1. Ch 15 Notes Sections 2-3

2. “Gilded Age” 1783 novel by Mark Twain and Charles Warner
Term refers to time from
Term “gilded” refers to something being gold on the outside and cheaper on the inside
Authors tried to point out that although this was a time of growth, beneath the surface were corruption, poverty, and a huge gap between the rich and the poor

3. Urbanization Migration to cities
Tough working conditions but still saw an improvement in standards of living
Cities had more to offer than rural life.
Better paying jobs, bright lights, running water, modern plumbing, better schools, museums, libraries, theaters, amusement parks, and more

4. Separation of Class Clear boundaries on where classes lived
Wealthy in elaborate houses in heart of city
Middle class – away from city (facilitated by mass transit)
Working class poor – city tenements

5. Urban Problems Increase in crime, fire, disease, and pollution
Increase in murder rate
Native-born Americans blamed immigrants for the increase in crime.*
Alcohol contributed to crime.
Contaminated drinking water from improper sewage disposal resulted in epidemics of typhoid fever and cholera.

6. Urban Politics
New political system needed to cope with urban problems.
Political machine
an informal political group designed to
gain and keep power
provided essentials to city dwellers in
exchange for votes

7. Party Bosses Ran the political machines
Had tight control over city’s money
Many became rich due to fraud or graft
Most famous political machine = Tammany Hall
Run 1860s and 1870s by William Marcy Tweed (Boss Tweed)
Arrested and sent to prison for corruption in 1874

8. Thomas Nast

12. Nast’s “Boss Tweed”
Nast's drawings depicted Boss Tweed as a corrupt politician. Nast's attacks were so relentless that at one point Tweed dispatched his cronies with instructions to, "Stop them damn pictures. I don't care what the papers write about me. My constituents can't read. But, damn it, they can see the pictures." It was also reported that Tweed offered Nast bribes to "take an extended European vacation" in order to try and get the pictures to stop.