The Gilded Age
Circa 1870-1900
Note: In 1860, there were 300
millionaires in the U.S.
By 1900, there were 4000.
In 2012…
• America had 8.6 million millionaires (down
since 2008) and 442 billionaires
• Almost 50% of Congressmen are millionaires
The Gilded Age Vocabulary
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Capitalism
Socialism
Communism
Industrial Revolution
Gilded Age
Monopoly
Merge
Stocks
Captains of Industry
10. Robber barons
11. Laissez-faire
12. Urbanization
13. Social Darwinism
14. Gospel of Wealth
15. Immigration
16. Trust
17. Philanthropist
Bonus1: Labor Union
Bonus 2: Entrepreneurship
Monopoly
• Sit in groups with at least one person who knows
how to play the game.
• Class rules: start playing first time around
free parking,
monopolies,
houses
• Noise and clean up
• Money and bank
• Deeds
Cash Distribution by Banker
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$1—5
$5—5
$10—5
$20—6
$50—2
$100—2
$500--2
See Quiz
• Count cash—see #12
• Count property values (houses and hotels +
properties’ mortgage prices)
• List properties—see #4
• Clean up!
Atlantic City– “America’s Playground”
First Miss America Contest, 1921
Miss America
“America’s Playground”
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Longest Boardwalk in U.S. (7 miles)
First Ferris Wheel
Salt Water Taffy
Rooming Houses, summer houses, hotels,
Crime, corruption (“Get out of jail free”)
Miss America Contests
Show business (Frank Sinatra and others)
Economic troubles—1960s and 1970s
Gambling and casinos started in 1976
Donald Trump developments—1980s
The Gilded Age
Circa 1870-1900
Industrialization, Monopolization,
Immigration, Urbanization,
Unionization
(and Political Corruption!)
I. Background
• What does “gilded” mean?
• Who referred to this time period as “The
Gilded Age”?
• Why is this period called this?
“ISMs”
• Capitalism—economic practice of private
ownership of goods, resources and services—U.S.
has this
• Socialism—economic practice of private
ownership of most goods and services and state
ownership of major resources and services—
Canada has this
• Communism—economic practice of state
ownership of all goods, resources and services—
Cuba has this
So…
• The Gilded Age was a time when American
capitalism was illustrated in extreme ways
• “Gilded Age” implies pretty but cheap—it has
a negative connotation (“superficial glitter”)
• Our Gilded Age corresponds with England’s
Victorian Age circa 1840-1900
II. Consider:
Appearance
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vs.
Economic success
Industrialization
Social conscience
Political involvement
Patriotism
“The New American”
Urbanization
Globalization
Note: realism in literature and
art is a response to the phoniness
in politics and society
Reality
Industrialization
Film: Industrialization and
Urbanization
1. What part of the country saw the rise of large
cities? (North, South, North East, Southwest?)
2. List three technological advances (new
inventions).
3. By 1900, the U.S. produced ___ of the world’s
goods (half, one-third, one tenth).
4. The new “captains of industry” exploited what
or whom?
(exploited means used for own purposes)
5. How did the rise of industries in the U.S. lead to
a rise of European immigration?
III. Industrialization and Mass
Production
• 35% of world’s goods were U.S. made
• Factories had: Standardization of parts, assembly line,
labor-saving machinery, division of labor, piecework
• Growth of major eastern cities
• As cities became crowded, some middle class people
fled to suburbs and commuted to cities by streetcars
and trains
IV. New Inventions—showcased at the
Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia
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Oil well, drill, pump
Electric power
Light bulb
Alternating current and
transformers
• Telegraphy and
transatlantic cable
• Telephone
• Bessemer Process
(steel)
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Plumbing systems
Phonograph
Bicycle
Typewriter
Adding machine
Steam engine
Linoleum
Cameras
Elevator
Inventors
• Bell—telephone
• Westinghouse—alternating electrical currents
• Edison—phonograph, movie camera, electric
light bulb, and many more!
• Firestone--tires
V. Retailing Techniques
• Specialty shops
• Chain stores
• (A &P, Woolworth)
• Department stores
• (Marshall Fields)
• Mail Order
• (Sears and Roebuck,
Montgomery Ward)
• Advertising and packaging
VI. Law of Supply and Demand
• High supply + low demand = low price
• Low supply + high demand = high price
VII. Rise of Millionaires: Captains of
Industry or Robber Barons?
(Old money)
(New money)
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Astor (really old money)
Rockefeller
Carnegie
Vanderbilt
Harriman
Mellon
Morgan
Swift
Armour
Dupont
Duke
Forbes
Getty
Lister
Pfizer
Colgate
Stanford
McCormack
Heinz
Kennedy
Hunt
Buffet
Gates
Perot
Walton
Jobs
Winfrey
Bush
Trump
…
VIII. Philosophies
Gilded Age
• Social Darwinism
• Gospel of Wealth
• Protestant work Ethic
• Market economy
• Philanthropy
• Monopoly
• Trusts
• Stock market
• Laissez-faire
Response to Gilded Age
• Exploitation?
