Gilded Age Ledger Vocabulary
The Gilded Ledger
Historical Archive: Gilded Age Era
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1. Assimilate
To absorb into the main culture of a society. Native American populations were often forced to assimilate through boarding schools.
Archive Notes
Plate 01: Social Integration
2. Civil Service
Government departments and their non-elected employees; focusing on professional merit over political patronage.
Archive Notes
Plate 02: Bureaucratic Office
3. Chinese Exclusion Act
1882 law banning Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S. for ten years.
Archive Notes
Plate 03: 1882 Regulation
4. Dawes Act
1887 law regulating land rights on tribal territories, breaking reservations into individual plots.
Archive Notes
Plate 04: Land Survey
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5. Homestead
Public land acquired by living on and cultivating the tract. Key to western expansion.
Archive Notes
Plate 05: Prairie Land
6. Immigration
Movement of non-native people into a country. Mass influx from Europe and Asia during this era.
Archive Notes
Plate 06: Steamship Arrival
7. Industrialization
Development of industry on a large scale. Led to urban growth, child labor, and inequality.
Archive Notes
Plate 07: Modern Factory
8. Labor Union
Organizations formed by workers to advance interests regarding wages, benefits, and conditions.
Archive Notes
Plate 08: Collective Effort
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9. Laissez Faire
The absence of government control over personal and economic life.
Archive Notes
Plate 09: Free Enterprise
10. Migrate
To move from one country, place, or locality to another.
Archive Notes
Plate 10: Relocation Path
11. Monopoly
Exclusive control by one company over an entire industry.
Archive Notes
Plate 11: Market Dominance
12. Nativism
Inclination to favor native inhabitants over immigrants. Rose sharply during this era.
Archive Notes
Plate 12: Restricted Borders
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13. Quota System
Arrangement that limited the number of immigrants who could enter the U.S. from specific nations.
Archive Notes
Plate 13: Numerical Entry
14. Rural
Relating to the country, country people, or agriculture.
Archive Notes
Plate 14: Agrarian Life
15. Settlement
Establishment of a new region. Occurred as Americans moved westward.
Archive Notes
Plate 15: Pioneer Post
16. Trusts
Groups of companies under the control of a single managing board to form a monopoly.
Archive Notes
Plate 16: Corporate Union
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17. Urbanization
Process whereby cities grow. Led to overcrowding, poor infrastructure, and unsanitary conditions.
Archive Notes
Plate 17: City Expansion
18. Boss Tweed
Political boss of Tammany Hall; a Democratic Political Machine in NYC.
Archive Notes
Plate 18: Political Control
19. Robber Barons
Industrialists known for controlling and monopolizing industries (Rockefeller, Carnegie, etc.).
Archive Notes
Plate 19: Industrial Wealth
20. Innovations
Technology such as the lightbulb and electricity that influenced economic growth.
Archive Notes
Plate 20: New Inventions
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21. Bessemer Process
Process introduced by Carnegie that expedited mass production of steel.
Archive Notes
Plate 21: Steel Forging
22. Electricity / Light
Resulted in rapid economic growth; led to increased productivity and longer work hours.
Archive Notes
Plate 22: Electric Power
23. Transcontinental Railroad
Completed in 1869; allowed for safe travel and westward expansion.
Archive Notes
Plate 23: Continental Link
24. Jim Crow Laws
Policies enacted in the South after the Civil War implementing segregation.
Archive Notes
Plate 24: Racial Segregation
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