Overview
This lecture discusses laissez-faire ideology during the Gilded Age, its influence on politics and the economy, and the resulting conflicts with reformers and labor unions.
Laissez-faire Ideology
- Laissez-faire (French for "let them do") promoted minimal government interference in the economy and society.
- Gilded Age "liberals" believed free market competition would produce optimal solutions to social and economic problems.
- Liberalism then meant support for limited government, unlike the modern meaning.
- Laissez-faire was influenced by Social Darwinism—competition seen as necessary for progress and natural selection.
Political and Social Impacts
- Liberals opposed government interventions like regulations on wages, hours, or working conditions.
- The Supreme Court used "liberty of contract" to strike down state labor laws, defending freedom to negotiate contracts without interference.
- Liberals worked to reduce government corruption, leading to the Liberal Republican movement and Horace Greeley's 1872 presidential run.
- Some liberals opposed expanding voting rights, suggesting property qualifications to limit immigrant and African American influence.
- Belief in self-reliance led liberals to oppose federal aid during Reconstruction, facilitating its abandonment in the late 1870s.
Conflicts and Consequences
- Laissez-faire beliefs conflicted with reformers seeking regulation of business and better labor conditions.
- The focus on individual freedom often ignored power imbalances between workers and corporations.
- Labor unions and state reforms were often seen as threats to free competition by laissez-faire advocates.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Laissez-faire — Policy of minimal government interference in business and personal affairs.
- Liberalism (Gilded Age) — Support for free markets and limited government, not to be confused with modern liberalism.
- Social Darwinism — Applying evolutionary concepts like "survival of the fittest" to society and economics.
- Liberty of Contract — The legal idea that workers and employers should freely negotiate terms without government restrictions.
Action Items / Next Steps