Gilded Age Notes

Key Concept 6.1: Rise of Industrial Capitalism

I. Large-Scale Industrial Production and Economic Development

  • Technological Advancements and Growth: Technological change, expanding international communication networks, and pro-growth government policies led to rapid economic development and business consolidation.
  • Western Farm Support: Dams and irrigation projects aided many western farms facing harsh environmental conditions.
  • Impact on Small Farms: Increased availability of farm equipment led to the displacement of small, marginal farms.
  • Deflation: Increased production caused decreased prices for crops like wheat and cotton, leading to deflation.
  • Railroads and National Market: Railroads created a national market for goods and established time zones.
    • Government Subsidies: The government provided railroad companies with substantial subsidies in the form of loans and land grants.
  • United States Steel: U.S. Steel became the world's largest enterprise, benefiting from steel's durability compared to iron.
  • Standard Oil: Standard Oil maintained low prices for consumers and exemplified the organization of trusts.
  • Communication advancements: Telegraph and global communication networks led to internationalized markets and prices for basic commodities.
  • Electric Lightbulb: Edison's invention of the electric lightbulb facilitated city lighting and the operation of electric cars, subways, and machinery.
  • Consumer Culture: Packaged food, large department stores, and advertising contributed to the rise of a consumer culture.
  • Standard of Living: Overall, the standard of living increased, but sharp economic divisions emerged among classes.

II. Perspectives on the Economy and Labor

  • Mining Boom Crisis: The mining boom created a crisis regarding the value of gold and silver-based currencies and caused environmental damage.
  • Southern Economic Development: Some Southerners promoted a self-sufficient economy based on modern capitalism.
    • "New South": Henry Grady advocated for economic diversity and laissez-faire capitalism in the "New South."
  • Northern Finance Dominance: Northern banks and financiers dominated the Southern economy, reaping large profits from new industries.
  • Southern Labor Conditions: Industrial workers in the South faced lower wages and longer hours compared to other regions.
  • Sharecropping and Tenant Farming: Sharecropping and tenant farming in the South tied farmers to the land due to debt to landowners.
  • Railroad Corruption: Railroad loans led to hasty construction and corruption within the federal government.
  • Railroad Consolidation (1893): Railroad bankruptcies in 1893 led bankers to consolidate railroads, improving efficiency.
  • Sherman Antitrust Act: Middle-class reformers concerned about the unchecked power of trusts prompted Congress to pass the Sherman Antitrust Act, which prohibited contracts in the form of trusts.
  • Laissez-Faire Capitalism: Laissez-faire capitalism meant minimal government involvement in the economy.
  • Social Darwinism: Social Darwinism applied Darwin's ideas of natural selection and survival of the fittest to business.
  • Gospel of Wealth: The Gospel of Wealth justified wealth accumulation and civic philanthropy through religious principles (e.g., Rockefeller).
  • Anti-Union Strategies: Management employed strategies to suppress unions and put down strikes.
  • Great Railroad Strike: Wage cuts by railroad companies led to a strike across 11 states, which federal troops eventually suppressed.
  • National Labor Union: The National Labor Union was the first attempt to organize all workers.
    • Social Program: They advocated for a social program including equal rights for women and blacks, monetary reform, and worker cooperatives.
    • 8-Hour Day: A victory was the implementation of an 8-hour day.
  • Knights of Labor Decline: The Knights of Labor lost popularity after the Haymarket Square anarchist bombing.
  • American Federation of Labor: The American Federation of Labor focused on higher wages and improved working conditions.
  • Homestead Strike: Wage cuts and a lockout led to the Homestead Strike.
    • Setback: This event set back the union movement in the steel industry.
  • Pullman Strike: The Supreme Court allowed court injunctions to break up unions during the Pullman Strike.

III. Agricultural Consolidation and Farmers' Responses

  • National Grange Movement: The National Grange Movement was active in economics and politics, defending members against middlemen, trusts, and railroads.
    • Cooperatives and Regulation: They established cooperatives and regulated rates charged by railroads and elevators.
  • Wabash v. Illinois: The Supreme Court ruled that individual states could not regulate interstate commerce in Wabash v. Illinois.
  • Farmers' Alliances: Farmers' Alliances pursued economic and political action.
  • Populist Movement: Many reform ideas from the Grange and Farmers' Alliances became part of the Populist movement.

Key Concept 6.2: Transformations from Industrialization and Migration

I. International and Internal Migrations and Inequalities

  • Migration Patterns: International and internal migrations increased urban and rural populations.
  • Inequalities: Gender, racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic inequalities were abundant.
  • Plessy v. Ferguson: Plessy v. Ferguson upheld "separate but equal accommodations."
    • Segregation Laws: Louisiana's segregation law did not violate the 14th Amendment, supporting a wave of segregation laws.
    • Voting Restrictions: Various political and legal devices prevented Southern black people from voting, such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and political primaries for whites only.
  • "New Immigrants": "New Immigrants" from Greece, Italy, and Russia often did not speak English, were poor, and were not accustomed to democracy.
    • Ethnic Enclaves: They mostly settled in ethnic enclaves in large cities for job opportunities.
  • Contract Labor Laws of 1885: The Contract Labor Laws of 1885 restricted temporary workers to protect American workers.
    • Literacy Test (1917): A literacy test for immigrants was passed in 1917.
    • Immigration Restrictions: Efforts to restrict immigration were supported by labor unions, a nativist society, and social Darwinists.
  • Rural-to-Urban Migration: There as an influx of migrants from rural areas to cities for economic opportunities (from farming to commercial jobs).
  • Urban Segregation: Mass transportation segregated urban workers by income.
  • Urban Overcrowding: Overcrowding in cities and filthy tenements helped spread disease.
  • Ethnic Neighborhoods: Ethnic neighborhoods allowed each group to maintain its own language, culture, church, and social club.

