THE GILDED AGE and WESTWARD EXPANSION EOC Blitz

Westward Expansion Transcontinental Railroad-finished 1869 Employed thousands of Immigrants to lay track Made travel to the west much easier Destroyed Native Americans way of life

Westward Expansion Homestead Act of 1862 A homesteader had to be the head of a household or at least 21 years of age to claim a 160 acre parcel of land. Settlers from all walks of life including newly arrived immigrants, farmers without land from the East, single women and former slaves came to meet the challenge of "proving up" and keeping this "free land". Each homesteader had to live on the land, build a home, make improvements and farm for 5 years before they were eligible to "prove up” - keep the land. A total filing fee of $18 was the only money required, but sacrifice and hard work exacted a different price from the hopeful settlers.

Westward Expansion Klondike Gold Rush. A Seattle newspaper headline touched off the frenzy in 1897. It read "Gold, Gold - A Ton of Gold. “ Around 30, 000 of the 100, 000 or so prospectors that set out for the Klondike actually made it there. Many gave up due to the difficulties of the journey and returned home; some were not able to survive the extreme temperatures and died. Those that made it to the Klondike still had their work cut out for them, as the gold was not easy to find or extract. Many found the best places had already been staked out. Only 4, 000 got rich! Boom towns sprang up everywhere. Soon gold was discovered in Nome and the unsuccessful headed there.

Policies Toward Native Americans • The Dawes Act-1887 - aimed to “Americanize” Native Americans-gave acreage to individual households so they would farm. By 1932 whites took much of set aside lands-Indians got no money for it. • Destruction of Buffalo took away their way of life. • Restricted to Reservations

THE GILDED AGE • Looked good on the outside but corrupt inside. • Lots of social issues. • Corrupt politicians.

Political Machines “Dog-eat-dog” Social Darwinism made political bosses possible. Bosses traded favors for votes. Actually helped many poor and immigrants, but used illegal and corrupt means.

Populist Movement • “The People’s Party”-demanded reforms to lift burden of debt from farmers and other workers and let the people have a greater voice in government. Came out of the Granger or Agrarian Movement of the farmers. Platform: • secret ballot-election reform • 8 hour work day • limited immigration • Senators elected by popular vote • Backed Democrat William Jennings Bryan-who was for bimetallism-currency backed by both gold and silver would help stagnant economy, he said.

Civil Service Reform • Took place under Presidents Hayes, Garfield and Arthur. Hayes: set up a commission to investigate corrupt customs houses and fired some officials. Garfield: Gave political jobs to reformers against the spoils system-was assassinated. ( spoils system allowed appointment of friends, family) Arthur: Pendleton Civil Service Act- Civil Service Commission gave federal jobs based on merit. Had to take Civil Service Exam.

Effects of These Developments Effects both good and bad: 1. More people without power or big money could get federal jobs. 2. Because officials could no longer pressure employees for campaign contributions, they turned to other sources, such as Big Business for donations. This meant Big Business had influence over their candidates.

Changes in the U. S. Economy During the Gilded Age Scientific Innovations: Bessemer Steel Process-steel for railroads, farm machines, bridges, skyscrapers, automobiles. Alexander Graham Bell-telephonecommunications improved. Thomas Edison-light bulb-lights in every home and office. Christopher Sholes-Typewriter-efficient office work.

Industrialization The Second Industrial Revolution occurred between 1870 -1910 when new industries employed hundreds of thousands to produce items needed for America's growing industries and goods desired by American consumers. Industrial cities grew rapidly, especially in the northeast along the Great Lake region. By the end of this Revolution, the U. S. had become a mature industrial society in which two-thirds of Americans worked for wages in city jobs.

