Gilded Age

Ulysses S. Grant

• 18th president of the United States

• He was a Civil War veteran

• He accepted gifts after the war from anyone who provided them

• Ran in 1868 as a Republican - “Let us have peace”

• Used “waving the bloody shirt” to gain the support of Union Army veterans

• Defeated Horatio Seymour 214-80 because of former slaves

• While in office, he was easily manipulated

• Allowed “Jubilee Jim” Fisk and Jay Gould to run up the price of gold

• Credit Mobilier scandal – railroad building and investment scam

• Secretary of War William Belknap – took bribes from suppliers to Indian reservations

• Reelected in 1872 “Grant us another term”

• Defeated Horace Greeley because of the support from Civil War veteran

Boss Tweed & Tammany Hall - what it was, graft, political machines, voting irregularities, Thomas Nast’s cartoons, etc.

• Also known as William Tweed

• led a ring of corruption in NYC through the Tammany Hall political machine – bribes, graft (use of political authority for personal gain), & election fraud

• Widespread fraud

• Tweed controlled most of NYC politics through this

• The New York Times had enough evidence of corruption – Tweed tried to stop them from printing with $5 million – Thomas Nast began a cartoon assault on him, eventually leading to his conviction

Railroads - effect on trade and the nation, government assistance for them, Crédit Mobilier scandal

• For every mile of rail that was built, the Union Pacific Railroad was granted 20 square miles of land by the government, as well as a federal loan ($16,000 - $48,000)

• A trip that used to take months now only took 6 days

• Houses were being built along railroads instead of rivers

• A scandal led to insiders scamming millions & bribing congressmen to look away

• Stole federal funds meant for building the railroad

• Workers were hired at inflated costs

• Weakened public trust in the government

Jim Crow laws

• Discrimination

• Separation/segregation

• Lynchings

• Poll taxes

  • Payment to vote that black people could not afford

• Literacy tests

  • Rigged exam to prevent black’s from voting

• Grandfather clause

  • Allowed only those whose grandfathers could vote before the Civil War to bypass restrictions (favoring white voters).

Plessy v. Ferguson

In 1896 the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was constitutional under the "separate but equal" doctrine, legalizing Jim Crow laws nationwide

Government jobs - spoils system/”Spoilsmen”/patronage system, Pendleton Act, merit system, civil service exam

• Patronage

  • Disbursing government jobs in exchange for votes

  • Prioritized party over country

  • Many supported civil-service jobs as a way to give jobs to loyalists

• Pendelton Act

  • Magna Carta of Civil Service reform

  • Employees were made illegal

  • Established Civil Service Commission to make appointments to federal jobs

  • This was used as a way to give jobs to those who could pass the exam, and not loyalists

President Garfield’s assassination

• assassinated by a Stalwart office-seeker, Charles J. Guiteau

• Guiteau expected a job from Garfield for supporting him during the election

• Shot in a train station in DC

• Bullet lodged in his arm and back

• Did not die immediately

• Doctors stuck their fingers into his back without proper equipment to find the bullet

• Died 79 days later from an infection

Steel industry - Bessemer, Andrew Carnegie

• Carnegie came up with the process of vertical integration, which included combining all phases of manufacturing into one organization – to try to improve efficiency

• Revolutionized the steel industry in Pittsburgh, using the Bessemer process, which made steel cheaper

• This involved blowing air through molten iron to remove impurities, which reduced the time and cost to produce steel

Gospel of wealth

• Written by Andrew Carnegie, stated that the wealthy had to give back to society

• Argued that the wealthy must help others

• J.P. Morgan bought out Carnegie’s steel business for $400 million (who then gave away $350 million of it

John D. Rockefeller & Standard Oil

• Established horizontal integration, which was allying with competitors to monopolize a specific market

• He established Standard Oil

• By 1877, he controlled 95% of the country’s oil refineries

JP Morgan & the banking industry

• Most important figure in the banking industry

• Shaped modern banking and corporate structure

• lent the government the money needed to bring confidence back to the nation’s financial situation

• Eventually bought out Carnegie’s steel business for $400 million, which he then gave away $350 million of it

Hull House/settlement houses

• Centers for women activists

• Helped poor and immigrant communities

• provided education, healthcare, job training, childcare, and social services

• Provided housing, and higher education for women

• Provided childcare services and helped women learn practical skills

• Hull House, established by Jane Addams in 1889 which was a leading center

Urbanization & consequences

• U.S. cities soon boasted over a million people, with NY being the 2nd largest in the world

