The Gilded Age
Introduction
The Gilded Age lasted from 1870-1900. Mark Twain called the late 19th century the "Gilded Age." He used the term to describe the culture which was newly rich. By that he meant that the period was pretty on the surface but corrupt underneath. Key events that occurred during the Gilded Age include the growth of railroads which lead to the growth
of cities and businesses. We also see growth in industry, business, and labor as well as an increase in immigration to the United States.
Railroads
The transcontinental railroad was a train route across the United States. It was finished in 1869. Railroads made local transit reliable and westward expansion possible for business as well as for people. Because railroads were for settling the west and for developing the country, a lot of money was giving to the railroad companies from the government. At this time we see a lot of people moving to America. The Central Pacific Railroad employed thousands of Chinese immigrants. By July 1865, the Chinese workforce was nearly 4,000. By 1867, approximately 8,000 Chinese were working for the railroads. Accidents and diseases disabled and killed thousands of men each year.
In one of the most infamous schemes, stockholders in the Union Pacific Railroad formed. In 1864, a construction company called Credit Mobilier, they have credit company a contract to law a track at two to three times the actual cost, and they pocketed the profits.
George M. Pullman
George Mortimer Pullman (March 3, 1831 - October 19, 1897) was an American engineer and industrialist. In 1880, he built a factory for manufacturing sleepers and other cars on the Illinois prairie. Pullman created his company town out of the desire to control and make money. He named his town Pullman. Pullman residents lived in clean, well constructed, brick houses. Every room had at least one window, under company control. Pullman after he cut worker wages, refused to lower rent. Because of this, his workers led a violent strike.
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Growth of Industry, Business, and Labor
A monopoly is a situation in which a single company or group owns all nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service. A holding company is a parent corporation, limited liability company or limited partnership that owns enough voting stock in another company to control its policies and managements. The term "robber barron" became a derogator term applied to some wealthy and powerful 19th century American businessman. John Davison Rockefeller Sr. was a founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust.
Andrew Carnegie
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his steel mill in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835 - August 11, 1919) was an Scottish American industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. Carnegie was one of the first industrial moguls to make his own fortune. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was the first measure passed by the U.S. Congress to prohibit trusts. Labor unions improve working conditions, collective bargaining. Strike at Andrew Carnegie's steel plant in which Pinkerton detectives clashed with steel workers. |
Urbanization and Modernizing
Urbanization is a population shift from rural to urban areas. A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling in the urban core, usually old and occupied by the poor. A settlement house was a kind of community center setup to help people living in crowded immigrant neighborhoods. They were run by volunteers from middle or upper class families who wanted to help improve life for those at the bottom. The most famous settlement house in the U.S. was started by Jane Addams in Chicago in 1889.
Jane Addams
Born on September 6, 1860, in Cedarville, Illinois, Jane Addams co-founded one of the first settlements in the United States, the Hull House in Chicago, Illinois, in 1889, and was named a co-winner of the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize. Addams also served as the first female president of the National Conference of Social Work, established the National Federation of Settlements and served as president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She died in 1935 in Chicago. |
Politics
William M. "Boss" Tweed
InventionsThomas Edison |
William Magear Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878) who is often referred to as William Marcy Tweed and widely known as "Boss" Tweed was an American politician most notable for being the boss of Tammany Hall. Elected to other offices, he held a position of power in the city’s Democratic Party and thereafter filled important positions with people friendly to his concerns. His corruption became shockingly widespread until his arrest in 1873.
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