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Settlement houses were centers established in poor areas to provide services to the impoverished. Some of these services included education, shelter, healthcare, and emotional support for those who needed them. They were run by middle-class and college-educated women who wanted to extend an altruistic hand towards those less fortunate than them. Settlement houses were a part of the Social Gospel movement and were significant because they helped combat the issue of poverty that arose due to the rapid industrialization and urbanization in the U.S. Additionally, they reflected citizens' responsibility to help the poor and to serve the less fortunate.

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Muckrakers were writers who used journalism and photography to expose the corruption of business and the poor conditions of the lower class to the public in order to bring about reforms. They wrote about social injustices such as in the slums, child labor, the dangerous working conditions in factories, and lack of food regulation. The work of muckrakers often shocked the public and led to reforms. For instance, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair revealed the extremely unsanitary conditions of meat production, which quickly led to the establishment of the Meat Inspection Act, which required strict cleanliness for meat packaging. Muckrakers were an extremely important aspect of the progressives movement, because they helped reveal to the public the fundamental issues of society and why reforms were necessary.

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Tenements were urban dwellings in which multiple families would live in an overcrowded area due to a lack of housing caused by overpopulation and poverty. Because the industrial revolution led to rapid urbanization, the population of people in cities increased dramatically as people immigrated to work in factories. Housing shortages were a result. Tenements were often extremely overcrowded and unsanitary and could lead to the spread of disease. Tenements were one of the negative results of the industrial revolution and were evidence that even amidst the Gilded Age, when everything seemed shiny and new on the outside, society still experienced fundamental problems that forced many people to live in poor conditions.

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Americanization was a movement in the late 19th to early 20th century that aimed to assimilate immigrants into the dominant American culture. It manifested in programs to help immigrants grant citizenship through English literacy, U.S. history/government, cooking, and social etiquette. However, Americanization necessitated the loss of culture from those that were being assimilated into America. If they were to simply blend into American culture, they would lose their cultural traditions and ties. Because of this, many immigrants did not conform to Americanization and instead tried to stay in touch with other immigrants from their culture (such as in ethnic enclaves). Americanization was significant because it was reflective of cultural attitudes at the time, and the refusal of some immigrants revealed how much preserving their own culture meant to them.

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Horizontal integration, similar to vertical integration, is the process in which a company buys out its competitors in order to gain control of the whole industry. The competitor merges with the company and gains its market share. For example, Carnegie bought out competing steel producing companies, resulting in no more competition. As a result, he monopolized the steel industry, producing the majority of U.S. steel. It is significant because in conjunction with vertical integration, it leads to monopolized industries, which give the company immense control over its consumers, who have no choice but to purchase from them.

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Vertical integration is the process in which a company owns all of the businesses included in its industry at each step of the supply chain. For instance, Carnegie utilized vertical integration to control every level of the transportation system by buying out coal, iron, and ore suppliers, as well as railroad lines. Vertical integration is significant because it leads to monopoly, where a single company has complete control over its industry. Monopolies had extreme economic power and had entire control over setting prices in industry and made businessmen extremely wealthy.

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The Interstate Commerce Act, passed in 1887 gave the federal government the right to regulate railroad rates. Before it was passed, railroads could select their own prices and could demand high costs just to travel short distances. This was highly detrimental to farmers, many of which were in debt due to economic distress and could not afford to continue paying high prices just to ship their crops. However, it faced difficulties with regulating rates, resistance from railroads, and its inability to set maximum rates (this later ended under Roosevelt's presidency). It was significant because it was a step in reducing railroad corruption and helping farmers gain economic control again.

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Progressivism was the movement that started in the 1890s that sought reforms to mend issues in society. Some of its goals included improving social welfare, economic reform, moral improvement, and efficiency. For instance, progressivism led to the reduction of child labor and the prohibition movement (to ban alcoholic beverages). Some progressive writers known as muckrakers used writing and photography to expose the horrible conditions of poverty, as well as bad working conditions. The progressivist movement eventually led to many reforms in the government, such as the limiting of working hours, children protection, and local/state governments. Progressivism was a powerful movement in which people found their voices as activists and were able to make changes in the government and in society.

