1. Chapter 13 Section 3: The Gilded Age

2. Individualism
Social Darwinism strongly reinforced the idea of individualism
Many Americans firmly believed that no matter how humble their origins, they could rise in society and go as far as their talents and commitment would take them
Horatio Alger wrote more than 100 “Rags-to-Riches”

3. Gilded Age
1873 Mark Twain and Charles Warner wrote a novel entitled The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today
Gilded- covered with cold on the outside but made of cheaper material inside
Industrialism and urbanization altered the way Americans looked at themselves and their society

4. Herbert Spencer
British philosopher Herbert Spencer applied Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection to human society
1859 wrote a book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
“Survival of the Fittest”

5. Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth
Andrew Carnegie advocated a gentler version of Social Darwinism that he called the Gospel of Wealth
This philosophy held that wealthy Americans should engage in philanthropy and use their great fortunes to create the conditions
Carnegie himself helped fund the creation of public libraries in cities across the nation

6. Vaudeville and Ragtime
Adapted from French theater, vaudeville took on an American flavor in the early 1889's with its hodgepodge of animal acts, acrobats, and dancers
Ragtime music echoed the hectic pace of city life, its syncopated rhythems grew out of the music of riverside honky-tonks

7. Civil War Reform
President James A. Garfield was elected in 1880, he was shot on July 2, 1881 died weeks later
Garfield's assassination turned public opinion against its spoils system
1883 Congress responded by passing the Pendleton Act
This law required that some jobs be filled by competitive written examinations, rather than patronage

8. Challenging Social Darwinism
1879, journalist Henry George published Progress and Poverty, a discussion about American economy quickly became a national bestseller
Most Economics now argue that George's analysis was flawed
George's economic theories encouraged other reformers to challenge the assumptions of the era

9. Settlement house movement
The settlement house movement began as an offshoot of the Social Gospel movement. In the late 1800's idealistic reformers established settlement houses in poor
Jane Addams opened the famous Hull House in Chicago in 1889

10. Public Education
Number of public schools increased dramatically after Civil War
Number of children attending school rose from 6,500,000 in 1870 to 17,300,000 in 1900
At public schools, immigrant children were taught English and learned the American history and culture