Lecture 3 – The Gilded Age

The Gilded Age

• Humorist, author, and social critic Mark Twain calls this era “The Gilded Age”
• Describes era after the Civil War, where the pursuit of money and leisure predominated American interests
• Gilded: term literally refers to coating something with gold or precious metal

Politics in the Age of Enterprise

• Sectional strife has ended after the Civil War and Reconstruction period (for the most part anyway)
• Heralds weaker leaders – there is no Lincoln
• Characterized by modest conception of national power
• American government celebrated that it was going to intervene less than it had in previous tumultuous years

The Washington Scene

• Five Presidents in this time:
  • Rutherford B. Hays (Republican, 1877-1881)
  • James A Garfield (Republican, 1881)
  • Chester Arthur (Republican, 1881-1885)
  • Grover Cleveland (Democrat, 1885-1889)
  • Benjamin Harrison (Republican, 1889-1893)

Growth of Individualism

• Idea of the self-made man or the story of rags to riches became popular
• Belief that success on earth was godly encouraged individual enterprise
• Led to ideas of Social Darwinism

Social Darwinism

• Caused by celebration of individualism
• Social theory stems from biology: the strongest survive, “survival of the fittest”
• This theory suggests that human society progresses with competition and the strongest would be successful

Dark Side to Social Darwinism

• Failures or inability to become successful often blamed on imagined biological weaknessess
• Masked institutionalized racism and sexism

Culture and Society in the Gilded Age

• Conspicuous Consumption: growth of a new class in pursuit of wealth and leisure
• Well to do enjoyed great status before the Civil War, but after they actually united to consolidate their power
• New levels of extravagance
• In New York, for example, the wealthy hosted dinner parties for their dogs or pet monkeys
• Overindulgence in rich and expensive foods
• Large manor homes built
• Emphasis on expensive fashion
• Of course, this is representative of only the most elite members of society

Gentility and the Middle Class

• New middle class formed, included professionals like lawyers and bankers but also new salaried employees that worked in new corporations and for the government
• Valued home ownership as a sign of status and importance
• Desired refinement
• Almost exclusively white, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant

Conflict of Culture in the Gilded Age

• Gilded Age a misnomer, as not all could attain wealth or even middle class status
• Though immigrants might live better in the US than in their previous country, they had to work intensely
• Working class home did not necessarily protect from dangers of the city
• Still rural poverty remained as well

Leisure and Public Space

• Leisure a luxury of the middle-class, especially children
• Included sporting activities, such as exercise and hiking, roller skating and ice skating, and bike-riding (believe it or not, these were fairly new concepts in the US)
• New parks opened, playgrounds were developed

Coal Mining in the Gilded Age

• Despite the luxury and wealth of the upper and middle classes, people of course continued to do back-breaking work and not all reaped the wealth of the age

Women’s Political Culture

• Women’s suffrage movement (for the right to vote) continues in the late 19^th century
• Concentrate on state campaigns to grant women the franchise
• Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado are the only states that let women vote
• Not accomplished until after WWI, though women have major impact in politics, unions, and social reform movements

Frances Willard and the Fight Against Liquor

• Willard leads a organization called the Women’s Christian Temperance Union to fight for moral reform and prohibiting liquor
• Forms a third party, The Prohibition Party
• Though not an initial, she helps women expand into mainstream political action

Hull House

• Hull House was the first settlement house, founded by Addams, a white, middle class activist
• Hull House was organized as a part of the growing social reform movements of the late 19th century that would later carry on into the Progressive Era (and we will be returning to this topic next week)
• Note that this is one example of women’s political involvement
• Women aimed to provide services and education to lower class, particularly immigrant, women and children

American Politics in Turmoil

• Two-party system is revived
• Economic depression sets in
• Major question is: What political party will prevail (Democrats or Republicans) and what will be their political platform?
• Contentious debate ensues!
• As a result, we see a large third party movement, the Populists

Growth of Populism

• Recognizes conflict between capitalism and labor
• Parts from the two mainstream political parties but widely influences the issues of the time
• Believed that the power of the people should be expanded and viewed it the role of the government to improve people’s lives

Free Silver Debate

• Farmers, and many populists, want the unlimited coinage of silver, which was one of the most important political issues of the day
• Hope a larger money supply will raise farm prices and relieve them from economic depression
• Triggers a major debate
• Populists favor this
• Becomes a question at the center of American politics

Election of 1896 – Cleveland’s Error

• Climax of the free silver issue
• Incumbent president, Grover Cleveland, takes stand against free silver
• Cleveland becomes very unpopular and even is isolated from his own political party

The Silver Question

• William Jennings Bryan becomes the new Democratic leader and champions free silver
• Was an incredibly zealous speaker and travelled around speaking of the necessity of coining silver money
• Becomes the Democratic presidential nominees
• Important topic in presidential election of 1896

Republican Challenge: William McKinley

• Supports high tariffs (taxes on foreign goods to promote industry)
• Against free silver
• Runs on bringing back prosperity to the country

The Administration of William McKinley

• Short-lived administration as he is assassinated shortly after taking office
• Starts to lead the United States towards becoming an imperial nation