Period 6 Overview: Gilded Age and Beyond

Key Characteristics of the Gilded Age

• Economic Growth and Industrialization

  • Rapid economic growth following the Civil War.
  • Dominance by American industrialists and formation of corporations.
  • Industrial millionaires like Andrew Carnegie (steel via vertical integration), John D. Rockefeller (oil via horizontal integration), Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroads), and J.P. Morgan (banking).

• Business Practices and Ideologies

  • Use of trusts, social Darwinism to justify wealth.
  • Andrew Carnegie's philanthropy and the 'Gospel of Wealth'.
  • Laissez-faire government policies aiding industrialists.
  • Political influence through financial contributions to politicians.

• Political Corruption and Reforms

  • Political machines like William "Boss" Tweed's Tammany Hall.
  • Reforms such as the Pendleton Civil Service Act and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (though hard to enforce).

Labor Movements and Social Reform

• Labor Unions and Strikes

  • Formation of Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor.
  • Major strikes: Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Pullman Strike, Homestead Strike.

• Social Reforms

  • Social Gospel movement encouraging aid to the poor.
  • Settlement houses like Jane Addams' Hull House.
  • Advocacy by Jacob Riis through "How the Other Half Lives".

Technological and Social Changes

• Technological Innovations

  • Electricity, typewriter, telephone.
  • Rise of middle-class jobs and development of suburbs.

• Leisure and Culture

  • Increased free time and disposable income leading to new recreational activities.

Immigration and Urbanization

• Patterns of Immigration
  • Movement from rural South to urban North and West by African-Americans.
  • Arrival of new immigrants from Southern, Eastern Europe, and Asia.
  • Rise of nativism and Chinese Exclusion Act.

Southern Economy and Racial Tensions

• Economic Challenges and Efforts to Modernize

  • Continued agriculture dominance; call for industrialization as "New South".

• Racial Segregation and Responses

  • Jim Crow laws; Plessy v. Ferguson.
  • Activism by Ida B. Wells, Booker T. Washington.

Western Expansion and Native American Relations

• Settlement and Industry

  • Homestead Act, transcontinental railroad facilitating Western development.
  • Dominance by mining and ranching industries.

• Conflicts and Assimilation

  • Depletion of buffalo, violent clashes with Native Americans (e.g., Sand Creek Massacre, Battle of Wounded Knee).
  • Assimilation efforts like the Carlisle School, Dawes Severalty Act.

Economic Challenges for Farmers

• Struggles and Political Movements
  • Issues with crop prices, shipping rates, and debt.
  • Formation of Farmer's alliances and the Populist Party.
  • Populist Party's Omaha Platform.

Exam Preparation Tips

• Causation: Causes of rise of big business, effects of westward expansion.
• Comparison: Compare Gilded Age reforms to earlier reforms; compare different immigration waves.
• Change and Continuity: Focus on economic changes and continuity, changes in the South.

For more detailed study materials, such as timelines and essay practice, refer to the link in the video description for the A+ Ultimate Review Packet.

Remember: Practice critical thinking and make connections between historical events and themes.