THE GILDED AGE & PROGRESSIVE ERA

Why was the period after Reconstruction known as the “Gilded Age” in America?

• Currency debates were the biggest issue in American politics

• There was much economic growth but were many issues under the surface

• All Americans regardless of class and occupation saw significant improvements in their standard of living

• Women and African Americans joined together in their struggles against inequality

All the following were major “Titans of Industry” during the Gilded Age EXCEPT:

• John D. Rockefeller

• JP Morgan

• Andrew Carnegie

• Boss Tweed

“Neither the individual nor the race is improved by almsgiving [donations]. Those worthy of assistance, except in rare cases, seldom require assistance… But the amount which can be wisely given by the individual for individuals is necessarily limited by his lack of knowledge of the circumstances connected with each. He is the only true reformer who is as careful and as anxious not to aid the unworthy as he is to aid the worthy, and, perhaps, even more so, for in almsgiving more injury is probably done by rewarding wickedness than by dismissing virtue… The rich man …[knows] that the best means of benefiting the community is to place within its reach the ladders upon which the aspiring can rise: free libraries, parks, and means of recreation, by which men are helped in body and mind; works of art, certain to give pleasure and improve the public taste; and public institutions of various kinds, which will improve the general condition of the people; in this manner returning their surplus wealth to the mass of their fellows in the forms best calculated to do them lasting good.” SOURCE: Andrew Carnegie, Wealth, article written and published in 1889.

Which of the following ideas is most directly expressed by Carnegie in this passage?

• a. Based on ideas of “survival of the fittest,” no assistance should be given to the poor

• b. The wealthy have a responsibility to provide support to the poor in a way that will have lasting effects

• c. Charity is a sin and anyone providing this support is going against the will of God

• d. All impoverished people are deserving of monetary handouts from the wealthy

The cartoon most directly reveals that during the Gilded Age…

• Strikes were effective tools for workers to improve their situation

• Wages were increasing enough for workers to afford their necessities

• Employers tended to pay workers as little as possible to maximize profits

• Low wages and high rents were problems that affected all Americans

Use the cartoon below from 1894 to answer questions 4 - 5. (Caption reads “The condition of the laboring man at Pullman” and the vise is labelled “capitalism, monopoly, plutocracy, wage slavery.” The man’s arm is labeled “employee.”) 5. It can be reasonably inferred the cartoonist is most sympathetic to…

• The working class

• The government

• The Robber Barons

• The newly arriving immigrants

What best describes the concept of "Vertical Integration" as it was used in the Gilded Age?

• Vanderbilt used coercion and threats to build his steamboat and then later railroad empire

• Rockefeller bought out or controlled a majority share in his competitors in the oil industry to avoid competition.

• Carnegie controlled every step of the steel-making process; his goal was to improve efficiency and control the product at all stages of production by eliminating competition and the middle man.

• Boss Tweed offered bribes and job opportunities to control the immigrant vote in New York City; His goal was to control party politics and enrich himself.

Who bought out Carnegie Steel?

• JP Morgan

• Cornelius Vanderbilt

• John D. Rockefeller

• Boss Tweed

What best describes the message of this speech?

• The gold standard is the best policy for the United States, benefitting all classes

• The gold standard is only beneficial to the commercial interests

• The gold standard is only beneficial to the laboring classes

• The gold standard is not ideal but still better than the policy of bimetallism

Before securing the nomination for the Democratic party in 1896, William Jennings Bryan was a…

• a. Whig

• b. Federalist

• c. Republican

• d. Populist

Which of the following is true of the 1896 Presidential Election?

• There were limits placed on the amount that people could donate to the campaign to avoid candidates being swayed by special interests

• Teddy Roosevelt was elected on an anti-trust platform

• William McKinley won the election, partially due to support from the Titans of Industry

• The secret ballot was used so workers could vote free of pressure from their employers