The Gilded Age Review Flow Chart

When: Late 19th Century (1800s)- Early 20th Century (1900s)

What: The Gilded Age describes an era in late

19th century U.S. history that seemed alright on
the outside but was politically corrupt with
serious social problems internally. The term was
derived from writer Mark Train’s 1873 novel
the Gilded Age which he implied that the period
was glittering gold on the surface but unethical
and dishonest underneath.

Importance of this Era: The late 19th century

witnessed a major shift in the nature of
industrial production. Early factories had
concentrated on producing textiles, clothing, and
leather products. After the Civil War, a "second
Industrial Revolution" resulted in the growth of
large-scale industry and the production of steel,
petroleum, electric power, and the industrial
machinery to produce other goods. A growing
population and an advanced transportation network
made the United States the largest market in the
world for industrial goods.
Causes of Industrialization
Overview: Technological advances, large-scale production methods, and the opening of new markets
encouraged the rise of industrial capitalism in the United States.

Laissez- • As early as 1776, the economist Adam Smith had argued in "The Wealth of
Nations" that business should be regulated, not by government, but by the
Faire "invisible hand" of the law of supply and demand. If government kept its
hands off the economy, so the theory went, businesses would be motivated
Capitalism/ by their own self-interest (competition) to offer improved goods and
services at low prices. In the 19th century, American industrialists appealed
Free to laissez-faire theory to justify their methods of doing business.

Enterprise • Talented entrepreneurs emerged during this era who were able to build and
manage vast industrial and commercial enterprises.
System

• Vital to the industrial process were new inventions. These led to greater
productivity in the workplace and mass-produced goods
• Lightbulb (Thomas Edison): Allowed for factories to stay open longer after
New dark
• Telegraph (Samuel B. Morse): Allowed for instant communication around
Technology/ the world
Inventions • Beesemer Steel Process (Henry Beesemer): High quality steel produced
which was needed for construction
• Railroad Expansion: Goods could be transported faster= Opened new
markets, especially in the western regions of the United States
Effects of Industrialization
Definition: Industrialization is the process by which an economy is transformed from primarily agricultural to
one based on manufacturing and factories.

Mass
manufacturing/
production Immigration to
Factories opened
became possible= urban areas Urbanization Population in the
more jobs that
Industrialization goods became
required unskilled
(cities) for factory (Cities began to U.S. cities U.S. ecoomy grew
easier, faster, and jobs and better expand) increased
labor
cheaper to opportunities
produce (more
effecient)

Irish Immigrants → Chinese Immigrants →

Northeastern Cities, like Worked in the West/
New York City, worked Pacific Coast, like
in factories California, on building
Middle Class and Changes in Women’s Roles railroads
Corporations’ need for managers and for male and female clerical workers, as well as increased access to educational
institutions, fostered the growth of a distinctive middle class. A growing amount of leisure time also helped expand consumer
culture.
Many women, although paid less than men, began working outside the home and into factories- typically in textile factories.
This gave them some sense of independence but as time progressed, they would demand equal and safer working conditions
by protesting and joining labor unions. This would ultimately increase their political influence in America.
Problems?
Overview: The growth of American industry raised the standard of living for most people. However, growth
also created sharper economic and class divisions among the rich, the middle class, and the poor.

•Big Buisness- Little to no governmental
regulations in the U.S. economy resulted in
the rise of monopolisitic trusts which
undercut the very competition needed for
natural regulation. By the 1890s, the richest
10 percent of the U.S. population controlled
90 percent of the nation's wealth.
•Robber Baron or Captain of Industry?
•Andrew Carnegie (Steel Trust)
•John D. Rockefeller (Oil Trust)
•Corrupt Politics- In an urban atmosphere
where the access to power was unequally
distributed, political machines thrived, in part
by providing immigrants and the poor with
social services
•Tammany Hall was the Democratic Party
political machine that played a major role in
controlling New York City and New York
State politics and helping immigrants, most
notably the Irish, rise up in American politics/
led by Boss Tweed at its height.
•Dangerous Working Conditions- Due to the
lack of governmental interference in the
economy, buisnesses began to exploit their
workers. There were practically no labor laws
to protect the working class. Factory working
hours were long and dangeours and child
labor was often used.
•Tenements- Slum housing in urban areas.
•Immigration- Immigrants to the U.S. were
often treated poorly as nativisit attitudes
spread. The U.S. set strict immigration quotas
such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Economic Issues (The Political Issues (Corrupt Social Issues

Concentration of Elections and the Spoils (Immigration, Urban
Wealth) System) Issues, and Sweatshops)

Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection in biology offended the
beliefs of many religious conservatives, but it bolstered the views of economic
conservatives. Led by English social philosopher Herbert Spencer, some people argued for
Social Darwinism, the belief that Darwin's ideas of natural selection and survival of the
fittest should be applied to the marketplace. During this era, many believed that
concentrating wealth in the hands of the "fit" benefited everyone. An American Social
Darwinist, Professor William Graham Sumner of Yale University, argued that helping the
poor was misguided because it interfered with the laws of nature and would only weaken
the evolution of the species by preserving the unfit. Social Darwinism gave some during this
period a "scientific" sanction for their racial intolerance. Race theories about the superiority
of one group over others would continue to produce in problems in the 20th century.
Early Solutions
Early Big Idea
Solutions
Labor Strikes A labor union is an organization of workers formed to promote collective
and Labor bargaining with employers over wages, hours, benefits, job security, and
working conditions
Unions
Sherman Anti- U.S. federal law that forbade any organizations that interfered with free trade by
Trust Act prohibiting monopolies or any activity that hindered business competition
(1890)
Interstate U.S. federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry which
Commerce Act required railroad rates to be “reasonable and just”
(1887)
Pendleton Act U.S. federal law requiring federal jobs to be awarded on the basis of merit rather
(1883) than the spoils system

Settlement Many women, like Jane Addams, worked in settlement houses to help
Houses immigrants adapt to U.S. language and customs.

Some business leaders argued that the wealthy had a moral obligation to help the
Philanthropy less fortunate and improve society, as articulated in the idea known as the
Gospel of Wealth by Andrew Carnegie, and they made philanthropic
contributions that enhanced educational opportunities and urban environments.

Labor unions went

on strike and Working women also
demanded change. held labor strikes,
increasing their political
influence.
Westward Expansion and Closing the Frontier
Environment Economy Social Political

• Open Land: • Southwest: • Ranchers, • US federal

Abundance of Ranching Farmers, and government
natural • Great Plains: Miners actively support
resources Dry Farming • Indian Wars westward
• Great Plains- • West/ Pacific • New expansion
Flat land, praire, Coast: Minining opportunties to • Homestead Act:
steepe, and Gold many families, Federal grant for
grassland • Alaska: Klondike immigrants, free land on the
Gold Rush women, and Great Plains
• Railroad former slaves • Transcontinetal
expansion Raildroad=
opened new more effecient
markets movement of
people and
goods to the
West
• Dawes Act:
Forced
assimilation of
Native
Americans