The Gilded Age 1865-1900

The Gilded Age was the era of RAPID ECONOMIC AND POPULATION GROWTH that took place POST
RECONSTRUCTION. MARK TWAIN coined the term in his book and the name refers to the ridiculous
wealth of the rich. The Gilded Age CREATED A MODERN INDUTSRIOUS ECONOMY. During this time the
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION NETWORKS were created and the corporation became the
dominant form of business organization. In this age the US LED THE WORLD in industry and per capita
income. Aside from the insanely rich, many workers were controlled by their bosses and had no rights.

AGE OF
EXCESSIVE
DECADENCE

Robber Barons
 John D. Rockefeller Standard Oil, richest peep ever
 Andrew W. Mellon Smart investor and BANKER
 Andrew Carnegie Carnegie Steel Company
 Henry Flagler Railroad Developer, partner to JDR, tycoon
 J.P. Morgan Another smart banker, General electric, US Steel

People to Know Terms to Know

 Booker T. Washington sharecropping
 Samuel Gompers settlement houses
 Eugene V. Debs J
 William Jennings Bryan

Terms to Know
 Gospel of Wealth
 Political bosses
 Ethnic neighborhoods / immigration
 Horizontal integration
 Vertical integration
 Social Darwinism
 Holding Company
 Monopoly (Boardwalk, Park Place, etc.)

Nobody wanted to take the blame for the loss of money

from the poor and the massive gains of the bankers and
monopolists.