Gilded AgeGilded Age Industrialism and Industrialism and

CultureCulture

Unit VIAUnit VIA

AP United States HistoryAP United States History

Captains of Industry OR Robber Barons?

►Using four business entrepreneurs as case studies for American innovation, industrial growth, and expansion of capitalism.

►Cornelius Vanderbilt►Andrew Carnegie►John D. Rockefeller►J.P. Morgan

Captains of Industry OR Robber Barons:Cornelius Vanderbilt and Railroads

► Transportation► Railroads► Granger Movement

The Business of Railroads► Rate Wars► Pools

Competing lines fixed prices and divided business for max profits

► Grange Lines Midwest farmers dependent on rail

lines for shipping High freight rates impoverished

farmers

Farmers vs Railroads► Granger Movement

Granger laws Cooperatives

► Munn v. Illinois (1877) States could regulate private

companies if they served the public interest, I.e. grain elevators, railroads

► Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois (1886) States could not regulate interstate

commerce► Interstate Commerce Act (1886)

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

► Farmers’ Alliance Ocala Platform (1890)

► Free silver► Low interest loan systems► Decreased tariffs► Government regulation of

communication and transportation► Graduated income tax► Favored direct election of Senators

Gilded Age Press and Literature► Newspapers and Magazines

Sensationalism and scandals Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World William Randolph Hearst’s The New

York Journal Editorials and investigative journalism

► Fiction and Realism Mark Twain

►The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn►The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today

Jack London►The Call of the Wild

Captains of Industry OR Robber Barons:Andrew Carnegie and Steel

► Steel► Vertical Integration► Urbanization and Cities► Gospel of Wealth► Labor Unions and

Strikes

Vertical Integration► Carnegie acquired all

aspects of steel production

► Limited competition, maximized profits, lowered prices

Bessemer Process► Oxidation of iron ore to

remove impurities Steel is lighter, stronger,

rust-resistant

► Carnegie and Steel Adopted and adapted

Bessemer Process to steel plants

Increased supply of quality steel dropped steel prices

Abundance of steel significantly impacted American industrial growth and expansion

Steel Production

Steel and Urbanization► Skyscrapers► Infrastructure

Grand Central Station Brooklyn Bridge

► Urban Innovation Mass Transit

► Elevated rails► Cable cars► Subways

Elevators Central steam-heating

systems

NYC 1850

NYC c. 1900

Gilded Age Architecture

Chicago Stock Exchange Building (1894)Louis Sullivan“form follows function”

Carson Mansion (1886)Victorian

Fireproof houseFrank Lloyd Wright

Gilded Age Art

Breezing Up (A Fair Wind) (1876)Winslow Homer

Cross Streets of New York (1899)Everett ShinAshcan School

New York (1911)George Bellows

Gilded Age Urbanization► 20% of Americans lived in

cities by 1860► 40% of Americans lived in

cities by 1900

Urban Problems

► Overcrowding Tenement Living

► Pollution► Crime► Sanitation/Water

Treatment► Disease

Urban and Social Reform► Social Gospel

Post-millenialism Based on Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” “What would Jesus do?” (1896)

► Josiah Strong Our Country: Its Possible Future and Present

Crisis (1885)► "The Anglo-Saxon is the representative of two

great ideas, which are closely related. One of them is that of civil liberty. Nearly all of the civil liberty of the world is enjoyed by Anglo-Saxons: the English, the British colonists, and the people of the United States....The other great idea of which the Anglo-Saxon is the exponent is that of a pure spiritual Christianity.The Anglo-Saxon is the representative of two great ideas, which are closely related. One of them is that of civil liberty. Nearly all of the civil liberty of the world is enjoyed by Anglo-Saxons: the English, the British colonists, and the people of the United States....The other great idea of which the Anglo-Saxon is the exponent is that of a pure spiritual Christianity."

