Fluent Essays

The Gilded and Progressive eras For some of these questions, you must use the power points that are in the materials module 1. In A Peoples History of the United States, Zinn devotes chapter 13 to socialist movements during the early 1900s. Is this justified or is he overstating the impact of the socialist movement? 2. What is the gilded Age and what changes occurred? 3. What is Taylorism according to Zinn? 4. what is the Progressive Movement? 5. In the Zinn book, pages 349-357, it discusses the Progressive period. What happened during that period and what changes does Zinn say it brought about? 6. Companies formed conglomerates in the gilded Era. Describe the difference of how they developed and the difference between Vertical and horizontal Integration.THE GILDED AGE Industrialization: 1869–1901 Events 1869 Transcontinental Railroad is completed 1870 Standard Oil Company forms 1886 Supreme Court issues verdict in Wabash case 1887 Congress passes Interstate Commerce Act 1890 Congress passes Sherman Anti-Trust Act 1901 U.S. Steel Corporation forms Key People Andrew Carnegie -  Scottish-American business tycoon and owner of the Carnegie Steel Company in Pittsburgh; used vertical integration to maintain market dominance John D. Rockefeller -  Founder of the Standard Oil Company; used horizontal integration to effectively buy out his competition Cornelius Vanderbilt -  Steamboat and railroad tycoon; laid thousands of miles of railroad track and established standard gauge for railroads Transcontinental Railroads Gilded Age industrialization had its roots in the Civil War, which spurred Congress and the northern states to build more railroads and increased demand for a variety of manufactured goods. The forward-looking Congress of 1862authorized construction of the first transcontinental railroad, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic lines. Originally, because railroading was such an expensive enterprise at the time, the federal government provided subsidies by the mile to railroad companies in exchange for discounted rates. Congress also provided federal land grants to railroad companies so that they could lay down more track. With this free land and tens of thousands of dollars per mile in subsidies, railroading became a highly profitable business venture. The Union Pacific Railroad company began construction on the transcontinental line in Nebraska during the Civil War and pushed westward, whileLeland Stanford’s Central Pacific Railroad pushed eastward from Sacramento. Tens of thousands of Irish and Chinese laborers laid the track, and the two lines finally met near Promontory, Utah, in 1869. Captains of Industry Big businessmen, not politicians, controlled the new industrialized America of the Gilded Age. Whereas past generations sent their best men into public service, in the last decades of the 1800s, young men were enticed by the private sector, where with a little persistence, hard work, and ruthlessness, one could reap enormous profits. These so-called “captains of industry” were not regulated by the government and did whatever they could to make as much money as possible. These industrialists’ business practices were sometimes so unscrupulous that they were given the name “robber barons.” Vanderbilt and the Railroads As the railroad boom accelerated, railroads began to crisscross the West. Some of the major companies included the Southern Pacific Railroad, the Santa Fe Railroad, and the North Pacific Railroad. Federal subsidies and land grants made railroading such a profitable business that a class of “new money” millionaires emerged. Cornelius Vanderbilt and his son William were perhaps the most famous railroad tycoons. During the era, they bought out and consolidated ma6.1: The Gilded Age—The Rise of Big Business & the Closing of the Western Frontier Follow along in the student packet: “Content students MUST KNOW to be successful on the GHSGT” (p. 105-107) USA in the Gilded Age: 1870-1900 Industrialization Reconstruction & Rise of Jim Crow Ranching, Mining, Farming USA in the Gilded Age: 1870-1900 The South: After the failure of Reconstruction in 1877, the South entered the Jim Crow era * Industry was regional by 1890: (a) NE had 85\% of industry, (b) the sparsely-settled West provided raw materials for industry, & (c) the South was still recovering from war (made tobacco, iron & textiles; but ½ as many manufactured goods as NY state) Sharecropping & Segregation USA in the Gilded Age: 1870-1900 The West: Farmers, ranchers, & miners closed the last of the frontier at the expense of Indians Mining was the 1st attraction to the West; Miners created “instant towns” in areas where gold or silver was discovered Cattle Ranchers on the “Open Range” The Farming Bonanza In 1862, the