APUSH UNIT 6 STUDY GUIDE

6.1: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

CIRCA. (1860s-1890s)

TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROADS. Two newly incorporated railroad companies divided the task of the transcontinental railroads. The Union Pacific, consisting of thousands of war veterans and Irish immigrants, started from Omaha, Nebraska and built westward across the Great Plains. Meanwhile, the Central Pacific company, led by Charles Crocker and an assembly of 6,000 Chinese immigrants, started from Sacramento, California and built eastward with the risks posed by the Sierra Nevada mountains. On May 10, 1869, the two railroads were joined at Promontory Point, Utah. 

             → IMPORTANCE? Led to further railroad development. In 1883, three other transcontinental railroads were completed. The Southern Pacific connected New Orleans and Los Angeles. The Northern Pacific linked Duluth, Minnesota and Seattle, Washington. Finally, Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe tied Kansas City and Los Angeles. In 1893, a fifth was constructed, the Great Northern, that linked St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington.

COMPETITION AND CONSOLIDATION. During speculative bubbles, railroads were overbuilt. Railroads also suffered from mismanagement and fraud. Speculators often entered the railroad business for quick profits, selling off assets and watering stock. In ruthless competitions, railroad companies competed by offering discounts and rewards to favored shippers while charging high delivery rates to customers such as farmers.  

           → RESULTS? The Financial Panic of 1893 nearly led the railroad companies into bankruptcy. Several bankers, such as J. Pierpoint Morgan, swiftly acted to prevent bankruptcy and consolidate them. With competition eliminated, they stabilized rates and reduced debts. By 1900, seven systems controlled nearly two-thirds of the nation’s railroads. Consolidation proved to be beneficial, though it led to regional railroad monopolies due to the bankers controlling the boards.

THE STEEL INDUSTRY,  Began in the 1850s, after both British Henry Bessemer and American William Kelly discovered a method to produce high-quality steel. Leadership of the fast-growing industry passed to Andrew Carnegie. In the 1870’s, he started manufacturing steel in Pittsburg and maintained a successful business compared to his competitors, mainly due to his salesmanship and innovative technology. 

              → IMPORTANCE?  Carnegie asserted a business strategy known as vertical integration, where one company would control every stage of the industry process, from mining raw material to transporting final goods. By 1900, Carnegie Steel had an employment of 20,000 workers and produced more steel than all British mills.

THE OIL INDUSTRY. In 1859, Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well in Pennsylvania. In 1863, young John D. Rockefeller founded an oil company set to control all national oil refiners, eliminating potential competition. Rockefeller took charge by employing the latest technologies and efficient practices. Simultaneously, he extorted discounts from the railroad companies and temporarily cut kerosene prices to force rival companies out of business. 

              → IMPORTANCE? By 1881, Rockefeller’s company, Standard Oil Trust, controlled 90% of oil refineries in the U.S. The trust was composed of various companies, representing the horizontal integration strategy. Controlling the supply and prices of oil products increased Standard Oil Trust profits and Rockefeller’s fortune, the latter amounting to $900 million upon retirement. Also, the company's elimination of waste in kerosene production kept consumer prices low.

ANTITRUST MOVEMENT, The middle class feared the trusts’ “unchecked power” and urban elites resented the increased influence of the “new rich.” After failing to stop trusts on a state level, reformers appealed to Congress and presented the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, which prohibited “the forming or combination of trusts, or conspiracy in restraint of trade and commerce.” 

              → IMPORTANCE? It was vaguely worded and did not provide a clear solution to the issues resulting from trusts. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled the Antitrust Act could only apply to commerce, not to manufacturing. Due to this, the U.S Department of Justice did not make many convictions.

LAISSEZ-FAIRE CAPITALISM. Ideology of capitalism originated from Adam Smith’s The Wealth of the Nations (1776), who argued that business should be regulated by the “invisible hand” of supply and demand rather than the government. The government kept its “hands off” and allowed the economy to be driven by self-interests to offer improved goods and services at low prices.

