Chapter #23 Identifications
Thomas Nast
A U.S. illustrator and newspaper cartoonist in the "Gilded Age" who produced satirical cartoons, he invented "Uncle Sam" and came up with the elephant and the donkey for the political parties. He nearly brought down Boss Tweed.
Horace Greely
American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, and a politician. His New York Tribune was America's most influential newspaper from the 1840s to the 1870s and "established his reputation as the greatest editor of his day.
Roscoe Conkling
A politician from New York who served both as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He was the leader of the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party and the last person to refuse a U.S. Supreme Court appointment after he had already been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
James G. Blaine
A U.S. Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, two-time Secretary of State. Was nominated for president in 1884, but lost a closely to Democrat Grover Cleveland.
Samuel Tilden
Democratic nominee for president in 1876 who loses narrowly
Charles J. Guiteau
An American lawyer who assassinated U.S. President Garfield on July 2, 1881. He was executed by hanging.
Hard or Sound Money
The specie dollar was known as hard money. Was extremely important during the late 1860's and early 1870's, especially during the Panic of 1873. It was in opposition with greenbacks/folding money. The issuing of the greenbacks was overdone and the value depreciated causing inflation and the Panic of 1873. "Hard-money" advocates looked for the complete disappearance of the folding money.
Gilded Age
The era of rapid economic and pop growth in the US during the post-Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras. "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.
Bloody-Shirt
Republican campaign tactic that blamed the Democrats for the Civil War; it was used successfully in campaigns from 1868 to 1876 to keep Democrats out of public office, especially the presidency.
Tweed Ring
Corrupt part of Tammany Hall in New York City started by "Boss" Tweed. Samuel J. Tilden, the reform governor of New York had been instrumental in overthrowing it. Thomas Nast exposed it through illustration in Harper's Weekly
Credit Mobilier Scandal
Occurred in the 1870s. A railroad construction company's stockholders used funds that were supposed to be used to build the Union Pacific Railroad for their own personal use. To avoid being convicted, stockholders even used stock to bribe congressional members and the VP.
Whiskey Ring
During the Grant administration, a group of officials were importing whiskey and using their offices to avoid paying the taxes on it, cheating the treasury out of millions of dollars.
Resumption Act
It pledged the withdrawal of greenbacks from circulation and the redemption of all paper money in gold.
Crime of '73
through the act of 1873, the US ended the minting of silver dollars and placed the country on gold standard. It was attacked by those who supported an inflationary monetary policy especially farmers who believed in the unlimited coinage of silver
Bland-Allison Act
An 1878 act of Congress that required U.S. Treasury to buy a certain amount of silver and put it into circulation as silver dollars. Was vetoed by Pres Hayes. But Congress overrode Hayes' veto on Feb 28, 1878 to enact the law.
Half-Breed
A republican political machine, headed by James G. Blane in 1869. The half-breeds pushed republican ideals and were almost a separate group that existed within the party.
Compromise of 1877
Ended Reconstruction. Republicans promised to 1) Remove military from South, 2) Appoint Democrat to cabinet (David Key postmaster general), 3) Federal money for railroad construction and levees on Mississippi river
Civil Service Reform
Liberal Republicans held a national convention in Cincinnati in 1872. Platform demanded this type of reform and condemned the Republicans' Southern policy. Nominated "Horace Greeley" for President.
Pendleton Act
1883 law that created a Civil Service Commission and stated that federal employees could not be required to contribute to campaign funds nor be fired for political reasons
"Billion Dollar" Congress
A meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1889 to March 4, 1891, during the first two years of the administration of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison.
Chapter #23.1 Guided Reading Questions
The "Bloody Shirt" Elects Grant
Know: Ulysses S. Grant, Ohio Idea, Repudiation, Horatio Seymour, Bloody Shirt
1.Was General Grant good presidential material? Why did he win?
He was, at the time, very good presidential material since he was considered a Northern hero from the war. Grant won because of the Ohio Idea which at the time poor Midwestern delegates called for repudiation in greenbacks. During that time he competed with Horatio Seymour who he did not agree with the Ohio Idea; many did not agree with Seymour, they favored Grant. Many of Grant’s enthusiasts stated “waving the bloody shirt” which became Grant’s presidential slogan.
The Era of Good Stealings
Know: Jim Fisk, Jay Gould, Black Friday, Boss Tweed, Graft, Thomas Nast, Samuel J. Tilden
2."The Man in the Moon...had to hold his nose when passing over America." Explain.
During this time railroad promoters often left bond buyers with only 2 streaks of rust and a right of way. Jim Fisk and Jay Gould planned to corner the gold market. They worked under president Grant and on Black Friday. They put the price of gold extremely high, enraging many businessmen. Also Burly Boss Tweed used of bribery, graft, and fraudulent elections to gain $200 million dollars. Thomas Nast narced Tweed giving him a bribe he cannot resist and soon caught Tweed in the act. Samuel J Tilden headed the prosecution at the time helping put Tweed behind bars.
A Carnival of Corruption
Know: Credit Mobilier, Whiskey Ring, William Belknap
3.Describe two major scandals that directly involved the Grant administration.
Grant was in the Credit Mobilier scandal which was formed of Union Pacific Railroad insiders. Credit Mobilier construction company helped inflate prices that build the railroad line. Also the Whiskey Ring robbed the Treasury of millions of dollars by using excise tax revenues. Secretary of War William Belknap resigned shortly after pocketing bribes from suppliers to the Indian reservations.
Depression and Demands for Inflation
Know: Panic of 1873, Greenbacks, Hard-money, Crime of '73, Contraction, Soft-money, Bland-Allison Act
5.Why did some people want greenbacks and silver dollars? Why did others oppose these kinds of currency?
Many did not want greenbacks and silver dollars because during of the Panic of 1873 which caused inflation. At the end of the war, $450 million dollars was issued but was deprecated over time. Some wanted it because they believed that more money meant cheaper money causing rising prices and easier to pay debts. Hard money advocates persuaded Grant to veto a bill to stop printing out more money. Soft money was used for campaign ads to endure a political party at the time . The westerners from silver mining states joined the debtors with the Crime of 73 which was a demand for more greenbacks. Soon after the treasury began to accumulate the gold stocks against the appointed day for resumption of money payments so soon a policy called contraction was created. Contraction made the depression even worse and worse.
Pallid Politics in the Gilded Age
Know: Gilded Age, Grand Army of the Republic, Stalwarts, Roscoe Conkling, Half-Breeds, James G. Blaine
6.Why was there such fierce competition between Democrats and Republicans in the Gilded Age if the parties agreed on most economic issues?
The Grand Army of the Republic was a politically potent organization of several hundred thousand Union veteran soldiers who continued to vote on the Republican side. The Stalwarts faction was led by Lord Roscoe who gave votes in return for kickbacks and party service. Also, Half Breeds was born and caused the Democratic and Republicans to separate, the most famous of the Half Breeds was James G Blaine who stalemated Roscoe Conkling at the time causing a deadlock between the party.
The Hayes-Tilden Standoff, 1876
Know: Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel J. Tilden
7. Why were the results of the 1876 election in doubt?
There were many doubts of the election of 1876 for many reasons. Rutherford B Hayes and Samuel J Tilden was against each other. Both parties sent statements to Lousiana, South Carolina, and Florida. Another problem is no one could count the votes because the senate was a republican and the Speaker of the house was a Democrat.
The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction
Know: Compromise of 1877, Electoral Count Act, David Davis, Civil Rights Cases (1883),
8. How did the end of Reconstruction affect African-Americans?
The Republican party dropped the idea of racial equality among the blacks. Renewed deadlock was avoided by the rest of the complex with the Compromise of 1877. The Electoral Count Act broke the court because it was an electoral commission consisting of 15 men. The Supreme Court ruled with David Davis and he decided that the Civil Right Cases were unconstitutional. The Court then declared that the fourteenth amendment prohibited only government violations of civil rights and to not deny the civil rights of individual.
Chapter #26.1 The Great West Big Picture Themes
1. Native Americans out West faced two options: agree to settle on a reservation or fight the U.S. Army as “hostiles.” Some chose reservations, others to fight, but all were cleared out. .
Chapter #26.1 Identifications
Sitting Bull
One of the leaders of the Sioux tribe, was a medicine man.He became a prominent Indian leader during the Sioux War, 1876-1877. During Custer's Last Stand in 1876, Sitting Bull was " making medicine" while another Indian, Crazy Horse, led the Sioux. When more whites arrived at the Battle of Little Big Horn, Sitting Bull and the other Sioux we forced into Canada.
George A. Custer
General during the Civil War, he set out in 1874 with his Seventh Cavalry to return the Plains Indians to the Sioux reservation. Defeated by an army that outnumbered his men 10 to 1.
Chief Joseph
Leader of Nez Perce, fled with his tribe to Canada instead of going to thereservations. However, US troops came and fought and brought them back down to reservations.
Sioux Wars
1876-1877. Huge clashes between the Sioux Indians and white men. Spurred by gold-greedy miners rushing into Sioux land. The white men were breaking their treaty with the Indians. The Sioux Indians were led by Sitting Bull and they were pushed by Custer's forces. Custer led these forces until he was killed at the battle at Little Bighorn. Many of the Indian were finally forced into Canada, where they were forced by starvation to surrender.
Ghost Dance
A cult that tried to call the spirits of past warriors to inspire the young men to fight. It was undermined at the Battle of Wounded Knee after spreading to the Dakota Sioux. The Ghost Dance led to the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887. This act tried to reform Indian tribes and turn them into "white" citizens.
Dawes Severalty Act
In 1887. It dismantled American Indian tribes, set up individuals as family heads with 160 acres, tried to make rugged individualists out of the Indians, attempted to assimilate the Indian population into that of the American: aka whitewash.
Battle of Wounded Knee
A group of white Christian reformists tried to bring convert the Indians. Fearing the Ghost Dance, Am troops were called to go with the reformists. While camped outside of an Indian reservation a gun was fired and the troops stormed the reservation killing Indian men women and children.
Chapter # 26.1 Guided Reading Questions
The Clash of Cultures on the Plain
Know: Indian Territory, Sioux, Great Sioux Reservation, Tenth Cavalry
Describe the effect of westward expansion on Native Americans.
Had a negative effect on Native Americans. Three changes: Native Americans were forced to live on reservations. The buffalo, an important resource, rapidly declined in population. Military conflict between whites and Native Americans resulted in many deaths.
