Gilded Age

Technology

→ Bessemer Process

• cheap/efficient - steel

• A. Carngie

  • Railroad

  • Skyscrapers

→ Alexander G. Bell

• Telephone

• 1876 - AT & T

→ Thomas Edison

• Lightbulb (1879)

  • General Electric

• N. Tesla

  • G. Wesking

→ Am - becoming

→ Sears Roebust

• Rural Consumers

• Goods

Growth

1850- 23 mil

1900 - 76 mil

• Immigration

  • Irish, Italians, Greeks, Jewish

• Cheap labor

  • Birthrates

Business

→ “Laissez Faire”

→ Govt aid in Industry

→ Inc. LLC

Carngie

• Vertical Integration

• Controls all step of production

→ Scottish Immigrant

→ Railroad employee

• Stocks

→ Bessemer Process

→ Carngie Steel

• Pittsburgh

• U.S #1 steel production

• 1st Billion comp

→ Treatment of workers

→ Unions

• Philontherapy “Gospel of Wealth”

  • Chanty

  • Public NYC (library)

Rockefeller

• Oil (refining)

• Cleveland, Ohio

• Standard oil

  • Machinery

  • Herosene

• Monoploy

  • horizontal Intergation

• Phila → education → union chicago

Big Business

• Pros

  • efficent

  • low $

  • jobs

  • $ resources

• Cons

  • workers

  • less comp

  • damage to enviroment

  • govt corruption

Regulation

→ Panic of 1853

• Recession/ Depression

→ 1887 - Interstate Commerce Act

• Railroad Regulation

  • Rates

• Interstate Comm. Comission

1890 - Sherman Anti - Trust

• Monopolics

State dept break up

• Big company

Labor

→ 6 days - 10 hrs - 14 hrs

unskilled - 0.10 cents/ per hours

skilled - 0.20 cents/ per hours

• safety concerns

• 1870 - 1900 - child labor Increase

• More women/ minorites

• ag. work → industrial work “clock in” - family dynamics

Unions

• dues

• groups of workers in a common field

• increase pay, safety codes of conduct

• Knights of Labor (1880’s)

  • T. Powderly

  • Idealistic

  • Open Policy Members

• 1886 - Haymarker Riot (Chicago)

  • Dies down

• American Federal Union

  • S. Grompers

    • whites

    • skilled labor

    • pragmatic

      • short term goals

Politics

→ Party Deadlock

• Rep & Dem are similar

  • Economy seperate → Tariffs

→ 1 term Pres.

→ Weak President/ Congress Power Strong

1880’s

→ J. Garfield

→ Killed

→ Political Patrons

→ Pendleton Act *Pendejos

→ Fed. Jobs

→ Civil Service Exam

Crisis

20% unemployment

→ Panic of 1893

(president) G. Ceveland

- J. Coxey

• Ohio Army (500)

• March to D.C

  • Jobs

Pullman strike (1894)

• Railroad

• ARU

G. Ceveland

• Injuction

  • Messing with Primary Duty of gov

    • Mail

Populist Platform

→ Grange →Populists → 3rd party

→ 1892 - Ocala Demands

Party Platform

• Coinage of sliver

• Increase Money Supply - Banks be more liveral w/lending

• federal income tax (16 amendments)

  • gradated tax

• Direct elections of senators

  • Electoral votes

Populist wanted direct, so no more electoral -

• more democratic

• reg of railroad