Gilded Age Flashcards
Who created the term gilded age and what did it mean
• coined by Mark Twain - “glittering in the surface but corrupt underneath”
The gilded age was the period of what 7 things
- Greed, scandal, and corruption in (government and industry)
- Unprecedented economic growth and exploded
- Modern industrial economy
- Moved from an agrarian (rural) society to an industrial (urban) society
- USA becomes an emerging world power
- Mass immigration
- Unequal distribution of wealth - “Haves” and the “Have-nots”
This was the closest the United States ever came to an :
Less than ____ of the population owned ____ of the wealth
- closest the USA ever came to an aristocracy of the elite
* Less than 1% of the population (4,000 families) - owned 50% of the wealth!!!
Why did immigrants come?
- Escape religious persecution
2. Escape poverty
America was the land of:
America was the land of opportunity!!! (Rags to riches)
The Golden door was the promise of
Golden Door” The promise of a better life!
Journey to America
- means of transportation
- how long did it take from Europe
- how long did it take from Asia
- what’s steerage class
- where did most immigrants land?
- what were immigrants greeted by? And what did the symbol stand for?
steamboats - 2 weeks from Europe, 2 months from Asia
• Steerage class (3rd) - lowest decks - $30
• Most lands in either New York or San Francisco
• After 1886 they were welcomed by the statute of Liberty (represent opportunity and freedom)
Emma Lazarus
American poet
2 main immigration centers
- between 1870 and 1920 how many immigrants came to America
- how long did processing take and what were the three steps?
Ellis Island (NYC)
Angel Island (San Francisco)
• immigration centers the people has to pass through
• between 1870 and 1920 - about 20 million people came to America
• Processing - 3 steps - usually 1 day
1. Physical examination
2. Record names/questioning
3. Documents checked (passports, etc.) and legal requirements checked
Where to live? Find a job?
• most settled in the ______, why?
What are ethnic islands and why were they a thing
• most people were ______ _______ _____ who worked in the _______
• what are sweatshops
- most settled in the cities, why? JOBS
- Communities known as “ethnic islands” (same ethnic groups) - WHY?
- most people were unskilled common laborers who worked in the factories
- Sweatshops (dark, crowded, and unsafe) factories in the clothing industry
What’s the melting pot theory
• Who adjusted faster
- the melting pot theory (give up culture and blend in)
* Childrenadjusted faster
Who were old immigrants
Old Immigrants” - came from Great Britain and Northern Europe - Protestant
Wasps - White Anglo-Saxons Protestants
Who were the new immigrants and why were they not welcomed at first.
The “new immigrants” - Southern Europe/Asia - were not welcomed at first - why?
- They did not fit in (look, dress or speak the same)
- Job competition
- Religious differences
- Ethnic differences
- Racial differences
Immigration Restriction League - 1894
Wanted to restrict immigration
Nativism
Nativism was an ant-immigrant movement that swept through America.
The American party
The American Party (Know-nothings) - political party designed to restrict and stop immigration