Receding Native Americans
Know: George Armstrong Custer, Bozeman Trail, Sitting Bull, Battle of Little Big Horn, Chief Joseph, Geronimo
How was the West "won?"
Aggressive attacks, fear, inhumane doings; custer led a party into the Black Hills of South Dakota and announced gold so greedy gold-seekers would come. Indians were killed by white diseases and the buffalo decline.
Bellowing Herds of Bison
Know: Buffalo Bill Cody
3. How were the Buffalo reduced from 15 million to less than a thousand?
Through the hunting for their furs by the white men (from westward expansion), hunters literally shot them out of a moving train and killed many.
The End of the Trail
Know: Helen Hunt Jackson, Ghost Dance, Battle of Wounded Knee, Dawes Act, Carlisle Indian School, Indian Reorganization Act
4. What did the government do to try to assimilate Native Americans?
The government used the Dawes Severalty Act, which granted Native Americans citizenship if they displayed American behavior after 25 years in the country. Also, the Carlisle Indian School destroyed Native American culture: the children were taken from their families and taught English culture instead of learning Indian culture from their families. The government also outlawed many religious practices native to the Native Americans.
Mining: From Dishpan to Ore Breaker
Know: Pike's Peak, Comstock Lode, Silver Senators
5. How did the discovery of precious metals affect the American West?
It led to the increase in western movement, and also created a more industrialized society in the west. Gaps between political parties widened, since diff parties had diff views on the values the metals, and the "American dream" was more in grasp, since many people became rich from the metals.
Makers of America: The Plains Indians
6. How was the culture of the Plains Indians shaped by white people?
If the Indians didn't listen to the white people, they were cruely punished. Indian land was taken over by the whites and their food/material/weapon supply was dwindled down.
Beef Bonanzas and the Long Drive
Know: Long Drive, Wild Bill Hickok
7. Why was cattle ranching so profitable in the 1870's?
Because there was a very high demand for the leather and meat obtained from cattle.
The Farmers’ Frontier
Know: Homestead Act, Great American Desert, John Wesley Powell, Joseph F. Glidden
8. Did the Homestead Act live up to its purpose of giving small farmers a descent life on the plains?
No, because 10 times as much land that actual small farmers got was taken by greedy land-grabbing promoters. While a big amount of farmers were able to make successful lives with this cheap land, most of it was procured through fraud by business people.
The Far West Comes of Age
Know: Boomers, Sooners, 1890, Frederick Jackson Turner, Yellowstone
9. What were some milestones in the “closing” of the West?
Some were: the population of the United States had increased & many nature preservation became an issue, like the founding of Yellowstone in 1872.
The Fading Frontier
Know: Francis Parkman, George Catlin, Frederic Remington
10. What effects has the frontier had on the development of the United States?
It helped encourage the opening of many new opportunities for immigrants to be successful; led people to believe that vast, new areas of land should be filled; and caused a huge population increase. The frontier also promoted industrialization.
Chapter #24: Industry Comes of Age – Big Picture Themes
1. Before the Civil War, railroads had become important. After the war, railroads boomed and were critical to the nation. Railroads, along with steel, were to be the skeleton on which the nation’s economy would be built.
2. A class of millionaires emerged for the first time ever. Tycoons like Carnegie and Rockefeller made fortunes. This type of wealth was championed by “Social Darwinism” where the strong win in business.
3. Unfortunately, many of the mega-industries, like railroads, grew at the expense of the “little man’s” interest. As businesses, they were out to make money, and they did. But the working man cried foul.
4. To right these wrongs, the beginnings of anti-trusts began (to bust the monopolies) and organized labor got a jumpstart (although they were still rather ineffective).
Chapter #24: Identifications
Government Subsidies
It is a subvention, a way of financial assistance paid to a business by the government. Railroad companies were given these for land and they were beneficial as well as detrimental.
Transcontinental Railroad
Completed in 1869 at Promontory, Utah. Linked the eastern railroad system with California's railroad system, and revolutionized the transportation in the west. It stretches from coast to coast. It made it easier for mail and goods to travel faster and cheaper. It took land away from Native Americans and many were killed in the early stages.
Cornelius Vanderbilt
The railroad owner who built a railway connecting Chicago and New York. He popularized the use of steel rails in his railroad, which made railroads safer and more economical. This man was one of the few railroad owners to be just and not considered a "Robber Barron"
Jay Gould
One of the most unethical Robber Barons. He was involved with Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed early on. He was involved in a gold speculation that started the panic of Black Friday in 1869. He gained control of western railroads and by 1882 had a controlling interest of 15% of the country's tracks. He was mistrusted by many of his peers, but he was recognized as a skilled businessman.
Interstate Commerce Commission
A congressional legislation established the Interstate Commerce Commission. It compelled railroads to publish standard rates and prohibited rebates and pools. Railroads quickly became skilled at using the it to accomplish their own agendas, but the Act gave the government an important way to regulate big business.
Vertical Integration
Used by Andrew Carnegie, he controlled every step of the industrial production process in order to increase efficiency and limit competition. It's when one organization controls all phases of manufacturing from beginning to end. This makes supplies more reliable and improved efficiency. It controlled the quality of the product at all stages of production.
Horizontal Integration
Used by John D. Rockefeller. It was an act of joining/buying out competitors to create a monopoly. Rockefeller was excellent with using this technique to monopolize certain markets. It is responsible for the majority of his wealth.
Trusts
A thing where one company grants control over its operations (through ownership of its stock) to another company. The Standard Oil Company became known for this in the 1870s since it eliminated its competition by taking control of smaller oil companies.
J.P. Morgan
A banker who financed the reorganization of railroads, insurance companies, and banks; he bought out Carnegie and in 1901 he started the United States Steel Corporation.
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
A law that didn't allow trusts or combinations in business. It was a landmark legislation because it was one of the 1st congressional attempts to regulate big business for the good of the public. First used mostly to restrain trade unions since the courts tended to side with companies in legal cases. In 1914 the Act was revised so it could be more effective against monopolistic corporations.
Yellow Dog Contracts
A labor contract that said an employee must agree not to join a union to get the job.
Blacklists
A list of people who had done something wrong and was disliked by businesses. They were refused jobs and harassed by unions and businesses.
Haymarket Square incident
It began as a rally in Chicago and 100,000 workers rioted . Someone threw a bomb at the police as they tried to disperse the meeting. The explosion and gunfire afterword caused the deaths of 8 police officers and an unknown number of civilians. In the public legal proceedings that came after, 8 people were tried for murder. Four were put to death, and one committed suicide in prison. The Chicago workers and the man who set the bomb were immigrants, so the incident promoted anti-immigrant feelings.
Chapter #24 Guided Reading Questions
The Iron Colt Becomes an Iron Horse
Know: Land grants
1. What were the advantages and disadvantages of government subsidies for the railroads?
Disadvantage: railroad companies would sell extra land and make money off the land that was paid for by government aka tax money; they also withheld land from other users until they knew where other tracks would be and how it benefited them. Advantage: railroad companies were able to expand further west; granting land was a "cheap" way to subsidize a wanted transportation system, because it avoided new taxes for direct cash grants.
Spanning the Continent with Rails
Know: Union Pacific, Central Pacific, Paddies, Leland Stanford
2. Describe how the first transcontinental railroad was built.
The Central Pacific started building in Sacramento and continued east across Sierra Nevada (mostly using chinese immigrants), while a second company, the Union Pacific Railroad, built westward from the Missouri River, near the Idaho-Nebraska border (with Irish immigrants). The two lines of track met in the middle.
Binding the Country with Railroad Ties
Know: The Great Northern, James J. Hill
3. Explain how the railroads could help or hurt Americans.
Help: Am would be connected across the country, which would help save travel time, the ability to connect with different types of people - culture, and allow people to get food from diff parts of the country, westward expansion, trade with Asia increased. Hurt: railroad construction was filled with scandals and corruption-hurt Americans financially, the work was very dangerous, and many people were killed on the job, railroads created many millionaires who could control the public and place large taxes on farmers.
Railroad Consolidation and Mechanization
Know: Cornelius Vanderbilt, Pullman Cars
4. What technological improvements helped railroads?
There were more efficient and economical steel rails, a standard gauge of track which lessened the need for lots of car changes, the Westinghouse air brake which had more safety, and devices like the telegraph.
Revolution by Railways
Know: Time Zones
5. What effects did the railroads have on America as a whole?
Railroads created a huge market for raw materials and manufactured goods. It also encouraged industrialization and urbanization. And encouraged mining and agriculture, took farmers to land and goods to people, started cities, created more millionaires, and created time zones.
Wrongdoing in Railroading
Know: Jay Gould, Stock Watering, Pools
6. What wrongdoing were railroads guilty of?
Stock watering: enabled railroad stock promoters to inflate their claims about a given line's assets and profitability and it sold stocks and bonds in excess of the railroad's actual value, other corruption such as bribery was also present.
Government Bridles the Iron Horse
Know: Wabash, Interstate Commerce Commission
7. Was the Interstate Commerce Act an important piece of legislation?
Yes, it banned rebates and pools and required the railroad companies to publish their rates openly. Most importantly, it set up the Interstate Commerce Commission to help and enforce the new legislation.
Miracles of Mechanization
Know: Mesabi Range, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison
8. What factors made industrial expansion possible?
An abundance of liquid capital, natural resources: oil and coal, cheap labor: immigrants, and easier transportation of raw materials and goods: railroads.
The Trust Titan Emerges
Know: Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Vertical Integration, Horizontal Integration, Trust, Interlocking Directorate
How did businesses organize to try to maximize profits?
They used horizontal integration, trusts, and interlocking directorates- placing officers of a larger competitor on the various boards of directors of competitors, to maximize profits to their full potential.
The Supremacy of Steel
Know: Heavy Industry, Capital Goods, Consumer Goods, Bessemer Process
10. Why was steel so important for industrialization?
It held together the new civilization:from skyscrapers to coal scuttles and it provided food, shelter, and transportation. Steel making (rails for railroads) identified the dominance of "heavy industry," which concentrated on making "capital goods". The production of steel became a major market.
Carnegie and Other Sultans of Steel
Know: Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan
11. Briefly describe the careers of Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan.
Carnegie was in the steel business, by 1900 he was producing 1/4 of the nation's Bessemer steel. Morgan created a reputation for himself by financing the reorganization of insurance companies, railroads, and banks. Carnegie, was trying to sell his business and bartered with Morgan until they agreed to $400 million dollars. Morgan went on to buy other businesses and develop the first 1.4 billion dollar business, he was the first billionaire.