• Skyscrapers w/ electric elevators

• Electric trolleys

• Spectacular bridges

• Electricity, indoor plumbing, telephones, department stores

• Economic growth and industrialization created many new jobs

• Lead to widespread alcoholism

• Lead to high divorce rates for women

Opportunities for women in big cities

• There were more opportunities for women in big cities

• They had greater job opportunities

• Many worked in factories, but they had very low wages for women

• Many women began working in department stores, which paid much higher salaries than factories

• Many worked as nurses and teachers, which created two major professional fields for women

• There were more opportunities for education for women

•  Big cities were hubs for the fight for women’s voting rights

• Many women joined the women's suffrage movements

Gibson Girls

• Popular illustration of the ideal woman

• Created by Charles Dana Gibson

• The image had women as independent and educated

• Was meant to be a sign that women could do anything that men could do

• Represented women having their own life beyond men

Rising divorce rates - why?

• Women wanted more personal freedom

• Less need for marriage for economic stability and family expectations

• Marriages that failed emotionally often led to divorce

• As more women attended colleges and universities, they had other expectations in life beyond the traditional role of a mother and wife that women had in the past

• Many divorced due to alcohol and substance abuse from their husbands

Populist Party - who was in it, major platform planks

• 1892 – People’s Party – Farmer’s Alliance

• Wanted inflation, graduated income tax, government ownership of railroads, telegraph, & telephone, direct election of US Senators, one term presidential limit, initiatives & referenda, shorter workday, & immigration restrictions

• Ran General James B. Weaver (former Greenbacker)

• Did well in the West & Midwest

• Eventually became more & more racist

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

• Aimed to prevent companies from forming trusts that restricted competition and harmed consumers

• Passed in 1890, named after Senator John Sherman of Ohio

• This was needed because companies often bought out competitors or forced them out of business

• Prices were raised and wages for workers were lowered due to no competition

• Banned monopolistic practices that restrained trade

• Declared illegal any trust or conspiracy that restricted free competition

• Allowed the federal government to break up monopolies

• The law was vague about what constituted a "monopoly" or "restraint of trade."

• Courts often sided with big businesses.

Interstate Commerce Act

• Passed in 1887

• Railroads had to list their rates publicly

• Couldn’t discriminate against shippers

• Couldn’t charge more for the short haul v. the long haul

• Set up the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) – federal gov’t is now overseeing interstate industry

• The law did not clearly define "reasonable rates," making it hard to enforce.

• The ICC had little power to punish railroads that broke the law.

McKinley Tariff Act

• Raised rates to the highest peacetime level ever (around 48.4% on foreign goods that were subject to a tariff)

• Sponsored by William McKinley (R-OH)

• Caused tremendous controversy, particularly among farmers

• Designed to protect American industries from foreign competition

• Although it helped American industries, it hurt farmers

• Farmers earned lower wages and had a harder time making a profit

• Farmers struggled to buy everyday farm products that they relied on foreign imports for

Department stores & American consumerism

• Large stores that offered a variety of products under one roof

• Allowed for people to buy more products at a time

• Created a luxurious experience for American Consumers

• Created new jobs for women

• Allowed for window display of products

• The mass production of goods created lower prices

Old v. New Immigrants

• Old Immigrants

  • Came mostly from Northern & Western Europe:

  • Ireland, Germany, England, Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark).

  • Many were Protestants (except for Irish Catholics).

  • Many came to the US due to failed revolutions, economic opportunities, and more land

  • Became farmers in the Midwest

• New Immigrants

  • Came from Southern & Eastern Europe:

  • Italy, Poland, Russia, Greece, Hungary, Austria-Hungary, Jewish immigrants.

  • Many were Catholic, Jewish, or Orthodox Christian

  • Many left their countries because of the industrial jobs in the US, which would give them economic stability

  • Most settled in cities and worked in factories

  • Lived in ethnic neighborhoods

  • Faced severe discrimination

Why people left Italy for the U.S. between 1880 and 1920

• Economic hardship

• Farmers were losing land and many earned barely enough to survive as sharecroppers

• Italians felt politically oppressed

• Many came for the job opportunities in the US like factories, and railroads that promised higher wages

Labor unions & efforts for better working conditions

• Emerged to fight for workers' rights, leading to strikes, protests, and major labor laws

• People before this would often work 10-16 hours a day for 6 days a week

• There would be no overtime pay, sick leave, or unemployment benefits

• Knights of Labor – fought for the 8 hour workday

• Haymarket incident – riot in Chicago

• American Federation of Labor came next (Samuel Gompers)