The Gilded Age Notes

Time of rapid economic growth, industrialization, and corruption following the Civil War.

American industrialists dominated business by building corporations.
Used social Darwinism (economic survival of the fittest) to justify their fortune while paying low wages.

Despite controversial business practices, Andrew Carnegie was extremely philanthropic.
Argued in "The Gospel of Wealth" that the wealthy had a responsibility to give back to the betterment of society.

Industrial capitalists thrived due to laissez-faire government policies.
Benefited from pro-business Republican presidents.
Industrialists contributed financially to politicians like William McKinley to maintain their power.

Political corruption took place at state and local levels.
Political machines traded votes for favors like jobs.
William "Boss" Tweed of Tammany Hall in New York was the most famous example.
His corrupt practices and exploitation of immigrants for votes were exposed by political cartoons of Thomas Nast.

The spoil system ended after the assassination of James Garfield with the passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Act.
The Sherman Antitrust Act was passed to limit the power of monopolies, but it was difficult to enforce.

Workers began to unionize to combat low wages, poor working conditions, and long hours.
Knights of Labor:
- Founded by Terence Powderly.
- Open to all workers, including skilled, unskilled, women, and African Americans.
- Declined following the violent Haymarket Riot.
American Federation of Labor (AFL):
- Founded by Samuel Gompers.
- Focused on skilled laborers and "bread and butter" issues like wages and working conditions.

Strikes were frequent in the Gilded Age due to wage cuts and poor treatment of workers.
Examples:
- Great Railroad Strike of 1877
- Pullman Strike
- Homestead Strike
Strikes were often put down, sometimes with the help of federal troops.
Generally ineffective for bringing about real change for workers.

Addressed challenges from industrialization and urbanization.
Encouraged Christians, especially from the middle class, to address issues such as poverty and alcoholism.

Inspired by the Social Gospel Movement.
Reformers like Jane Addams supported settlement houses.
Jane Addams and other college-educated women opened Hull House in Chicago to provide childcare, healthcare, and education for the poor, especially immigrants.

Photojournalist who brought attention to the living conditions of the urban poor through his book "How the Other Half Lives."
Led to legislation in New York for improving tenant housing.

Innovations such as electricity, the typewriter, and the telephone improved communication and working conditions.
Increased the number of middle-class jobs.
Led to the development of streetcar suburbs as the middle class sought to escape pollution, crime, and other problems associated with urbanization.
The middle class had more free time and disposable income to spend on leisure activities like attending sporting events, going to the theater, and visiting amusement parks and fairs.

Major economic changes in America led to shifts in immigration.
Old immigrants (Ireland, Germany) continued to seek opportunities.
New immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe arrived.
Many came through Ellis Island and settled into Eastern industrial cities for jobs.
Increased immigration from Asia, especially Chinese immigrants who settled in the West.
The mass influx of new immigrants led to a rise in nativism, which resulted in the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Following the Civil War Reconstruction, the Southern economy still revolved around agriculture and cash crops.
Henry Grady and others argued that the South should diversify its economy and embrace industry, referring to this as the "New South."
Some cities like Birmingham and Memphis adopted new industries like steel and lumber.
Despite promoting economic advancement, the South maintained racism and inequality through Jim Crow laws.

After the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, the West was quickly settled and developed.
New industries like mining and cattle ranching were established as a means to generate wealth in the Western territories.
The mining and ranching industries were largely dominated by corporations with access to vast capital.
Rapidly expanding population and infrastructure in the West had devastating negative effects.
Buffalo populations were decimated.
Violent conflict with Natives increased.

The Nez Perce fought in the Northwest, and the Navajo fought in the Southwest.
The Plains tribes fought a long and brutal war with the US Army.
Events like the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890 resulted in tribes like the Lakota Sioux being forced to abandon their lands or die fighting to protect it.

Some Americans disapproved of the violence against Natives.
Helen Hunt Jackson's "A Century of Dishonor" exposed the mistreatment of Native Americans and supported assimilation.

During the Gilded Age, farmers struggled with low crop prices, high shipping rates, and crippling debt, which often caused farm foreclosures.
Farmers tried to combat their struggles and exploitation by big businesses by forming farmers' alliances, like the Grange.

Farmers formed the Populist Party.
Their Omaha platform supported:
- Bimetallism (free coinage of silver)
- Direct election of senators
- A federal income tax
- Government ownership of railways
These ideas were later adopted by the Democratic Party under William Jennings Bryan, who ran for president in 1896.
Bryan famously gave the "Cross of Gold" speech, supporting the coinage of silver.

Causation: You'll be asked about the causes of the rise of big business or the effects of westward expansion.
Comparison: You can see questions asking you to compare the Gilded Age reforms to the Progressive Era.