6.10-6.14+Gilded+Age-+Government,+Politics,+and+Reforms
Topic 6.11: Reform in the Gilded Age
Early Reforms and Challenges
Early farmer efforts to regulate railroads and workers to establish labor unions largely failed.
However, reform ideas gained traction through an educated middle class capable of organizing for change.
Awakening of Reform
Urban problems, especially severe poverty among working-class families, inspired middle-class social consciousness.
Reform movements that started earlier in the century gathered strength in the 1880s and 1890s.
Social Criticism Literature
Henry George (1879)
Published Progress and Poverty, criticized laissez-faire economics.
Proposed a single tax on land to address wealth inequality.
Edward Bellamy (1888)
Wrote Looking Backward, 2000-1887, envisioned a future of cooperative society eliminating poverty and crime.
Both George and Bellamy were seen as utopians and sometimes labeled socialists, inspiring public opinion towards greater regulation.
Religious Adaptation to Social Issues
Roman Catholicism
Grew rapidly from immigrants; leaders like Cardinal James Gibbons supported labor rights.
Protestant Responses
Dwight Moody founded the Moody Bible Institute to adapt Christianity to urban life.
The Salvation Army provided basic needs while preaching.
The Social Gospel Movement
Many Protestant clergy promoted social justice through the Social Gospel, urging Christians to address social issues like housing and wages.
Walter Rauschenbusch
A key figure who linked the Social Gospel with Progressive reform and urged action against urban poverty.
Social Work and Urban Strain
Settlement workers like Jane Addams at Hull House laid the groundwork for social work, advocating for child labor laws, housing reform, and women's rights.
Urban life increased pressures on families, leading to higher divorce rates and a decline in family size, as children became economic liabilities in the city.
Women’s Suffrage Movement
Women’s suffrage was actively promoted by middle-class women following the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848.
National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
Founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in 1890.
Women gained voting rights in some states, starting with Wyoming in 1869.
Temperance Movement
The excessive drinking habits of factory workers were recognized as detrimental to families.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was established in 1874, advocating for total abstinence from alcohol, and had 500,000 members by 1898.
The Anti-Saloon League became a powerful political force.
Urban Reforms and Political Advocacy
Efforts arose nationwide to combat city government corruption.
Theodore Roosevelt emerged as a reformer in New York City, aiming to clean up police corruption.
Responses in Literature and Arts
American writers and artists reacted to industrial challenges with realism and naturalism.
Realism and Naturalism
Mark Twain
Known for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, exposing greed and racism.
Stephen Crane
Wrote Maggie: A Girl of the Streets highlighting urban brutality and The Red Badge of Courage.
Jack London
Explored nature versus civilization in The Call of the Wild.
Painting and Architecture
Realism in Painting
Winslow Homer depicted natural scenes realistically.
Thomas Eakins portrayed working-class lives.
Henry Hobson Richardson
Influenced architecture with medieval Romanesque styles.
Louis Sullivan
Merged function and aesthetic in skyscraper design.
Foundations for Change
Although laissez-faire policies prevailed, groundwork for future reforms and cultural change was covered in the 1880s and 1890s, as critics and artists shaped middle-class perspectives towards alternatives in economy and society.
Topic 6.11: Reform in the Gilded Age
Early Reforms and Challenges
Early efforts by farmers to regulate railroads and by workers to unionize largely failed.
Reform ideas gained traction through an educated middle class.
Awakening of Reform
Severe poverty among working-class families inspired middle-class social consciousness.
Reform movements from earlier in the century strengthened in the 1880s and 1890s.
Social Criticism Literature
Henry George (1879): Criticized laissez-faire economics in Progress and Poverty, proposing a single tax on land for wealth inequality.
Edward Bellamy (1888): Envisioned a cooperative society in Looking Backward, 2000-1887.
Religious Adaptation to Social Issues
Roman Catholicism: Grew from immigrants, leaders like Cardinal Gibbons supported labor rights.
Protestant Responses: Dwight Moody adapted Christianity to urban life; the Salvation Army provided basic needs.
The Social Gospel Movement: Many clergy promoted social justice; Walter Rauschenbusch linked the movement with Progressive reform.
Social Work and Urban Strain
Settlement workers, like Jane Addams at Hull House, advocated for child labor laws, housing reform, and women's rights.
Urban pressures increased divorce rates and reduced family size as children became economic liabilities.
Women’s Suffrage Movement
Actively promoted by middle-class women post-Seneca Falls Convention (1848).
NAWSA: Founded by Stanton and Anthony in 1890; women gained voting rights in some states.
Temperance Movement
Recognized excessive drinking among factory workers as detrimental.
WCTU founded in 1874 advocating total abstinence; had 500,000 members by 1898.
Urban Reforms and Political Advocacy
Nationwide efforts to combat city corruption emerged, with Theodore Roosevelt also aiming to clean up police corruption in NYC.
Responses in Literature and Arts
American writers reacted to industrial challenges:
Realism and Naturalism: Twain (greed and racism), Crane (urban brutality), London (nature vs. civilization).
Realism in Painting: Homer (natural scenes), Eakins (working-class lives).
Architecture: Richardson (medieval Romanesque), Sullivan (function and aesthetic in skyscrapers).
Foundations for Change
Although laissez-faire policies prevailed, groundwork for future reforms and cultural change was laid in the 1880s and 1890s.