Unit Eight

Unit Eight

The Gilded Age

What does “Gilded” mean?

--covered in gold or something of a golden color

--Having a pleasing or showy appearance that conceals something of little worth

Differences between 1860s & 1900:

Wall Street in 1867 and in 1900


•Population roughly doubles•Immigration makes the U.S. more ethnically diverse•Push for education increased literacy rate to 90%•Newspapers, sports and other leisure activities became mainstream•Railroad mileage increased from 35,000 to 193,000•440,000 patents were granted in the U.S.•By 1900 2/3 of all workers worked for wages, rather than as farmers or other small businesses.


What enabled these changes?

•Massive amounts of available natural resources•Growing labor supply •Capital (money) plentiful due to prosperity in Europe•Technology created labor-saving devices, increasing productivity•Business-friendly government policies (tariffs, subsidies, court decisions, lack of regulation or heavy taxes)

Big Business

Three main industries were the engines of growth:

RailroadsSteelOil

RailroadsHuge loans and grants of land given by

government to encourage railroad construction

1869 saw the completion of the first transcontinental route

Four more would be added (three in 1883, one in 1893)

RailroadsBig names in railroad:

Charles CrockerLeland Stanford

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Later—Speculator Jay Gould

Steel Industry

Steel Industry

Iron was used previouslyBessemer process developed in 1850s—

blasting hot air through molten iron created a high-quality steel

Steel much more durable than ironGreat Lakes region became central location

for steel production—abundant coal for factories and access to iron ore in Minnesota

Biggest name in steel: Andrew Carnegie

Steel Industry

Andrew CarnegieScottish immigrant

Began in a low railroad position; became superintendent of a Pennsylvania RailroadQuit to start a steel plant—Carnegie Steel

Used latest technologies and “vertical integration”

By 1900 was U.S.’s largest steel companySold out to J.P. Morgan in 1900 – created U.S.

SteelBecame philanthropist of libraries, music, &

more

Oil IndustryFirst U.S. oil well drilled in 1859

John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in 1863

First product was keroseneUsed a horizontal integration strategy

Forced out competitionCreated a trust that controlled the market

and inspired other industries to form “trusts”

Laissez-Faire Capitalism•Regulation, tariffs, taxes interfered with growth•“Invisible hand” regulates the market—Adam Smith•Social Darwinism—promoted by Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner

Laissez-Faire Capitalism•Regulation, tariffs, taxes interfered with growth•“Invisible hand” regulates the market—Adam Smith•Social Darwinism—promoted by Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner•Gospel of Wealth—God approved of wealth, which came from the application of the Protestant work ethic•Andrew Carnegie further believed the wealthy had an God-given obligation to help society•Horatio Alger myth—author who sold more than a million books featuring rags-to-riches stories

Down Side of Big BusinessUsual factory job required ten hours a day, six

days a weekLow wages did not support a family; women

and children also workedMonopolies limited workers’ options

Factory work was less satisfying than artisan work had been and required a much stricter

structureLabor unions were nearly outlawed; protest

was by quitting instead

Dark Side of Big Business

Dark Side of Big BusinessProfits would be reduced by government

regulationBribery kept elected officials out of

businesses’ businessChildren common in factory work

Dark Side of Big BusinessProfits would be reduced by government

regulationBribery kept elected officials out of

businesses’ businessChildren common in factory work

No safety regulations at allNo compensation for accidents

Workers treated harshlyUnions were equated with socialism; union

leaders arrested

“Job Creators” or “Robber Barons”?


“What do I care about the law? H’aint I got the

power?”—Cornelius Vanderbilt

“The public be damned!”—

William Vanderbilt


Lord Acton, British philospher, said in 1887,

“Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts

absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”


“The Bosses of the Senate”

Labor and Labor Unions•The late 19th century had lots of cheap labor, so management had the upper hand.

Labor and Labor Unions•The late 19th century had lots of cheap labor, so management had the upper hand.•When treated poorly, individual workers had no power•Any complaint by a worker could lead to reassignment to a worse job or firing altogether•Individual workers could not make their concerns heard to management, so they tried to band together (unionize)

Labor and Labor Unions


Labor and Labor UnionsWhat is a Labor Union?

A Labor Union is an organization a worker pays a fee to join.

The union negotiates:•Working hours•Working conditions•Wages• much more When the union finishes the negotiation, its members vote yes or no on the new contract.

