GILDED AGE Flashcards

Question

US coal growth compared to Britain

Answer 1

Coal more than tripled 1870-1890 More than 10X from 1870-1913 Britain- slow increase- and was ahead of US in 1890- but had just over half in 1913

Answer 2

US population almost tripped 1870-1913 Around double of Britain in 1890 and 1913

Answer 3

Workforce Westward expansion Industrial and agricultural technology Growth of urban markets Growth of railroads Finance and business org Gov attitude

Answer 4

US pop grew from 35.2 mill in 1865- to 98.8 million in 1915 (almost 3X) Central and Eastern Europeans 1901-1920=44% of all immigrants MORE WORKFORCE AND PRODUCTION AND FAST- revenue Manufacturing jobs were dirty, dangerous etc- immigrants - driving force

Answer 5

Substantially

Answer 6

Westward expansion- more natural resources like coal, natural gas, oil- exploited Natural resources exploited Farmers shop keepers etc settles on land and made money closing the frontier- 1872 Yellowstone National Park creates to protect some wilderness - no frontier left by 1890s Miners, ranchers and farmers swelled the pop -1889- gov let settlers settle in Oklahoma This was laid out within a day and 6000 lived there by the end of the year

Answer 7

Pos- faster production and sales Business didn’t need to pay as much wages Farms- steam tractors etc By 1900- 15 man hour per acre to raise wheat A century earlier = 56 man hours FARMERS LOST JOBS AND THERE WAS OVERPRODUCTION ETC Steel making-Bessemer blast furnace and Siemens-Martin open hearth process Great Lakes Region became leading steel producer -STEEL PRODUCTION INC TO OVER 11 MILL TONNES BY 1900 (had less than one million in 1865) Typewriters, cash registers changed the game Telephone 1876- Bell Electricity - Edison

Answer 8

Increase in migrants - bigger market 30 million city dwellers in 1900 40% were immigrants During 1880s- 5 mill came from overseas 1890- immigration slowed by still 3.7 mill from abroad PUSH AND PULL FACTORS

Answer 9

By 1900- die to railroads small number of big businesses dominated markets Bigger nationwide markets 1865-1900 35000 miles of track - 242000 Pullman palace sleeper cars made travel more comfortable and refrigerated boxcars enabled meat vegetables and fruit to be transported across country Standardised time TrasnCONTINENTAL railway complete (1st to cross entire continent) Pacific Railway Act 1862- extended railways across US

Answer 10

Arguably - most

Answer 11

Big business eventually absorbed competition 1897-69 mergers 1898- 303 1899-1208 Commercial banks, saving banks, and insurance companies all provided new vehicles for accumulating and dispensing the capital needed to fuel American economic growth Industrialists began forming pools or cartels Informal gentlemen agreements on production level and prices These turned into ‘trusts’ and ‘holding companies’-they avoided state laws forbidding monopolies while gaining benefits of unified control over entire industries

Answer 12

Largely But Neg effects

Answer 13

Laissez faire- business can do whatever to generate wealth ``` Sherman Act (congress passed 1890)- way to reduce concerns large business interests dominated industry Private parties may sue So many sections were so broad that anyone could find any business activity illegal (no restraint of trade and cannot monopolies or attempt to) ``` Sherman Anti trust Act (passed by Congress 1890) Purpose was to stop B.B. from abusing customers and taking advantage of people but instead stopped workers forming unions During last decades of 19th century- courts strengthened laissez fairs State courts stopped restrictions of work hours and safety req as it stopped right of workers to enter contracts freely Courts weakened unions insisting employers had a right to replace striking workers while at the same time denying that strikers has a right to boycott

Answer 14

Significantly

Answer 15

Greeted by Statue of Liberty And processed Ellis Island Immigrants purchased tickets and boarded trains at the CRRNJ terminal- taken to their new homes

Answer 16

2.3 million

Answer 17

2.9 million

Answer 18

5.2 million

Answer 19

EUROPEAN (1880-1889)-(1900-1909)- more than 150% increase (1910-1919) - decreased ``` ITALIAN - sig less Doubled from (1881-1890)- (1891-1900) almost doubled again from (1901-1910) ```

Answer 20

Great Lakes

Answer 21

East coast

Answer 22

Southern and Eastern Europe —

Answer 23

Nationalities would become fused together into one nation The vast majority of Natives had rejected the Gov’s attempt to create a national identity This rejection continues into the 20th century

Answer 24

Tried to corner marker on Gold Business man who came to personify the robber baron in late 19th century America Known as ruthless business tactics War to be in control of Eerie railroad w Fisk against Cornelius Eventually he got it and Fisk was the public face Tried to corner gold 24 sept 1869- made millions and was not prosecuted Fisk died- Gould deposed as head of Erie Railroads Died - Dec 1892- wealth at more then $100 mill

