Economy grew at a tremendous rate
People known as "captains of industry" (or "robber barons") became extremely rich and powerful
Owned and controlled new manufacturing enterprises

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Industrialization: introduction of faster machines in manufacturing leading to economies of scale and decreased cost per unit.

Assembly line production: employees performing repetitive tasks leading to increased efficiency but also dangerous working conditions and long working hours.
Corporate Consolidation: large businesses resulting from economies of scale and lack of government regulations, leading to monopolies and holding companies.
Horizontal Integration: combining smaller companies within the same industry to form a larger company through legal buyouts or illegal practices.
Vertical Integration: one company buys out all the factors of production from raw materials to finished product, still allowing competition in the marketplace.
Problems with Consolidation: required large amounts of money leading to financial panics and bank failures, public resentment, and government response in the form of antitrust legislation.
Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890: law forbidding "restraint of trade" combination, ambiguous wording leading to pro-business Supreme Court interpretation.
U.S. v. E. C. Knight Co. 1895: Court ruled that E. C. Knight, controlling 98% of the sugar refining plants, did not violate the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Gospel of Wealth: idea that wealth should be used for the betterment of society and not just for personal gain, advocated by Andrew Carnegie.

Factories and City Life

Factories were established in cities in the 19th century to reduce labor costs and maximize profits
Women and children were hired, as well as newly arrived immigrants in search of work
As a result, the cities suffered from poverty, crime, disease, and a lack of livable housing
Factories were dangerous, and there was no insurance or workmen's compensation
Middle class moved away to nicer neighborhoods, leaving mostly immigrants and migrants in the city
Majority of immigrants arrived from Southern and Eastern Europe starting from 1880
Ethnic neighborhoods, tenements were common, and minorities faced prejudice and limited job opportunities
Municipal governments were practically nonexistent, and services for the poor were provided by churches, private charities, and ethnic communities, or by corrupt political bosses
Bosses helped the poor find homes, jobs, apply for citizenship, and voting rights but at a high cost of criminal means
William "Boss" Tweed of Tammany Hall in New York City was a notorious political boss who embezzled millions of dollars through corruption
Widespread misery in cities led to the formation of labor unions to improve treatment of workers
Labor unions were considered radical and faced opposition from the government, businesses, and the courts
==Knights of Labor was one of the first national labor unions, founded in 1869==
Goals of the Knights of Labor included an 8-hour workday, equal pay for equal work, child labor laws, safety and sanitary codes, federal income tax, and more.

Knights of Labor

Advocated arbitration over strikes
Became increasingly violent in efforts to achieve goals
Popularity declined due to violence and association with political radicalism
Terrence Powderly, failed strikes, and Haymarket Square Riot contributed to decline
Public saw unions as subversive and violent

Homestead Steel Strike

Workers protested wage cut, refusal to form a union
Factory manager Henry Clay Frick locked out workers, hired replacements, and called in Pinkerton Detective force
Clash between Pinkertons and workers led to deaths and retreat of Pinkertons
Pennsylvania state militia ended strike, Frick hired new workers

Pullman Palace Car Factory Strike

Workers faced wage cut, increased housing costs
American Railway Union joined the strike, 250,000 railway workers walked off job, shutting down rail travel in 27 states
ARU president Eugene Debs refused to end strike despite court order
Debs convicted and jailed, became leader of American Socialist Party after release

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Samuel Gompers, focused on bread and butter issues, higher wages and shorter workdays
Excluded unskilled workers, confederation of trade unions
Refused to accept immigrants, Black people, women among membership

Charitable Middle-Class Organizations

Lobbied local governments for building safety codes, better sanitation, public schools
Founded and lived in settlement houses in poor neighborhoods
Community centers providing schooling, childcare, cultural activities
Jane Addams, Hull House in Chicago, awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1931

Improvement of Life

Wealthy and middle class improved while poor suffered
Access to luxuries, leisure time, popular diversions like sports, theater, vaudeville, movies
Growth of newspaper industry with Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst
Sensational reporting, yellow journalism became popular.

