Main Themes - Immigration and the Guilded Age 1.

How the social and economic lure of the city attracted foreign and domestic migrants, and how these newcomers adjusted to urban life. .How ra!id urban growth forced ada!tations to se"ere !roblems of go"ernment mismanagement,!o"erty, inade#uate housing, and !recarious health and safety conditions. $.How the urban en"ironment ser"ed as the locus for new !hiloso!hical ideas, fresh a!!roaches to education, ra!id e%!ansion in journalism, and a new consumerism. &. How the new order of urban culture ins!ired serious writers and artists to render realistic !ortrayals of the seamy side of city life, while many middle- and u!!er-class Americans were engaging in e%!anded forms of leisure and entertainment. 'bjecti"es( )ou should be able to e%!lain each of these in some detail 1.The !atterns and !rocesses of urbani*ationin late-nineteenth-century America. .The changes in the !attern of immigration in the late nineteenth century and the im!act ofglobal migration. $.The new economic and social !roblems created by urbani*ation.

&.The relationshi! of both urbani*ation and immigration to the rise of boss rule. +.The early rise of mass consum!tion and its im!act on American life, es!ecially for women. ,. The changes in leisure and entertainment o!!ortunities, including organi*ed s!orts, "aude"ille, mo"ies, and other acti"ities. -.The main trends in literature and art during the Gilded Age and early twentieth century. ..The im!act of /arwinian e"olution on the intellectual life of America. 0.The !rofound new de"elo!ments in American educational o!!ortunities. The Guilded Age, Industriali*ation and Immigration The Gilded Age and the first years of the twentieth century were a time of great social change and economic growth in the 1nited 2tates. 3oughly s!anning the years between 3econstruction and the dawn of the new century, the Gilded Age saw ra!id industriali*ation, urbani*ation, the construction of great transcontinental railroads, inno"ations in science and technology, and the rise of big business. Afterward, the first years of the new century that followed were dominated by !rogressi"ism, a forward-loo4ing !olitical mo"ement that attem!ted to redress some of

the ills that had arisen during the Gilded Age. 5rogressi"es !assed legislation to rein in big business, combat corru!tion, free the go"ernment from s!ecial interests, and !rotect the rights of consumers, wor4ers, immigrants, and the !oor. 2ome historians ha"e dubbed the !residents of the Gilded Age the 6forgotten !residents,7 and indeed many Americans today ha"e trouble remembering their names, what they did for the country, or e"en in which era they ser"ed. These si% men81lysses 2. Grant, 3utherford 9. Hayes, :ames Garfield, ;hester Arthur, Gro"er ;le"eland, and 9enjamin Harrison8had relati"ely unremar4able terms in office and faced few if any major national crises during their !residencies. 2ome historians ha"e suggested that these Gilded Age !residents were une%citing for a reason8because Americans wanted to a"oid bold !oliticians who might ruin the delicate !eace established after the ;i"il <ar. This is not to say !olitics were unim!ortant in the Gilded Age. 'n the contrary, Americans !aid more attention to !olitics and national elections during the !ost=;i"il <ar !eriod than at any other time in history, because each election had the !otential to disru!t the fragile balance8and !eace8between >orth and 2outh, 3e!ublican and /emocrat. ?oters turned

out in record numbers for each !residential election in the late nineteenth century, with "oter turnout sometimes reaching .@ !ercent or greater. The intensity of the elections also hel!s e%!lain why ;ongress !assed so little significant legislation after the 3econstruction era( control of the House of 3e!resentati"es constantly changed hands between the /emocrats and the 3e!ublicans with each election, ma4ing a consensus on any major issue nearly im!ossible. The increase in "oter turnout was also !artly the result of machine !arty !olitics, which blossomed in large 1.2. cities during the Gilded Age. 5owerful !olitical 6bosses7 in each !arty coerced urban residents into "oting for fa"ored candidates, who would then gi"e 4ic4bac4s and bribes bac4 to the bosses in a!!reciation for getting them elected. 9osses would also s!end money to im!ro"e constituentsA neighborhoods to ensure a steady flow of "otes for their machines. In this sense, !arty bosses and machine !olitics actually hel!ed some of the !oorest !eo!le in the cities. Many !oliticians elected during the Gilded Age were the !roduct of machine !arty !olitics. /ri"en by the >orth, which emerged from the ;i"il <ar an industrial !owerhouse, the 1nited 2tates e%!erienced a flurry of un!recedented growth and industriali*ation during the Gilded

