The Gilded Age, the New South, and Industrial Expansion Flashcards

The Gilded Age and the Rise of Corporations

• The Gilded Age marks the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the proliferation of giant corporations.

• There was a significant shift in the relationship between the government and corporations. The government is corporate in nature and generates substantial revenue from this system, while frequently avoiding the enforcement of policies that would require employers to pay workers fairly.

• The post-Civil War Republican-led Congress allied extensively with big business. A key component of this alliance was a high tariff policy designed to tax imported goods and protect domestic industry.

• Laissez-Faire ideology defined the era's stance on government regulation. The term is a French phrase meaning "let them do as they will," advocating for little to no business regulation. Business magnates, often referred to as Robber Barons, frequently bribed politicians or offered significant campaign contributions in exchange for the maintenance of a laissez-faire environment.

The Economic and Social Transformation of the New South

• The Lost Cause Myth: This narrative sought to sanitize the history of the Civil War and the old South. It was promoted by Southern apologists who harbored a deep hatred for Reconstruction.

• The New South Vision: Advocated prominently by Henry Grady, this movement sought to transform the South by replacing the plantation system with small farms and pursuing rapid industrialization.

• Emerging Southern Industries:

  • Textile Industry: The mill system in the South became so successful that it eventually overtook the textile mills in the North. These mills frequently utilized child labor.

  • Tobacco Industry: Washington Duke, a former Confederate soldier, established the American Tobacco Company ($ATC$).

  • Coal Industry: Appalachian coal production saw massive growth, increasing from $5,000,000$ to $49,000,000$ tons.

  • Iron and Steel: Mining for iron to be used in steel production became a major industry, particularly in Alabama.

  • Lumber and Urbanization: The lumber industry contributed to the expansion of Southern urbanization.

• Redeemers: Southern Democrats who advocated for a diversified economy. However, they also utilized terror groups and fraud to maintain power.

• Failings of the New South Economy:

  • Crop-Lien System: A post-war economic system where landowners and merchants dictated what was planted, sold, and harvested. Creditors provided supplies, food, and clothing in exchange for a portion of the future harvest.

  • Sharecropping: This system involved workers who owned no land but worked on farms in exchange for shelter and supplies. Sharecroppers shared a portion of their crops with the landowner. It is characterized as "disguised slavery," and by the late $19^{th}$ century, $80\%$ of those in the system were sharecroppers.

  • Cotton Prices: Cotton prices plummeted as production soared. Additionally, Britain began sourcing its cotton from its colonies in India, reducing the global demand for Southern cotton.

Political Disenfranchisement and the Rise of Jim Crow

• The Mississippi Plan ($1890$): This involved state constitutional amendments specifically designed to take away the franchise (the right to vote). Requirements included:

  1. Residency requirements.

  2. Disqualification from voting for certain crimes.

  3. Proof that all taxes had been paid.

• Grandfather Clause: First enacted in Louisiana in $1898$ (and later in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, and Oklahoma by $1910$), this allowed individuals to vote only if their grandfathers had been eligible to vote in $1867$. This effectively bypassed voting restrictions for white citizens while blocking Black citizens whose ancestors were enslaved at that time.

• Resistance to the $15^{th}$ Amendment: Although the $15^{th}$ Amendment ($1870$) guaranteed voting rights for Black men, Southern leaders like Benjamin Tillman (Governor of South Carolina) used fraud and violence to disenfranchise them, scapegoating Black citizens for Southern problems.

• The Spread of Segregation:

  • The Civil Rights Act of $1875$ was struck down by the Supreme Court in $1883$. The court argued that the $14^{th}$ Amendment only guaranteed civil rights in state institutions, not private ones.

  • Plessy v. Ferguson ($1896$): Originating from an $1890$ Louisiana law requiring segregated train cars, Homer Plessy (a man who was $1/8$ Black) refused to leave a "whites only" car. The Supreme Court ruled that states had the right to segregate public places, establishing the precedent of "separate but equal."

  • Jim Crow Laws: Named after a popular Blackface song and dance, these laws mandated segregation in churches, cemeteries, water fountains, and other public facilities. Black public facilities were rarely equal to those for whites. Lynchings became a common spectacle and norm in the South during this era.

Expansion and Life in the New West

• Factors for Expansion: The completion of transcontinental railroads, the removal of Native American threats, and abundant natural resources led to the rise of commercial farms, cattle ranching, and western mining.

• Homestead Act ($1862$): A policy passed by Congress providing $160$-acre plots of land for free to individuals who worked and improved the land.

• The Migratory Stream: Millions of Anglo-Americans, Black Americans, Mexicans, South Americans, Europeans, and Chinese immigrants transformed Western society.

  • Chinese Immigration: Over $200,000$ Chinese immigrants arrived in California between $1876$ and $1890$, though they faced intense discrimination and were denied citizenship.

  • Exodusters: Thousands of Black migrants moved West to Kansas between $1890$ and $1894$. This movement was promoted by Benjamin Singleton, a former slave who purchased large tracts of Kansas land.

• Mining and Statehood: The California Gold Rush ($1849$) established mining as a primary motivator for migration. Colorado became a hotbed for gold and silver between $1858$ and $1894$. The demand for stability led to the admission of many territories as states between $1876$ and $1812$.

