During the Gilded Age in the late 1800s, the United States government pursued policies of laissez-faire capitalism and low regulation of businesses. This allowed large industries to grow rapidly and inventors like Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell to develop new technologies like the light bulb and telephone. Industrialists like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller amassed great fortunes in steel and oil, though some viewed them as "robber barons". The period saw both rapid economic growth as well as inequality, as many workers struggled and some philosophers cited "social Darwinism" to justify the success of the wealthy.

1. The
Industrial
Revolution
By Brad Harris,
SE: US 3B, 3C, 24B Grand Prairie HS

2. An_Introduction_to_the_American_Industrial_Revolution

3. During the Gilded Age, it can be argued that the President of
the United States had less power than the business leaders
James Garfield Chester A. Arthur Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison
The policies and actions of the U.S. government during the
Gilded Age gave large corporations the freedom to do most
whatever it wanted, leading to an industrial boom in the U.S.

4. Free Enterprise System
The free
enterprise system
is the economic
system in which
citizens are free to
run a business the
way they want
The system is based on the
laissez-faire theory, meaning a
business will succeed or fail and
the government will not interfere

5. Free Enterprise System
The free enterprise system allowed the United States
to become a world industrial giant in the late 1800s
and led to numerous new inventions

6. Bell develops telephone
The free enterprise system
helped to lead to new inventions
by private businesses. One of
the most dramatic inventions of
the late 1800s was in the field of
communications.
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell developed
the first telephone, which revolutionized
communication by increasing the scale and
speed of nationwide communications.
"Mr. Watson -- come here -- I want to see you."

7. Edison and the Light Bulb
In 1879, American inventor Thomas
Edison developed the first light bulb.
The invention led to the wide spread
use of electrical power and factories
being able to run at night.
This in turn produced
more jobs and more
product, which led to
lower prices.
Edison is considered one of the most
prolific inventors in history, holding
1,093 U.S. patents in his name.

8. Innovations_of_the_Gilded_Age

9. The Bessemer Process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive
industrial process for the mass-production of steel.
By the late 1880s an immigrant by the name of Andrew
Carnegie used this process to become a millionaire

10. Captains of Industry
Entrepreneurs & Industrialists like Cornelius Vanderbilt,
Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan were
able to build great fortunes during the Gilded Age
Railroads Steel Oil Banking
Cornelius Vanderbilt Andrew Carnegie John D. Rockefeller J.P. Morgan
The government created policies to support the industrialists
• High tariffs led to lower prices for American made goods
• There were very few government regulations on big business
• Government supported owners over workers in labor disputes

11. Big_Business__Rockefeller__Carnegie

12. Captains of Industry …
…or Robber Barons?

13. Carnegie Mansion

14. Vanderbilt Chateau

17. The Gospel of Wealth
Many Christians rejected
Social Darwinism because
it contradicted the Bible
Many believed that those who profited
from society owed something in return.
This philosophy of giving back to society
became known as the Gospel of Wealth.
The Captain of Industry who most
believed in the Gospel of Wealth was
Andrew Carnegie, who gave millions
of dollars to numerous charities

18. During the Gilded Age, the U.S. economy went through periods
of growth and depressions, due to tariff and currency policies
1870-1900
Major depressions occurred in 1873 and 1893
Farmers were especially hard hit. Since the U.S. put high tariffs
on imports, Europe refused to buy our agricultural products
©CSCOPE 2008 18

20. While wealth and
affluence were
growing and the
middle class was
rising, the number
of poor were also
growing
The poor
(immigrants,
minorities,
unskilled laborers)
flooded to the cities Farmers were greatly impacted by
looking for work in increased production (which seems like
the factories a good thing), but it drove prices down.
©CSCOPE 2008 20

21. “Rags to Riches”
Immigrants came to America with the
hope they could become rich and
successful if they worked hard enough
Novelist Horatio Alger
wrote stories where the
main character went
from “rags to riches.” Rich Uncle Pennybags
The belief that people who worked hard
could raise their standard of living was
known as “Individualism”
Going from “rags to riches” became known as
achieving “The American Dream”

22. Social Darwinism
Not everyone was able to achieve the American Dream
Many people ended up broke trying to achieve wealth
The belief that things that can not adapt to their environment
will eventually die out is known as Social Darwinism
“Survival of the fittest”

23. Survival_Theories__Social_Darwinism_and_Eugenics_

24. Coming
Up Next…
Immigration during
the Gilded Age