Age, with a continent full of seemingly unlimited natural resources and dri"en by millions of immigrants ready to wor4. In fact, some historians ha"e referred to this era as AmericaAs second Industrial 3e"olution, because it com!letely changed American society, !olitics, and the economy. Mechani*ation and mar4eting were the 4eys to success in this age( com!anies that could mass-!roduce !roducts and con"ince !eo!le to buy them accumulated enormous amounts of wealth, while com!anies that could not were forced out of business by brutal com!etition. 3ailroads were the linch!in in the new industriali*ed economy. The railroad industry enabled raw materials, finished !roducts, food, and !eo!le to tra"el cross-country in a matter of days, as o!!osed to the months or years that it too4 just !rior to the ;i"il <ar. 9y the end of the war, the 1nited 2tates boasted some $+,@@@ miles of trac4, mostly in the industriali*ed >orth. 9y the turn of the century, that number had jum!ed to almost @@,@@@ miles, lin4ing the >orth, 2outh, and <est. <ith these railroads ma4ing tra"el easier, millions of rural Americans floc4ed to the cities, and by 10@@, nearly &@ !ercent of the !o!ulation li"ed in urban areas. 9y the twentieth century, the rise of big business and the large migration of Americans

from the countryside to the cities caused a shift in !olitical awareness, as elected officials saw the need to address the growing economic and social !roblems that de"elo!ed along with the urban boom. 2o started the 5rogressi"e mo"ement. 5rogressi"es belie"ed that the go"ernment needed to ta4e a strong, !roacti"e role in the economy, regulating big business, immigration, and urban growth. These middleclass reformers ho!ed ultimately to regain control of the go"ernment from s!ecial interests li4e the railroads and trusts and !ass effecti"e legislation to !rotect consumers, organi*ed labor, and minorities. Transcontinental 3ailroads Gilded Age industriali*ation had its roots in the ;i"il <ar, which s!urred ;ongress and the northern states to build more railroads and increased demand for a "ariety of manufactured goods. The forward-loo4ing ;ongress of 1., authori*ed construction of the first transcontinental railroad, connecting the 5acific and Atlantic lines. 'riginally, because railroading was such an e%!ensi"e enter!rise at the time, the federal go"ernment !ro"ided subsidies by the mile to railroad com!anies in e%change for discounted rates. ;ongress also !ro"ided federal land grants to railroad com!anies so that they could lay down more trac4.

<ith this free land and tens of thousands of dollars !er mile in subsidies, railroading became a highly !rofitable business "enture. The 1nion 5acific 3ailroad com!any began construction on the transcontinental line in >ebras4a during the ;i"il <ar and !ushed westward, while Beland 2tanfordAs ;entral 5acific 3ailroad !ushed eastward from 2acramento. Tens of thousands of Irish and ;hinese laborers laid the trac4, and the two lines finally met near 5romontory, 1tah, in 1.,0. ;a!tains of Industry 9ig businessmen, not !oliticians, controlled the new industriali*ed America of the Gilded Age. <hereas !ast generations sent their best men into !ublic ser"ice, in the last decades of the 1.@@s, young men were enticed by the !ri"ate sector, where with a little !ersistence, hard wor4, and ruthlessness, one could rea! enormous !rofits. These so-called 6ca!tains of industry7 were not regulated by the go"ernment and did whate"er they could to ma4e as much money as !ossible. These industrialistsA business !ractices were sometimes so unscru!ulous that they were gi"en the name 6robber barons.7 ?anderbilt and the 3ailroads As the railroad boom accelerated, railroads

