The Gilded Age
By: Sara Porter
A Great Inventor
Alexander Graham Bell was a famous scientist, inventor, engineer, and innovator. He was born in Scotland than later moved to Canada. Bell invented the telephone. It was first shown at the worlds fair in 1876. He also helped with optical telecommunications, hydrofoils, and aeronautics. Both Bells mother and wife were deaf. He helped to invent a visible system of speech.
A Captain of Industry
John D. Rockefeller was a very rich man. He was the co-founder of a company called Standard Oil. He ran Standard Oil from 1870-1897. It controlled the production, refining, and marketing of oil. Standard Oil was the first great U.S. business trust. He was named the "Worlds Richest Man". He is often known as the richest man in history.
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was a London born cigar maker. He founder the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1886. This was an organization of unions that made efforts to get laborers to join together to get their demands met. They used peaceful methods of bargaining. He was the president of this from 1886-1894.
The Railroads
Before the gilded age there wasn't a railroad connecting both the coasts. They then decided to build the transcontinental railroad. This had a very negative effect on the Native Americans. The Native Americans used buffalo for shelter, food, and clothing. Because of the railroads these buffalo almost went extinct. In addition to this, with more white settlers the Native Aamericans had less room to live. The whites used this land for cities and schools.
M. L. A. Citation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell. Web.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller. Web.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Gompers. Web.
Robinson, Toni Lee. "Rails Across America- The Pacific Railroad in Indian Territory". 2/7/14. Article on moodle.