The West and the Gilded Age - Short Notes

US HISTORY PART I Moving West UNIT 4 THE WEST & THE GILDED AGE •The 2nd Westward Movement –Settled the Middle portions of the country. –Frontier slowly diminishing •Free Land –Oklahoma Land Rush •50,000 people race on AK & TX border •Sooners Squatters •People who move onto other people’s land. •Squatter’s Rights Homestead Act, 1862 •1 Register for 160 acre plot •2 Build (improve) •3 Live for 5 years •4 Own the land Soddy •Home on the frontier made of grass and mud. Morrill Land Grant •Free Land to states for Colleges –Teach Agricultural and Mechanical Skills •Barb Wire –Joseph Glidden –End of the open range –Hurt poor ranchers •Cattle Drives took beef to market. •Beef Prices –$4 in TX –$40 in Chicago Transcontinental Railroad (from coast to coast) •The biggest factor in the development of the west –Completed at Promontory Point, UT – “golden spike” (1869) •Union and Central Pacific met THE “INDIAN WARS” •Causes –Desire to take their land for •1Mining (Gold) Find in the Dakotas –Black Hills –Comstock Lode (Silver) •2. Ranching –Failure by Natives to comply to the 2nd Indian Removal. Sand Creek Massacre •200 Indians killed Little Bighorn (1876) •Gen. George Armstrong Custer •260 US soldiers were killed by the Sioux •(Chief Sitting Bull & Crazy Horse.) –Sioux forces number up to 4,000 •Custer becomes a legend The Ghost Dance •Ceremony performed by natives that terrified white settlers. •Goals included the return of the land and ideas about the rise of dead ancestors. •Return of the buffalo •Invulnerable to bullets •The Government went after Sitting Bull, thinking he would lead a rebellion. •During his arrest a shot was fired. THE MASSACRE AT WOUNDED KNEE (1890) US soldiers killed up to 370 unarmed Sioux. 7th Calvary (Custer’s unit #) Nez Perce Resistance •Chief Joseph led his people for thousands of miles. –Outrunning the US Calvary –Ordered out of Oregon (Wallowa Valley) –Attempted to flee to Canada 3 ATTEMPTS TO SOLVE THE “INDIAN PROBLEM” •1ST. RESERVATION SYSTEM –Led to alcoholism and high suicide rates •2ND. DAWES SEVERALTY ACT –GAVE EACH INDIAN HIS OWN LAND –160 acres •3rd – Assimilation Helen Hunt Jackson •Century of Dishonor (Book) –Summed up mistreatment of Natives –Led to Dawes Act •Natives actually ended up with less land after the act. PART II Gilded Age Politics – 1877-1900 term) Gilded Age – looks good on outside, but corrupt inside. (Mark Twain’s POLITICS MAINLY REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTS Corruption •“Era of Good Stealings” •Credit Moblier Scandal –1872 –Congressman made money off the railroad. Political Machines •(Powerful political party) –Run by a Boss, bought votes. •Tammany Hall (most known machine) in NY (powerful from 1790s to 1960s) •Gave services to the poor, got votes in return. •Run by Boss Tweed –Kickbacks (Bribes) •NY courthouse cost 3 million to build , 1 million went to the machine. –Graft --- Political use for personal gain Thomas Nast (father of political cartoons) •Cartoonist •Criticized Tweed •Presidents •1876 – Rutherford B. Hayes (Rep) •1880 – James Garfield (Rep) •Assassinated in 1881 by Charles Guiteau who thought he was left out of the spoils system. •1881 – Chestur A. Arthur (Rep) •Pendleton Act •1884 –Eliminated the spoils system –created the Civil Service system based on examinations. Grover Cleveland (Dem) •Elected by support from Mugwumps –Republicans who switched due to corruption. •1888 Benjamin Harrison (Rep) •Cleveland won the popular vote by 100,000 but not the Electoral College. •1892 Grover Cleveland (Dem) returned to office. •1896 – William McKinley (Rep) •“The Full Dinner Pail” •Assassinated by Leon Czolgosz. Many negative stereotypes were now associated with foreign names. •The assassin wrapped a gun in a bandage. Shot McKinley while shaking hands. •Political groups •1. The Grange •a group of farmers that united •they wanted legislation to regulate businesses that farmers depended on. (like the RR) Farm Alliances •National Farm – Western whites •Southern Farm – Southern Whites •Colored – Blacks Farmers Co-ops •Buy supplies as a group •Allows private farmers to compete with monopolies. Populists (The People’s Party) •Political Party largely supported by farmers. •Omaha Platform (BELIEFS) –PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF THE RAILROAD •Eliminate Rebates (discounts for customers) –ELECTORAL & TAX REFORM –Bimetalism –Secret (Australian) Ballot •RAN CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT –RECEIVED 1 MILLION VOTES. 