1754 v. 1763
1754: The beginning of the French and Indian War, sparked by France's advancement into the Ohio River Valley. The early failures of the British and Colonialist fighters showed America's dependence on Britain for military strength. This was the first war fought in the American colonies, and ignited the kindling of American discontent when taxations rose in response to battle costs.
1763: The Treaty of Paris saw the end of the French and Indian war in favor of the British. The British received Canada from France and Florida from Spain, but permitted France to keep its West Indian sugar islands and gave Louisiana to Spain.
Best Choice: 1763- Washington emerged as a political and military leader in the Colonies, the threats of foreign presences to the North and South were removed, and expansion into the Mississippi Valley was made possible.
1763 v. 1776
1763: The Treaty of Paris saw the end of the French and Indian war in favor of the British. The British received Canada from France and Florida from Spain, but permitted France to keep its West Indian sugar islands and gave Louisiana to Spain.Washington emerged as a political and military leader in the Colonies, the threats of foreign presences to the North and South were removed, and expansion into the Mississippi Valley was made possible.
1776: The US issues the Declaration of Independence, listing their grievances with British rule. George Washington crosses the Delaware, the war for American Independence began.
Best Choice: 1776- The USA emerged as wanting independence and united under their escape from British oppression and rule, with themes of freedom and independence echoing in philosophical ideals and European revolutions.
1789 v. 1800
1789: Bill of Rights is made, Washington is inaugurated as President, congress passes its first tax, the US Army is constitutionally formed.
1800: Jefferson is elected as President after running against John Adams, signaling the end of the Federalist party; US capital moved from Philadelphia to Washington. The first peaceful transition of power is made in US history. Quasi-War was ended between the US and Britain against the French Republic and Spain.
Best choice: 1789- Washington is made the first president of the United States, setting precendences that shaped the manners of US politics. America is challenged with constructing a functioning government, the success or failure of which decides the fate of the nation and it's position in world politics.
1828 v. 1844
1828: JQA signs Tariff of Abominations, which sparked the Nullification Crisis in South Carolina (starting feelings of sectionalism), two party system is established, Jacksonian Democracy is on the rise.
1844: Polk is elected, beginning the sentiments of Manifest Destiny with expansion into Oregon territory and push towards annexing Texas.
Best Choice: 1844- The early pushed towards expansionism and the election of Polk led to a shifting American ideology and the evolution of America's size, political tactics, and mentalities.
1848 v. 1850
1848: US ends the Mexican-American War with the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo, gold is found in California, Zachary Taylor is elected president, Seneca Falls Convention is held
1850: Henry Clay introduces Compromise of 1850 for slavery, California enters as a free state, Fugitive Slave Act is passed (overturning Missouri Compromise), Free States gain balance in the Senate, Territories of New Mexico and Utah are created, Millard Fillmore is sworn in as president.
Best choice: 1850- This year set the stage for the beginnings of hostile tension between North and South, the Compromise of 1850's impact reduced to little. The slavery question and constant teetering of balance between slave and free further divided the nation.
1860 v. 1865:
1860: Abraham Lincoln is elected, prompting the beginnings of succession of the Lower South, with other states' succession being proved inevitable.
1865: 13th Amendment is passed, American Civil War is ended with the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomatax Court House, Reconstruction Era begins, Abraham Lincoln is assassinated, Andrew Johnson steps up as President, the KKK is formed.
Best Choice: 1865- with the end of the Civil War and the assassination of President Lincoln, America was on the edge of a huge change. Reconstruction would bring about numerous changes for America and African-Americans particularly, launching the United States into a struggle for civil rights and economic struggle alike.
1865 v. 1877:
1865: 13th Amendment is passed, American Civil War is ended with the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomatax Court House, Reconstruction Era begins, Abraham Lincoln is assassinated, Andrew Johnson steps up as President, the KKK is formed.
1877: Military Reconstruction ends, Compromise of 1877, a purported informal, unwritten deal that settled the intensely disputed 1876 U.S. presidential election, pulled federal troops out of state politics in the South, and ended the Reconstruction Era.
Best Choice: 1865- with the end of the Civil War and the assassination of President Lincoln, America was on the edge of a huge change. Reconstruction would bring about numerous changes for America and African-Americans particularly, launching the United States into a struggle for civil rights and economic struggle alike.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Primary Sources
Women in the Guilded Age
1. This cartoon depicts the societal dangers of allowing women to vote, displaying a man holding a baby, two women smoking cigars, and a sign claiming that suffragettes are "man tamers".
2. The intended audience is males in American society, as an attempt to emphasis the societal discord that would ensue with allowing women to vote.
3. The point of view here is misogynistic and vehemently against the women's rights movement; the author might have this view due to, historically, the systematic oppression and disenfranchisement of women in Western civilization.
4. This document can be linked to second and third wave feminism in the late twentieth century, the treatment of women in virtually any European country, the legal struggle for African American voting rights, and the social struggle to ensure African American voting rights during the Civil Rights Movement.
5. This document brings to mind the Seneca Falls Convention and the works of the Women's Christian Temperance Union to gain suffrage.
Immigrants in the Gilded Age
(Full speech: http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/view/4579679?n=3&printThumbnails=no)
1. The speaker is raising the issue of whether or not the Geary Law, which extended the Chinese Exclusion Act, was fairly discussed and debated so as to allow for complete acknowledgment of morality and labor.
2. The intended audience is the House of Representatives and sympathizers of the Chinese.
3. The document establishes an understanding point of view of the Chinese, which possibly stems from a strong moral compass and a doubt in the ethnics of denying the Chinese the right to receive bail in habeas corpus proceedings, the right to bear witness, and forcing them to carry a resident permit (without which there would be a year of deportation or forced labor).
