1. The Gilded Age

2. Gilded Age Term coined by Mark Twain that describes this era as gilded
Gilded means looks good on the outside but was not so pleasant on the inside.

3. Government from 1877-1900 Laissez-faire (hands off) Government
Government policies helped business by not placing restrictions on business and giving them special consideration
Supported by Republicans

4. Innovations
Edwin Drake- First person to drill for oil in Titusville, PA
Thomas Edison- Perfected the incandescent light bulb
George Westinghouse- Invented Airbrakes for Railroad Cars

5. More Innovations
Alexander Miles- Improved the method of the opening and closing of elevator doors
Christopher Sholes- created the typewriter which created opportunities for women in clerical jobs
Elias Howe- invented the sewing machine for textile industry

6. Business Innovations
Corporation- Organization owned by many people but treated as a single entity
-allowed limits for liability
Holding Companies- corporation formed to buy the stock of other companies and thus creates a monopoly.

7. Monopolies and Trusts
Monopoly- A company that controls most or all of the market and limits competition
Trust- Organization of two or more corporations that allows their shares to be managed by someone else (trustee)
Trustee- person has no ownership so it can’t be considered a corporation

8. Horizontal v. Vertical Integration
Horizontal integration- business activity involving the merger of two similar companies
-ex. Oil company A + oil company B
Vertical Integration- Business practice in which all levels of production are owned by the same company

9. Captains of Industry Or Robber Barons?
Captains of Industry- Positive term for business leaders who helped America
Robber Barons- Negative term for business leaders who are seen as exploiting Americans

10. Business Leaders
Andrew Carnegie- Made fortune in Steel industry (Carnegie Steel)
Used the Bessemer steel process
Gospel of Wealth- rich should give back to community

11. Business Leaders
J.P. Morgan- made his fortune in banking and financing
-Bought out Carnegie Steel and Formed U.S. Steel
John D. Rockefeller- Oil Tycoon, founded Standard Oil using horizontal integration
Cornelius Vanderbilt- merged railroad

12. Social Darwinism
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection that could be applied to people
Herbert Spencer- “Survival of the Fittest”
Horatio Alger- “Rags to Riches”