Semester 2 US Baker History Notes
Gilded Age Economics and Politics- The American Economy in the 1880s and 1890s: Growth and Challenges
Introduction: The Gilded Age
Period in American history from the late 1870s to the 1890s.
The Industrial Revolution took place during this time.
The second industrial revolution of the United States.
Oil industries, railroads, steel, and banking are the four major industries.
Rockefeller- Oil
Vanderbilt- Railroads
Carnegie- Steel
JP Morgan- Banking
If you invested 1 dollar in 1870 it would come close to 6 dollars by the 1900s.
Large growth in economic power in the United States
Nicknamed the Gilded Age by Mark Twain
Called this because gilded means outside surfaces look like everything is great. The outside looks all pretty in perfect but on the inside, you can see the rotten core of the United States.
Mark Twain was insulting the United States.
Rapid Industrialization
The economy grows on a massive scale
The late 1800s is when you see mass production development
A lot more people are employed resulting in more immigration to the United States
You will start to see technological advances.
Rise of Big Business
Result of Rapid Industrialization
Rockefeller's company, just one, adds up to 40 companies today
Carnegie with steel
Steel is found in Pittsburgh
Detroit is known for its cars
The Railroad Boom
Railroads are like the interstates today
Along railroad tracks, you would see advertisements
You would find rest stops
Electrical lines were along the railroad tracks
Easy to get to them if they broke
Railroad growth helps with transportation
Easier to transfer things like steel to places to begin building
Allows for easy trade in the United States
By 1890 almost 200 thousand miles of railroad track in the United States
Technological Innovations
Henry Ford begins to mass-produce cars
Almost everyone can start to afford a car
Cars allow for an easier lifestyle
Allows for leisure time in the United States
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.
The lightbulb allows for later work.
Allows for nighttime to be safer.
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone.
Allows for easier communication.
Allows for businesses to communicate with their other businesses.
Immigration and Labor
Due to the rise of companies, immigration begins to rise
Elis Island is like the customs of its time
Trying to prevent the spread of diseases.
Old immigrants- Irish, English, dutch, french, and German (western Europe)
New immigrants- Italians, Russians, Polish, and Slavs
Not knowing English makes it hard to live in the United States
This leads to businesses working to exploit these immigrants
This leads to a lot of tension between the old and new immigrants
Labor Conditions and Unrest
No labor laws
Kids can work
No workers comp
Unlimited hours
The Agrarian Crisis
Before the 1870s the civil war took place
Farmers begin to overproduce
Making the prices drop
The Panic of 1893
In 1893 we saw a massive panic in the United States that spread around the world
Worst economic struggle till the great depression
Wealth Inequality
There is a massive gap in the wealth in the United States
4 thousand families had the same amount of wealth as 12 thousand families.
Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall
Political boss in New York City
Large voter fraud
Voting is not secure
The Whiskey Ring Scandal
In 1875 President Grant allowed for whiskey companies to bribe the government so they didn't have to pay taxes
110 bribes
The Credit Mobilier Scandal
Congress passes laws to give contracts to different railroad companies
The people who got the profits pretended to be members of Congress
The cost to build the railroad was 2 to 3 times more expensive than
The board members got the profits
Aka members of Congress were taking money from the government to buy things for themselves.
President James Garfield
The Star Route Scandal
To defraud the post office
They would charge more for mail delivery on what they called “star routes” aka rural communities.
During president james garfield and president Arthur