began to crisscross the <est. 2ome of the major com!anies included the 2outhern 5acific 3ailroad, the 2anta Ce 3ailroad, and the >orth 5acific 3ailroad. Cederal subsidies and land grants made railroading such a !rofitable business that a class of 6new money7 millionaires emerged. ;ornelius ?anderbilt and his son <illiam were !erha!s the most famous railroad tycoons. /uring the era, they bought out and consolidated many of the rail com!anies in the Dast, enabling them to cut o!erations costs. The ?anderbilts also established a standard trac4 gauge and were among the first railroaders to re!lace iron rails with lighter, more durable steel. The ?anderbilt fortune swelled to more than E1@@ million during these boom years. 3ailroad ;orru!tion As the railroad industry grew, it became filled with corru!t !ractices. 1nhindered by go"ernment regulation, railroaders could turn enormous !rofits using any method to get results, howe"er unethical. 1nion 5acific officials, for e%am!le, formed the dummy ;rFdit Mobilier construction com!any and hired themsel"es out as contractors at enormous rates for huge !rofits. 2e"eral 1.2. congressmen were im!licated in the scandal after an in"estigation unco"ered that the

com!any bribed them to 4ee! #uiet about the corru!tion. 3ailroads also inflated the !rices of their stoc4s and ga"e out noncom!etiti"e rebates to fa"ored com!anies. Moreo"er, tycoons such as the ?anderbilts were notorious for their lac4 of regard for the common wor4er. Although some states !assed laws to regulate corru!t railroads, the 2u!reme ;ourt made regulation on a state le"el im!ossible with the 1.., <abash case ruling, which stated that only the federal go"ernment could regulate interstate commerce. ;arnegie, Morgan, and 1.2. 2teel Among the wealthiest and most famous ca!tains of industry in the late 1.@@s was Andrew ;arnegie. A 2cottish immigrant, ;arnegie turned his one 5ennsyl"anian !roduction !lant into a "eritable steel em!ire through a business tactic called "ertical integration. 3ather than rely on e%!ensi"e middlemen, ;arnegie "ertically integrated his !roduction !rocess by buying out all of the com!anies8coal, iron ore, and so on8needed to !roduce his steel, as well as the com!anies that !roduced the steel, shi!!ed it, and sold it. D"entually, ;arnegie sold his com!any to ban4er :. 5. Morgan, who used the com!any as the foundation for the 1.2. 2teel ;or!oration. 9y the end of his life, ;arnegie was one of the richest men in America, with a fortune of

nearly E+@@ million. 3oc4efeller and 2tandard 'il 'il was another lucrati"e business during the Gilded Age. Although there was "ery little need for oil !rior to the ;i"il <ar, demand surged during the machine age of the 1..@s, 1.0@s, and early 10@@s. 2eemingly e"erything re#uired oil during this era( factory machines, shi!s, and, later, automobiles. The biggest names in the oil industry were :ohn /. 3oc4efeller and his 2tandard 'il ;om!any8 in fact, they were the only names in the industry. <hereas ;arnegie em!loyed "ertical integration to create his steel em!ire, 3oc4efeller used hori*ontal integration, essentially buying out all the other oil com!anies so that he had no com!etition left. In doing so, 3oc4efeller created one of AmericaAs first mono!olies, or trusts, that cornered the mar4et of a single !roduct. 2ocial /arwinism and the Gos!el of <ealth In time, many wealthy American businessmen, ins!ired by biologist ;harles /arwinAs new theories of natural selection, began to belie"e that they had become rich because they were literally su!erior human beings com!ared to the !oorer classes. The wealthy a!!lied /arwinAs idea of 6sur"i"al of the fittest7 to societyG in the words of one 2ocial /arwinist, as

