CCC The Gilded Age v2 (1)

The Gilded Age

Overview

• Characterized by:

  • Large gaps in wealth and extremes in income distribution

  • Upheaval in the West with negative effects on Native Americans

  • Notable inventions and technological progress

  • Numerous labor strikes highlighting worker discontent

Inventions and Innovations

• Key Figures:

  • Thomas A. Edison: Key inventions include the lightbulb, phonograph, and microphone.

  • Lewis Latimer: Developed filaments for lightbulbs.

  • Nikola Tesla: Introduced alternating current for electricity.

  • Communication Advances:

    • Atlantic cable connecting Europe and US.

    • Telegraph using Morse code.

Economic Changes

• Transition to a mature industrial society in the US:

  • Expansion of factories, mining, and railways.

  • Decline of small artisans; a shift to factory employment.

  • Railways facilitating country-wide connectivity, creation of time zones, and mass markets.

  • Movement from farming jobs to industrial work; increased immigration to find labor opportunities, forming a new working class seeking better conditions.

Competition and its Consequences

• Market flooding with products leading to economic downturns:

  • Competition results in lower prices and deteriorating job conditions.

  • Emergence of “tramps,” or men traveling for work, as desperation increases.

Formation of Trusts and Corporations

• Companies create trusts to manage competition:

  • Pooling resources to divide markets and fix prices.

  • Larger corporations absorbing smaller companies (e.g., U.S. Steel, led by JP Morgan).

  • Rise of corporate leaders as wealthy figures, dubbed captains of industry or robber barons.

Robber Barons: Case Studies

• Andrew Carnegie:

  • Practiced vertical integration to control every manufacturing phase, leading to a monopoly.

  • Workers faced long hours (12-hour shifts, no days off).

• John D. Rockefeller:

  • Utilized horizontal expansion (buying out competitors) followed by vertical integration in oil.

  • Engaged in bribery to secure political influence and resisted workers' rights.

Wealth Disparities

• Society of extremes:

  • The richest 1% held the same income as the bottom half of the population.

  • Lavish lifestyles of the elite versus the poverty of factory workers in tenements.

Labor Movement and Workers' Rights

• Challenges faced by workers:

  • Common sweatshop conditions: overcrowded, unsafe working environments, long hours (60-80 hours a week), and health hazards.

  • Labor strikes often met with scab labor and violence from owners.

Political Responses and Legal Frameworks

• Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890): Intended to limit trusts that harmed competition, though poorly enforced and manipulated against labor unions.

Native American Impact

• U.S. migration westward negatively affected Native Americans:

  • Policies of destruction towards native economies (General Philip H. Sheridan's strategies).

  • Violent removals of tribes, such as the Nez Percé, from their lands.

Shift in Native American Policy

• Changes in the treatment and recognition of Native American rights:

  • Establishment of the Bureau of Indian Affairs with a focus on assimilation through boarding schools, leading to cultural losses.

  • The Dawes Act fragmented tribal lands and aimed for individual allotment; however, it resulted in significant land loss.

Legal Issues and Citizenship

• Elk v. Wilkins (1884): SCOTUS ruled Native Americans were not citizens under the 14th Amendment, nullifying citizenship promises from the Dawes Act, affecting their voting rights until the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.