1. The Gilded Age

2. Today’s Key Terms The Gilded Age Social Problems Booker T. Washington
W.E.B. DuBois
Political Problems
Political Machines
Tammany Hall
Graft
Thomas Nast
Pendleton Civil Service Act

3. What Does It Mean To Be Gilded
Gilded: To coat something in Gold
The Gilded Age:
This is a time period from
An era that looks rich and prosperous on the surface
But, underneath that “gilded” surface is a rotten core

4. The Rotten Core
Underneath the surface we will find the following problems
Social problems for
African Americans
Factory workers and the poor
Government corruption
Like political machines
Poverty
Awful living and working conditions

5. The Rotten Core: African American Life
Jim Crow Laws
Segregated public venues by race
Literacy Tests
Requires voters to be able to read
Who will this stop from voting?

6. The Rotten Core: African American Life
Poll tax
Require voters to pay in order to vote
Who does this stop from voting?
Grandfather Clause
In order to vote, one’s grandfather had to be eligible to vote
All of these strip Southern AA’s of their political rights
Effects?

7. The Rotten Core: African American Life
Laws Force Segregation
Plessy v. Ferguson
This case upheld the constitutionality of the Jim Crow Laws
Declared the “separate but equal clause”
For every $14 spent on white students, only $3 were spent on black students

8. Opposing Racial Injustice
Booker T. Washington
He believed AA’s should not demand immediate end to Jim Crow Laws
AA’s should “pick themselves up by their own bootstraps”
This means, he thought they should learn a skill
Earn a good reputation
Eventually, whites would see AA’s as equal and overturn Jim Crow Laws

9. Opposing Racial Injustices
W.E.B. Dubois
AA’s should demand full and immediate equality
He didn’t believe AA’s should have to earn equality, but believed it was their right
He wanted AA’s to learn more than simple skills
i.e. Become doctors, lawyers, etc

10. Opposing Racial Injustices
Ida B. Wells
AA women who fought for AA rights
Wrote newspaper called Free Speech
This paper condemned lynching and poor treatment of AA’s

11. Struggles for Women Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Formed NWSA to fight for women’s right to vote
Anthony voted in one election and was arrested
By 1906 only Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho allowed women to vote

12. Struggles for Women
Number of women attending college did increase at this time
Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was formed to end alcohol abuse

13. Political and Economic Challenges

14. Political Problems
Democrats and Republicans made it hard on each other to pass new laws
Weak Presidents were corrupt or unable to pass legislation
Grover Cleveland was noteworthy for his integrity

15. Political Machines
Political Machine: Unofficial city organization designed to keep a particular party or group in power.
Tammany Hall: The political machine in New York City that dominated the Democratic Party. It used its power to provide jobs and favors to its supporters, but its leaders often used corrupt means to get elected and to enrich themselves.
Boss Tweed was the leader of Tammany Hall.

16. Graft: illegal or unfair gain.
Graft still occurs today. With a partner, find an article in The New York Times about a person in government who misused their position for their own profit. Make a list of all the ways this specific example of corruption hurts others. Compare your list with the results of Tammany Hall graft years ago. Then on a blank piece of paper, created an advertisement denouncing this graft.

17. Political Cartoonists: These men expressed concern of corruption through cartoons
Joseph Keppler
“Bosses of the Senate”
What does this cartoon say about corruption in politics?
Thomas Nast
The most famous of political cartoonists
He exposed men like Boss Tweed

19. The Spoils System This system gave jobs to loyal party members
This made civil service (govt jobs) inefficient, as many were not qualified for the jobs they were given.

20. Political Reform Pendleton Civil Service Act
In order to work in civil service you had to pass a test
This ensured that only qualified persons took civil service jobs