they became 4nown, 6The millionaires are the !roduct of natural selection.7 5ious !lutocrats !reached the 6Gos!el of <ealth,7 which was similar to 2ocial /arwinism but e%!lained a !ersonAs great riches as a gift from God 3egulating 9ig 9usiness <ithout any form of go"ernment regulation, big business owners were able to create mono!olies8com!anies that control all as!ects of !roduction for certain !roducts. Dconomists agree that mono!olies are rarely good for the mar4et, as they often stifle com!etition, inflate !rices, and hurt consumers. In the late 1..@s and early 1.0@s, the 1.2. go"ernment ste!!ed in and tried to start regulating the growing number of mono!olies. In 1..-, ;ongress !assed the Interstate ;ommerce Act, which outlawed railroad rebates and 4ic4bac4s and also established the Interstate ;ommerce ;ommission to ensure that the railroad com!anies obeyed the new laws. The bill was riddled with loo!holes, howe"er, and had "ery little effect. In 1.0@, ;ongress also !assed the 2herman Anti-Trust Act in an attem!t to ban trusts, but this, too, was an ineffecti"e !iece of legislation and was re!laced with re"ised legislation in the early 10@@s. Mass Immigration

In addition to this major shift from rural to urban areas, a new wa"e of immigration increased AmericaAs !o!ulation significantly, es!ecially in major cities. Immigrants came from war-torn regions of southern and eastern Duro!e, such as Italy, Greece, 5oland, 3ussia, ;roatia, and ;*echoslo"a4ia. This new grou! of immigrants was !oorer and less educated than the Irish and German immigrants who had made the journey to the 1nited 2tates earlier in the century. 9y the early twentieth century, more than a million immigrants were entering eastern 1.2. cities on a yearly basis. Many immigrants could barely ma4e a li"ing, wor4ing as uns4illed laborers in factories or !ac4inghouses for low wages. >ati"ism Many nati"ists8Americans descended !rimarily from Irish and German immigrants Hbut not e%clusi"ely those grou!sI8claimed that the newly arri"ing southern and eastern Duro!ean immigrants would not be able to assimilate into American society. They saw these immigrants as illiterate and !oor, unable to learn Dnglish and with little e%!erience li"ing in a democratic society. Many of AmericaAs 5rotestants also disli4ed the fact that many of the new immigrants were ;atholic, Dastern 'rthodo%, or :ewish. Many Anglo-2a%on Americans worried that eastern and southern

Duro!eans would 6outbreed7 them and ta4e o"er their once-6!ure7 race. Many nati"ists joined the American 5rotecti"e Association to lobby for immigration restrictionsG ;ongress conceded and e"entually barred criminals and the e%tremely destitute from entry in 1.. . >ati"ists in the 1nited 2tates reser"ed s!ecial hatred for ;hinese immigrants8a grou! that had wor4ed countless hours of labor at low wages, es!ecially on railroad construction in the <est. 1nions !ressed ;ongress to !ass the ;hinese D%clusion Act in 1.. , com!letely banning ;hinese immigration to the 1nited 2tates. ;ongress did !ass the act, and it remained in !lace until 10&$. 1rban 2lums The sudden influ% of millions of !oor immigrants led to the formation of slums in 1.2. cities. These new city dwellers li"ed in tenement buildings, often with entire families li"ing together in tiny one-room a!artments and sharing a single bathroom with other families on the floor. Tenements generally were filthy, !oorly "entilated, and !oorly lit, ma4ing them a hos!itable en"ironment for rats and disease. :ane Addams and Hull House A social reform mo"ement emerged as a result of these worsening li"ing and wor4ing

conditions in AmericaAs cities. Coremost among the reformers was :ane Addams, a collegeeducated woman who founded Hull House in 1..0 in one of ;hicagoAs !oorest neighborhoods. Hull House !ro"ided counseling, day-care ser"ices, and adult education classes to hel! local immigrants. The success of Hull House !rom!ted Billian <ald to o!en the Henry 2treet 2ettlement House in >ew )or4 in 1.0$. The combined success of to o!en similar houses in other eastern cities with large immigrant !o!ulations. In time, women li4e Addams and <ald used their !ositions of !ower to fight for womenAs suffrage, tem!erance, ci"il rights, and im!ro"ed labor laws. 9lac4 ;i"il 3ights In 1.0,, the 2u!reme ;ourt u!held the !olicy of segregation by legali*ing 6se!arate but e#ual7 facilities for blac4s and whites in the landmar4 5lessy ". Cerguson decision. In doing so, the court condemned blac4s to more than another half century of second-class citi*enshi!. /es!ite the ruling, African-American leaders of the ci"il rights mo"ement continued to !ress for e#ual rights. 9oo4er T. <ashington, !resident of the all-blac4 Tus4egee Institute in Alabama, rather than !ress for immediate