► New Denominations Christian Science Pentecostals Jehovah’s Witness Salvation Army

Urban and Social Reform► Settlement House

Established in poor urban neighborhoods

Provided education, daycare, and health services

Middle class volunteers

► Jane Addams and Hull House Based in Chicago

Urban and Social Reform► Jacob Riis

How the Other Half Lives (1889)► Henry George

Progress and Poverty: An Inquiry into the Cause of Industrial Depressions and of Increase of Want with Increase of Wealth: The Remedy (1879)

"Take now... some hard-headed business man, who has no theories, but knows how to make money. Say to him: "Here is a little village; in ten years it will be a great cityóin ten years the railroad will have taken the place of the stage coach, the electric light of the candle; it will abound with all the machinery and improvements that so enormously multiply the effective power of labor. Will in ten years, interest be any higher?" He will tell you, "No!" "Will the wages of the common labor be any higher...?" He will tell you, "No the wages of common labor will not be any higher..." "What, then, will be higher?" "Rent, the value of land. Go, get yourself a piece of ground, and hold possession." And if, under such circumstances, you take his advice, you need do nothing more. You may sit down and smoke your pipe; you may lie around like the lazzaroni of Naples or the leperos of Mexico; you may go up in a balloon or down a hole in the ground; and without doing one stroke of work, without adding one iota of wealth to the community, in ten years you will be rich! In the new city you may have a luxurious mansion, but among its public buildings will be an almshouse."

Gospel of Wealth► Based on an article written by Andrew

Carnegie► Guardians of the nation’s wealth► “All revenue generated beyond your own

needs should be used for the good of the community.”

► “In bestowing charity, the main consideration should be to help those who will help themselves; to provide part of the means by which those who desire to improve may do so; to give those who desire to use the aids by which they may rise; to assist, but rarely or never to do all. Neither the individual nor the race is improved by alms-giving.”

Labor Wages and Conditions► Time and Pay

Average work week for industrial worker: 60 hours

Average hourly rate for unskilled industrial worker: $0.10

Iron law of wages► Conditions

Poor ventilation and heavy equipment

In 1882, average of 675 workers killed each week

► No benefits No vacation days, sick leave,

health insurance, workers’ compensation, pensions

► Child Labor As young as 5 years old 12-14 hours for $.27 ($6.65)

Hours and Wages of Industrial Workers (1875-1891)Year Average Daily Hours Index of Average Daily

Wages (Jan 1860 = 100)

1875 9.9 169.2

1876 9.9 158.6

1877 9.9 146.3

1878 9.9 140.7

1879 9.9 137.9

1880 9.9 142.7

1881 9.9 160.1

1882 9.9 165.1

1883 9.9 166.0

1884 9.9 168.5

1885 9.9 169.9

1886 9.8 170.3

1887 9.7 170.1

1888 9.7 170.9

1889 9.6 170.1

1890 9.6 172.7

1891 9.4 172.5

Unions vs. Management

► Industrialization, mass production, use of semiskilled workers = devalued labor

► Poor and dangerous working conditions, immigrants, and meager salaries = upset workforce

► Collective bargaining to appeal for better conditions, higher salaries, benefits

► Union Methods political action and efficacy,

strikes, picketing, boycotts, slowdowns

► Industrialization, mass production, use of semiskilled workers = increased profits

► Poor and dangerous working conditions, immigrants, and meager salaries = increasing profits and satisfied management

► Developed image of unions and organized labor as un-American, socialist, anarchist

► Management Methods lockouts, scabs, blacklists,

yellow-dog contracts, government/private force, court injunctions

Labor Unions► Knights of Labor (1869)► Terence V. Powderley► Platform

Open to blacks, women, most immigrants, Catholics, unskilled and semi-skilled workers

Cooperatives and anti-trusts 8-hour workday, child labor laws

► Tactics Arbitration and strikes

► American Federation of Labor (AFL) (1886)

► Organization of national craft unions of skilled workers

► Samuel Gompers► “Bread and Butter”

Higher wages Shorter working hours Better working conditions

► Tactics Arbitration and strikes Political lobbying with Democratic Party

Great Railroad Strike of 1877► July 14-September 4, 1877► Causes

Panic of 1873 Class conflict with wage cuts

and unemployment► Events

Strikers forced rail stoppages Federal troops engaged

strikers Riots and massacres

► Impact Would lead to better

organization of workers and labor unions

Legislation to limit unions and preparations for potential conflicts

Haymarket Riot of 1886► May Day (May 1st)

