The Gilded Age
1877-1896
The Gilded Age
• The term Gilded Age comes from the title of a
novel written by Mark Twain and Charles
Dudley Warner
• The novel was about political corruption and
greed – traits that were very common during the
post-war years
• It was a period remembered for the growth of big
business and the inability and/or unwillingness of
political parties to address major issues
Blacks
• The end of slavery did not mean complete
freedom for the blacks
• Advances came slow and unevenly across the
South
• Many set out to relocate their families and to look
for jobs
• The greatest achievement of the Freedman’s
Bureau was in education
• Southerners passed legislation (Black Codes)
limiting the freedom of blacks to ensure a stable
and subservient workforce
National Labor Union
• As early as the 1830s there had been attempts to
organize labor, but most of the ideas were too
idealistic
• By the 1850s there were some unions that
protected skilled trades
• The Civil War created a need for manual labor
and consequently increased the power of unions
• In 1866 the National Labor Union met in
Baltimore to seek an eight-hour workday,
worker’s cooperatives, and equal rights for
women and blacks
Knights of Labor
• In 1869 it organized a General Assembly which
petitioned for equal wages and emphasized the
need for reform
• In 1872 the NLU disbanded but the Noble and
Holy Order of the Knights of Labor was already
being formed
• Founded by Uriah Stephens in 1869 it started
slowly
• It was one union that accepted most people who
had ever worked for a wage
• In 1879 Terence Powderly succeeded Stephens
• During the 1880s membership exceeded 700,000
• The problem that the unions faced was one of
perception – business and government portrayed
unions as socialist organizations bent on anarchy
and overthrowing the government
• This perception was not helped by the increase in
anarchism in Europe and the rapid growth of
organizations promoting revolution
• As people emigrated to the United States many
brought more radical ideas about the role of
unions and socialism
• Democrats tended to be southern whites,
immigrants, Catholics and Jews
• Between Grant and Taft the Republican Party
controlled the White House (except for
Cleveland’s two terms) – but few presidents won
a majority of the popular votes
• For most of the time Democrats controlled the
House while Republicans controlled the Senate
• Most attempts to regulate big business were
overturned in the courts
• Big business and politicians formed a close
alliance they benefited both – accepting bribes
and kick-backs was seen by many as acceptable
Rutherford B. Hayes
• Hayes was the political antithesis of Grant, but he
was plagued by the Compromise of 1877
• In office he was often referred to “His
Fraudulence” he had been nominated only
because he offended no one
• The Republican Party split into two factions:
Stalwarts – led by Senator Roscoe Conkling
Half-Breeds – led by Senator James Blaine
• The Stalwarts supported Radical southern policy
and the spoils system
• The Half-Breeds supported civil service reform
• Hayes allied himself to the reformers
James A. Garfield
• In 1880 the Stalwarts suggested Grant for a third
term
• A political dark-horse James A. Garfield ended
up with the nomination, Chester Arthur as his
running mate
• The Democrats nominated Winfield Scott
Hancock the winner at Gettysburg
• The election was marred by allegations of bribery
before Garfield won with less than 50% of the
votes
• In 1881, while walking through the train station
at Washington D.C., Garfield was assassinated by
Charles Guiteau a deranged office seeker
Chester A. Arthur
• Arthur was a supporter of the Stalwarts, but
proved remarkably capable as president
• Surprisingly, Arthur distanced himself from the
Stalwarts and worked to create civil service
reform
Pendleton Act (1883)
• The Pendleton Civil Service Act established an
independent three-member Civil Service
Commission that would fill government jobs on
the basis of an entrance exam and not favoritism
• Also during his tenure high protective tariffs
created a surplus in the treasury
• Many wanted to reduce the tariffs to lower the
cost of living
• The result was the “Mongrel Tariff” (1883) with
lower rates on some commodities, but higher on
others
Election of 1884
• The Republican Party dropped Arthur, despite
his record, and nominated Senator Blaine of
Maine – leader of the Half-Breeds
• His campaign was based on appealing to core
Republican virtues, waving the bloody shirt, and
trying to attract the Irish vote by criticizing
British foreign policy
• During the campaign the Democrats revealed
that Blaine had received kick-backs from the
railroads – a disclosure which upset the reform
minded Republicans
Mugwumps
• Republican leaders withdrew their support and
earned the nickname “goo-goos” (the good
government crowd)
• The New York Sun referred to them as
Mugwumps (people who sit on the fence)
• The rise of the Mugwumps encouraged the
democrats to nominate Grover Cleveland on the
platform of reform (Grover the good)
• As governor of New York he had taken on
Tammany Hall and vetoed special interest
legislation
• Cleveland was a
bachelor but it was
revealed he had had
a relationship with
a widow and the
women had given
birth to a child
• “Ma ma where’s my
pa?”