4. This can be linked to American and European Imperialism, the Civil Rights Movement, and the 13th through 15th Ammendments.
5. This document brings to mind the forced labor of the Chinese in building the Transcontinental Railroad.
African Americans in the Gilded Age
1. This demonstrates the gradual progression of African Americans in society, especially the advancements made in higher education.
2. The intended audience is African Americans who are yearning for more opportunities to advance within their community and seek higher education.
3. The point of view established here is pro-civil rights; this could be a result of being able to see past the racist guises of America and the harmful effects of Imperialism.
4. This can be connected to the Civil Rights Movement, the 13th, 14, and 15th Amendments, the Reconstruction Era, and Horace Mann.
5. This document brings to mind the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Case that ended all legal segregation in America, including segregated schools.
1. This cartoon depicts the societal dangers of allowing women to vote, displaying a man holding a baby, two women smoking cigars, and a sign claiming that suffragettes are "man tamers".
2. The intended audience is males in American society, as an attempt to emphasis the societal discord that would ensue with allowing women to vote.
3. The point of view here is misogynistic and vehemently against the women's rights movement; the author might have this view due to, historically, the systematic oppression and disenfranchisement of women in Western civilization.
4. This document can be linked to second and third wave feminism in the late twentieth century, the treatment of women in virtually any European country, the legal struggle for African American voting rights, and the social struggle to ensure African American voting rights during the Civil Rights Movement.
5. This document brings to mind the Seneca Falls Convention and the works of the Women's Christian Temperance Union to gain suffrage.
Immigrants in the Gilded Age
(Full speech: http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/view/4579679?n=3&printThumbnails=no)
1. The speaker is raising the issue of whether or not the Geary Law, which extended the Chinese Exclusion Act, was fairly discussed and debated so as to allow for complete acknowledgment of morality and labor.
2. The intended audience is the House of Representatives and sympathizers of the Chinese.
3. The document establishes an understanding point of view of the Chinese, which possibly stems from a strong moral compass and a doubt in the ethnics of denying the Chinese the right to receive bail in habeas corpus proceedings, the right to bear witness, and forcing them to carry a resident permit (without which there would be a year of deportation or forced labor).
4. This can be linked to American and European Imperialism, the Civil Rights Movement, and the 13th through 15th Ammendments.
5. This document brings to mind the forced labor of the Chinese in building the Transcontinental Railroad.
African Americans in the Gilded Age
1. This demonstrates the gradual progression of African Americans in society, especially the advancements made in higher education.
2. The intended audience is African Americans who are yearning for more opportunities to advance within their community and seek higher education.
3. The point of view established here is pro-civil rights; this could be a result of being able to see past the racist guises of America and the harmful effects of Imperialism.
4. This can be connected to the Civil Rights Movement, the 13th, 14, and 15th Amendments, the Reconstruction Era, and Horace Mann.
5. This document brings to mind the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Case that ended all legal segregation in America, including segregated schools.
Interpreting Seconday Sources- The Immigrant Experience
1. The title is "The Immigrant Experience in the Gilded Age".
2. This document is by Roger Daniels.
3. Daniels is addressing the incorporation of immigration in with the prevailing themes of the Gilded Age- industrialization, social darwinism, etc.- and how these translated into the twentieth century.
4. The influx of immigration during the Gilded Age can be characterized most noticeably in it's volume, ethnic groups, and it's influence in the later restrictions of immigrations.
5. "Between 1866 and 1900, 13,259,469 immigrants were recorded as entering the United States. On the one hand, these thirty-four years saw the entry of a larger number of persons, by far, than had come to the United States and the British North American colonies in the previous two and one-half centuries; on the other hand, nearly as many persons, 12,928,517, would come in the next fourteen years."
2. This document is by Roger Daniels.
3. Daniels is addressing the incorporation of immigration in with the prevailing themes of the Gilded Age- industrialization, social darwinism, etc.- and how these translated into the twentieth century.
4. The influx of immigration during the Gilded Age can be characterized most noticeably in it's volume, ethnic groups, and it's influence in the later restrictions of immigrations.
5. "Between 1866 and 1900, 13,259,469 immigrants were recorded as entering the United States. On the one hand, these thirty-four years saw the entry of a larger number of persons, by far, than had come to the United States and the British North American colonies in the previous two and one-half centuries; on the other hand, nearly as many persons, 12,928,517, would come in the next fourteen years."
"By the beginning of the Gilded Age, immigrants already were concentrated heavily in certain American regions and cities. According to the 1870 census close to one-half of all immigrants lived in the Northeast, which had less than one-third of the nation's population."
"All Gilded Age immigrant groups shared certain experiences and problems. They benefited from the great industrial expansion that provided employment for most of their breadwinners, and they suffered from the contractions in the business cycle that convulsed each of the century's last three decades. Those who entered the United States during this period were the first free American immigrants to suffer from federal restriction and regulation of immigration."
"More than three-fifths of all immigarnts in the period came from western Europe, most of them from Germany, Britain, Ireland, and Scandinavia."
“One of the great myths of American immigration is that most new arrivals were desperately poor... While it is true that few who came to America were rich, the vast majority were not the poorest of the poor in their own societies."
"Immigrants were less attracted to the West and South; the former had 6.6 percent of the population and only 4.5 percent of the immigrants, while the latter, with close to one-third of the population, had just 7.2 percent of the foreign born."
6. How did the growing anti-immigration sentiment of this time period influence the way that Americans perceived major events of the twentieth century? Have the nativist sentiments ever left the minds of Americans?
Interpreting Seconday Sources- The African American Experience
1. The title of this document is "The African American Experience".
2. This document was written by Leslie H. Fishel Jr.
3. This document revolves around the social, political, and economic repercussions of revolutions in America, especially pertaining to class and power dynamic, education, and expansion in the United States.
