The Gilded Age

1. The Gilded Age By Sam DePue Dakota Vadimsky

2. What Does “Gilded” Refer To? • Economic Boom • Wall Street created • Term “Gilded” first coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner • 1873 book, “The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today” • Sometimes called “Second Industrial Revolution”

3. The Rise of Big Business and Monopoly • Carnegie – Steel • Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Steel Company (Later U.S. Steel) • Rockefeller – Oil • Standard oil (1870 – 1897) • Cornelius Vanderbilt – Shipping and Transportation • Started off in steam boating • Later turned to railroads during Civil War • Northeast US • Grand Central Depot in New York City • J. P. Morgan • Financier of many other industries. General Electricity (with Thomas Edison), U.S. Steel (Carnegie) • GDP surpassed Britain, France, and Germany Combined

4. Andrew Carnegie • Born in 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland • Family of weavers • 1848-family emigrated to Allegheny, Pennsylvania • He was a telegraph messenger boy for the Ohio Telegraph Company in 1850, earning $2.50 a week • He was a hard worker, and even sought out his own education • 1853-he worked as a telegraph messenger for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for $4.00 a week • He soon began investing in various companies the railroad did business with, such as Adams Express • The railroad industries began to boom during the Civil War. Carnegie was sure to reap the benefits • He discovered his destiny in the steel empire, soon dominating the industry • Developed a cheap and efficient method of production for steel railroad lines • Used vertical integration of his suppliers of raw materials • 1889-US surpassed the UK in steel production, mainly due to the success of Carnegie • Became quite the philanthropist in his later years. • One of his most prominent accomplishments in the area was his establishment of public libraries.

5. John D. Rockefeller • Born in Richford, New York • His dad William “Devil Bill” Rockefeller was a “snake oil salesman” • Sold rip-off salves and elixirs claiming to cure various ailments • John made money from raising turkeys, growing taters, and loaning money out to his neighbors. • Moved to Owego, New York • 1851-attended Owego Academy • Made his living as a bookkeeper, earning 50 cents a day • 1863 -Began his oil empire with Maurice B. Clark, building an oil refinery near Cleveland • While his brother Frank served in the Civil War, he hired substitute soldiers to fight in his place and made hefty “contributions” to the war effort mainly in order to further avoid combat • Bought out his partner Clark, giving him full control of his soon to be monopoly on the oil industry

6. Rockefeller Continued • 1870-After the war, John formed Standard Oil which quickly became the leading refiner in Ohio • Grew to be one of the largest shippers of oil and kerosene • Managed to make deals with railroad companies • Gave him a substantial discount on using their lines • Soon had a monopoly on the industry through eliminating the competition • Increased production efficiency, bought out refineries, and got exclusively cheaper rates on railroad shipping • Formed the Standard Oil Trust • Too bad for him and his associates, it was broken up by the Sherman Antitrust Act • Even though his grip on the industry was somewhat loosened after the breakup, he still made great profits

7. Cornelius Vanderbilt • Born in Port Richmond, New York • Had little formal education • Made a living transporting people and cargo through New York harbors • Eventually controlled most ferry traffic in New York waters • 1818-Sold the fleet to work for the steamship line owned by Thomas Gibbon • Started his own steamship line once he made some money • His fleet became the dominant steamship line on the Hudson • His competitors soon united to buy him out • Accommodated steam transport for the 49ers during the gold rush • 1855 -Went into the luxury liner business • 1857 -Met his real calling in the railroad industry when he gained control of the New York and Harlem Railroads • He soon acquired New York Central, along with many other railroads owned by the family to this very day • During the Panic of 1873, he began the construction of Grand Central Depot, offering jobs to thousands of people.

8. J.P. Morgan • 1837-Born in Hartford, Connecticut • Had a varied education, • Attended Hartford Public School, the Episcopal Academy, the English High School of Boston, and the University of Gottingen • Went into banking in 1857 at his father’s London branch • Morgan paid $300 for a substitute in order to avoid being drafted • In 1893 his company was renamed “J.P. Morgan & Company” after the death of Anthony Drexel • 15 years later, he established the Chase Manhattan Bank • Became deeply involved in financing his own railroad empire • Funded Nikola Tesla in his attempts to develop radio technologies • Merged Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric

9. The Robber Barons • Term used to name industrialists or business who dominated in their respective businesses. • Carnegie • Rockefeller • Vanderbilt • Morgan

10. Inventions • Thomas Edison • Train Air Brakes • George Westinghouse • Kerosene burning lamps • Rockefeller • Bessemer and Siemens Process • Making steel

11. Labor • Rise in labor unions • Workers had a right to strike and demand better wages or conditions • Immigrant labor • Chinese • Irish • Mexican