Answer 25

Prominent banker in the US and a principal financier of the Union military effort during the US civil war Started work for banking brokerage company 1839 1861- formed his own banking firm Helped develop a fiscal policy that provide the gov w necessary capital to win war ‘Financier of Civil war’ After war- inv other industries, coal, iron mining, life insurance and railroads Played major role in financing to build transcontinental railroad 1873- investments dried up Sept 18 1872- Cooke and Co shut doors - led to panic 1873

Answer 26

Utilising newest technologies- eg Bessemer blast furnace and Siemens Martin open hearth, he built the largest steel com in US - Carnegie Steel Wrote of unions in essay- ‘The gospel of wealth’ By time he retired holdings- huge pig iron works, Coke refineries, line of steamships and steep works Built near monopoly thru vertical intergration 2nd richest man ever in America 4th wealthiest man in recorded history of world

Answer 27

Leading financier, founded of JP Morgan and co Led merger movement Pursued monopoly like control over his sector of the economy Civil war- sold defective guns to union army @ inflated prices Had goal to monopolising railroads Morgan also built General Electric into great industrial conglomerate by merging Edison General and Thompson Houston Elecrric Companies 1901- forged a merger between Carnegie Steel and more to form US Steel.

Answer 28

Built a monopoly over the oil business in less than a decade and bought order to chaotic industry (violent jags in production and prices and overproduction) 1868- formed Standard oil - processed 5% of nations oil - business grew- demand ‘drawbacks’ from railroads that wanted his business Mid 1880- refined 90% of nations oil - had virtual monopoly over entire industry and could shape price structure Horizontal intergration

Answer 29

Wheat business became flooded by thousands of startups which pushed supply far above demand Overproduction put farms in solvency 1890 The value of silver / gold dropped Jay crooks and co were unable to market several million dollars

Answer 30

1873 1893 1907

Answer 31

Nov 1873- 55 Nation railroads failed and 60 went bankrupt by Nov 1874 18,000 businesses failed between 1873 - 75 Unemployment in 1875 = 8.25% 3 million in the US lost their jobs Led to populist movement Collapse in food prices- rural poverty

Answer 32

Overproduction of railroads People questioned the stability of the gov and so rushed to redeem notes for gold US began to run out of gold Cleveland borrowed $65 mill in Gold from JP Morgan Farmers suffered droughts- value of land went down Free silver movement arouse- tried to get inflation to occur Demand for silver

Answer 33

16,000 businesses failed by the end of 1893 156 railroads and nearly 500 banks failed 1/6 of Americans lost their jobs Strikes in 1884 led to violence Pullman strike- led to shutdown of nations transport system July 1894

Answer 34

SAN Fransisco EQ Anti trust policies of Roosevelt Augustus Heimes Morse- associated with banks and trusts on Wall Street - took a speculative investment in United Copper, a copper mining company and lost Oct 15- stock prices fell Knickerbocker Trust company collapsed

Answer 35

New York stock exchange fell almost 50% from peak previous year Unemployment- 8% Immigration dropped Production fell 11% Imports fell 26%

Answer 36

1873 1893 1907

Answer 37

Business needed unskilled labour- rockafellar carneugie etc needed unskilled labourers to work an average of 60 hours a week for 10 cents an hour Capital poured into manufacturing plants - accompanied by blue and white collared workers JOB OPP Many farmers found selves obsolete 30% lived in urban setting 3 decades after civil war 40% in 1900 American dream Museums and theatres Promotion of good wages Mechanisation of farmers - also meant women could work Freedom Industrial workers jumped from 800,000 to 3.2 million

Answer 38

Wealth- upper class American dream Some skilled workers obtained high wages Brick layers and black smiths earnt more than $3

Answer 39

+1 mill in NY dumbbell tenements Over crowded- poorly ventilated air traps- cholera and typhoid spread— 1879 building codes- windows but people used it for rubbish Philadelphia- city water supply replenished daily w 13,000 gallons of untreated sewage The richest 1% had same income at bottom 50% and more property than remaining 99% Average industrial worker earned $460-$500 and a family of 4 needed $600 to live comfortably Minimum wage and child labour 1900-35,000 workers killed and million injured Triangle shirt waste factory fire - 1911-146 dead No infrastructure for worker safety Corruption Disabled didn’t receive benefits Segregation Child labour People lived in warehouses- not enough housing Coal pollution Everyday 1/2 million pounds of manure of NY STREETS

Answer 40

1877- northern railroads cut salaries -May, the Pennsylvania Railroad- the largest railroad cut wages by 10% and in June another 10% Other railroads followed On July 13th the Baltimore and Ohioline cut the wages of all employees, making more than $1 a day - Also cut work week to 2/3 days

Answer 41

Henry Clay Frick- the superintendent of Carnegie Steel company proposed to cut worker wages arguing efficiency inc inflated salary He also wanted to eliminate the Amalgamated Associated of Iron and Steel Workers Union from the plant

Answer 42

4 year depression Pullman responded by laying off several thousands of his 5800 employees and cutting pay 25-50% while refusing to declare rents charged at employees who lived in the company town of Pullman near Chicago