Strike begins of harvesting workers► May 3rd

Police sent to protect strikers Fight broke out and one person

killed and several injured► May 4th Protest

Anarchists planned demonstration against police brutality

Police dispersed crowd of 2,000► Bombing

A pipe bomb exploded and killed 7 police officers

Police fired into crowd killing 4► Trial

8 innocent anarchists convicted of murder in a show trial

4 hanged, 1 committed suicide, 3 pardoned by governor

Homestead Strike ► June 30-July 6, 1892► Henry Frick

Manager of Carnegie Steel Pursued wage cuts due to lower

steel prices Attempted to weaken steel workers

union

► Events Frick orders a lockout and hires

scabs Use of Pinkertons to disperse

strikers President Harrison ordered federal

troops to break the strike

► Impact Weakened steel workers union Tarnished Carnegie’s reputation

Pullman Strike (1894)► Pullman Palace Car Company

Established “model town” for workers In response to Panic of 1893, wages cut

but not rents and town costs ► Strike

Eugene V. Debs Workers blocked transport of Pullman

cars Pullman Co. linked them to mail cars President Grover Cleveland deployed

federal troops and court injunctions to enforce postal service

► Opinion Most Americans opposed the strike

► Including AFL and Samuel Gompers

► In Re Debs (1895) Supreme Court ruled federal court

injunctions to enforce interstate commerce constitutional

Captains of Industry OR Robber Barons:John D. Rockefeller and Oil

► Horizontal Integration► Standard Oil

Trusts and monopolies

► Sherman Anti-trust Act (1890)

► Gilded Age Society► Social Darwinism

Horizontal Integration

Standard Oil Trust► Tactics

Lowered prices to drive out competitors (rate wars)

Threatened companies to sell to Standard Oil (buyouts)

Bribed railroads to buy Standard Oil fuel (rebates, kickbacks)

Bribed Congress members► Trusts and Monopolies

Controls prices Limits competition

Antitrust Movement► Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

Prohibits any “contract, combination, in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce”

► United States v. E.C. Knight Co. (1895) Sugar refining monopoly tested Sherman Antitrust Act Regulation applied to commerce and not manufacturing

Bosses of the Senate

“What a funny little government”

Scientific Management“Taylorism”

► Frederick W. Taylor► Designed hierarchies and

subdivisions of labor Managers plan, schedule, train,

and supervise Workers perform assigned tasks

best suited to skills► Time management► Effects

Managerial class Efficiency Labor resentment

Henry Ford and Model T

► Assembly Line Mass production of

products through sequential assembly

► Worker Treatment Paid decent wages Provided benefits

► Model T (1908) Low-cost product for

affordable price

Gilded Age Socioeconomics► Socioeconomic gap

extensively widened By 1890s, 10% of Americans

controlled 90% of the nation’s wealth

► Statistics Total national wealth in 1860:

$16 billion Total national wealth in 1900:

$88 billion National wealth per capita in

1860: $500 National wealth per capita in

1900: $1100► Expansion of middle

class/white-collar workers► 2/3 of population were wage

earners

Gilded Age Women► Upper-class and middle-class women

College educated Increased independence Involved in social reforms Gibson Girl and New Woman

► 20% of American women worked as wage earners Most single women; 5% married Low-income families required women in

workplace

► Female-based Jobs Typical home-associated industries:

► textiles, foods, domestic servants

New types of jobs: ► secretaries, bookkeepers, typists,

communication operators

Temperance and Reform► Temperance Organizations

National Prohibition Party (1869)

Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) (1874)

Antisaloon League (1893) Carrie Nation

► “Hatchetations”

► Reform Groups Planned parenthood Humane societies Anti-prostitution

Immigration► Massive Influx

16.2 million immigrants (1850-1900)

8.8 million (1901-1910)► Old Immigrants

Northern and Western Europe

► New Immigrants Southern and Eastern

Europe; Asia Catholics, Jews

Immigrant Issues► Sociopolitical Enemies

Nativists Josiah Strong - Our Country

► Legislation Immigration Acts of 1882, 1891

► Forbid convicts, lunatics, idiots, diseased, disabled Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