Rockefeller Grows an American Beauty Rose
Know: Kerosene
12. How was John D. Rockefeller able to become so wealthy?
He used horizontal integration, he was known for it, and trusts to monopolize the oil industry with his Standard Oil Company of Ohio.
The Gospel of Wealth
Know: Social Darwinism
13. How did the wealthy justify their wealth?
They justified it by claiming social darwinism and the Gospel of Wealth, they believed that the rich were meant to be rich and hard work had let them deserve it.
Government Tackles the Trust Evil
Know: Sherman Anti-Trust Act
14. What two methods were tried by those who opposed the trusts?
Those who opposed trusts turned to trusts and labor unions. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act helped.
The South in the Age of Industry
15. How successful were Southerners at industrializing?
The had limited success, often limited by Northerner industrialists, but they succeeded with the invention of the machine made cigarette.
The Impact of the New Industrial Revolution on America
16. Describe the positive and negative effects of the industrial revolution on working Americans.
Positive: farmers and independent producers were becoming wage earners, it gave women more independence, and connected nation more than ever. Negative: it brought on more corruption in the economy and in politics, widened class divides, and increased urbanization and the poor conditions in those urban areas.
In Unions There is Strength
Know: Scabs, Lock-out, Yellow-dog Contract, Black List, Company Town
17. What conditions existed in America that led Jay Gould to say, "I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half"?
Job security. It was extremely low and workers were so easily replaced and they knew it. People always searched for ways to keep their jobs so they could support themselves and their families, strikes were usually ineffective and often detrimental to the strikers.
Labor Limps Along
Know: National Labor Union, Knights of Labor
18. Explain the similarities and differences between the National Labor Union and the Knights of Labor.
The National Labor Union included unskilled farmers but didn't include the Chinese and they didn't try to aid women and blacks. The Knights were created in 1869 as a secret society and included all workers and only prohibited "nonproducers", their goals included economic and social reform and new/better codes for safety and health. They didn't like industrial warfare and wanted an 8 hour work day.
Unhorsing the Knights of Labor
Know: Haymarket Square
19. What factors led to the decline of the Knights of Labor?
They were involved in too many ineffective May Day strikes in 1886. In Chicago they were accidentally involved with anarchists since the Haymarket Square Bomb occured in during a Knights of Labor strike. Another fatal handicap of the Knights was their inclusion of all workers.
The AF of L to the Fore
Know: American Federation of Labor, Samuel Gompers, Closed Shop
20. How was the AFL different from previous unions?
It was founded by socialists, like Samuel Gompers. The AFL became a union organizing skilled workers. Gompers realized a successful union wouldn't succeed if it became a political organization so he concentrated on the main issues: better wages, better working conditions, collective bargaining agreements, shorter hours, and safety issues.
Makers of America: The Knights of Labor
Know: Mother Jones, Terence Powderly
21. Were the Knights conservative or revolutionary in their ideas?
Yes, they were revolutionary in a way. They were against the rich and condemned them as parasites. They denounced wage slavery, and tried to achieve the cooperative commonwealth.
Varying Viewpoints: Industrialization: Boon or Blight
22. To what degree is it possible for common people to improve their status in industrial America?
The Industrial Revolution in America was both good and bad. Industrialization brought an increased volume and variety of manufactured goods and an improved standard of living for some, it also resulted in often grim employment and living conditions for the poor and working classes. But its very possible, rags to riches stories were rare but not unheard of, like Carnegie.
Chapter #25: America Moves to the City – Big Picture Themes
1. Cities grew because factories grew. The Industrial Revolution kicked into gear in America in the late 1800s and factories needed workers, so people flocked to the cities.
2. Problems arose as cities boomed. The problems included: exploitation of immigrant laborers, poor/unhealthy work conditions, over-crowdedness and sanitation problems, corrupton, and “nativism” (anti-immigrant feelings).
3. Booker T. Washington & W.E.B. DuBois were the top black leaders. They disagreed on how to help blacks—Washington encouraged blacks to obtain a practical skill at a trade school, DuBois encouraged blacks to study anything they wished, even academic subjects.
4. The roles of women began to change, if only slightly. More women worked, though most were still at home. The “new woman” was idealized by the althletic, outgoing “Gibson Girl.”
Chapter #25 Identifications
Florence Kelley
Worked at the Hull House and successfully lobbied for an Illinois antisweatshop law that protected women workers and prohibited child labor in 1893. A lifelong prominent figure for the welfare of women, children, blacks, and consumers. She later moved to the Henry Street Settlement in New York and served for three decades as general secretary of the National Consumers League.
Mary Baker Eddy
Was an author and founder of a popular new religion based on the principles of spiritual healing. She founded the Church of Christ (Christian Science) in 1879 and preached that true Christianity heals sickness; so she believed that there was no need for a doctor, if someone has enough faith they can heal themselves. She also wrote a widely bought book called "Science and Health with a key to the Scriptures".
William James
Was a philosopher, part of the Harvard faculty and he wrote "Principles of Psychology, The Will of to Believe, Varieties of Religious Experience, and Pragmatism". In 1842-1910 he helped express the philosophy of the nation.
Henry George
He was a journalist/author and thought very much out of the box. He saw poverty at its worst in India and wrote the book "Progress and Poverty". This book was on the best-seller list in 1879. He believed that the pressure of a growing population and a fixed supply of land pushed up property values.
Horatio Alger
A popular writer of the Post-Civil War time period, he was a Puritan New Englander who wrote more than a 100 titles of teen fiction during his career, he was also part of the "rags to riches" theme.
Mark Twain
He was America's most popular author, but he was also a renowned platform lecturer. He lived from 1835-1910. He used a romantic style of literature meshed with comedy to entertain his audiences. In 1873 he wrote The Gilded Age, the reason the time period is called the "Gilded Age". The greatest contribution he made to American literature was the way he captured the frontier realism and humor through the dialogue his characters used.
Nativism
It was a opinion or ideal in which a person hated immigrants and were very patriotic; mostly because the immigrants were become overwhelming and they took jobs.
Philanthropy
The wealth of this time period formed private organizations and by wealthy people and became some of the largest corporations in the world. The helped people and foreign nations.
Social Gospel
It was preached by many people in the 1880s and stated that due to the social environment, the poor could not help their situation. This caused churches to get involved in helping the poor, but some people disagreed and didn't think that they should be helped because it was the poor's fault for not working hard enough.
Settlement House
It's a house where immigrants lived when they entered the U.S. At these places, English was taught and people learned how to get a job. The first settlement house was the Hull House, opened by Jane Addams in Chicago, 1889. These centers were usually run by educated middle class women. and they became centers for reform in the women's and labor movements.
Women's Christian Temperance Union
It was organized in 1874 and the white ribbon symbolized purity. It was led by Frances E. Willlard for the issue of prohibition. In 1919, the 18th Amendment was passed for national prohibition, a temporary solution
Eighteenth Amendment
In 1919, the 18th Amendment was passed for national prohibition, a temporary solution; alcohol of any kind was prohibited.
Chapter #25: Identifications
The Urban Frontier
Know: Louis Sullivan, Walking Cities, Department Stores, Tenements
1. What factors led to the growth of cities in the second half of the 1800's?
Architects like Louis Sullivan and new inventions like the electric elevator. Commuting, trolleys, and immigrants. INDUSTRIAL JOBS and urban lifestyles. Electricity, indoor plumbing, and telephones, department stores.
The New Immigration
2. How were the new immigrants different from the old immigrants?
They came from southern and eastern europe: italians. croats, slovaks, greeks, and poles; they worshiped in orthodox churches or synagogues and came from undemocratic countries, they were illiterate and impoverished, and they liked industrial jobs.ß
Southern Europe Uprooted
3. Why did the new immigrants come to America in such large numbers?
Europe seemed to have no room for them-overpopulation,unemployment. The dream of having a full belly everyday, freedom of military conscription and institutionalized religious persecution. Savage persecutions of minorities. Russia persecuting jews.
Makers of America: The Italians
Know: Birds of Passage, padron
4. How did Italian immigrants live their lives in America?
They lived in cities and kept their rural upbringings, they kept chickens in vacant lots and raised vegetables in small garden plots between tenement houses. Tightly knit communities that had opera clubs, italian newspapers, and bocci courts, pizza emerged. They were industrial laborers-longshoremen and construction workers. Had padrones- labor bosses. Italians stayed longer than intended, not well educated.
Reactions to the New Immigration
Know: Political Bosses, Social Gospel, Jane Addams, Hull House, Settlement houses, Lillian Wald, Florence Kelley
5. How did political bosses help immigrants?
They got them jobs and homes to live in in exchange for control over their votes. They also helped immigrants get food and clothes, escape minor crimes, and helped get schools, hospitals, and parks built in immigrant neighborhoods.
Narrowing the Welcome Mat
Know: Nativists, Anglo-Saxon, American Protective Association, Statue of Liberty
6. In 1886, what was ironic about the words inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty?
The words' welcoming ideal contradicted the recent federal laws that refused the Chinese and undesirables (such as criminals and paupers) from the nation.
Churches Confront the Urban Challenge
Know: Dwight Lyman Moody, Cardinal Gibbons, Salvation Army, Mary Baker Eddy, YMCA
7. What role did religion play in helping the urban poor?
Christian socialism was planted into the minds of the middle class for future reform; city programs like YMCA helped the needy. Catholic leaders got growing influence to assist reform movements.
Darwin Disrupts the Churches
Know: Charles Darwin, Origin of the Species, Fundamentalists, Modernists, Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll,
8. What effect did the theory of evolution have on Christian churches?
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution caused many fights in the church and modernist clergymen were thrown out of office for belief in it and many people didn't believe it.
The Lust for Learning
Know: Normal Schools, Kindergarten, Chautauqua
9 What advances took place in education in the years following the Civil War?
Public education continued to grow; the idea of tax supported elementary schools that was adopted on a nationwide basis before the civil war, was still growing; Americans became more accepting of the fact that a free government cannot function successfully if the people are ignorant. In 1870, a rapidly increasing number states were making a grade school education mandatory and this helped reduce child labor. In the 1880's and 1890's high schools spread; before the civil war, there were lots of private schools and tax supported schools were rare, now elementary school education was the mandatory and a right of every citizen. Free textbooks were provided by taxpayers, teacher-training schools were expanded, kindergartens gained support and New Immigration brought new strength to private Catholic schools. Public schools excluded millions of adults. Crowded cities provided better educational facilities and illiteracy rate fell from 20% to 10.7%.
