Thomas Edi-son, famed inventor of many inventions in-cluding the phono-graph, the Dictaphone and the mimeograph, perfects a new inven-tion: the Light Bulb on December 3, 1879 and it is sure to change American lives forever. Edison made the big reveal of his invention by setting up a display of light bulbs for the public at Menlo Park and it was surely a sight to see. This new light bulb can light up a room, a whole house; even change it from night to day. When asked how he accom-plished this task he said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration” and for

Edison that is true. He is said to have experi-mented with some six thousand different filaments before arriv-ing at his current in-vention. However, Edi-son did not discover the idea of the actual light bulb, he only per-fected it. Many men, such as Henry Wood-ward, had thought up the ideas for such an invention and had cre-ated functioning bulbs. It is even rumored that Edison purchased the patent to the bulb idea from Woodward. The other inventor’s light bulbs may have been functioning but there has never been one without a major flaw. Some primitive bulbs had short lifetime, or were too expensive to

mass produce but Edison’s is the first to have enough power and last a long enough lifetime to have actual c o m m e r c i a l use. Because of this, this light bulb is sure to have a long lasting effect on society. Once this bulb gets into circulation, people will have them in their homes, they will be able to see hours after dark and the human race will not be limited by natural light. Most of all, this invention of the light bulb will lead to many other inven-tions coming about. Inventors are undenia-

bly motivated by each other and this is no small victory in the inventing world.

Edison in his Laboratory

Volume 1, Issue 1

The Light Bulb Thomas Edison’s Brings Light to the World

By: Juliana Brassfield

Thursday March 10, 1900

Special points of

interest:

Political Cartoons

Crosswords

Letters to the editor

Feature Articles

Editorial Articles

Advertisements

Propaganda

Obituaries

Tilden and Hayes Com-

promise

2

Jim Crow Laws 2

Pendleton Act 3

Editorial: Chautauqua

Movement

4

Letter to the Editor:

Chinese Exclusion Act

4

Letter to the Editor

5

Obituaries 6

Political Cartoons 7

Inside this issue:

Gilded Weekly

American Studies

Editorial: Haymarket Riot Chicago Police Clash with Protesters

By: Nikita Patel

Recently the Haymarket Riot took place, the police clashed violently with militant anar-chists and labor movement pro-testers in Chicago. Seven police-men and several protesters were killed, leading to murder convic-tions for seven. Four of the seven radicals are on trial, they may possibly be executed.

These riots are very unfortunate events. The government should think twice before they take actions like these. The police had asked the people who were pro-testing to stop and someone threw a bomb at them, so the police decided to open fire on all of the people around them. The protestor who threw the bomb

defiantly handled the situation the wrong way. He should not have thrown the bomb, but the police officers also should not have reacted that way. They should have handled the situa-tion differently and though they started off trying to handle it peacefully they ended up hurt-ing and killing many people.

The Compromise of 1877, otherwise known as the Electoral Count Act was passed by Congress yester-

day. The Act was put into action to help determine which party would win the election. The 2 candidates for the election are Ruth-erford B. Hayes and Sam-uel Tilden. Hayes is a for-mer Whig party member and also a former member

of Free Soil party. Tilden is a Bourbon Democrat and

has been fighting very hard to keep our taxes down. 15 men from the Senate, House of Representatives, and Su-

preme Court were selected to serve on an electoral com-mission. In the end the com-mittee decided that the Re-publicans have won the elec-tion, meaning that Hayes will take the presidency. It was very close Hayes had a to-tally of 185 votes and Tilden had 184. With this agree-ment the Republicans have agreed to withdraw federal soldiers from the positions in the South, enact federal leg-islation that will spur indus-

trialization in the South, ap-point Democrats to patron-age positions in the South, and appoint a Democrat to the president’s cabinet. Now that the Republicans have agreed to this, things are around here are going to change very much.

Propaganda: Jim Crow Laws Separate but Equal? Or Not?

By: Chad Janis

Tilden and Hayes Compromise Hayes Takes Presidency but Tilden Pulls Troops

By: Juliana Brassfield

African Americans and

White Americans have been

living in completely separate

worlds ever since the inven-

tion of the Jim Crow Laws.

Although these laws were

said to make things “separate

but equal”, a world where

blacks had beaten facilities

and whites used clean build-

ings was the outcome. Public

officials and political leaders

try to convince the nation

that everything is fair be-

tween these two major racial

groups but it’s obvious that

their living conditions were

nowhere close to similar.

Starting with education,

Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden ran

against each other in the election of 1876

PAGE 2 GILDED WEEKLY VOLUME 1, I SSUE 1

African Americans schools and teach-

ers are inferior by far in comparison

to the sophisticated schools that

White children attended. After school

and throughout the day, busses were

popularly used. Once again, Whites

were treated like kings because Afri-

can Americans were forced to move

to the back of the bus or

stand to make room for the

Whites to sit down in the

front. One of the most well

known rebel black woman at

the time was Rosa Park. She

had the courage to stand up

for herself and equal rights

Political Cartoon depicting women‟s struggles to gain

independence because of the „leash‟ society has on them.

to all humanity when

Whites were entering a

bus and she refused to

give up her seat.

