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THE GILDED AGE - Coggle Diagram
THE GILDED AGE
PROBLEMS
two parties: little to distinguish each, most active locally unless in election year.
patronage: using connections and wealth to get into places of power. Jobs were not given based on merit but instead were based on political support creating an undemocratic system. Seen in the 'spoils system'.
money: currency was based on both silver and gold until 1873 when America went onto the gold standard. This did see a rise is the value of the $.
lack of party difference: both Democrats and Republicans held the same stance on many issues giving very little choice to the people.
no national party dominance: 1876-1892 the margin for the Presidential election was less than 1%. Additionally, the elections to Congress were close as well so it was difficult for either party to maintain a programme.
weak presidency: after Johnson, there was little prestige that surrounded the Presidency. Johnson damaged this and Presidents became figureheads - often tainted by scandal - whilst Congress held the power.
civil service: most jobs were given by the President - often unfairly. A merit based system was needed.
tariffs: an incredibly divisive issue. Tariffs were the main source of govt revenue,
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big business/regulation: big business went unregulated and dominated politics also. Both on the main parties relied heavily on the support of big business.
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ROBBER BARONS
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their actions weren't regulated by the govt allowing them to gain direct political influence due to their money.
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JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER:
- oil industry
- used fixed prices
- by 1880s controlled 85% of American oil production with Standard Oil
- worlds first billionaire and philanthropist
- created monopoly and eliminated competition
- dominated industry
the standard oil trust
- Rockefeller had made great profits of oil and was concerned about the fluctuation in the industry due to factors out of his control.
- ships, trains, and whole forests for supply barrels were bought in order to avoid this.
- the company grew to a monstrous size and competing oil companies had to sell or would go bankrupt.
in 1882 the STANDARD OIL TRUST was organised which folded all companies into a trust that Rockefeller could control and operate as a monopoly.
broken up in 1911 by supreme court for being too big. new competition was established which allowed room for what was arguably a better economy.
ANDREW CARNEGIE:
- steel industry
- first to use Bessemer converters to make better and cheaper steel
- philanthropic philosophy
- paid low wages and demanded long hours
- crushed competition both nationally and internationally.
CORNELIUS VANDERBILT:
- railroad industry
- consolidated New York Central and Hudson River Railroad
- dominated in field and removed all competitors
- controlled multiple businesses and industries of US with prices as only viable transport option for many years.
railroads
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1862 PACIFIC RAILWAY ACT:
- grant given to countries to build rails to be paid back 30 years later as well as allowing companies to take sufficient materials for building from land alongside railway line.
- protection against attacks from Native Americans
- free land given.
HOMESTEAD ACT 1862 encouraged people to move west and they needed an easier more accessible way in which to do this.
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RAILROADS:
- The Transcontinental Rail - completed 1869
+The Northern Pacific - completed 1883
- The Southern Pacific - completed 1883
- The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe - completed 1884
- The Great Northern - completed 1893
effects:
- cheaper and more efficient - a journey that previously would have taken 9 months could now take 9 days on the pacific railroads.
- consumerism improved through easier transportation of goods
- ease of travel
- escalation in conflict with native americans
- exploitation of western resources - forests destroyed for materials and space and the buffalo almost became extinct
- urbanisation of western towns and cities - e.g. LA, San Francisco, Seattle - and population growth due to this also
- expansion ad boosting of iron, steel, lumber, coal etc industries
THOMAS EDISON:
- inventions and ideas
- invented first safe incandescent light bulb for domestic use
- created general electric company
- controversy around idea of lightbulb with tesla
- he killed an elephant
J. P. MORGAN:
- finance industry
- major force behind complicated deals and the creation of large companies
- involved in the first billion $ corporation - The US Steel corporation
- interest was with the companies not the public
- didn't use his money to help those in need.
ORGANISED LABOUR
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1877 national railroad strike
- owners of Baltimore & Ohio railroad company announced a pay cut for their workers
- workers from different jobs and industries abandoned their work in sympathy
- violence became an issue and military was sent in
- incident convinced workers that more organisation was needed.
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1886 haymarket bomb outrage
- strike at McCormick Harvester Works in Chicago
- battle took place between strikers, strike breakers + police
police fired into crowd and some were killed and many injured
- a bomb was later thrown by anarchists but blamed on the regular strikers leading the strike to massively fail and momentum from the unions movement to drop.
1885 american federation of labor - established to support unions in winning recognition and securing agreements from employers
1894 PULLMAN RAILWAY STRIKE
- Pullman Rail Co. cut wages and raised rent prices simultaneously
- Cleveland sent in troops to ensure mail was delivered and strike was dealt with
- violence occured and shocked the US people as the govt had held the attitude that money and mail was more important than the workers themselves
- the supreme court jailed the workers
IMMIGRATION
pull factors:
- advertisements very common
- steamship companies promoted move to benefit from more passengers
- states + railroads contributed to this also
push factors:
- political, economic and religious discontent in home countries
- industrial and agricultural revolution
- increasing populations
- industrial and agricultural depression
- unemployment and poverty
- 1885 JAPANESE EXODUS
- 1881 ASSASSINATION OF ALEXANDER II IN RUSSIA - caused rise in anti-semitism
reactions:
without immigration US industrialisation wouldn't have increased in the way it did but economic fear bred ethnic intolerance
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WESTERN SETTLEMENT
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corruption was prevalent within railroad companies as they bribed state and federal govts to exploit other companies
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