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During the industrial revolution, many workers, when unsatisfied with their pay or working conditions, joined together in labor unions to bring about reforms. Working conditions in factories were often extremely poor and dangerous, with long working hours and minimum pay. This led workers to organize into labor unions to try and improve working conditions. In order to do this, they sometimes went on strikes, where they would stop working until their employers improved conditions or their pay. Although not always successful, labor unions were extremely important in the betterment of working conditions and rights, and helped grant them higher pay and legal protection. They were symbols of the change employees could bring and the consequence of worker mistreatment.

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The populist party was a political party made up of mostly farmers who wanted a greater voice in the government to bring about reforms and lift debt. During this time, in the late 1800s, many farmers were unhappy due to the extreme economic distress (lots of debt, dropping prices of crops), railroad corruption (extremely high prices), and lack of voice in government they experienced. The populism movement, while short-lived (ended with the election of William McKinley), was influential to later government policies and helped to relieve some of the problems farmers faced. For instance, it influenced the establishment of the Interstate Commerce Commission, which gave the government the right to regulate railroad rates. Its legacy was that of a group whose discontent led them to fight for their reforms and gain political power, even when they felt unheard.

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Social Darwinism--named for its origin in Darwin's theory of natural selection--was the idea that the rise of certain people in business was reflective of "survival of the fittest". In other words, those best adapted to the industry would naturally rise above the rest, and no one could do anything to stop it. Social Darwinism was a highly influential idea that was used to justify imbalances in the system and keep the wealthy in power. For instance, Social Darwinism was used to justify the imbalances between the upper class and the lower class: because only the strong will survive, the supposed "weak" are meant to stay at the bottom of the economy. Additionally, Social Darwinism was used to support the idea of Laissez Faire (government does not regulate businesses), which further kept the wealthy rich.

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Nativism is the favoritism towards native-born Americans, and consequently, the discrimination against immigrants. It is significant because it led to the rise of anti-immigrant groups, who wanted to greatly restrict immigration of certain cultural groups into the U.S. Because nativism was rooted in racism and ethnocentrism, many nativists only accepted those from Britain, Germany, or Scandinavia. On the other hand, they rejected immigrants from Slav, Latin, or Asian origin, or those from Roman Catholic or Jewish religious backgrounds. Nativism was significant because nativist groups, such as the American Protective Association, influenced politics--for instance, they influenced Congress to pass a bill requiring mandatory literacy tests for new immigrants to come in. Additionally, they led to the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Gentlemen's agreement, which limited immigration for Chinese and Japanese people. Nativism reflected the racist and anti-immigrant attitudes prevalent through society at the time and reveal the progressive changes America has undergone since then.

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Ethnic enclaves are geographic "hotspots" located within a dominant culture where people of a particular cultural group gather. For instance, Chinatowns, J-Towns, and K-towns are all examples of ethnic enclaves. They are important because they are areas that preserve the cultural identity of that ethnic group's origin. The preservation of these enclaves is important because, through them, immigrants or the descendants of immigrants can reconnect with their cultural roots. This ensures that America doesn't simply turn into a large melting pot (cultural homogeny), but rather, a country where the cultural backgrounds of many different groups of people can gather and celebrate their unique identity.

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Laissez Faire was the idea that the government keeps its hands off business and does not control wages or prices in industry. It was adopted in the late 1800s, when much of the government did not regulate industry and kept taxes low. This largely benefited wealthy businessmen, especially robber barons, by allowing them to gain money and power without governmental restriction. This loose attitude allowed for many of the issues in business, such as illegal bribery, monopolies, and trusts to run rampant. However, the corruption and the negative aspects of capitalism eventually came to a point where Laissez Faire came to an end during Roosevelt's presidency. He began busting trusts, helping to re-establish the government's control over businesses. Laissez Faire is important because it greatly influenced the way businesses were run during the U.S. industrial revolution and was for the corruption in the industries.

