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AP United States History

Unit 7:The Gilded Age

AP Note…• This time period is sometimes difficult to study,

yet it is important for U.S. History and the AP exam.

• Read carefully and before class… PLEASE!

A better PowerPoint?• The following slides are mine…

• But, if you want something better, see Pojer’s PowerPoint series: (www.pptpalooza.net) − The Incorporation of America− Growth of the Labor Movement− Late 19c Urbanization− Life in Gilded Age New York City− Gilded Age Politics− Populism & the Election of 1896

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Part One…National Politics in the Gilded Age (1868 –

1896)

Readings:

Kennedy, Chapter 23

AMSCO, Chapter 19*

*with sections of Chapter 16

Covered in separate PowerPoint and Pres DVD• MAJOR THEMES:

• New South & Segregation

• Stalemate in National Politics

• Corruption at the local, state and national levels

• Tariffs, patronage and pensions… big issues

• Populist movement (fails 1896)

Part Two…Taking the lead in Industry

(1865 – 1900)

Readings:

Kennedy, Chapter 24

AMSCO, Chapter 17

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Growth: Railroads• Land grants spur transcontinental railroads

• Union Pacific-Central Pacific completed 1869

• Link east and west

• Links US and Asia

Railroad Improvements• Vanderbilt’s steel rails

• Standardized gauge of track width

• Westinghouse air brake

• Pullman Palace Cars−Still dangerous despite telegraph wires,

double-racking, and block signal

Did the railways foment a revolution?

• New national domestic market for raw materials/manufactured goods

• Industrialization and steel industry

• Pop. Growth / immigration (RR ads)

• Impact on land/environment

• Creation of national time zones

• New aristocracy: “lords of the rail”

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Definitions, first…• Stock watering

• Pool

• Vertical & Horizontal Integration

• Trust

• Interlocking directorates

Competition & Consolidation• Corruption: stock speculation, rebates and

kickbacks to favorites and unfair rates to others

• J.P. Morgan: Corporate consolidation (end competition)

• Cornelius and William Vanderbilt as Railroad Kings

Government Reaction• Money power the new slavery?

• Grange (Patrons of Husbandry) and other groups protested being “railroaded” into bankruptcy

• Wabash, et al. (1886) case

• Interstate Commerce Act

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New Inventions• Steel Industry emerges

• Techniques of mass production

• Cash register, stock ticker, typewriter, refrigerator car, etc.

• Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone

• Thomas A. Edison: electricity, light bulb, phonograph, etc. (pg. 539)

Andrew Carnegie and Steel• King Steel – Bessemer process

• Carnegie took his Pennsylvania RR and started manufacturing steel (vertical integration)

• Carnegie made a deal with JP Morgan –Morgan bought out Carnegie and combined into “U.S. Steel Corporation”

Rockefeller and Standard Oil• Oil business grew after Civil War

• Rockefeller founded Standard Oil Co. in 1870, became Standard Oil Trust in 1882

• Sparks growth of trusts in the US

• Reaction: Anti-Trust Movement

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New Type of Business EntitiesNew Type of Business Entities

Early Federal Anti-Trust Attempts• Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890

−Not very successful until 1914

−Supreme Court ruled it only applicable to commerce, not manufacturing in United States vs. EC Knight

− INEFFECTIVE

Laissez-faire Conservatism• Laissez-faire economics

• Gospel of Wealth (Carnegie, esp)

• The “self-made man”

• Social Darwinism

• Social critics and dissenters

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New Business CultureNew Business CultureNew Business CultureNew Business Culture

1.1. Laissez FaireLaissez Faire �� the ideology of the the ideology of the Industrial Age.Industrial Age.

1.1. Laissez FaireLaissez Faire �� the ideology of the the ideology of the Industrial Age.Industrial Age.

�� Individual as a moral and economic Individual as a moral and economic ideal.ideal.

�� Individuals should compete freely in Individuals should compete freely in the marketplace.the marketplace.

�� The market was not manThe market was not man--made or made or invented. invented.

�� No room for government in the No room for government in the market!market!

�� Individual as a moral and economic Individual as a moral and economic ideal.ideal.

�� Individuals should compete freely in Individuals should compete freely in the marketplace.the marketplace.

