REFORM in the Gilded Age [APUSH Review Unit 6 Topic 11] Period 6:1865-1898
Summary
TLDRIn this video from Heimler's History, we explore the various reform movements that emerged during the Gilded Age in response to the rise of industrial capitalism. The era saw a shift from small-scale artisan production to mass production in factories, leading to a concentration of wealth among the elite and harsh working conditions for the laborers. Reformers like Henry George proposed solutions such as the single tax on land to redistribute wealth. Edward Bellamy's novel 'Looking Backward' depicted a socialist utopia as an alternative. The socialist ideology gained traction, with figures like Eugene V. Debs founding the Socialist Party of America. The social gospel movement advocated for applying Christian principles to societal issues, particularly urban poverty. Women played a significant role in reform movements, with Jane Addams establishing settlement houses and the National American Woman Suffrage Association advocating for women's right to vote. The temperance movement, led by organizations like the Women's Christian Temperance Union, sought to combat alcohol consumption, with radical figures like Carrie Nation taking direct action against saloons.
Takeaways
- 🏭 The Gilded Age saw a shift from artisanal production to industrial capitalism, with factories mass-producing goods for national and international markets.
- 💼 Laissez-faire capitalism was prevalent, leading to minimal government intervention and rapid business growth, but also to wealth concentration among the elite.
- 📈 Industrial capitalism resulted in poor working conditions and low wages for the laborers, leading to widespread dissatisfaction and calls for reform.
- 💰 Henry George proposed a 'single tax on land' to address the wealth disparity, advocating for a more equitable distribution of resources.
- 📚 Edward Bellamy's novel 'Looking Backward' depicted a socialist utopia as a critique of industrial capitalism, influencing public thought.
- 🌟 The rise of socialism during this period was a response to perceived failures of capitalism, with some advocating for community ownership of production means.
- 🏛 Eugene V. Debs and the Socialist Party of America represented a political push for socialism, although it did not gain widespread acceptance in the U.S.
- 📖 The Social Gospel movement applied Christian principles to societal issues, with preachers advocating for social justice and urban reform.
- 👥 Women played a significant role in reform movements, focusing on various causes such as establishing settlement houses and advocating for women's suffrage.
- 🔇 The temperance movement, led by organizations like the Women's Christian Temperance Union, sought to combat alcohol consumption, which was seen as a cause of poverty.
- ⚖️ Carrie Nation, a radical temperance advocate, famously destroyed saloons and liquor barrels with an axe to make a statement against alcohol.
- 🌐 The video script provides a comprehensive overview of the various reform movements during the Gilded Age, highlighting the societal challenges and the responses to industrial capitalism.
Q & A
What was the primary focus of the video script?
-The video script primarily focuses on explaining how different reform movements responded to the rise of industrial capitalism during the Gilded Age in American history.
What was the economic system that allowed businesses to flourish during the Gilded Age?
-The economic system that allowed businesses to flourish during the Gilded Age was laissez-faire capitalism, characterized by minimal government intervention in economic operations.
What was Henry George's proposed solution to address the wealth disparity during the Gilded Age?
-Henry George proposed the 'single tax on land' as a solution to address wealth disparity, suggesting that the elite who owned large tracts of land should be taxed more to even the playing field with the working class.
Who is Edward Bellamy and what was his contribution to challenging industrial capitalism?
-Edward Bellamy was an author who used utopian art to challenge industrial capitalism. He wrote a novel in 1888 called 'Looking Backward,' which depicted a socialist utopia where capitalism had been replaced and everyone's needs were met.
What was the basic principle of socialism that gained traction during the Gilded Age?
-The basic principle of socialism that gained traction during the Gilded Age was that all means of production in a society should be owned and regulated by the community for the benefit of everyone more or less equally.
Who was Eugene V. Debs and what was his role in the socialist movement?
-Eugene V. Debs was the head of a significant union and, along with a few others, started the Socialist Party of America in 1901. He ran for president on the party's ticket, although they did not achieve significant success.
What was the social gospel and how did it relate to the reform movements of the Gilded Age?
-The social gospel was a movement among Christians in America that believed Christian principles should be applied not just to the individual's soul but also to cure societal ills. Advocates of the social gospel, particularly Protestant preachers, crusaded for social justice for the urban poor during the Gilded Age.
What was the primary goal of the women's suffrage movement during the Gilded Age?
-The primary goal of the women's suffrage movement during the Gilded Age was to secure the right to vote for women, which was led by the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.
What was the temperance movement and how did it relate to the issues of the Gilded Age?
-The temperance movement was a social cause that aimed to combat the consumption of alcohol, which was a significant problem among urban male factory workers contributing to the impoverishment of the working classes. The Women's Christian Temperance Union was formed to crusade for total abstinence from alcohol.
Who was Carrie Nation and what was her approach to the temperance movement?