4. A few number of African-Americans had attained influence and power during the Reconstruction years; this is due to skill, perseverance, and leverage. The latter half of the nineteenth century introduced the attitudes that would prevail come the next hundred years, revolving around oppression, artistic movements, the family unit, and the struggle to prosper.
5. "While the question of how to handle a black multitude learning to live in freedom was only one of the many economic and political problems that dogged the white South in the final two decades of the century, it clung like a leech to almost every issue."
"A major component of that freedom for African Americans was the liberty to move to another plantation or region. Between 1870 and 1900, the South's black population almost doubled... the majority of them remained in the South with substantial numbers moving within that region."
"One major thrust of the migratory patten was a movement into cities or towns that were growing into urban centers. By 1900, 90 percent of New England's African Americans were city folk, and, in the mid-Atlantic, mid-western, and western states, from two-thirds to over three quarters of black lived in cities."
"From March until May 1879 about six thousand African Americans left Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas for the plains of Kansas, an exodus characterized as the 'most remarkable migration in the United States after the Civil War'."
"The Court's 1883 decision in the Civil Rights Cases invalidating the Civil Rights Act of 1875 has been called the most important decision of the decade. The court, through Justice Joseph P. Breadley, denied that individuals' access to public places of accommodation such as hotels and theaters deserved statutory protection against racial discrimination."
"The numbers of black students in school had doubles between 1877 and 1887, but still only two-fifths of eligible black children were enrolled."
6. How did this experience translate into life in the twentieth century? What are the impacts of this, even today?
2. This document was written by Leslie H. Fishel Jr.
3. This document revolves around the social, political, and economic repercussions of revolutions in America, especially pertaining to class and power dynamic, education, and expansion in the United States.
4. A few number of African-Americans had attained influence and power during the Reconstruction years; this is due to skill, perseverance, and leverage. The latter half of the nineteenth century introduced the attitudes that would prevail come the next hundred years, revolving around oppression, artistic movements, the family unit, and the struggle to prosper.
5. "While the question of how to handle a black multitude learning to live in freedom was only one of the many economic and political problems that dogged the white South in the final two decades of the century, it clung like a leech to almost every issue."
"A major component of that freedom for African Americans was the liberty to move to another plantation or region. Between 1870 and 1900, the South's black population almost doubled... the majority of them remained in the South with substantial numbers moving within that region."
"One major thrust of the migratory patten was a movement into cities or towns that were growing into urban centers. By 1900, 90 percent of New England's African Americans were city folk, and, in the mid-Atlantic, mid-western, and western states, from two-thirds to over three quarters of black lived in cities."
"From March until May 1879 about six thousand African Americans left Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas for the plains of Kansas, an exodus characterized as the 'most remarkable migration in the United States after the Civil War'."
"The Court's 1883 decision in the Civil Rights Cases invalidating the Civil Rights Act of 1875 has been called the most important decision of the decade. The court, through Justice Joseph P. Breadley, denied that individuals' access to public places of accommodation such as hotels and theaters deserved statutory protection against racial discrimination."
"The numbers of black students in school had doubles between 1877 and 1887, but still only two-fifths of eligible black children were enrolled."
6. How did this experience translate into life in the twentieth century? What are the impacts of this, even today?
Interpreting Secondary Sources- Women in Industrializing America
Interpreting Secondary Sources
1. The title of the document is "Women in Industrializing America"
2. The author is Stacy A. Cordery.
3. Cordery focuses on how the origins of modern America affected both white and black women with regards to the tensions that plagued the country on the cusp of the twentieth century, revolving primarily around industrialization, the urban experience, and the development of woman's "separate sphere".
4. The educational, socially-conscious, and industrialized mindset of American society heavily influenced the middle and working class women, while the values and pressures of this time carried over as a presage to the "new woman" of the Progressive Era.
5. "Middle-class men counted their worth in dollars and affirmed their masculinity by participating in men's rituals such as politics, fraternal associations, and sports- and both their masculine and economic credentials were validated in the figure of their pious, pure, domestic, submissive, and leisured wife" (Cordery 120).
"By the turn of the century, one in seven women was employed. Most were single and fending for themselves... The industrial workforce... created many social ills that middle-class women determine they should try to correct" (Cordery 121).
"Many nineteenth century women's reliefs organizations began as study clubs- themselves a continuation of an earlier movement for women's self-improvement- but branched out to render relief to the poor, or to care for orphans and 'wayward women'" (Cordery 121).
"From praying in saloons, the [Women's Christian Temperance Union], the WCTU went on to run newspapers, own businesses, pay temperance speakers to preach the evils of alcohol, and care for the children of alcoholics" (122).
"[Women] communicated their shock, horror, and sadness at the conditions of their cities to their colleagues and them set to work" (Cordery 122).
"Separate female institutions boosted women's self-esteem, turned them into expert parliamentarians, introduced them to a wider world, put them at ease in their public spaces, and provided home with invigorating supportive circles of friends and coworkers" (123).
"Black women had been organizing benevolent societies, often church related, since the colonial era, and the acceleration of industrialization with its accompanying social ills generated more associations" (123).
6. Was this attitude of women considered acceptable, or was there more backlash than hinted at here?
What were the major consequences, socially and politically, of this advancement?
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Reflection Questions of the Gilded Age
1. What were the causes and political results of the rise of agrarian protests in the 1890s?
The causes of agrarian protests emerged due to unhappiness with the railroad monopolies, which they thought had an unfairly high amount of control over crop prices, the limited silver coinage being produced, and the McKinley Tariff of 1890, which raised the duty on imports to almost 50%. Political results of the protests include the development of the Populist Party, which eventually merged with the Democrats, and the development of the Patrons of Husbandry.
