Unit 2: Freedom’s Boundaries (1877–1900)

Gilded Age

A period (1877–1900) of enormous contradiction in America characterized by booming industrial wealth for a few and crushing inequality and exclusion for many.

People's Party (Populists)

A political movement formed in 1892 to represent farmers, workers, and 'producing classes', advocating for government regulation of railroads, telegraphs, banks, and economic fairness.

Bimetallism

Economic policy that advocates for currency backed by both gold and silver, supported by figures like William Jennings Bryan.

Atlanta Compromise

A philosophy proposed by Booker T. Washington in 1895, suggesting that Black Americans focused on economic self-help and vocational training while accepting social segregation.

W.E.B. Du Bois

A Harvard-trained sociologist who criticized Booker T. Washington for his accommodating approach, advocating for political activism and equality for Black Americans.

Convict Lease System

A system where southern states leased prisoners (often Black) to companies for labor, effectively re-enslaving them under brutal conditions.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

A Supreme Court ruling that upheld segregation under the doctrine of 'separate but equal', legitimizing Jim Crow laws in the South.

Ida B. Wells

A journalist and civil rights activist who investigated and exposed lynching as a tool to terrorize Black communities.

Election of 1896

A significant political contest where William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan, marking the end of Populism and establishing the dominance of industrial capitalism.

Paper Sons/Daughters

Chinese immigrants who claimed fraudulent U.S.-born family ties to enter the U.S. legally after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Lynching

Public murders by mobs primarily used to terrorize Black people during the post-Reconstruction era.

McKinley Tariff (1890)

Legislation that raised import taxes to protect U.S. manufacturers, supported by William McKinley.

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, co-founded by W.E.B. Du Bois in 1909, advocating for civil rights and equality.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

The first federal immigration law targeting a specific race, which banned Chinese laborers and denied citizenship to Chinese already in America.

Jim Crow laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States, legitimized by Plessy v. Ferguson.

Industrialization

The large-scale introduction of manufacturing, advanced technical enterprises, and other productive economic activity into an area, country, or region, characteristic of the Gilded Age.

james b weaver

• Who: Former Union general; leader of the People’s Party (Populists); ran for president in 1892.

• What he stood for: Wanted the government to protect farmers and workers against banks and railroads.

• Why he matters: His campaign united rural and working-class Americans and brought attention to issues like income inequality, corporate monopolies, and monetary reform.

Bryan

• Who: Democratic and Populist presidential candidate in 1896, from Nebraska.

• What he stood for:

  • Wanted bimetallism — money backed by both gold and silver — to expand the money supply.

  • Famously declared: “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!”

• Why he matters:

  • Spoke for farmers, debtors, and “common people.”

  • His loss marked the end of Populism and a victory for industrial capitalism.

Mckinley

• Who: Republican candidate who defeated Bryan in 1896.

• What he stood for:

  • Pro-business and pro-gold standard (only gold backs the dollar).

  • Supported the McKinley Tariff (1890), which raised import taxes to protect U.S. manufacturers.

• Why he matters:

  • His election represented the triumph of urban industrial power over rural populism.

  • Solidified the Republicans as the party of big business.

Grady

• Who: Southern journalist (from Georgia) who coined the phrase “New South.”

• What he stood for:

  • Wanted to modernize the South’s economy — more industry, less dependence on cotton.

  • Appealed to northern investors by emphasizing cheap Black labor and white control.

• Why he matters:

His “New South” promised progress but preserved racial hierarchy and economic exploitation.

Washington

• Who: Born enslaved; became an educator and founder of Tuskegee Institute (Alabama).

• Philosophy (Atlanta Compromise, 1895):

  • Blacks should focus on economic self-help, vocational training, and hard work.

  • Avoided confrontation with segregation; believed rights would come gradually.

  • Quote: “We can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand.”

• Why he matters:

  • Appealed to whites as moderate and practical, but many Black intellectuals thought he accepted second-class citizenship.

Du Bois

• Who: Harvard-trained sociologist; first Black man to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard.

• Philosophy:

  • Criticized Washington for being too accommodating.

  • Believed in political activism, higher education, and leadership by the “Talented Tenth.”

  • Wrote The Souls of Black Folk (1903), exposing how racism crippled democracy.

• Why he matters:

  • Co-founded the NAACP (1909).

Pushed the idea that true freedom required social, political, and economic equality.

 The Farmer’s Struggle

• Post–Civil War farmers faced falling crop prices, rising railroad fees, and crushing debt.

• They felt ignored by politicians and exploited by monopolies.

Populist Party Goals

• Government control of railroads and telegraphs.

• Graduated income tax.

• Bimetallism (gold + silver).

• Shorter workday.

• Direct election of senators.

• Restrictions on immigration (to protect labor).

Political Disenfranchisement

• Southern states rewrote constitutions to eliminate Black political power.

• “Color-blind” on paper but racist in effect:

  • Poll taxes: pay to vote.

  • Literacy tests: selectively applied.

  • Grandfather clauses: exempted poor whites if ancestors voted before 1867.

• Black voter registration dropped from 90% (Reconstruction) to under 10% by 1900.