�� The market was not manThe market was not man--made or made or invented. invented.

�� No room for government in the No room for government in the market!market!

2.2. Social DarwinismSocial Darwinism2.2. Social DarwinismSocial Darwinism

�� British economist.British economist.

�� Advocate of Advocate of laissezlaissez--fairefaire..

�� Adapted Darwin’s Adapted Darwin’s ideas from the ideas from the “Origin of Species” “Origin of Species” to humans.to humans.

�� Notion of “Survival Notion of “Survival of the Fittest.”of the Fittest.”

�� British economist.British economist.

�� Advocate of Advocate of laissezlaissez--fairefaire..

�� Adapted Darwin’s Adapted Darwin’s ideas from the ideas from the “Origin of Species” “Origin of Species” to humans.to humans.

�� Notion of “Survival Notion of “Survival of the Fittest.”of the Fittest.”

Herbert SpencerHerbert Spencer

2.2. Social Darwinism in Social Darwinism in

AmericaAmerica

2.2. Social Darwinism in Social Darwinism in

AmericaAmerica

William Graham SumnerFolkways (1906)

William Graham SumnerFolkways (1906)

$$ Individuals must Individuals must have absolute have absolute freedom to freedom to struggle, succeed or struggle, succeed or fail.fail.

$$ Therefore, state Therefore, state intervention to intervention to reward society and reward society and the economy is the economy is futile!futile!

$$ Individuals must Individuals must have absolute have absolute freedom to freedom to struggle, succeed or struggle, succeed or fail.fail.

$$ Therefore, state Therefore, state intervention to intervention to reward society and reward society and the economy is the economy is futile!futile!

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New Business Culture:New Business Culture:“The American Dream?”“The American Dream?”

New Business Culture:New Business Culture:“The American Dream?”“The American Dream?”

3.3. Protestant (Puritan) “Work Ethic”Protestant (Puritan) “Work Ethic”�� Horatio Alger [100+ novels]Horatio Alger [100+ novels]

3.3. Protestant (Puritan) “Work Ethic”Protestant (Puritan) “Work Ethic”�� Horatio Alger [100+ novels]Horatio Alger [100+ novels]

Is the idea of the “self-made man” a MYTH??Is the idea of the “self-made man” a MYTH??

The Gospel of Wealth:The Gospel of Wealth:Religion in the Era of IndustrializationReligion in the Era of Industrialization

The Gospel of Wealth:The Gospel of Wealth:Religion in the Era of IndustrializationReligion in the Era of Industrialization

Russell H. ConwellRussell H. Conwell

$$ Wealth no longer Wealth no longer looked upon as bad.looked upon as bad.

$$ Viewed as a sign of Viewed as a sign of God’s approval.God’s approval.

$$ Christian duty to Christian duty to accumulate wealth.accumulate wealth.

$$ Should not help the Should not help the poor.poor.

$$ Wealth no longer Wealth no longer looked upon as bad.looked upon as bad.

$$ Viewed as a sign of Viewed as a sign of God’s approval.God’s approval.

$$ Christian duty to Christian duty to accumulate wealth.accumulate wealth.

$$ Should not help the Should not help the poor.poor.

“On Wealth”“On Wealth”“On Wealth”“On Wealth”

Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie

$$ The AngloThe Anglo--Saxon race Saxon race is superior.is superior.

$$ ““Gospel of WealthGospel of Wealth” ” (1901).(1901).

$$ Inequality is inevitable Inequality is inevitable and good.and good.

$$ Wealthy should act as Wealthy should act as “trustees” for their “trustees” for their “poorer brethren.”“poorer brethren.”

$$ The AngloThe Anglo--Saxon race Saxon race is superior.is superior.

$$ ““Gospel of WealthGospel of Wealth” ” (1901).(1901).

$$ Inequality is inevitable Inequality is inevitable and good.and good.

$$ Wealthy should act as Wealthy should act as “trustees” for their “trustees” for their “poorer brethren.”“poorer brethren.”