2. What was the impact of the transcontinental rail system on American economy and society in the late nineteenth century?
Economically, the transcontinental railroad encouraged mass production, mass consumption, and economic specialization. It helped divide the country into four timezones, led to the creation of the modern stockholder corporation, the development of complex structures of finance and business management, and commenced the regulation of competition. The connection of the atlantic to the pacific made the US the greatest market in the world. Socially, the huge monopolies of the railroad led to agrarian unrest, Social Darwinism, and a spirit of laissez-faire capitalism.
3. How did industrial trusts develop in industries such as steel and oil, and what was their effect on the economy?
Industrial trusts developed in the oil industry developed with Andrew Carnegie's business strategy of vertical integration and in the steel industry with Rockefeller's method of horizontal integration, allowing these men to buy out their competitors and keep them under his own umbrella. Because of this, there was nothing stopping these industries from exploiting their customer base, which can be seen in the farmers' unrest in this time period.
4. What early efforts were made to control the new corporate industrial giants, and how effective were these efforts?
Early efforts include the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. These means were ultimately ineffective as they "had no teeth"- they were too vague to actually stop trusts. In the rare event that a trust was challenged, the Supreme Court consistently ruled in favor of businesses- the first to actually bring down the trusts would be Teddy Roosevelt.
5. What new opportunities did the cities create for Americans?
Cities created the opportunities for Americans to get an education at increasing rates, a center for immigration, a market for businesses, and a concentrated labor force.
6. What new social problems did urbanization create? How did Americans respond to these problems?
Urbanization led to the development of slums, ethnic ghettos, increasinly bad working conditions, monopolistic control, political machines, and widespread corruption as seen with Boss Tweed. Americans responded with the Labor Movement and joining unions such as the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor, a reawakening of reform movements, the development of settlement houses, and strikes.
7. New immigration differed from Old immigration in that New immigrants of the 1890s were mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe and were poor, illiterate, Catholic/Orthodox, and not easily able to assimilate. In response, America took action against immigration with measures such as the Chinese exclusion act, prohibition of contracted labor, and restriction of "undesirable" immigrants, such as criminals.
The causes of agrarian protests emerged due to unhappiness with the railroad monopolies, which they thought had an unfairly high amount of control over crop prices, the limited silver coinage being produced, and the McKinley Tariff of 1890, which raised the duty on imports to almost 50%. Political results of the protests include the development of the Populist Party, which eventually merged with the Democrats, and the development of the Patrons of Husbandry.
2. What was the impact of the transcontinental rail system on American economy and society in the late nineteenth century?
Economically, the transcontinental railroad encouraged mass production, mass consumption, and economic specialization. It helped divide the country into four timezones, led to the creation of the modern stockholder corporation, the development of complex structures of finance and business management, and commenced the regulation of competition. The connection of the atlantic to the pacific made the US the greatest market in the world. Socially, the huge monopolies of the railroad led to agrarian unrest, Social Darwinism, and a spirit of laissez-faire capitalism.
3. How did industrial trusts develop in industries such as steel and oil, and what was their effect on the economy?
Industrial trusts developed in the oil industry developed with Andrew Carnegie's business strategy of vertical integration and in the steel industry with Rockefeller's method of horizontal integration, allowing these men to buy out their competitors and keep them under his own umbrella. Because of this, there was nothing stopping these industries from exploiting their customer base, which can be seen in the farmers' unrest in this time period.
4. What early efforts were made to control the new corporate industrial giants, and how effective were these efforts?
Early efforts include the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. These means were ultimately ineffective as they "had no teeth"- they were too vague to actually stop trusts. In the rare event that a trust was challenged, the Supreme Court consistently ruled in favor of businesses- the first to actually bring down the trusts would be Teddy Roosevelt.
5. What new opportunities did the cities create for Americans?
Cities created the opportunities for Americans to get an education at increasing rates, a center for immigration, a market for businesses, and a concentrated labor force.
6. What new social problems did urbanization create? How did Americans respond to these problems?
Urbanization led to the development of slums, ethnic ghettos, increasinly bad working conditions, monopolistic control, political machines, and widespread corruption as seen with Boss Tweed. Americans responded with the Labor Movement and joining unions such as the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor, a reawakening of reform movements, the development of settlement houses, and strikes.
7. New immigration differed from Old immigration in that New immigrants of the 1890s were mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe and were poor, illiterate, Catholic/Orthodox, and not easily able to assimilate. In response, America took action against immigration with measures such as the Chinese exclusion act, prohibition of contracted labor, and restriction of "undesirable" immigrants, such as criminals.
Growth of American Cities and Culture Notes
The Growth of American Cities and Culture
I. "Old" vs. "New" Immigrants
During the latter half of the 19th century, the population increases three fold, mostly fueled by immigrants.
Causes for immigration growth:
Poverty of displaced farmworkers in Europe, overcrowding and joblessness in cities, religious persecution- Jews in Russia
Political and religious freedom, economic opportunity, rise of industry, settling of the Great Planes, large steamships are introduced.
1880's had Old immigrants- came from Northern and Western Europe, had high levels of literacy, occupational skills, relatively easy to assimilate, Lutheran in faith
1890s has New immigrants: Southern and Eastern Europe, poor, illiterate, Catholic and Orthodox
Cultural pluralism becomes evident, development of ethnic centered neighborhoods.
American government takes action to restrict immigration. Chinese exclusion act, restriction of "undesirable" people- mentally disabled, criminals. 1885- prohibited contract labor.
Labor unions are anti-immigration: driving wages down, etc.; especially prominent in depression of 1890s.
Sparks a negative response from nativist, protestant culture socially and in lawmaking; continues up to the 1920s.