• The Cattle Boom: Joseph McCoy, an Illinois livestock dealer, purchased $250$ acres in Abilene, Kansas, in $1867$. It became a major hub for the cattle business by $1871$, connected by railroad lines through Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana.

• Vaqueros: Spanish-speaking workers taught Anglo-Americans ranching techniques in Texas. Cowboy crews were diverse, including individuals of Hispanic, Black, and Native American backgrounds, though Anglo workers were generally paid more.

The Second Industrial Revolution and Technological Advancement

• Three Key Factors Facilitating the Revolution:

  1. Modern transportation and communication systems, including railroads and telegraph lines.

  2. The creation of electrical power, which enabled the expansion of urban centers.

  3. Improved industrial processes achieved through scientific research.

• The Railroad Revolution: The Pacific Railway Acts ($1862-1864$) authorized the construction of the North-central transcontinental route.

  • The Union Pacific built from East to West, employing ex-slaves, ex-soldiers, and various immigrants.

  • The Central Pacific built from West to East, primarily employing Chinese workers.

  • The two lines met in the Utah Territory at the "Golden Spike."

  • "Hell on Wheels" referred to the mobile encampments and towns that followed railroad construction.

• Communications and Light:

  • Alexander Graham Bell: Invented the telephone in $1876$ and established the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).

  • Thomas Edison: Known as the most famous inventor of the $19^{th}$ century with $1,039$ patents. While Joseph Swan made an early lightbulb three years prior, Edison perfected it and created the first practical lightbulb in $1879$.

Big Business and the Rise of Industrial Giants

• Evolution of the Corporation: Corporations became large business entities that separated company ownership (shareholders) from management. They were chartered by state governments and raised money through the sale of stock shares.

• John D. Rockefeller: Founded the Standard Oil Company in $1870$, which became the largest oil refiner in the nation. He utilized Horizontal Integration, a strategy where a dominant corporation buys out or forces out competitors to monopolize an industry.

• Andrew Carnegie: A poor Scottish immigrant who became the superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad before entering the steel industry. He used the Bessemer converter to mass-produce steel. By $1892$, Carnegie Steel Co. was the largest industrial corporation in the world.

• Gospel of Wealth: An ideology authored by Carnegie arguing that the wealthy had a responsibility to use their riches for the greater good.

• J.P. Morgan: Born into a wealthy banking family, he established J. Pierpont Morgan & Co. in New York in $1857$. He specialized in investment banking, consolidating businesses and buying stocks. He eventually formed U.S. Steel, the first billion-dollar corporation.

Organized Labor and Working-Class Conflict

• Labor Demographics: During the Gilded Age, many industries primarily hired women and unskilled children. By $1900$, approximately $2,000,000$ children were employed.

• Knights of Labor ($1870s$): A labor union that accepted all workers, regardless of skill level. They advocated for an $8$-hour workday and equal pay for equal work. By $1886$, the group had $700,000$ members.

• Mother Jones: An Irish immigrant and former schoolteacher who became a prominent organizer for the Knights of Labor. She spent $30$ years recruiting workers and was instrumental in the fight for child labor laws, including raising the minimum working age in Pennsylvania.

• Haymarket Riot ($1886$): A protest in Chicago involving $40,000$ workers demanding an $8$-hour workday. A bomb was thrown at police, leading to the deaths of officers and protestors. The riot led to the eventual collapse of the Knights of Labor, and its leaders were arrested and memorialized as martyrs.

• American Federation of Labor (AFL): Founded by Samuel Gompers in $1886$, the AFL distinguished itself by only accepting artisans or skilled workers. Gompers focused on "concrete economic gains" such as higher wages and better working conditions rather than political extremism.

• Pullman Strike ($1894$): George Pullman laid off $3,000$ employees and slashed wages by $25-40\%$ due to an economic depression in $1893$. Workers joined the American Railway Union, led by Eugene Debs. The strike shut down Midwest railroads until it collapsed under government pressure.

Native American Resistance and Forced Assimilation

• Sioux Uprising ($1862$): Triggered by U.S. settlers breaking treaties in Minnesota. The Sioux nation conducted raids, leading to military intervention. The U.S. hanged $38$ Sioux leaders and disestablished several reservations.

• Sand Creek Massacre ($1864$): Following the death of a white family in Colorado, Governor John Evans ordered the death of hostile Indian tribes while promising safety to the friendly Cheyenne and Arapaho. Colonel Chivington and $700$ militia men ignored this, savagely massacring $250$ peaceful Native Americans.

• Great Sioux War ($1876$): Sparked when the U.S. claimed the Black Hills. The war consisted of $15$ battles across Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. The Battle of Little Bighorn was a major Sioux victory where Colonel George Custer was killed. However, reinforcing U.S. troops eventually forced the Sioux to surrender by $1890$.

• Dawes Act ($1887$): A policy of forced "Americanization" or assimilation. Native American land was cut into individual farm plots and given to families to encourage farming like white Americans. Excess land was sold to white settlers.

• Indian Schools: Institutions like the Carlisle School were used to force Native Americans to adopt American culture. Students were forbidden from practicing Native customs, traditions, or speaking their own languages.

• W.E.B. Du Bois was a prominent African-American sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist.

• He was a co-founder of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in 1909.

• Du Bois advocated for the