APUSH - Period 6 (1865-1898): Market Revolution

one of the key concepts

big business, big change, big city

How did period 5 influence period 6?

In Period 5, northern whites were more focused on industralization than the race issue even directly after the Civil War

causes of settlement in the west

mechanization

Mechanization of the west

• changing agricultural systems to being done with machines vs the human body

• e.g. mechanical reaper & combine harvestor

• meant farmers could plant more crops and the crop prices went down (1870-1899)

• small farmers struggled because they couldn’t afford or compete with the richer farmers’ machines

National Grange Movement (1868)

• uprising of farmers

• manufactured goods (household goods and clothing) were kept at high prices because farmers were working all day and had to buy these, but couldn’t afford it

• railroad workers were charging high prices to get the farmers to ship their goods out

• got political quick pushed states to pass laws to regulate railroad rates (Granger Law, most significant was the Commerce Act 1886 which required railroad rates to be regulated)

Transcontiental Railroad

• completed in 1869

• to make it easier for people to move west and cultivate the land because traveling Oregon-trail style was not easy

• gave huge amounts of land to railroad companies to build railroads

Homestead Act of 1862

• federal government says if you migrate west and farm on the land, we will give you 160 acres of land

• but 160 acres of land is not enough for farmers in the west to make a living because of the mechanization of agriculture so many did not succeed

Gold and Silver and Boom towns

• 1869 gold discovered in Pike’s Peak and many other regions in the west

• influx of people moving there (100,000) which led to boom towns

• these boom towns ended up being really diverse

Reservation System

• Oklahoma Territory was previously declared reserved for the Native Americans

• westward expansion fucked that all up, including killing all the buffalo the Native Americans relied on for travel and food

• Americans now wanted that land and developed reservations with strict boundaries for the NA to be organized into to

• NA became wards of the government until they operated more like white society

• Sioux Wars of 1886, battles between NA and white armies which resulted in the government making more treaties to restrict the NA to smaller and smaller land

Indian Appropriation Acts

• context: gold discovered on Natives land and that made it IMPOSSIBLE to keep the American settlers away

• eneded federal recognition of Native soverignty nullified all previous treaties made with Natives

Gilded Age 1870s to 1890s

• the term means things appear to be good on the surface but underneath there are many social, economic, and political issues

• emergence of monopolies and businesses look over seas for profit and trade

• Social Darwinism by wealthy to defend their success

• conspicuous consumption, rich spending money on things that don’t matter

Workforce

more farmers quiting their jobs to move to the city which led to lower wages and an increase in child labor

John D. Rockefeller

Founded the standard Oil Company, and at one point controlled more than 90% of U.S oil production

two examples of Labor Unions

• Knights of Labor (skilled and unskilled workers)

• American Federation of Labor (only skilled workers)

the New South

• share copping/ tenant farming

emergence of Populist party

• wanted to increase government controls of railroads and telegram, many of these ideas later adopted during the Progressive Era

• some more ideas, secret ballot, income tax, direct election of senators, etc

Urbanization - immigration

• new immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, settled in boom towns

• heavily discriminated against, American Protection Agency similar to Know-Nothing Party

• cities divided by race, economics, and ethics

• “little Italy” and “Chinatown”

Urbanization - political machines

• a single powerful figure was at the center and made an organization of less skilled figures

• provided jobs or housing to immigrants to get their vote

Urbanization - settlement house

• e.g. Jane Addams’ Hull House to help women and immigrants transition to urban life

Government

• focused many on economic issues: tariffs, gold v silver, laissez-faire, etc

• deep government corruption by monopolists elites

Chinese Exclusion Act 1882

restricted Chinese immigration for 10 years an denied their right of naturalization

Plessy v Ferguson 1896

the constitutionality of state-sponsored racial segregation, establishing the "separate but equal" doctrine

Gospel of Wealth by Andrew Carneige

said it was the duty of the wealthy to donate to the public through libraries, schools, hospitals but not giving money to specific individuals

horizontal integration

when companies in the same industry and at the same stage of the supply chain merge or acquire each other

vertical integration

company gains control over multiple stages of its supply chain by acquiring or establishing ownership of suppliers, manufacturers, or distributors

Panic of 1893

• severe financial crisis and economic depression

• lasted from 1893 to 1897

• triggered by a collapse in the stock market and a series of business failures, including banks and railroads

• led to unemployment, bank failure, and social unrest

Haymarket Riot (1886)

• altercation between police and labor protesters on May 4, 1886

• resulted in a bomb being thrown at police officers and the deaths of seven police officers and multiple labor protesters

Pullman Strike (1894)

• workers for the Pullman Palace Car Company protested wage cuts

• resulted in a railroad boycott spread across the midwest

Jim Crow laws

• State and local laws introduced in the Southern States in the late 19th/early 20th centuries

• enforced racial segregation

• affected every aspect of daily life by mandating separation of public spaces