Gilded Age 1870s to 1900
Presidents of the Gilded Age
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__________________________ 1869-1877
Rutherford B. Hayes __________________________
__________________________ 1881
Chester A. Arthur 1881-1885
__________________________ 1885-1889 and 1893-1897
Benjamin Harrison __________________________
__________________________ 1897-1901
Gilded Age – The Origin Story
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Gilded Age – A Period when __________________________ existed in society but was overshadowed
by the __________________________ of the period (“gilded” is when something is golden/beautiful
on the surface but is really cheap/worthless underneath
__________________________ in __________________________ and government caused problems
for immigrants, laborers, and farmers
Term comes from a book written about the time period by __________________________ and Charles
Dudley Warner in 1873 The Gilded Age
Inventors/Inventions
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__________________________
o Perfected the light bulb in 1880, and motion picture
o Organized power plants
o Established first __________________________
Alexander Graham Bell
o __________________________ (1876)
Henry Ford
o __________________________
George Eastman
o __________________________ (1885)
Samuel Morse
o Telegraph (1837)
Wright Brothers
o __________________________ (1903)
Christopher Sholes
o __________________________ (1867)
Guglielmo Marconi
o __________________________
The Steel Industry’s Impact on America
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__________________________ - developed around 1850 injected air into molten iron to remove
impurities and make steel-a lighter, more flexible, rust resistant metal
__________________________ is used in __________________________, farm equipment, canned
goods
Engineers use steel to create __________________________ and longer
__________________________ (Brooklyn Bridge)
Impact of Railroads on America during the Gilded Age
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Benefits
o Stimulated growth of other __________________________ (steel, iron, coal, lumber, glass)
o Helped __________________________grow
o Helped increase westward __________________________of America
o Standard __________________________ were created to get everyone on correct time
Corruption
o Charged much higher rates to __________________________
o Credit Mobilier Scandal 1868
 __________________________
 Fake construction company
 Bribed members of __________________________
 Represented __________________________of period
Rise of Big Business
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__________________________
o Industrialists who made a fortune in steel in the late 1800’s, as a philanthropists, he gave away
some $350 million.
__________________________
o Industrialists who made a fortune in the oil refining industry
o __________________________
J.P. Morgan
o Industrialists who started __________________________ from Carnegie Steel and other
companies. Became 1st __________________________ Corporation.
o Bailed out the U.S. economy on more than one occasion.
Vertical Integration
o A process in which a company buys out all of the __________________________. (Ex. coal and
iron mines, ore freighters, RR lines)
Horizontal Consolidation
o A process in which a company buys out or merges with all _____________________________
(JP Morgan bought out Carnegie steel and other companies)
__________________________ – A group of separate companies placed under the control of a single
managing board
Critics called these practices unfair and the business leaders “__________________________”
Social Darwinism
o Used Darwin’s theory to explain business
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o Natural Selection, ____________________________________________________
o Govt. should not interfere
o Laissez-faire -policy that US had followed since inception to not allow govt. to interfere with
business
Captains of Industry
o A positive idea that __________________________worked hard and deserved their wealth
__________________________ - belief that the wealthy are “chosen by God” to be successful and
were therefore responsible to look out for the wellbeing of those less fortunate.
o Many Industrialist shared wealth although rarely through direct welfare. Started museums, etc.
__________________________ - complete control of a product or service
__________________________ Anti-Trust Act of 1890
o Law outlawing a combination of companies that restrained interstate trade or commerce;
important to prevent monopolies.
o Not initially enforced __________________________.