1. “The American Dream”
“What is the American Dream?”
(1) In your opinion, “What is the American Dream?”
(2) What do you think about the responses from the video?

2. Horatio Alger stories …
Individualism …

3. Read the selection from a Horatio Alger story, from “The World Before Him” and answer these questions on the PowerPoint slide in your notes.
1 – What is the major theme in this Horatio Alger story?
2 – How does this Horatio Alger story support the idea of the “American Dream?”

4. How were these men successful?
Generalizations?

5. The West

6. ** Capitalist Revolution
“2nd Industrial Revolution” & “The Gilded Age”
1860s
1870
1890
1900
** Capitalist Revolution
Important things to understand about this era in U.S. History:
** Time of Individualism
Legislation developing the West: Homestead Act, Land Grant Act, Pacific Railway Act
1870’s and 1880’s - Settling the Plains
1860’s and 1870’s - “Rise of Big Business” – Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Morgan, Rockefeller, etc.
1870’s to 1890’s - American Politics / an Age of Corruption & the Political Urban Machine

7. Rugged Individualism: “Success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside of your control.”
Pew Global Attitudes Survey, 44 nations, 2002.
Nigeria: 32% disagree
South Africa: 24% disagree
India: 14% disagree

8. “Success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside of your control.”
Japan: 52% disagree
Egypt: 42% disagree
Jordan: 39% disagree
Turkey: 17% disagree
Uzbekistan; 36% disagree
China: 25% disagree

9. United States: 65% disagree
“Success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside of your control.”
Great Britain: 48% disagree
France: 44% disagree
Germany: 31% disagree
Poland: 29% disagree
Ukraine: 35% disagree
Russia: 36% disagree
United States: 65% disagree

10. What’s the proper role of the state (government)?
“It is the responsibility of the (state or government) to take care of very poor people who can’t take care of themselves.”
% Completely Agree….
Turkey: 73% agree
Uzbekistan: 70% agree
India: 74% agree

11. “It is the responsibility of the (state or government) to take care of very poor people who can’t take care of themselves.”
% completely agree
Great Britain: 59% agree
Germany: 45% agree
Poland: 59% agree
Ukraine: 57% agree
Russia: 70% agree
United States: 29% agree

12. Individualism

13. Politics in the Gilded Age
“1873 – 1900”
An era associated with corruption and ineffective national government
Social Darwinism rules the day … based on “Survival of the Fittest”
“Party bosses” & the political urban machine

14. Politics in the Gilded Age
“1873 – 1900”
“Party bosses” & the political urban machine
“Graft”
Handout:
First Side: (1) Why is this
corruption?
Second Side: (2) what do
these statistics tell us?” (High voter turn-out??)

15. Politics in the Gilded Age
** Political Era defined by the following
- 1 - Defining aspects of elections …
- Avoid Conflict on
major issues
- High voter turn-out
- High Voter Identity
- “The bloody shirt”

16. ** Political Era defined by the following
“Spoil system”
- 3 - Ethnic violence
(Chinese, etc.)
& Great Railroad Strike
(1877)
- 4 - Social Darwinism –
1887 – Texas Farmers drought &
President Cleveland … *** Indicative of national government …

17. Politics in the Gilded Age
“1873 – 1900”
“Black Friday” scandal – September 24, 1869
Attempt to corner the gold market …
1872 – “Credit Mobilier” fraud
“Dummy” construction company & excessive prices
1873 – “Lord Gordon-Gordon Incident”
Fraud from Scotland …
Corruption!!
Jay Gould
Lord Gordon-Gordon … Is this his real name? We don’t know.

18. ** Legislation During the Era …
1873 – Coinage Act of 1873 – money backed by gold only, not silver
1882 – Chinese Exclusion Act – banned Chinese immigration (1882 – 1943)
1883 – Pendleton Act of 1883 & Civil Service Commission

19. ** Legislation During the Era …
1890 – Sherman Antitrust Act – It prohibited “combination … or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the states.”
1891 – Land Revision Act of 1891 – forerunner to National Forest system

20. Not on Mount Rushmore!!
Grant: “Well intentioned, yet defined by fraud”
Hayes: “His Fraudulency”
Garfield: Being assassinated
** “Stalwarts” vs.
“Half-breeds”
Ulysses S. Grant (1869 – 1877)
Rutherford B. Hayes (1877 – 1881)
James A. Garfield (1881)
- Died Sept. 19, 1881

21. Not on Mount Rushmore!! Arthur: “Prince Arthur” the “ironic reformer”
Harrison: Tariffs, Anti-Trust Act, and land reserves
Cleveland: “The veto-er” & “I Want My Pa!” campaign
McKinley: Imperialist President
Chester A. Arthur ( )
Benjamin Harrison ( )
Grover Cleveland (1885 – 1889 & )
William McKinley ( )