Unit 6: The Gilded Age Flashcards
Causes of Industrialization - Natural
resources like land, water, oil, ore, coal, wood = used to produce + transport goods
influx of immigrants = labor + consumer base
Causes of Industrialization - Tech
transportation systems improved (railroads, mainly, but also ships/canals, roads)
telegraph, telephone = communication revolution
typewriters, sewing machines =»_space; women, immigrants in office/sweatshops (worked for less pay than white men)
electricity (» urb growth) → dynamos (motors) = diverse biz location +»_space; efficiency, cheaper production (economies of scale)
Transcontinental Railroad
moved ppl + goods fast so led to ag transport, spread of immigrants, transfer of raw mats, and western expansion BUT expensive to build, poor working conditions, corruption (big biz lobbying gov)
most work was done by immigrants (Chinese) after civil war (1865). construction included big risks, big competition, and constant setbacks
completed in May 1869 (golden spike uniting east and west). catalyst for US transition to urban econ.
Role of Government in Transcontinental Railroad
b/f civil war, sectionalism prevented, BUT Pacific Railway Act (1862) authorized 2 companies (Union + Central Pacific) to build – went west from Omaha (NE) and east from Sacramento to Sierra NV
congress gave more $ to the quickest finisher - led to cutting corners which amplified risks + setbacks
Captains of Industry vs. Robber Barons
same people; captains = positive. barons = negative
“captains of industry” = business tycoons who paved the way for the post war econ boom
“robber barons” = big business free market capitalists who had lots of econ control and tried to eliminate competition
“Philanthropy”
big billionaires like carnegie and rockefeller gave a lot of money back - built schools, churches, etc.
often used to cover up how they got their wealth (exploiting the poor)
John D. Rockefeller (Standard Oil)
established Standard Oil Company in Ohio 1870 b/c ez RR access
after biz grew to be biggest in USA, wanted to eliminate “distractions” (competition) to get $$
Rockefeller: Horizontal Integration and Vertical Integration
horizontal: a process in which a dominator corporation buys or forces out most of its competitors
vertical: process by which corporation gains control of all aspects of the resources+processes needed to produce/sell a product (no middle man)
rockefeller used these to try to get a monopoly on oil (even though 90% mkt already = him)
Rockefeller: Trusts
after state legis tried to block monopoly (no owning stocks in competitors!), responded through trusts – biz arrangements that give person/corporation legal power to manage another person’s $ / co. without owning it outright
instead of owning competitors, stockholders transferred shares “in trust” to him
Rockefeller: Holding Company
in response to the Sherman Antitrust Act, established huge corporation that produces nothing itself but controls other companies by owning chunks of stock in them
Andrew Carnegie
Scottish born Philadelphian who created largest steel company in the world: Carnegie Steel
Bessemer Converter
squo steel could only be made with wrought iron in small quantities (expensive) BUT Bessemer Converter (1850s) blasted oxygen through a furnace to produce steel quicker
» steel accessibility = RR industry expansion, steel frame buildings (urb)
Carnegie biz practices
used vertical integration and trusts, justifying them as “natural end” of capitalism
treated workers badly (long hours, dangerous conditions, pay cuts)
“The Gospel of Wealth”
Carnegie’s essay applying the law of human competition to business → the newly rich are wealthy because they are naturally blessed to do so, but with their God-given power comes a responsibility to donate money to the “less capable” poor
Laissez-faire
USFG policy of not regulating or taxing big biz AND not meaningfully overseeing working ops
justified symbiotic relationship between politicians and big biz (lobbying)
role of USFG during gilded age
lobbying (buying influence) was done by corporations
ex: Morrill Tariff (corporations could artificially inflate prices bc foreign prices»_space;) continued after civil war even though bad for consumers + farmers
Sherman Antitrust Act
1890 act intending to outlaw monopolistic biz practices
BUT actually used to make it SEEM like congress gave a shit – the bill passed with no fuss and left loopholes in language (+ was rarely enforced due to vague defs)
Middle Class
while rich displayed “conspicuous consumption”, MC (mostly white collars like accounts, engineers, or clerical positions) emerged in 1830s-70s with the rise of big corporations. displayed “contentment without excess”
Role of Women in Middle Class
> women’s colleges after civ war = > wmn in higher edu = > women in MC workforce + fighting for liberation from societal pressures (staying in home, etc)
AND more urb MC women = stay at home wives + mothers
neurasthenia: male physicians’ diagnosis of women with fatigue + hysteria disorder, mainly to force women back into cult of domesticity – argued that female higher edu was to blame
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
NOT INDUS UNION - coalition of 25 craft unions (indep actors) formed in 1886
focused on concrete gains: > wages, < hours, > working conditions
strong in transportation + building industry
Craft vs. Industrial Unions
represented skilled workers. didn’t wanted to cooperate with indus union bc feared los of identity and bargaining power
industrial unions repped unskilled and skilled workers within a particular industry (mining, RR)
Homestead Strike
1892: Amalgamated Association wanted better wages, but Carnegie Steel wanted to spite union through cutting workers (despite record profits).
