AP US History Period 6

Period 6 1867 (end of Reconstruction)-1898 (SpanishAmerican War) Context: Gilded Age, political, social, economic, immigrants reform movements, after the Civil War and reconstruction, rights of blacks are debated. Gilded Age: ● On the surface: thinly covered in gold, Mark Twain. o nullification and succession were finally dealt with during the Civil War, no more compromises needed. Union was preserved and restored. o Manifest destiny continued. o Industrial revolution beginning in America→ rise of big business (they use monopolies, trusts, insurance, stock market), rapid industrialization, immigration at rapid rates (Chinese and Italians), modern capitalism. ● In the reality: many issues o Corruption was rampant in politics, big business (ex-boss Tweed) o Political machines allowed political parties to remain in power o Native Americans were mistreated o Jim Crow laws (black codes) are very strict: limited black rights. o Plessy v Ferguson (separate but equal) o White Man’s Burden increased racism to immigrants o Women still didn’t have many rights o Labor conditions are terrible: long hours, low pay, child labor. o Capitalism only benefited the rich o Farmers were suffering o Large gaps in society, rich v poor Geographically: ● East: industry, wealthy, diverse population ● West: cowboys, farmers, Native American conflict, railroads expanding ● South: ‘3rd world country’, ignored by the government since the end of Reconstruction, no big cities, mostly agrarian, farmers had suffered with bad soil, drought, can’t sell all crops. Have a lot of corruption and racism, poor. ● New south: southerners who wanted to promote economic change used this term, wanted industrialization Political factors that led to the growth of industry: ● Morrill Tariff Act of 1861- high protective tariff which allowed for industry to expand ● National Banking Act of 1863- created uniform national bank notes eliminating confusion with the state bank notes ● Pacific Railway Act of 1862- land grants to railroad corporations. Federal government gave loans to railroad companies to construct new routes. ● Laissez faire approach by the government allowed for business to grow ● Transcontinental railroad- completed in 1869, built by immigrant workers, connecting the union pacific railroad and central pacific railroad connected the east and west markets ● Interstate commerce act 1887: passed by congress to address high costs of the shipping on the railroad. Try to regulate railroad monopolies. Economic factors that led to growth of industry: ● Natural resources in the us ● Cheap labor (immigrants) ● New inventions helped with industry ● Better transportation ● Better communication The Economic Divide ● Robber barons: derogatory term used to refer to the industrialists and bankers of late 1800’s who placed profits over public interests by monopolizing power ● Captains of industry: complimentary term to refer to industrialists and bankers of late 1800’s who were hardworking. They had monopolies (where one producer controls the supply of a good or service, eliminates competition) ● Boss Tweed: very corrupt, helped immigrants in return for votes ● Rockefeller: oil, used horizontal integration ● Carnegie: steel, used vertical integration. o Gospel of wealth- the rich are obligated to help the lower class ● Vanderbilt: trains ● Horizontal integration: merging one or more companies of the same business activity, keeps prices low since you own those companies ● Vertical integration: single company controls all steps in the process of a product (Carnegie) ● Sherman Antitrust Act 1890: law that allowed the federal government to break up any business combinations to break up monopolies. Urbanization: ● Cities grew because of the railroads, you can easily move around, and no longer had to be built by water ● Steel is used to build ● Immigrants move to cities for jobs, many African Americans also moved north ● Population growth in cities was very harmful: pollution, disease, crime, low wages, overcrowding ● Many women entered the workforce (primarily in textiles and food) Economic and social theories of the gilded age: ● Laissez faire- supply and demand, capitalism, hands off approach, allowed for corruption to grow (Adam Smith, William Sumner) ● Social Darwinism- you are rich because you are meant to live, natural selection ● Socialism- government controls everything (Karl Marx, Eugene Debs) ● Patronage system- spoils system, practice of granting government appointments to friends, political supporters. People are in the house cause they are your friends. Jackson made this popular - very corrupt Calls for Reform ● Mugwumps: reformers (Republicans mostly) who wanted civil service reform and end to political corruption. ● Pendleton Act (1883): law that created the Civil Service Commission and instituted the merit system for federal hiring and jobs ● Australian (secret) Ballot: election ballot printed by the government rather than political parties that was marked privately by the voters, most states moved to the secret ballot by the 1880s as a result of the political machines rigging elections in many major cities ● Thomas Nast: exposed corruption by drawing political cartoons ● Social Gospel: religious doctrine preached by those who believed that Christian churches should directly address economic and social problems in American society, supporters believed that the church had a role in reforming society like a third awakening ● Settlement House Movement: private individuals wanted to help the less fortunate, many women worked to better