social e#uality, encouraged blac4s to become economically self-sufficient so that they could challenge whites on social issues in the future. The Har"ard-educated blac4 historian and sociologist <. D. 9. /u 9ois, on the other hand, ridiculed <ashingtonAs beliefs and argued that blac4s should fight for immediate8and o"erdue8social and economic e#uality. This dis!ute between <ashington and /u 9ois enca!sulated the di"ide in the ci"il rights mo"ement at the end of the nineteenth century and the #uestion as to how blac4s could most effecti"ely !ursue e#uality8a debate that lasted well into the ci"il rights mo"ement of the 10,@s and continues today. 1. <hat were the attractions of the city that led to !o!ulation e%!ansionJ <hat were the main sources of urban growthJ . <hat were the factors that ins!ired the e%odus of southern African Americans into cities, es!ecially northern cities, that began in the late 10cJ $. <hat is meant by K!ushK and K!ullK factors in !o!ulation migrationsJ &. How did the foreign immigrants of the 1.0@s and later differ from most of the earlier immigrantsJ <hat attracted them to the 1nited 2tatesJ

+. How did 10c and early @c immigration to the 1nited 2tates fit in the conte%t of worldwide, es!ecially Duro!ean, migrationJ ,. <hat social institutions and community actions hel!ed facilitate immigrant adjustment to urban life in AmericaJ <hat were the barriersJ -. <hich immigrant grou!s seemed to ada!t better than most others to AmericaJ <hyJ .. <hat were the strains caused by the desire of immigrants for assimilationJ How did nati"e-born Americans regard assimilationJ 0. <hat efforts were made to restrict immigration in the late 10cJ <hat ethnic grou! and other ty!es of immigrants were s!ecifically restrictedJ 1@. <hat ins!ired the mo"e toward the creation of e%!anded !ublic s!aces and !ublic buildings in large American citiesJ <hat were the lasting legacies of this im!ulseJ 11. <hat led to the de"elo!ment of residential suburbs around big citiesJ 1 . ;ontrast the residential !attern of the wor4ing class and the !oor with that of the wealthy and moderately well-to-do. 1$. <hat was big city life li4e for the !oorJ 1.. How did urban mass transit technology e"ol"e from the ;i"il <ar era to the turn of the

centuryJ 10. <hat technological inno"ations made the de"elo!ment of the s4yscra!er !ossible and desirableJ @. How did big cities co!e with the urban ha*ards of fire, disease, and sanitationJ <hat were the en"ironmental im!lications of dense urban de"elo!mentJ 1. <hat was the ty!ical middle-class attitude toward the !roblem of wides!read urban !o"ertyJ . How did the big cities res!ond to "iolent crime at the end of the 10cJ $. <hat were the factors that contributed to the rise of !olitical machines and their bossesJ &. How did the ty!ical !olitical machine o!erateJ <hat were the !ros and cons of boss rule in large citiesJ +. <hat were the changes in income and !urchasing !ower of the urban middle class and wor4ing classJ <ho made the greater gainsJ ,. How did the emergence of mass-mar4et !roducts along with chain stores, mail-order outlets, and the large de!artment stores im!act the li"es of American families, es!ecially womenJ -. <hy and how did Americans begin to

change their attitudes toward leisure and consum!tionJ <hat factors contributed to this new "iewJ .. How did the a!!roaches to leisure "ary by classJ 0. <hat were the main sorts of !o!ular entertainment acti"ities a"ailable to urban dwellers of the late 10c and early @cJ How did class considerations sha!e the ty!es of acti"ities enjoyedJ $@.<hat issues did the realist no"elists e%!loreJ How did the realist authors a!!roach these !roblemsJ $1. <as America at the beginning of the @c truly a KMelting 5otJK Is it todayJ