-Carrie Nation was a radical advocate of the temperance movement known for her direct and confrontational approach. She would carry a hatchet into saloons and destroy liquor barrels to protest against alcohol consumption.
What was the overall impact of the reform movements on the society during the Gilded Age?
-The reform movements of the Gilded Age brought attention to the social and economic disparities caused by industrial capitalism. While some, like the women's suffrage and temperance movements, made significant strides, others, like socialism, did not achieve immediate widespread acceptance but contributed to the ongoing dialogue about social justice and equality.
How did the video script describe the transformation of the American economy during the Gilded Age?
-The video script described the transformation of the American economy during the Gilded Age as a shift from artisans and skilled laborers crafting items by hand for small-scale sale to factories employing tens of thousands of unskilled laborers mass-producing goods for national and international markets.
Outlines
😀 Industrial Capitalism and Reform Movements in the Gilded Age
This paragraph introduces the topic of various reform movements that emerged during the Gilded Age in response to the rise of industrial capitalism. It explains the shift from artisans crafting goods by hand to mass production in factories, leading to a situation where wealth was concentrated among the elite while workers faced harsh conditions. The paragraph also mentions the laissez-faire capitalism prevalent at the time, which contributed to the rapid growth of businesses with minimal government intervention. Key figures and movements such as Henry George's single tax on land, Edward Bellamy's utopian socialism, and the broader socialist movement are introduced, along with their goals to address societal inequalities and the plight of the working class.
📚 The Social Gospel and Women's Reform Movements
The second paragraph delves into the social gospel movement, which advocated for applying Christian principles to societal issues, particularly focusing on social justice for the urban poor. It highlights the efforts of Protestant preachers and the middle class's role in addressing urban poverty. The paragraph also discusses the significant role women played in reform movements, including Jane Addams' establishment of settlement houses and the push for women's suffrage led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony through the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Additionally, the temperance movement, which aimed to reduce alcohol consumption, is covered, with a focus on the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the radical actions of Carrie Nation, who famously destroyed saloons and liquor barrels as a form of protest.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Gilded Age
💡Industrial Capitalism
💡Reform Movements
💡Laissez-Faire Capitalism
💡Single Tax on Land
💡Utopian Art
💡Socialism
💡Social Gospel
💡Women's Suffrage
💡Temperance Movement
💡Carrie Nation
Highlights
The Gilded Age saw the rise of various reform movements in response to the rise of industrial capitalism.
America experienced a shift from artisanal production to mass production in factories with unskilled laborers.
Laissez-faire capitalism allowed businesses to flourish with minimal government intervention, leading to rapid growth but also wealth disparity.
The majority of wealth generated by businesses was concentrated in the hands of the elite upper class.
Factory workers faced low wages, dangerous working conditions, and long working hours.
Artists, critics, agrarians, utopians, socialists, and social gospel advocates demanded reform.
Henry George proposed a 'single tax on land' to redistribute wealth more equitably.
Edward Bellamy's novel 'Looking Backward' depicted a socialist utopia as a critique of industrial capitalism.
Socialism gained traction as a response to perceived capitalist failures, advocating for community ownership of production means.
Eugene V. Debs founded the Socialist Party of America in 1901 and ran for president.
The social gospel movement applied Christian principles to societal issues, advocating for social justice and urban poor reform.
Jane Addams established settlement houses to help immigrants assimilate into American culture.
The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was founded in 1890 to secure women's right to vote.
The Women's Christian Temperance Union, established in 1874, campaigned for total abstinence from alcohol.
Carrie Nation, a radical temperance advocate, famously destroyed saloons with an axe as a form of protest.
Reform movements during the Gilded Age were diverse, addressing issues from wealth disparity to women's rights and temperance.