C. forced a strike (mill lockdown), which sparked violence – destroyed union rep (blacklists, replacements of union workers with scabs → > profits for Carnegie = FAIL)
Pullman Strike
1894: employees in pullman, IL pt of RR Union and required to live in company town
when ceo refused negotiations, workers shut down RR – led to pullman annexation (FAIL)
Urbanization
reasons: euro + asian immigration, rural migration. wanted good jobs + entertainment.
effects: > overcrowding (tenements), poverty, unsanitary conditions, corruption
> industry + comm ag, > rural vs urban, < small farming
Tenements
shabby inner city apartments (due to pop growth) that housed urban poor in cramped, poorly ventilated spaces
tech helped conditions through elevators, steam radiators
New Immigrants
From where? Southern + Eastern Europe, China
Ethnic neighborhoods: wanted to live in neighborhoods similar to homeland. practiced traditions BUT nhoods had «_space;rep (< enforcement of regs) bc previous residents would leave upon immigrant arrival
Reasons for immigration: pull: california gold rush, contract labor act. push: economic (poor + unemployed)
Nativism: saw immigrants as threats to lifestyle + jobs (even when immigrants did jobs white ppl wouldn’t). legis included Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 and Congress ban of illiterate immigration in 1917
Chinese Exclusion Act
1882: 1st bill to restrict immigration based on race/class
banned unskilled chinese laborers from entering
extended until 1943
Working Class
immigrants, women, children, and rural MW/Southern immigrants = workforce
mainly unskilled labor, bad conditions (long hours, low pay, laid off, dangerous – no safety devices or regs)
Child Labor
child labor happened bc parents were desperate for xt income: worked in coal mines, operating machinery. suffered 3x accidents of adults and received little education
Great Railroad Strike
financial panic of 1873 led to RR worker wage cuts. 1877 = WV strike spawning tens of thousands across the country striking, sometimes attacking employers, scabs, and property
local protestors but down by force but companies + gov didn’t solve actual problems of WC
National Labor Union
craft unions → NLU convened in 1866 to improve working conditions (less focused on wages/pay originally)
wanted 8 hour workday, greenbackism (pro-inflation), == voting rights (but didn’t allow women or Black ppl to be members)
defeats: dissolved after leader died in 1872. victories: 8 hour workday, contract labor act repeal
Knights of Labor
established in 1869. wanted worker cooperatives, gender income equality, bureau of labor stats.
welcomed both white and blue collars = large pop BUT skilled vs. unskilled conflict
got most of their members through strike publicity
Haymarket Affair
Chicago workers went on strike in 1886, violence broke out between strikers + scabs (anarchists >:[)
next day “terrorist bombing” killing + wounding ppl/policemen
gov + news demonized anarchists, arrested leaders despite no connection w/ bomb
Anarchism
believed gov = capitalist device used to exploit working poor
some used violence to achieve goal (bad media rep)
centered in Chicago’s labor movement scene (they also wanted 8 hr workday!)
