DCUSH 1865-1890 The Gilded Age

The Gilded Age

Late 1800s—USA appears prosperous but is filled w/ corruption

• Big business values: Rural Agrarian → Urban Industrial Country

• Political corruption

• Extreme wealth disparity

Characteristics of Gilded Age

• Rapid Industry Growth: Mass Production

  • Consolidation of Wealth

  • Laissez-Faire: Political/corporate corruption

    • Cheap Labor: Immigrants

• Westward Expansion

  • Rapid Pop Growth: Natural + Migratory

• Increased social + racial + labor tension

Causes of Gilded Age (2nd Industrial Revolution)

• New Technologies

  • Railroad: Key to West Expansion

    • Aided industries

  • Laissez-Faire Capitalism

    • Mass Capital

  • Mass Immigration: More labor

  • Entrepreneurs

Bessemer Process

Henry Bessemer 1865—Converts iron to steel on large scale by blowing air thru molten iron in converter/furnace to burn off excess carbon

1. Revolutionized Industrial Age

• Barbed Wire

• Railroads/Bridges

• Farm machines

2. Carnegie: Revolutionized building industry w/ skyscrapers

Other New Inventions

• Light bulb

• Telephone

• Sewing Machine

• Phonograph

• Typewriter

• Airplane

• Assembly

Laissez-Fair

Government does not interfere in free market / business

• Gov. Policies: Immense wealth for business owners but poor conditions for workers

• “Social Darwinism”: Survival of the fittest

  • American Dream: “Up by your bootstraps”

• Trust: Big business combine and rid of competition

Robber Barons

Captains of Industry

Horizontal Integration

To gain more control over industry, you buy as many companies that make the same thing

• Rockefeller + Standard Oil

Vertical Integration

Buy every step of the production process to control an industry

• Carnegie’s Steel Empire

The Gospel of Wealth

Idea that wealthy individuals are responsible for helping the poor

• Rich Believed: Schools, hospitals, infrastructure

• Social Darwinists: Hand-outs would not “improve” poor’s ability to obtain wealth]

• Oppressive: Looked down upon poor

Trust

Big businesses went unchecked by the gov. → monopolies drove out competition

• Price fixing

• Pools

• Cartels

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890—First measure passed by Congress to prohibit trusts

• Growing concern: over monopolies’ control over free market

• Initially ineffective: Vague Interpretation + Conservative Judiciary + Targeted Unions