Summary
This period is characterized by the massive change to America due to the expansion of industrialization. With new technologies and production methods, new companies came to dominate the American economy under a Laissez-Faire policy. Such massive companies had, however, created massive controversy in the community. While some had justified this through the ideas of Social Darwinism, others had criticized and fought against the monopolistic tendencies. Labor Unions were a massive form of resistance to corporate power as the they push for better working conditions and pay. Others had also looked to confront corporate corruption in both national and local governments. The center of politics during this time was mostly around the extent of Laissez-Faire and how to limit the control of these big businesses. With these new industries and increased productions with companies, they needed to hire many people. Many of the working class laborers had been filled by international and internal migrants, and many middle-class managerial positions also emerged. As a result, American cultures, distinctly created by their socio-economic position, bloomed. At the end of this period, many different groups, whether it be the working class, middle-class, African American, or women, had started to take a stand and push for changes as a result of overwhelming corporate power.
Key Concepts
- 6.1 - Technological advances, large-scale production methods, and the opening of new markets encouraged the rise of industrial capitalism in the United States.
- 6.2 - The migrations that accompanied industrialization transformed both urban and rural areas of the United States and caused dramatic social and cultural change.
- 6.3 - The Gilded Age produced new cultural and intellectual movements, public reform efforts, and political debates over economic and social policies.
Big Events
- Industrialization
- "New Immigration"
- Consolidation of Railroads
- Social Gospel
Big Players
- John D. Rockefeller
- Andrew Carnegie
- Cornelius Vanderbilt
- J. P. Morgan
- William Jennings Bryan
- William McKinley
- Jane Addams
- Boss Tweed
- Eugene V. Debs
- Horatia Algers
Key Terms
- Union Pacific Railroad / Central Pacific Railroad
- American Telegraph and Telephone Company
- Carnegie Steel
- Standard Oil
- Taylorism
- Knights of Labor
- American Federation of Labor
- Laissez-Faire
- "New South"
- Populist Party
- Political Machines
- Chinatown / Little Italy
- Social Darwinism
- Dawes Severalty Act
- "Cattle Kingdom"
- Gospel of Wealth
- Women's Christian Temperance Movement
- Settlement Houses / Hull House
- Plessy vs Ferguson