 http://www.history.com/shows/men-who-builtamerica/videos/the-men-who-built-america-traits-of-atitan
A Brassy, Flamboyant Age
 The Gilded Age, the period between
the end of Radical Reconstruction
(1877) and the beginning of the
Progressive Era (1901), was a brassy,
flamboyant age dominated by big
business values, political corruption,
and extremes of wealth and poverty.
 During the Gilded Age, the United
States changed from a predominantly
rural agrarian nation to an urban
industrial one.
From Agriculture to Industry
The Way We Were in The Gilded Age: 1877-1901
Who We Were
How We Lived
1880
1890
1900
Population
(millions)
50.2
63.0
76.0
Pop. per sq.
mile
16.9
21.2
25.6
1880
1890
1900
Gallon of
milk
$0.16
$0.17
$0.30
Loaf of
bread
$0.02
$0.02
$0.03
71.8% 64.9%
60.4%
New
auto
N/A
N/A
$500
Percent urban 28.2% 35.1%
39.6%
Gallon of
gas
N/A
N/A
$0.05
Percent native
94.4% 87.1%
born
84.4%
New
house
Percent
immigrant
15.6%
Average
income
Percent rural
5.6%
12.9%
$4,500 $5,800
$480
$660
$4,000
$637
The Role of Corporations
 Corporation:
 an organization owned by many people but treated by
law as though it were a single person.
 Stockholders:
 people who own the corporation because they own
shares of ownership called stock.
 This raises large amounts of money for big projects
while spreading out financial risk.
The Role of Corporations
 By the 1830s, states began passing general incorporation
laws, allowing companies to become corporations and issue
stocks.
 With money raised from selling stock, corporations would
invest in new technologies, hire a large workforce, and
purchase many machines.
 This greatly hurt small businesses with high operating costs—
forcing many out of business.
 Corporations were criticized for cutting prices and negotiating
rebates.
 http://www.history.com/topics/andrewcarnegie/videos/the-men-who-built-america-andrewcarnegie
Andrew Carnegie
 Scottish immigrant who
started small and became
the owner of a steel
company in Pittsburg.
 Began vertical integrationowns all of the different
businesses on which it
depends for its operation.
 Ex) Instead of buying
coal from a company,
Carnegie bought the
actual coal mine.
Vertical Integration
The Consolidation of
Industry
 Business leaders also pushed for horizontal
integration- combining many firms engaged in the
same type of business into one, large corporation.
 This happened often and when a company began to
lose market share, it would sell to its competitors and
create a large organization.
Horizontal Integration
 http://www.history.com/shows/men-who-builtamerica/videos
John D. Rockefeller
 U.S. industrialist who made
a fortune in the oil business.
 By 1880, Standard Oil
controlled almost 90% of
the oil refining industry in
the U.S.
 When a single company
achieves control of an
entire market, this is
called a monopoly.
The Consolidation of
Industry
 By the late 1800s, Americans grew suspicious of large
corporations and monopolies.
 To preserve competition, many states made it illegal for
one company to own stock in another without
permission from state legislature.
Trusts
 To preserve competition, many states made it illegal for one
company to own stock in another without permission from
state legislature.
 In 1882 Standard Oil formed the first trust—a new way of
merging businesses without violating the law of owning
other companies.
 Trust: a legal concept that allows one person to manage
another person’s property (called a trustee).
 Ex) Standard Oil trustees were able to control a group of
companies as if they were one large merged company.
Alexander Graham Bell
 Scottish inventor.
 He invented the
harmonic telegraph, an
instrument that makes it
possible to send multiple
telegraphs on one line.
 Telephone
Thomas Edison
 American inventor.
 He is credited for
holding 1,093 patents.
 Best known for
perfecting the
incandescent light
bulb.
Cornelius Vanderbilt
 American Railroad baron.
 Baron:
An important or powerful
person in a specified
business or industry
 Wealthiest man in the
United States during the
nineteenth century.
 Self-made man.
 Name sake of Vanderbilt
University in Nashville,
TN.
Robber Barons
 Don’t write all of this.
 The great wealth many railroad
entrepreneurs acquired in the
late 1800s led to accusations
that they built their fortunes by
swindling investors and
taxpayers, bribing government
officials, and cheating on their
contracts and debts.
 Corruption in the railroad
industry became public and
created the impression that all
railroad entrepreneurs were
“robber barons.”
Captains of Industry or Robber Barons?
 Robber Barons: people who loot an industry and give
nothing back.
 By 1900, big business dominated the economy,
operating vast complexes of factories, warehouses,
offices, and distribution facilities.
J.P. Morgan
 American business leader,
financier and banker.
 He was criticized for
creating monopolies by
making it difficult for any
business to compete against
his.
 Morgan dominated two
industries in particular
He helped consolidate
railroad industry in the
East.
 Formed the United
States Steel Corporation
in 1901.