► Chinese immigration ban for 10 years► Chinese prevented from becoming citizens

► Political Machines Employment, housing, social services for votes

► Ethnic Neighborhoods Little Italy Chinatown

Ellis Island

“…Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore…”

Emma Lazarus - The New Colossus, 1883

Social Darwinism

► Herbert Spencer “Survival of the fittest” Wealth a result of hard work and

brilliance Poor and unfortunate were lazy

► Fueled and Influenced… Laissez-faire economics Racism Nativism Imperialism Eugenics Horatio Alger Myth

Captains of Industry OR Robber Barons:J.P. Morgan and Electricity

► Banking and Financing► Corporations► Science and

Innovation► Consumerism

Corporations

► American Telephone and Telegraph Co. (1885) J.P. Morgan Co. financed merger of

Bell and communication companies

► General Electric (1892) J.P. Morgan merged Edison General

Electric and Thomas-Houston Electric Company

► U.S. Steel (1901) J.P. Morgan bought Carnegie Steel

and merged with other steel companies

Becomes first billion dollar company in world

Corporate Mergers - 1895-1910

Electricity► Thomas Edison

The Wizard of Menlo Park Incandescent light bulb

►Safer than kerosene lamps►New York City

Direct current (DC)►Edison developed system of power

stations

► Nicola Tesla Alternate current (AC)

►Transfer of electricity faster and farther

Gilded Age Innovation► Sewing Machine (1855)

Isaac Singer► Transatlantic cable (1866)

Cyrus Field► Dynamite (1866)

Alfred Nobel► Typewriter (1867)

Christopher Scholes► Air brakes (1868)

George Westinghouse► Mail-order catalog (1872)

A.M. Ward► Blue jeans (1873)

Levi Strauss► Barbed wire (1873)

Joseph Glidden► Telephone (1876)

Alexander Graham Bell*► Phonograph (1877)

Thomas Edison► Incandescent Light bulb

(1879) Thomas Edison*

► Cash register (1879) James Ritty

► Universal stock ticker (1885) Thomas Edison

► Transformer (1885) Nikola Tesla

► Gasoline automobile (1885) Karl F. Benz

► Skyscraper (1885) William Le Baron Jenney

► Film roll and Kodak camera (1889) George Eastman*

► Motion picture camera (1891) Thomas Edison*

► Radio (1895) Guglielmo Marconi

► Subway (U.S.) (1895)► X-ray (1895)

Wilhelm C. Rontgen► Powered flight (1903)

George and Wilbur Wright► Alkaline battery (1906)

Thomas Edison► Model T (1908)

Henry Ford

Monumental Innovation► Charles Alderton

Experimented with various syrups and flavorings

► Robert Lazenby Developed Dr. Pepper by 1885 Patented and incorporated by

1891

► St. Louis World’s Fair and Exposition (1904) Introduces Dr. Pepper to the world Along with hot dogs, hamburgers,

and ice cream cones

Number of Patents Issued

Gilded Age Academics► Educational Reforms

Public Education► Comprehensive education► Compulsory Education► Most states required 8-14 year olds to

attend schools► Kindergartens► Led to 90% literacy rate

Colleges and Universities► Increased through federal legislation and

philanthropy► Women’s colleges and universities

By 1910 40% of college students were women

► Black colleges and universities

► Science Charles Darwin and Evolution Technological Innovation

► Social Sciences Scientific method applied to behavioral

sciences Development of psychology, sociology,

political science

Consumerism► Wide variety of mass

produced goods led to new marketing and sales

► Brand names and logos► Department stores

R.H. Macy’s► Chain stores

Woolworth’s► Grocery stores► Mail order catalogs

Montgomery Ward Sears, Roebuck, Co.

Gilded Age Music► Mainstream Music

John Philip Sousa – The March King

► The Washington Post► Stars and Stripes Forever► Semper Fidelis

Screamers – Circus Marches► Entry of the Gladiators

► Popular Music Ragtime

► Originated from black communities combining African syncopation and classical music

► Scott Joplin The Entertainer

The Blues► Originated c. 1890 from Deep

South based on ballads among slaves

► Lyrics mostly soulful and melancholy