The Gilded Age Flashcards
The Compromise of 1877
The Compromise of 1877 was an informal compromise that settled a dispute from the 1876 presidential election and through this compromise president Rutherford B Hayes got the white house and with this compromise he had to remove federal troops from South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida in order to end reconstruction in the south. Reconstruction does not meet its goals because of this.
The Gilded Age
It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Western United States. As American wages grew much higher than those in Europe, especially for skilled workers, and industrialization demanded an ever-increasing unskilled labor force, the period saw an influx of millions of European immigrants. The “Gilded Age” term came into use in the 1920s and 1930s and was derived from writer Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner’s 1873 novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, which satirized an era of serious social problems masked by a thin gold gilding. Rapid growth in industry but it was a time of corruption both politically and economically
The Long Depression (1873-1896)
Set off by the Panic of 1873, the depression that followed was a result of the failure of the two largest employers: the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and the National Cordage Company. The stock market plummeted when businesses that borrowed heavily from banks to invest in railroads went bankrupt. This triggered a recession. caused by risky loans by banks and the economic instability would lead to employment issues
Vertical Integration
the act of combining more than one stage of production, rather than simply residing over only manufacturing for example (allows the company to have more control over production) - legal (an example is Carnegie steel) it is an attempt to own every step of the production process, which allows businesses to profit from every stage of production - do not have to buy it from another company and can maximize their profits
Horizontal Integration
the act of merging two businesses that are in the same stage of production to create a larger business (this was helpful for businesses because it allowed them to gain more assets with different areas of knowledge about the subject) Cause of antitrust laws because of monopolies (caused smaller businesses to go out of business and was bad for the consumer) and Creates unfair competition an example of this is Rockefeller w/ Oil industry
Annexation
add (territory) to one’s own territory by appropriation. The US annexed Hawaii in the 1898s. Manifest destiny and annexation are related because Manifest Destiny is why and annexation can be how. when a country declares a territory is theirs. “This is ours now because we say so.”
Protectorate
a state that is protected by another state. It is a dependent territory that has been granted autonomy over most of its internal affairs, while still recognizing the suzerainty (power) of a more powerful sovereign state without being a possession. *Strong country provides protection over a weaker country and in return you expect certain things (for example US with Cuba and allows US to expand influence w/o having the cost)
Social Darwinism; Herbert Spencer
survival of the fittest (Not a Darwin quote) in human society. Dangerous because it’s often used to justify inequality and racism. “Those who succeed are simply better.” Similar to the belief that wealth was a sign of God’s favor Herbert Spencer was a economist in his day and applied Darwin’s theories to humans (why some are rich/powerful/important while others are not capable of being successful)
Our Country (1885); Josiah Strong
A book written to promote missionary work abroad and activity by Protestant Churches, but its message reached a much wider audience than he intended. (duty to convert others, especially countries who were considered less developed than the US) - Ends up creating a foundation via private missionaries for a formal diplomatic relationship
Gospel of Wealth (1889); Andrew Carnegie
After success in the steel industry, Andrew Carnegie wrote a book to command that extremely wealthy Americans like himself had a responsibility to spend their money in order to benefit the greater good. His purpose was to improve society and elevate culture. Perspective that if you are wealthy you can not hoard your wealth but instead have to use it to help society and better others lives (especially those who were more impoverished)
John Rockefeller (1839-1937)
He was founder of the standard oil company and one of the world’s wealthiest men and a major philanthropist. Rockefeller’s enormous wealth and success made him a target of journalists, reform politicians and others who viewed him as a symbol of corporate greed and criticized the methods with which he’d built his empire. *horizontal integration - Owned wayyyyyyy too much oil and got smacked down by the government
J.P. Morgan (1837-1913)
He co-founded the banking firm that became J.P. Morgan & Co. in 1871, and in the 1880s he established himself as a power player in the country’s railroad industry. Along with amassing immense wealth through the creation of such corporations as U.S. Steel, Morgan led efforts to bail out the U.S. Treasury in 1895 and 1907. Bankrolls the US government and also Britain and France in ww1 - can influence several different countries *banker who used Interlocking directorate to become wealthy - sneaky spider web version of horizontal integration - too big to get smacked downnnnnnnn by the government. (They just decided to not have another one of him)
Manifest Destiny (1840s)
the idea that the United States is destined—by God, its advocates believed—to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent. This encouraged many Americans to take land that they thought was rightfully theirs and drive out native people and civilizations by force. Explains continental expansion from coast to coast - americans begin to believe that expansion is necessary for the US
Monroe Doctrine (1823)
This doctrine, put in place by President Monroe in 1823, states that the US would not tolerate European colonization and interference in the Western Hemisphere and that the US would not get involved in European affairs. This set a long running precedent of isolationism and continuously weakened European influence in the Americas. - John Quincy adams writes it and its target was Russia “Back the heck off.” - taking responsibility for watching over hemisphere
Homestead Act (1862)
This Act was signed by President Lincoln in 1862. It provided 160 acres of federal land to any adult citizen or intended citizen who had never borne arms against the US government and to those who agreed to farm and improve the land. This allowed women and freed slaves a chance to own land and also encouraged western migration. - *allows the US to become more populated in the west