SOCIAL DARWINISM. Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection in biology was used in the arguments of economic conservatives. Led by Herbert Spencer, an English social philosopher, several groups argued for a form of Social Darwinism, where the ideas of natural selection and the survival of the fittest applied to the marketplace. Spencer believed the concentration of wealth in the “fittest” hands benefited society. Yale Professor William Graham Sumner argued against aiding the poor, claiming it would “interfere with the laws of nature” and would weaken evolution by helping the “unfit.” 

GOSPEL OF WEALTH. Religion was used to justify the wealth of industrialists and bankers. For example, John D. Rockefeller, who frequently applied the Protestant work ethic in his life, concluded that his riches were attributed to God, bestowed upon Rockefeller by God. Reverend Russell Conwell preached that everyone had a duty to be rich in his lecture, “Acres of Diamonds.” Andrew Carneigie’s article claimed the wealthy had a God-given duty to engage in civic philanthropy for the benefit of society.

6.2: LABOR & UNION FORMATION

CIRCA. (1870s-1890s)

LABOR DISCONTENT. Industrial workers were assigned one task due to the new assembly line strategy which was deemed more efficient; however, this led to labor life being monotonous and many grew unhappy. To add, immigrants from abroad and rural migrants had to learn to work under tyranny around the clock. Many industries, such as railroad construction and mining, were known for dangerous working conditions such as chemical exposure that caused respiratory illnesses and early death. 

                → NOTABLE OPPOSITION? Industrial workers began to rebel against these unsafe conditions by missing work or quitting. The rate of employment change became every three years for labor workers. About 20% of factory workers left the industry entirely.

INDUSTRIAL WARFARE. Increased labor discontent led to a rising fear of open warfare between capital and labor. Management held its own against organized labor movements, with strikers being easily replaced by strikebreakers (scabs) – unemployed persons desperate for work. Other methods management used to defeat unions ranged from the following: 

                  → (1) The Lockout - closing factories before unions occurred.

                  →(2) Blacklists – creating lists of pro-unions workers and sharing it with other companies.

                  → (3) Yellow-Dog Contracts – a contract that a worker must sign upon employment that legally prevents them from forming or joining a union. 

                 → (4) Legal Aid - state military called in to end strikes, or getting court orders against strikes. 

                 → (5) Propaganda - claimed unions to be un-American and anarchists (rebels). They won most battles against unions due to state and federal support. 

GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE OF 1877. One of the worst outbreaks of labor violence in the century. Occurred due to an economic depression which led to railroad companies cutting wages to reduce costs. The strike began on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad before spreading across 11 states and shutting down two-thirds of the country’s railroad tracks. Railroad workers were joined by 500,000 other industrial workers in an escalating national strike.

                 → IMPORTANCE? For the first time since the 1830’s, the president used federal troops to end labor violence. The strike and violence ended, though resulted in more than 100 casualties. After the strike, some employers listened to the grievances of workers and improved wages and working conditions, while others hardened their treatment of worker organizations.

NATIONAL LABOR UNION. Founded in 1866 and was the first attempt at organizing all workers – skilled and unskilled, agricultural and industrial – in all states; it had around 640,000 members by 1868. This union both championed for better wages and working conditions while also seeking a broader social program. They sought equal rights for women and African Americans, monetary reform, and federally employed workers. It lost support after the economic depression and strikes in the 1870’s.

KNIGHTS OF LABOR. Founded in 1869, acted as a second national labor union in secret to avoid detection from employers. Led by Terence V. Powderly, the union went public in 1881 and grew in popularity, with membership open to women and African-Americans. The union sought various reforms such as: (1) corporations making each man “his own employer,” (2) abolition of child labor, and (3) abolition of trusts and monopolies. It lost support after the Haymarket riot in Chicago in 1886 due to negative public opinion.

HAYMARKET BOMBING. In response to the May Day labor movement calling for a general strike in Chicago, labor violence broke out at the McCormick Harvester Plant. On May 4th, workers held a public meeting which police attempted to break up, resulting in someone throwing a bomb, killing seven police officers; this person remains unidentified. Despite this, anarchist leaders were tried for the crime and seven were sentenced to death. Due to the bombing, many Americans began to view the union movement as violent. 

