz. Motorized wagons soon replaced animal-drafted carriages, especially after automobiles became affordable for many people when the Ford Model T was introduced in 1908.
The term motorcar has formerly also been used in the context of electrified rail systems to denote a car which functions as a small locomotive but also provides space for passengers and baggage. -
Eugene V. Debbs
was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies), and several times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States.[1] Through his presidential candidacies, as well as his work with labor movements, Debs eventually became one of the best-known socialists living in the United States. -
assimilation of natives americans
Americanization policies were based on the idea that when indigenous people learned United States (American) customs and values, they would be able to merge tribal traditions with American culture and peacefully join the majority society. After the end of the Indian Wars, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the government outlawed the practice of traditional religious ceremonies. It established boarding schools which children were required to attend. In these schools they were forced to s -
The Dawes
adopted by Congress in 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians. Dawes Act was amended in 1891 and again in 1906 by the Burke Act. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
On the morning of December 29, the troops went into the camp to disarm the Lakota. One version of events claims that during the process of disarming the Lakota, a deaf tribesman named Black Coyote was reluctant to give up his rifle, claiming he had paid a lot for it. A scuffle over Black Coyote's rifle escalated and a shot was fired which resulted in the 7th Cavalry's opening fire indiscriminately from all sides, killing men, women, and children, as well as some of their own fellow soldiers. -
Andrew Carnegie
Scottish immigrant who built a steel empire in Pittsburgh through hard work and ruthless business tactics such as vertical integration. Carnegie hated organized labor and sent in 300 Pinkerton agents to end the 1892 Homestead Strike at one of his steel plants. He eventually sold his company to Wall Street financier J. P. Morgan, who used it to form the U.S. Steel Corporation trust in 1901. Around the turn of the century, Carnegie became one of the nation’s first large-scale philanthropists by do -
Teddy Roosevelt
was the 26th President of the United States (1901–1909). He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity.[4] He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the first incarnation of the short-lived Progressive ("Bull Moose") Party of 1912. Before becoming President, he held offices at the city, state, and federal levels. Roosevelt's achievements as a natu -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was a key piece of Progressive Era legislation, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt on the same day as the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Enforcement of the Pure Food and Drug Act was assigned to the Bureau of Chemistry in the U.S. Department of Agriculture which was renamed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1930. -
Assembly Line
began operation on December 1, 1913.[10] It had immense influence on the world. Despite oversimplistic attempts to attribute it to one man or another, it was in fact a composite development based on logic that took 7 years and plenty of intelligent men. The principal leaders are discussed below.
