The Gilded Age
"What
is the chief end of man?--to get rich. In what way?--dishonestly if we can; honestly if we must."
-- Mark Twain-1871
A novel by Mark Twain and Charles
Dudley Warner, which explores
political and economic corruption in
the United States.
The central characters, Colonel
Beriah Sellers and Senator Abner
Dilworthy, are tied together in a
government railroad bribery scheme.
Twain and Warner depict an
American society that, despite its
appearance of promise and
prosperity, is riddled with corruption
and scandal.
Definition of the Gilded Age
 Rooted in industrialization, especially heavy industry
like factories, railroads and coal mining
 All this industry produced a lot of wealth for a
number of businessmen like John D. Rockefeller (in
oil) and Andrew Carnegie (in steel)
Two concepts/ideas to keep in mind
1. Laissez-faire
 opposed government intervention in economic affairs.
2. Concentration of Power
 Government held power and authority (local, state, federal).
Expanded power into land policy, railroad subsides,
tax/tariffs, immigration and Indian policy
 During the Gilded Age, American manufacturing
production surpassed the combined total of Great
Britain, Germany, and France.
 Railroad mileage tripled between 1860 and 1880,
and tripled again by 1920, opening new areas to
commercial farming.
What two things MUST I have for trains to be
successful?
1.
2.
Railroad Scandal!!
Credit Mobilier
 "The Credit Mobilier scandal of 1872-1873 damaged
the careers of several Gilded Age politicians. Major
stockholders in the Union Pacific Railroad formed
a company, the Credit Mobilier of America, and
gave it contracts to build the railroad.
 They sold or gave shares in this construction to
influential congressmen. It was a lucrative deal for
the congressmen, because they helped themselves
by approving federal subsidies for the cost of
railroad construction without paying much
attention to expenses, enabling railroad builders to
make huge profits.
TRUSTS
 By 1900, the process of economic concentration had
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


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extended into most branches of industry—a few large
corporations, called "trusts", dominated in
Steel
Oil
Sugar
Meatpacking
and manufacture of agriculture machinery.
Labor and Industry
 Mechanization of industry is a major mark of the
Gilded Age's search for cheaper ways to create more
product
 This mechanization made some factories an
assemblage of unskilled laborers performing simple
and repetitive tasks under the direction of skilled
foremen and engineers.
Development of Labor Unions
Poor working conditions lead to the formation of labor unions
(Think back to that idea of Laissez-faire).
Low wages
Long hours
Unsafe work environment
Company towns
No work protection (unfair termination)
The creation of labor
unions in U.S. was
slow…….why do you think
this was the case?
Unions
•Knights of Labor
•American Federation of
Labor
•Industrial Workers of the
World
Two Events that helped establish the power of labor unions
•The Haymarket Tragedy
•The Great Railroad strike of 1877
Haymarket Tragedy
•May 1st - 4th 1886
•Rally promoting the 8 hour work day
•Rallies were held all over the US. 90, 000 people in Chicago.
•Albert Parsons, an Anarchist and founder of the International Working
People's Association, with his wife Lucy Parsons and seven children, led
people down Michigan Avenue. In the next few days, 350,000 workers
nationwide went on strike at 1,200 factories.
•On May 3 striking workers met near the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.
plant where a fight broke out on the picket lines as replacement workers
attempted to cross the picket line. Chicago police intervened and attacked
the strikers, killing four, wounding several others and sparking outrage in
the city's working community.
•May 4th Peaceful rally…..police approach….a bomb is thrown into the crowd.
(this is where we get the caricature of the bomb throwing anarchist.)
•Seven policemen and at least four workers were killed in the riot
•Eight people (mostly Anarchists) were charged with murder.
•The jury returned guilty verdicts for all eight defendants, with death
sentences for seven
In 1893 those charged
with the murder were
pardoned.
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
Example of labor strike
Martinsburg
July 1877
Lasted 45 Days
Economic depression 1873 lead to massive lay offs and pay cuts. Average
railroad workers pay was $1 a day. The bounce back from this was
slow
Ohio Railroad proposed a second pay cut for its workers in a year.
Strikes and riots spread to Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and St.
Louis.
Workers burned train cars and buildings (96 in total)
The militia and federal troops were brought in to put down the strike
 All total about 100 people were killed, mostly workers.
Workers blocking the trains in Martinsburg.
Sixth Regiment Fighting
its way through
Baltimore," an engraving
on front cover of
"Harper's Weekly
Shows burning of Union Depot, Pittsburgh, PA
Transportation Revolution
Railroads were the field were many of the greatest Gilded Age fortunes
were built
Railroad mileage rose from 35'000 miles in 1865 to over 163'000 miles in
1890.
Railroads became the knit which held together the growing nation,
creating by their very existence opportunities for entrepreneurs in
other fields.
U.S. government made HUGE land grants to the rail companies as well as
helped finance the construction, $48,000 for every mile.
Credit Mobilier
"The Credit Mobilier scandal of 1872-1873 damaged the careers of several
Gilded Age politicians. Major stockholders in the Union Pacific Railroad
formed a company, the Credit Mobilier of America, and gave it contracts to
build the railroad. They sold or gave shares in this construction to
influential congressmen. It was a lucrative deal for the congressmen,
because they helped themselves by approving federal subsidies for the
cost of railroad construction without paying much attention to expenses,
enabling railroad builders to make huge profits. When the New York Sun
broke the story on the eve of the 1872 election, Speaker of the House
James G. Blaine, a Maine Republican implicated in the scandal, set up a
congressional committee to investigate."
Source: The Reader's Companion to American History (1991)
Put this scandal in your own words