Comprehensive Review of Reconstruction, Gilded Age, and US Economic History

Reconstruction Policies and Enforcement Strategies

 - The federal government used the United States Army to enforce Reconstruction policies in the former Confederate states following the Civil War.  

- Southern states were essentially forced to follow Reconstruction laws because they lost the Civil War and the US Army remained in the South during this period.  

- Federal government help for rebuilding cities devastated by the war was contingent upon states following Reconstruction laws enforced by the military.  

- Reconstruction is viewed as having a limited period where it was truly successful and effective.  

- The Reconstruction Amendments are famously grouped as a "package deal" or "trilogy":    

- The $13^{th}$ Amendment: Abolished slavery; associated with Abraham Lincoln, who held a comparatively lenient view on Reconstruction before his assassination.   

 - The $14^{th}$ Amendment: Established citizenship for former slaves and anybody born in the United States; the broad language was intended to ensure no one could deny citizenship to former slaves.    

- The $15^{th}$ Amendment: Granted voting rights specifically to African American men.  

- Effects of black suffrage: Black men were elected to local and federal positions, including the US Congress and US Senate, during a brief window when the federal government actively supported Reconstruction.

- Resistance and the Rise of the KKK:    

    - The Ku Klux Klan emerged to violently intimidate black people into second-class citizenship and reinforce white supremacy.    

    - President Ulysses S. Grant used the military aggressively to shut down the KKK and force it into nonexistence during Reconstruction.  

- Key Legislation and Organizations:    

    - The Freedmen's Bureau: Provided job training, hospitals, financial aid, and notably, education for former slaves of all ages.    

        - Funding for the Freedmen's Bureau was vetoed by Andrew Johnson.    

    - Civil Rights Act of $1867$: Protected civil rights for former slaves; it was enforced in the short term by the US Army but not in the long term.  

- The End of Reconstruction:    

    - Local control was eventually regained by "Redeemer" Southern Democrats who sought to redeem their "lost cause."    

    - They instituted Black Codes, which eventually evolved into Jim Crow laws characterized by segregation.    

- The Election of $1876$ and the Compromise of $1877$: To get Republican candidate Robert v Hayes elected, a deal was struck to remove the US Army from the South, returning local control to pre-war authorities.    

- Following $1877$, the federal government shifted toward a Laissez-faire approach, losing interest in active day-to-day state governing.    

