American History Study Notes: Industrialization to the Gilded Age

The period during the Gilded Age is marked by the resurgence and continuity of industrialization amid significant events like the Civil War.
The Industrial Revolution and Market Revolution do not halt during the Civil War, but in fact, accelerate. This acceleration leads to massive economic changes and social upheaval.

Definition of the Gilded Age: A term coined by Mark Twain indicating a time when society appears prosperous but is marred by corruption and inequality.
- Sparked concerns due to the disparity between great wealth and significant poverty.
Movement Towards Urbanization: The era sees more people moving into cities, reshaping both the economy and the social fabric of the United States.
- Projected environmental impacts of industrialization due to increased production and urbanization.
- Examination of how America copes with rising immigration and social changes.

Description of the economic environment as unregulated or characterized as a "wild west" for businesses.
- Lack of government intervention in business operations leads to monopolies and lack of protections for workers.
Robber Barons and Captains of Industry:
- Identify figures like Rockefeller and Carnegie who accumulated vast fortunes, leading to debates about wealth distribution.
- Discussion of Social Darwinism as a justification for the wealth disparity, unscientifically positing that genetic superiority justified wealth accumulation and poverty as a status quo.
Contrasting Philosophies:
- Social Gospel: A movement that emphasized Christian responsibility to help the impoverished.
- Gospel of Wealth: Carnegie's belief that wealthy individuals should contribute to society by philanthropic efforts.

Worker Advocacy: As industrial conditions are dire, advocacy for worker rights begins, though with little immediate efficacy due to high labor supply.
  - Historical context of labor unions, including the Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor (AFL).
  - Knights of Labor:
    - Inclusive union allowing women and African Americans.
    - Ultimately unsuccessful due to ambitious objectives and political aspirations, coupled with the Haymarket bombing.
  - American Federation of Labor (AFL):
    - Excluded unskilled workers and minorities, focusing on individual skilled labor unions.
    - Directly negotiated practical outcomes like hourly wages and safe working conditions.

Post-Civil War Southern economy remains largely agricultural despite efforts toward industrialization.
- Sharecropping and Tenant Farming: Systems replacing slavery, wherein African Americans rent land from former slave owners.

Emergence of organizations like US Fish Commission and Sierra Club reflecting an increased focus on environmental conservation amid industrial growth.

Populists: Rural reformers seeking to address agricultural issues.
- Achievements and limitations of movements like the Grange and Farmers Alliance.
Progressives: Urban reformers with wealth and political agency, often co-opting populist agendas to enact change.
- Progressive reforms address issues of urban poverty, often with greater success.

Surge in immigration from various regions like Asia and Eastern Europe leads to demographic shifts.
- The Chinese Exclusion Act marks a significant moment in U.S. immigration policy as it excludes a specific ethnic group from immigration.
Development of ethnic enclaves (e.g., Little Italy), where immigrants maintain cultural heritages while adapting to American society.

Political Machines: Urban organizations (e.g., Tammany Hall) emerge to assist immigrants and impoverished citizens, often through corrupt means.
- Examples of both beneficial services and corrupt practices.

Women's suffrage and temperance movements coalesce during this period, showcasing a growing push for societal reform.
- The temperance movement culminates in the prohibition of alcohol, reverse during the Great Depression.

Reassessment of policies toward Native Americans through initiatives like the Dawes Act, aiming at assimilation rather than recognition of rights.
- Attempts to erase Native American cultures through forced assimilation practices.
- Notable resistance movements, including Chief Joseph's efforts and the Ghost Dance movement, which lead to tragic conflicts.

Laissez-faire: The principle of minimal government intervention in the economy.
- Confusion arises regarding government roles; primarily, the government aids businesses through infrastructure and regulation of tariffs, not in social or labor rights protection.
Increasing calls for reform lead to greater debates about socialism and labor rights.
- Legislation: Sherman Antitrust Act and other regulatory efforts signal the beginning of governmental involvement in correcting economic inequalities.

Continued systemic racism and legal inequalities following the Civil War, typified by the Plessy v. Ferguson case legalizing segregation until rectified by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
- African American advocacy through figures such as Booker T. Washington versus W.E.B. Du Bois illustrates differing approaches to civil rights and integration.