Booker T. Washington and Education for Black People
Know: Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee Institute, Accomodationist, George Washington Carver, W.E.B. Du Bois, NAACP
10. Explain the differences in belief between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois.
Washington's self-help approach to solving the nation's racial problems was labeled as "accommodationist" because it didn't directly challenge white supremacy; instead, it promoted practical education and economic independence. Du Bois demanded complete and immediate equality for blacks in society, economy, and life.
The Hallowed Halls of Ivy
Know: Vassar, Howard, Morrill Act, Land Grant Colleges, Hatch Act
11. What factors allowed the number of college students to dramatically increase?
Land grants that allowed the development of multipurpose institutions with programs using the elective approach throughout the country. Also, there was philanthropy.
The March of the Mind
Know: William James
12. Describe some of the intellectual achievements of the late 1800’s.
Advances in public health and increased philosophy and psychology like that of William James were some of the major achievements. There was also the choice of selecting courses in higher education.
The Appeal of the Press
Know: Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst, Yellow Journalism
13. How did the ability to produce newspapers inexpensively change their content?
Cheaper newspapers meant that newspapers could now appeal to the coarse majority who could now afford them and content became riddled with scandal, rumor, and human-interest instead of serious issues.
Apostles of Reform
Know: Edwin L. Godkin, Henry George, Edward Bellamy
14. How did writers in the 1870's and 1880's try to address the problems of their time?
In magazines, newspapers, and novels writers promoted social and civil-service reform and honesty and economic growth were also promoted.
Postwar Writing
Know: Dime novels, Horatio Alger, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson
15. Did the trends in writing after the Civil War make it a good period for literature? Explain.
The trends after the Civil war had realistic historical context that made it effectively capturing.
Literary Landmarks
Know: Kate Chopin, Mark Twain, Bret Harte, William Dean Howells, Stephen Crane, Henry James, Jack London, Frank Norris, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Charles W. Chestnut, Theodore Dreiser.
16 What did many writers in the late 1800's have in common?
Writers such as Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Bret Harte, William Dean, Howells and Chopin began to connect their work to some of the realism during that time (that of an industrial society).
The New Morality
Know: Victoria Woodhull, Anthony Comstock
17. What evidence demonstrated a battle raging over sexual morality?
The ideals of the Woodhull sisters like Victoria's belief in free love, which she proclaimed publicly; she was also a divorcee, stockbroker, and a feminist propagandist. She and her sister published a far-out periodical called Woodhull and Claflin's weekly that claimed Henry Ward Beecher had an affair for 4 years. Anthony Comstock also showed people the ongoing battle in the late-nineteenth-century America over sexual attitudes and the place of women. Comstock Law- defender of sexual purity= took away obscene pictures framed and unframed and boxes of bills and powders used by abortionists- this caused 15 suicides.
Families and Women in the City
Know: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, National Women Suffrage Association, Ida B. Wells
18. What changes were occurring in the women's rights movement?
Newest leader Carrie Chapman Catt stressed the desirability of giving women the vote if they were to continue to discharge their traditional duties as homemakers and mothers in the increasingly public world of the city. Women had special responsibility for the health of the family and the education of children, the argument ran. On the farm, women could discharge these responsibilities in the separate sphere of the isolated homestead. But in the city, they needed a voice on boards of public health, police commissions, and school boards. By thus linking the ballot to a traditional definition of women's role, suffragists registered encouraging gains as the new century opened.
Prohibition of Alcohol and Social Progress
Know: Women's Christian Temperance Union, Carrie Nation, Anti-Saloon League, 18th Amendment, Clara Barton
19. What social causes were women (and many men) involved in the late 1800's?
Women's suffrage, temperance/prohibition, and animal protection.
Artistic Triumphs
Know: James Whistler, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, George Inness, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Metropolitan Opera House, Henry H. Richardson, Columbian Exposition
20. Why is this section titled "artistic triumphs?"
People were artistic and so there were many painters, scupltors, and operas etc.
The Business of Amusement
Know: Vaudeville, P.T. Barnum, Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, James Naismith
21. What forms of recreation became popular from 1870 to 1900?
Because baseball, football, croquet, boxing, bicycling, basketball, Wild West shows, circuses, minstrel shows all came to be. Vaudeville and minstrels performed.
Chapter #23.2 Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age – Big Picture Themes
1. The government did reach the billion dollar level for the first time. This was largely due to military pension plans. The plans were very popular and revealed the goal of the legislators—pass something that will get me reelected.
2. Populism started. This was a farmer and worker movement that sought to clean up the government, bring it back to the people, and help the working man out.
Chapter #23.2 Identifications
James A. Garfield
still deadlocked in the 1880 election, the Stalwarts and Half-Breeds nominated this compromise "dark horse" for president. Republican candidate in presidential election of 1880 (against Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock); won election but assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau a year later.
Chester A. Arthur
Senator Roscoe Conkling ran a powerful political machine in New York in the 1870s. This man, who later became president, was his chief henchman. He was the Vice President of James A. Garfield. After President Garfield was assassinated, September of 1881, Arthur assumed the position. He was chosen to run as Vice President, primarily, to gain the Stalwart's vote. Arthur was left in charge of the United States with no apparent qualifications. He was also in favor of civil service reform.
Charles J. Guiteau
Shot President Grafield in the back in a Washington railroad station. Allegedly committed this crime so that Arthur, a stalwart, would become President. His attorneys used a plea of insanity, but failed and he was hung for murder. After this event politics began to get cleaned up with things like the Pendelton Act.
Grover Cleveland
Democratic nominee for presidential election of 1884 (against Republican James Blaine); campaign full of slander (barely any focus on platforms); barely won the election through winning plurality in New York; first Democrat to take office since Buchanan (28 years earlier); narrowed North-South chasm by naming two former Confederates to his cabinet; favored civil-service reform; vetoed many bills, took a lot of risks as President; openly appealed to Congress for lower tariffs (tentative issue at the time), which was often against his party's platform; 1888, lost re-election to Republican Harrison; later re-elected in 1892 (the only President to be reelected after defeat) against Republican Harrison; depression of 1893 sprang up right after his re-election, burdening him with a deepening deficit, Treasury was quickly losing gold; caught in a snag over making a deal with a banker to lend the government gold and over signing a bill which barely lowered tariffs and was deemed unconstitutional for violating the "direct tax" clause
Resumption Act
Resumption Act of 1875, which pledged the government to the further withdrawal of greenbacks from circulation and to the redemption of all paper currency in gold at face value (to begin in 1879); the 1875 act of Congress in which the government was to withdraw greenbacks from circulation and begin in 1879 to redeem all paper currency in gold
Crime of '73
The Fourth Coinage Act was enacted by the United States Congress in 1873 and embraced the gold standard and de-monetized silver. U.S. set the specie standard in gold and not silver, upsetting miners who referred to it as a crime
Bland-Allison Act
government buys silver each month and mint it into coins
Half-Breed
opponents to the Coklingites; flirted coyly with civil-service reform, but whose real quarrel with the Stalwarts was over who should grasp the spoils; champion was congressman James G. Blaine; Conkling and Blain e succeeded only in stalemating each other and deadlocking their party; Blaine later became Garfield's secretary of state
Mugwump
reform-minded Republicans who could not stomach the 1884 nomination of James Blaine were given this nickname
Pendleton Act of 1833
Garfield's death in 1881 may have contributed to the passage of this 1883 civil service reform act. 1883; spawned by Garfield's murder; it made compulsory campaign contributions from federal employees illegal and established the Civil Service Commission to make appointments to federal jobs on the basis of competitive examinations rather than "pull"
Thomas B. Reed
"The Czar" When Republicans controlled everything, he was Speaker of the House and he ran the House like his own castle. He and
"Billion Dollar" Congress
under Benjamin Harrison, the Fifty-First Congress reached a spending milestone and was subsequently nicknamed this
Pension Act
Passed by the Fifty-First congress in 1890 under the direction of president Harrison; it awarded stipends to all Civil War veterans who had fought for at least 90 days and were no longer able to do manual labor. Foreshadowed the "welfare state" of the next century. Won support from the GAR and the GOP.
Chapter #23.2 Guided Reading Questions
The Birth of Jim Crow in the Post-Reconstruction South
Know: Redeemers, sharecropping, tenant farming, Jim Crow laws, Plessy v. Ferguson
1. Analyze the data in the lynching chart on page 513.
The lynching slowly went down as the years go by. More blacks were lynched than whites in total, by year, it fluctuates.
Class Conflicts and Ethnic Clashes
Know: Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Denis Kearney, Coolies, Chinese Exclusion Act
2. What was the significance of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877?
State militia units were brought in, but often proved to be ineffective because of their sympathy for the strikers. And it was the first time soldiers were used in a labor matter. There were great loss of life and property damage. A massive intervention by the federal government crushed the strikers and helped the employers. The strike of 1877 was the most violent labor-management confrontation; it was the start of an era of strife between workers and owners.
Garfield and Arthur
Know: James A. Garfield, Charles J. Guiteau, Chester A. Arthur, Pendleton Act of 1883
3. What new type of corruption resulted from the Pendleton Act?
It made the politicians look elsewhere for money and they turned to big corps'. They milked money from manufacturers and lobbyists. It helped drive politicians into "marriage" with big business leaders.
The Blaine-Cleveland Mudslingers of 1884
Know: James G. Blaine, Tattooed man, Mugwumps, Grover Cleveland, Ma, ma where's my pa?, Rum, Romanism and Rebellion
4. Explain how character played a part in the presidential election of 1884.
Personal character was paramount in the 1884 campaign, James G. Blaine couldn't get the Republican presidential nomination during the last 2 elections because of the "Mulligan letters". Governor Grover Cleveland though, was known as "Grover the Good" for his integrity. He had been the mayor of Buffalo and then the governor of the state of New York, cleaning up large amounts of Tammany Hall's graft. But Cleveland had an affair and an illegitimate child, a scandal used against him.
“Old Grover" Takes Over
5. Assess the following statement: "As president, Grover Cleveland governed as his previous record as governor indicated he would."
