Review Sheet for Unit 2
Know the goals of Labor Unions
8 hour workdays, better wages, 5 day workweek, safer conditions on the job
The Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor were two of the largest labor
organizations and both worked for better conditions like those listed above.
Know that George Pullman was the developer of a sleeping railroad car that was called the Pullman
Sleeping car and that the town of Pullman, Illinois was a company owned town named after him.
Know who Samuel Gompers was and that he was an early supporter of the labor union movement.
Know that the Bessemer process was a new production technique that enabled steel to be manufactured
at a cheaper, faster rate than ever before. This will allow Andrew Carnegie to see that structural steel is
the future for building skyscrapers to accommodate the growing urban areas. The cities grew vertically
for the first time during the late 1800's.
The Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act were both laws that the federal
government used to regulate businesses. The Interstate Commerce Act regulated the railroads initially
and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act outlawed the formations of trusts (or monopolies) that limited free
trade and competition.
Know what a monopoly is and how they can limit competition which can hurt the overall economy.
Know the major effects of industrialization on the American workforce such as workers with skilled
crafts were replace by unskilled machine operators.
Know that this period was also referred to as the Gilded Age because of the tremendous wealth that was
created by some individuals and also some widespread corruption in the cities as well.
Know what a philanthropist is and what the Social Gospel Movement encouraged.
Know what Social Darwinism is and that people that believed in it also felt that government should
stay out of the affairs of business (Laissez-faire). Supporters wanted the least amount of government
involvement to allow for entrepreneurs to invest in business opportunities.
Know that there are two ways that business can grow – Vertical Integration is when a business controls
all of the processes of its industry (buying out raw material producers and distributors) – Carnegie did
this in the steel industry.
Horizontal Integration is when you buy out your competitors (merging similar companies) Rockefeller
did this in the oil industry. He also later vertically integrated (pipeline)
Know that the later 1800's were marked by strikes by labor groups against business owners and both
sides used violence at times.
Know that the connection of the country via railroad not only allowed for the transportation of goods
and people across the nation but also led to the formation of standardized time zones to make traveling
more efficient (Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern).
Know the three freedoms that people sought and still seek when immigrating to America – Religious,
Economic, and Political.
Know what Nativism means and if you were a nativists, you did not support the idea of immigration
due to the fear that the new arrivals would work for a cheaper salary and therefore take jobs away from
those that were here first. This is one reason that Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in the
1880's which stopped the flow of Chinese immigrants for a number of years. Many nativists had
prejudices against new immigrants because of their ethnic differences.
Know that Old Immigrants came prior to the year 1880 and mostly came from Northern and Western
Europe (Germany, Ireland, Scandinavia)
Know that New Immigrants came after the year 1880 and mostly came from Southern and Eastern
Europe (Italy, Poland, Greece, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine and also many Jews from Eastern Europe).
Many of these new immigrants found work in factories doing unskilled labor and also many women
and children worked in sweatshops (very structured and usually unsafe garment factories)
Know what a tenement was and what their conditions were like for immigrants to live in.
Know what a political machine was and how a political boss stayed in power (by offering immigrants
services in exchange for political votes – bribery). This allowed the corrupt politician to stay in power
by taking advantage of the poor, urban factory worker.
Know who William Marcy Tweed (Boss Tweed) was and what was Tammany Hall.
Know what patronage means (also known as the spoils system) and also what the merit system was
(also known as civil service reform)
Know that the assassination of President James Garfield led to the passage of Civil Service Reform
(Pendleton Act). Vice President Chester Arthur, who once opposed civil service reform, changes his
mind now on this issue as President.
Know that because of the mass number of immigrants during the late 1800's and early 1900's, urban
areas grew tremendously during the Industrial Revolution and Gilded Age.
Know what the Americanization Movement was and how settlement houses were set up to help new
immigrants assimilate into the American culture.
Know that most new immigrants settled in the large cities because that is where the factory jobs were
located.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
These words are found on the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. It is from a poem
called “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus. Make sure you can interpret the meaning.
Know the significance of the following people:
John D. Rockefeller
Edwin Drake
Andrew Carnegie
Henry Bessemer
Thomas Alva Edison
Alexander Graham Bell
George Pullman
Christopher Sholes
Eugene V. Debs
Mary Harris “Mother” Jones
W.E.B. Dubois
Booker T. Washington
Know the court case Plessy v. Ferguson and its significance regarding racial conditions.
The Supreme Court heard this case in 1896 about a black citizen in New Orleans who sued the
streetcar company for segregating the seating areas based on race. The court ruled in favor of the
streetcar owner by saying as long as the separation was still equal (meaning equal accommodations), it
was still constitutional. This becomes known as the “separate but equal” ruling which will allow racial
segregation for the next 50+ years.