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Thomas Edison was the developer of the incandescent light bulb and the one responsible for harnessing and distributing electricity. His innovations had astounding impacts on society, including daily life and the operation of industry. For the first time, people could use electricity in their homes for heating, electric streetcars, and the use of appliances such as the fridge. People could also have bright lights on during the night instead of depending on the dim light of a candle. Additionally, electricity revolutionized business and industry, by driving machines such as printing presses. Furthermore, manufacturers could establish their plants anywhere, regardless of if it was near a water source or not. His contributions completely changed technology and opened up new possibilities for what humans can create.

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Ellis Island was a chief immigration station located in New York Harbor. During the 19th-20th centuries, the United States experienced a new wave of immigrants seeking opportunity, gold, or religious freedom in America. When immigrants first entered the U.S., they had to pass inspection at a station such as in Ellis Island, where they would have to pass a physical examination, document inspection, and questioning in order to be admitted into the U.S. Between 1892 and 1924, Ellis Island admitted 17 million immigrants, with only 2% being denied. The rapid immigration that occurred during this time period is significant because it is in part responsible for the cultural landscape of current-day America and its diversity of cultural identity--which began when older generations immigrated through places like Ellis Island.

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The 17th amendment, established in 1913, states that Senators are appointed through the direct election of the people. Before the 17th amendment, Senators were elected by state legislatures, which ran the risk of corruption in the government. This upset members of the populist party, who wanted senators to be elected by popular vote and for secret ballots to be cast in order to prevent vote fraud. Many members of the populist party were farmers who wanted to have a voice in the government and wanted to reduce the debt they experienced due to economic turmoil. Once it was added, the common people could vote for who they wanted to represent them in the Senate. It is significant because it ensured that democracy was upheld in all parts of the legislative branch of government to limit the power and corruption of the people selected to lead our country.

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The political machine was a political group that offered services to citizens, namely immigrants, in exchange for votes or support. The political machine operated as a pyramid, with each level gaining more and more political power as one climbed up, starting with the large base of immigrant voters. The political boss, at the top, extended their influence down to the lower levels, gaining the support of immigrants by helping them find jobs, gain citizenship, and aiding them with other needs. Because of the large population of immigrants in the U.S., political machines could gain lots of political power and win elections. However, the political machine was also harmful, as it could lead to graft (illegal political influence for selfish gain) and corruption in office. Political machines no longer exist in the U.S. today and voting is instead made to be a democratic and constitutional as possible to avoid the corruption and power they brought to politics during the industrial revolution.

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Andrew Carnegie was a Captain of Industry who monopolized the steel industry by using the Bessemer process to produce steel at a cheap price. Through smart business choices and a tremendous amount of luck, Carnegie struck it rich and became extremely wealthy. However, Carnegie was also a philanthropist and believed that the wealthy should be taxed more heavily and have a duty to contribute back to society. He wrote an essay titled "The Gospel of Wealth" in which he asserted that the wealthy are responsible to donate some of their wealth. By giving back to the community and donating 350 million dollars in total to the arts and learning, Carnegie revealed that despite the individualistic capitalist society created by the industrial revolution, the rich can still use their wealth to benefit society (and in fact have a duty to do so, he claimed).

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Robber barons were businessmen who used ruthless and unethical business tactics such as stealing from the public and treating their workers poorly. They exploited natural resources and their workers, which they used Social Darwinism to justify. For instance, John D Rockefeller's Standard Oil company monopolized the U.S. oil system through largely unethical business practices. Once they achieved a monopoly, robber barons became extremely wealthy and could control the prices of the entire industry without competition, which was harmful to the consumers and the workers that were exploited. It wasn't until the progressivism era that things began to change and trusts were eliminated to prevent robber baron monopolies.