1. Unit 1: The Gilded Age

2. “Gilded Age” term created by famous American author Mark Twain
To “gild” something is to lay a thin layer of gold
over some rougher/cheaper base material

3. Gilded Age Refers to the period after the Civil War through 1900
Period of great economic and population growth
Refers to the new found wealth of industrialists, which masked the extreme poverty of the majority
9% of Americans held 75% of the nation’s $ in 1890

4. The home of a Gilded Age
industrialist
The home of a Gilded Age factory
laborer

5. Technology revolution

6. New forms of energy 1859 Edwin Drake struck oil Thomas Edison
Kerosene production
Future products such as gasoline
Thomas Edison
Dependable lightbulb
Central power stations made electricity widely available
George Westinghouse
Alternating current/transformers made home use safer/cheaper

8. Electricity changes business and life
electricity increased productivity (amount of goods created in a period of time)
Lengthened hours of operation
Powered machinery
New inventions (especially appliances)
Life
changed factory work (longer work day)
improved standard of living (lights in home)
new products available
new forms of entertainment
new forms of transportation (electric trolley) allowed people to live further from work

10. Communication Revolution
Telegraph
Morse code; 1870 linked the country; almost instant communication
Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell 1876
Used switchboard/operators to connect
Mainly used by businesses until early 1900s
More efficient ordering/production

12. Railroads create national networks
Industry relied on RR for shipping
Created nationally linked market
1st “big business” model
Communication revolution made RR more efficient/safe
1883 national time zone system

14. Bessemer Process
Manufacturing process made steel production more efficient and cheaper
Steel RR rails
Skyscrapers (contributed to growth of cities)
Suspension bridges

15. The Growth of big Business

16. Robber Barons or Captains of Industry?
Different interpretations of the same industrialists
Robber Barons--negative
Stole from the public, drained natural resources, bribed officials, destroyed competition, abused workers
Captains of Industry—positive
Leaders, increased supply of goods, created jobs, gave money to worthy causes (philanthropy)

17. Andrew Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth”
-philanthropy
-they deserved the $, but had a responsibility
to help society
-$ should go to worthy causes, not be inherited
Andrew Carnegie was a poor Scottish
immigrant who became the wealthiest
man in America, owner of Carnegie Steel.
He gave most of his money away at his death
to the Carnegie Foundation (Carnegie Hall,
Carnegie Libraries)

18. J P Morgan,
banking
John D. Rockefeller,
Standard Oil Trust
Cornelius Vanderbilt, railroads

19. Laissez faire
As industry grew rapidly, the US government promoted free enterprise (business that can operate competitively for profit with little government involvement/regulation)
Laissez faire (“leave alone”)—freedom of economic conduct from dictation by the government

20. Pros/Cons of Laissez faire
Allows the market to govern itself, based on supply and demand
Cons
Limited government control reduces the possibility of regulation
Increased chances for corruption

21. Business on a large scale
Railroad network, communications, electrification made it possible for businesses to expand
Larger pools of capital ($) available
More $ coming into business
Corporations/investors
Revised role of ownership—professional managers run business
New methods of management—formal rules, specialized departments

22. Gaining a competitive edge
Monopoly—one business has complete control of a product or service
Vertical consolidation—gaining control of all steps that it takes to create a product
Creates economy of scale—as production increases, manufacturing cost per item decreases
--Horizontal consolidation—bringing together many firms in the same business

23. Horizontal Consolidation—
control of one phase of a product’s development; a side-to-side line
Vertical Consolidation—control all phases of production from raw material to finished
product; up and down line

24. Response to big business
Many Americans resented monopolies (competition usually leads to better prices for consumers)
Interstate Commerce Act
1890 Sherman Anti-trust Act—federal law forbidding businesses from monopolizing a market or limiting free trade
Early 1900s effort to limit “bad” monopolies, but allow “good” ones (not very effective)

25. Working in the gilded age

26. Working in the Gilded Age
Millions of immigrants and Americans moved to cities for jobs
worked 12 hours/day, 6 days/week, could be fired for being late, not working
Few hundred $/year
Piecework—workers got paid a fixed amount for each finished product
Unsafe work conditions
Sweatshop—employees work long hours at low wages in poor conditions

27. Workers seen as machinery; never interact with owner
Division of labor—worker performs one task in production, never sees finished product
Workers seen as machinery; never interact with owner
Frederick Taylor’s Scientific Management
Analysis of worker’s movements/workspace to increase productivity

28. Working families Women Children Young, single
Unskilled jobs, mostly in textiles
Paid less than men
Children
5% of industrial workforce
Left school at 12/13 to work full time
Unsafe work in dangerous conditions
Families often depended on kids’ income to survive

29. Darwin applied to society
There was no public assistance/welfare, worker’s comp, or unemployment insurance
Social Darwinism—applied survival of the fittest to people
Poverty resulted from personal weakness
Relief for poor/unemployed would encourage idleness

30. Unions and strikes

31. Unions Labor leaders criticized owners/managers for Knights of Labor
Reducing competition (making prices higher)
Paying low wages
Unsafe working conditions
Knights of Labor
National union, skilled/unskilled, women, blacks
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
Craft union, skilled workers, “bread and butter”, used collective bargaining (workers negotiate as a group)

32. Employers Reaction Dislike and fear Forbid meetings Fired organizers
“yellow dog” contracts (to never join a union/strike)
Refused collective bargaining
Refused to recognize unions as representatives

