The Gilded Age1865-1900

• What does “gilded” mean?

• Covered or highlighted with gold or something of a golden color

• Having a pleasing or showy appearance that conceals something of little worth

• “Gilded Age” – 1865-1900• Post-Reconstruction America• Phrase coined by Mark Twain; used to

represent America during this time

• Also, think of a beautiful, shiny, red apple… that is rotten on the inside

• This was America during this time period

• On the outside, golden, shiny, beautiful:• Expanding economy, population growth• Extravagant displays of wealth by America’s upper

class

• Hiding the rotten inside:• Political corruption, scandals,

greed, child labor, materialism, racial discrimination, etc.

Industrial and Technological Growth

Industrial Growth Post-Civil War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6tRp-zRUJs

Encouraging Industrial Growth• Natural resources fuel growth

– Coal mines fuel trains and factories– Forests cut into lumber for construction – River ways transported goods – Drilling oil

• Immigration fuels the workforce

Encouraging Industrial Growth

• Capitalism encourages entrepreneurs – Capitalism: “an economic and political system in which a

country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners”

– Entrepreneurs: “a person who organizes and operates a business”

– 1868 Horatio Alger’s Ragged Dick a rags to riches story• Government Policies Encourage Free Enterprise

– Give RR companies land– Protective tariffs– Laissez-faire: “hands-off” allowing businesses to operate

under minimal gov’t regulation

Innovation Drives the Nation

• Late 19th century=increase in Patents; a grant by the federal gov’t giving an inventor the exclusive right to develop, use, and sell an innovation for a set period of time.

Thomas Edison• Inventor of the light bulb in 1880

– Made plans for central power plants to light entire sections of cities.

Alexander Graham Bell• Patented the telephone in 1876

– within a few years 148 telephone companies had strung more than 34,000 miles of wire. Linked long-distance cities in the Northeast and Midwest. 1 million lines by 1900.

Christopher Sholes

• Invented the first practical typewriter and the QWERTY keyboard still in use today.

Henry Bessemer• Bessemer Process: developed a process for purifying iron

resulting in strong, but lightweight steel. – Made suspension bridges and skyscrapers possible– The Brooklyn Bridge completed in 1883

Skyscrapers and Steel• Skyscrapers: Home Insurance Company in Chicago • Elevators

George Westinghouse• as RR tracks expanded so did new technologies such as: air

brakes by George Westinghouse

Gustavus Swift

• refrigerated cars

George Pullman• He designed and manufactured the Pullman sleeping car and

founded a company town, Pullman, for the workers who manufactured it.

• Perfectly appointed moving hotels

• Electric trolley: electric streetcar that affected Americans travel. Also, commuter trains and subways appeared in American cities.

Orville and Wilbur Wright• First successful airplane flight in 1903.

American Motor Carriage Company

• Gas-powered automobiles 1902

George Eastman• Founded the Eastman Kodak

Company and popularized the use of roll film, helping to bring photography to the mainstream. – Roll film was also the basis for

the invention of motion picture film in 1888.

A Spiral of Growth

• Mass production: system for turning out large numbers of products quickly and inexpensively. Used machinery and the assembly line to speed up production.

Impact of Industrialization

• Linked world markets • Changed American society

– Increase in machinery (even on farms)– Urbanizationmoving to cities for work

• Worry about the environment– Industrial waste rose dramatically by the late 19th century– Mining destroyed the land – Increased agricultural production led to soil erosion and

dust storms (the Dust Bowl)– Gov’t attempt at creating National Parks for land

protection

Quick Write

How Does Technology Change the World?

• Choose an invention:– Light bulb– Telephone– Typewriter – Bessemer Process and Skyscraper/Suspension Bridges – Refrigerated RR cars– Electric trolley– Plane– Car– Kodak Camera

• Who: inventor• What: purpose of

invention• Where: mostly used in

what area/place• When: invention

date/period of greatest use

• Why/How: Why is it important? How did it change the way people lived? How did it change society or the economy or politics?

• Choose a modern invention (21st century) that serves the same purpose as your 19th century invention.

• Compare/Contrast the inventions.

• Why/How: Why is it important? How did it change the way people lived? How did it change society or the economy or politics?

Create “Poster”

• Include images of each technology. • Include citations.

Groups

1. Carlisha, Christion, Jaelen2. Jasmin, Juan, Jackie3. Jacob, Andrew, Andrew4. Braydon, DeShaun, Damoni5. Yarai, Elsi, Ivette, Vanesa6. Luis, Toni, Michael7. Mitchell, Daniel, DJ, Axel8. Angela, Tracy, Alyssa, Martha 9. Ray, Dean, Zach

How Does Technology Change the World?

• Choose an invention article (from the front):– Light bulb– Telephone– Typewriter – Bessemer Process and Skyscraper– Refrigerated RR cars– Electric trolley– Plane– Car– Kodak Camera

• Who: inventor• What: purpose of invention• Where: mostly used in what area/place• When: invention date/period of greatest use• Why/How: Why is it important? How did it change the

way people lived? How did it change society or the economy or politics?

• Choose a modern invention (21st century) that serves the same purpose as your 19th century invention and Compare/Contrast the two.

Create “Poster”

• Need a:– Writer– Artist– Reader