Labor and Labor UnionsImportant people of the 19th century Labor

Movement:

Terence PowderlySamuel GompersEugene V. Debs

Important strikes and events:Great Railroad Strike of 1877Haymarket Bombing (1886)

Homestead Strike (1892)Pullman Strike (1894)

Management vs. Labor“Tools” of

Management“Tools” of

Labor

“scabs” P. R. campaign Pinkertons lockout blacklisting yellow-dog

contracts court injunctions open shop

boycotts sympathy

demonstrations informational

picketing closed shops organized

strikes “wildcat” strikes

Labor and Labor UnionsGreat Railroad Strike of 1877

Spread to eleven states and multiple railways


The National Labor Union

•Founded in 1866•The first attempt to organize all workers in one group•Main success—an 8 hour work day for government employees•Influence declined with the economy in 1873 •Strikes were unsuccessful in 1877

Labor and Labor UnionsGreat Railroad Strike of 1877

•Strike shut down 2/3 of U.S. track•President Hayes sent troops in•Over 100 people were killed

•Some railroads improved conditions•Some railroads vowed to keep workers

from organizing again

Labor and Labor UnionsKnights of Labor

Formed by Terence Powderly (“an injury to one is a concern to all”) in 1869 as a secret

organizationWent public in 1881

Labor and Labor UnionsGoals of the Knights of Labor:•Eight-hour workday.•Workers’ cooperatives.•Worker-owned factories.•Abolition of child and prison labor.•Increased circulation of greenbacks.•Equal pay for men and women.•Safety codes in the workplace.•Prohibition of contract foreign labor.•Abolition of the National Bank.

Labor and Labor UnionsChicago Haymarket Bombing—1886

McCormick Harvester Factory

Labor and Labor UnionsChicago Haymarket Bombing—1886

Knights of Labor organized a meeting for workers to promote its goals.

It was also attended by anarchists, whose goal is to overthrow all governments

An unknown person threw a bomb into the crowd, killing seven police officersEight anarchists were executed.

Knights of Labor lost influence as the public associated unions with anarchy.

Labor and Labor UnionsAmerican Federation

of Labor

Founded in 1886

Founder: Samuel Gompers

Became largest union, but not much

success in 19th century

Labor and Labor UnionsAmerican Federation of Labor

Catered to the skilled worker.Represented workers in matters of national

legislation.Maintained a national strike fund.Evangelized the cause of unionism.

Prevented disputes among the many craft unions.Mediated disputes between management and

labor.Pushed for closed shops.

Labor and Labor UnionsHomestead Strike 1892

•Took place at Homestead Steel Plant near Pittsburgh•(owned by Carnegie, managed by Henry Clay Frick)•Wages cut by 20%•Workers walked out•Frick used Pinkerton guards, lockout, and strikebreakers to defeat the union•Workers returned after five months•Union movement in steel industry doesn’t recover until 1930s.

Labor and Labor UnionsPullman Strike

Pullman Company made sleeping cars for railroads



All workers lived in the company town near Chicago




George Pullman cut wagesHe also fired all the workers who came to

bargain with himWorkers at Pullman struck and asked Eugene V. Debs, head of the American Railroad Union

for help




George Pullman cut wagesHe also fired all the workers who came to

bargain with himWorkers at Pullman struck and asked Eugene V. Debs, head of the American Railroad Union

for helpARU refused to run any trains with Pullman

cars

Labor and Labor UnionsRailroad owners strategy:


Get the U.S. mail cars to link up to trains that have Pullman cars in them



This got the federal government involved

“If it takes an entire army and navy to deliver a

postal card in Chicago, that card will be delivered!”

President Grover Cleveland



This got the federal government involvedCourts issued an injunction to stop the strike

When Debs didn’t comply, he and union leaders were arrested, ending the strike.

He fought this legally, but the case, In re Debs (1895), found in favor of the use of court

injunctions to break strikes.Deciding that labor could never win in the

American system, Debs founded the Socialist Party in 1900



Percentage of Billionaires in 1900 by Industry

Inventions of the Late 19th Century

Patents granted by the U.S.

Patent Office


Thomas Alva EdisonThe Wizard of Menlo Park

“I have not failed. I have just found 1000 ways that will not

work.”--Thomas Edison


Edison’s early inventions earned

him money to set up the world’s first modern research

lab, in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

The Lightbulb(1879)


The Motion- Picture Camera


Other Edison Inventions:Vote Counting machine (1869)

Stock ticker (1870)Phonograph (1879)

Storage battery (1895)


Alexander Graham Bell

The Telephone

1876

Inventions of the Late 19th CenturyAlternating Current

George Westinghouse


Other inventions of the period:Typewriter (1867)

Cash register (1879)Adding machine (1888)

Kodak camera (1888) – G. EastmanFountain pen (1884)