Haymarket’s Impact on Labor Movement
strikes, tensions between workers + managers»_space;>
Knights of Labor / lbr mov in general lost reputation (associated with anarchists)
spread idea of unionism
got legislation in place eventually: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Foran Act (made Contract Labor Act illegal)
Social Darwinism
applied “natural selection” to human society: “survival of the fittest” = ppl+companies competing within society to generate best possible outcomes (one of which = monopoly)
anti-philanthropic, pro laissez-faire, and didn’t want gov to try to improve income ineq.
Reform Darwinism
response to Social Darwinism: believed people were capable of driving social change + societal evolution through both competition and collaboration
cooperation = main avenue of social progress
believed gov should do the best to reform societal institutions to improve socecon conditions
Political Machines
a network of activists and voting officials allied with a local political party. run by a boss who controlled a ring (small group that shaped political nominations).
William Tweed
larger than life political boss who used Tammany Hall ring to dominate NYC
bribed companies + supporters, corrupt but brought stability
Patronage
boss also awarded patronage (jobs, favors) to loyal supporters and engaged in corrupt actions while simultaneously providing necessary services to improve urban areas.
Jane Addams
Addams takes a pragmatic approach to resolve problems of immigrant slums – seeks practical solutions to fill their needs –>
Hull House is run by middle class idealists to provide necessary services to poor : English language classes, childcare, counseling, community activities to help immigrants adjust to new life in America.
Interstate Commerce Act
prez cleveland wanted fed regulation of unfair freight rates charged by interstate railroads
1887 act created Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), the 1st federal regulatory agency
legal power = weak, semi-corrupt (former RR execs = members) → came to be ignored
Munn/Wabash v. Illinois
Munn v. Illinois: 1877 ruling that states had the right to regulate property that operated in the public interest
overruled by Wabash v. Illinois: ruled that only Congress could regulate industries involved in interstate commerce (created loophole that enabled unfair freight rates)
Grange Movement
started in 1866 in response to increasing farmer debts (due to < crop prices, > intr rates)
created social events, edu programs, “cooperatives” (where farmers band together to avoid middlemen and their fees)
Grange Laws tried to reg RR + warehouse charges – ineffective
Farmer’s Alliance
Grange failed to address cause of poverty (< crop prices, < money supply): Farmers Alliance emphasized pol/econ action to address these things (wanted FG intervention in RR + income tax on rich)
segregated: White Alliance = mostly landowners. Colored Alliance = mostly tenants + sharecroppers
“subtreasury plan” in response to banks not accepting paper $ – farmers stored crops in government warehouses to get gov bonds which freed farmers from high intr rates BUT
nixed by Congress in 1890 - farmers needed > pol power….
Populist Party
wanted to resist wealthy political elite through third party political action: Alliance leaders formed People’s Party in 1892.
wanted…
unlimited coinage of silver (wanted both silver and gold in circulation to increase money supply – inflation makes it easier to pay off debts)
progressive income tax
FG ownership of RRs
8 hour workday
X immigration (“jobs”)
Panic of 1893
started with bankruptcy of major railroad companies, with others following suit, led to job loss, land loss, wage cuts, biz fails, strikes
Cleveland DECREASED $ SUPPLY in response through repealing sherman silver purchase act, reverting to gold standard (bad news) – he and the dems were blamed for econ downturn
Election of 1896
Bryan was pro-silver, voted in by rural dems, and claimed to speak for WC + legis that benefitted them (similar to Andrew Jackson)
Populists wanted to stand out in pro-silver idea but when dem. bryan came out, they decided to support him instead of anti-coinage repub. mckinley (appealed to “sound money” – limiting currency). After Election , populist party disintegrated
lacked support in Northeast (disliked radicals, wanted industrial econ) and Midwest, which led to McKinley to win
Cross of Gold Speech
William Jennings Bryan compared himself to Jesus in a 1896 speech. very rousing + dramatic =»_space; Dem support.
