Chapter five poses three main questions about the Gilded Age in New York City (1865 1899): a political, a social, and an economic question. A running theme throughout the chapter revolves around Horatio Alger’s novel Ragged Dick. Alger’s work was very influential during this time period. He focused on the “rags-to-riches” notion that was very apparent in the city. This was a period or rapid modernization. There were many positive aspects to this modernization but also some negatives. People were becoming better informed about what was going on in their society through literature such as Alger’s or other inexpensive newspapers or novels. This lead to a push for social reform. Many people greatly profited from social Darwinism but others saw the negative consequences of this. Although the city as a whole was progressing, there was much conflict within. The gap between rich and poor was rapidly expanding. This uneven distribution of wealth created conflict within the society. People called robber barons and urban bosses took advantage of the malleability of society and dominated business into their own empires. Some of these robber barons were the poster children for the rags-to-riches concept put no all could be so lucky. Men like Rockefeller had a ruthless approach to business and used social Darwinism to rise in the ranks. Once the government identified the monopolies as a problem they began to try and regulate. They needed to find “harmony between capital and labor in the pursuit of progress” (Reitano 83). There was also an influx of new immigrants which contributed to a rapid increase in population. Brooklyn faced problems with immigrants, crime and corruption.
The chapter begins with the political question. It focusses on Tammany hall and how it worked. There was quite a bit of corruption in NY politics at this time. People would rise into power from nothing and take advantage of the rest of the city for their own purposes. One very important figure was Boss Tweed. Tweed started as working class Scottish immigrant and rose to power very quickly. “Tweed’s success represented a shift of political power away from the old formal party structure. . . to a new grassroots system” (Reitano 85). Tweed and his followers soon dominated to entire state political sphere. They did do some good for society by improving schools and other public infrastructure. A cartoonist named Nast often made cartoons about Tweed to expose the corruption in his system. This outraged the general public and even lead to violence. A particularly horrifying riot was the Orange Riot of 1871. It was caused by religious conflict between Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics. After having to deal with much violence and massacres Tweed eventually lost his power. His corrupt ways were revealed and although he had done some good it was not enough. Tweed’s actions opened up people’s minds to what was going on in American politics.
Next is the social question. Although there was much affluence in the city at his time it was coupled with extreme poverty. Some looked down upon the poor. There was a sense of optimism for them as they saw the opportunity but there was also potential for conflict. Jacob Riis was an extremely important photographer of the slums. He has a “humanistic” approach to photography and tried to capture real life in the slums. He used some very interesting and imaginative camera techniques to create images that were impactful on the public. His book, How the Other Half Lives, was a huge hit and was a great way to bring attention to these issues. It made people rethink their view of the slums and caused them to empathize a bit more with the poor. Some nativist sentiments resurfaced during time which targeted poor immigrants. In response to the tensions in the slums the police force was strengthened. There were also campaigns to fight disease. Public education was a main focus for improvement of society. Education was views as a ladder of social mobility. Some issues arose regarding racial segregation in public schools. There was also reform in labor to push for better working conditions for women and children.
Lastly, is the economic question. The laborers had had enough and decided to organize. The notion of the American Dream had faded in many people’s minds and they decided that they needed to take direct action. Unions grew rapidly. Many saw strikes as their only option to make any change. It started with the railroad strike in 1877. Some feared that these strikes would lead to “Communist riot”. Other riots followed soon after. Many were short lived but the unions eventually became stronger. The Central Labor Union was important because it “brought together a variety of workers’ groups. . . it endorsed a wide range of strategies” (Reitano 98). These organizations were initially looked down upon and put down by the police. After seeing little success, the CLU decided to take a different approach; a political approach. They nominated Henry George to represent them in government. George put up a pretty good fight in the election and although he was not elected this showed the government that the unions were a real threat. Other, stronger, unions formed after this. The most important one was the American Federation of Labor which promoted “business unionism”. Later came the newsboys’ strike which was also influential. Their “strike attested to the complexities of economic change.” (Reitano 103).