Jim Crow Laws and Other Developments in the South

Advances in the Machine Age

Primarily affected northern cities

South During Machine Age

Agriculture continued as main form of labor
Textile mills and tobacco processing plants emerged
Majority of Southerners remained farmers

Postwar Economics in the South

Many farmers forced to sell land
Wealthy landowners bought and consolidated into larger farms
Landless farmers (Black & white) forced into sharecropping
Crop lien system designed to keep poor in debt
Unscrupulous landlords kept poor in virtual slavery

Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Compromise Speech

Outlined hope for drawing near to white race
Pledge for patient, sympathetic help of Black race
Call for higher good (blotting out of racial animosities)
Desire for absolute justice and law obedience

Jim Crow Laws

Federal government exerting less influence
Numerous discriminatory laws passed by towns and cities
Supreme Court ruled Fourteenth Amendment did not protect Blacks from private discrimination
1883 - Court reversed Civil Rights Act of 1875
1896 - Supreme Court ruled “separate but equal” facilities were legal

Integration and Equal Rights

A far-off dream for most Black people
Booker T. Washington: Born into slavery, no illusions of white society accepting Blacks as equals
Promoted economic independence as means to improve Black lot
Founded Tuskegee Institute for vocational and industrial training for Black people
Accused of being an accommodationist
Refused to press for immediate equal rights
Reality of his time set his goals

Booker T. Washington vs. W. E. B. Du Bois

Washington's Atlanta Exposition speech
Washington viewed as submissive by Du Bois
Du Bois referred to speech as "The Atlanta Compromise"

The Railroads and Developments in the West

Ranchers and miners were growing industries in the western frontier
Ranchers drove their herds across the western plains and deserts, disregarding property rights and Native American rights to the land
Miners prospected for rich mines and sold their rights to mining companies when found
Lincoln challenged America to have a Transcontinental Railroad connecting the country within a decade (1863-1869)
Railroad construction was paid for by the public but the rail proprietors resisted government control of their industry
Railroad companies organized massive buffalo hunts, which nearly led to extinction of the species and caused conflict with Native Americans
Rails transformed depot towns into cities and facilitated faster travel, contact with ideas and technological advances from the East, and contributed to the Industrial Revolution
Rails also brought standardization of time telling through "railroad time" and time zones
==Statehood of North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho was achieved by 1889==
The result of the 1890 census prompted Turner's Frontier Thesis, which argued that the frontier shaped the American character, spirit, democracy, and provided a safety valve for urban areas
In the Great Plains, farming and ranching were the main forms of employment, aided by new farm machinery and mail-order retail
The Homestead Act and Morrill Land-Grant Act were passed by the federal government to attract settlers and develop the West
Agricultural science became a large industry in the US
The Nez Perce tribe in Oregon was forced to migrate to a reservation in Idaho, leading to resistance by Chief Joseph
With families and corporations heading West, government and conservation groups sought added protection of natural resources
U.S. Fish Commission was established to protect fish species, which led to the creation of National Parks and Forest Services.

National Politics

Gilded Age of American Politics:

Era between Reconstruction and 1900
Dubbed by Mark Twain
America appeared prosperous but wealth built on poverty of many
Shiny exterior of politics hiding corruption and patronage
Political machines, not municipal governments, ran cities
Big business bought votes in Congress and fleeced consumers
Workers had little protection from employer greed
Presidents were generally not corrupt but weak
Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur focused on civil service reform
Grover Cleveland believed in minimal government intervention
Benjamin Harrison and allies passed major legislation (meat inspection act, banning lotteries, battleships)
Activism led to public discomfort and return of Cleveland to White House

Regulating Business and Government:

First attempts at regulation in response to widespread corruption
States imposed railroad regulations due to price gouging
1877 Supreme Court upheld state law regulating railroads in Munn v. Illinois
Precedent for regulation in public interest established
1887 Congress passed first federal regulatory law (Interstate Commerce Act)
Set up the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to regulate railroad activities
ICC was active until deregulated by Reagan administration in 1980s

Women's Suffrage:

Became an important political issue
Led by Susan B. Anthony
Bill introduced to Congress every year
Fight began in earnest
American Suffrage Association fought for state suffrage amendments
Partial successes achieved in gaining the vote on school issues
==Women gained right to vote with 19th Amendment in 1920 (50 years after male suffrage)==

The Silver Issue and the Populist Movement

Post-Civil War Era:

Increased production in both industrial and agricultural fronts
Drop in prices due to greater supply
Farmers faced trouble due to fixed payments in long-term debts
Farmers supported increased money supply for easier payments and inflation
Banks opposed the plan, preferring gold-backed money supply
Farmers' plan called for liberal use of silver coins (supported by western miners and midwestern/southern farmers)
Issue had elements of regionalism and class strife

Grange Movement and Farmers' Alliances:

Grange Movement founded in 1867, with over a million members by 1875
Cooperatives for farmers to buy machinery and sell crops as a group
Political endorsement and lobbying for legislation
Replaced by Farmers' Alliances, allowing women's political activism
Grew into political party People's Party (political arm of Populist movement)
Other groups formed by minority farmers (e.g. Las Gorras Blancas, Colored Farmers' Alliance)

People's Party:

1892 convention, with platform called the Omaha Platform
Call for silver coinage, government ownership of railroads and telegraphs, graduated income tax, direct election of senators, shorter workdays
1892 presidential candidate James Weaver received over 1 million votes
Populist goals gained popularity during the financial crisis of 1893-1897

Granger Laws:

Granger laws regulated the railroads in the 1870s and 1880s

Populist Movement:

1896 Populists backed Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan
Bryan ran on platform of free silver, loosening control of northern banking interests
Republicans allied with big businesses, McKinley received huge contributions from large companies
Bryan lost election, Populist movement declined with improved economy
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Foreign Policy: The Tariff and Imperialism

Before the Civil War

Most Americans earned their living through farming
No federal income tax until 16th Amendment in 1913
Tariff was a huge controversy

Tariff of Abominations & Nullification Crisis

Tariff of Abominations (1828) caused Nullification Crisis during Jackson's first administration

Tariff after Civil War

Tariff dominated national politics
Industrialists demanded high tariffs to protect domestic industries
Farmers and laborers hurt by high tariffs
Democrats supported lower tariffs
Republicans advocated high protective tariffs

Tariff Laws

McKinley Tariff (1890) raised duties on imported goods almost 50%
Wilson-Gorman Tariff (1894) resembled McKinley Tariff
Tariff issue dominated congressional debate and had impact on foreign relations

Spanish-American War

Wilson-Gorman Tariff considered one of the causes of the Spanish-American War

Theodore Roosevelt

Assistant Secretary of Navy in 1898 during Spanish-American War
Ordered U.S. Pacific Fleet to Philippines, then led volunteer regiment in Cuba

Machine Age and American Production

American production capacity grew rapidly
America looked overseas for new markets due to increased nationalism and search for new markets

Expansionism & Imperialism

William H. Seward set precedent for increased American participation in Western Hemisphere
American businesses developed markets and production in Latin America, gained political power in region
Expansionism (business in regions) supported by most Americans, imperialism (control of another country) more controversial

Influence of Sea Power

Book by Captain Alfred T. Mahan, "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History" (1890) popularized idea of the New Navy
Successful foreign trade relied on access to foreign ports, colonies, and strong navy
After upgrading ships, U.S. turned attention to foreign acquisitions

U.S. Interest in Hawaii

Search for port along trade route to Asia attracted U.S. to Hawaii
American involvement began in 1870s with American sugar producers trading with Hawaiians
Hawaii economy collapsed in 1890s due to U.S. tariffs and dependence on trade with U.S.
White minority overthrew native government, U.S. annexed Hawaii, angering Japan (40% of Hawaii's residents were Japanese descent)
Cuban natives revolted against Spanish control, instigated by U.S. tampering with the Cuban economy
Cuban civil war followed and reported in detail by the Hearst newspaper
The explosion of American warship Maine in Havana harbor led to war with Spain
U.S. drove Spain out of Cuba and Philippines in the Spanish-American War
Spain ceded the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris
U.S. claimed it wouldn't annex Cuba through Teller Amendment, but troops stayed and made Cuba include Platt Amendment in its new constitution
Platt Amendment granted U.S. control over Cuba's foreign affairs, U.S. troops eventually left in 1934 during FDR's administration
Control of the Philippines raised the question of annexation or independence
Arguments for annexation: Europe would conquer Philippines, U.S. moral obligation to "Christianize and civilize" Filipinos
Arguments against annexation: promote independence and democracy, U.S. no better than British tyrants they overthrew
Senate voted to annex the Philippines by a close margin, but Filipino nationalists responded with a guerrilla war
U.S. used brutal tactics to subdue the revolt and inflicted casualties on the civilian population
The U.S. granted the Philippines independence in 1946
The question arose as to the legal status of the native population in newly acquired territories, "Does the Constitution follow the flag?"
Supreme Court ruled through Insular Cases that the Constitution didn't follow the flag and Congress could administer each overseas possession as it chose
America hoped to gain entry into Asian markets through McKinley's Open Door Policy