• Cleveland accepted
responsibility and
made payments for
the child
• When a group of Protestant ministers visited the
Republican headquarters in New York they
referred to the Democratic party as a party of
“rum, Romanism, and rebellion”
• Blaine, who was present said nothing to defend
the Catholics and as a result he lost the Irish vote
Grover Cleveland
• Once in office Cleveland varied little from his
predecessors except to oppose government favors
to business
• However he was surrounded by office seekers
who wanted political appointments
• Before the election he supported the Pendleton
Act, but as president he changed it to allow
himself to remove party appointments
• During his tenure he almost doubled the number
of federal positions available – and alienated both
the Mugwumps and the office seekers
Railroads
• During the Civil War railroads grew
enormously
• In 1862 the Union Pacific
Railroad started westward
from Omaha using Irish
laborers
• In California the Central Pacific
Railroad, backed by Leland
Stanford, with Chinese laborers
moved eastward
• In 1869 the transcontinental
railroad was completed in Utah
• With the development of steel rails, Westinghouse
brakes, and luxurious Pullman cars, rail travel
became safer and far more comfortable –
although accidents were still common
• Railroads:
connected markets
generated jobs
increased industrialization
helped people settle the West
• In 1883 four time zones were established
• But the railroad companies often broke the laws
such as the Crédit Mobilier, accepting bribes, and
creating “pools”
Wabash Railroad v. Illinois (1886)
• Since the end of the war the federal government
had examined the idea of regulating railroads
• In the Wabash Railroad v. Illinois case the
Supreme Court prohibited the states from
regulating rates on interstate traffic
• Cleveland determined to act and to control the
railroads
• Congress gave away millions of acres of land to
railroad companies to encourage development
until it was stopped by Cleveland in 1887
• By 1900 there were four other transcontinental
lines
Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
• All freight charges on railroads had to be “reasonable
and just”
• Railroads were prohibited from granting special rates or
favors, from manipulating the prices by forming pools,
and from discriminating against individuals
• The ICC was created by Cleveland as an independent
regulatory commission
• The ICC had five members who could investigate
railroads and prosecute violators
• Ultimately the commission had little power when forced
to prosecute the big companies in court
Big Business
• By the end of the century the United States was
the largest manufacturer in the world:
a) abundant resources
b) favorable government policies
c) free capital to invest
d) entrepreneurial spirit and inventions
• 1876 Alexander Graham Bell invented the
telephone
• Thomas Edison invented many inventions such as
the electric light bulb and the phonograph
• The Bessemer process allowed steel to be
produced that was stronger and cheaper. The
“king of steel” was Andrew Carnegie
• Carnegie used vertical integration to control all
aspects of his industry including the mining
• John D. Rockefeller used horizontal integration
(allied with competitors to create a monopoly) to
eliminate other competitors. His big achievement
was with Standard Oil
• Men like Rockefeller and Carnegie created trusts
to make themselves more powerful
• Rockefeller also used interlocking directorates –
put his people on the board of other companies
• J. Pierpont Morgan made a fortune in banking.
Morgan bought Carnegie’s empire for $400
million – Carnegie spent the rest of his life giving
it away
Gospel of Wealth
• Capitalists used Social Darwinism to justify their
success
• Social Darwinism also coincided with the ideas of
Adam Smith, especially concerning the laws of
supply and demand
• Carnegie wrote The Gospel of Wealth (1901)
which claimed wealthy people have power but
also an obligation to society
• Baptist preacher Russell H. Conwell preached
about “Acres of Diamonds” – everyone who
wanted to be rich had the opportunity
• Horatio Alger “luck and pluck”
• Horatio Alger “luck
and pluck”
Election of 1888
• As the election approached the Democrats
supported the president
• The Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison,
grandson of William Henry Harrison
• Harrison was their choice because he had done
little to upset people and make enemies
• The main issues were protective tariffs and
pensions for veterans
• Big business supported the Republicans hoping
to maintain protective tariffs
• Cleveland called the tariffs un-American and
called for free trade
Benjamin Harrison
• Cleveland won the popular vote but lost in the electoral
college in an election noted for paid votes
• Harrison had seemed to support some type of reform,
but many of his appointments were questionable
• He did appoint Theodore Roosevelt to the Civil Service
Commission
• In 1890 to repay the veterans for their support Congress
passed the Dependent Pension Act which almost doubled
the pension rolls
• Republicans controlled Congress allowing Harrison even
greater freedom
Billion Dollar Congress
Granger Movement
• In 1866 the Dept. of Agriculture sent Oliver H.