Transcripts
hey there and welcome back to heimler's history now we've been going through unit six of the
ap us history curriculum and considering the gilded age from all kinds of different angles
and in this video we're going to consider the various reform movements that sprang up
during this time so if you're ready to get them brain cows milk and i know you are then
let's get to it so in this video we're basically trying to do one thing and that's to explain
how different reform movements responded to the rise of industrial capitalism in the gilded
age easy peasy lemon squeezy so when i say industrial capitalism here's what i mean now
if you've been with me in these last videos you'll remember that america was undergoing
a massive change in the way it produced goods to be sold like back in the old days artisans
and skilled laborers crafted items by hand to be sold on a small scale but during this
period factories sprang forth from the ground like athena from zeus's head and within these
factories tens of thousands of unskilled laborers worked machines day in and day out mass producing
goods to be sold on a national and international scale one of the economic realities that allowed
them to grow so quickly was the prevalence of laissez-faire capitalism and this just
means that the american government intervened very rarely in economic operations of businesses
and so without many regulations these businesses flourish when i say these businesses flourish
what i really mean is that most of the wealth they generated stayed in the hands of the
elite upper class for those working in the factories it was a different story altogether
like their wages in many cases were only barely enough to survive and add to that the exceedingly
dangerous working conditions and then add to that the 12 to 14 hour days that meant
that you went to work in the dark and returned home in the dark and then all of a sudden
you've got a whole sector of society who are eeking out a miserable existence and so in
light of all this artists and critics which included agrarians and utopians and socialists
and advocates of the social gospel they all rose up and demanded reform and let me introduce
you to some of their causes now henry george who was a politician and an economist thought
it was downright foolish that so much wealth could be generated by a nation while at the
same time so many of its citizens lived in abject poverty his solution was called the
single tax on land and according to his estimates those elite folks who owned large tracts of
land were gaining disproportionate amounts of wealth based on the increasing value of
that land and therefore they simply needed to be taxed more to even the playing field
between them and the working class okay let's switch over to utopians a good example of
an artist using utopian art to challenge industrial capitalism was edward bellamy he wrote a novel
in 1888 called looking backward in which a man goes to sleep in 1887 only to wake up
in 2000 and find that america had been transformed into a socialist utopia where capitalism had
been crushed and everyone's needs were met yeah i'd say you got that one just about wrong
anyway speaking of socialism that ancient enemy of capitalism this ideology really gained
some traction during this time and look i'm not trying to advocate for socialism here
but it's easy to understand why people gravitated toward this ideology according to the dictates
of socialism all the means of production in a society should be owned and regulated by
the community and benefit everyone more or less equally looking around at the state of
society in the late 19th century it is understandable why some people might think capitalism had
failed anyway socialism picked up some steam during this period but it never really grabbed
hold of american citizens like it did to europeans still our buddy eugene v debs who if you'll
remember was the head of a significant union we talked about in another video joined with
a few others and started the socialist party of america in 1901 he ran for president on
this party's ticket but they didn't do so well and they basically petered out after
this others who opposed industrial capitalism did so under the banner of the social gospel
christians in america had always believed that repentance and reform ought to be applied
to one's own soul but here the focus grew wider the advocates of the social gospel believe
that christian principles ought to be applied not just to oneself but to cure the ills of
society as well and in that vein throughout the last 20 years of the 19th century many
protestant preachers crusaded for social justice for the urban poor they especially set their
sights on the middle class and urged them to take up the mantle of solving urban poverty
as their christian duty so the point of all of this is that there were a lot of folks
who tried different methods to resist the kind of society that industrial capitalism
created now during the same time there was another reform movement brewing but it had
less to do with capitalism than everything i just said women especially took up the cause
of reform during this period and they did so for various causes in the last video i
introduced you to jane adams who established settlement houses to help immigrants assimilate
to american culture but also there was a big push for women's suffrage during this time
which is to say women's right to vote in 1890 elizabeth katie stanton susan b anthony founded
the national american woman suffrage association or nasa which worked tirelessly to secure
the franchise for women now i'll have to come back to that in the next unit because their
work won't bear constitutional fruit until 1920.
but during this period women also took up the cause of temperance which is the fight
against the consumption of alcohol now make no mistake drunkenness was a real problem
among urban male factory workers during this period and that was a large cause of the growing
impoverishment of the working classes so to combat this women formed the women's christian
temperance union in 1874 and they crusaded for total abstinence from alcohol and apparently
it was a popular message because they had something like 500 000 members on their roles
by 1898.
now this organization along with others like the anti-saloon league worked largely through
peaceful means like protest and trying to lobby congress to pass laws but there was
a more radical strand of women who refuse to wait for the painfully slow gears of congress
to turn and maybe the best example i can think of as carrie nation she said of herself that
she was a bulldog running along at the feet of jesus barking at what he doesn't like apparently
jesus didn't like alcohol because what kerry nation was known for was her hatchet which
she carried into saloons and hacked at liquor barrels until they spilled their contents
onto the floor she was probably the only one who could get away with that like all the
men are sitting around at the bar going i mean what do we do like can we can we find
a woman can we fight a woman while they'Well hey there and welcome back to Heimler’s
History.
We’ve been going through Unit 6 of the AP U.S. History curriculum and considering the
Gilded AGe from all kinds of different angles.
And in this video we’re going to consider the various reform movements that sprang up
during this time.
So if you're ready to get them brain cows milked, and I know you are, then let’s get
to it.
So in this video we’re basically trying to do one thing, and that’s to explain how
different reform movements responded to the rise of industrial capitalism in the Gilded
Age.
If you’ve been with me in these last videos, you’ll remember that America was undergoing
a massive change in the way it produced goods to be sold.
Back in the old days, artisans and skilled laborers crafted items by hand to be sold
on a small scale.
During this period, factories sprang forth from the ground like Athena from Zeus’s
head, and within these factories, tens of thousand of unskilled laborers worked machines
day in and day out mass-producing goods to be sold on a national and international scale.
And one of the economic realities that allowed them to grow so quickly was the prevalence
of laissez faire capitalism.
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