Growth of Business • Railroads and shipping-cheaper, more places to send goods= profits and business growth • Rise of Entrepreneurship-people starting businesses to make a profit • Andrew Carnegie-, a self-made steel tycoon and one of the wealthiest 19 th century U. S. businessmen and philanthropist, donated towards the expansion of the New York Public Library and founded Carnegie-Mellon University. • John D. Rockefeller was the head of the Standard Oil Company and one of the world's richest men. He used his fortune to fund ongoing philanthropic causes. • Cornelius Vanderbilt was an industrialist in railroads and shipping. He had accumulated the largest fortune in the U. S. at the time of his death, in 1877. • J. P. Morgan-Financier, art collector and philanthropist John Pierpont Morgan, best known as J. P. founded the banking company J. P. Morgan & Co. , one of the leading financial firms in the country, in 1871. • All believed in using wealth to help communities-philanthropy.

Labor Unions • Big Business sometimes seemed more interested in profits than their workers. • Workers banded together and formed Labor Unions in order to negotiate better salaries and improved working conditions including an 8 hour day and safety in the workplace. • Two kinds –Industrial Unions and Trade Unions • Strikes got negotiations going, but sometimes turned violent.

Social Change in the Gilded Age • More women go to college. • More women go to work. • Settlement Houses started by Jane Addams to do something about the poor. • Women’s Christian. Temperance Union started by women to try to keep men home and women as homemakers not career women. They had so much influence that Prohibition passed. • Women- Fought for and got the Vote! 19 th amendment-ratified 1920.

Social Change in the Gilded Age • Children: • Child Labor- unskilled jobs for cheap- used children of the poor • Long hours • Unsafe conditions • Many maimed, hurt or killed in factories • Many reformers tried to stop child labor

Urbanization • Urbanization-People move to cities for factory jobs, so cities grow rapidly. • Problems: • Inadequate public services, infra structure • Overcrowding resulting in tenements and slums • Inadequate transportation services • Social tensions-ethnic groups thrown together.

Immigrants- • Many came to find jobs and freedom-pull factors. Many came because of famines or religious or ethnic persecution-push factors. • Nativists-felt new immigrants were taking their jobs-wanted a stop to immigration. • Chinese Exclusion Act-10 year ban on Chinese worker immigrants. • Immigrants, especially from eastern and southern Europe suffered from prejudice and intolerance.

Minorities • After the Civil War even though slaves were free, they had to face severe racism and it was very difficult to find work. • Many states passed laws that denied minorities their civil rights. Plessy vs. Ferguson made segregation legal in 1896. • Jim Crow Laws -Laws passed in the South to take away power from blacks and mandated segregation between blacks and whites. Also attempted to keep them from voting

Social Gospel • The government was not helping the many poor in the overcrowded cities, so others came forward. • A group of reformers believed that salvation could be gained by service to the poor. • Many were middle-class, college educated women like Jane Addams who started settlement houses. • A settlement house was a community center in a slum neighborhood to provide services to the residents, particularly immigrants. • They aimed at assimilation of the new citizens into the American way of life.

Released STAAR Questions on the Gilded Age Which of these was a major goal of Jane Addams’s Settlement House movement in Chicago? • F The founding of women’s colleges • G The introduction of prison reform • H The assimilation of immigrants • J The establishment of public libraries

STAAR Questions During the nineteenth century, one way political bosses gained voter support was by — • F campaigning for women’s suffrage • G advocating the use of poll taxes • H making improvements in urban infrastructure • J providing public assistance former slaves

This cover from a nineteenth-century periodical helps illustrate that the United States was beginning to change from — A a mostly rural society to a mostly urban one B a slave-owning society to one without slavery C a foreign policy of isolationism to one of interventionism D a direct democracy to a representative one

During the Gilded Age there was a notable increase in federal support for — • A the growth of big business • B involvement in foreign wars • C the acquisition of foreign territories • D increased temperance regulations

In the late 1800 s, the Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson — • F established a legal remedy for victims of discrimination • G created a legal justification for segregation laws • H affirmed the legality of federal regulation of state elections • J recognized public protests as a legal form of civil disobedience