the lives of immigrants and poor people. o Jane Addams- a national leader for the Settlement House Movement and. Suffrage Movement Muckrakers ● The Jungle: written by Upton Sinclair to expose bad factory conditions (specifically in the meat industry, led to the Meat Inspection Act) ● How the Other Half Lives: by photojournalist Jacob Riis, documenting horrible living conditions in New York City slums in the 1880s, served as a basis for future "muckraking" journalism by exposing the slums to New York City's upper and middle classes ● History of Standard Oil: by journalist Ida Tarbell, an exposé about the Standard Oil Company, example of muckraking, and inspired many other journalists to write about trusts, large businesses that ● Working conditions during the gilded age: average wage was 22 cents per hour, factories were unsafe, many suffered injuries, workers wanted better working conditions, shorter hours, and more pay Strikes ● Pennsylvania Coal Miners Strike of 1876- reaction to owners suppression of the organization of laborers, very violent strike with beatings and murders ● Great Railroad Strike of 1877- reaction to cut wages which led to Panic of 1873, strike spread nationwide, violence ensued, President Rutherford B. Hayes ordered US. troops to end the strike. Showed that striking works and the need for central government. ● Haymarket Square Riot (1886)- crowd met after police fired at protesters, bomb exploded, killing or injuring many of the police, which promoted anti-union and antiimmigrant feelings ● Homestead Strike (1892)- strike at Carnegie's steel plant in 1892, strikers were angry over pay cut ● Pullman Strike (1894)- Eugene Debs led this. Due to poor wages for Pullman workers and a shutdown of western railroads as a response, workers for the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike. President Grover Cleveland ordered federal troops to crush the strike and dozens were killed. Workers shut down railroads. Labor Unions ● National Labor Union (1866)- political agenda (equal rights for women and blacks) wanted 8-hour workday, focused more on social issues rather than labor issues ● Knights of Labor Union (1869)- industrial union that accepted membership from most trades as well as race, religion, and sex (grew rapidly) very welcoming, wanted unity and rights for all. Haymarket Riot severely damaged membership and reputation ● American Federation of Labor (1886)- only accepted craft unions (skilled, white workers), mostly concerned with labor issues (wages, hours, benefits) sought only to achieve higher wages, minimize working hours, and improve working conditions rather than transform American society (stayed away from tackling social issues) African American Conditions: ● Still faced racism with the Jim Crow laws, created for segregation and discrimination between blacks and whites ● Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)- upheld a Louisiana law requiring the racial segregation of railroad facilities on the grounds that “separate but equal” facilities were constitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment, essentially legalized segregation in America ● Discriminatory Actions: o Grandfather Clause- denying African Americans the right to vote by not letting anyone vote whose grandfather had not voted in the past o Poll Tax- denying African Americans the right to vote by requiring the payment of a poll tax in order to cast a vote o Property Qualifications- denying African Americans the right to vote by requiring the ownership of land in order to cast a vote o Literacy test- denying African Americans the right to vote by requiring that voters pass a literacy test Important figures: ● Web Dubois- civil rights activist, racism was his main target, stongly protested lynching, Jim Crow laws and discrimination. Wanted education ● Booker T. Washington: wanted more economic participation for African Americans, founded the National Negro Business League o Atlanta Compromise (1895)- speech made by Booker T. Washington in which he urged African Americans to accept disenfranchisement and segregation for the time being, working for economic advancement instead ● Ida B. Wells- African American civil rights activist who fought relentlessly for antilynching legislation Women: ● The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) 1869o Organization led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony that fought for women’s suffrage, equal rights for women, and the right for women to join labor unions ● Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) 1874o Women’s organization that opposed the consumption of alcohol and supported reforms such as women’s suffrage ● Susan B. Anthony o Women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement, gave speeches around the country to convince others to support a woman’s right to vote ● Jane Addams o Founded a settlement house (Hull House) in Chicago in 1889 that offered practical help and material aid to newly arrived immigrants. Immigrants: ● Many were clustered together and they worked together ● Old vs new: ○ Old : English, Dutch, French, Catholics. Most did speak English, were men and women, and were investors, religious dissidents, indentured servants, many came permanently to make money with the intention of establishing a new life ○ New: Italians, Greeks, Russians, Chinese, Jews. Most did not speak English, were men, peasants, ■ Many came temporarily to make money with the intention of returning home (“Birds of Passage”) ■ Took the worst jobs just to make any money and survive, major force in