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
NINA signs -
NINA signs - no irish need apply!
Chinese exclusion act
Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
• stopped Chinese immigration for 30 years!
Gentlemen’s agreement
Gentlemen’s Agreement (1908)
• limited the number of Japanese immigrants to America
Immigration Act of 1917
• required them to be able to read or write before they could enter the country
Immigrant contributions
Immigrant Contributions
- Provided workers for the industrialization of America
- Enriched America with unique customs, culture, language, and literature
- Creative entrepreneurial talents (business)
Urbanization of America
Urbanization of America
• movement of people from the rural/country to the urban/city
• 2/3rds if immigrants moved into the cities - WHY? Jobs
Urban city problems
Urban (city) problems
1. Housing:
• Working class poor “Have Nots” Dumbbell Tenements (multi-family dwellings) - overcrowded and unsanitary
• Middle class- Row Houses
• Rich - Huge homes (30+ rooms) “Haves” extreme wealth
2. Transportation:
• mass transit (designed to move large groups of people)
• Streetcars (horse drawn, cable, electric)
• Subways - 1st in Boston
3. Water: (drinking)
• rivers, lakes, - pipes
• Indoor plumbing was rare!
4. Sanitation:
• street sweepers (trash, manure, etc)
• Cholera, typhoid very common - summers
• 1st sewer lines by 1900/Sanitation dept.
5. Crime:
• pick pockets and thieves
• NYC 1st police force
6. Fire:
• wooden building stacked on top of each other
• Limited water
• Candles and kerosene lanterns - fire!
• Cincinnati oh - 1st fire dept.
7. Factory working conditions:
• 12 hour day, low pay ($1 per day), dangerous conditions and child labor.
Government/politics corruption
• political machines -
• Graft (illegal use of political influence for personal gain -
• How it worked:
Government/politics corruption
• political machines - an organized group that controlled the activities of a political party in the city by providing services to people and businesses in exchange for votes
• Graft (illegal use of political influence for personal gain - money
• How it worked: immigrants stepped off the bait and the machine would get them a job, and a place to stay in exchange for political support (votes)