Grover Cleveland was a good and fair governor as well as a good and fair president. He believed that the government don't support the people, people support the government and so he vetoed the act for farmers.
Cleveland Battles for a Lower Tariff
6. What were the reasons behind Cleveland's stance in favor of lower tariffs?
He supported lower tariffs because it meant lower prices for consumers and less protection for monopolies.
The Billion Dollar Congress
Know: Thomas Reed, Civil War pensions, McKinley Tariff Act of 1890
7. Explain why the tariff was detrimental to American farmers.
It gave 2 cents per pound to American sugar producers and raised agricultural tariffs.
The Drumbeat of Discontent
Know: Populists
8. What was the most revolutionary aspect of the Populist platform? Defend your answer with evidence.
The nomination of William Jennings Bryan on a free-silver platform. It caused the nationalization of railroads, income tax, recall elections, referendums, and reelection of senators.
Cleveland and Depression
Know: Grover Cleveland, Depression or 1893, William Jennings Bryan, Sherman Silver Purchase Act
9. What could Cleveland have done to lessen the impact of the financial turmoil?
He could have avoided the intervention in the Pullman Strike of 1894 to keep the railroads moving since it angered labor unions nationwide and angered the party in Illinois. He could have not supported the gold standard and opposition to Free Silver since it alienated the agrarian wing of the Democratic Party. He should have helped the labor union and not give his support of the gold standard.
Cleveland Breeds a Backlash
Know: Wilson Gorman Tariff
10. Is the characterization of the Gilded Age presidents as the “forgettable presidents” a fair one? Explain.
Yes, none of them did a good job of helping the country out of the post-Reconstruction era and some actually did the opposite of help.
Chapter #26.2 Agricultural Revolution and Populism – Big Picture Themes
1. Miners looking for silver and/or gold fled to Colorado and Nevada seeking quick fortune. A few found it, the vast majority didn’t.
2. Cattle became king in Texas as cowboys drove herds north to the Kansas railroads and reaped quick money.
3. Farmers struggled out west due to several problems: weather, insects, high mortgage rates, high railroad shipping rates, and low prices for their crops.
4. The farmers’ struggles led to the People’s (or Populist) Party. This party sought “cheap money” (or silver money) in order to create inflation and thus make it easier to pay off debts.
Chapter #26:2 Identifications
Joseph F. Glidden
Wa an inventor in 1874 who invented a better type of barbed wire than previously. It solved the problems of how to build fences on the treeless prairies.
James B. Weaver
He was an old Granger who was known because of the Civil War, a veteran who possessed an amazing voice and bearing. He spoke to about a 1/2 million citizens, and around a 100 speeches but he only polled 3 percent in the total popular vote.
Oliver H. Kelly
He was the founder of the Grange; 1867.
Mary Elizabeth Lease
She was called "Patrick Henry in Petticoats" and "the Kansas Pythoness". She was also a Populist of the 1890's who lambasted the rich aristocracy and government "of Wall Street, by Wall Street, and for Wall Street".
Comstock Lode
It was when silver was discovered in Nevada. $340 million was paid to let Nevada become a state. The "fifty-niners" poured in to Nevada to mine for riches, hoping to also find silver.
Long Drive
It was the nickname for the system of driving large herds over unfenced and unpopulated plains until they reached a railroad terminal in the late 1800's. Cattle were driven from Texas to Kansas railroads and cowboys would round up the herds and drive them toward the north.
Homestead Act
It offered a settler 160 acres of free land in 1862 if the settler lived on it for five years, improved it, and paid a $10 fee.
Patrons of Husbandry
The Patrons of Husbandry was a group organized in 1867, the leader was Oliver H. Kelley. It was also known as the Grange. It was a group with colorful appeal and had lots of passwords to preserve secrecy. The Grange was a group of farmers that worked for improvement for the farmers.
Granger Laws
The Granger laws were a series of laws passed in western states of the US after the American Civil War, it regulated grain and railroad rates (make them stable) and rebates and to address long and short haul discrimination and other railroad abuses against farmers.
Farmers' Alliance
It was the first "national" organization of the farmers that eventually led to the creation of the Populist party. The Farmers' Alliance was also known for its social gatherings, activeness in politics, organized cooperatives, and its opposition against the control the railroads and manufacturers had over farmers.
Populists
A political group that started up in 1891. They gained support from farmers who turned to them for in the fight against political unfairness. They used a progressive platform and James B. Weaver was their presidential candidate in 1892. They had an impressive voter turnout and they were known as the People's Party.
Jacob S. Coxey
Was a wealthy Ohio quarry owner who organized a group of unemployed citizens during the time of the depression and convinced them to march to Washington in 1894.
Williams Jennings Bryan
A young Nebraska congressman who fought against Cleveland's choice to repeal the Silver Purchase Act in 1893. He was an outstanding orator, especially during the Cross of Gold Speech. He was a presidential nominee but he lost to McKinley. He was also a politician who ran for president 1896, 1900 and 1908 under Democrats and was a prosilverite and Populist leader.
Bimetallism
It was the usage of both silver and gold as currency. Republicans believed in the opposite of bimetallism (only one- gold), while the Democrats/Populist believed in bimetallism.
Free Silver
It increased currency and money supply which caused higher farm prices. But it also reduced farmers' debts and reduced the power of the eastern bankers. It expanded silver mining and was favored by the Populists.
Depression of 1893
A serious economic depression that began in 1893 due to railroad companies over-extending-overspeculation themselves and causing bank failures. It was the worst economic collapse in the history up to that point.
Cross of Gold Speech
A famous speech given by a great orator, William Jennings Bryan. It was given in support of bimetallism and Bryan condemned the gold standard a burden (like a cross). It was at the 1896 Democratic Convention and he attacked the "gold bugs" who insisted that U.S. currency be backed only with gold/opposed bimetallism. This speech caused the gold-silver issue to pop in the election.
Chapter #26.2 Guided Reading Questions
The Farm Becomes a Factory
Know: Montgomery Ward, Combine
1. Explain the statement, "The amazing mechanization of agriculture in the postwar years was almost as striking as the mechanization of industry."
The Civil War was the first modern war which had been the first time technology and industrial strength played a significant role. The technology invented was supremely beneficial agriculturally but not as much so as factories.
Deflation Dooms the Debtor
Know: Deflation
What problems faced farmers in the closing decades of the 19th century?
The farmers of the West became dependent on the one-crop economy (wheat or corn) and were in the same position/dilemma as the southern cotton farmers. The price of their product was determined by the world market by the world output. In 1870, the lack of currency in circulation forced the price of crops to go down and thousands of farms mortgaged and the mortgage rates kept on rising.
Unhappy Farmers
3. How did nature, government, and business all harm farmers?
The soil of the West was becoming malnourished and floods caused erosion, and droughts forced many people to abandon their farms and towns. Farmers were forced to sell their products cheaply in an unprotected world market, while buying high-priced manufactured goods in a tariff-protected home market. Farmers were also controlled by corporations and processors; they were at the mercy of the harvester trust, the barbed-wire trust, and the fertilizer trust, all of which could control the output and raise prices to high levels. Even though farmers made up ½ the population in 1890, they never organized successfully to restrict production until 50 years later.
The Farmers Take Their Stand
Know: The Grange, Cooperatives, Greenback-Labor Party, James B. Weaver
4. How did the Grange attempt to help farmers?
They protested the outrageous railroad problems, as in the rising prices. They helped farmers control the railroads, to make them stay in the same price range, despite certain conditions.
Prelude to Populism
Know: The Farmers’ Alliance, Mary Elizabeth Lease
5. What steps did the Farmers’ Alliance believe would help farmers?
It operated free mills and gins that small farmers could use and it believed in graduated income taxes, sub-treasures-warehouses, and government ownership of railroads.
Coxey’s Army and the Pullman Strike
Know: Coxey’s Army, Eugene V. Debs, Pullman Palace Car Company
6. Why did President Cleveland send in federal troops during the Pullman Strike?
The railroad workers had stopped the trains which harmed commerce in the US.
Golden McKinley and Sliver Bryan
Know: Mark Hannah, William McKinley, William Jennings Bryan, Cross of Gold speech
7 Was William McKinley a strong presidential candidate? Explain.
Yes, he was wealthy, which is a plus and when going against Bryan he had more means to get his message across.
Class Conflict: Plowholders versus Bondholders
Know: Fourth Party System
8. “The free-silver election of 1896 was probably the most significant since Lincoln’s victories in 1860 and 1864.” Explain.
The outcome was a big victory for large business, big cities, middle-class values, and financial conservatism. The Republican victory of 1896 also started a Republican hold on the White House for sixteen consecutive years.
Republican Standpattism Enthroned
Know: Dingley Tariff Bill
9. Did McKinley possess the characteristics necessary to be an effective president?
Yes, he accepted the commoners beliefs, he related and won.
Varying Viewpoints: Was the West Really “Won”?
Know: Frederick Jackson Turner
10. Which criticism of the Turner Thesis seems most valid? Explain
The thought that the Am character was shaped only by the western wilderness. The railroad expansions, cowboy lifestyles, and precious metal rushes shaped the United States, but it didn't necessarily define it. The culture of the United States was also defined in the eastern cities, where many centers of activities occurred.
Thomas Nast
A U.S. illustrator and newspaper cartoonist in the "Gilded Age" who produced satirical cartoons, he invented "Uncle Sam" and came up with the elephant and the donkey for the political parties. He nearly brought down Boss Tweed.
Horace Greely
American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, and a politician. His New York Tribune was America's most influential newspaper from the 1840s to the 1870s and "established his reputation as the greatest editor of his day.
Roscoe Conkling
A politician from New York who served both as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He was the leader of the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party and the last person to refuse a U.S. Supreme Court appointment after he had already been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
James G. Blaine
A U.S. Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, two-time Secretary of State. Was nominated for president in 1884, but lost a closely to Democrat Grover Cleveland.
Samuel Tilden
Democratic nominee for president in 1876 who loses narrowly
Charles J. Guiteau
An American lawyer who assassinated U.S. President Garfield on July 2, 1881. He was executed by hanging.
Hard or Sound Money
The specie dollar was known as hard money. Was extremely important during the late 1860's and early 1870's, especially during the Panic of 1873. It was in opposition with greenbacks/folding money. The issuing of the greenbacks was overdone and the value depreciated causing inflation and the Panic of 1873. "Hard-money" advocates looked for the complete disappearance of the folding money.
