Guilded Age

Second Industrial Revolution

1. Period of quick industrialization & urbanization

2. Leads to mass disparities between rich and poor

Alexander Graham Bell

1. created the telephone, making it easy for rapid communication

2. Around this time, it was easier to ion w europe and america to communicate

3. Made every work quicker

Transcontinental Railroads

1. Made it easy to move industrial products from east to west  coast

2. Efficient transportation system

Monopolies/ trusts:

1. Companies and cartels hold large market share and destory other competition

2. In clash with unions

3. Destroyed oppurtunity for the poor

4. Ex. John D Rockerfeller: he made us standard oil

5. Horizontal integration was used to wipe out rockefellers competition, and he got 90% of the oil

 Interlocking directorates

1. Board of directors of one company and these people work in another company

2. JP Morgan

3. Allowed trusts and monopplics to control other companies

4. Made it easy to control ohther companies

Company Towns

1. Housed workers in isolated areas

2. Controlled employment housing stores and social services making the workers reliant on the companies (you can draw lines from this to share cropping)

3. Workers had a lot of debt which forced them to work at these companies

1. Ex.  homestead ( homestead strike)

John Rockefeller (oil)

1. Owner of standard oil company

2. First billionaire and maker of first big trust

Standard Oil company

1. He made 2-3% of country gdp

2. Rockefellers company, held 90% of us oil production

3. Made about 2-3% of the countries GDP 

4. used horizontal integration

5. It was so big so people dislike it

JP Morgan

1. Most influential bankers of the time period

2. Saves country from panic of 1907

3. Organized many of the monopolies and trust

4. Biggest purchase in the history of the world

Andrew Carnegie

1. Owner of US steel, scottish immigrant

2. Poor growing up

3. Became a philanthropist, gives away $350 million

4. Wrote “The Gospel of Wealth” said that the rich people have the moral obligation to give back to the poor

5. Bessemer Process to improve steel and make it cheap

Gospel of Wealth

written by Carnegie; philanthropy

Social Gospel

idea among churches to contribute the the betterment of society

Social Darwinism

only the rich can survive

US Steel

1. Used Vertical integration (controlling the whole process of production) 

2. Utilized technological advancements to make more steel

3. Made 67% of US steel production (more than brits and germans together)

4. Helps with future wars etc.

Knights of Labor

1. Prominent labor organization that advocated for eight hour workday, abolition of child labor, and other social causes.

2. Aimed to unite skilled and unskilled workers across racial and gender lines

3. Terrence Powderly - the head of knights of labor

Industrial Workers of the World

1. Radical labor union

2. Wanted to overthrow the capitalist system

3. Advocated for industrial unionism

Eugene Debs

1. American socialist, labor leader

2. Cofounded the Indut

Boss Tweed

1. Political leader

2. Embezzled money form NYC

3. His corrupt practices were exposed by Tilden

4. Gets his lackeys to hire contractors who kick money back to him

5. Political machine

Thomas Nast

Cartoonist who influenced political illustrations which helped expose the corruption of william boss tweed

Whiskey RIng

1. Corrupt officials who told the whiskey people they don’t have to pay the whiskey tax.

2. Grants secretary + other heads made a lot of money like this

Tenement Housing

1. Densely packed poorly ventilated, dirty housing for the working class and immigrant populations in cities

2. So many diseases transmitted here, 20 people in one room, REALLY BAD LIVING CONDITIONS

How the Other Half lives

Jacob Riis

1. Book that documented horrible condition in NYC

2. Elicited response form people

3. Had images that exposed living conditions in NYC 

Credit Mobilier Scandal 1872

Company paid off members of congress and president at the time

Panic of 1873

1. Nations bank went bankrupt

2. Prices went bad when inflation was done

3. Banks didn’t have enough money to give back to people who wanted to take their money out

Railroad strike of 1877

1. Federal government intervened on the side of the business

2. Workers strike

Pendleton Act 1883

1. Legislation established civil service 

2. Jobs granted by the government

3. Garfield is killed by charles Katow in a train station because he wasn’t given a job.

Homestead Riot (1886)

1. Protest against police violence at chicago market square

2. Someone threw a bomb

3. Police went in shooting 

4. Rioters are blamed

5. Kills the knights of labor

The interstate commerce acts

1. Regulate railroad industry

2. Post railroad prices (you can’t adjust them)

Sherman ANtitrust Act 1890

1. Law that forbade trusts

2. Attempt to regulate businesses for public goods

 Homestead strike 1892

1. Pennsylvania

2. Strikers vs armed pinkertons and federal troops killing 60+ people

Coey’s Army March

1. Led by Jacob Cox

2. March on the panic

Pullman strike

1. LEd to eugene debs to be supported by the AFL

2. Cleavelend shut it down with federal troops