II. Urbanization: Changes in the City
City growth and industrialization are two sides to the same coin- cities provide labor supply as well as markets
40% of Americans lived in cities, populated by immigrants as well as born Americans
Younger populations started leaving farms to seek new economic opportunities and urban attractions, few ever returned to the farm.
Southern blacks moved up to cities in a precursor to the Great Migration
Cities undergo significant changes to size and internal structure, including:
Improvements in urban transportation, making growth of cities boom
Development of streetcar cities: people lived in residences miles from their jobs, starting the first waves of commuters
Mass transportation segregating urban workers by income
Cities growing upwards as well as outward due to increasing land values. 1885- first skyscraper in Chicago (10 stories) is built, made possible by central steam heating systems, etc.
Upper middle class deserted residences near city center, and the poor moved in, creating slums and packed apartments that were overcrowded, filthy, and disease-ridden.
III. Awakening of Reform
Urban problems inspired a new social conscience among members of the middle class, as earlier reform movements gathered new strength
Books of Social Criticism
Henry George prompted readers to look critically at the effects of laissez-fair capitalism with book "Progress and Poverty", which called attention to huge wealth inequality as a result of industrialization
"Looking Backward" by Edward Bellamy (said that by the year 2000, crime and poverty will be eliminated) encouraged a shift in public opinion and set the stage for the Progressive Era
Settlement houses: young women and men settled into immigrant neighborhoods to learn of immigrant problems and hoped to relieve effects of poverty by providing services to them in settlement houses, which taught english, educated children, established theaters, etc.
Volunteers got little to no money for doing this; notable people include Perkins, Hopkins.
Social Gospel: in the 1880s and 90s, clergymen supported justice for the urban poor and preached importance of applying Christian principles to social problems
Religion in society: all religions found need to adapt to urban living- Catholics gained in numbers due to immigration, got behind labor causes; Salvation Army was formed to provide basic life necessities
Church of Christian Science was created by a young woman in this time
Women and Families:
Life in the cities placed severe strain on families and isolated them from support of extended family
Divorce rates increased to 1 in 12 marriages by 1900
Reduction in family size- children are no longer economically useful
Gilded Age Politics Notes
Gilded Age Politics
I. Boss and Machine Politics
Congress enacted a vicious reform program with Civil Rights Act, Freedmen's Bureau, etc. but after this, national government settled into a stalemate and inactive period.
People diverted attention from national politics to the rise of businesses and cities.
Consolidation of power had a parallel in politics- political parties came under control of political machines- tightly organized groups of politicians.
Each machine had a boss- a top politician who dolled out government jobs to loyal supporters,
Tammany Hall: Democratic political machine, perfect example of their standpoints.
Started at social clubs and later developed into power centers to coordinate needs of businesses, immigrants, and the underprivileged in order to gain votes on election day.
Party bosses: Boss Tweed knew how to manage social ethnic and economic groups, brought modern services to the city, included crude form of welfare.
TH would find jobs and apartments for immigrants, give food to the poor; however, they stole millions from the taxpayers. About 60% of funds ended up in pockets of Tweed and pals, full of corruption.
Tweed's downfall came in the form of political cartoons that depict him as a criminal; he is jailed several times for his actions.
Machine politics will still be very powerful well into the 20th century.
II. Politics of the Gilded Age
Inactivity in government as attentions shift to labor unions, Western development, rise of industry, economic change, and urbanization. Heavy stalemate in politics.
Term Gilded Age was first used by Mark Twain- superficial glitter of the new wealth. Underneath that, there were problems brewing and people struggling to survive.
Complacency and conservatism were the main factors in politics due to ideologies, campaign tactics, and party patronage
Prevailing idea of the time: Do-little government: social darwinism, laissez faire, etc. seep into the inactions of the government.
Campaign tactics: really close elections are seen because the Republicans and Democrats avoided taking a strong stance on issues so not as to alienate voters (rise of bosses, etc.). Campaigns included free beer, picnics, buttons, crowd pleasing speeches, etc,; elections brought out around 80% of eligible voters.
Republicans kept memories of Civil War alive during the Gilded Age, blaming Democrats for bloodshed and Lincoln's death, supported economic program of high protective tariffs.
This led to a huge support base for republicans included veterans, african americans, the middle class, businessmen, etc.
Democrats could count on winning every election in the former confederacy
"solid south"- solidly backing the democrats.
Democrat strength came from political machines, supported by catholics, lutherans, immigrants, etc. Still believed in states rights and limiting government power
Patronage: politics were a game of gaining office, holding office, and giving out offices.
Presidential politics: no one too notable; presidents themselves are not as important as issues at stake.
III. Rise of the Populist Party
Arose from farmers discontent with economic situation of post Civil War.
The money question- whether or not to expand the money supply, reflected the growing tension between the rich and poor.
The debtors, famers, etc. were the "have nots"; they wanted more money to borrow money at lower interest and pay off loans more easily with inflated dollars. Gold standard was blamed for the depression in the 1870s.
Farmers, etc. wanted unlimited minting of silver coins- brought up the issue of bi-metalism.
"The haves": the bankers, creditors, etc. who wanted to keep gold standard- more likely to hold ground against inflation.
Greenbacks: paper money not backed by gold or silver, issued during the Civil War as a necessary measure. Associated by farmers with prosperity.
Creditors attacked this as a violation of natural law, and congress later withdrew the last of the greenbacks in circulation.
The Greenback Party: died out after the hard times of the 70's, although the demand for silver money continued through until the end of the century.
Crime of 1873: Congress stopped the coinage of silver. After silver was discovered in Nevada, the Greenbacks shifted their attention there, and the use of silver was revived for money supply.
1878: Bland-Allison Act allowed only a limited coinage of silver each month at the standard silver to gold ratio of 16 to 1. The have nots were still unsatisfied and continued to press for unlimited silver coinage.