Safety razor and blade (1895) K. Gillette

Cultural Changes1865-1900

•Immigration•Urbanization•Education•Religion•Arts•Popular Culture-Daily Life

ImmigrationReasons for European Immigration

•Poverty of displaced farmworkers due to technological improvements•Overcrowding due to population boom•Religious persecution of Jews in Russia

Immigration“Old Immigrants” vs. “New Immigrants”

Immigration“Old Immigrants” vs. “New Immigrants”

•Before 1880s most immigrants are from Northern & Western Europe•Most had been Protestants, though a sizeable minority were Irish & German Catholics•Skills and language helped them blend in better

ImmigrationBeginning in the 1890s, a change occurred

in the national origin of U.S. immigrants

“New” immigrants came from Italy, Greece, Croatia, Slovakia, Poland and

Russia(Southern European and Eastern

European)

ImmigrationStatue of Liberty—1886Ellis Island—1892

ImmigrationImmigration Restrictions:

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)Restrictions against criminals and

mentally incompetentRestrictions against contract labor (1885)

Stricter medical exams; entrance tax (c1892)

ImmigrationSupport for immigration restriction:

Labor unionsNativists (American Protective

Association)Social Darwinists

Immigrants became scapegoats during 1890s Depression

UrbanizationBy 1890, 40% of Americans lived in cities

By 1920, it was over half

This was due to:Technological improvements in

AgricultureImmigration

UrbanizationWhat were cities like?

Rapid transit beganStreetcarsAbove ground trainsAllowed people to

live much farther from work

Made ethnic and racial neighborhoods possible


SkyscrapersWilliam Jenny—1885Ten storiesMade possible by:Inner steel framesOtis elevatorsCentral heat

(radiators)

1911


Sometimes 4000 people lived on one block



Reform: Every bedroom must have a window




Result: “dumbell tenements”





Ethnic neighborhoods





Ethnic neighborhoodsStill crowded

conditions





Ethnic neighborhoodsStill crowded conditionsResult: Invention of

suburbsBrooklyn Bridge, 1883


Suburbs promoted byAbundant and cheap

landAvailable

transportationLow-cost constructionEthnic and racial

prejudiceAmerican desire for

private homes, grass, trees


Life in Cities

Early—no overall controlProblems:Waste managementDiseaseCrimeZoningResult: Strong city

government

UrbanizationHow were cities governed?

Without strong laws, cities were run by “political bosses”

They gained power by:•Understanding needs of different ethnic factions•Giving money to individuals or groups•Encouraging voter fraud•Awarding jobs to family and loyal friends


The best known of these was political bosses was Boss Marcy Tweed.

He was the head of a political machine in New York City that ran everything in the city while making huge profits for himself.


Tweed feuded with Thomas Nast, a political cartoonist who hated him.

Tweed was finally convicted of fraud and extortion in 1873 and died in jail in 1878.

EducationK-12 Education

Public support grew for high schools

Early high schools were just college prep

Later added vocational courses

Catholic schools increased

(beginning 1852—one school per parish)

EducationHigher Education

Benefitted from philanthropists (this trend begun by Johns Hopkins in 1871):

Cornelius Vanderbilt (1877)Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee


Benefitted from philanthropists:

Cornelius Vanderbilt (1877)

Leland Stanford (1891)Stanford University

Palo Alto, California


Benefitted from philanthropists:

Cornelius Vanderbilt (1877)

Leland Stanford (1891)

John D. Rockefeller (1890)

University of ChicagoChicago, Illinois


Women’s colleges made progress:

Mount Holyoke (1837)Vassar College (1865)Wellesley (1875)Smith (1875)Bryn Mawr (1884)

By 1900: one hundred co-educational colleges

ReligionChanges in

Christianity

Personal faith vs. structured religion

Darwin’s account of creation vs. inerrancy of the Bible

Mary Baker Eddy—Church of Christ, Scientist

ReligionSocial Gospel:

applying Christian principles to social problems

Big Proponent: Walter Rauschenbusch, NYC minister: “Whoever uncouples the religious from the social life has not known Jesus.”

ReligionThe Catholic Church

began supporting the Knights of Labor and the cause of workers as well as immigrants.

