The Gilded Age/ Social Darwinism The Rossers Section 6.3 (230-232) The Spirit of the Gilded Age

Today’s Agenda September 21, 2015 Collect “letter home” paragraph Reminder: HIPE (Essay or Presentation) due in 1 week Put finished slide show in my Inbox by Monday morning 6.3 The Spirit of the Gilded Age (Conspicuous Consumption) Homework Work on Essay or presentation

Let Review Father of the Skyscraper Creator of the “safe” elevator When a nation goes from farms to factories World’s fair of 1876 held in Philly which featured great inventions and innovations of America Someone who is Anti-Foreigner How immigration to US changed after 1890 Corrupt Ward boss of NYC who looked after immigrants Creators of the Brooklyn Bridge

Objectives for Today You should be able to: Define and list at least 2 characteristics of the Gilded Age Identify “The Breakers” Define and give at least 3 examples of Conspicuous Consumption Develop a position on the role government should play (if any) in dealing with severe economic disparity

Was America a great nation circa 1900? Centennial Exposition showcased American know-how Growing economy Thousands of new patents Click for Clips

The Greatness of America (ASof US, D2Ep3 begin at 9:00)

What was the Gilded Age? Another name for America’s Industrial Revolution America from 1890-1912 Gilded: to cover something with a thin layer of gold to make it seem more attractive or valuable than it really is. "Gilded Age" coined by Mark Twain

What was the nation trying to gild? Poverty Child Labor Crime Alcoholism Prostitution Inhumane working conditions Economic disparity

How did the American elite gild themselves? Conspicuous Consumption refers to the acquisition of goods in order to flaunt status & wealth Many poor immigrant families lived on $445 per year Cornelia Sherman Martin spent $360 thousand on 1 party Disparagingly called Nouveaux Riches by Old Money People New Rich Molly Brown Wealthy but lacked class, refinement

ASofUS, D2 Ep3 , begin at 18:00

Today’s Agenda Collect Homework (Diary or Letter Home) Finish Urban America Slide Show Homework Study you notes Quiz on Gilded Age this Friday (30-40 Points)

Let’s Review Gilded Age Alexander Graham Bell Xenophobia Gild Period in US history noted for growth of factories, urbanization, mass immigration, great architectural accomplishments and horrendous poverty “Mr. Watson, come here: I want you.” Extreme dislike of immigrants from American-born people To cover with gold in order to make it seem more attractive & valuable Purchasing goods or services in order to flaunt wealth and status Built Brooklyn Bridge Area in bottom of ship where most poor immigrants stayed during voyage to America Writer who said, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Gilded Age Alexander Graham Bell Xenophobia Gild Conspicuous consumption John and George Roebling steerage Emma Lazarus

So how could the wealthy sleep at night?

Is there any justification for such economic disparity?

Social Darwinism Day 7 Section 6.3 (Appleby 230-232) Urban America Click for “Lion King Clip” Social Darwinism Day 7 Section 6.3 (Appleby 230-232)

Should we stop Simba. Or should we let nature take its course Should we stop Simba? Or should we let nature take its course? What if we applied this to society?

Read the following quote. How would you describe his philosophy? "Before the tribunal (judge) of nature a man has no more right to life than a rattlesnake; he has no more right to liberty than any wild beast; his right to pursuit of happiness is nothing but a license to maintain the struggle for existence..." —William Graham Sumner, "Earth-hunger, and other essays," p. 234. THE LAW OF THE JUNGLE

Objectives: By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Define Laissez-faire Identify William Graham Sumner and his philosophy Social Darwinism Identify Andrew Carnegie and his philosophy of the Gospel of Wealth Develop your political view on the role of government in economics

Discussion Questions What did you observe? What justifies who would survive and who would die?

Who was Charles Darwin? English Scientist Wrote Origin of the Species (1859) Major Theories Survival of the Fittest Only species who adapt to changing environments live Natural Selection Nature chooses who will live and who will die by creating certain adaptations for some and not others Seemed to support American ideal of “rugged individualism” What if we apply this ideology to other aspects of society? Race, nationality, economics

What is a Laissez-Faire Economic Policy? “let it (nature) be” Government should stay out of economy Based on Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations” Hated mercantilism Let Invisible Hand of nature run economy Wealth is “merely the working out of the law of nature and the law of God.” John D. Rockefeller

Describe William Graham Sumner’s idea of Social Darwinism. belief proposed by Sumner that people in society compete for survival and that superior individuals, groups, etc. become powerful and rich Natural selection fittest succeed unfit sink into poverty and become extinct The rich are so rich because they’re better

Describe Carnegie’s childhood and teenage years. Poor immigrant Rags to Riches 1st Job as a Bobbin Boy in textile factory $1 per week 5:30 AM to 7:30 PM (6 days a week) Messenger in telegraph office (14) $2.50 per week Became assistant to president in PA RR Invested savings in RR & oil Began own business manufacturing iron bridges Used Bessemer Process for manufacturing inexpensive steel Purchased Homestead Steel 1889 Sold to JP Morgan for $480 million ($13.2 billion today) first job at age 13 in 1848 was as a bobbin boy, changing spools of thread in a cotton mill 12 hours a day, 6 days a week in a Pittsburgh cotton factory A bobbin boy was a boy who worked in a textile mill in the 18th and early 19th centuries. He would bring bobbins to the women at the looms when they called for them, and collected the full bobbins of spun cotton or wool thread. They also would be expected to fix minor problems with the machines. Average pay was about $1.00 a week, with days often beginning at 5:30 am and ending around 7:30 pm six days a week. One example of rising from this job to great heights in America was young Andrew Carnegie, who at age 13 worked as a bobbin boy in 1848.[1 telegraph messenger boy in the Pittsburgh Office of the Ohio Telegraph Company, at $2.50 per week,[5] following the recommendation of his uncle. His new job gave him many benefits including free admission to the local theater. This made him appreciate Shakespeare's work. He was a very hard worker and would memorize all of the locations of Pittsburgh's businesses and the faces of important men. He made many connections this way. He also paid close attention to his work, and quickly learned to distinguish the differing sounds the incoming telegraph signals produced. He developed the ability to translate signals by ear, without having to write them down,[citation needed] and within a year was promoted as an operator. Carnegie's education and passion for reading was given a great boost by Colonel James Anderson, who opened his personal library of 400 volumes to working boys each Saturday night. Carnegie was a consistent borrower and a "self-made man" in both his economic development and his intellectual and cultural development. His capacity, his willingness for hard work, his perseverance, and his alertness soon brought forth opportunities

What is the Gospel of Wealth ? Carnegie’s essay that says justifies social Darwinism ‘Natural aristocracy’ should control economy BUT, Wealthy have obligation to aid the less fortunate Help them help themselves Laissez-Faire is beneficial to all because weak links are eliminated, best rise to the top http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5766/