THE GILDED AGE: 1877-1890

AN INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Origins of Name

Characteristics

Key People

Name’s Origins• The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today

• By Mark Twain & Dudley Warner

• Satirizes greed & political corruption

• Name came from Shakespeare’s King John (1595)• “To gild refined gold, to paint the

lily…is wasteful and ridiculous excess”

• Gilded is lesser than golden• Simple coat that covers metal

Gilded Age Defined• Time period of industrial growth• Population increase; waves of immigrants• Production of steel and increased• New technological innovations coined “2nd Industrial

Revolution”• Lumber, gold, silver resources increased the demand for

better transportation• Railroads boomed- moved goods from West to East more

efficiently• Wealth accumulated as industrialists took advantage of

resources and workers• Extravagant display and excess in homes, clothing, worldly

possessions

Time Period• U.S. becoming modern industrial society• National transportation & communication network• Corporation became dominate form of business organization

• “Corporations exist as a product of corporate law, and their rules balance the interests of the shareholders that invest their capital and the employees who contribute their labor. People work together in corporations to produce value and generate income. In modern times, corporations have become an increasingly dominant part of economic life. People rely on corporations for employment, for their goods and services, for the value of the pensions, for economic growth and social development.” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/corporation

• Managerial revolution transformed business operations• Long hours, hazardous conditions led many to attempt to

form labor unions

US Industrial Growth• By 1900- Leading industrial power in the world• Natural Resources:

• Coal, iron ore, copper, lead, timber and oil• Abundant labor supply• Growing population, advanced transportation

infrastructure made for world’s largest market• Creativity and Innovation: 1860-1890- 444,000 new

patents granted by Fed gov’t• Talented entrepeneurs, thinkers, organizers and

innovators• Businesses profited from gov’t friendly taxes, land grants,

protective tariffs and lack of regulation

Note: the change in agricultural workforce will lead to a rural to urban migration shift

1920: Majority of Americans still worked in Primary or Secondary industryToday: majority of Americans work in the tertiary sector of the economy

Railroads Span the Country• Railroad construction promised greater national unity and

economic growth• Connected different regions of the country together• Increased the speed and efficiency of shipments• Personal travel and communication was made more efficient

• Rails extended into lesser populated areas, creating new towns, businesses and markets to take shape

Industrialists (Robber Barons)

• Coined Robber Barons• Criticized that their wealth

came thru unethical financial manipulations

• John D. Rockefeller- oil• Andrew Carnegie- steel• Cornelius Vanderbilt- shipping &

railroads• Henry Flagler- oil, real estate &

railroad• JP Morgan- finance & banking

What are the various elements seen in these illustration that connect to US industrialization?

History Channel: The Industrial Revolution

History Channel: Carnegie and the Homestead Strike

History Channel: John D. Rockefeller: Oil, Money and Power

Modern-Day Connections• Steve Fraser & Gilded Age: Bill Moyers Journal (PBS)• Occupy Wall Street Divided: Daily Show• The 99%: Daily Show