Period 6: 1865-1898

Period 6 (1865-1898) is the Gilded Age. Railroads, new technology, and big business (trusts, vertical and horizontal integration) created a national industrial economy and huge fortunes, justified by Social Darwinism and laissez-faire ideas. Workers organized (Knights of Labor, AFL) and clashed with employers in major strikes. Immigrants from southern and eastern Europe and migrants from rural areas transformed cities, sparking nativism. In the West, settlement and federal policy (reservations, Dawes Act) devastated American Indian nations. Farmers' protests led to the Populist Party, and political machines and corruption prompted calls for reform.