33. Railroad Workers Organize
Great Strike of 1877
Unfair wage cuts/unsafe working conditions
Violent/unorganized strike
President Hayes sent troops to put down strike; employers rely on fed/state troops to repress labor
Eugene V. Debs/ American Railway Union
1877 strikers organized “brotherhoods”, craft unions
Debs proposed industrial union for all railway workers

34. Haymarket Riot, 1886 Issue: 8 hour workday
Violence between workers and scabs (replacement workers)
At a rally to support strikers, anarchists (radicals who oppose all government) joined in
Someone threw a bomb that killed a police officer; following riot killed dozens on both sides
8 anarchists tried/4 hanged for murder
Public associates anarchists/violence with unions

35. Strikes Rock the Nation
Homestead, 1892
Carnegie’s partner, Frick cut wages
Union called a strike, Frick called Pinkerton guards
Anarchists (not with union) tried to kill Frick, union called off strike
Public associates anarchist with rising labor violence
Pullman, 1894
Strike slowing down mail delivery
Judge uses Sherman Anti-trust Act for court order forbidding union activity that halted RR traffic
Court orders against unions continued, limiting union gains for 30 years

36. Urban Life

37. Urbanization—the growth of cities
Why did cities grow during the Gilded Age?
Technology
Electric trolley/train/subway allowed people to move further out to suburbs (residential communities surrounding a city)
Skyscrapers
Immigration/migration
People came for factory jobs

38. Conditions
Tenements—low cost buildings to house as many families as possible; little space, communal bathrooms, poor ventilation
Fire danger
Rampant disease—no water treatment, sanitation

39. Reforms Dumbbell tenement floor plan for light and ventilation
Water treatment facilities
Sanitation departments
How the Other Half Lives, Jacob Riis; reported horrible living conditions to promote reform

40. Political Result of Growth
Political machines
Unofficial city organizations designed to keep a political party in power
Headed by a “boss”
Fought for control of city government and revenue
“helped” poor and immigrants in exchange for votes
Worked through exchange of favors
Graft: money paid to political machines for favors/jobs

41. Immigration

42. Getting Here Why did they leave home?
Persecution (pogroms—violent massacres of Jews)
Government policies/taxes
Crop failure
Lack of land/jobs
Pursue the American Dream (each generation will do better than the previous one)

43. Getting Here Crossing the Ocean Arriving 2 to 3 weeks
Steerage—large open area under ship’s deck
Arriving
From Europe, most went through New York
From Asia, most went through San Francisco
Physical exam; sick could be sent back; language/intelligence testing
Faced language and cultural barriers
Faced threat of poverty, struggled due to competition for jobs/living space
Some skilled immigrants used their trade skills to open their own businesses

44. Ghettos—urban neighborhood dominated by an ethnic/racial group
Formed from desire to live near people with the same language and traditions
Formed because of restrictive covenants (homeowners agreed not to sell real estate to certain groups)
Formed when ethnic groups isolated themselves because of threats of violence

45. European Immigrants 10 million between 1865-1890
Mostly northwestern and central Europe
10 million between
Mostly from central, southern, eastern Europe

46. Asian Immigration Majority from China or Japan
Mid-1800s million Chinese workers brought by railroad companies
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882—under pressure from labor unions, Congress prohibited Chinese immigration (until 1943)
1906, San Francisco school board segregated Asian students, angered Japanese government
President Theodore Roosevelt’s Gentleman’s Agreement—no segregation, but Japan would stop giving laborers passports

47. Mexican Immigration
Hired to work on farms, ranches, mines and railroads in southwest
1917, US entered WWI
Labor shortage, recruiting workers from Mexico
1910 Mexican Revolution/Civil War—lots wanted to leave
Immigration Restriction Act of 1921 limited
immigration from Europe and Asia, increased
Mexican immigration

48. Nativism—individuals opposed to new immigration
Based on competition for resources created tension and division
Some faced exclusion from employment or housing
Immigrants were encouraged to assimilate into American culture

49. Gilded Age Politics

50. Scandals Laissez faire government policy
Illegal bribes paid to politicians by business leaders common
Credit Mobilier
Fake railroad building company taking money to build RR, bribes paid to Congessmen to keep awarding $ to Credit Mobilier to keep building

51. The Spoils System
When a politician won office, they were expected to reward supporters with jobs, contracts, etc.
Led to corruption when dishonest people used their jobs for personal profit

52. Reforming the Spoils System
Civil service—government’s unelected workers
James Garfield elected President 1880, assassinated by a disappointed job seeker, Charles Giteau
Chester Arthur becomes President, supports the Pendleton Civil Service Act
Applicants for government jobs had to prove ability to do the job

53. Ideas for Reform

54. Helping the Needy Middle/upper class movement Social Gospel Movement
Sought to apply the teachings of Jesus directly to society
Focused on ideals of charity and justice
The Settlement House Movement
Community center offering social services
Reformers lived in the neighborhoods they helped
Jane Addams, Hull House in Chicago

55. Controlling Immigration and Behavior
Nativism
Teach only English/American culture in schools
Especially wanted to limited southern and eastern European immigration (too different from mainstream America)
Prohibition—ban on alcohol
Some felt alcohol was the root of social decline; link between saloons, alcohol and political machines
Carry Nation, smashed bars with a hatchet
Purity Crusaders
Wanted to rid their communities of vice (immoral or corrupt behavior—drugs, gambling, prostitution) and political machines that often profited from it