Kelley on a tour of postbellum southern farms
• Kelley decided to do something to help the
isolated farmers
• In 1867 he founded the Patrons of Husbandry
(The Grange)
• By 1874 membership was almost at 1.5 million
• Initially to help with the isolation of the farmers
the movement soon changed to become
cooperatives for buying and selling crops
• The Grangers then became involved in politics
• Their main concern was the regulation of railroad rates
and warehouse rates
• Five states passed Granger Laws which challenged the
power of the railroad and warehouse owners
• In Munn v. Illinois (1877) the Supreme Court ruled that
states had the right to regulate property in the interest of
public good
• Eventually the Granger movement lost its momentum
and was replaced in 1875 by the Independent National
party (Greenback party) – which emphasized the use of
paper money
• But in the 1880 the party declined and disappeared after
1884
Farmer’s Alliance
• The first alliance was formed in 1873
• Like the Grange it was aimed at improving the
social and recreational conditions of the farmers
• They too, soon became involved in politics
• The movement was especially popular in the
South and Midwest as farmers sought help to
fight increasing debt and declining prices
• In 1886 the Colored Alliance was formed to
represent black farmers
• Also in 1886, Texas suffered a severe drought.
President Cleveland vetoed a bill that would have
helped the farmers
• In response the farmers challenged the Democrats in the
polls
• In 1887 a blizzard swept through the West and
devastated many farms. Without government aid many
farmers became supportive of the idea of a third-party
• Although many parties appeared the most successful
was the Populist party
Populist Party
• Involved in the elections between 1892-1908 the
won control of many state legislatures and
Kansas even elected a Populist candidate to the
Senate
• In 1892 the Populist party met in Omaha to
decide on a national platform and nominated
James Weaver as their candidate
• The platform was finance, transportation, land, a
one-term presidency, and limiting immigration
Haymarket Affair (1886)
• The Knights of Labor set a deadline of May 1,
1886 for the implementation of an eight-hour day
• On May 3 a strike at the International Harvester
plant in Chicago resulted in the death of one of
the strikers
• A small group of anarchists called for a protest to
be held at Haymarket Square the following night
• The crowd listened to speakers and then started
to disperse – just as policemen arrived and
ordered the crowd to go home
• A bomb was thrown at the police, killing one and
injuring others
• The police opened fire on the crowd
• The police arrested seven anarchists and put
them on trial
• Despite a lack of hard evidence all seven were
convicted and sentenced to death
• Two were reprieved, one committed suicide, and
four were hanged
• Six were German-speaking and one was a
member of the Knights of Labor
• Reaction was swift and decisive – the Knights
collapsed
American Federation of Labor
• Craft workers often refused to join unions with
non-craft workers, fearing a loss of their prestige
• In 1886 several craft unions formed the American
Federation of Labor (AFL)
• It was not like the Knights because each union
retained some autonomy
• Samuel Gompers was president from the start
until his death in 1924 (except for one year)
• Gompers wanted concrete gains for his workers
not just promises of social reform
• By 1914 it had over 2 million members
McKinley Tariff Act (1890)
• Once in office Harrison started to spend the
money Cleveland had saved.
• Congress authorized money for lighthouse,
coastal defenses, pensions, and other projects
• Congress passed the McKinley Tariff Act (1890),
which made high protective duties even higher
and increased prices for many household
commodities.
