THE RISE OF INDUSTRIAL AMERICA: The Gilded Age

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THE RISE OF INDUSTRIAL AMERICA The Gilded Age

• Mr. Phipps
• U.S. History

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California State Standards

• 11.1.4. Examine the effects of the Civil War and
  Reconstruction and of the industrial revolution,
  including demographic shifts and the emergence in
  the late nineteenth century of the United States
  as a world power.
• 11.2 Students analyze the relationship among the
  rise of industrialization, large-scale
  rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration
  from Southern and Eastern Europe.
• 11.2.1. Know the effects of industrialization on
  living and working conditions, including the
  portrayal of working conditions and food safety
  in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.
• 11.2.2. Describe the changing landscape,
  including the growth of cities linked by industry
  and trade, and the development of cities divided
  according to race, ethnicity, and class.
• 11.2.4. Analyze the effect of urban political
  machines and responses to them by immigrants and
  middle-class reformers.
• 11.2.5. Discuss corporate mergers that produced
  trusts and cartels and the economic and political
  policies of industrial leaders.
• 11.2.6. Trace the economic development of the
  United States and its emergence as a major
  industrial power, including its gains from trade
  and the advantages of its physical geography.

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Era Characteristics

• Strong and rapid growth of industry, mass
  production, mechanization, and the factory system
• Consolidation of wealth and creation of an
  American aristocracy
• Political and corporate corruption and
  laissez-faire/hands off approach to government
  involvement
• Exploitation of cheap, immigrant labor
• The creation of the American city and the
  expansion and urbanization of the West
• Rapid population growth (natural and migratory)
• Increased social, racial, and labor tension
• The beginning of social, political, and labor
  reform movements

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Vocabulary

• Laissez-faire Hands-off, the idea that
  government should not be involved in business or
  regulation
• Mechanization The use of factory machines for
  mass production
• Infrastructure The skeleton of a country,
  referring to transportation (railroads, roads,
  canals), the postal service, tax collection,
  ability to vote, civil protection, sewage
  treatment, etc
• Free Enterprise a.k.a. Capitalism The idea
  that society benefits from free competition in
  the market price, yielding individual profit, a
  better/cheaper product, and wide availability of
  goods
• Spoils System Corruption in government, where a
  person in authority (i.e., the President) rewards
  friends with special privileges and political
  positions
• Political Machines Corrupt mafia-like
  organizations which sold votes for rewards and
  ran the cities corruptly

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Timeline

• 1820-1860 Period of Manifest Destiny
• Territorial expansion, extension of slavery
• 1861-1865 American Civil War
• Fought over states rights, control of industry,
  and slavery
• 1865-1877 Period of Reconstruction
• Reunify the U.S., aid Freedmen, extend railroad
• 1866-1898 Period of the Gilded Age
• Growth of industry, unchecked immigration,
  political corruption

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The Gilded Age System
URBANIZATION
IMMIGRATION
INDUSTRIALISM
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Why America?

• Large tracts of open land
• Abundance of natural resources
• Excellent soil
• Can do attitude
• Eager population
• A government that encouraged rugged individualism
  and free enterprise

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Interpretation of famous Manifest Destiny
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The Gilded Age?

• Termed by Mark Twain satirizing the period
• Claimed that the period was not as wealthy as it
  looked
• Political parties were the same laissez-faire
  and corrupt
• Political offices given through spoils system
• Local government run by political bosses

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Political Scandal

• Federal government known for constant scandal
• Credit Mobilier Scandal
• Pres. Grant ignored a private contract to a
  railroad company, V.P. made a ton of money
• Whiskey Ring
• Cabinet stole money from whiskey excise tax
• Sec. of War sold junk to Indians for profit
• Panic of 1873
• Economic depression due to over-speculation in
  industry and inflation
• Pres. Garfield assassinated by office-seeker

Cartoon from Puck Bosses of the Senate
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The Influence of Business

• Powerful individuals forced and intimidated
  Americans and politicians
• Used tactics similar to mafia
• Targeted immigrants for labor exploitation and
  votes
• Used bribery, violence, and extortion to get job
  done

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Political Bosses

• Ran local business and politics
• Forced immigrants to vote for specific candidates
  in exchange for citizenship
• Forced lower class to pay protection money
• Stole money from city coffers through extortion,
  graft, bribes, private contracts, and
  misallocation of funds
• Most famous political bosses were in the biggest
  cities (i.e., Boss) William Tweed of NYC

Political bosses cartoon by Thomas Nast
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Tweed Ring by Thomas Nast
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The New York Solar System Boss Richard Croker
of NYC. Croker organized NYC politics for nearly
twenty years. It was nearly impossible to win an
election without his support local or national.
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The Titans of Business

• Private investors and businessmen contributed
  money to elections and campaigns in exchange for
  a hands off approach
• Emphasis on business and making money over reform

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The Men

• The Titans
• J.D. Rockefellar--Standard Oil
• J.P. Morgan--Investment banking and financier
• Andrew Carnegie--U.S. Steel
• Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, and Jay
  Fiske--Railroads

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In Sum

• Local and federal politics were influenced by
  business leaders and political bosses
• Few Americans believed that the federal
  government would positively affect their lives
  and improve their future
• The democratic process did not reflect the
  diversity of beliefs, peoples, and classes in the
  U.S.