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR. Instead of reformation, the AFOFL focused on narrower economic goals. It was founded in 1886, with Samuel Gompers leading the 25 craft unions under one umbrella until 1924. It focused on improved wages and working conditions. Gompers directed laborers to walk out until employers were open to contract negotiation. By 1901, AFOL was the largest union organization with 1 million members.

HOMESTEAD STRIKE. The manager of Carneigie’s Homestead Plant near Pittsburgh, Henry Clay Frick, caused a strike when he cut wages by nearly 20%. Frick restored to methods of lockout, private guards, and strikebreakers to defeat the steelworkers’ five month walkout. This hindered union movement progress in the Steel industry until the 1930’s.  

PULLMAN STRIKE. In  1894, George Pullman, the owner of a railroad train-car construction company, announced a general cut in wages and fired the leaders of the worker’s union who tried to negotiate with him. Workers at Pullman appealed to the American Railroad Union for help, and their leader Eugene V. Debs ordered workers to not handle any trains with Pullman’s cars. The union’s boycott became an issue in rail transportation across the nation. Railroad owners supported Pullman by linking his cars to mail trains and appealed to President Grover Cleveland, persuading him to mobilize the military to keep the mail trains running. 

                  → IMPORTANCE? A federal court ordered the workers to abandon the boycott and the strike. In response to the union’s resistance, leaders were arrested and jailed, ending the strike. In the case of in re Debs (1895), the Supreme Court approved court order junctions against strikes, giving employers a powerful tool to break unions. Debs was released after six months and later founded the American Socialist Party, believing socialism to be the radical solution to cure labor issues.

6.3: SOCIAL & CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

CIRCA. (1860s-1890s)

THE MINING FRONTIER. The California Gold Rush was the beginning of the fever for mineral resources such as gold and silver, aiding in settlement of the region. A series of gold and silver strikes in the areas now known as Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, and South Dakota kept a steady stream of migrants into the western mountains. Rich strikes became boomtowns overnight; however, several of these areas became ghost towns after the mineral resources were all collected.

CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT OF 1882. About one-third of western miners in the 1860s were Chinese immigrants. Native-born Americans resented the competition for employment. Due to political pressure from western states, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S. 

              → IMPORTANCE? Chinese immigration to the U.S remained hindered until 1965. This was the first major act of Congress that severely restricted immigration on the basis of race and nationality.

THE CATTLE FRONTIER. Economic potential of vast grasslands extending from Texas to Canada was recognized following the Civil War. By the 1860s, wild herds of approximately 5 million heads of cattle roamed freely over Texas grasslands; the accessibility of the cattle and grass made the Texas cattle business efficient. Moreover, the construction of railroads into Kansas sparked the markets of the Texas cattle business, with the first stockyards for cattle auctioning being built in Abilene, Kansas. There, cattle were sold between $30 and $50 each. Dodge City and other “cow towns” emerged along the railroad to manage the millions of cattle brought up the Chisholm Trail from Southern Texas. 

                 → IMPORTANCE? Ultimately, the business was hindered in the 1880s. Overgrazing destroyed the available land and weather occurrences, such as the winter blizzard and drought of 1885-1886, killed 90% of the cattle. Another factor was the arrival of homesteaders, whose fencing decreased available land.

THE FARMING FRONTIER.The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged farming on the Great Plains by offering 160 acres of public land to families who settled for more than five years. However, issues quickly arose after settlement. The extreme weather, large grasshopper population, water scarcity, and loneliness proved to be challenges. As a solution, the invention of barbed wire allowed families to fence off their land, limiting grasshopper invasions. Also, mail-order windmills were used to drill wells to provide water relief.

               → IMPORTANCE?    Still, families discovered 160 acres was not enough farming land, and with unpredictable weather and fluctuating crop prices, homestead farms quickly failed – thousands lost their lives. Those who managed to survive adopted “dry farming” and deep plow techniques to take advantage of available moisture.