• In 1890 Congress also passed the Sherman Silver
Purchase Act, and agreed to buy 4,500,000 oz of
silver every month and to issue paper money
equaling the full amount purchased
Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
• The Sherman Antitrust Act was the first
legislation to limit trusts
• It was based on the constitutional power to
regulate interstate trade
• Stockholders transferred their shares to one
person or trustees who then controlled the
company and eliminated competition
• The Sherman Act authorized the government to
dismember trusts and to prevent monopolies
• In 1895 the Supreme Court abolished the
Sherman Act in the United States v. E. C. Knight
Company
The Homestead Strike (1892)
• Increasing violence continued to hinder union
progress
• At the Homestead Works in Pittsburgh the union
and management (controlled by Andrew
Carnegie) enjoyed a working relationship
• In 1889 H. C. Frick became president and he was
determined to suppress the union
• By 1891 the Amalgamated Association of Iron
and Steel Workers was probably the largest craft
union
• In 1892 union contracts were to be renewed
• Carnegie had conveniently gone to Scotland and
left the matter to Frick
• Frick wanted to reduce the number of workers
and to limit the power of the union – a fact
Carnegie knew
• On June 29 the works closed as unionist were
locked-out
• Frick built a 12 ft fence around the works and
hired 300 Pinkerton detectives
• As the detectives approached the works on
barges the meet unionists
• Someone fired and six unionists and three
Pinkerton s were killed
• After several days the state militia arrived to protect the
detectives
• The strike continued but when a deranged Lithuanian
immigrant shot and stabbed Frick, sympathy for the
union ended
Election of 1892
• The Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison.
The Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland.
The Populists nominated James Weaver
• Cleveland won both the popular vote and the
electoral college – Weaver collected over 1 million
votes, won several states, and collected 22
electoral votes
The Panic of 1893
• One of the most severe economic crises
• Caused by:
a) agricultural depression
b) a decline in gold reserves
c) unsound railroad financing
• The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad declared
for bankruptcy and started a panic on Wall
Street
• Over 600 banks closed and millions lost their
jobs
Coxey’s Army (1894)
• Led by the Populist Jacob Coxey a large number
of unemployed protestors marched on
Washington D.C.
• They demanded federal help
• Coxey and his family rode in a carriage but in the
capital he was arrested for walking on the grass
• The marchers dispersed without trouble. But the
march did scare people who saw it as the start of
anarchy
• The Populists were quickly labeled socialists
Pullman Strike (1894)
• The Pullman Strike was one of the most
significant work-stoppages in American history
• The town of Pullman Illinois housed workers
from the Pullman Palace Car Company
• Workers had to pay high rent, utilities, and
purchase goods from the company store
• During the Depression of 1893 the company laid
off 3,000 workers and cut wages while
maintaining rent and other charges
• When 3 members of the negotiating committee
were fired the union called a strike
• Pullman workers were members of the American
Railway Union, founded by Eugene V. Debs
• In June the company refused to arbitrate so
union workers stopped handling Pullman cars
• In a few weeks the country was almost brought to
a halt
• Railroad executives brought strikebreakers from
Canada and ordered them to connect the mail
cars to the Pullman cars so that the strikers were
now affecting the mail
• The U.S. attorney-general deputized over 3,000
men to keep the mail running
• In July President Cleveland sent federal troops to
Chicago – despite the fact the Illinois governor
did not want them
• Cleveland claimed he had a responsibility to
protect the mail
• The attorney-general won an injunction claiming
the strike violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act
• The union called off the strike and on the same
day a court sentenced Debs to six months in jail
• In the case of In re Debs (1895) the Supreme
Court upheld the decision on the grounds of
national sovereignty
Silver v. Gold
• In the early 1890s a major British bank failed
and many investors sold off their stocks in
American companies for gold
• The gold reserve fell below $100 million and the
president had to repeal the Sherman Silver
Purchase Act
• With new interest in silver the western states
gained significant political power
• The issue of gold v. silver would be a main point
of contention in the upcoming election
Election of 1896
• The Republicans nominated William McKinley
from Ohio (good war record, congressional track
record, well-liked)
• At the democratic convention in Chicago the
party was in disarray and could not find a good
candidate
• William Jennings Bryan took the stage and
delivered his “Cross of Gold” speech and
immediately gained the nomination
• He was a silverite from Nebraska
• The democrats demanded unlimited coinage of
silver at a ratio of 16-1
• The “Gold Bugs” spread rumors about Bryan
and how much money people would lose if the
Democrats won the election - “In God we Trust,
with Bryan we Bust”
• Mark Hanna, Chairman of the Republican
National Committee collected millions from big
business
• Republican businessmen placed contingency
contract with factories which would be voided if
the Democrats won
• In the end McKinley won easily
Plessy vs Ferguson
• In 1896 segregation was validated by the
Supreme Court
• The Court ruled that “separate but equal” was in
accordance to the equal protection clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment
• In reality what it created were two world - one
white and one black