ArtsLiterature

Realism:Mark TwainBret HarteWilliam Dean Howells

ArtsPainting

Ashcan School

Depicted gritty urban life

Bellows Glackens

ArtsNaturalism

Included: Painter Edward

HopperAuthors: Stephen CraneTheodore DreiserJack London

ArtsArchitecture/Design

Frederick Law Olmsted (greenspace: Central Park, grounds of U.S. Capitol)

Louis Sullivan (form follows function)

ArtsMusic

John Phillip Sousa(Marches: Stars and

Stripes Forever)

Scott Joplin(Ragtime: Maple Leaf

Rag, The Entertainer)

Popular Culture—Daily LifeWomen’s lives

Some married women worked in sweatshops

Some single women saw work as a way to independence

Middle class women had leisure time— now making home beautiful

Popular Culture—Daily LifeCulture

Seen as a way to move to a higher social class

Culture was divided by class: museums and opera for upper classes, sports and amusement parks for lower classes

Manners very important

PoliticsPeriod defined by:

Belief in limited government

Two party balancePatronage system

PoliticsWell-Defined Voting Blocs

Republican Bloc

Northern whites(pro-business)

African AmericansNorthern

ProtestantsOld WASPs (support

for anti-immigrant laws)

Most of the middleclass

Democratic Bloc

White southerners(preservation ofwhite supremacy)

CatholicsRecent immigrants

(esp. Jews)Urban working

poor (pro-labor)Most farmers

PoliticsPresidents of the Era

Presidents were figureheads

Party bosses and business leaders ruled

President gave out Federal jobs by the thousands

Rutherford B. Hayes (1876)

James A. Garfield (1880)

Chester A. Arthur (1881)

Grover Cleveland (1884)

Benjamin Harrison (1888)

Grover Cleveland (1892)

Politics

Senator Roscoe Conkling (NY)—leader of the Stalwarts

Republicans divided into three groups :

Stalwarts (very conservative; opposed to any Civil Service reform)

Half-Breeds (moderates; wanted some reform)

Mugwumps (opposed to patronage)

PoliticsElection of 1880

Republicans:

James A. Garfield (Half-Breed) for President

Chester A. Arthur (Stalwart) for VP

PoliticsDemocrats 1880

Again nominate a Union general, Winfield Hancock

Republicans win in a very close popular vote

PoliticsGarfield’s Presidency

Besieged by 100,000 office-seekers

Named mostly Half-Breeds to the offices

Conkling and Stalwarts furious

PoliticsCharles Guiteau:

“I am a stalwart and Arthur is President now!”

Garfield dies after 11 weeks of decline

PoliticsChester A. Arthur

Distances himself from Stalwarts

Supports Civil Service Reform

Does not get renominated by Republicans for 1884


Republicans nominated Blaine of Maine



Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland of NY

--honest



Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland of NY

--honest--possible scandal--Republicans charge:

“Rum, Romanism and Rebellion!”

Politics—Election of 1884Blaine slow to

repudiate Burchard’s remarks

Mugwumps support Cleveland

Very narrow victory for Democrats

PoliticsIssues—Cleveland’s first term

Civil Service Reform

Money supply

Tariffs


Republicans choose Benjamin Harrison

Democrats renominate Grover Cleveland

Popular vote: ClevelandElectoral college:

Harrison

Politics

Political Cartoon:The Smallest Specimen Yet

Harrison’s Billion Dollar Congress:

McKinley Tariff Act of 1890

Sherman Antitrust ActSherman Silver

Purchase ActIncrease in pensions

for Civil War veterans, wives, and children


Republicans renominate Benjamin Harrison

Democrats try Grover Cleveland again

Populist party gains interest

PoliticsPopulist Party Platform

Direct election of senatorsState laws to come from ballot

referendumsUnlimited silver coinageGraduated income taxPublic ownership of railroads,

telegraph and telephonesAgricultural warehousesEight-hour work day for

industrial workers

Politics—1892 Presidential Election

Politics—Cleveland’s Second TermPanic of 1893

Cleveland, now more conservative, adopted a “hands off” strategy toward the economy

Drain on gold—loan from J.P. Morgan

PoliticsThe Rise of Populism

Coxey’s Army—1894

March on Washington by the

unemployed demanding

creation of public jobs

PoliticsThe Election of 1896—Rise of Populism

What is Populism?


What is Populism?

The People vs. “The Elite”


Gold Standard

Vs.

“Free Silver”

William Jennings Bryan “The Great

Commoner”

PoliticsElection of 1896—Rise of Populism

William Jennings Bryan

YoungFiery oratorTireless campaignerNominated by both

Democrats and Populists

PoliticsWilliam Jennings Bryan’s Cross of Gold Speech:

“We will answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them: ‘You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold.’”

Politics—Election of 1896William McKinley

Republican

Backed by wealthy businessman and strategist, Mark Hanna

Politics—Election of 1896

Politics—Election of 1896McKinley’s victory:

Begins the decline of the Populists

Shows dominance of urban voters

Starts modern political methods

Altered Republicans to party of Big Business and Big Government

PoliticsGold triumphs over silver

Gold found in Alaska

Economy begins to recover

McKinley gets credit, moves America to world power in war with Spain (1898)

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Unit Eight

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