Even basic facilities

and restrooms were not

created equally. Covered

with junk and dirt, African

Americans are still receiv-

ing treatment that defiles

the Constitution and Dec-

laration of Independence

stating that everyone de-

serves the same rights and

freedom. To put it in direct

terms, America is becom-

ing a split nation. We can’t

be united if our facilities

aren’t shared. The two

nations that we have cre-

ated somehow occupy the

same area but don’t inter-

act at all.

my money went with them. A miner by trade, I have worked hard for the amount of money I have earned and I understand that times are hard be-cause of inflation, but I do think that the government should be doing eve-rything they can to repair the dam-age. There are millions of debtors in this country and they are the ones that need assistance during hard times, not the wealthy creditors or government officials. And the thing that could help the poor debtors the

Dear Editor,

In light of the recent Con-gressional act to remove silver as a currency in this country, and your paper’s apparent agreement with it shown in your article last Sunday titled Coinage Act Provides a Shiny Future, I would like to tell you my complaints about the damage this will do to us. I am a debtor living in California. I made a mistake of depos-iting too much of my money in the bank and when they went bankrupt,

most is if silver was a form of currency. It would give us Silver miners business and be of great use to the government. To me, silver as a currency is the only way to help this economy but unfortu-nately the government has thwarted us from economic success by this Coin-age Act.

-Thomas Bridges (CA)

Feature: Pendleton Act The End of Spoil System? By: Chad Janis

Letter to the Editor By: Juliana Brassfield

PAGE 3 GILDED WEEKLY VOLUME 1, I SSUE 1

As a response to James Garfield’s assassination and the suspected fulfillment of the spoils system after his death, the Pendleton Act was enacted during Chester A. Arthur’s term in office. Previously the spoils system was named as such because political leaders would spoil their friends like babies if their friends would help them get into office or obtain a high political position. The spoils system had been used for many years before an act was placed against it because citizens were taking it too far. With the assassination of a president, the line was drawn and regulations were passed that enforced a merit system by which someone had to pass to be placed in a political

position. This made it very difficult for those who were unqualified to be conveniently put in high seats.

In an interview with Chester A. Arthur, we asked him why he believes it is necessary for the Pendleton Act to be passed. “With all of the awful events that have occurred in history because of the spoils system and the insanity of people who want to get into office, it has become necessary for us to enforce a way to regulate control over those that wish to have political influence. The easiest way to oppose

the selfish spoils system was to provide a new system in which those that were nominated for political spaces would be judged to see if they were being ‘spoiled’ or they had justly earned the right to

o c c u p y their said position.”

O t h e r unfortunate events that have taken place from the influence of the spoils system

began with the election of Andrew Jackson who was the first to instill this way of persuading people to help you achieve what you want. Since this first deceiving act other presidents have followed in his footsteps in order to gain presidency. “To the victor belong the spoils” is a quote originating from William L. Marcy that was used to describe these leaders that gained their positions unfairly.

“To the victor belong

the spoils”

labor immigrants to come into our nation.

With this set of laws being passed, we can only hope that our nation will find another way to pro-vide this unfinished work. No Ameri-can is going to want to work for cheap income like the immigrants. The main reason for allowing them

to construct railroads was to save money and now that we have forced them to leave, fellow Americans will be ob-ligated to take up these low-life jobs. Arthur has just made a problem for us in the long run. His concern that immigrants would be taking advantage of this country’s freedom is legitimate but his response is foolish. The choice he has made only gives our country and gov-

Dear Editor,

The Chinese and Asian im-migrants have been stimulating our economy for a long time. Whether they realize it, these poor individuals have been providing the grunt work in America for poor pay. While they have been constructing railroads, the government has profited off of their savings. Logically, when the economy is moving forward because of a source such as quality work for cheap pay, a person would continue using this source in or-der to amplify his prof-its. Unfortunately, Ches-ter A. Arthur was not logical. He passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, making it nearly impos-sible for inexpensive

ernment a bad name.

The duration of the ban that this Act has placed is estimated to last ten years. Think of the situation Amer-ica will be entangled in ten years from now. We are taking a step back from our industrial progress. The supply for jobs will only increase as more facto-ries are opened when new industries and inventions are introduced. The de-mand for these occupations to be filled will increase but will remain empty because of the lack of population. As a result, these factories will not be suc-cessful and will shut down, and we will be back at the start, waiting for the Chi-nese to move to America. Immigrants need us just as much as we need them. Their lives can only get better by begin-ning a new life here and our country can only get stronger by utilizing the cheap labor they are willing to provide.

