2. Section 3-The Gilded Age

4. Click the Speaker button to listen to the audio again.

5. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Chapter Objectives Section 3: The Gilded Age I can evaluate the doctrine of Social Darwinism and the impact it had on American industry.  I can explain how industrialization promoted leisure time and encouraged new forms of entertainment.

6. (pages 476–477) A Changing Culture Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. In 1873 Mark Twain and Charles Warner co-wrote the novel, The Gilded Age.  Historians use this term to refer to the time between 1870 and 1900.  The term “gilded” refers to something being gold on the outside while the inside is made of cheaper material.  The authors tried to point out that although this was a time of growth, beneath the surface were corruption, poverty, and a huge difference between rich and poor.

7. Industrialization and urbanization caused Americans to look at society in a different way.  This gave way to new values, art, and forms of entertainment.  A strong belief during the Gilded Age was the idea of individualism.  This is the belief that regardless of your background, you could still rise in society. A Changing Culture (cont.) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. (pages 476–477)

8. Horatio Alger, a minister from Massachusetts, left the clergy and moved to New York where he wrote over 100 novels about rags-to-riches stories. A Changing Culture (cont.) (pages 476–477)

9. (pages 477–478) Social Darwinism Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher, first proposed the idea of Social Darwinism.  Spencer took Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection and applied it to human society.  Like Darwin’s theory–that a species that cannot adapt to the environment will eventually die out– Spencer felt that human society evolved through competition.

10. He concluded that society progressed and became better because only the fittest people survived.  Industrial leaders agreed with Social Darwinism.  Social Darwinism paralleled laissez-faire, an economic doctrine that was opposed to government interference with business. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. (pages 477–478)

11. Many devout Christians and some leading scientists opposed the idea of Darwin’s conclusions about the origin of new species.  They rejected the theory of evolution because it went against the Bible’s account of creation. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Social Darwinism (cont.) (pages 477–478)

12. Andrew Carnegie, a wealthy business leader, believed in Social Darwinism and laissez-faire.  However, he also felt those who profited from society should give something back, so he softened Social Darwinism with his Gospel of Wealth.  This philosophy stated that wealthy Americans were responsible and should engage in philanthropy, using great fortunes to further social progress. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Social Darwinism (cont.) (pages 477–478)

13. (pages 478–479) Realism Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. A new movement in art and literature, called realism, portrayed people in realistic situations instead of idealizing them as the romantic artists had done.  Thomas Eakins, a painter from Philadelphia, observed and painted day-to-day living in a realistic fashion.  He used realistic detail and precise lighting.

14. Writer and literary critic William Dean Howells wrote realistically about American life.  He also recognized talent in several writers of this time, including Mark Twain, who wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884.  Twain is thought to have written the first true American novel.  Henry James, an English writer, portrayed the lives of the upper class in his 1881 novel, Portrait of a Lady. Realism (cont.) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. (pages 478–479)

15. Edith Wharton won a Pulitzer Prize for the novel The Age of Innocence, which portrayed the complicated lives of the upper-class in New York in the 1870s. Realism (cont.) (pages 478–479)

16. (pages 479–480) Popular Culture Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Popular culture changed in the late 1800s.  People had more money to spend on entertainment and recreation.  Work became separate from home.  People looked to have fun by “going out” to public entertainment.  During the 1800s, the saloon acted like a community and political center for male workers.  It offered free toilets, water for horses, free newspapers, and free lunches.

17. Coney Island in New York was an amusement park that attracted working class families and single adults.  It offered amusements such as water slides and railroad rides.  Watching sports became very popular in the late 1800s.  Baseball began to appear in the United States in the early 1800s. Popular Culture (cont.) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. (pages 479–480)

18. In 1869 the first salaried team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was formed.  Football and basketball also became popular during this time.  In the early 1880s, vaudeville became popular.  It was adapted from the French theater and combined animal acts, acrobats, gymnasts, and dancers in its performance. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Popular Culture (cont.) (pages 479–480)

19. During this time, people began enjoying ragtime music.  The most famous African American ragtime composer was Scott Joplin, who became known as the King of Ragtime. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Popular Culture (cont.) (pages 479–480)