The Gilded Age Flashcards
“The Gilded Age” Coined by mark twain
- “glittering on the surface, but corrupt underneath”
Period of 7 things
- Greed, scandal, and corruption in government and industry
- Unprecedented economic growth/exploded
- Period of 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” - (closest the USA ever came to an aristocracy of the elite) *less that 1% of the population (4,000 families) owned 50% of the wealth!
Immigrants - why did they come? (2)
- Escape religious persecution
- Escape poverty
America was the land of opportunity! (Rags to riches)
• “golden door” the promise of a better life!
Emma lazarus
american poet who wrote a poem on the Statue of Liberty
• Processing - 3 steps - usually 1 day
- Physical examination
• 2. Record names / questioning
• 3. Documents checked (passports, etc.) and legal requirements checked
- Physical examination
• Melting point theory
give up culture and blend in
Old immigrants
New immigrants
came from Great Britain and Northern Europe - Protestant WASPS -white anglo-Saxon protestantS - before civil war
Southern Europe/Asia - were not welcomed at first -
5 reasons why new immigrants were not welcomed
- They didn’t fit in (look dress, speak the same)
- Job competition
- Religious differences
- Ethnic differences
- Racial differences
• Nativism
was an anti-immigrant movement that swept across the United States
The american party (know nothings)
political party designed to restrict and stop immigration
• NINA signs - no Irish need apply!
Chinese exclusion act (1882)
• stopped Chinese immigration for 30 years!
Gentleman’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 (3) name 3 ways in which the immigrants contributed to society
- Provided most of the work first for the industrialization of America
- Enriched America with unique customs, culture, language, and literature
- Creative entrepreneurial talents (business)
Urban (city) problems (7)
- Housing - working class poor “HAVE_NOTS” dumbbell tenements (multi-family dwellings) - overcrowded and unsanitary
• middle class - row houses.
• Rich - HUGE homes (30+ rooms) - Transportation - mass transit (designed to move large groups of people
• streetcars (hors drawn, cable, electric
• Subways - 1st in boston - Water
• rivers, lakes
• Indoor plumbing was rare! - Sanitation
• Street sweepers (trash, manure, etc)
• Cholera, typhoid very common - summers!
• 1st sower lines by 1900/sanitation dept. - Crime
• pick pockets and thieves, NYC 1st police force - Fire
• wooden building stacked on top of each other
• Limited water
• Candles and kerosene lanterns = fire!
• Cincinnati Oh - 1st fire department - Factory working conditions
• 12 hr. Days, low pay ($1 per day) dangerous condition and child labor