city-dwellers - People that lived in the cities.

culture- A body of learned behaviors common to a given society and it shapes the behavior of that society for generations.

degredation- Poverty and dreadful conditions.

ghettos- Poor areas of the city where people of the same background lived together and kept their culture alive.

hand sickle- Hand-held farm tool used to cut grain.

immigration- movement of people into another country

• "new" immigrant- People who came to the United States after 1885 from Southern and Eastern Europe.
• "old" immigrant- People who came the to United States before 1885 from Northern and Western Europe.

labor unions- An organization of wage earners formed for the purpose of serving the members' interests with respect to wages and working conditions.

"mowing and reaping" machine- Plow invented by Cyrus McCormick after the steel plow and allowed it farmers to do work without large numbers of hired hands.

nativists- Americans opposed to immigration.

quarters- Where slaves lived and spent their time when they were not working.  They were made out of wood and crowded with an entire family.

settlement house- Centers that offered help to the poor.

slavery- The system where a person was bought and sold by another person for the purpose of forced labor.

slums- Poor, crowded section of the city with run-down and unsafe housing.

steel plow- Metal plow invented by John Deere after the cast-iron plow.  It cut the soil at an angle and was pulled by horses which was more efficient than the cast-iron plow.

telegraph- A means of communication invented by Samuel Morse that allowed people to send messages to one another by tapping them out in Morse Code.

tenements- Buildings that were carved up into small apartments within the slums or ghettos.

trade unions-  An organisation of workers created to protect and advance the interests of its members by negotiating agreements with employers on pay and conditions of work. Unions may also provide legal advice, financial assistance, sickness benefits and education facilities. 

vulcanized rubber- A rubber invented by Charles Goodyear that protected boots and shoes from rain, snow, and mud and did not become sticky or melt in hot weather

wooden plows- First kind of plow farmers used to till their fields, but it does not get as much work done as compared with cast-iron plows or steel plows.