WESTERN NATIVES. In New Mexico and Arizona, Pueblo groups such as the Hopi and Zuni lived in permanent settlements as farmers. In the Southwest, the Navajo and Apache people were nomadic hunter-gatherers who adapted a settled way of life, farming and raising livestock while being artisans. In the Pacific Northwest of Washington and Oregon, the Chinook and Shasta tribes developed complex fishing communities. Meanwhile, two-thirds of tribes lived on the Great Plains, including the: Sioux, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Crow, and Comanche. They became skillful horse riders and centered their hunting on buffalo. 

RESERVATION POLICY. First established in the 1830’s by then-President Andrew Jackson. Specific areas of land in the west, called reservations, were set aside for eastern Native American tribes. They were removed from their ancestral territories on the eastern coast and forced to migrate west, where Jackson deemed “an Indian country,” primarily to facilitate westward expansion and minimize conflicts with white settlers. Despite these defined boundaries, Plains tribes refused to restrict their movements and trailed buffalo wherever they roamed.

INDIAN WARS. Settlement of thousands of western miners, ranchers, and homesteads led to war. Fighting between U.S troops and Plains Natives were frequently brutal, with the U.S military executing several massacres and acts of genocide. Following these wars, another round of treaties were proposed that isolated Plains Natives to smaller reservations with government agents promising their support. However, gold miners refused to leave Native land due to it fostering minerals. Soon, tribal chiefs denounced the treaties and returned to their ancestral homes. 

INDIAN APPROPRIATION ACT OF 1871. Ended the recognition of tribes as independent nations by the federal government and nullified all prior treaties. This began a new round of conflicts including the Red River War against the Comanche in the southern plains and the second Sioux War in the northern plains. The U.S Army consistently forced the tribes to comply with Washington’s terms, despite the frequent resistance and small victories of the tribes. 

              → NOTABLE OPPOSITION? The last effort of the Natives was their religious movement known as the Ghost Dance, which the government sought to suppress. In December of 1890, the U.S Army killed more than 200 Native women, men, and children in the massacre of the Wounded Knee. This marked the end of the Indian Wars.

ASSIMILATIONISTS. Helen Hunt Jackson wrote a book, A Century of Dishonor (1881), which detailed the mistreatment of Native Americans. Although it created sympathy for Native Americans, it also generated support for the ending of Native American culture through assimilation. 

               → IMPORTANCE? Reformers sought formal education, job training, and conversion to Christianity in an effort to end Native traditions. They constructed boarding schools to segregate Native American children and teach White culture, farming, and industrial skills.

DAWES SEVERALTY ACT OF 1887. Designed to break up tribal organizations, with Americans believing it restrained Natives from becoming “civilized” and law-abiding citizens. It divided tribal lands into plots of a maximum 160 acres, depending on family size. U.S citizenship was bestowed on those who resided on the land for 25 years and adopted habits deemed as “civilized.” 

              → IMPORTANCE? The new policy proved to be a failure. By the 20th century, disease and poverty reduced the Native American population to just 200,000 persons under the control of the federal government.

6.4: THE “NEW” SOUTH

CIRCA. (1860s-1900)

ECONOMIC PROGRESS. Marked by the growth of cities, the textual industry, and improved railroads. Cities such as Birmigham, Alabama developed into a national steel producing city and Memphis, Tennessee became renowned as the South’s leading lumber producer. Richmond, Virginia became the epicenter of the nation’s tobacco industry. Moreover, Georgia and the Carolina states overpowered the New England states and became the leading producers of textiles. The South employed almost 100,000 white workers in their cotton mills and their railroad companies developed rapidly.

CONTINUED POVERTY. Despite these advancements and remarkable growth, the South remained largely agricultural and the poorest national region. 

                → IMPORTANCE? Northern capitalists who owned two-thirds of Southern railroads and large portions of the Southern steel industry were partly to blame. However, two other factors were responsible for Southern poverty: (1) the South’s late industrialization and (2) an uneducated workforce. Very few southern workers held the technological skills needed for the industrialized equipment. Furthermore, there was little political support in the South for increased accessibility to education for the poor. 

