The Gilded Age

Chapter 6

Section 3

The Gilded Age 1870-1900

• Phrase coined by Mark Twain

Individualism

• Belief that anyone could be a great success if they worked hard enough

• Horatio Alger

Darwinism

• Theory of evolution

• The strong survive and reproduce, the weak do not

• Natural Selection

Opponents

• Christians opposed Darwinism

• Why?

Social Darwinism

• Survival of the fittest

• Herbert Spencer Combined Darwin’s theories and the Protestant Ethic

Gospel of Wealth

• Carnegie’s philosophy of giving back

• Philanthropy to help the poor better themselves

Realism

• Artists and Writers tried to portray the world realistically

• “The Gross Clinic”

• By Thomas Eakins

• Why do you think this painting was controversial?

• (Collins writing: Type 1-three lines)

Mark Twain

• Realist author

From The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

• “’Say, who is you? Whar is you? Dog my cats ef I didn’ hear sumf’n. Well, I know what I’s gwyne to do: I’s gwyne to set down here and listen tell I hears it agin.’”

• So he set down on the ground betwixt me and Tom. He leaned his back up against a tree, and stretched his legs out till one of the most touched one of mine. My nose begun to itch. It itched till the tears come into my eyes. But I dasn’t scratch. Then it begun to itch on the inside. Next I got to itching underneath. I didn’t know how I was going to set still. This miserableness went on as much as six or seven minutes; but it seemed a sight longer than that.”

Do Now

• Answer the following in complete sentences.

• Why do you think some people are opposed to tariffs (taxes on imports)?

• Why do some people support tariffs?– Collins Writing Type 2

Popular Culture

• People had more disposable income

• Began to spend it on recreation and entertainment

The Saloon

• Free toilets, newspapers, water for horses

• Drinks, free lunch

• Served as political centers

Sports

• Baseball

• Football

Most Popular Spectator Sports

Vaudeville

• Entertainment with animal shows, skits and dancers

• Vaudeville act

Ragtime

• Music that started in cities’ red light districts

• Scott Joplin– Maple Leaf Rag

Patronage• giving government jobs to people who help

a candidate get elected

• Spoils System-winning candidates deserved the spoils of victory

Civil Service

• system to replace the Spoils System

• jobs would be given to people based on merit

Rutherford B. Hayes

• Republican who Became President 1876

• Wanted to do away with Spoils System

• Received no support from Congress

Republican Party Splits

• Stalwarts: want to keep Spoils System

• Halfbreeds: want reform, stay loyal to party

• Mugwumps: Republicans who leave to support reformers

James A. Garfield

• Republican elected in 1880

• Wanted reform, gave patronage jobs to reformers

• Chester A. Arthur V.P. (Stalwart)

Garfield Assassinated

• July 2, 1881-Garfield shot in D.C. train station

• Charles Guiteau-assassin, Garfield turned him down for a job

Pendleton Act

• Arthur turned reformer, passed Pendleton Act in 1883

Grover Cleveland

• Democrat elected President in 1884

• Pushed by Mugwumps to protect more jobs with civil service

Interstate Commerce Act

• Cleveland signed in 1887

• Regulated Railroads and set up the Interstate Commerce Commission

• Rebates

• Long haul vs. short haul

Tariffs

• People wanted to lower tariffs to lower prices

• Cleveland lowered them some, but Republicans blocked most change

Benjamin Harrison

• Republican elected in 1888

• Received money from industrialists who liked tariffs

McKinley Tariff

• Raised tariffs to their highest level ever

• Angered Americans

• Harrison lost in 1892

Sherman Anti-trust Act

• Passed in 1890

• Tried to break up trusts, but was too weak and vaguely worded

• Mostly used against unions

Challenging Social Darwinism

• Henry George author– Said Laissez

faire was making society worse

Lester Frank Ward

• Wrote Dynamic Sociology 1883

• Reform Darwinism: people had become successful because of cooperation not competition

Edward Bellamy

• Wrote Looking Backward

• A book about socialism

Naturalism

• A new form of literature that challenged Social Darwinism

• Some people failed because of the circumstances in their lives

The Social Gospel

• People can be saved through service to the poor

• Led to churches providing many community services

The Salvation Army

• Gave practical aid and religious counseling to the poor

YMCA

• Young Men’s Christian Association

• Bible studies, citizenship training, and group activities

• Also gave men a place to live

The Settlement House Movement

• Community centers in poor neighborhoods– Medical care, kindergartens, English classes

• Hull House– Opened in Chicago by Jane Addams in 1889

Public Education

• More educated workers were needed

• Schools Americanized children