Gilded Age
The era of rapid economic and pop growth in the US during the post-Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras. "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.
Bloody-Shirt
Republican campaign tactic that blamed the Democrats for the Civil War; it was used successfully in campaigns from 1868 to 1876 to keep Democrats out of public office, especially the presidency.
Tweed Ring
Corrupt part of Tammany Hall in New York City started by "Boss" Tweed. Samuel J. Tilden, the reform governor of New York had been instrumental in overthrowing it. Thomas Nast exposed it through illustration in Harper's Weekly
Credit Mobilier Scandal
Occurred in the 1870s. A railroad construction company's stockholders used funds that were supposed to be used to build the Union Pacific Railroad for their own personal use. To avoid being convicted, stockholders even used stock to bribe congressional members and the VP.
Whiskey Ring
During the Grant administration, a group of officials were importing whiskey and using their offices to avoid paying the taxes on it, cheating the treasury out of millions of dollars.
Resumption Act
It pledged the withdrawal of greenbacks from circulation and the redemption of all paper money in gold.
Crime of '73
through the act of 1873, the US ended the minting of silver dollars and placed the country on gold standard. It was attacked by those who supported an inflationary monetary policy especially farmers who believed in the unlimited coinage of silver
Bland-Allison Act
An 1878 act of Congress that required U.S. Treasury to buy a certain amount of silver and put it into circulation as silver dollars. Was vetoed by Pres Hayes. But Congress overrode Hayes' veto on Feb 28, 1878 to enact the law.
Half-Breed
A republican political machine, headed by James G. Blane in 1869. The half-breeds pushed republican ideals and were almost a separate group that existed within the party.
Compromise of 1877
Ended Reconstruction. Republicans promised to 1) Remove military from South, 2) Appoint Democrat to cabinet (David Key postmaster general), 3) Federal money for railroad construction and levees on Mississippi river
Civil Service Reform
Liberal Republicans held a national convention in Cincinnati in 1872. Platform demanded this type of reform and condemned the Republicans' Southern policy. Nominated "Horace Greeley" for President.
Pendleton Act
1883 law that created a Civil Service Commission and stated that federal employees could not be required to contribute to campaign funds nor be fired for political reasons
"Billion Dollar" Congress
A meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1889 to March 4, 1891, during the first two years of the administration of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison.
Chapter #23.1 Guided Reading Questions
The "Bloody Shirt" Elects Grant
Know: Ulysses S. Grant, Ohio Idea, Repudiation, Horatio Seymour, Bloody Shirt
1.Was General Grant good presidential material? Why did he win?
He was, at the time, very good presidential material since he was considered a Northern hero from the war. Grant won because of the Ohio Idea which at the time poor Midwestern delegates called for repudiation in greenbacks. During that time he competed with Horatio Seymour who he did not agree with the Ohio Idea; many did not agree with Seymour, they favored Grant. Many of Grant’s enthusiasts stated “waving the bloody shirt” which became Grant’s presidential slogan.
The Era of Good Stealings
Know: Jim Fisk, Jay Gould, Black Friday, Boss Tweed, Graft, Thomas Nast, Samuel J. Tilden
2."The Man in the Moon...had to hold his nose when passing over America." Explain.
During this time railroad promoters often left bond buyers with only 2 streaks of rust and a right of way. Jim Fisk and Jay Gould planned to corner the gold market. They worked under president Grant and on Black Friday. They put the price of gold extremely high, enraging many businessmen. Also Burly Boss Tweed used of bribery, graft, and fraudulent elections to gain $200 million dollars. Thomas Nast narced Tweed giving him a bribe he cannot resist and soon caught Tweed in the act. Samuel J Tilden headed the prosecution at the time helping put Tweed behind bars.
A Carnival of Corruption
Know: Credit Mobilier, Whiskey Ring, William Belknap
3.Describe two major scandals that directly involved the Grant administration.
Grant was in the Credit Mobilier scandal which was formed of Union Pacific Railroad insiders. Credit Mobilier construction company helped inflate prices that build the railroad line. Also the Whiskey Ring robbed the Treasury of millions of dollars by using excise tax revenues. Secretary of War William Belknap resigned shortly after pocketing bribes from suppliers to the Indian reservations.
Depression and Demands for Inflation
Know: Panic of 1873, Greenbacks, Hard-money, Crime of '73, Contraction, Soft-money, Bland-Allison Act
5.Why did some people want greenbacks and silver dollars? Why did others oppose these kinds of currency?
Many did not want greenbacks and silver dollars because during of the Panic of 1873 which caused inflation. At the end of the war, $450 million dollars was issued but was deprecated over time. Some wanted it because they believed that more money meant cheaper money causing rising prices and easier to pay debts. Hard money advocates persuaded Grant to veto a bill to stop printing out more money. Soft money was used for campaign ads to endure a political party at the time . The westerners from silver mining states joined the debtors with the Crime of 73 which was a demand for more greenbacks. Soon after the treasury began to accumulate the gold stocks against the appointed day for resumption of money payments so soon a policy called contraction was created. Contraction made the depression even worse and worse.
Pallid Politics in the Gilded Age
Know: Gilded Age, Grand Army of the Republic, Stalwarts, Roscoe Conkling, Half-Breeds, James G. Blaine
6.Why was there such fierce competition between Democrats and Republicans in the Gilded Age if the parties agreed on most economic issues?
The Grand Army of the Republic was a politically potent organization of several hundred thousand Union veteran soldiers who continued to vote on the Republican side. The Stalwarts faction was led by Lord Roscoe who gave votes in return for kickbacks and party service. Also, Half Breeds was born and caused the Democratic and Republicans to separate, the most famous of the Half Breeds was James G Blaine who stalemated Roscoe Conkling at the time causing a deadlock between the party.
The Hayes-Tilden Standoff, 1876
Know: Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel J. Tilden
7. Why were the results of the 1876 election in doubt?
There were many doubts of the election of 1876 for many reasons. Rutherford B Hayes and Samuel J Tilden was against each other. Both parties sent statements to Lousiana, South Carolina, and Florida. Another problem is no one could count the votes because the senate was a republican and the Speaker of the house was a Democrat.
The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction
Know: Compromise of 1877, Electoral Count Act, David Davis, Civil Rights Cases (1883),
8. How did the end of Reconstruction affect African-Americans?
The Republican party dropped the idea of racial equality among the blacks. Renewed deadlock was avoided by the rest of the complex with the Compromise of 1877. The Electoral Count Act broke the court because it was an electoral commission consisting of 15 men. The Supreme Court ruled with David Davis and he decided that the Civil Right Cases were unconstitutional. The Court then declared that the fourteenth amendment prohibited only government violations of civil rights and to not deny the civil rights of individual.
Chapter #26.1 The Great West Big Picture Themes
1. Native Americans out West faced two options: agree to settle on a reservation or fight the U.S. Army as “hostiles.” Some chose reservations, others to fight, but all were cleared out. .
Chapter #26.1 Identifications
Sitting Bull
One of the leaders of the Sioux tribe, was a medicine man.He became a prominent Indian leader during the Sioux War, 1876-1877. During Custer's Last Stand in 1876, Sitting Bull was " making medicine" while another Indian, Crazy Horse, led the Sioux. When more whites arrived at the Battle of Little Big Horn, Sitting Bull and the other Sioux we forced into Canada.
George A. Custer
General during the Civil War, he set out in 1874 with his Seventh Cavalry to return the Plains Indians to the Sioux reservation. Defeated by an army that outnumbered his men 10 to 1.
Chief Joseph
Leader of Nez Perce, fled with his tribe to Canada instead of going to thereservations. However, US troops came and fought and brought them back down to reservations.
Sioux Wars
1876-1877. Huge clashes between the Sioux Indians and white men. Spurred by gold-greedy miners rushing into Sioux land. The white men were breaking their treaty with the Indians. The Sioux Indians were led by Sitting Bull and they were pushed by Custer's forces. Custer led these forces until he was killed at the battle at Little Bighorn. Many of the Indian were finally forced into Canada, where they were forced by starvation to surrender.
Ghost Dance
A cult that tried to call the spirits of past warriors to inspire the young men to fight. It was undermined at the Battle of Wounded Knee after spreading to the Dakota Sioux. The Ghost Dance led to the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887. This act tried to reform Indian tribes and turn them into "white" citizens.
Dawes Severalty Act
In 1887. It dismantled American Indian tribes, set up individuals as family heads with 160 acres, tried to make rugged individualists out of the Indians, attempted to assimilate the Indian population into that of the American: aka whitewash.
Battle of Wounded Knee
A group of white Christian reformists tried to bring convert the Indians. Fearing the Ghost Dance, Am troops were called to go with the reformists. While camped outside of an Indian reservation a gun was fired and the troops stormed the reservation killing Indian men women and children.
Chapter # 26.1 Guided Reading Questions
The Clash of Cultures on the Plain
Know: Indian Territory, Sioux, Great Sioux Reservation, Tenth Cavalry
Describe the effect of westward expansion on Native Americans.
Had a negative effect on Native Americans. Three changes: Native Americans were forced to live on reservations. The buffalo, an important resource, rapidly declined in population. Military conflict between whites and Native Americans resulted in many deaths.
Receding Native Americans
Know: George Armstrong Custer, Bozeman Trail, Sitting Bull, Battle of Little Big Horn, Chief Joseph, Geronimo
How was the West "won?"
Aggressive attacks, fear, inhumane doings; custer led a party into the Black Hills of South Dakota and announced gold so greedy gold-seekers would come. Indians were killed by white diseases and the buffalo decline.
Bellowing Herds of Bison
Know: Buffalo Bill Cody
3. How were the Buffalo reduced from 15 million to less than a thousand?
Through the hunting for their furs by the white men (from westward expansion), hunters literally shot them out of a moving train and killed many.
The End of the Trail
Know: Helen Hunt Jackson, Ghost Dance, Battle of Wounded Knee, Dawes Act, Carlisle Indian School, Indian Reorganization Act
4. What did the government do to try to assimilate Native Americans?
The government used the Dawes Severalty Act, which granted Native Americans citizenship if they displayed American behavior after 25 years in the country. Also, the Carlisle Indian School destroyed Native American culture: the children were taken from their families and taught English culture instead of learning Indian culture from their families. The government also outlawed many religious practices native to the Native Americans.
