gilded age

What is it

1870-1900

Time of incredible industry growth while fostering corruption and greed

Why is it called the gilded age

Book written by mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner

Gave negative views on the American democracy

3 reasons the industry expanded so rapidly

Abundance of NATURAL resources

Government support of buisness

Large population (cheaper labor source/ market for goods)

6 things industrialization lead to

Urbanization

Immigration

Worker exploitation

Laissez- faire economic policy

Super wealthy business owners/monopolies

Formations of unions

3 inventions that changed people’s loves

Telephone

Light bulb

Oil→drilled for kerosene and gasoline

what does the Bessemer process do

It made steel and was the first INEXPENSIVE industrial method for mass-producing steel and drastically reduced costs and production time

What did railroads allow

Westward expansion, creation of new markets, the relocation of business, the transportation of people and goods

Who worked on the railroads

Irish and Chinese immigrants, civil war vets, African Americans, and Mexican Americans

Transcontinental railroad finished and immigrants weren’t in picture

Social Darwinism

Darwins theory of evolution and survival of the fittest applied to people and society

Economists used this to justify laissez faire(letting businesses do as they please)

Idea very appealing to wealthy

What cause the highest number of immigrants to immigrate

Land shortage, famines, poverty l, and religious and political persecution

What is a captain of industry

Seen as an innovators who made jobs and built economy

Buisnessmen and industrialists who grow extremely wealthy

Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller

What is a robber baron

Viewed as ruthless exploiters who used unethical tactics to build massive fortunes

Businessesmen and industrialists who grow extremely rich

Jay Gould, John Astor IV, Cornelius Vanderbelt

Who is Andrew Carnegie

Captain of industry, Scottish immigrant, funds arts: scholarships: schools, steel industry, ran almost all of industry by verticle intergration

Who is jay Gould

Railroad executive, educated through public schools, became NY surveyer, bought more railroads and used the money from that railroads to buy more railroads, used bribery to take over economy, “I can hire ½ of the working class to kill the other ½ )

What is vertical integration

Buying out suppliers to control market

Ex: meat industry- owning everything from the cattle to the delivery wagons

What is horizontal integration

Buying out all competition so everyone comes to your company

What is a monopoly

When someone control an entire industry

What are ways workers were exploited

Worked 12 hours a day 5 days a week no benefits(insurance, overtime, vacation time, sick pay) , children works to support families, sweatshops often only place for women and. Holdens

What’s a union and what did they fight for

Exploitation and unsafe conditions united the workers into unions and fought for better conditions including 8 hour work day, went on strike

What's a political machine

Organized groups that controlled a cities political parties, often secured jobs and housing immigrants

Ex: NYC’s Tammany Hall

What’s a political boss

Controlled access to city jobs and businesses licenses, influenced courts and police, arranged building projects and community services, worked with businessmen to get voters loyalty and extend their influence

Ex:boss tweed

What is Ellis Island

Main U.S. immigration station(New York harbor) from 1892-1924 about 17 million immigrants were processed here

What is angle island

Immigrant processing stations (San Francisco bay) harsh questioning and long detention for admission

Election fraud

Machines used electoral fraude to win elections

Took kickbacks and bribes to allow legal or illegal activities

Tweed ring scandal

1868, boss tweed defrauded the city out of millions of dollars, when he gave out jobs and lucrative contracts he expected bribes or favors in return, also manipulated elections

Melting pot

Many native Americans in the U.S. blended in by abandoning their native culture and assimilating with American culture

Nativism

Overt favoritism toward native born Americans

Chinese exclusion act

Banned entry to most Chinese and became and became first significant law restricting immigration into the U.S.

Urbanization

The growth of cities

Urban area problems

Tenement housing- multi-family buildings that were often crowded with working class

Sanitation- no plumbing, clean water, trash collection

Crime was rampant

Fires were common due to overcrowding

Conflicts native Americans had

Westward expansion bringing people to their land, sand creek massacre , battle of Little Bighorn, wounded knee

Wounded knee

300 unarmed Lakota Sioux were slaughtered by U.S. military at pine ridge reservation

Battle of little big horn

Sitting bull has vision of soldiers and some native Americans falling from horses, when George Custer and his troops reached little big horn river native Americans were ready, native Americans crushed custers troops, within hour all of custers troops including himself were dead

Sand creek massacre

1864, U.S. army attack village of Cheyenne and Arapaho along sand creek

150 died many women and children

Sitting bull

Chief of Hunkpapa Lakota people who fought to protect Lakota lands

Resisted U.S. expansion by refusing to sign treaties

Had prophetic visions before battle of Little Bighorn that his people won and boosted morale

Killed in 1890 at standing rock Indian reservation by Lakota Indian police acting on U. S. Authorities

Dawes act

Allowed federal government to breakup tribal lands

Federal government aimed to assimilate native Americans into U.S. society

Carlisle Indian School

Native American children attended boarding where they learned english, practiced Christianity and gave up their tribal traditions and customs