2 Supreme Court Cases •Munn v. Ill 1877 – private business can be regulated for the public good. –states can regulate RR rates •Wabash v. Ill 1886 – federal government not states can regulate interstate commerce –Led to Interstate Commerce Act. Interstate Commerce Act, 1887 •Created Interstate Commerce Commission to ensure fair rates by railroad (and later trucking) –Abolished 1995 •Excessive Rates outlawed –Victory for farmers •“Bribes” (by giving free rides to politicians) abolished •Elkins Act - Rates must be published & followed. •(1903 by TR & strengthened the ICA) What should be the basis of our currency? •Gold Standard (goldbugs) –Gold should be the only basis for the money supply –Favored by Reps, Industrialists, Merchants –Grover Cleveland blamed Depression of 1893 on government’s backing of silver. •Bimetallism (silver & gold should be the basis for the money supply) (silverites) –William Jennings Bryan •Cross of Gold Speech –Farmers are being crucified •Led to Dem. Nomination in 1896. •Silver was more plentiful •More money with less value –May lead to inflation ?, May stimulate economy? PART III Gilded Age Economy Industrialization sped up after the Civil War. THE NEW SOUTH •FACTORIES BEGAN TO REPLACE THE COTTON FIELDS IN THE 1880S. –TEXTILE MILLS •Electricity –Thomas Edison •Light bulb •REVOLUTIONIZED daily life. –Refrigeration –New Jobs Inventions •Telegraph –Samuel Morse –(Western Union) •Telephone –Alexander G. Bell •Air Brakes –George Westinghouse •Electric Trolley •Typewriter •Bessemer Converter –Steel •Skyscrapers •Elevator –Elisha Graves Otis •Laissez-faire – the government did not try to control the economy. •Monopolies were the result. •Monopoly – one business that controls a product. 2 Views of Entrepreneurs •Captains of Industry –Skilled who earned $ •Gospel of Wealth – give to poor •Robber Barron –Unethical practices led to fortune. Ways to form monopolies •Vertical Integration– buy supplies (going down the supply chart) –Steel Mill buys trains that bring the coal & the coal mine. •Horizontal Integration– buy competitors –A business gets rid of everyone doing the same thing they do. •Andrew Carnegie •Pittsburgh •Steel Tycoon •“put all of your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket.” •John D. Rockefeller – Standard Oil Trust – controlled 95% of the oil business in America. –Crushed competitors •Rockefeller’s oil success was made possible by Edwin Drake –1 st to drill for oil •The Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890) outlawed trusts/ monopolies. MANY OF THE HUGE PROFITS WERE MADE BY EXPLOITING LABOR Child Labor Sweatshops UNIONS WERE FORMED TO PROTECT WORKERS Early Unions •Knights of Labor •American Federation of Labor –Samuel Gompers –Believed workers needed protection from greedy employers. –Used strikes & collective bargaining to free workers. •Goals –Pay –Hours (12 hour day to 8 hour day) –Safety –Forbid yellow dog contracts (forced workers to not join unions) •Craft union – people who do the same exact job (painters, plumbers) •Trade union – aka labor union. (auto workers, textile workers) •Arbitration – legally binding decision from 3rd party (outside the courts) •Mediation – attempt to resolve without any binding decision. Important Strikes • • • 1. Haymarket Square – labor rally that turned violent 2. Homestead Strike– war at Carnegie’s mill. 3. Pullman (RR) Pres. Cleveland ended due to interference with the mail. 4. Great Strike of 1877 (RR) New Ideas 10% of the people had 90% of the wealth. •1. Socialism (Karl Marx) –People share resources & are equal. Eugene Debs •Leading American Socialist •Presidential Candidate •Arrested for involvement in Pullman strike •SOCIAL DARWINISM –HERBERT SPENCER –Evolution applied to society. –“SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.” –Some are destined to be poor. –Opposite of Socialism (Some people are better than others and deserve the rewards. –Also used to justify taking over “backward” countries. Horatio Alger •Wrote stories of poor boys becoming successful. –“Rags to Riches” –Social Darwinist messages = work hard to get the American dream or be left behind. •His stories were very popular. PART 4 Moving People Immigration People moved from Europe to the US. 1860-1920 = Golden Age of Immigration Ellis Island in New York was built to process the new immigrants on the East Coast. 70% of immigrants came through New York. •Immigrants had to be healthy enough to work. –Cheap Labor •THE STATUE OF LIBERTY –(THE SYMBOL OF HOPE FOR IMMIGRANTS) •Angel Island (CA) –The Ellis Island of the West Coast Chinese Exclusion Act of 1862 banned Chinese immigration. 3. Education promoted assimilation to the American way of life. SETTLEMENT HOUSES •ESTABLISHED TO HELP IMMIGRANTS ADJUST & ELIMINATE POVERTY. –SOCIAL GOSPEL MOVEMENT •JANE ADDAMS –HULL HOUSE Tenement Houses •Dumbbell (famous blueprint) •Tried to fit as many immigrants in one area as possible. –Often no water or bathroom –Led to Disease Jacob Riis •“How the Other Half Lives” •Photographer exposed problems of poor immigrants. Recreation •Spectator Sports •Amusement Parks •Fredrick Law Olmsted (landscape architect) –Central Park –Biltmore grounds