Period 6

AP NOT HONORS

Mechanization

• Farming was becoming a task done with machines rather than manual labor

• Mechanical reaper, combine harvester

Main Effects of Mechanization

• Farmers could plant/harvest more crops than ever before

• Decrease of small farmers - they couldn’t afford machines and got bought out

• Number of crops increased, so price decreased (supply and demand)

Small farmers

• Facing competition from big farmers

• Didn’t have machines

• Couldn’t buy manufactured goods

• Railroads raised prices, so they couldn’t use them anymore

National Grange Movement

• Organized movement for small farmer resistance (“Small farmers” card)

• Made in 1868 to bring farmers together but got too political

Granger Laws

• What National Grange Movement wanted Midwest to follow

• Abusive corporate practices were illegal

• Commerce law, which regulated how much railroads charged farmers for transporting their crops

• Interstate Commerce Commission was made to regulate this

Railroads!

• Gov. wanted people to move west and railroads were the best way to do this - the days of covered wagons were over

• Pacific Railroad Acts gave land to companies to build a transcontinental railroad (first one in 1869)

• Homestead Act of 1862 - 160 acres of land if you settle on it and farm it, but this wasn’t enough land for a farmer to make a living

• A lot of farmers went broke

Discovery of Precious Metals

• People went west in hope of finding gold/silver

• Boomtowns sprang up (because of all the people going west) and were very diverse

Things that encouraged migration west

• Homestead Act of 1862

• Railroads - they brought over cattle

• Gold

• Adventure!

Sodbusters

• Started making homes and building fences - ended cowboy era ☹

• Among first to cut into soil with plows (sod busters?)

• Bought land from railroad companies

• Ultimately, land owned by small farmers was bought out by big companies

Frederick Jackson Turner

• Says western expansion was cause for concern in essay

• Americans were always wanting more land, and this was shown by westward expansion

• Currently, west didn’t have the rigid social systems the east did, and Turner was scared this utopia would be ruined

Reservation System

• With all this westward expansion, no one was thinking about how this affected Natives

• The government’s solution to the native “problem” was forcing them onto reservations

• Some Natives hunted buffalo for their survival, but now could not because of settlers killing them for sport

Native American Resistance

• Natives resisted and kept their culture, much like African Americans under slavery

• Settlers wanted Natives’ reservation land after gold was discovered - they were moved AGAIN

• Resistance sometimes led to violence - Sioux wars

• Indian Appropriation Act of 1871 nullified treaties between Natives and American gov.

• Natives gave up, and gov. said they would give them land if they assimilated and settled where told

Assimilation Movement

• Gov. wanted to end Native American culture through education (residential schools) and Christianization

• Ghost Dance Movement said if Natives performed ghost dance, the spirit of their ancestors would come and drive away settlers

• Wounded Knee Battle between Lakota and gov. started with the USA shooting a man who performed the ghost dance - over 200 were killed

• That was the last thing of Native resistance

Henry Grady

• One of the people envisioning a new, better south AFTER the civil war

• Saw one reason the south had suffered so much was the North was more advanced industrially

• The south needed BOOMING INDUSTRY

• Although south remained mainly agricultural, their textile industry surpassed New England

Sharecropping

• Plantation owners still needed workers for their fields after slavery was illegal

• Workers without land could buy/rent land from owners and they got a portion of the harvest

• New form of slavery, which the south LOVED

Racial Segregation

• After Compromise of 1877, the North left the south and black people didn’t have anyone to protect their rights

• Segregation became common in south

• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) said segregation was ok as long as it was “separate but equal”

• Court case started by someone 1/8ths black sitting in an all white train car

Jim Crow Laws

• Laws segregated all of society

• Balck people lost rights gained during reconstruction and were accused of crimes they didn’t commit, sometimes lynched

Resistance (3 people)

• With every horrible event, there is resistance to it

• Ida B. Wells was the editor of a black newspaper based int he south and wrote about lynchings

• She had to flee North, but there wrote pamphlets and led marches

• Henry Turner made international Migration Society, which helped black people move to Liberia

• A couple thousand went, but got African diseases they weren’t immune to - it didn’t work

• Booker T. Washington said black people didn’t need political equality and should become economically self sufficient

• Politics and economics were rigged against black people in the south

Railroads

• Quick and easy way to transport goods

• Encouraged mass production and consumerism

• Fed. gov. gave railroad companies land because they saw railroads were good for economy

• East and west were more connected than ever - mass market for goods

Steel

• Bessemer made steel with much better quality in 1850s

• Manufactorers could make better steel!