Agrarian unrest flared earlier with the Greenback Party; farmers were plagued with low food prices.
1867: first Farmers Association, national grange of the Patrons of Husbandry (aka The Grange)
Goal of The Grange: enhance the lives of isolated farmers through educational, social, paternal activities; put on concerts, lectures, and picnics.
The Grange found farmers receptive to his hierarchy and secret rituals, and by 1875, it had almost 800 thousand members, with most support in west and south
Moved focus to improving the "farmers plight"- established cooperatively owned stores, warehouses, etc.
They were trying to make a sort of farmer's labor union- they didn't have enough money to buy the machines they needed to harvest the crops they needed to be successful, decided to come together as a unit to accomplish goals rather than go at it individually.
The Grangers went into politics and were successful in upper Mississippi valley.
Depression Politics
1892- Cleveland wins election again, but the country enters one of its worst and longest depressions due to over speculations- no substance behind stock market.
Result- dozens of railroads went into bankruptcy. 20% unemployment.
Cleveland championed the gold standard and adopted a laissez faire stance; this is coupled with the decline in silver prices.
The gold reserve fell to dangerously low levels, so Cleveland 1. repealed Silver Sherman Purchase Act of 1890 (increased coinage of silver but not enough to satisfy farmers, etc.), this did not stop trade on gold reserve.
After, he 2. turned to JP Morgan and borrowed 65 million dollars of gold to back the gold standard- angered the people, giving the idea that government is only a tool of rich bankers.
Workers become further disenchanted with the Pullman Strike of 1894.
Pullman Rail Company raising rent rates without raising pay. Railway union went on strike to protest, and Cleveland used court injunctions- court order- to stop the strike, uses federal troops, saying the strike is interfering with the US mail.
Eugene Debs, leader of the Railway Union, is jailed for 6 months for violating this court order.
As depression worsens, the public takes more actions. There is a potential class war between management and labor- 1894 Coxey's Army: a march to Washington by thousands of unemployed, demanded public works program to create jobs; march fell apart when leaders were elected.
Election of 1896
Major turning point, represents transition of national politics away from Democrats. Populists are gaining votes and seats, setting the stage for a major reshaping of party politics.
By 1896, Democrats were divided into gold supporting and silver supporting.
Pro-silver forces dominate the electoral convention, leading to William Jennings Brian being nominated for presidential candidate.
Democrats highjack the main issue of Populist party (supporting silver), so the two fuse together.
Republicans nominate William McKinley, best known for a high protective tariff, being a friend of labor, and a silver-friendly voting record, which Mark Hannah turns around to gain more support.
Employers tell workers not to show up to work if Brian wins- evidence of scare tactics, propaganda, and money being influential in the campaign.
McKinley: front porch campaign.
Brian: travels to 27 states and gives 600 speeches.
Factors hurting Brian: rise in wheat prices, making farmers less desperate, doesn't have the worker's vote, leads to McKinley's victory.
Significance:
Marked the end of stalemate politics of the Gilded Age, defeated dominance of Democrats, Republicans have evolved to being a business party with focus on a strong national government, spelled decline of populist party (racism was stronger than economic interest).
Outcome was a clear victory for cities, big business, conservative economics, and middle class values; McKinley is the first modern president- an active leader who positions the US as a major player, Mark Hannah created a model for organizing and financing successful campaigns.
Rise of Industrial America Notes
Rise of Industrial America Notes
I. Introduction
By 1900, America was the top industrial power, exceeding Great Britain, France, Germany.
US economy had 4% yearly growth rate
II. Causes
Abundance of natural resources essential to industry- coal, iron ore, copper, lead, timber, oil
Abundant labor supply, supplemented yearly by immigrants; this combined with advanced transportation methods made America the biggest market in the world
Railroads led to economic expansion
Development of labor saving technology
Businesses benefitting from friendly government policies such as protective tariffs and low regulations for business
Talented entrepreneurs were able to build and manage vast enterprises- men went into business rather than politics
III. The Business of the Railroads
Business + capitol + tech + markets + labor + gov. support led to development of first big business- rail roads
Nationwide network had greatest impact on American economy and encouraged mass production, mass consumption, and economic specialization.
Resources used promoted growth of other resources- coal, etc.
Helped divide the country into 4 timezones
Creation of the modern stockholder corp, development of complex structures of finance, business management, regulation of competition.
EASTERN RAIL ROAD
Former inefficiencies of antebellum US were combated by consolidation of railroads into integrated trunk lines
Cornelius Vanderbilt used millions from steam boat business to merge railroads into NY Central Railroad, 400 miles of track.
Eastern lines connected all the way to Chicago, setting the standard for future efficiency
Chicago seen as window to the west for railroad industry
WESTERN RAIL ROAD
Coincided with the development of the Last Frontier, expansion and settling
RR played a critical role by encouraging settlement of Great Planes and linking the midwest to the East, providing the first connection of markets there
Government encouraged this by granting loans and subsidies, as well as federal land grants- received more than 170 million acres of land
Expected that the rr would sell land to settlers to finance construction, and completed rr would make it easier to send troops around, etc.
Pacific Railway Act allowed gov to grant this
Promoted hasty and poor construction, led to widespread corruption in every level of government
Protests against grants mounded in the 1880s in response to a huge Credit Mobile scandal
Corruption led to the Farmers Alliance and Populist Party
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
Thought up during the Civil War, wanted to tie California to the rest of the Union
Divided into Union Pacific to build west across great planes and Central Pacific to lay track eastward across Sacramento to the midwest
Used 1000s of war veterans, Chinese immigrants, and Irish immigrants to complete
Charles Crocker recruited 6,000 Chinese immigrants
May 10th: the tracks came together and linked the Atlantic to the Pacific
IV. Competition and Consolidation
New technologies such as railroads tend to be overbuilt, and they frequently suffered fraud and corrupt management, who made millions in water stock (inflating value before selling to the public).