Mining: From Dishpan to Ore Breaker
Know: Pike's Peak, Comstock Lode, Silver Senators
5. How did the discovery of precious metals affect the American West?
It led to the increase in western movement, and also created a more industrialized society in the west. Gaps between political parties widened, since diff parties had diff views on the values the metals, and the "American dream" was more in grasp, since many people became rich from the metals.
Makers of America: The Plains Indians
6. How was the culture of the Plains Indians shaped by white people?
If the Indians didn't listen to the white people, they were cruely punished. Indian land was taken over by the whites and their food/material/weapon supply was dwindled down.
Beef Bonanzas and the Long Drive
Know: Long Drive, Wild Bill Hickok
7. Why was cattle ranching so profitable in the 1870's?
Because there was a very high demand for the leather and meat obtained from cattle.
The Farmers’ Frontier
Know: Homestead Act, Great American Desert, John Wesley Powell, Joseph F. Glidden
8. Did the Homestead Act live up to its purpose of giving small farmers a descent life on the plains?
No, because 10 times as much land that actual small farmers got was taken by greedy land-grabbing promoters. While a big amount of farmers were able to make successful lives with this cheap land, most of it was procured through fraud by business people.
The Far West Comes of Age
Know: Boomers, Sooners, 1890, Frederick Jackson Turner, Yellowstone
9. What were some milestones in the “closing” of the West?
Some were: the population of the United States had increased & many nature preservation became an issue, like the founding of Yellowstone in 1872.
The Fading Frontier
Know: Francis Parkman, George Catlin, Frederic Remington
10. What effects has the frontier had on the development of the United States?
It helped encourage the opening of many new opportunities for immigrants to be successful; led people to believe that vast, new areas of land should be filled; and caused a huge population increase. The frontier also promoted industrialization.
Chapter #24: Industry Comes of Age – Big Picture Themes
1. Before the Civil War, railroads had become important. After the war, railroads boomed and were critical to the nation. Railroads, along with steel, were to be the skeleton on which the nation’s economy would be built.
2. A class of millionaires emerged for the first time ever. Tycoons like Carnegie and Rockefeller made fortunes. This type of wealth was championed by “Social Darwinism” where the strong win in business.
3. Unfortunately, many of the mega-industries, like railroads, grew at the expense of the “little man’s” interest. As businesses, they were out to make money, and they did. But the working man cried foul.
4. To right these wrongs, the beginnings of anti-trusts began (to bust the monopolies) and organized labor got a jumpstart (although they were still rather ineffective).
Chapter #24: Identifications
Government Subsidies
It is a subvention, a way of financial assistance paid to a business by the government. Railroad companies were given these for land and they were beneficial as well as detrimental.
Transcontinental Railroad
Completed in 1869 at Promontory, Utah. Linked the eastern railroad system with California's railroad system, and revolutionized the transportation in the west. It stretches from coast to coast. It made it easier for mail and goods to travel faster and cheaper. It took land away from Native Americans and many were killed in the early stages.
Cornelius Vanderbilt
The railroad owner who built a railway connecting Chicago and New York. He popularized the use of steel rails in his railroad, which made railroads safer and more economical. This man was one of the few railroad owners to be just and not considered a "Robber Barron"
Jay Gould
One of the most unethical Robber Barons. He was involved with Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed early on. He was involved in a gold speculation that started the panic of Black Friday in 1869. He gained control of western railroads and by 1882 had a controlling interest of 15% of the country's tracks. He was mistrusted by many of his peers, but he was recognized as a skilled businessman.
Interstate Commerce Commission
A congressional legislation established the Interstate Commerce Commission. It compelled railroads to publish standard rates and prohibited rebates and pools. Railroads quickly became skilled at using the it to accomplish their own agendas, but the Act gave the government an important way to regulate big business.
Vertical Integration
Used by Andrew Carnegie, he controlled every step of the industrial production process in order to increase efficiency and limit competition. It's when one organization controls all phases of manufacturing from beginning to end. This makes supplies more reliable and improved efficiency. It controlled the quality of the product at all stages of production.
Horizontal Integration
Used by John D. Rockefeller. It was an act of joining/buying out competitors to create a monopoly. Rockefeller was excellent with using this technique to monopolize certain markets. It is responsible for the majority of his wealth.
Trusts
A thing where one company grants control over its operations (through ownership of its stock) to another company. The Standard Oil Company became known for this in the 1870s since it eliminated its competition by taking control of smaller oil companies.
J.P. Morgan
A banker who financed the reorganization of railroads, insurance companies, and banks; he bought out Carnegie and in 1901 he started the United States Steel Corporation.
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
A law that didn't allow trusts or combinations in business. It was a landmark legislation because it was one of the 1st congressional attempts to regulate big business for the good of the public. First used mostly to restrain trade unions since the courts tended to side with companies in legal cases. In 1914 the Act was revised so it could be more effective against monopolistic corporations.
Yellow Dog Contracts
A labor contract that said an employee must agree not to join a union to get the job.
Blacklists
A list of people who had done something wrong and was disliked by businesses. They were refused jobs and harassed by unions and businesses.
Haymarket Square incident
It began as a rally in Chicago and 100,000 workers rioted . Someone threw a bomb at the police as they tried to disperse the meeting. The explosion and gunfire afterword caused the deaths of 8 police officers and an unknown number of civilians. In the public legal proceedings that came after, 8 people were tried for murder. Four were put to death, and one committed suicide in prison. The Chicago workers and the man who set the bomb were immigrants, so the incident promoted anti-immigrant feelings.
Chapter #24 Guided Reading Questions
The Iron Colt Becomes an Iron Horse
Know: Land grants
1. What were the advantages and disadvantages of government subsidies for the railroads?
Disadvantage: railroad companies would sell extra land and make money off the land that was paid for by government aka tax money; they also withheld land from other users until they knew where other tracks would be and how it benefited them. Advantage: railroad companies were able to expand further west; granting land was a "cheap" way to subsidize a wanted transportation system, because it avoided new taxes for direct cash grants.
Spanning the Continent with Rails
Know: Union Pacific, Central Pacific, Paddies, Leland Stanford
2. Describe how the first transcontinental railroad was built.
The Central Pacific started building in Sacramento and continued east across Sierra Nevada (mostly using chinese immigrants), while a second company, the Union Pacific Railroad, built westward from the Missouri River, near the Idaho-Nebraska border (with Irish immigrants). The two lines of track met in the middle.
Binding the Country with Railroad Ties
Know: The Great Northern, James J. Hill
3. Explain how the railroads could help or hurt Americans.
Help: Am would be connected across the country, which would help save travel time, the ability to connect with different types of people - culture, and allow people to get food from diff parts of the country, westward expansion, trade with Asia increased. Hurt: railroad construction was filled with scandals and corruption-hurt Americans financially, the work was very dangerous, and many people were killed on the job, railroads created many millionaires who could control the public and place large taxes on farmers.
Railroad Consolidation and Mechanization
Know: Cornelius Vanderbilt, Pullman Cars
4. What technological improvements helped railroads?
There were more efficient and economical steel rails, a standard gauge of track which lessened the need for lots of car changes, the Westinghouse air brake which had more safety, and devices like the telegraph.
Revolution by Railways
Know: Time Zones
5. What effects did the railroads have on America as a whole?
Railroads created a huge market for raw materials and manufactured goods. It also encouraged industrialization and urbanization. And encouraged mining and agriculture, took farmers to land and goods to people, started cities, created more millionaires, and created time zones.
Wrongdoing in Railroading
Know: Jay Gould, Stock Watering, Pools
6. What wrongdoing were railroads guilty of?
Stock watering: enabled railroad stock promoters to inflate their claims about a given line's assets and profitability and it sold stocks and bonds in excess of the railroad's actual value, other corruption such as bribery was also present.
Government Bridles the Iron Horse
Know: Wabash, Interstate Commerce Commission
7. Was the Interstate Commerce Act an important piece of legislation?
Yes, it banned rebates and pools and required the railroad companies to publish their rates openly. Most importantly, it set up the Interstate Commerce Commission to help and enforce the new legislation.
Miracles of Mechanization
Know: Mesabi Range, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison
8. What factors made industrial expansion possible?
An abundance of liquid capital, natural resources: oil and coal, cheap labor: immigrants, and easier transportation of raw materials and goods: railroads.
The Trust Titan Emerges
Know: Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Vertical Integration, Horizontal Integration, Trust, Interlocking Directorate
How did businesses organize to try to maximize profits?
They used horizontal integration, trusts, and interlocking directorates- placing officers of a larger competitor on the various boards of directors of competitors, to maximize profits to their full potential.
The Supremacy of Steel
Know: Heavy Industry, Capital Goods, Consumer Goods, Bessemer Process
10. Why was steel so important for industrialization?
It held together the new civilization:from skyscrapers to coal scuttles and it provided food, shelter, and transportation. Steel making (rails for railroads) identified the dominance of "heavy industry," which concentrated on making "capital goods". The production of steel became a major market.
Carnegie and Other Sultans of Steel
Know: Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan
11. Briefly describe the careers of Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan.
Carnegie was in the steel business, by 1900 he was producing 1/4 of the nation's Bessemer steel. Morgan created a reputation for himself by financing the reorganization of insurance companies, railroads, and banks. Carnegie, was trying to sell his business and bartered with Morgan until they agreed to $400 million dollars. Morgan went on to buy other businesses and develop the first 1.4 billion dollar business, he was the first billionaire.
Rockefeller Grows an American Beauty Rose
Know: Kerosene
12. How was John D. Rockefeller able to become so wealthy?
He used horizontal integration, he was known for it, and trusts to monopolize the oil industry with his Standard Oil Company of Ohio.
The Gospel of Wealth
Know: Social Darwinism
13. How did the wealthy justify their wealth?
They justified it by claiming social darwinism and the Gospel of Wealth, they believed that the rich were meant to be rich and hard work had let them deserve it.
Government Tackles the Trust Evil
Know: Sherman Anti-Trust Act
14. What two methods were tried by those who opposed the trusts?
Those who opposed trusts turned to trusts and labor unions. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act helped.
The South in the Age of Industry
15. How successful were Southerners at industrializing?
The had limited success, often limited by Northerner industrialists, but they succeeded with the invention of the machine made cigarette.
The Impact of the New Industrial Revolution on America
16. Describe the positive and negative effects of the industrial revolution on working Americans.
Positive: farmers and independent producers were becoming wage earners, it gave women more independence, and connected nation more than ever. Negative: it brought on more corruption in the economy and in politics, widened class divides, and increased urbanization and the poor conditions in those urban areas.
