APUSH Chapter 17: The Gilded Age

Panic of 1873

Country's leading financier, Jay Cooke, goes bankrupt and thousands lose jobs.

Vertical integration

consolidation of production, from getting raw materials to distribution and marketing under one firm.

horizontal integration

merger of competitors in one industry

stalwarts

Republicans who maintained support for Reconstruction and were disconnected from big business

mugwumps

Republicans who supported the Democrat Garfield over in the Republican Blaine in 1884

pograms

anti-Jewish attacks in Russia

Chinese Exclusion Act

suspended Chinese immigration, limited their natural rights, and forbade naturalization

melting pot

the idea that immigrants should quickly lose their culture and religion to become "American"

sweatshops

small, poorly ventilation shops/apartments crammed with workers who pieced together garments

What caused the Panic of 1873 and what were the consequences?

-Jay Cooke going bankrupt

-500,000 lost jobs

-People tried to sell homes, banks closed, and railroad building stopped

Why did Standard Oil dominate the industry?

-offered lower prices than competitors and eventually raised enough money to buy out others and gain a monopoly in oil.

How did Gilded Age industrial and financial leaders increase and consolidate their wealth?

Creating monopolies in their field, allowing them to control the price of products

How did the rise of the middle class affect American values, cities, politics, and foreign policy?

The middle class was made up of comfortably living average people who typically were either Republican or Democratic, white, Protestant.

American influence was increasing around the world

Push and pull factors of immigration

Push: Pograms, Jews in Russia and East Europe could not own land and were forced into one town, poverty, farming was exhausted in places like Southern Italy, gang violence, political turmoil

Pull: make money quick, railroad jobs, better pay, new start, religious freedom, able to own property

How did immigrations patterns between 1815 and 1890 differ from immigration patterns between 1890 and 1914?

1815-1890: 15 million immigrants, mainly from Northern Europe

1890-1914: 15 million more in shorter time.

What was the experience at Ellis island like for most immgirants?

intimidating

they did not understand much English

names were changed to sound more Anglican

uncomfortable physical checks

only about 2% were turned away

What were similarities between Asian and European immigrants?

Asian immigrants went to Angel Island- much harsher, some were kept weeks or months before being admitted or turned away.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned Chinese immigrants from entering the country unless they could prove they were returning workers

Cornelius Vanderbilt

-had a steam ship enterprise

-controlled transport during the gold rush

-railroad monopoly after the Civil War

-New York Central Railroad Empire

John D. Rockefeller

-refined oil

-bought out all competition and created Standard Oil Trust

-horizontal integration with his business partners

Andrew Carnegie

-opened a state of the art steel mill in 1870s

-focused on costs and profits, saved money

his company mined coal, melted iron, created steel, and distributed (vertical integration)

J. P. Morgan

-sold reconditioned rifles to the army during the Civil War

-helped finance the TRCC and the Suez Canal

-repaired economy post Panic of 1873

-created the largest corporate monopoly combining Illinois Steel and Rockefeller Iron Mines

Henry Ford

-Ford Automotive company

-assembly line

-philanthropic

-Model T

-Anti-semitic

Ellis Island

landing point for European immigrants

Angel Island

landing point for Asian immigrants

steerage

part of a boat where immigrants had to travel

was dirty, overcrowded, and undersupplied

Nativism

hatred of immigrants, belief that they cause the evils of the country. thought they were socialists and anarchists

slums

thousands of people crowded together in the poor parts of cities

tenement houses

a dozen people had to share an apartment to afford the rent

dirty, overcrowded, and dangerous

working conditions in the Gilded Age

-dirty

-dangerous machinery

-long hours

-little pay

-no benefits

Mark Twain

Famous American author, coined the term "Gilded Age."

Alexander Graham Bell

Invented the telephone

Thomas Edison

Invented the phonograph and the light bulb.

Eugene Debs

President of the American Railway Union and founding member of the Social Democratic (Socialist) Party of America.

Jay Cooke

Leading financier that went bankrupt and caused the Panic of 1873.

George Pullman

Industrialist who designed the Pullman Palace sleeping railroad car.