Railroads competed by offering rebates to favor shippers while charging huge rates to smaller buyers like farmers- led to Farmers Alliance
Financial panic in 1893 forced 25% of all railroads into bankruptcy, where Morgan and other bankers took control of them and consolidated the rail system in order to stabilize rates and control debts
Consolidation led to more efficient railroads, but was problematic because it was controlled only by a few very, very, very wealthy. Interlocking directors: the same directors of competing companies created regional railroad monopolies, tackled by Teddy Roosevelt.
Railroads captured imagination of America and many invested in development, while customers also felt they were victims of corrupt business
"The public be Damned"- William Vanderbilt. Railroad mongers cared little for their customers.
Laws attempted to regulate this (ie Granger Law and Interstate Commerce Act) were ineffective, despite government attempts to control monopolies
Supreme Court always ruled in favor of monopolies- exemplifies the pro business attitude of Gilded Age
V. Steel and Oil Industry
Key monopolists: Vanderbilt's (railroads), Carnegie (steel), Rockefeller (oil).
Tech breakthrough that launched industry was new process for making steel- more durable than iron. Called the Bessemer Process: blasting air through molten iron
Carnegie focused steel industry in Great lakes region for it's iron and coal resources
Leadership passed through Carnegie (rags to riches story); he outdistanced competitors through vertical integration: a company controls every aspect of a product's life, through creation all the way to distribution. Paid no middle man, every step goes up.
By 1900, Carnegie was top of steel industry and produced more steel than all of Britain. Devoted himself to philanthropy- gospel of wealth
Sold his business to JP Morgan for $400 million
First US oil well in 1859, Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust would control almost all oil refineries by eliminating competition through A. new technology and B. efficient practices. As the company grew, he extorted rebates from railroads to force companies to sell out- he controlled 90% of oil refineries. Implemented horizontal integration: all former competitors were brought under a single cooperate umbrella. He controlled both supply and profits- his fortune was 900 million dollars when he retired.
Other companies emulated his success in sugar, tobacco, etc. trusts.
Because of these industries, there was a growing anti-trust movement heightened in 1880s. Citizens feared unchecked power of trusts and the control of the urban elite- the new rich.
1890: Sherman Antitrust Act passed, but the problem was that it "had no teeth", too vague to stop trusts. Court always ruled on the Side of monopolies (ie US vs, EC Night Company).
First president to enforce this will be Teddy Roosevelt
VI. Laissez-Faire Capitalism
LF Capitalism: government should not interfere with industries; hands off.
Stems from Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations- businesses are regulated by the "invisible hand" of the law of supply and demand. Natural competition would keep prices and qualities good. Used to justify business practices such as h. and v. integration.
However, despite saying there should be no interference, businesses did accept subsidies and protective tariffs from the gov.
Out of this came Social darwinism: natural selection of businesses. Herbert Spencer applies survival of the fittest to contemporary society and markets. The concentration of wealth is in the hands of the fittest and was a benefit to the entire human race- it was natural.
Religion started to play a role in Americans lives and they found this more convincing in justifying the wealth of the few.
Rockefeller concluded that God gave him his riches; everyone had a duty to become rich.
Carnegie: has the Gospel of Wealth, argues that the wealthy had a god given responsibly to use wealth to better society and lives of those around him. He gave 350 million dollars to libraries, universities, etc.
VII. Technology and Impacts of Industrialization
Technology: vital to all progress happening. Inventions led to larger productivity and more mass produced goods. Important things: telegraphs, typewriter, cash register, kodak camera, fountain pen, etc.
Thomas Edison: early successes allowed him to create the first research lab in NJ where inventors worked as a team. Video cameras, phonographs, first practical electrical light bulb were invented there.
George Westinghouse produced high voltage electric current.
America moves away from a schedule and lifestyle dictated by sun; now dictated by man- the "day" lasts longer.
Impacts of Industrialization: concentration of wealth in the hands of monopolizers. 10% of the population owned 90% of the wealth- lavish lifestyles were showcased.
Growing gap between rich and poor was ignored because the Horatio Alger myth- coined the "rags to riches" idea that citizens clung to and eventually recognized as the American Dream.
Expansion of the middle class, jobs being created (accountants, etc.), increased demand for services such as doctors, lawyers, etc,
Most people are now wage earners- income is dictated by hours per week, usually 10 hours per day, 6 days per week.
Immigrants, women, and children's wages were barely enough to get by at all. No set minimum wage, no move to protect the workers conditions or payments. Led to the rise of the labor movement- Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor, especially.
Abundant labor supply, supplemented yearly by immigrants; this combined with advanced transportation methods made America the biggest market in the world
Railroads led to economic expansion
Development of labor saving technology
Businesses benefitting from friendly government policies such as protective tariffs and low regulations for business
Talented entrepreneurs were able to build and manage vast enterprises- men went into business rather than politics
III. The Business of the Railroads
Business + capitol + tech + markets + labor + gov. support led to development of first big business- rail roads
Nationwide network had greatest impact on American economy and encouraged mass production, mass consumption, and economic specialization.
Resources used promoted growth of other resources- coal, etc.
Helped divide the country into 4 timezones
Creation of the modern stockholder corp, development of complex structures of finance, business management, regulation of competition.
EASTERN RAIL ROAD
Former inefficiencies of antebellum US were combated by consolidation of railroads into integrated trunk lines
Cornelius Vanderbilt used millions from steam boat business to merge railroads into NY Central Railroad, 400 miles of track.