AGRICULTURE. The South’s economy remained tied to cotton production. This proved to be an issue when the abundance of available cotton caused their value to decrease, leading many farmers to lose their farms after receiving no profit. By 1900, more than half of White farmers and two-thirds of Black farmers were living as sharecroppers in poverty. A shortage of credit forced sharecroppers to borrow materials from merchants and be in their debt (mortgage). 

                → NOTABLE OPPOSITION? Discontent led to the rise of reformation organizations. The Farmers’ Southern Alliance held more than 1 million members. A separate organization for African Americans, the Colored Farmers’ National Alliance, held about 250,000 members. Both organizations campaigned to alleviate the economic struggles of farmers. Despite their collective goal, the boundaries of segregation and racial discrimination stood in the way of success.

SEGREGATION. Democratic politicians, known as redeemers, reclaimed positions in Southern government through the support of the business community and White Supremacists. The latter favored policies that reinforced segregation: public facilities separating Black and White people for the purpose of treating freed African-Americans as social inferiors. 

               → IMPORTANCE? Redeemers focused on race during political events to draw attention away from farmers’ economic struggles and faltering agriculture. 

DISCRIMINATION. In 1883, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress could not legislate against racial discrimination practiced by private citizens, which included railroads, hotels, and other businesses used by the public. Later, the court case of Plessy v. Ferguson led to the Court upholding the Louisiana law of “separate by equal accommodations” for Black and White passengers on railroads, ruling there was “no violation” of the 14th Amendment. This generated more segregation policies, the Jim Crow laws, adopted in the 1870s. These laws enforced segregated washrooms, fountains, benches, and other public facilities.

LOSS OF CIVIL RIGHTS. Other discriminatory laws resulted in the disfranchisement (disqualification) of Black voters by 1900. More suffrage obstacles consisted of literacy tests, poll taxes, and Whites-only political primaries. Also, various southern states adopted grandfather-clauses, meaning voters were only allowed to cast their ballot if their grandfather had voted before Reconstruction. 

             → IMPORTANCE? The Supreme Court enabled these laws, even proclaiming the literacy test as necessary to ensure voters are “competent” and qualified.

RESPONSES TO RACIAL INJUSTICE. Different reactions stemmed as a result of the legislative discrimination and societal violence. 

             → (1) Confrontation: Ida B. Wells, an editor of the Memphis Free Speech, campaigned against the widespared lynching of African-Americans and the Jim Crow Laws; she received death threats and her printing press was demolished, forcing her North. 

             → (2) Migration: Bishop Henry Turner formed the International Migration Society to help Black citizens emigrate to Africa. 

             → (3) Accommodation / Adapting: Booker T. Washington established the Tuskegee Institute, an industrial and agricultural school for African Americans. Washington also founded the National N**ro Business League to support Black businesses throughout the U.S.

6.5: IMMIGRATION & MIGRATION

CIRCA. (1880-1910)

GROWTH OF IMMIGRANTS. Higher immigration rates due to increased “pushes” and “pulls”, negative factors forcing citizens to flee their countries and positive factors attracting them to the U.S. 

             → IMPORTANCE? Negative “pushes” that drove Europeans to emigrate included: (1) displacement of poor farmers due to political conflicts and industrialized farming, (2) overcrowding and joblessness in cities due to increased population, and (3) religious persecution. Meanwhile, positive “pulls” towards immigrating to the U.S included: (1) political and religious freedom, (2) economic opportunity, and (3) inexpensive one-way ship tickets.

OLD IMMIGRANTS. Originally from the British Isles, Germany, and Scandinavia. They were notably Protestant, although many Irish and German immigrants were Catholics. Their primary language was English and their high level of literacy and occupational skills allowed for easy assimilation into rural American society in the early 1800s.

NEW IMMIGRANTS. Immigration began from the 1890s and continued through WW1, stemming from southern and eastern Europe. They were Italian, Greek, Coatian, Slovakian, Polish, and Russian. Most were poor and illiterate persons who had left autocratic countries and thus unaccustomed to democratic governance. Unlike the “old immigrants,” these newcomers were Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, and Jewish. Most settled in poor neighborhoods throughout major cities such as New York and Chicago.

