The Gilded Age 1870-1890

1. The Gilded Age1870-1890

2. Gilded means to cover something of poor quality with gold What does this imply about American Society? Mark Twain

3. Positives Industrialization Economic Growth New Inventions Growth of Middle Class and Suburbs Manifest Destiny Negatives Working Conditions Poverty and Living Conditions in Cities Gap between Rich and Poor Increases Farmers Struggle Political Corruption Treatment of Minorities Wealth and economic growth covered up the many problems that existed Characteristics of the Gilded Age

4. Middle Class and the Growth of Suburbs • commute to the city for jobs and shopping. • made possible by railroads, horse cars, and streetcars. • get away from poor immigrants • Quiet and healthier for family • Segregated Communities

5. The New Rich Conspicuous Consumption- spending money just to show off wealth Nouveau Riche

6. Conspicuous Display of Wealth, Millionaire’s Row, New York Carnegie Mansion Vanderbilt Chateau

7. How did the other half live?

8. The Shift to the City Urbanization- process in which an increasing proportion of a population lives in cities or suburbs of cities

9. MIGRATION FROM COUNTRY TO CITY • Immigration • improvements in farm technology meant less labor • Many rural people left for cities to find work • African Americans

10. a rundown apartment used to house large numbers of low-income families. Tenement

13. “Home of an Italian Ragpicker,” 1888

14. “One of Four Pedlars Who Slept in the Cellar of 11 Ludlow Street Rear,” c. 1892

16. URBAN PROBLEMS • Overcrowded Housing • Sanitation: garbage was often not collected • Polluted air • Lack of clean water • Crime • Fire Harper’s Weekly image of Chicagoans fleeing the fire over the Randolph Street bridge in 1871

17. POLITICS IN THE GILDED AGE • As cities grew in the late 19th century, so did political machines • Political machines controlled the activities of a political party in a city • The head of the Political machine was known as the “Boss”

18. ROLE OF THE POLITICAL BOSS • The “Boss” controlled jobs, business licenses, granting of contracts and influenced laws and courts • Political Machines helped immigrants with naturalization (citizenship), jobs, and housing in exchange for votes Boss Tweed ran NYC

19. Political Corruption was considered to be widespread • President Grant’s Administration • Voter Fraud- used fake names and voted multiple times • Patronage- granting favors in return for political support • Graft- bribes • kick-backs - Return of money in exchange for a business

20. Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall

21. THE TWEED RING SCANDAL William M. Tweed, known as Boss Tweed, became head of Tammany Hall, NYC’s powerful Democratic political machines Between 1869-1871, Tweed led the Tweed Ring, a group of corrupt politicians, in defrauding the city Tweed’s ring stole between 40 and 200 million Tweed died in Jail Boss Tweed

22. Does History remember the Real Boss Tweed?

23. CIVIL SERVICE REPLACES PATRONAGE • Nationally, some politicians pushed for reform in the hiring system • The system had been based on Patronage or the Spoils System; giving jobs and favors to those who helped a candidate get elected • Reformers pushed for an adoption of a merit system of hiring the most qualified for jobs • The Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 authorized a bipartisan commission to make appointments for federal jobs based on performance Applicants for federal jobs are required to take a Civil Service Exam