Cobblestone articles from April 2000

Cobblestone archives from April 2000

The Birth of Big Business.(United States history 1865-)
April 1, 2000... In the spring of 1865, the bloody Civil War came to an end. It had nearly destroyed the nation. But it also had created opportunities. The war meant almost instant wealth for the men who manufactured arms, clothing, and supplies for the...

BIG BUSINESS LEADS TO BIG SCANDALS.(United States history 1872 Credit Mobilier of America)
April 1, 2000... During the late nineteenth century, the American government adopted a laissez faire (leave alone) policy toward business. It was assumed that business would grow best if left alone by the politicians and government. In reality, however,...

Captains of Industry.(influential businessmen in United States history)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... The Gilded Age made many businessmen wealthy. To some, these men were "captains of industry" who typified the American dream. To others, they were "robber barons" who used unfair business practices to make their millions. John D....

The WORKING MAN.(history of workers' rights in United States)
April 1, 2000... By 1900, the United States was the world's leading industrial nation. One reason for this growth was the large number of immigrants who had come to America looking for a better life. These immigrants, as well as native-born Americans, migrated...

THE GOLDEN AGE of Invention and Innovation.(end of nineteenth century)
April 1, 2000... The Gilded Age also was a golden age of invention and innovation. New ideas and new creations changed the way Americans traveled, lived, and played. By the end of the nineteenth century, train travel became the alternative to steamboat...

Did You Know?(Gilded Age inventions)
April 1, 2000... The following just a few of the many inventions created during the Gilded Age: electric lights, the telephone, the automobile, motion-pictures, the x-ray machine, the vacuum, and the Pullman railroad car. ...

How the Wealthy LIVED.(United States history 1865-)
April 1, 2000... Mrs. William K. (Alva) Vanderbilt spent a quarter of a million dollars (more than four and a quarter million dollars today) on one of her balls. The flowers alone cost eleven thousand dollars (just less than two hundred thousand dollars today)....

IMMIGRANTS IN THE `Land of Opportunity'.(United States history 1865-)
April 1, 2000... The lure of prosperity brought record numbers of immigrants to the United States -- roughly twenty-five million between 1880 and 1914. Some young men intended to make their fortunes and then return home. Many, however, stayed. Other workers...

THE ROAD TO REFORM Philanthropy in the Gilded Age.(United States history 1865-)
April 1, 2000... Toward the end of the nineteenth century, some Americans became active in reform movements. They began to use their energy and money for socially useful projects or causes. Steel giant Andrew Carnegie was a leader in advocating the social...

Voices of Realism.
April 1, 2000... The Gilded Age produced four of the greatest writers in American history. Each possessed a distinctive literary voice. Each offered original, and often biting, critical discussions of American society and life. Each also came to dominate the...

Brain Ticklers.
April 1, 2000... Give your brain a little tickle to see how well you read and understood what this issue on the Gilded Age was about. If you believe the answer to be false, give yourself the ultimate test and see whether you can explain why it is false. 1....

A Final Word.
April 1, 2000... The Gilded Age was a period of remarkable growth in the ninteenth century. Can you think of any changes that have occurred in your lifetime that might have future historic significance? What "age" do you think is ahead for American in the...

Letters.(Poem)
April 1, 2000... School School is so fun -- I can run free! When school is done I can watch TV! Michael Feliu Kingsport, Tennessee The Babbling Brook The babbling brook babbles on through the night. The...

Dear Cobblestonians.
April 1, 2000... He is most famous for being the first and only president of the Confederate States of America. But Jefferson Davis had an impressive reputation even before he led the South during the Civil War. Draw a picture or write a poem or short paragraph...

Books to Read.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... The Gilded Age: A History in Documents by Bonnie G. Smith (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000) is a collection of primary sources, including private letters and diaries, photographs, newspaper articles, and government paperwork, that...

More Media.(Review)
April 1, 2000... America's Castles: The Grand Tour, Newport Mansions, part of the A&E Home Video series, takes the viewer on a behind-the-scenes look at the summer "cottages" -- which were more like palaces -- of the social elite of the Gilded Age. For...

On the Web.(information on Gilded Age)
April 1, 2000... Ohio State University runs a Web site called Cartoons of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. It can be found at www.history.ohio-state.edu/projects/ uscartoons/gapecartoons.htm. The American Experience has a site dedicated to Andrew...

Places to Visit.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Newport Historical Society and the Museum of Newport History, Newport, Rhode Island. The museum is home to 175,000 photographs of Newport-related subjects, as well as three centuries of manuscripts and letters. The Preservation Society of...