Time Period 6 Flashcard

How did the railroad industry change after the Civil War? What were the positives of this? How was the government involved? In what ways did corruption emerge?

• railroads skyrocketed (35,000 —> 192,000 miles in 35 years)

• connected the nation, boosted trade, created new markets

• Congress gave millions of acres of land to railroad companies

• bribery, insider trading, overcharging taxpayers

America jumped from #4 to #1 in manufacturing worldwide during the Gilded Age. Why did this occur?

• growing railroad network

• technological innovations such as the Bessemer process

How successful were Southerners at industrializing?

• produced less than before the Civil War

• farming split up into small chunks, often done by sharecroppers who “rented“ the land

Cornelius Vanderbilt

• railroad owner who built railway connecting Chicago and New York

• popularized steel rails in railroads —> made railroads safer and more economical

Thomas Edison

• invented the phonograph

• came up with the light bulb

Andrew Carnegie

• became master of the steel industry with the U.S. Steel Corporation

• used vertical integration to grow his business

  • bought out businesses he used in the production process

Bessemer Process

cool air blown over red hot iron to burn off impurities and produce stronger and cheaper steel

John D. Rockefeller

• founded Standard Oil Company

  • used horizontal integration to take over the industry

• controlled 90-95% of the oil in the U.S.

Standard Oil Company

• owned by Rockefeller

• controlled almost all oil production, processing, marketing, and transportation in the US

J.P. Morgan

• financed the reorganization of railroads, insurance companies, and banks

• bought out Carnegie —> started the U.S. Steel Corporation

Social Darwinists

• from Charles Darwin’s new evolution and survival-of-the-fittest theories from biology to society

• the reason certain people were at the top of their business was because they were the best adapted at running that industry

Sherman Antitrust Act

• attempted to outlaw trusts or monopolies

• prevented businesses from engaging in practices that harm competition

  • restraining trade 

  • monopolization

Knights of Labor

• a labor union

• advocated for workers; cooperatives, better working conditions, 8 hour work day

• welcomed skilled and unskilled, women and blacks

• banned “non producers“ (liquor dealers, professional gamblers, lawyers, bankers, and stockbrokers)

Haymarket Square Affair/Riot

• Chicago 1886

• strikers & anarchists wanted to overthrow the government

• a bombing took place by anarchists but the public blamed the Knights and unions

American Federation of Labor

• made up of small independent unions

• sought for better wages, shorter hours, better working conditions

• would boycott and strike

What was political patronage? How was it the “lifeblood” of parties?

• give government jobs, contracts, or favors in exchange for political support, loyalty, or votes

• secured votes, rewarded loyalties, parties were able to control, patrons would contribute part of their salaries to the party —> steady stream of funding for political activities

What led to the Compromise of 1877? What was decided?

• the presidential election of 1876 between Hayes and Tilden, Tilden won popular vote

• Hayes is president

• federal troops from South removed —> ended Reconstruction

Describe how the end of Reconstruction led to the loss of black rights and the imposition of the Jim Crow system of segregation in the South. 

• literacy tests

  • voters had to pass literacy exams, many African Americans weren’t educated

• Grandfather Clauses

  • allowed white men to bypass literacy tests if their grandfather was able to vote before Reconstruction

What factors led to the Chinese Exclusion Act?

• Chinese would work for lower wages —> caused resentment among Irish and white

Why was James Garfield shot? What came out of his assassination?

• Guiteau denied from government job under the spoils system after campaigning for Garfield —> assassinated James Garfield

• Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act: required gov. jobs to be awarded based on merit

What made the election of 1884 so ugly?

• both parties engaged in aggressive smear campaigns and would give personal attacks rather than policy discussions

Bloody Shirt

• Republicans got Grant elected by waving bloody shirt

• relive his war victories and using his popularity from the war to get popularity vote

Boss Tweed/Tweed Ring

• leader of Tammany Hall

• group of corrupt officials who used bribery, fraud, and embezzlement to control city politics and steal millions of dollars from the government during the 1860s and 1870s

Credit Mobilier Scandal

• Railroad executives, including politicians, formed the Credit Mobilier company

• inflated construction costs

• profited at the public's expense while bribing Congress members to avoid investigation

Panic of 1873

• severe economic depression triggered by the collapse of a major bank, Jay Cooke & Company

  • overinvested in railroads

• led to widespread business failures, high unemployment, and a global financial crisis

“Gilded Age”

• by Mark Twain

• a time of rapid industrialization, economic growth, and wealth inequality in the United States

• wealth inequality, poor working conditions, and political scandals

Chinese Exclusion Act

• banned the immigration of Chinese

• was the first immigration law to specifically target and ban a specific ethnicity.

McKinley Tariff

• raised protective tariff levels by nearly 50%

• designed to protect American industries