RESTRICTING IMMIGRATION. Other than the Chinese Exclusion Act, other immigration policies began to arise. In 1882, a restriction came on “undesirable persons” such as paupers, criminals, convicts, and those who were diagnosed as “mentally incompetent.” In 1885, the Contract Labor Act restricted temporary workers to “protect” American workers. Other restrictions included a literacy test for immigrants in the late 1910’s and the opening of Ellis Island in 1892, where rigorous medical inspections were held and a tax for immigrants was to be paid.

6.6: URBANIZATION

CIRCA. (1880-1900)

STREETCAR CITIES. Improvements in urban transportation caused the birth of cities, and later streetcar cities. In such, residents lived miles away from employment and commuted to work on horse-drawn streetcars. By the 1890s, horse-drawn and cable cars were replaced by trolleys, railroads, and subways which made further commutes possible, as well as the building of steel suspension bridges (ex: Brooklyn Bridge in NYC). 

SKYSCRAPERS. Increased land values dictated the construction of taller buildings. These structures were made possible due to innovation, such as the Otis elevator and a heating system that meant radiators in every room. By 1900, steel-framed skyscrapers dominated American urban skylines.

ETHNIC NEIGHBORHOODS. As wealthy citizens migrated into more affluent neighborhoods away from businesses, the poor swiftly made residence. To increase their profits, tenants divided inner-city housing into small, windowless rooms. The resulting tenement apartments, considered slums, could house more than 4,000 people on one city block. To alleviate the unsafe living conditions, New York City enacted a policy where each room have a minimum of one window. However, overcrowding and filth led to the spread of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and tuberculosis. 

            → IMPORTANCE? In these overcrowded quarters, different immigrant groups created ethnic neighborhoods, where each group maintained their own culture, language, church, religion, and social club.

RESIDENTIAL SUBURBS, Five factors encouraged wealthy Americans to move to the suburbs: (1) large amounts of land at affordable prices, (2) inexpensive railroad travel, (3) low-cost construction methods, (4) ethnic and racial prejudice, and (5) American fondness for privacy, nature, and individual houses. America became the world’s first suburban-centric nation. 

PRIVATE VS. PUBLIC CITY. Increasing crime, waste, disease, and pollution prompted reform-minded urban residents and city governments to seek water purification, sewage systems, water disposal, street lighting, police departments, and zoning laws to regulate urbanization. In 1900, the “City Beautiful” movement advanced plans to beautify American cities, incorporating tree-lined boulevards, public parks, and public cultural attractions.

6.7: SOCIETAL REFORMATION

CIRCA. (1880-1900)

BOOKS OF SOCIAL CRITICISM. In 1879, journalist Henry George published a provocative book that caused readers to critically analyze the effects of the laissez-faire economy. He highlighted the alarming inequalities in wealth caused by industrialization, proposing a solution to poverty: replace all taxes with one land tax. In 1888, Edward Bellamy wrote about his ideal future where poverty, greed, and crime was eliminated from society.

              → IMPORTANCE? Both encouraged a change in American public opinion away from idealizing a laissez-faire economy and toward one with more government regulation.

SETTLEMENT HOUSES. Well-educated men and women, concerned for the lives of the poor, settled into immigrant communities to understand their struggles – these were called settlement houses. They taught English to immigrants, paved the way for childhood education, taught industrial arts, and established neighborhood theaters and music schools.

SOCIAL GOSPEL. During the 1880’s and 1890’s, Protestant clergy supported the cause of social justice for the poor, especially those in urban areas. They frequently preached the importance of applying Christian principles to social problems, known as the Social Gospel. 

RELIGION & SOCIETY. All religions adapted to the stresses and challenges of urban living. Roman Catholicism support grew due to an influx of new immigrants. Catholic leaders inspired the support of immigrants, both new and old, by defending the Knights of Labor and their cause for organized labor. Protestant Dwight Moody helped generations of urban evangelists adapt traditional Christianity to city life. Imported from England in 1879, the Salvation Army preached Christian gospel while providing basic necessities to the poor.

URBAN SOCIETY FAMILIES. Urban life placed strains on families as there was further isolation from extended family and village support. Divorce rates increased to 1 in 12 marriages by 1900, mostly due to state laws expanding reasoning for divorce to include cruelty and desertion. There was also a reduction in family size, with children being an economic liability. 

