Essay about Guilded Age Trends

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Social | Political | Economic | Education: * Growing support for Kindergarten * Booker T. Washington taught African Americans how to gain economic security * By the 20th century, illiteracy had been cut in half in the north * Elementary school became mandatory in the late 19th century * Close of reconstruction caused separated education | Greenbacks Issue: * Wealthy Northerners and creditors hoped to get richer through deflation * However, democrats hoped to lower debts through inflation * Poor people supported the printing of money to promote inflation * The Resumption Act of 1875 pulled out all greenbacks and redeemed paper currency in gold at face value * Closeness of elections in the late 19th century led parties to avoid controversial issues that might alienate voters | Technology: * Pullman Palace Cars made train travel more luxurious * Standardization of railroad gages reduced costs * 1883 brought times zones to maintain schedules * Westinghouse Air Brake increases efficiency and safety in trains * Vanderbilt invents steel rails | Immigration: * Immigrants bring along their religions to the United States * In a fight for factory jobs, “New” Immigrants were being discriminated by their predecessors * In 20 years, more than 2 million Europeans migrated to America * Settlement houses like that of Jane Adams sought to educate and enhance the living conditions of immigrants * Over 400 settlement houses intended to aid impoverished families (primarily immigrants) by 1910 | Reconstruction: * Surplus of railroads, markets, mines, factories, and fields * Excess of loans went unpaid and thousands of business’ went bankrupt * Government rewards living and improving of land through the Homestead Act * Hard Money Advocates pressure Grant to veto bill printing money * Treasury lowered value of silver | Railroads: * Land grants were used to fund the railroads * Transcontinental roads helped boost the market for American raw materials and products * By the 20th century, there were over 190,000 miles of railroad * Railroaders lobbied judges and congressmen for government jobs with power in politics * Interstate Commerce Act (1887 disallowed rebates, pools, and railroads to publish their rates publicly | Women: * By 1890 over a million women were working * Blacks were domestic servants * Immigrants continued jobs they would do in their native lands * Jane Adams reforms Hull House into prominent American Settlement for immigrants * Anti Sweat Shop Laws in 1893 protected women and child laborers | Civil Service Reform: * Stalwarts wanted to retain the spoils system * Congress reduces tariffs * Civil Rights Act (1875) guaranteed equal facilities and prohibited racial discrimination * Half Breeds weren’t completely accepting of the reform * Grants administration is infiltrated with civil service reformers | Government Curruption: * Grantism: Term given to the corruption during presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. Corruption hindered economic growth and regulation * Credit Mobilier: Scandal in 1872 in constructing the western portion of the first transcontinental railroad. Involvement included that of the Vice President * Whiskey Ring: Scandal involving diversion of tax revenues. * Salary Grab: Congressmen continued to give themselves raises for their annual incomes * Tammany Hall: Political Machine headed by “Boss” Tweed that hurt economic growth in the City of New York. | Religious Denominations: * Salvation Army Denomination, known for charity and feeding the poor * YMCA/YWCA oined education and religion * Catholics and Jews garner support from new immigrants raising their numbers to the highest denomination * Modernist forced to resign * Darwin’s work is condemned by Christians for speaking against the bible | Liberal Republicans: * Hard money policy inadcertently caused a Democratic House of Representatives * Wanted to end
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