II. Westward Migration and Conflict

  • Western Migration Drivers: Larger numbers of migrants moved to the West in search of land and economic opportunity, frequently provoking competition and violent conflict.
  • Mining Employment: As mines developed, skilled immigrant miners from Europe, Latin America, and China were employed.
  • Miner's Tax: Hostility to foreigners resulted in the Miner's tax (2020 a month to foreign-born miners).
  • Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882: The Chinese Exclusion Act restricted immigration based on race and nationality.
  • Environmental Damage: The rush to acquire the West's natural resources damaged the environment.
  • Gold and Silver Rushes: Immigration to the West was driven by a series of gold and silver rushes in Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, and South Dakota.
  • Boomtowns and Ghost Towns: Rich strikes created boomtowns that often became ghost towns after the precious metals ran out.
  • Homestead Act: The Homestead Act encouraged farming in the West by offering 160160 acres of public free land to a family who settled on it for five years.
  • Reservation Policy: The federal government began to assign the Plains tribes reservations with definite boundaries.
    • Conflict: Most Plains tribes refused to restrict their movements to the reservations, leading to conflicts with American settlers and violent conflict with US troops.
  • Indian Appropriation Act of 1871: The Indian Appropriation Act ended recognition of tribes as independent nations and nullified previous treaties made with the tribes.
  • Ghost Dance: The Ghost Dance was the last effort by Natives to resist government controls.
  • Battle/Massacre of Wounded Knee: The Battle/Massacre of Wounded Knee resulted in the deaths of more than 200200 Natives by the US army and marked the end of the Indian Wars.
  • Dawes Act of 1887: The Dawes Act aimed at breaking up tribal organizations to assimilate Natives into American culture.
    • Land Sales: Former reservation land was sold to white settlers.
    • Population Decline: Disease and poverty reduced the Native population to 200,000200,000 people.

Key Concept 6.3: The "Gilded Age" - Cultural and Intellectual Movements and Political Debates

I. Cultural and Intellectual Movements

  • Political Engagement: Political parties actively campaigned, and high voter turnout resulted from party loyalty based on region, religious, or ethnic ties of voters.
  • Suburban Ideal: The idea of a suburban house (American idea of comfortable living) was created by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
  • Urban Reform: Increasing disease, crime, waste, and pollution in cities inspired reformers to advocate for water purification, sewerage systems, waste disposal, street lighting, police departments, and zoning laws.
    • "City Beautiful" Movement: In the 1890s, the "City Beautiful" movement promoted public parks and cultural attractions.
  • Settlement Houses: Reformers established settlement houses to experience and alleviate the effects of poverty by providing social services for people in the neighborhood.
    • Hull House: The Hull House, started by Jane Addams, taught English, provided early childhood education, offered industrial arts, and established music schools.
  • Social Gospel: The Social Gospel emphasized the importance of applying Christian principles to social problems.
  • Family Size: Family size dropped, as children became an economic liability.
  • Education: There was increased enrollment in schools and the establishment of tax-supported public high schools.
  • Du Bois: W.E.B. Du Bois, a leading black intellectual, advocated for equality for blacks, integrated schools, and equal access to higher education.
  • Social Sciences: The advance of social sciences and changes in universities provided a boost to progressive legislation and liberal reform in the 20th century.
  • Leisure Activities: Reduction of hours worked, improved transportation, advertising, and the decline of restrictive Puritan values promoted the growth of leisure activities.
    • Spectator Sports: There was a growth of collegiate and professional spectator sports.

II. Social Changes and Political Debates

  • Political Debates: Dramatic social changes in the period inspired political debates over citizenship, corruption, and the proper relationship between business and government.
  • Republican Stance: Republicans supported pro-business economics through high protective tariffs.
  • Democratic Stance: Democrats argued for state’s rights and limiting powers for the federal government.
  • Chinese Immigration: Hayes vetoed efforts to restrict Chinese immigrants.
  • Pendleton Act of 1881: The Pendleton Act of 1881 set up the Civil Service Commission and created a system where applicants for classified federal jobs would be selected based on an examination.
  • Money Supply Debate: A debate arose over how much to expand the money supply.
    • "Easy" Money: Debtors, farmers, and start-up businesses wanted "easy" money to borrow and pay off loans.
    • "Sound" Money: Bankers, creditors, investors, and established businesses wanted "sound" money (currency backed by gold stored in government vaults) to hold value against inflation.
  • Specie Resumption Act: The Specie Resumption Act withdrew all greenbacks from circulation (caused formation of Greenback party).
  • Tariffs: In the 1890s, tariffs provided more than half of federal revenue.
  • Republican Legislation: Republican-controlled presidencies and Congresses enacted:
    • McKinley Tariff: Raised taxes on foreign products.
    • Sherman Antitrust Act: Outlawed "combinations in restraint of trade."
    • Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890: Increased the coinage of silver.
  • Populist Party: The Populist Party aimed to address the concentration of economic power in bankers and trusts.
    • Increased Voter Power: They advocated for increased power for common voters through direct popular elections of senators and the use of initiative and referendums (allowing citizens to vote directly on proposed laws).
    • Policy Proposals: Advocated unlimited coinage of silver, a graduated income tax, public ownership of railroads and telegraph/telephone systems, and loans and federal warehouses for farmers to stabilize prices for their crops.
  • Panic of 1893: The Panic of 1893 included a stock market crash and bankruptcies.