U.S. government began the Homestead Act which encouraged farmers to settle in the West by offering 160 acres of land to families who promised to live there for 5 years A pioneer sod house * 1st transcontinental railroad connected the west coast to eastern cities in 1869 Chinese workers made up a large percentage of laborers on the western leg Irish workers made up a large percentage of laborers on the eastern section Populists Populists were westerners who wanted “Free silver” (Bi-metalism) Regulation of railroads Income tax Direction election of senators Native Americans in the West: Major Battles & Reservations Little Big Horn—Sioux surrounded & killed US Army division led by Custer Wounded Knee—Indians were killed to stop performance of Ghost Dance ritual The Original Native Americans Indian tribes retained only a few reservations set aside by the U.S. government USA in the Gilded Age: 1870-1900 The North: Experienced an industrial revolution, mass immigration, & urbanization America became the world’s leader in railroad, steel, & oil production “Big Business” Monopolies (trusts): Companies that controlled the majority of one industry: Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Carnegie’s U.S. Steel Vanderbilt’s railroads Robber Barons or Captains of Industry? “New Immigration” & Urbanization Ellis Island was the primary receiving port for _________ immigrants. Asian immigrants were primarily processed at ______ Island in the San Francisco Bay. European Angel * Ellis Island a primary U.S. immigration port. An aerial view of Ellis Island, which served as a primary U.S. immigration port from 1892 to 1954. From 1855 to 1892, immigrants who reached New York had arrived by ferry at Castle Garden, where many of the admission procedTheodore Roosevelt William Howard Taft Woodrow Wilson Goals For Today Understand how Teddy Roosevelt used his power as president to support progressive movement goals. improvement of conditions for workers and consumers (social welfare) providing a more responsive and responsible government (economic/political reform) women gaining the right to vote and the outlawing of alcohol in the United States (moral welfare) Fostering efficiency Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal 1902 Coal Strike: Miners in PA 20\% pay raise 9 hr. day union T.R. called both sides to White House to negotiate Threatened to take over mines Legislation: none Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal Trusts: “Good” v. “Bad” trusts Filed suits under Sherman Antitrust Act Railroad, beef, oil, tobacco and others Ordered Justice Dept. to sue Northern Securities Company NSC est. monopoly over Northwestern Railroads Legislation: Sherman Antitrust Act Trustbuster Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal Unregulated Big Business: Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Act Fought for passage of : Elkins Act Hepburn Act Legislation: Interstate Commerce Act, Elkins Act, and Hepburn Act Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal Dangerous Foods and Medicine: Appointed a commission to study the meatpacking industry. Legislation: Meat Inspection Act Pure Food and Drug Act Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal Shrinking Wilderness and Natural Resources: Promoted conservation of natural resources Set aside thousands of acres of forest reserves Water-power sites Wilderness sanctuaries National parks Pinchot to head U.S. Forest Services Irrigation projects Legislation: National Reclamation Act (Newlands Act) Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal Racial Discrimination: Appointed an African American as head of Charleston, SC Customhouse Refused to dismiss an African American postmistress in Miss. Invited Booker T. Washington to dinner Legislation: None William Howard Taft Progressivism Under Taft Support: Conservatives Opposed progressivism Opposed Roosevelt Opposed low tariffs Favored business Progressivism Under Taft Opposed: Progressives opposed Taft b/c he: Signed and defended Payne-Aldrich Tariff Seemed to oppose conservation Supported conservative boss Joseph Cannon Progressivism Under Taft Progressives: Progressive or Bull Moose Party Conservatives: Republican Party Progressivism Under Taft Progressive- Theodore Roosevelt Republican- William Howard Taft Democratic- Woodrow Wilson Socialist- Eugene Debs Progressivism Under Taft Progressive: Supported govt. action to supervise big business, but did not oppose all big business monopolies. Republican: Favored business, but fought to break up trusts. Democratic: Supported small business and free market competition; thought that all big business monopolies were evil. Socialist: Felt that big business was evil and that the solution involved doing away with capitalism and distributing wealth m