Eastern lines connected all the way to Chicago, setting the standard for future efficiency
Chicago seen as window to the west for railroad industry
WESTERN RAIL ROAD
Coincided with the development of the Last Frontier, expansion and settling
RR played a critical role by encouraging settlement of Great Planes and linking the midwest to the East, providing the first connection of markets there
Government encouraged this by granting loans and subsidies, as well as federal land grants- received more than 170 million acres of land
Expected that the rr would sell land to settlers to finance construction, and completed rr would make it easier to send troops around, etc.
Pacific Railway Act allowed gov to grant this
Promoted hasty and poor construction, led to widespread corruption in every level of government
Protests against grants mounded in the 1880s in response to a huge Credit Mobile scandal
Corruption led to the Farmers Alliance and Populist Party
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
Thought up during the Civil War, wanted to tie California to the rest of the Union
Divided into Union Pacific to build west across great planes and Central Pacific to lay track eastward across Sacramento to the midwest
Used 1000s of war veterans, Chinese immigrants, and Irish immigrants to complete
Charles Crocker recruited 6,000 Chinese immigrants
May 10th: the tracks came together and linked the Atlantic to the Pacific
IV. Competition and Consolidation
New technologies such as railroads tend to be overbuilt, and they frequently suffered fraud and corrupt management, who made millions in water stock (inflating value before selling to the public).
Railroads competed by offering rebates to favor shippers while charging huge rates to smaller buyers like farmers- led to Farmers Alliance
Financial panic in 1893 forced 25% of all railroads into bankruptcy, where Morgan and other bankers took control of them and consolidated the rail system in order to stabilize rates and control debts
Consolidation led to more efficient railroads, but was problematic because it was controlled only by a few very, very, very wealthy. Interlocking directors: the same directors of competing companies created regional railroad monopolies, tackled by Teddy Roosevelt.
Railroads captured imagination of America and many invested in development, while customers also felt they were victims of corrupt business
"The public be Damned"- William Vanderbilt. Railroad mongers cared little for their customers.
Laws attempted to regulate this (ie Granger Law and Interstate Commerce Act) were ineffective, despite government attempts to control monopolies
Supreme Court always ruled in favor of monopolies- exemplifies the pro business attitude of Gilded Age
V. Steel and Oil Industry
Key monopolists: Vanderbilt's (railroads), Carnegie (steel), Rockefeller (oil).
Tech breakthrough that launched industry was new process for making steel- more durable than iron. Called the Bessemer Process: blasting air through molten iron
Carnegie focused steel industry in Great lakes region for it's iron and coal resources
Leadership passed through Carnegie (rags to riches story); he outdistanced competitors through vertical integration: a company controls every aspect of a product's life, through creation all the way to distribution. Paid no middle man, every step goes up.
By 1900, Carnegie was top of steel industry and produced more steel than all of Britain. Devoted himself to philanthropy- gospel of wealth
Sold his business to JP Morgan for $400 million
First US oil well in 1859, Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust would control almost all oil refineries by eliminating competition through A. new technology and B. efficient practices. As the company grew, he extorted rebates from railroads to force companies to sell out- he controlled 90% of oil refineries. Implemented horizontal integration: all former competitors were brought under a single cooperate umbrella. He controlled both supply and profits- his fortune was 900 million dollars when he retired.
Other companies emulated his success in sugar, tobacco, etc. trusts.
Because of these industries, there was a growing anti-trust movement heightened in 1880s. Citizens feared unchecked power of trusts and the control of the urban elite- the new rich.
1890: Sherman Antitrust Act passed, but the problem was that it "had no teeth", too vague to stop trusts. Court always ruled on the Side of monopolies (ie US vs, EC Night Company).
First president to enforce this will be Teddy Roosevelt
VI. Laissez-Faire Capitalism
LF Capitalism: government should not interfere with industries; hands off.
Stems from Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations- businesses are regulated by the "invisible hand" of the law of supply and demand. Natural competition would keep prices and qualities good. Used to justify business practices such as h. and v. integration.
However, despite saying there should be no interference, businesses did accept subsidies and protective tariffs from the gov.
Out of this came Social darwinism: natural selection of businesses. Herbert Spencer applies survival of the fittest to contemporary society and markets. The concentration of wealth is in the hands of the fittest and was a benefit to the entire human race- it was natural.
Religion started to play a role in Americans lives and they found this more convincing in justifying the wealth of the few.
Rockefeller concluded that God gave him his riches; everyone had a duty to become rich.
Carnegie: has the Gospel of Wealth, argues that the wealthy had a god given responsibly to use wealth to better society and lives of those around him. He gave 350 million dollars to libraries, universities, etc.
VII. Technology and Impacts of Industrialization
Technology: vital to all progress happening. Inventions led to larger productivity and more mass produced goods. Important things: telegraphs, typewriter, cash register, kodak camera, fountain pen, etc.
Thomas Edison: early successes allowed him to create the first research lab in NJ where inventors worked as a team. Video cameras, phonographs, first practical electrical light bulb were invented there.
George Westinghouse produced high voltage electric current.
America moves away from a schedule and lifestyle dictated by sun; now dictated by man- the "day" lasts longer.
Impacts of Industrialization: concentration of wealth in the hands of monopolizers. 10% of the population owned 90% of the wealth- lavish lifestyles were showcased.
Growing gap between rich and poor was ignored because the Horatio Alger myth- coined the "rags to riches" idea that citizens clung to and eventually recognized as the American Dream.
Expansion of the middle class, jobs being created (accountants, etc.), increased demand for services such as doctors, lawyers, etc,
Most people are now wage earners- income is dictated by hours per week, usually 10 hours per day, 6 days per week.
Immigrants, women, and children's wages were barely enough to get by at all. No set minimum wage, no move to protect the workers conditions or payments. Led to the rise of the labor movement- Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor, especially.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)