• Regulation?
• Populism?
• Progressivism?
• Unionization?
“Taylorism”
• System of scientific management developed
by Frederick W. Taylor
• Development of a disciplined labor force by
eliminating wasted motion
• Time management techniques used in
factories (with assembly line etc.)
Vertical Integration
• When a company controls both the
production and distribution of its product
• Used by Carnegie to gain control over U.S.
steel industry
• Led to monopoly by eliminating the “middle
man”
Horizontal Integration
• When one company gains control over other
companies that produce the same product
• Used by Rockefeller in the oil refining business
• Led to monopoly by eliminating competition
Laissez-faire Economics
• Philosophy stating that economic activities
should be largely free of governmental
interference, regulations and restraint.
• Laissez-faire economics was supported by
leaders who, ironically, also supported
protective tariffs
Horatio Alger
• Wrote “rags to riches” stories
• Very popular books on the idealization of the
“self-made man”
World’s Fair of 1893—
Columbian Exposition
• Showcased American industrial development
and architectural style
President Grover Cleveland Hosted the
Opening of The World’s Fair
New Products
• Cream of Wheat and
Shredded Wheat cereals
• Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer
• Aunt Jemima Syrup
• Juicy Fruit Gum
• Cracker Jacks
• Carbonated Sodas
• Hamburgers
• The Electric Chair
Ideas
• Walt Disney’s dad worked
there and was impressed by
the Giant Ferris Wheel
• The Pledge of Allegiance was
written for the fair
• Columbus Day started in honor
of 400th anniversary in 1892
• Fair was besieged by bad luck
including fatal accidents,
storms, fire, and a serial killer
in the city of Chicago
Industrialization
Led to
Immigration
IX. Immigration
• Push Factors: poverty, pogroms, political corruption
• Pull Factors: factories, opportunities in West, ideals of
freedom
• 6 million from S. and E. Europe
• 23 million total
• Most were Roman Catholic, Jewish, Greek/Russian
Orthodox
• Most lived and worked in NE cities
X. Ellis Island
• New York--Immigration Welcome Center—
many were quarantined or had a name change
• Note: Chinese and other immigrants who
entered on the west coast came through
Angel Island in San Francisco.
XI. Statue of Liberty
• New York Harbor
• Gift from France, 1886
• Poem, “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus
“Give me your tired…
…your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to
breathe free,
The wretched refuse from your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to
me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
Memorize the poem. A quiz will
follow. It will be fill-in-the-blank.
“Give me your ____, your ____,
your huddled masses yearning
to ________ free.
The wretched ______from your
teeming shore.
Send these, the _____, tempest
tossed to ______.
I lift my ______ beside the
golden _______.”
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HOMELESS
REFUSE
TIRED
ME
LAMP
POOR
BREATHE
DOOR
XII. Immigrant Life
• Ghetto (ethnic neighborhood)
• Tenements (apartments)
• Assimilation (more name changes!)
• Nativism
• Ethnocentrism
• Xenophobia (fear of foreigners)
(Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882)
• “Melting Pot” vs. “Tossed Salad”
(assimilation vs. cultural autonomy)
Naturalization—process of
becoming a U.S. citizen
To apply,
file
Form
N-400
A Tenement in New York
Industrialization and Immigration
Led to Urbanization
(growth of cities)
New York, Chicago, Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, Boston, Baltimore,
Detroit, etc.
Railroads connected the Cities!
See Film: Filthy Cities, New York
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMZxVDio
Nbs
Industrialization
and Immigration
also led to
Unionization.
Why?
XIII. Labor—Key Trends
• Labor force was much larger due to immigrants,
women, children…
• Machines increasingly replaced skilled artisans
• Large bureaucratic corporations dominated the
American economy
• National and international markets
What is a labor union?
• A labor union is an organization of workers
who can negotiate with employers over
wages, hours, and benefits.
• Unions who are unhappy with the terms of a
contract can go on strike, which means to
stop work, and form a picket line with signs.