the growth of American cities ● Reasons for immigration ○ America has many jobs, land of opportunities, E urope had a lot of corruption and disease ● Nativist Responses to Immigration: ○ Americans protested the 2nd wave of immigration (viewed them as a threat), Government reaction to protests was to put restrictions on immigration, targeted certain ethnic groups ■ Chinese Exclusion Act- banned Chinese from coming to the US Farmers ● Suffered with a lot such as: drought, debt, bad working conditions, overproduction, Jeffersonian ideal is falling apart. ● In order to overcome the struggle they formed alliances: ○ Grange (1867)- organization that brought farmers together to promote their economic and political interests ○ Granger Laws- laws passed by midwestern states to help farmers, primarily by regulating railroads ○ Farmers Alliance - farmer’s organization in the 1870s and 1880s that supported government regulation of the railroad, establishment of an income tax, and cheap money (inflation) to help debtor farmers (after the Grange died) ○ Colored Farmers Alliance (1886)- organization of African American farmers in Texas. Fought against rising farm costs and high interest rates. ○ Populist Party (1891)- political party created by farmers (primarily in the South and Midwest) who had been hurt by debt, low prices for their crops, and railroad monopolies, nominated a 3rd party candidate in the election of 1892 (James B. Weaver) and the election of 1896 (William Jennings Bryan) ○ Omaha Platform (1892)- the political platform of the Populist Party in the election of 1892, called for: ■ the free coinage of silver ■ the abolition of national banks ■ a graduated income tax ■ direct election of Senators and civil service reform ■ a working day of eight hours and government control of all railroads, telegraphs, and telephone ○ Gold Standard- currency is based upon a fixed quantity of gold. Debtors are often hurt ○ Free Silver- a central cause of the Populist movement. Populists favored the "free coinage of silver" to inflate the American economy and allow farmers to more easily pay back debts ○ Free Silver Movement- result of the Populist Movement - a battle between those who wanted a strict gold standard and those that wanted bimetallism (silver and gold) to back currency, primarily farmers in the West pushed for the “free and unlimited coinage of silver” to put more paper money in circulation which in turn would cause inflation and in theory ease their fixed debt ■ William Jennings Bryan became the de facto leader after his famous “Cross of Gold Speech” in 1896 (he is nominated by both the Democrats and Populists) the speech railed against the Gold Standard and advocated the use of bimetallism (silver and gold) to back currency The Populist Movement ● Began in the 1880s-1900 ● Leaders: William Jennings Bryan + others. ● Made up of: many southern farmers alliances: Southern Alliance, North Western Alliance, National Farmers Alliance, The Grange, Greenback Labor Party Mostly small farmers in the Midwest and Great Plains ● Concerns Inspiring Activism o 1. Didn't think American democracy was real, the rich were favored in the current society o 2. Overproduction o 3. Railroad monopolies (drove up costs) o 4. Problems with the Interstate Commerce act (not consistently enforced) o 5. Perpetual cycle of debt o 6. Government favoritism to big business (no longer the days of the Jeffersonian Ideal) ● Goals: collective action to combat the negative effects of a rapidly industrializing society o Specific goals: “Omaha Platform” abolish national banks, graduated income tax, direct election of senators, civil service reform, 8 hour workday, government control of railroads and communication, bimetallism ● Successes: 1st to include women in their affairs, open discussion regarding the need for poor whites and poor blacks to work together for a common goal, very successful third party. ● Failures- Alliance with the Democratic party in 1896 (essentially ended the “Populist Party”), Not successful at the national level (not enough elected Congressmen to make a difference and never an elected President) Closing of the Frontier and Early Conservation Efforts ● Railroad Subsidies- generous Government grants of land and/or money to railroad companies to build railroads in the West ● Morrill Land-Grant Acts (1862 and 1890)- laws passed that granted federal land to states for the purpose of building colleges ● Sierra Club (1892)- grassroots environmental organization that dealt with land and natural resource management, American Indian affairs, wildlife conservation, and territorial affairs Continued Conflict with Native Americans ● Great Sioux War (1876-1881) - war between the US. army and the tribes (Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho) that took part in the Battle of the Little Big Horn ● *Dawes Severalty Act (1887) - law that intended to break up Indian reservations into individual farms and turn Native Americans into homesteaders, designed to turn Natives into independent farmers, surplus lands were sold to raise money for Indian education o The act was seen by many as the forced assimilation of American Indians (“kill the Indian, save the man”) ● Massacre at Wounded Knee (1890)-last major encounter between Indians and the US. army. Lakota Indians were overpowered by US. troops and roughly 300 Lakota died ● Helen Hunt Jackson- author of A Century of Dishonor (1881), a book that chronicled the mistreatment of American Indians and advocated improved relations between the US government and remaining Native American tribes