# The Gilded Age Economy and Industrialization  

- Focus: Rise of big businesses and monopolies.  - Philosophy: Laissez-faire (government taking a step back).  - Key Figures ("Captains of Industry" or "Robber Barons"): Carnegie, Rockefeller, J.B. Morgan, and Vanderbilt.  - Innovation and Industry:    - Railroads: The first big national industry and a catalyst for a massive economic boom.    - Ripple effects were seen in the steel, coal, and lumber industries.    - Impact on Farmers: While potentially helpful, railroads primarily hurt small, local farmers in the long term.  - Labor and Society:    - Labor unions like the AFL (American Federation of Labor) developed to protect workers' rights.    - Corruption and Lobbyists: Perceptions of inappropriate connections between wealthy industrialists and the federal government led to the rise of lobbyists.    - Immigration: A massive wave of immigration occurred, linked in a "chicken and the egg" cycle with economic growth.    # Economic Cycles: Booms, Busts, and Transitions  - Panic of $1819$: The first big economic recession/crash, occurring during the Era of Good Feelings and the start of the Market Revolution.  - Civil War Transition: A period of mass production for war materials ($kJ\,mol^{-1}$ levels of energy not applicable here, but economic energy was high), which led to prosperity in the North.  - Roaring Twenties: Appeared prosperous but was built on credit lines and failed to adjust from a wartime economy.  - The Great Depression: The biggest economic collapse in US history, eventually addressed via New Deal programs and government regulation.  - Post-World War II Boom: A period of high prosperity in the $1950$s, characterized by massive suburbanization.  - $1970$s Economy: Characterized by stagflation and economic recession.  - Neo-conservative Response ($1980$s): Reaganomics and a shift toward conservative economic policies.  - $1990$s: A time of economic prosperity driven by the "Tech Boom," the internet, and computer expansion.    # Jacksonian Democracy and the Populist Movement  - The Corrupt Bargain of $1824$: A supposed (unproven) deal between Henry Clay (Whig) and John Quincy Adams ($JQA$). Jackson won the popular vote but lacked the electoral majority; the House of Representatives ($Henry Clay$ as Speaker) elected Adams, and Clay became Secretary of State.  - Jackson's Populism: Jackson used the "Corrupt Bargain" to appeal to the "common man" in $1828$, arguing the federal government was unfair.  - Populist Party ($1880$s-$1890$s):    - Proposed radical changes for the time: bimetallism, direct election of senators (which eventually happened), and federal regulation or nationalization of railroads.    - Composed primarily of farmers in the West and South.    - Modern connection: Both modern parties use populist rhetoric to claim they represent the average American.    # Religious Awakenings and Social Reforms  - First Great Awakening ($1730$s-$1750$s): Focused on individuality and questioning authority, leading to revolutionary sentiment; uniquely American and independent of British influence (e.g., Jonathan Edwards).  - Second Great Awakening: A motivator for Antebellum reforms.  - Connected Christianity with social justice and helping neighbors.  - Influenced the Abolition movement and Women's Rights.    # Road to the Civil War  - The primary driver was the expansion of slavery into Western territories.  - Major political/economic flashpoints:    - Missouri Compromise.    - Compromise of $1850$.    - Kansas-Nebraska Act (led to Bleeding Kansas and the birth of the Republican Party).    - Mexican Cession (post-Mexican-American War) and the California Gold Rush.    # American Imperialism  - Context: Overlaps with the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, but imperialism is international while the Progressive Era is domestic.  - Motivators: Desire for international markets and resources to fuel industrial growth; the closing of the continental frontier.  - Key Events/Concepts:    - Spanish-American War: Led to US control in the Philippines.    - Annexation of Hawaii.    - Monroe Doctrine: Warned Europeans to stay out of the Western Hemisphere.    - Roosevelt Corollary: Asserted the US as the world's police force, using military force (Big Stick Diplomacy/Great White Fleet) to enforce the Monroe Doctrine.    - Dollar Diplomacy (Taft) and Moral Diplomacy (Wilson).    # Early Republic and Native American Policy  - Government Structures:    - Articles of Confederation: Weak federal government; failed to handle Shays' Rebellion.    - Constitution: Stronger government; successfully handled the Whiskey Rebellion.  - Native American Relations:    - Pontiac's Rebellion: Led to Britain's Proclamation of $1763$ to avoid colonist-native conflict.    - Indian Removal/Trail of Tears: Enforced under Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren.    - Dawes Act ($1880$s-$1890$s): Forced choice between assimilation or reservations.    # Questions & Discussion  - Question (Ethan): Mentioned the KKK.    - Response: Confirmed their role in violent intimidation and their suppression by Grant.  - Question (Taylor): Regarding Prohibition and the economy.    - Response: Illegal activity (bootlegging, speakeasies) was detrimental because the government couldn't tax or regulate it; Prohibition was ended partly so the government could tax alcohol during the Depression.  - Question (Christian): Regarding Neoconservatives and Goldwater.    - Response: Neoconservative ideology is based on Goldwater's ideas; he provided the thematic continuity for that movement.  - Question (Jack): Regarding the significance of Populism.    - Response: Many Populist ideas (like direct election of senators) eventually became law, and their rhetoric remains a staple of American politics.  - Question (Scott): Regarding National Identity and the War of $1812$.    - Response: Post-$1812$ nationalism confirmed independence but also complicated the identity of the "American experience," which some believed included the right to own slaves.  - Question (Ray): Regarding Reconstruction's presence on the exam.    - Response: It has been a significant part of the exam multiple times in the last $10$ years.