XIV. Knights of Labor
• Led by Terence Powderly—750,000 members
by 1886
• Open membership (including women, AfricanAmericans, immigrants)
• Semi-skilled and unskilled workers
• Idealistic—believed in cooperation between
labor and management
• Wanted eventual ownership of companies by
labor
XV. Major Labor Unions
(skilled vs. unskilled)
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Knights of Labor
American Federation of Labor
Industrial Workers of the World
American Railway Union (led by Eugene Debs)
United Mine Workers
International Ladies Garment Workers Union
(later)
IWW— “Wobblies”
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Led by “Mother Jones”
Inclusive (anybody could join)
“An injury to one is an injury to all”
Wanted one big union
Encouraged class conflict and violence
Pegged as socialist and anarchist
American Federation of Labor (AF of L)
• Replaced Knights of Labor
• Led by Samuel Gompers, leader of Cigar
Makers Union
• Alliance of skilled workers in craft unions
• Focused on “bread and butter” issues: higher
wages, shorter hours, better working
conditions
XVI. Strikes
• Haymarket Square Riot—1886--Chicago—
McCormick Harvesting Company (blamed on
Knights of Labor)
• Homestead Steel—1892—Carnegie Steel plant
in Pittsburgh—Pinkerton detectives used
• Pullman Railway—wages cut due to 1893
depression--led to national strike led by
Eugene Debs—1894—halted commerce—
Debs arrested when President Cleveland
ordered mail delivery
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire—1911
(146 people died within 18 minutes)
ILGWU promoted their product
through commercials in the 1970s.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lg4gGk5
3iY
• Americans bought American-made products
as a patriotic gesture to show support for
citizens and union members
• Unions prop up high salaries, good benefits,
and a strong middle class (but high prices!)
XVII. Labor Terms
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Union
Boycott
Closed shop
Collective bargaining
Fringe benefits
Injunction
Strike
Lockout
Mediation
Working conditions
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Blacklist
Open shop
Picket
Scab
Seniority
Union shop
Yellow dog contract
Sit down strike
Arbitration
Minimum wage
sweatshop
XVIII. Socialism
• “Reds”—favored ideas of Karl Marx—a
“classless society”
• Wanted control of businesses in hands of
workers
• Promoted unions
Famous “Reds”
• Eugene Debs
• Emma Goldman
• John Reed
XIX. Entertainment
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Ragtime music by Scott Joplin
Political rallies
Nickelodeons
Flickers (1903—The Great Train Robbery)
Amusement parks (Coney Island)
Resorts (Atlantic City)
Dance halls
Vaudeville
Minstrel
Sports (baseball, football, boxing, horse races)
XX. Politics
Republicans
Democrats
• Northerners
• African-Americans
• Small business owners
favoring government
intervention
• Rural Protestants
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Southern whites
Northern political machines
Immigrants (naturalized)
Big businessmen who
favored laissez-faire
economic policies
What is a political machine?
• An unofficial city organization designed to
keep a particular party or group in power, and
usually headed by a single, powerful boss.
• Note: the most famous boss and machine was
Boss William Tweed and Tammany Hall in New
York City
XXI. Political Corruption
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Political machine
Spoils system
Graft, bribes, favors, money laundering
Election fraud
Tammany Hall—NYC—Tweed Ring
XXII. Issues
• Civil Service Reform—Pendleton Act passed after
Garfield assassination
• Women’s suffrage
• Civil rights
• Distribution of public lands
• Level of government regulation in business—
Sherman Anti-trust Act passed but not enforced
until after 1901
• The Populist Party appealed to labor and farmers
• Exposing injustice and corruption—Thomas Nast
(cartoons) and Jacob Riis (journalism), Lewis Hine
(photography)
View Film on Labor and Answer
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Name three unions.
Why were wages being driven down?
List five potential hazards of a job.
How many people were killed and injured on the
job in 1913?
5. Strikes were justified in that “they were fighting
for the ___ of the U.S.”
6. How long did the Homestead Strike last?
7. How did the Railway Strike end?
8. Define Populism.
9. What was the Progressive Movement ?
10.Name one more random fact from the film.
The Gilded Age Vocabulary
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Capitalism
Socialism
Communism
Industrial Revolution
Gilded Age
Monopoly
Merge
Stocks
Captains of Industry
10. Robber barons
11. Laissez-faire
12. Urbanization
13. Social Darwinism
14. Gospel of Wealth
15. Immigration
16. Trust
17. Philanthropist
Extra 1: Labor Union
Extra 2: Entrepreneurship
The Gilded Age in
Pictures
Circa 1870-1900
Industrialization, Monopolization,
Immigration, Urbanization,
& Unionization
(and Political Corruption!)
Andrew Carnegie and The Age of Steel
1. List three details about Carnegie’s early life.
2. How did the steel industry get started?
3. How did Carnegie gain wealth and the title of Captain
of Industry?
4. What was a major setback for The Carnegie Steel
industry?
5. What is Carnegie’s legacy as an entrepreneur and
philanthropist?
Cartoon 37
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6.
Explain how hyperbole is used.
Explain how satire is used.
Explain the symbol on the left.
Explain the symbol on the right.
What does the table represent?
Why is the figure on the left blind to the figure
on the right?
7. Why does the giant have all of the food?
8. Explain the overall message of the cartoon.