The Highs and Lows of the Gilded Age

The High Points

Innovation

Triumph of Industrial Capitalism

Establishment of Colleges and Universities

Railroad growth and expansion

Unionization

Innovation

Thomas EdisonVitascope

Incandescent light

Electricity

Phonograph

Elevator

Innovation

The typewriter

The telephone

The Bessemer Process

Carlisle’s Steam Engine

Innovation

Innovation

Triumph of Industrial Capitalism

Standard Oil

US Steel

American Rail Industry

Titans of Industry

Colleges and Universities

Stanford

Duke

Carnegie-Mellon

Johns Hopkins

University of Chicago

Explosion of American Rail

America’s vast network of rail.

4x increase each decade

By 1900 nearly the entire nation connected

ImpactedTravel

Business

City construction

Regionalism

Military

Explosion of American Railroads

Organized Labor

The working man had been oppressed during America’s industrial boom. They made in one example 1.32 per week while their boss made 15,000 per year. The imbalance was startling.

By 1880 70% of the wealth in the country was in the hands of 10% of its people…by 1900 that was 90-10!

Labor realized that strength in numbers would bring them greater rights.

The Low Points

Social Imbalance

Conditions of Workers

Political Corruption

Immigration

Unrest and Labor

Social Imbalance

DuPont example

Wealth and power grew while poverty did as well.

Jacob Riis

Social Imbalance

Conditions of Workers

Conditions of Workers

Political Corruption

Everyone from Edison to Rockefeller to Carnegie was buying political influence.

Political Corruption

Political Corruption

Immigration

A Problem? Created issues with wages and prices.

Workers demanded legislation curbing immigration from specific areas.

Immigration

One immigrants perspective…

“I came to America because I heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here, I found out three things. First, the streets weren’t paved with gold: second, they weren’t paved at all, and third, I was expected to pave them.”

Immigration

Labor Unrest and Violence

Riots and violenceHaymarket

Homestead Strike

Pullman Strike

Great Railroad Strike

Labor Unrest and Violence