Gilded Age & Society

Ms. RamosAlta Loma High School

* PPT adapted from PPT Palooza

““Robber BaronsRobber Barons””

� Business leaders built their fortunes by stealing from the public.

� They drained the country of its natural resources.

� They persuaded or “bribed” public officials to interpret laws in their favor.

� They ruthlessly drove their competitors to ruin.

� They paid their workers meager wages and forced them to toil under dangerous and unhealthy conditions.

““Captains of IndustryCaptains of Industry””

� The business leaders served their nation in a positive way.

� They increased the supply of goods by building factories.

� They raised productivity and expanded markets.

� They created jobs that enabled many Americans to buy new goods and raise their standard of living.

� They also created museums, libraries, and universities as “philanthropists”

Knights of LaborKnights of Labor

•All workers except Chinese

•Wanted 8 hr. day, prohibition, end child

labor

•Unrealistic and vague goals

•Loss of important strikes and failure of

cooperatives

•Faded away due to poor organizational

leadership

•Haymarket Riot will “taint” their reputation

American Federation American Federation

of Labor or AFLof Labor or AFL

•Samuel Gompers,

1881

•Skilled workers only

•Work within political

system for change

••Closed shopClosed shop and

collective bargainingcollective bargaining

•Also supported Chinese Exclusion

NewArchitectural

Style

NewUse ofSpace

NewClass

Diversity

New Energy

New Culture(“Melting Pot”)

New Form ofClassic “RuggedIndividualism”

New Levels of Crime, Violence, & Corruption

Make a NewStart

NewSymbols ofChange &Progress

The City as aNew “Frontier? ”

Oral histories of Jewish immigrants to Pittsburgh

“Our synagogue was in a room with the windows blacked out. We were afraid to speak Yiddish on the streets. We often had to hide from people who came to persecute the

Jews.”

“During the pogrom (organized government persecution of the Jews) in Vitebsk (Russia) around 1905, my collarbone was broken and the back of my head still bears the scar of

a dagger.”

“I still have a scar on my thigh where a Russian soldier struck me with his sword. I was three years old and my

mother tried to protect me with her body, but he got to me. It did not seem reasonable for me to serve the Czar in the

Army.”Why they came

Oral histories of Italian immigrants

“The main reason was bread. There was always bread in America.”

“Life in America was better. There was always work in America.”

“I never went to an American school, but I insisted that my children attend university in the United States where

they had more chance.”

“I have progressed; I have lived well. I have been able to send my children to good schools so that today they hold positions of respect. My brother who stayed here in Italy

cannot say that.”

RELIGION

BIRTHPLACE

REASONS

DESTINATION

OCCUPATION

RELIGION

BIRTHPLACE

REASONS

DESTINATION

OCCUPATION

Protestant Catholic and Jewish

North/Western Southern/Eastern Europe Europe

Both escaping poverty, religious and political persecution

Moved to farms Moved to cities in the

in the Midwest Northeast

Became farmers Unskilled workers

Protestant Catholic and Jewish

North/Western Southern/Eastern Europe Europe

Both escaping poverty, religious and political persecution

Moved to farms Moved to cities in the

in the Midwest Northeast

Became farmers Unskilled workers

•Old Immigrants resented the New Immigrants.

•New Immigrants came to this country for the same reasons as the Old Immigrants.

Housing�Working-class families live in houses on outskirts or boardinghouses

�Later, row houses built for single families

�Immigrants take over row houses, 2–3 families per house

��TenementsTenements—multifamily urban dwellings, are overcrowded, unsanitary

Transportation��Mass transitMass transit —move large numbers of people along fixed routes

�By 20th century, transit systems link city to suburbs

Job opportunities for Women

•School teaching

•Domestic service

•Women doctors

•Lawyers, typists, telephone girls, librarians, journalists and social

workers.

•Women gainfully employed rose from 2.5 million in 1880 to 8 million in 1910.

Job opportunities for Women

•School teaching

•Domestic service

•Women doctors

•Lawyers, typists, telephone girls, librarians, journalists and social

workers.

•Women gainfully employed rose from 2.5 million in 1880 to 8 million in 1910.

•Wanted immigrants to adopt American, middle-class standards.

•charity and justice to society’s problems.

•Moved into poor communities••settlement housessettlement houses Hull HouseHull House

The Charity The Charity Organization Organization

MovementMovement

The Social Gospel The Social Gospel MovementMovement

The Settlement The Settlement MovementMovement

William Le Baron JenneyWilliam Le Baron Jenney

�� 1832 1832 –– 19071907

�� ““Father of Father of the Modernthe ModernSkyscraperSkyscraper””

CentralCentralY.M.C.A., Y.M.C.A., Chicago, Chicago, 18911891

D. H. BurnhamD. H. Burnham

�� 1846 1846 –– 19121912

�� Use of steelUse of steelas a superas a superstructure.structure.

Fisher [Apt.] Bldg, Chicago, 1896Fisher [Apt.] Bldg, Chicago, 1896

Western Western Union Union Bldg,. Bldg,. NYC NYC --18751875

John A. Roebling:John A. Roebling:The Brooklyn Bridge, 1883The Brooklyn Bridge, 1883

Jacob Jacob Riis: Riis:

How the Other How the Other Half LivedHalf Lived

(1890)(1890)

Tenement Slum LivingTenement Slum Living

Lodgers Huddled Lodgers Huddled TogetherTogether

Tenement Slum LivingTenement Slum Living

Struggling Immigrant FamiliesStruggling Immigrant Families

Mulberry Street Mulberry Street –– ““ Little ItalyLittle Italy ””

St. PatrickSt. Patrick ’’s s CathedralCathedral

Hester Street Hester Street –– Jewish Jewish SectionSection

Pell St. Pell St. -- Chinatown, NYCChinatown, NYC

Urban Growth: 1870 Urban Growth: 1870 -- 19001900

Mulberry Street Bend, 1889Mulberry Street Bend, 1889

5-Cent Lodgings5-Cent Lodgings

Men’s LodgingsMen’s Lodgings

Women’s LodgingsWomen’s Lodgings

Dumbbell Tenement PlanDumbbell Tenement Plan

Tenement House Act of 1879, NYCTenement House Act of 1879, NYC

Blind Beggar, 1888Blind Beggar, 1888

Italian Rag-PickerItalian Rag-Picker

1890s ”Morgue” – Basement Saloon1890s ”Morgue” – Basement Saloon

SaloonSaloon

”Bandits’ Roost””Bandits’ Roost”

Mullen’s Alley ”Gang”Mullen’s Alley ”Gang”

The Street Was Their PlaygroundThe Street Was Their Playground

Lower East Side Immigrant FamilyLower East Side Immigrant Family

A Struggling Immigrant FamilyA Struggling Immigrant Family

Another Struggling Immigrant Family

Another Struggling Immigrant Family

Child LaborChild Labor

Public Fear of Unions/AnarchistsPublic Fear of Unions/Anarchists

Arresting the Girl Strikersfor Picketing

Arresting the Girl Strikersfor Picketing

Scabs HiredScabs Hired

The Gross Clinic

Thomas Eakins

Example ofRealism

Vassar College

Frederick Jackson Turner

• Frontier thesis–Gave

Americans their unique character