Coal

• There was a lot more access to natural resources with moving out west and railroads

• Coal was first major source of energy

Oil

• Like coal, used as major source of energy in industry

Telegraph

• Invented by Samuel Morse in 1844

• Telegraph wires grew a lot as more people wanted to send messages

• Went across ocean to Europe, which created an international market

Telephone

• Alexander Graham Bell - same effects as telegraph

Gilded Age

• Period of industrialization - looks nice on outside, but bad on inside (ONLY IN NORTH)

• Big businesses, especially railroad, steel, and oil took over small businesses

Oil during GIlded Age

• Rockefeller was owner of huge oil company and made MANY shady business choices

• People forced to sell companies to him

• Used horizontal integration which was having a monopoly (control of all businesses of a certain thing)

Steel during Gilded Age

• Carnegie was a steel tycoon and used vertical integration

• He bought companies that made every part of steel (like the miners, factories, etc.)

International Gilded Age!!

• Tycoons were looking at Asia and South America as placed to get materials

• They influenced America to want an empire

Why government didn’t stop big businesses

• Laisse Faire was the gov. policy of leaving big businesses alone

• Gov. believed in no intervention and like that big businesses were stuffing their pockets

• Relying heavily on poor laborers - many owners hired women and immigrants they didn’t have to pay as much

• Social Darwinism - believed strong companies were supposed to eat the weak

Gospel of Wealth

• Carnegie argued that rich people were commanded by God to use their wealth to help society

• He built universities, concert halls, etc.

• Positive side of gilded age

Captains of Industry

• Also known as Robber Barons, men like Rockefeller were called this because they led businesses

• Robber barons = negative

• Captains of Industry = positive

Wealthy People During Gilded Age

• Liked showing off wealth and more rich than previous generations

• Conspicuous Consumption is showing off wealth

• Biltmore House is an example of this - it is a huge mansion finished in 1895 and a VACATION HOME

Poor people during Gilded Age

• Working class suffered (they had low wages)

• During Panics of ‘73 and ‘93, working people had a an even bigger drop in wages

• But because of mass production, the cost of common goods went down, and poor could afford more

• Even though the gap between the poor and rich grew, the poor were better off than before

• Worked in dangerous conditions and if they complained, they were usually replaced with an immigrant

Labor Unions

• By themselves, workers voices were irrelevant, but together they were powerful

• Unions used different tactics like:

  • Political action

  • Slowdown (not doing work)

  • Strike

• Great Railroad Strike was when companies cut wages during a recession and workers went on strike

• Hayes sent in federal troops and 100 people died

• The businesses gave in and heard people out

• Pullman Strike was when workers went on strike after wages being cut, and workers went on strike, but were arrested

Knights of Labor

• Opened membership to ANYONE (POC and women)

• Wanted to destroy trusts, monopolies, and child labor

• By the end of 1800s, 10–15-year-olds made up 18% of workforce

• This was a powerful organization - 700k members at peak

• Fell apart at Haymarket Square Riot where a bomb went off (the knights were accused of doing it) and people started seeing labor unions as radical and violent

American Federation of Labor

• Craftworkers led by Gompers

• 1 million at peak

• Wanted higher wages and safer conditions

Immigration

• Immigrants were leaving behind poverty and joblessness

• They settled into industrial cities, like Pittsburg and Chicago)

• America became an industrial workforce and very diverse

• Because of this, cities became places for the poor and the wealthy moved away from them

• Immigrants often lived in tenement housing (bad houses poor could afford) and in ethnic enclaves (an ethnic group living together around churches, shops, etc.)

Migration

• NOT IMMIGRATION

• Exoduster Movement was a mass migration of black people out west

• Because reconstruction ended, black people faced Jim Crow laws and the KKK

• Some found success, but most were destitute

• Organizations that helped them move were Colored Relief Board and Kansas Freedman’s Aid Society

Nativists

• Some immigrant’s half assimilated (adopted American culture while holding on to their own) but Nativists still didn’t like them

• Nativists considered immigrants coming an attack on America

• American Protective Association was a group against Catholics

• Most immigrants were Catholic, and Nativists thought there were too many Irish Catholics

Labor Unions

• Didn’t want immigrants coming - they were an influx of people ready to work no matter what, and that messed with their goals

Social Darwinism

• Survival of the fittest was applied to immigrants

• Immigrants were POC (Irish especially, they were considered POC back them) and therefore considered inferior

East Coast Immigration

• Immigrants on the East Coast were treated the same as immigrants on the West Coast (what the Nativist flashcard discusses)

• By 1870, 50k Chinese were in California

• Chinese immigrants worked on railroads and took jobs no one else did

• They were blamed for the Panic of 1873 because they worked for less money

• Chinese Exclusion Act banned Chinese from USA in 1882

Jane Addams

• Saw immigrants were suffering and made settlement houses for them

• This helped them assimilate - kids got to go to recreational centers and learn democratic values

• Immigrants had it hard and had many things working against them, but people like Jane Addams helped

Social Structure (Gilded Age)

• Large corporations had executives, day to day management, operations, and laborers last

• White collar workers were called that because they never got their white collars dirty - they worked in jobs like bankers, accountants, etc.

