The Gilded Age and Labor movements

• The Gilded Age saw rapid growth in cities like Chicago with immigrant populations.
• This growth was fueled by rapid industrialization, including railroads and factories.
• Worker exploitation and a lack of protective laws led to low wages and extreme poverty for the working class.
• Meanwhile, higher-class leaders accumulated wealth, controlling most of the nation's resources.

Labor movements

• Unsafe workplaces due to continuous industrialization prompted labor union advocacy.
• Unionists fought for better pay, time, and rights, including an 8-hour workday proposal.
• Workers challenged capitalism through campaigns like the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
• The AFL organized violent union strikes in response to unfair working conditions.

The Homestead Strike

• Andrew Carnegie sought maximum profit by breaking the unions at Homestead.
• He aimed to diminish the power in the plants by implementing wage cuts that led to strikes.
• Union men refused the cuts, and Frick shut down the company payroll.
• Strikers retaliated when Frick attempted to bring in non-union workers.
• Carnegie eventually destroyed the Homestead Union with state and federal support.

Westward Expansion

• Railroads reshaped the West, providing access to land, markets, and resources.
• The access to land mirrors the objectives of the Homestead Act
• The Populists started as a farmers' group and became a political party.
• They advocated for farmers' and women's rights.
• Populists wanted a new currency system and government ownership of railroads to combat corruption.
• Industrialism caused political change due to poor working conditions and worker injustice.
• Despite wealth creation for the wealthy, industrialism sparked rebellion among Populists and Socialists.

Indigenous Assimilation

• Boarding schools aimed to assimilate Indigenous children into Western society.
• The boarding school system stripped children of their language, culture, and family connections teaching them about domestic labor
• Carlisle School was an instance of assimilation, with "civilizing" experiments through examples like Tom Torlino
• The slogan was "kill the Indian, save the man".
• The ultimate goal was to convert Indigenous people to Western culture, making them "civilized".
• The killing of the bison, shown through the skull mountain, symbolizes the erasure of Indigenous culture.
• The bison represents America's colonialism and its impact on Indigenous people.

Immigration

• Immigration peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Immigrants, mainly Eastern Europeans, Jews, and Asian Americans, believed they could get rich in the United States in a short amount of time.
• The U.S. implemented laws like the literacy test and Chinese Exclusion Act to reduce immigration.
• The "Melting Pot" theory described the blending of cultures in the U.S.
• This theory suggested immigrants would blend together, although some immigrant aspects that didn't fit with American culture would be excluded.

Imperialism

• Imperialists wanted to secure access to foreign markets and their claims, which relied on racial and gender hierarchies.
• The American conquest of Hawaii showed how America intended to conquer more land for business purposes.
• Some imperialist goals involved assimilating new groups by removing their language from society.
• White Americans created the idea of "White Man's Burden" and believed it was their responsibility to convert Indigenous and Hawaiian people to Christian
• The Spanish-American War (1898) showed America's imperial ambitions and expanded its empire.
• President McKinley's annexation of the Philippines (1899) led to violent rebellions against American rule.
• The U.S. claimed its role was to protect Cuba from Spanish aggressors to keep control over land
• People were skeptical of McKinley's focus on imperialism while domestic issues persisted.
• President Roosevelt believed the U.S. could do anything in the Western Hemisphere, while Europe could not.

Progressivism

• In the early 20th century, America wanted more reform and progressivism.
• The Social Gospel applied Christian virtues to societal issues like prostitution, drug use, and immigration.
• The Progressive Agenda campaigned against trusts, monopolies, and vices.
• An example of this was the 18th Amendment, which prohibited alcohol sales and consumption.

National Negro Business League

• Booker T. Washington formed league to promote African American entrepreneurship and economic development for the Black community to achieve social equality.
• Through this league, African Americans gained independence, access to insurance, and new job opportunities.

The Gilded Age saw rapid industrialization and urbanization, leading to worker exploitation and wealth accumulation by higher-class leaders. Labor movements emerged, advocating for better pay, time, and rights, including an 8-hour workday proposal. The Homestead Strike exemplified the fight against wage cuts and union-breaking efforts.