WOMEN’S VOTING RIGHTS. In 1890, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony founded the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) to secure the vote for women. Wyoming, a western state, was the first to grant full suffrage to women in 1869. By 1900, women were allowed to vote in local elections and most were allowed to control property after marriage.

TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT. Excessive drinking by male factory workers was a leading cause for poverty in immigrant and working class families. In 1874, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union was formed and advocated for the complete abstinence of alcohol, maintaining 500,00 members under Frances E. Willard’s leadership. Meanwhile, the Antisaloon League was founded in 1893 and influenced 21 states to shut down all saloons and bars.

6.8: INTELLECTUAL & CULTURAL REFORM

CIRCA. (1880s-1900)

PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Elementary schools taught reading, writing, and arithmetic and the traditional values promoted in the standard texts. The number of enrolled students drastically increased after education laws required children to attend school. As a result, literacy rates increased to 90% of the population by 1900. The concept of kindergarten was borrowed from Germany and became popular. 

              → IMPORTANCE? There was growing support for tax-supported public schools.

HIGHER EDUCATION. Increased number of U.S colleges due: (1) land-grant colleges established under the federal Morrill Acts (1862 & 1890), (2) universities founded by wealthy philanthropists, (3) the founding of colleges for women. By 1900, 71% of colleges admitted women who represented ⅓ of the campus population. The college curriculum greatly changed by the late 1800’s and social activities, fraternities, and intercollegiate sports were added.

SOCIAL SCIENCES. The application of the scientific method and theory of evolution in human affairs changed the study of human society in the late 1800’s. New fields emerged under the term “social sciences,” which included: psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science. Evolutionary theories influenced leading sociologists, political scientists, and historians to study the dynamics of actual human behavior rather than just assumptions.

THE PROFESSIONS. Also, scientific theory and methodology impacted the work of doctors, educators, social workers, and lawyers. Oliver Wednell Holmes Jr. argued that law should evolve with modern advancements and not be restricted by legal precedents and decisions of the past. Meanwhile, Clarence Darrow claimed criminal behavior is influenced by a person’s struggles, such as with poverty or neglect and abuse. 

           → IMPORTANCE? These changes in professions led to progressive legislation and liberal reform.

REALISM. Several books following the Civil War were romantic pieces that idealized heroes and heroines. However, a new swarm of writers adopted the technique known as realism, which focused on the realistic cruelty of life’s conditions. An example of an author who used realism was Bret Harte, who depicted the rough life of miners in the West. 

NATURALISM. A literary technique that focused on how emotions and experience shaped human experience; it was used by a younger generation of emerging writers. An example of an author who used naturalism was Theodore Dresier, who wrote Sister Carrie (1900) which depicted a poor working girl in Chicago, shocking the moral sensations of the U.S.

6.9: CONTROVERSIES OVER GOVERNMENT ROLE

CIRCA. (1870s-1900)

CIVIL SERVICE REFORM. President Garfield’ assassination caused the Congress to remove certain government jobs from party patronage. The Pendleton Act of 1881 set up the Civil Service Commission and created a system where applicants for federal jobs would be chosen by scores on competitive exams. The law also prohibited civil servants from making political contributions. Applied to only 10% of federal jobs but expanded until now almost all jobs are classified.

MONEY QUESTION, Long standing debate on how to expand the money supply for economic growth in a stable environment. Debtors, farmers, and start-up businesses wanted “softer” money in circulation since this would allow them to: (1) borrow money at lower interest rates and (2) pay off loans easily with inflated money. Meanwhile, bankers, creditors, investors, and established businesses wanted “harder” money in circulation. This meant they wanted dollars supported by gold as it would challenge inflation. 

GREENBACK PARTY. Creditors and investors attacked the use of unbacked paper money as a violation of natural law. In 1875, Congress withdrew all greenbacks from circulation. Supporters of paper money formed the Greenback Party. In the congressional election of 1878, Greenback candidates gathered nearly 1 million votes, and 14 members were elected to Congress. The Greenback Party ended in the 1870’s but their mission did not.