-Franklin Pierce

Letters to the Editor

By: Chad Janis

Little Chinese Children in America

Editorial: Chautauqua Movement A Change for America

By: Nikita Patel

The Chautauqua Move-ment has begun! People are beginning to travel around our beautiful country, just to see our movement. The Chau-tauqua movement has brought entertainment and culture for the whole commu-nity, with speakers, teachers, musicians, entertainers, preachers and specialists from around the country. These are just a few of the things the Chautauqua move-ment has to offer. There are many opportunities to par-ticipate and go view their hard work. The movement is helping people bond and come together. This is such a good thing in such a time in our United States. We must all come together and support

this movement. There are many ways to learn about new things and de-velop this great country of ours. This movement will provide us with the infor-mation and re-sources to do this. The Chau-tauqua move-ment holds eight week ses-sions in the summer and many important people have been making ap-pearances. Mark Twain, Wil-liam Jennings Bryan, and President Grant and many

others have been to these prestigious sessions. Word has been going around that someone is developing a

home-study program for those who cannot attend the summer sessions, so be on the lookout for those.

PAGE 4 GILDED WEEKLY VOLUME 1, I SSUE 1

.

PAGE 5 GILDED WEEKLY VOLUME 1, I SSUE 1

Dear Editor,

I have read the latest article Anthony Thomas has written about the new 18th amendment’s unconstitution-ality. In article, Mr. Thomas expresses his beliefs of free will in stating that this new amendment to prohibit the sale and manufacture of any alcohol anywhere in this country is not consti-tutional because each man and busi-ness man should have the right to de-cide for himself what to drink and sell. This article has made me wonder about the moral issues of this paper and I need to express to you how and why I disagree wholeheartedly with Tho-

mas’s views. I live with my husband and 2 children in a dumbbell apart-ment in New York City. My husband is an immigrant from Poland and he came over to America with the custom of frequent drinking. I blame our poverty and sadness on his drunkenness as he spends more time at the saloon than working at the factory and he spends more money on his alcohol than he does on our living arrangements. These are situations I would never want an-other to endure and I believe that alco-hol prevention would have prevented many of my life struggles. That is why I am grateful for this Prohibition Move-ment. I am so proud that the valiant effects of the WCTU and the National

Prohibition Party are finally being seen and that the nation is listening a little more to Frances Willard and a little less to the alcohol saloons. I am abso-lutely positive that this noble experi-ment will result in a decrease in pov-erty because Americans will no longer be spending their money on alcohol and it will improve every American man and will allow him to be free from the evil effects of alcohol. So you mister Thomas might feel that this 18th Amendment is restricting your choices, but it is saving my life and for that I believe it is of worth.

Sincerely,

Margaret Adams

Letters to the Editor By: Juliana Brassfield

Gilded

Age

Word

search By: Nikita Patel

PAGE 6 GILDED WEEKLY VOLUME 1, I SSUE 1

Obituaries By: Vili Kuvaja

March 7,

1898

Samuel

Clemens, also

known as

Mark Twain,

died

yesterday around 4 pm due to

problems with his heart. Many

people are mourning for this

great man. He was very

intelligent man, a great author,

and a beloved father. Twain

was interested in being a river

pilot when he was young, and

he did in fact, for a while work

on the Mississippi river. He

gave up on this dream after a

while, due to his huge success

as an author. He wrote many

books including Tom Sawyer,

Huckleberry Finn, Gilded Age,

and many more great novels.

Some might have even called

him a “prophet” of writing.

Even though his writing career

was great, he was depressed at

times. His wife, Olivia Clemens,

died of illness, and only one of

his children, Clara Clemens, is

still alive. This has been a tragic

incident and he we be forever

missed.

Mark Twain

Three days ago,

Chief Joseph of

the Nez Perce

tribe was shot

by a fellow tribe

member. The

Native

American who

shot him had

been outraged about

Chief Joseph’s ways of not defending

their homeland, and letting the

United States army push the Nez

Perce around from place to place.

Chief Joseph was the leader of the

Nez Perce tribe. He was a peaceful

man and was a great leader. He

always found the peaceful way of

doing things. He always said “It does

not require many words to speak the

truth.” This showed that he always

spoke the truth and trusted that

others were truthful with him also.

He even would share his food and

belongings with almost anyone.

He hated war and did anything to

avoid it. This was a hard task to

accomplish, since his fellow leaders

were “war-heads” and always

wanted to go to war. He won the

arguments most of the time, but not

always. He also had to make hard

decisions for the sake of the people.

He even abandoned his father’s

dying wish of never leaving their

homeland to avoid war. Chief Joseph

was a man who could be used as an

example of a great leader. Leaders in

our government could take note of

his actions. Chief Joseph will always

be remembered as a great man.

Chief Joseph

PAGE 7 GILDED WEEKLY VOLUME 1, I SSUE 1

This political cartoon shows the immi-

grants traveling, the man in the hat is

Uncle Sam and the men behind him are

showing disapproval of the immigrants.

Referring to the Plessy v. Fergusen case, this political car-

toon shows that the nation has not become “separate but

equal” and is moving toward corruption as tension and dif-

ferences separate the nation.