Transcript Progressive Era

GILDED AGE
TIME OF IGNORED PROBLEMS
WHAT DOES THE TERM GILDED MEAN?
THE GILDED AGE IS 1865-1900
• A period of seemingly extravagant wealth, growth
and opportunity.
THE “GOOD” AND THE GLAMOROUS
• The Upper Class
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Nouveau Riche (Noo-Voh-Reesh) – Newly Rich
Carnegie, Rockefeller and Vanderbilt
Public Displays of Wealth
Conspicuous Consumption
• The development of the Middle Class
• Rise of corporation and business created jobs in middle
management
• Accountants, Engineers, Clerks and Sales people.
• Need for educated workers.
• Professional School developed.
OTHER POSITIVES
• Growth in Public Education
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Compulsory Education Laws
Hoped to instruct children in “proper behavior”
Civic Loyalty, American Values,
Yet Schools were still segregated by race
• African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans
• Growth in Literature
• Growth in Journalism
LEISURE TIME
• Large Urban Parks
• Large Extravagant Sky Scrapers
• Sports
• Baseball 1869 – First professional baseball team in Ohio
• By 1890 – Baseball had 60,000 fans
• 3 years later the first World Series was held between the
Pittsburg Pirates and the Boston Pilgrims (Red Soxs)
• Racism was a large problem in professional sports.
• African Americans formed their own league
• Football
• Many thought was too dangerous – but grew in popularity
• Basketball
• James Naismith – Gym teacher invented the game in 1891
• One of the few sports women were allowed to play
ENTETAINMENT
• Theater
• Portraying Shakespear
• Vaudeville – Many short performances
• Animal acts, Comedy, singers, magicians, skits
• Ragtime
• Created by African American Musicians
• 1890’s - Ragtime Pianists played a stomping or driving rhythm
with the left hand and a syncopated improvised melody with
the right.
• Scott Joplin became famous from Ragtime
THE BAD AND THE UGLY
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Corrupt Politics
Racism
Women’s Rights
Working Conditions
Monopolies and Trusts
Urban Slums
Education
Conservation
CORRUPT POLITICS
• Big City = Big Responsibility
• Political Machines
• Well Organized political parties dominated city
governments during the late 1800’s
• Were excellent at getting certain people elected to office.
• Political Bosses
• Managed political machines
• Would bully people into voting for certain candidates
• Would make promises to businesses for convincing their
workers to vote for certain candidates.
• Won support
• Providing jobs, services and political favors.
POLITICAL MACHINES CONT.
• Often helped the urban poor.
• Gained support from immigrants
• Met them at Ellis Island, helped them get settled
• Tammany Hall
• Met immigrants ensured they were citizens and registered to
vote, so they could vote for Tammany hall candidates.
GRAFT AND CORRUPTION
• Corruption – Corrupt voting practices
• Voting multiple time
• Bulling people for votes
• Graft- The acquisition of money or political power
through illegal or dishonest methods.
• Almost all Political machines participated in this practice.
• Kickbacks – Payments of part of the earnings from a job or
contract.
THE TWEED RING
• An era of the Tammany Hall Political Machine
• Political Boss was William Marcy Tweed
• LOTS OF GRAFT
• Estimated 200 million in Kickbacks
• Thomas Nast
• Series of Political Cartoons – in Harpers Weekly
• Exposed William Marcy Tweed for corruption
• Published some 50 images that exposed Tweed
• “Stop them pictures. I don’t care so much what the papers
write about me. My constituents can’t read. But they can
see pictures”
• William Tweed
THE PROBLEMS GROW
• Racism
• Existed across all parts of life.
• In jobs, in leisure, in education
• Working Conditions
• Triangle Fire
• Monopolies and Trusts
• No one was making sure business were not taking advantage of
the consumer (the citizen buying the product)
• Urban Slums
• Tenement Houses
• Education
• Was required, but was focused on memorization and making
immigrants good citizens
• Was restricted, and difficult to attend
• Not equal for all races
THE COMPARISON
Tenement House
Wealthy Banquet
WHY DO WE CALL THIS THE GILDED
AGE?
PROGRESSIVE ERA – AGE OF REFORM
• Choose your Historical Character.
PROGRESSIVE ERA
• Gilded Age – 1865-1900
• Progressive Era - 1897-1920
WHAT DOES THE WORD PROGRESS
MEAN?
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE
PROGRESSIVE ERA IS?
THE PROGRESSIVES CHAPTER 9
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Group of people who work to make change.
Focused on the number of problems in society.
Proposed reform.
Progressives had individual goals based on their
own priorities.