Ga ppt
- 1. The Gilded Age Period after Reconstruction Poor presidential leadership Immigrants arrive Corruption in politics Laissez Faire and Social Darwinism Labor Unions
- 2. Poor leadership Very few presidents during this period did anything to make life better. They followed a laissez faire attitude. This means “hands-off” by the government. The government just did not do much to regulate any industries. People also believed in Social Darwinism-survival of the fittest.
- 3. Immigrant arrive to U.S. Immigrants after the Civil War arrived mostly from Eastern Europe. They were not use to a democratic type of government. They arrived at Ellis Island in N.Y. and Angel Island in California. Not everyone welcomed the immigrants, they were called Nativist.
- 4. City life Immigrants were working long hours and for very few wages. Would you work for a dollar a day? Working conditions were very unsafe and there was child labor, as young as 10 years old. Jane Addams-she was the founder of Hull House in Chicago. She tried to help immigrants.
- 5. Living conditions Living conditions in the cities were very bad. Living spaces were overcrowded and run down. There were open sewers and crowded streets. There are no regulations in place for safety.
- 6. Labor Unions The Knights of Labor-anyone could join Haymarket Riot-someone threw a pipe bomb and killed many people. The KOL were blamed. This labor union will disappear.
- 7. Labor Unions The American Federation of Labor replaced the Knights of Labor. It is more organized. In 1950 it merged with another union, and today the AFL/CIO is one of the largest labor unions.
- 8. Government reaction to labor unions During the Gilded Age, the government DID NOT care about workers needs or concerns. They were forced to get back to work. Those politicians wanted money and needed people working.
- 9. Robber Barons Not only was government corrupt, but you have the rise of big businesses. The 4 key robber barons were: Andrew Carnegie-Steel industry John D. Rockefeller-Oil industry J.P. Morgan-Bank industry C. Vanderbilt-Railroads
- 10. Terms of industrialization Monopoly-this is when one person has complete control of an industry. Trust-this was the practice of fixing prices. So everything cost the same. This is against the law today.
- 11. Horizontal integration This was a business practice used the the industrialist. It is when similar companies merge together. Can you think of similar companies that could merge and be one big company?
- 12. Vertical Integration Also a business practice of the Gilded Age. It is when one company takes over another company. They do not have to be the same type of company.