Period 6 Review

1865-1898

The Gilded Age

On the surface of American society, everything was “gilded” and glittering, but this was hiding the poverty in cities and corporate greed

Andrew Carnegie

A Scottish immigrant who used vertical integration to grow his U.S. Steel Corporation

John D. Rockefeller

Owner of Standard Oil, he controlled 95% of all oil refineries by 1877

Cornelius Vandebilt

Consolidated multiple RR companies under one company, the New York Central Railroad

J.P. Morgan

Banker and financier who reorganized railroads companies and other businesses

What is the difference between horizontal integration and vertical integration?

Horizontal integration - merging with competitors in the same line of business

Vertical integration - when a company buys out different steps of the production process to control the steps of the products

Trusts and monopolies

Trusts are when one company takes over the stock of another and monopolies are when a large corporation controls an entire industry; trusts often lead to monopolies

How is Henry Ford’s assembly line similar to Eli Whitney’s interchangeable parts?

Both allowed for consumer goods to be made cheaper and quicker than before and both capitalized off of the use of unskilled labor

Why were industrial capitalists often referred to as Robber Barons?

• They had ruthless business practices

• They used money to influence politicians

• They essentially bought pro-business policies and legislation

Social Darwinism

The application of Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” which discouraged government regulation and defended monopolies

Gospel of Weath

Andrew Carnegie’s belief that it is the responsibility of the wealthy to act as philanthropists to give back to the betterment of society

Social Gospel

A religious movement that encouraged Christians to work to help the urban poor and immigrant classes

Laissez-Faire

A French word that means “allow to do” or “leave alone” and was applied to business philosophy of the Gilded Age to oppose government intervention

What was the Credit Mobilier Scandal?

Happened during the Grant administration, and it involved Union Pacific Railroad insiders creating a construction company to build the transcontinental railroad at inflated costs

• It reflected poorly on president Grant and the Republican Party and that increased American distrust in the government

What was the Whiskey Ring Scandal?

It was a major corruption scandal of the 1870s, involving the diversion of tax revenues in a conspiracy among government agents, politicians, whiskey distillers, and distributors

• People questioned the Republican party that was in power because distillers avoided paying taxes

What were some policies supported by the Republican presidents during the Gilded Age?

• Laissez-Faire economics

• High tariffs

What were some policies used to put down labor unrest?

• Lockouts - an employer would refused to allow people to work until they agreed to their terms

• Blacklisting - putting labor agitators on lists so that other companies would not hire them

• Yellow-Dog Contracts - contracts that workers were forced to sign that prevented them from joining a Union

What were some ways that the government responded to labor conflicts?

• Calling in private guards

• Obtaining court injunctions against the strikes

Great Railway Strike (1877)

Cause - companies cut wages and strikes

Effects - President Hayes send in federal troops to put down the strike, killing over 100 people

Haymarket Riot (1886)

Cause - A strike was organized in Chicago to protest killing union members

Effect - Police and civilians were killed

Pullman strike (1894)

Cause - Pullman cut wages and increased rents for workers and fired workers who bargained

Effect - President Cleveland encouraged a court injunction

Homestead Strike (1892)

Cause - Henry Frick cut steel workers wages and no new contract for workers was made

Effect - Private security guards were hired to break up the strike and ended unionization of steel workers

Interstate Commerce Act

A law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices

Sherman Antitrust Act

A federal stature that prohibits activities that restrict interstate commerce and competition in the marketplace

What was a similarity between the Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act?

Both sought to check to power of big businesses, especially railroads, and both relied on federal courts for violations

What was one effect of the ruling on the Sherman Antitrust Act?

The Supreme Court ruled that the Sherman Antitrust Act was constitutional because the federal government can only regulate interstate commerce

What were some effects of the assassination of President Garfield?

• The Pendleton Civil Service Act was passed

• Chester Arthur assumed the presidency

How did the invention of electricity affect the middle class differently than it affected the working class?

In enabled factories to remain open 24/7, which allowed for some working class Americans and immigrants to work at night or for longer hours

What was an impact of the Bessemer process?

People found a way to quickly mass produce steel which was used to produce railroads and build suspension ridges and skyscrapers

Why did the middle class expand so much during the Gilded Age?

• The growth of industry created higher paying, white collar jobs

• New technologies which required more jobs with college level degrees

• Characteristics

  • They had privileges such as education

  • They had the ability to escape living in overcrowded cities

Old immigrants vs. New immigrants

Old immigrants

• Came to the U.S. before 1880

• Came from Northern/Western Europe

• Many were Protestant

New immigrants

• Arrived between 1880-1910

• Came from Southern/Eastern Europe

• A variety of religions

What was the main goal of the American Protective Association?

The purpose was to fight the supposed threat that immigrants posed to American national identity

Elis Island vs. Angel Island

Both were used to process immigrants from coming to America

• Elis - was on the East Coast and process mainly Europeans

• Angel - on the West Coast and process mostly Asians

How did the skyscraper develop?

• It was cheaper and more efficient

• The production of steel helped

What were farmers alliances for?

They helped negotiate better crop prices and lower freight rates and they purchased expensive farm equipment for members to share

How did the ruling in Munn vs. Illinois help farmers?

It challenged Grange laws in Illinois which regulated the cost for storing and transporting goods

What increased settlement in the West?

• Setting up Homesteads

• Job opportunities in the railroad

• Mining industries

What was one cause in the development of Boomtowns?

Towns in the West were rapidly settled for economic opportunities such as mining towns or mill towns with western lumber

Why did Boomtowns fall?

Once a specific resource in a Boomtown was depleted, many would abandon the towns in search of new opportunities

Why were time zones established during the 1800s?

The expansion of railroads and the development of both the telegraph and the telephone

What are exodusters?

African Americans who migrated westward, primarily to Kansas, following the Civil War, seeking to escape racial violence and inequality in the South

Why did the exodusters move to the west?

• To take advantage of the Homestead Act

• To have the opportunity to own land and to escape the racism and lack of economic opportunity

What were some negative effects of westward migration?

• Decimation of the buffalo

• Devastating environmental effects of mining and building railroads

• Conflicts with Native Americans over land use

What were some effects of the Indian Appropriations Act?

It declared that Native American tribes were no longer considered “sovereign nations”

What was the purpose of the Dawes Severalty Act?

The goal was to assimilate Native Americans and break up tribal lands in favor of individual land ownership

Ghost Dance Movement

Utilized tribal dances to connect with ancestors to provide protection and restore lands

Battle of Little Bighorn

Known as Custer’s Last Stand, this was the worst defeat for U.S. troops during the Plains Wars

Nez Pierce Wars

Also known as the Flight of 1877, this tribe tried to resist the U.S. military takeover of tribal land

Battle of Wounded Knee

This massacre was the last armed conflict between the Lakota Sioux and the U.S. military

The Civil Rights Cases

A series of five landmark Supreme Court decisions that ruled that the 13th and 14th Amendments did not give Congress the authority to outlaw racial discrimination by private citizens, and centered around the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1875

What were some accomplishments of Ida B. Wells?

• She exposed lynching throughout the South

• She was one of the founding members of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

What were some differences between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois?

• Booker T. Washington believed in a gradual approach to equality and when African Americans proved themselves

• W.E.B. Du Bois believed in political action and advocated for an increase in college-education black leaders