• Women got jobs like schoolteachers or typists - these people were considered middle class

Middle Class

• Wages rose more than working class and they had shorter hours

• They had time for leisure activities like Coney Island, circuses (PT Barnum), and baseball games

• They used their money and free time to go to these places

Philanthropy

• Inspired by Andrew Carnagie’s Gospel of Wealth (the rich were commanded to give to the poor)

• He wanted the poor to be able to live a nice middle-class life and close the gap between the rich and the poor

• He said the poor should be given a chance to better themselves through education and build libraries, concert halls, etc.

Old vs. New (Gilded Age)

• Before, artisans/skilled laborers made things by hand, but now things were made in factories by unskilled laborers

• Factories were allowed to flourish through Laissez Faire Capitalism, which meant gov. didn’t intervene in businesses

• This made the rich richer, while the poor barely got by

Henry George

• Politician who thought it was foolish a country made so much money but had so many poor people

• Made a single tax on land

• The rich had more land, and that land was gaining value, so they were charged more tax on their land to clear up the deficit

Utopians

• Bellamy wrote a novel where someone wakes up in a utopia with no capitalism, just socialism

• Socialism means that all means of production in a society are owned by the community and everyone shares it

• In the late 1800s, people thought this was the way to go, but it never held on to our society

• Eugene V. Debs started the socialist party in 1901

Social Gospel

• Christian principles should be applied to help fix society, not just us

• Social justice for the poor and middle classes should help that cause

Women

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony founded NAWSA

Temperance

• Urban male factory workers drank a lot, which women fought against

• Anti Saloon League had peaceful protests]

• Carrie Nation went at liquor barrels with a hatchet

Debates over Gov. and Economy

• Went back a long time

• Hamilton and Jefferson over national bank

• Henry Clay and his American System debated whether the government should sponsor infrastructure (roads and canals)

Laissez - Faire

• French for “leave alone” - if gov. left big businesses alone, everything would be fine

• Adam Smith published “Wealth of Nations” and it said if you let people make decisions on their own, that helped the economy

• He said competition was necessary but this part of his argument was ignored because big businesses wanted monopolies

Panic of 1893 and ICC

• During this, President Cleveland didn’t do anything to stop economic disaster

• In 1886, the Supreme Court said states couldn’t regulate railroads and created ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) to make sure states obeyed

• ‘ICC was underfunded and didn’t do much

• Both of these are examples of how Laissez Faire was the rule for everything during the Gilded Age (from enterprise to politics)

Examples of Laissez Faire Exceptions

• Laissez Faire Capitalists wanted to take over Hawaii, which led to the annexation of Hawaii and more markets being opened

• Open door policy between China in USA meant equal trading rights in China

• Government got involved when the outcome was good for them economically, but didn’t regulate businesses in meaningful ways

Democrats during Gilded Age

• Mainly Southerners

• States rights and racial segregation

• Votes from political machines and growing number of immigrants

Republicans during the Gilded Age

• Mostly Northerners

• More industrial party

• Votes from Protestants, black people, and middle-class businessmen

Patronage

• A politician giving government jobs to supporters (government jobs can be called civil service)

• People who had supported the politician during their campaign would call in months after the election asking for a job

• Andrew Jackson did this sort of thing with the spoils system

• Patronage system went away with the assassination of President Garfield

• Someone who had called asking for a job was told no, and got mad and shot Garfield

Pendleton Act of 1881

• Replaced patronage system - people who wanted a federal job had to take an exam, and the highest score got the job

• This shifted philosophy - before this, candidates were funded by people faithful to them who wanted a federal job

• Now, politicians got payments from the rich

Gold Standard

• At the time, the government only printed enough money that covered the gold in their vaults

• No inflation

• Farmers wanted more money printed and to go beyond the gold standard

Tariffs during the Gilded Age

• ANOTHER fight between the two parties

• Big deal - a lot of government revenue came from tariff tax

• Protective tariffs started during the Civil War and protected American businesses with taxes on imported goods

• Bad for farmers who got fewer international sales on crops because no one would buy from them

• Bad for consumers because they couldn’t afford things

Populist party

• Populist means people and this party wanted to be for the people and stop economic powers (banks and trusts) and the corrupt government

• There was never a populist president, but this party made people start paying attention

• The Democrats took some parts of the party and got the populist vote

Omaha Platform

• Laid out the views of the populist party

  • Direct election of senators

  • Allowed people to propose and vote on legislation

  • Unlimited coinage of silver

  • Graduated income tax (the more you make the more you pay)

  • 8 hour workday

Political machines

• Groups of people that knew how to get votes

• Political bosses gave out orders and if people listened, they got jobs

• Tammany Hall helped businesses, the poor, immigrants - he met the needs of everyone

• The political machines helped the people, and the people were indebted to them (through votes)