Gilded Age Review Created By: Michael Crews

Politics Political Machines – bought votes through providing services and jobs in the administration – Political bosses – controlled the machine – Spoils system – process of paying for votes through money, jobs, and services – Tammany Hall – Democratic Political Machine in New York City (William Tweed) Presidents – Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, Harrison – All lacked personality Called the “forgotten presidents”

Legislation Pendleton Act (1883) – reformed the spoils system – Created the Civil Service Commission Hire federal employees based on exams and merit Sherman Silver Purchase Act- purchased more silver for currency McKinley Tariff – set import tax at around 50%

Industrialization Second Industrial Revolution – Mechanization and marketing led to great wealth If you could get people to purchase your mass produced goods you became incredibly wealthy Transcontinental Railroad – Authorized by congress in 1862 – Federally subsidized by the mile at first – Completed in Ogden, Utah – Built by primarily Chinese and Irish labor – Opened up the west to rapid expansion of population – Provided quick transportation of goods and raw materials to developing industrial centers

Important Businessmen and Ideas Vanderbilt – Railroad tycoon Carnegie – Steel industry – Sold company to J.P. Morgan who developed the U.S. Steel Corporation J.P. Morgan – Banking/Investing Rockefeller – Oil – Created Standard Oil Company Vertical Integration – combing companies that supply equipment, services and resources for a particular product Horizontal Integration – combining all other companies in a particular industry

Social Ideas and Business Regulations Interstate Commerce Act (1887) – Outlawed railroad rebates and kickbacks – Created Interstate Commerce Commission Monitored railroad companies for compliance Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890) – Outlawed monopolies Social Darwinism – The idea that people succeed based on natural selection or ‘survival of the fittest’ – The ‘Gospel of Wealth’ God had given them riches for the genius and/or tenacity – The opposite of this is that poor or unsuccessful people were ungodly or biologically inferior

Labor Movement National Labor Union (NLU) – Represented both skilled and unskilled labor to factory owners Knights of Labor – Another labor union – It allowed blacks and women to join NLU did not American Federation of Labor (AFL) – Large organization that coordinated efforts of many smaller unions

Strikes Railroad Strike of 1877 – Threatened second 10% pay cut for workers Coeur d’Alene Strike (1892) – Silver miners’ wages slashed Miners blew up the mine Homestead Strike – Steel workers protested lowered wages – Won a victory after clashing with 300 detectives Pullman Strike – Pullman railcar company employees wages cut 30% – Eugene Debs organized the strike 150,000 union members refused to work Delayed service as far away as California – Grover Cleveland sent federal troops to break up strike

Social Issues Immigration – Push Factors Avoid forced military service Avoid religious persecution Poor economic situation – Pull Factors Better jobs Religious freedom Ability to improve social standing – Negative reactions Nativists did not feel that immigrants would never assimilate into the ‘American’ culture – Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned Chinese immigration until 1943 – Rapid urbanization Along with native peoples, immigrants settled into the industrialized cities Lack of adequate housing led to ‘slums’

More Social Issues Equal Rights – Women demand right to vote Elizabeth Cady Stanton – African Americans continued fight for their rights Plessy V. Ferguson ( separate but equal) upheld Booker T. Washington encouraged blacks to become economically self-sufficient before challenging whites on social issues W.E.B. Du Bois argued that blacks should fight for social and economic equality at the same time