HISTORY 7B Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Carnegie Steel Company, Catalog Merchant, Gilded Age
Document Summary
One of the biggest changes at the turn of the 19th century/tail end. Us was major agriculture powerhouse- late 19th cent many (1/3) americans worked on farms. Growth of manufacturing production: particular industries- coal mining surged, iron and steel, Diff ways to tell this story- technological innovation and entrepreneurship, favorable public policy. Creation of vast, highly visible concentrations of economic and political power and high inequality: level of inequality integral to defining the gilded age, many contemporary commentators have this age in mind when discussing the present. Exceptions- not entirely open: very little regulations (safety, no workman"s compensation)- result was high accident rates and little basic protection. Ex- railroads crossed city streets with no warning gates, kids killed by passing trains. Homelessness/lodging- only response was lodging people in police stations: government allowed boom-and-bust cycle without macroeconomic policies that stabilize (no monetary policy/fed reserve) Result was violent ups and downs, high volatility and swings in.
