6.1-6.4 APUSH

Unit 6 - Period 6: 1865-1898

Contextualizing Period 6

Learning Objectives

• Explain the historical context for the rise of industrial capitalism in the United States from 1865 to 1898.

• Explain the historical context for increased international and internal migration in the United States during the same period.

Historical Overview

• From the end of the Civil War in 1865 to the start of the Spanish-American War in 1898, the U.S. emerged as the world’s largest economy.

• Expansion of railroads exceeding 45,000 miles per decade.

• The Gilded Age featured "captains of industry" controlling large corporations and amassing significant wealth.

Economic Changes

• Capital-intensive large-scale industries such as railroads and mining emerged.

• European investors with surplus wealth funded U.S. industries through stock and bond sales.

• New York City became the financial hub, housing banks and leading industrialists (e.g., Astors, Vanderbilts).

• Advances in technology fueled productivity and led to the second industrial revolution, with over 440,000 patents filed between 1860-1890.

• The meatpacking and steel industries were vital to connecting markets via railroads and telegraph communications.

Political Changes

• Pro-growth government policies favored American businesses, protecting property rights and avoiding regulation.

• High tariffs sheltered domestic industries and subsidized railroads via land grants and loans.

• Minimal government response to worker and consumer issues, leading to social inequities and economic depressions.

Migration and Urbanization

• Economic opportunities in growing cities led to a surge of internal migration from rural areas and waves of international immigrants (especially from Southern and Eastern Europe and Asia).

• Industrialization led to unplanned urban growth, resulting in inadequate sanitation, environmental degradation, and law enforcement issues.

• While migrants endured poverty, the middle class experienced leisure time and new urban cultural developments (sports, music, theater).

Reform Efforts

• Reform movements emerged in response to economic changes; workers and farmers demanded modifications in the economy and political structures.

• Organized campaigns for higher wages, voting rights, and temperance emerged.

• Many reform attempts initially failed, yet they laid the groundwork for 20th-century reforms.

Landmark Events from 1850-1900

• Critical judicial and legislative decisions occurred:

  • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): legalized segregation.

  • The Supreme Court banned immigration from China (1882).

  • The establishment of Standard Oil by John D. Rockefeller (1870).

  • Completion of the first transcontinental railroad (1869).

Topic 6.2 - Westward Expansion: Economic Development

Historical Context of Settlement

• Post-1865 settlement patterns differed markedly from earlier periods due to industrialization.

Transcontinental Railroads

Importance

• Railroads accelerated settlement and linked the nation, establishing a national market.

• The Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads were pivotal in connecting the East and West, culminating in completion at Promontory Point, Utah (1869).

Economic Impact of Railroads

• Development of new towns and ranches to support the increasing population and economic growth.

• However, the railroads’ expansion also caused environmental harm and natural resources disruption, notably harming indigenous populations.

The Mining Frontier

• Following the California Gold Rush, numerous mining rushes occurred across states like South Dakota and Nevada, prompting settlement.

• Mining boomtowns emerged, exemplifying rapid economic development linked to mining resources.

The Cattle Frontier

• Texas cattle ranching became prominent post-Civil War, supported by railroads that facilitated the cattle drives to market.

• However, overgrazing, harsh winters, and the emergence of fenced ranches curtailed cattle drives by the 1880s.

The Farming Frontier

• The Homestead Act of 1862 incentivized settlement by offering land to families.

• Farmers faced significant hardships, including environmental challenges and economic pressures leading to widespread failure.

Farmers Organize

• Economic distress spurred farmers to form alliances and organizations advocating for change (Lower tariffs, graduated income tax, direct senator elections).

Topic 6.3 - Westward Expansion: Social and Cultural Development

Social Changes in the West

• Contrary to earlier beliefs of a raw frontier, the West was multi-ethnic, with Native Americans, Mexican Americans, and Asian immigrants shaping society.

• The Oklahoma land rush (1889) represented the closing of the frontier, leading to significant social upheaval.

Impact of Frontier Settlement

• Frederick Jackson Turner’s thesis argues that the settlement process fostered unique American characteristics, including individualism.

• The emergence of towns was essential for frontier development, altering traditional influx patterns.

American Indian Policies

Violent Encounters

• Government policies often led to violence against indigenous tribes, notably through conflicts over land and resources.

• The Dawes Act (1887) aimed at assimilating Native Americans into mainstream society through land allotment.

The Ghost Dance Movement

• A religious movement among Native Americans that aimed to restore former prosperity and traditions faced suppression by the U.S. government; culminating in the Wounded Knee Massacre (1890).