Bessemer processA cheap way of turning molten iron into steel. Air blown through the iron removes the extra carbon.
captain of industryA name of praise for a helpful business leader. It was said of leaders whose fortunes did the country some good, such as by making more jobs.
corporationA company that has legal rights like a person. In the Gilded Age a few large corporations came to lead industries such as steel and oil.
Gilded AgeAn era of fast industrial growth in the late 1800s. It takes its name from a novel of 1873.
industrializationThe change from a farming to a factory economy. In the decades after the Civil War the United States became an industrial giant.
laissez-faireLetting business run without government rules. The words are French for let do.
monopolyOne firm ruling a market with no competitors. With no rival, a monopoly can charge a high price.
philanthropyGifts from private wealth to serve the public. Private gifts paid for colleges, hospitals, museums and public libraries.
robber baronA harsh name for a rich, ruthless businessman. The name was used in this way as early as 1870.
transcontinental railroadA rail line that crosses a continent. The first in the United States was finished in 1869.
trustA group of companies combined to control a market. Trusts formed in oil, steel, sugar and other industries.
tycoonA very rich and powerful business owner. A tycoon is also called a business magnate.
Show all 36 terms (24 more)
Workers and cities 12
child laborWork by children that keeps them from school. Unions of the Gilded Age called for an end to child labor.
collective bargainingTalks between an employer and workers as a group. A union speaks for the workers in collective bargaining.
Ellis IslandThe island where arriving immigrants were inspected. It lies in New York Harbor. Opened in 1892, it processed about 12 million immigrants.
immigrationMoving into a new country to make a home. Between 1870 and 1900 almost 12 million people came to live in the United States.
labor unionA body that workers form to defend their interests. Low wages and work for only part of the year led many workers to join unions.
mass productionMaking goods in great numbers by machine. It was at the heart of the rise in factory output in the late 1800s.
settlement houseA center in a poor city district run by volunteers. Hull House opened in Chicago in 1889 to serve newly arrived immigrants.
skyscraperA tower of many floors held up by a steel frame. The elevator and the steel frame made skyscrapers possible.
strikeA refusal to work, made by employees together. Unions of the late 1800s organized many strikes over pay and working conditions.
sweatshopA crowded workroom of long hours and low pay. A sweatshop is also unhealthy: it may lack fresh air or light.
tenementA block of cramped rooms rented to poor families. Many city dwellers of the late 1800s lived in rented apartments or tenements.
urbanizationThe shift of people from the country to cities. Cities in the United States grew by about 15 million people between 1880 and 1900.
Politics and reform 12
civil serviceGovernment workers who are hired, not elected. Civil service workers usually keep their jobs when the leaders change.
free silverA plan for unlimited minting of silver coins. Its backers wanted more money in use than the gold standard allowed.
gold standardMoney whose value is fixed to an amount of gold. World money rested on it from the 1870s until the early 1920s.
graftUsing a public office to get money dishonestly. Taking money meant for a public project is graft.
Interstate Commerce ActThe 1887 law that regulated the railroads. It required railroad rates to be reasonable and just.
merit systemHiring people for their ability, not their party. It is the opposite of the spoils system.
Pendleton ActThe 1883 law that based federal jobs on merit. Under it, workers were chosen through competitive exams.
political machineA party group that trades jobs and favors for votes. A machine was led by a boss.
Populist PartyA party of the 1890s that spoke for farmers. It was also called the People's Party.
Sherman Antitrust ActThe 1890 law against monopolies and trusts. It set free competition as the rule for business.
spoils systemHanding government jobs to a party's supporters. The spoils system paid for the political machines.
tariffA tax a government charges on imports. Tariffs and the money supply were the main economic issues of Gilded Age politics.
How this list was compiled: Term list chosen for this site on 2026-10-11. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day against the English Wikipedia article on the term (https://en.wikipedia.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: Gilded Age, Industrialisation, Corporation, Monopoly, Trust (business), Business magnate, Robber baron (industrialist), Captain of industry, Philanthropy, Laissez-faire, Bessemer process, First transcontinental railroad, Trade union, Strike action, Collective bargaining, Sweatshop, Child labour, Tenement, Urbanization, Skyscraper, Settlement movement, Hull House, Ellis Island, Political machine, Graft (politics), Spoils system, Civil service, Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, Sherman Antitrust Act, Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, Populist Party (United States), Gold standard, Free silver and Tariff. Immigration, mass production, sweatshop, tycoon and graft were checked against the entry for the term in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/), under the same license; merit system rests on the articles Spoils system and Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. The history in the meanings and the facts was checked a second time against the essays Overview, City Life, Immigration to the United States, Railroads and Work in the presentation Rise of Industrial America, 1876-1900, published by the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/rise-of-industrial-america-1876-1900/), against the pages Pendleton Act (1883), Interstate Commerce Act (1887) and Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890) of the National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/list), and against the Ellis Island history page of the National Park Service (https://www.nps.gov/elis/learn/historyculture/index.htm). The fact after each meaning is in our own words. Licence: own work
How it works
The Gilded Age vocabulary worksheet prints twelve terms of the era down the left and their meanings, in another order, down the right. Three sets cover big business, workers and cities, and politics and reform, each with an answer key.
Read the full guide
Workers and cities
In Set, the second sheet has labor union, strike, collective bargaining, sweatshop, child labor, tenement, immigration, urbanization, skyscraper, settlement house, Ellis Island and mass production.
Politics and reform
The third has political machine, graft, spoils system, merit system, civil service, Pendleton Act, Sherman Antitrust Act, Interstate Commerce Act, Populist Party, gold standard, free silver and tariff. Under the tool each term has a fact, checked against essays of the Library of Congress and pages of the National Archives.
No person is a term on these sheets: the tycoons and party bosses of the era are left to the textbook.
Questions and answers
Why is it called the Gilded Age?
Historians of the 1920s took the name from The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, a novel of 1873 by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner. The book shows an era whose serious problems lay under a thin gilding of gold.
When was the Gilded Age?
From about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, between Reconstruction and the Progressive Era. Historians do not agree on the first year: 1865, 1873 and 1877 are all given.
What is the difference between a robber baron and a captain of industry?
Both names were given to the tycoons of the era. Robber baron is criticism: it says the fortune was made by unfair means. Captain of industry is praise: it says the fortune also did the country good.
Is there a Gilded Age vocabulary worksheet PDF?
The browser makes one. In the print window, choose Save as PDF where the printer is named, and the sheet and its answer key are saved as one file.