U.S. HISTORY UNIT #1:
THE GILDED AGE
Part 1
MANIFEST DESTINY
• Following the Civil War, the
notion of Manifest Destiny, the
belief that the United States
should extend to the Pacific
because God willed it, again
became a popular idea.
• American now controlled the
land, now it was time to settle it.
THE GOVERNMENT MOTIVATION
• The government wanted to gain
wealth from the natural resources
and land in the West.
• The Transcontinental railroad was
a major motivation for the
government to encourage
settlement (need builders,
workers, farmers, etc. out there)
WHO WENT WEST AND WHY?
• People of all classes, race, and
background were enticed to head
West in search of a new start and to
increase their wealth.
• In particular, farmers, miners, and
ranchers made up the majority of
the people heading west. Why
these professions?
HOMESTEAD ACT
• Homestead Act: This act gave
away free land to individuals and
family willing to migrate West and
stay there. The downside was most
land had few resources on it.
• Many settlers build their homes
out of parts of their wagon and
dirt/sod.
THE RAILROADS
• The railroads were vital in connecting the
nation economically, socially, and
politically. What is an example of each
one?
• Congress offered railroads land grants of
20 million acres as well as loans. The
railroads helped settle the lands they
crossed and turned cities into major
centers for transporting manufactured
goods and processing raw material.
THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
• Completed in 1869 at
Promontory Point, Utah
when the Southern Pacific
and Union Pacific railroads
linked together forming the
first connection from the
Atlantic to Pacific.
LAND DISPUTES AND NATIVE AMERICANS
• One major western conflict
was the dispute between
Native Americans and
Western settlers over the
concept of property rights.
• Native Americans did not
recognize the concept of
property rights.
LAND DISPUTES CONT.
• Property rights are protected by the 5th and 14th Amendments to
the Constitution - no one can be deprived of their property
without “due process of law” and the federal government cannot
take private property for public use without “just compensation.”
• Also, the 14th Amendment provides that citizens within federal
and state jurisdictions “equal protection” under the law.
• Native Americans were not considered citizens and therefore,
these rights did not apply to them. Most American Indians did
not get citizenship rights until 1924.
KEY BUSINESS TERMS
• Industrialization: The growth of factories and companies
• Entrepreneur: A business person who starts their own business.
• Free Enterprise: The freedom that anyone can start a business.
• Monopoly: When one individual or company controls an entire
Industry.
• Trust: Just like a monopoly but it involves multiple people working
together to maintain control.
• Laissez-faire capitalism: French word meaning let it be and was a
policy of the government not interfering/regulating the economy.
THE GROWTH OF INDUSTRY AND ROBBER
BARONS
• As Industry grew, some men came
to dominate and create
monopolies in various industries.
• Although many of these men
donated much money to charity
they were still known as robber
barons for being ruthless
businessmen.
MAJOR ROBBER BARONS
• Andrew Carnegie: Owned U.S. Steel
• John Rockefeller: Owned Standard Oil
• Cornelius Vanderbilt: Owned multiple railroads
ANTI-TRUST
• Anti-Trust laws are also
known as Anti-Monopoly
laws and are intended to
stop the growth of
monopolies in various
industries. They are meant
to make the business world
fair for all participants.
LABOR UNIONS
• Labor Unions are organizations
of people from the same field
or profession.
• Labor Unions speak for their
members and fight for their
rights as a worker. The first
unions fought for better pay
and working conditions.
RESULTS OF THE GROWTH OF BUSINESS
• Huge profit for owners of large companies/monopolies
(robber barons).
• The United States began to be a manufacturing giant in the
world
• Growth of Labor Unions
• The trust-busting efforts and government regulations of
business.
• One positive result was the philanthropy of the industrialists
like Andrew Carnegie
NEW TECHNOLOGY OF THE GILDED AGE
• Telegraph: Messages for the
first time did not have to be
physically carried.
• Automobile: Many different
versions but did not catch on
until Ford developed the
Model T and assembly line.
• Airplane: Changed both the
transportation and military
worlds.
NEW TECHNOLOGY
• Telephone: Made
communication even faster than
the telegraph.
• Typewriter: Allowed information
and news to be generated more
quickly and to more people.
• Light Bulb: Helped bring
electricity into homes and made
the American workforce more
productive. How?
PROMINENT INVENTORS
• Thomas Edison invented many items and had hundreds of patents but
is best known for creating the light bulb that changed American’s
lifestyles
• The Wright Brothers created and flew the first engine powered
airplane.
• Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and he quickly
controlled a monopoly over the communications industry. His
company is known as AT & T today.
ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE GILDED AGE
• Objects are in the picture/painting/cartoon?
• People are in the picture/painting/visual?
• Title is there; What Time period does it represent?
• Inferences can you draw based on this source?
• Conclusions can you draw based on this source?
Symbols are present [in cartoons or graphs…] AND how can
you Summarize the main idea?
GILDED AGE RAFT
• Role – Magazine Reporter for Gilded Age Times
• Audience – readers of the magazine
• Format – Brief Editorial praising an industrialist as a Captain of
Industry or condemning him as one of the Robber Barons/
• Topic + strong verb - ____ [Name of the chosen Captain of
Industry/Robber Baron]: Hero/Villain of the Gilded Age. _______ should
be praised/condemned because…