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Effects/Impact of Industry• Rise in standard of living and gap

between rich/poor grows

• South gains industry

• Class divisions

• Nation of wage earners

• Working women

• Labor problems

Union Movement• National Labor Union and the Knights of

Labor

• Haymarket Square: May 4, 1886

• Am. Fed. of Labor (AFL) and Samuel Gompers (bread/butter)

• Homestead, Pullman, and Labor Day

Know the terms AMSCO 343-344

Varying Viewpoints: Captains of Industry or Robber Barons?• Late 1800s – Captains of Industry

• Great Depression – Robber Barons became more popular

• Some: did industry strip away a basic quality of life?

• History of social mobility in America?− 1960s historians led by S. Thernstrom: few had “rags-to-riches,” but

“large numbers experienced small improvements in their economic and social status”

− Ethnicity: Jewish-Americans fared better than Irish or Italian-Americans; African-Americans lagged behind in economic success

− James Henretta: Ethnic expectations among groups

• Socialist/Leftist Historians (Michael Katz):− Working class that sold its labor− Business class that controlled resources and bought labor

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Part Three…Movement to the Cities

(1865 – 1900)

Readings:

Kennedy, Chapter 25

AMSCO, Chapter 18

Note: We may use Pojer’s PPTon the Cities instead of this one. However, this segment can serve as basic reading notes.

Flat Iron Building

(near Madison Square)

New York, NY

Picture taken 3/29/08 (MB)

Growth of cities

• Population surges –several cities in the millions by 1900

• Cities grow up and out

• Commuting, Industry, City business

• Lure of the City: way of life, culture, opportunities

• Problems: waste, crime, slums

• Safety valve?

A Nation of Immigrants• Pushes and Pulls

• “New immigrants” replace the old

• New peoples, unlike the old, were largely poor & illiterate – and not Protestant!

• Lived together (i.e. “Little Italy”)

• Problems in Europe motivated the move to America

Interactive Chart

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Reactions to Immigration• Tammany Hall and big business of

immigration

• How to care for poor immigrants in the cities? −Social Gospel Movement− Jane Addams and the Hull House

(settlement houses)−Others: Lillian Wald, Florence Kelley

Adverse reactions to immigration• Return of nativism

• Groups that favored restriction:− Labor Unions – why?−Nativists (American Protective Association,

Immigration Rest. League)−Social Darwinists

• Congressional / Legal restrictions

Immigration Patterns

Picture taken at

the Ellis Island

Immigration

museum, 3/30/2008

New York City, NY

(MB)

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City Problems• Slums and Ethnic Neighborhoods

• Ethnic strife and political problems

• Machine politics: pol. parties in cities came under control of tightly organized groups of politicians

• Most famous: Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall (New York City)

Signs of Urbanization / Immigration• Brooklyn Bridge,

1883

• Skyscrapers

• Street cars

• Department stores

• Statue of Liberty

Pictures taken 3/29/08 (MB)

New York, NY

Awakening conscience / reforms• Social criticism and legislation

• Settlement houses: Addams, Wald, Kelley

• Structural reforms in government

• Church involvement in the urban challenge (Social Gospel)

• Social Darwinism effect

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Awakening Minds• Public school movement

• African-American Education: Washington, Carver, DuBois

• New universities (growth began with 1862 Morrill Act and philanthropy of industrialists)

• New “practical courses”

New Science & Social Science• New Health Programs

• William James – Behavior Psychology, Philosophy/Psych of Religion and Pragmatism

• Reaction to Evolution Theory: Sociology, Political Science, History, Criminal Science…

Press, Reform, and Writers• Linotype (1885) revolution

• Library of Congress 1897

• Sensationalism and yellow journalism

• Magazine reading

• Henry George

• pragmatism

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Post-Civil War Writers• Harlan Halsey’s dime novels

• Gen. Lewis Wallace

• Horatio Alger

• Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson

• Mark Twain

• Henry James, Jack London, Theodore Dreiser

• More authors detailed, 579-585

Moral Crusade• 1873 Comstock Law

• “New Morality” and new sexual attitudes in American culture

• Effects on family

• Women’s movement re-born: Carrie Chapman Catt; Ida Wells

• Prohibition

Art & Entertainment• New American Artistic Triumphs, page

589-590

• Amusement−P.T. Barnum−Wild West Shows & Buffalo Bill−Development of Baseball−Naismith’s Basketball− Football