What were the effects of industrialization during

the Gilded Age?An APUSH Lecture/Discussion

What were the effects of industrialization during the Gilded Age?Effects already covered:1. Created the highest standard

of living in the world2. U.S. transititions from an

agricultural industrial nation

3. Domestic migration to urban areas

4. The rise of Big Business strains economic and political systems

What were the effects of industrialization during the Gilded Age?

Effects yet to cover:1. The changing nature of work and labor reaction2. Foreign immigration to American urban areas 3. The growth of American cities (urbanization)4. Industrial overproduction + Nationalism = Imperialism

The changing nature of work & labor reaction

Transition from Skilled Labor Unskilled Labor

Why? Standardization of parts Industrial mechanization Division of labor

The changing nature of work & labor reaction

small, personal businesses

boss/owner present and involved

skilled workers valued and respected

large, impersonal business or corporation

owner is absent, replaced by a manager

mass production and increasing efficiency demand unskilled labor

How might this have affected working conditions?

SHOP FACTORY

How might this transition possibly effect working conditions? safety? treatment of workers?

Labor Organizes

National Labor Union (1866) organized skilled, unskilled,

and farmers demanded 8-hr day and higher

wages politically active, lobbied for

inflationary monetary policies too many competing agendas,

did not survive economic depression of the 1870s

Labor OrganizesKnights of Labor (1869) “One Big Union” open to skilled,

unskilled, women, and Blacks Organized as a secret society Advocated for reforms to economy

– including govt ownership of RRs, telegraphs, telephones (very radical)

KofL doomed after the 1886 labor unrest in Chicago, which culminated with the Haymarket Bombing

Terrance Powderly was the top leader of the Knights

Labor OrganizesAmerican Federation of Labor (AFL) 1886: Led by Samuel Gompers Only skilled / craft unions supported “bread & butter issues”: 8-hour work day, higher wages, better

working conditions Union strategy: collective bargaining, walk-outs, and boycotts*Worked hard to avoid politics and distance themselves from radical elements.

The Great Strikes

Major incidents of labor unrest you must know: The Great Rail Road Strike (1877) The Haymarket Bombing (1886) The Homestead Strike (1892) The Pullman Strike* (1894) *Emergence of Eugene V. Debs as an ARU leader and later 4-time Socialist candidate for president.

Big Business Tactics against Labor hired “scab” workers

during strikes Lock-outs Close ties to local, state,

and national authorities & use of troops

Hiring of guards & Pinkerton’s

“Iron-Clad Oaths” Black Listing “Company Towns”

Gun battle between Pinkerton’s and workers at the Homestead Strike

Immigrants & the Political PartiesDemocrats Old Immigrants – Irish & German

CATHOLICS New Immigrants – Italian (Catholic),

Eastern Europeans (Orthodox & Jewish)

Less stress placed on human weakness Opposed govt efforts to impose a

single moral standard (Prohibition & Ed)

Regional Support: South & Eastern Urban centers with concentrations of immigrants (political machines)

Emphasized & pursued economic equity

Republicans Often considered themselves the

“Host Culture” – advocates of immediate assimilation

Emphasized identity-of-interest argument (Know & accept your place in society)

Protestant / Puritan lineage stressed a strict code of personal morality (Origin of Reform Mvt)

Regional Support: Mid-West, rural areas outside the South, Blacks

Some in the GOP targeted urban political machines for civil service reform, which would politically weaken urban Democrats

Political Machines & Immigrants Political Bosses often traded jobs & services for

political loyalty & votes, creating powerful immigrant voting blocs.

Bosses provided important services:– employment– housing for new immigrants– food & clothing for the needy– lobbied for schools, parks, and hospitals to be built in immigrant neighborhoods

Tammany Hall in NYC, led by William Marcy “Boss” Tweed, was the most well known political machine in the U.S.*Ironically, political machines, while almost always corrupt, helped to modernize municipal infrastructure and expand the role of government during the Progressive Period.

Wm. Marcy “Boss” Tweed

Boss Tweed

Boss Tweed

Boss Tweed

Chinese ImmigrationBurlingame Treaty (1868)• Unrestricted Chinese immigration to

work on railroads• Wm. Seward hopes to open Chinese

markets• 75,000 arrive in 2 yearsHostility from Labor:• 1870s economic depression major

cause of hostility• Chinese often used in “scab-like” role

against labor unions• 1877 the Workingman’s Party calls for

the exclusion of Chinese immigrantsChinese Exclusion Act (1882)• Ended Chinese immigration until 1943.

Urban ConditionsUrban Conditions: High crime rates Unsanitary & unhealthy conditions High population density Tenement Housing– maximize

occupancy– few immenities– unsafe (fire)– unhealthy

Urban Living Conditions

Urban Living Conditions

Urban Living Conditions

Urban Living Condition

Urban Living Conditions