Gilded Age 1870-1900
• Definition of “Gild”
• Why applied to time period
Gilded Age Attitudes and
Intellectual Currents
• Self-Interest
• Materialism
• Laissez-faire
• Social Darwinism
Major Trends of Gilded Age
• Rapid Industrialization
• Urbanization
• Immigration
• Unionization
Laissez-faire
• Meaning
• Impact – Politics takes a back
seat to the economic, social,
and cultural changes taking
place in the nation
Political Characteristics
• Congressional Ascendency
• Senate Domination
• Political Balance Between
Parties
• One-term Presidents
Reasons for Congressional
Ascendency and Senate
Domination
• Impeachment of Johnson
• Longer tenure
• “millionaires club”
• Smaller size of Senate
• House?
Balanced Parties
• Geography, religious affiliation,
ethnicity often determine party
affiliation
• Personality more important than
substance
• No real stand on issues (waving
the “bloody shirt!”)
One-term Presidents
• Contests close
• One Democrat Elected 1856-1912
• Importance of Midwest
Political Issues
• Tariff
• Veteran’s Pensions
• Currency Reform
• Civil Service Reform
• Overshadowed by “waving the
bloody shirt”
Tariff
• Free trade v protectionism
• Generally, tariff duties rose,
culminating in McKinley Tariff
in the 1890s
• Industries not needing
protection, protected
Veteran’s Pensions
• GAR
• Service related disabilities
• All Union soldiers
1890 Dependent Pension’s Act
Currency Reform
• Growth of population
• Constriction of currency
greenbacks
“Crime of ’73” (gold)
Bland-Allison Act (silver)
Civil Service Reform
• Fed Employees: 1871-53,000;
1900-256,000
• Spoils System – corruption
• Garfield – Guiteau
• Pendleton Act
Darwinism
• Charles Darwin-Galapagos Study
• 1859 Origin of Species
• Evolution
• Natural Selection
Social Darwinism
• Natural selection applied to
society at large
• “Survival of the fittest” (WG
Sumner)
• Negative impact on racial and
ethnic minorities