The Gilded Age

1877-1900
Key Individuals and Terms from
The Americans, Chapters 6-8
 Analyzing the Term “Gilded Age”
 “Gilded” objects have a paper-thin layer of
gold-leaf over wood, plaster or metal. Today
objects are often painted gold to appear
“gilded.”
 Of course, the objects are not really made of
solid gold, they only look that way.
 In the same manner, the “Gilded Age”
was not really the golden age that it
might appear to have been on the
surface. It was a time in which
people faced many economic and
social problems. So, the expression,
Gilded Age, has a double meaning.
 Industrialization and
the Rise of Big
Business
 While the early Industrial Revolution occurred
in Europe and America between 1750 and 1850,
a second phase of the Industrial Revolution took
place in the late 1800s.
 During this time period, huge corporations were
formed that employed thousands and produced
enormous amounts of goods. The founders of
these companies amassed great wealth while
their workers were poorly paid.
Captains of Industry
 Andrew Carnegie was one of
the most famous self-made
men of this period.
 He bought out his suppliers
and his competitors until he
controlled the steel industry.
 Carnegie Steel produced most
of the nation’s steel in the
latter half of the 19th century.
 Carnegie is also known for his
generous charitable
donations.
 Railroads became one of the most powerful and
profitable industries in the late 1800s, since almost all
other industries depended upon them for
transportation.
 The first transcontinental railroad was completed in
1869.
 One man who made his fortune in the railroad
industry was Cornelius
Vanderbilt.
The Vanderbilt’s “Marble House”
Estate in Newport, Rhode Island
John D. Rockefeller Sr. and Jr.

 John D. Rockefeller-turned
his Standard Oil Company
into a “trust” by buying
stock in his competitors
companies until he
controlled them.
 The Sherman Anti-Trust Act
was passed in 1890 to make
trusts illegal. Companies
found many ways to get
around this law. In 1906, the
government brought suit
against Standard Oil and in
1911 the trust was finally
ordered to dissolve.
 The Problems of Industrial
Workers
 There was almost no government regulation of businesses at this time,
therefore there was 1) no minimum wage, 2) no maximum number of hours
per week, 3) no higher pay for overtime, 4) no regulation of unhealthy or
unsafe working conditions, and 5) no health insurance or other employee
benefits.
 Industrialization created low-wage, low-skilled jobs that made employees
easy to replace. This led to the growth of labor unions.
The Early Labor Union Movement
 The first labor unions were formed within
certain trades or industries. They tried to
improve wages and working conditions by
collective bargaining and threatening
strikes.
 Between 1877 and 1893 there were several
huge strikes, like the Pullman railroad strike
in Chicago. These strikes often turned
violent when police, company guards or
federal troops were ordered to end them.
 Union popularity declined because the
public associated labor unions with violence.
Radical Unionism Develops
 Eugene V. Debs, who was
imprisoned during the Pullman
Strike, grew to be completely
disillusioned with capitalism.
 He became a spokesman for
the Socialist Party of America,
running for US president 5
times.
 The Industrial Workers of the
World advocated government
control of all businesses.
 Most unions were not as
radical.
 The Problems of Farmers
 Because of the expansion of farming as settlers
moved westward, there was an overproduction of
crops which led to a drop in farm prices.
 At the same time, railroad rates were rising.
Farmers living in remote areas were very
dependent on the railroads to transport crops.
 Farmers became deeply in debt.
 Farmers began the Populist Movement asking for
railroad regulation and monetary reform to relieve
their indebtedness.
 The Problems of
Immigrants
 The thousands of immigrants that came from
Southern and Eastern Europe from 1890-1915
were often poor and illiterate.
 They accepted unskilled jobs in industry and had
to move into the overly crowded cities.
 There they faced a triple hardship: low wages,
desperately poor housing conditions and nativism
(prejudice against immigrants).
 Nativists encouraged the government to pass
immigration restriction laws.
The Problems of Minorities
 Discrimination against African-Americans
was legalized by the passage of Jim Crow
laws allowing segregation. The
constitutionality of these laws was
upheld by the Supreme Court decision in
Plessy v. Ferguson.
 The right to vote promised by the
Fifteenth Amendment was undermined by
the use of poll taxes, literacy tests, and
grandfather clauses.
 Asians also faced discrimination. The
Chinese Exclusion Act banned further
immigration from China.
Louisiana Literacy Test from
the Jim Crow Era

Urban Problems
The industrial cities of the 1800s grew rapidly and
poor workers lived in slums.
1) Police and fire departments were understaffed.
2) There was not enough clean water and sewer systems
were inadequate.
3) Tenement houses were crowded and unsafe.
 City governments were often corrupt. These
“political machines” won the votes of the
immigrants, but often abused their power.
 Graft is when a public official uses his office to make
himself rich, through bribery or stealing public funds.
Early Reformers
 There were no welfare programs
during this time. The government did
not help the poor. Using private
donations and her own funds, Jane
Addams established the first
“settlement house” in Chicago to
provide services to the residents of
the slums.
 Harvard educated W.E.B. DuBois
helped found the N.A.A.C.P to help
his fellow African-Americans achieve
fairer treatment.