DEMANDS FOR SILVER MONEY. In the 1870’s, Congress also removed the coining of silver; critics branded this the Crime of 1873. Silver discoveries of Nevada revived demands for the use of silver in money supply. The Bland Allison Act, a compromise law, was passed which allowed the limited coinage of 2-4 million in silver each month with a gold to silver ratio of 16:1. Still, silver supporters were not satisfied and continued to press the issue.

TARIFF ISSUE. In the 1890’s, tariffs supported half of federal revenue. During the Civil War, Republicans raised tariffs to protect the U.S industry and fund the Union government. After the war, Democrats (Northern and Southern) argued against high tariffs as they raised prices on consumer goods. Results of protective tariffs was that other nations placed tariffs on American goods (meaning less international sales). 

6.10: POLITICS

CIRCA. (1870s-1900)

ELECTION OF 1888. Democrats campaigned for Grover Cleveland and a lower tariff while Republicans campaigned for Benjamin Harrison and a higher tariff. Republicans argued that a low tariff would destroy business prosperity, using fear to gain campaign support amongst big businesses and Northern workers.

                → IMPORTANCE? President Cleveland won the popular vote but loss to Harrison’s voting sweep throughout the North, making Benjamin Harrison the 23rd U.S President.

BILLION-DOLLAR CONGRESS. For the next two years, Republicans controlled the presidency and both houses of Congress. During this time, the Congress was incredibly active and passed the first billion-dollar budget in U.S history. It enacted the following:

                → (1) The Mckinley Tariff of 1890: raised tariffs on foreign products by more than 48%.

                → (2) The Sherman Antitrust Act: prohibited restraints of interstate trade and competition in the marketplace.

                → (3) The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890: increased the coinage of silver, though not by much.

               → (4) Increased monthly pensions to those affected by the Civil War (veterans, widows, and orphans).

                → (5) A bill to protect African American voting rights; passed by the house but defeated by the Senate.

RETURN OF THE DEMOCRATS. In the congressional elections of 1890, voters, specifically those hailing from the midwest, replaced a majority of Republicans with Democrats. This was primarily done due to discontent with unpopular measures taken by Republicans: the banning of alcohol and laws requiring businesses to close on Sundays. 

OMAHA PLATFORM. Provided the foundation for the Populist Party. In 1892, various state delegates met in Omaha, Nebraska to draft a political platform and nominate candidates for presidency and vice presidency. Their Omaha Platform called for political and economic reform. 

                → Politically - they sought an increase in common voter power through: (1) direct popular election of senators and (2) using initiatives that allowed citizens to vote on proposed laws. 

                → Economically - (1) unlimited coinage of silver, (2) graduated income tax (the wealthy have higher taxes), (3) public ownership of railroads, (4) federally-owned telegraphs and telephone systems, (5) loans and federal warehouses for farmers, and (6) eight-hour work days for industry workers.

ELECTION OF 1892. James Weaver of Iowa, the Populist presidential candidate, won more than 1 million votes and 22 electoral votes. However, the Populist Party drastically lost in the South and failed to attract Northern urban voters. Meanwhile, the two majority parties maintained Harrison (Republican) and Cleveland (Democrat) as their candidates once again. 

                 → IMPORTANCE? This time, Grover Cleveland won in both the popular and electoral votes, becoming the first U.S president to be reelected serving two nonconsecutive terms.

PANIC OF 1893. The stock market crashed as a result of speculation and overbuilding, leading many railroads to go into bankruptcy. The depression continued for four years, with farm foreclosures increasing and unemployment reaching 20%. 

              → IMPORTANCE? President Cleveland addressed the issue by supporting the gold standard and enforcing the “hands-off” economy.

GOLD RESERVE. A decline in silver prices led investors to trade their silver dollars for gold dollars. The gold reserve decreased to dangerously low levels and President Cleveland saw no other solution but to revoke the Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1890); this failed to stop the gold drainage. He then asked Wall Street banker J.P Morgan to borrow $65 million in gold to support the gold standard; this led Americans to believe the government was only for the wealthy.