Introduction to the Gilded Age 1865 - 1898
The Gilded Age Name comes from a Mark Twain novel of the same name; actually a quote from Shakespeare: “To gild refined gold, to paint the lily…is wasteful and ridiculous excess.” Gilding is the art of applying a thin layer of gold to a surface. The Gilded Age is often seen as a period that looks good on the surface but ugly underneath.
Gilded Age Major areas of study during this time period: Industrialization Immigration Big Business and Labor Imperialism
Industrialization US Industrial Revolution changed the way people Thought Earned their living Dressed Traveled Related to one another Spent their free time
Industrialization Advantages of an Industrial Revolution Higher life expectancy Better overall health Literacy Minimum health care Access to technology and goods that improve life More wealth
Industrialization Preconditions for Industrialization: Fertile soil, coal and iron ore Basic inventions Infrastructure (transportation systems) Large working force Money for investment Talented, ambitious people Favorable government policy
Industrialization US meets the preconditions Plenty of access to natural resources across the US Many inventors and inventions (interchangeable parts, steam boat and engine, sewing machine, telegraph, 6 shooter, steel, reaper, electric lights, phonograph, telephone, airplane). Moving assembly line
Industrialization Preconditions, cont. Two sources for workforce: people moving to the city due to mechanization of farming and immigration. Women’s lives changed: work as typists, factories, salespersons and clerks, teaching and nursing. 17% of the workforce 1.7 million children under 16 also in workforce by 1900 Lower pay than men for same jobs
Industrialization Preconditions, cont. Infrastructure: Transcontinental Railroad finished in 1869. 200,000 miles of railroad built between 1865-1910. Money: Profit from China trade and from industrialists invested in new enterprises as well as foreign investment fueled development.
Industrialization Preconditions, cont. Entrepreneurs Government policy Vanderbilt – shipping and railroads Carnegie – iron and steel J.P. Morgan – banking, financed many including Edison. Government policy American system Open immigration High tariffs Sound money Strikes put down LAISSEZ-FAIRE Survival of the fittest