Answer 43

Native born Americans blamed labour violence of foreigners Violent strikes on Kansas, Chicago etc 40 killed in violence in Pittsburgh and across country- hundreds dead Workers blocked freight trains near Baltimore in West Virginia allowing only passenger traffic through Briefly paralysed country’s commerce and led governors in 10 states to mobilise 60,000 militia members to reopen rail traffic Violence in 1850+90 inc- Haymarket Square Bombing in Chicago

Answer 44

Armed confrontation at Homestead July 6- guards confronted by hundreds of workers and townfolk in often battle- 7 workers and 3 Pinkerton guards were killed 8500 members of National Guards took control of the plant—> this was 44 years before the steel industry become unionised again) Assassination attempt on Fisk- wounded Nov- union broken and mill reopened as a non-union plant using AA and Eastern European workers Union leaders were blacklisted from the Steel industry for life

Answer 45

May 11 1894- 90% of his workers went on strike- spread nationwise when American Railway Union refused to move trains w Pullman cars Within a month- more than 1/4 million other railroad employees joined strike Steel mills shifted from 8-12 houes a day, 6 days a week TO 24 hour shift followed by a day off every 2 weeks (44 years till Steel industry unionised again) Congress established a national working day 14,000 federal troops and marshals despatched—

Answer 46

WASPS POLITICAL POWER Tammany Hall- provides immigrants w social safety net- helped w jobs, welfare network- had political control in NY - Democratic Party relies on it- voters WAR- usually segregated Intense tension

Answer 47

Inc workforce- faster production inc wealth

Answer 48

Segregation- immigrants often cling together in localised communities- little Italy Catholic Irish and polish immigrants were prominent in cities like Boston and Chicago - no assimilation Discrimination and conflict between New and old settlers 19th century sellers- Protestant 1900- Catholic Turburculosis - social deprivation Tenements Extremist groups KKK Asian exclusion act Prohibition Catholics drink as well as immigrants culture WCTU - protest- women anti alcohol

Answer 49

Remittance Bureau set up for cheap labour American dream Influenced by friends and family Industrialisation- jobs USA was land of opportunity- the economic expansion Transition from sail to steam allowed many more people to journey across to the US

Answer 50

Eastern Europeans and Russians were facing disruption to their traditional lifestyles 1885- Japanese exodus begin after emporer revoked a ban on emigration Persecution from other countries Poverty from Russia and Eastern Europe High wages lured Chinese’s immigrants Italy crop failures Cholera and collapse of wonder industry in 1880s

Answer 51

Relentless drop in prices Failure of the money supply to keep pace w productivity Exploitation of immense coal deposits as a source of cheap energy Rapid spread of technological innovation in transportation, communication and factory systems Demand for workers who could be carefully controlled Constant pressure of forms to complete tooth and nail by cutting costs and prices

Answer 52

Coal deposits on Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky provided cheap energy to fuel railroad and factory growth New technologies stimulated productivity and capitalised breathtaking industrial expansion Technology also enabled manufacturers to dust costs and hire unskilled labour Cost cutting enabled firms to undersell one another- remove competition Cheap energy, cost reduction, new tech and fierce competition brought down price levels Loads of consumer goods Demand Large output w machinery Railroads exports consumers ECONOMIC GROETH

Answer 53

Seen as a way to remove money from circulation and decrease inflation Issues by US WW2 War bonds are debt securities (loans) issued by a gov to finance military operations and other expenditures in time of war

Answer 54

Farming benefited from war- closing of frontier (high rainfall) Upward growth GNP- massive upward trend Life expectancy inc Employment in manufacturing 1870-1900-1920 *2 *2

Answer 55

Upward growth (w fluctuation) till USAS entry to war- then decrease Industrial production also inc Blip near end of WW1 Reactive after WW1

Answer 56

Decreases post civil war Inc during war Back to civil war levels after

Answer 57

Unemployment rates fluctuate Steady Dec 1918- WW1- negligible state Inc significantly 1920 post war Decrease and fluctuation 1929

Answer 58

Fluctuates During war- high Post war- substanstial decrease Dropped sig after 1920 (other markers recovering) Never goes as high as during ww1 Lowest- Oct 1929- panic

Answer 59

1865-1890 Most from Western Europe Wasps

Answer 60

1890/1920 Eastern Europe and southern east etc

Answer 61

Sky rocket 1901-1910 at 8.7 mill but decreases sig after war

Answer 62

Both grew Exports sig inc than exports Less reliant on other countries Received lots of Wealth

Answer 63

Not as sig as other countries France Brit Ger

Answer 64

Dominance of the democrat party over stage and federal elections Unchanged till 1960s - when many southerners deserted democrats after Johnson passed civil rights act A REGION OF 1 PARTY GOV - democrat candidates certain to win all elections

Answer 65

Democrats gained control of the ‘unredeemed state legislatures’ - Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina Solid south- A REGION OF 1 PARTY GOV - democrat candidates certain to win all election

Answer 66

1892 Cleveland 1894- Cleveland 187— Hayes 1911- Taft