In Unions There is Strength
Know: Scabs, Lock-out, Yellow-dog Contract, Black List, Company Town
17. What conditions existed in America that led Jay Gould to say, "I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half"?
Job security. It was extremely low and workers were so easily replaced and they knew it. People always searched for ways to keep their jobs so they could support themselves and their families, strikes were usually ineffective and often detrimental to the strikers.
Labor Limps Along
Know: National Labor Union, Knights of Labor
18. Explain the similarities and differences between the National Labor Union and the Knights of Labor.
The National Labor Union included unskilled farmers but didn't include the Chinese and they didn't try to aid women and blacks. The Knights were created in 1869 as a secret society and included all workers and only prohibited "nonproducers", their goals included economic and social reform and new/better codes for safety and health. They didn't like industrial warfare and wanted an 8 hour work day.
Unhorsing the Knights of Labor
Know: Haymarket Square
19. What factors led to the decline of the Knights of Labor?
They were involved in too many ineffective May Day strikes in 1886. In Chicago they were accidentally involved with anarchists since the Haymarket Square Bomb occured in during a Knights of Labor strike. Another fatal handicap of the Knights was their inclusion of all workers.
The AF of L to the Fore
Know: American Federation of Labor, Samuel Gompers, Closed Shop
20. How was the AFL different from previous unions?
It was founded by socialists, like Samuel Gompers. The AFL became a union organizing skilled workers. Gompers realized a successful union wouldn't succeed if it became a political organization so he concentrated on the main issues: better wages, better working conditions, collective bargaining agreements, shorter hours, and safety issues.
Makers of America: The Knights of Labor
Know: Mother Jones, Terence Powderly
21. Were the Knights conservative or revolutionary in their ideas?
Yes, they were revolutionary in a way. They were against the rich and condemned them as parasites. They denounced wage slavery, and tried to achieve the cooperative commonwealth.
Varying Viewpoints: Industrialization: Boon or Blight
22. To what degree is it possible for common people to improve their status in industrial America?
The Industrial Revolution in America was both good and bad. Industrialization brought an increased volume and variety of manufactured goods and an improved standard of living for some, it also resulted in often grim employment and living conditions for the poor and working classes. But its very possible, rags to riches stories were rare but not unheard of, like Carnegie.
Chapter #25: America Moves to the City – Big Picture Themes
1. Cities grew because factories grew. The Industrial Revolution kicked into gear in America in the late 1800s and factories needed workers, so people flocked to the cities.
2. Problems arose as cities boomed. The problems included: exploitation of immigrant laborers, poor/unhealthy work conditions, over-crowdedness and sanitation problems, corrupton, and “nativism” (anti-immigrant feelings).
3. Booker T. Washington & W.E.B. DuBois were the top black leaders. They disagreed on how to help blacks—Washington encouraged blacks to obtain a practical skill at a trade school, DuBois encouraged blacks to study anything they wished, even academic subjects.
4. The roles of women began to change, if only slightly. More women worked, though most were still at home. The “new woman” was idealized by the althletic, outgoing “Gibson Girl.”
Chapter #25 Identifications
Florence Kelley
Worked at the Hull House and successfully lobbied for an Illinois antisweatshop law that protected women workers and prohibited child labor in 1893. A lifelong prominent figure for the welfare of women, children, blacks, and consumers. She later moved to the Henry Street Settlement in New York and served for three decades as general secretary of the National Consumers League.
Mary Baker Eddy
Was an author and founder of a popular new religion based on the principles of spiritual healing. She founded the Church of Christ (Christian Science) in 1879 and preached that true Christianity heals sickness; so she believed that there was no need for a doctor, if someone has enough faith they can heal themselves. She also wrote a widely bought book called "Science and Health with a key to the Scriptures".
William James
Was a philosopher, part of the Harvard faculty and he wrote "Principles of Psychology, The Will of to Believe, Varieties of Religious Experience, and Pragmatism". In 1842-1910 he helped express the philosophy of the nation.
Henry George
He was a journalist/author and thought very much out of the box. He saw poverty at its worst in India and wrote the book "Progress and Poverty". This book was on the best-seller list in 1879. He believed that the pressure of a growing population and a fixed supply of land pushed up property values.
Horatio Alger
A popular writer of the Post-Civil War time period, he was a Puritan New Englander who wrote more than a 100 titles of teen fiction during his career, he was also part of the "rags to riches" theme.
Mark Twain
He was America's most popular author, but he was also a renowned platform lecturer. He lived from 1835-1910. He used a romantic style of literature meshed with comedy to entertain his audiences. In 1873 he wrote The Gilded Age, the reason the time period is called the "Gilded Age". The greatest contribution he made to American literature was the way he captured the frontier realism and humor through the dialogue his characters used.
Nativism
It was a opinion or ideal in which a person hated immigrants and were very patriotic; mostly because the immigrants were become overwhelming and they took jobs.
Philanthropy
The wealth of this time period formed private organizations and by wealthy people and became some of the largest corporations in the world. The helped people and foreign nations.
Social Gospel
It was preached by many people in the 1880s and stated that due to the social environment, the poor could not help their situation. This caused churches to get involved in helping the poor, but some people disagreed and didn't think that they should be helped because it was the poor's fault for not working hard enough.
Settlement House
It's a house where immigrants lived when they entered the U.S. At these places, English was taught and people learned how to get a job. The first settlement house was the Hull House, opened by Jane Addams in Chicago, 1889. These centers were usually run by educated middle class women. and they became centers for reform in the women's and labor movements.
Women's Christian Temperance Union
It was organized in 1874 and the white ribbon symbolized purity. It was led by Frances E. Willlard for the issue of prohibition. In 1919, the 18th Amendment was passed for national prohibition, a temporary solution
Eighteenth Amendment
In 1919, the 18th Amendment was passed for national prohibition, a temporary solution; alcohol of any kind was prohibited.
Chapter #25: Identifications
The Urban Frontier
Know: Louis Sullivan, Walking Cities, Department Stores, Tenements
1. What factors led to the growth of cities in the second half of the 1800's?
Architects like Louis Sullivan and new inventions like the electric elevator. Commuting, trolleys, and immigrants. INDUSTRIAL JOBS and urban lifestyles. Electricity, indoor plumbing, and telephones, department stores.
The New Immigration
2. How were the new immigrants different from the old immigrants?
They came from southern and eastern europe: italians. croats, slovaks, greeks, and poles; they worshiped in orthodox churches or synagogues and came from undemocratic countries, they were illiterate and impoverished, and they liked industrial jobs.ß
Southern Europe Uprooted
3. Why did the new immigrants come to America in such large numbers?
Europe seemed to have no room for them-overpopulation,unemployment. The dream of having a full belly everyday, freedom of military conscription and institutionalized religious persecution. Savage persecutions of minorities. Russia persecuting jews.
Makers of America: The Italians
Know: Birds of Passage, padron
4. How did Italian immigrants live their lives in America?
They lived in cities and kept their rural upbringings, they kept chickens in vacant lots and raised vegetables in small garden plots between tenement houses. Tightly knit communities that had opera clubs, italian newspapers, and bocci courts, pizza emerged. They were industrial laborers-longshoremen and construction workers. Had padrones- labor bosses. Italians stayed longer than intended, not well educated.
Reactions to the New Immigration
Know: Political Bosses, Social Gospel, Jane Addams, Hull House, Settlement houses, Lillian Wald, Florence Kelley
5. How did political bosses help immigrants?
They got them jobs and homes to live in in exchange for control over their votes. They also helped immigrants get food and clothes, escape minor crimes, and helped get schools, hospitals, and parks built in immigrant neighborhoods.
Narrowing the Welcome Mat
Know: Nativists, Anglo-Saxon, American Protective Association, Statue of Liberty
6. In 1886, what was ironic about the words inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty?
The words' welcoming ideal contradicted the recent federal laws that refused the Chinese and undesirables (such as criminals and paupers) from the nation.
Churches Confront the Urban Challenge
Know: Dwight Lyman Moody, Cardinal Gibbons, Salvation Army, Mary Baker Eddy, YMCA
7. What role did religion play in helping the urban poor?
Christian socialism was planted into the minds of the middle class for future reform; city programs like YMCA helped the needy. Catholic leaders got growing influence to assist reform movements.
Darwin Disrupts the Churches
Know: Charles Darwin, Origin of the Species, Fundamentalists, Modernists, Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll,
8. What effect did the theory of evolution have on Christian churches?
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution caused many fights in the church and modernist clergymen were thrown out of office for belief in it and many people didn't believe it.
The Lust for Learning
Know: Normal Schools, Kindergarten, Chautauqua
9 What advances took place in education in the years following the Civil War?
Public education continued to grow; the idea of tax supported elementary schools that was adopted on a nationwide basis before the civil war, was still growing; Americans became more accepting of the fact that a free government cannot function successfully if the people are ignorant. In 1870, a rapidly increasing number states were making a grade school education mandatory and this helped reduce child labor. In the 1880's and 1890's high schools spread; before the civil war, there were lots of private schools and tax supported schools were rare, now elementary school education was the mandatory and a right of every citizen. Free textbooks were provided by taxpayers, teacher-training schools were expanded, kindergartens gained support and New Immigration brought new strength to private Catholic schools. Public schools excluded millions of adults. Crowded cities provided better educational facilities and illiteracy rate fell from 20% to 10.7%.
Booker T. Washington and Education for Black People
Know: Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee Institute, Accomodationist, George Washington Carver, W.E.B. Du Bois, NAACP
10. Explain the differences in belief between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois.
Washington's self-help approach to solving the nation's racial problems was labeled as "accommodationist" because it didn't directly challenge white supremacy; instead, it promoted practical education and economic independence. Du Bois demanded complete and immediate equality for blacks in society, economy, and life.
The Hallowed Halls of Ivy
Know: Vassar, Howard, Morrill Act, Land Grant Colleges, Hatch Act
11. What factors allowed the number of college students to dramatically increase?
Land grants that allowed the development of multipurpose institutions with programs using the elective approach throughout the country. Also, there was philanthropy.
The March of the Mind
Know: William James
12. Describe some of the intellectual achievements of the late 1800’s.
Advances in public health and increased philosophy and psychology like that of William James were some of the major achievements. There was also the choice of selecting courses in higher education.
The Appeal of the Press
Know: Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst, Yellow Journalism
13. How did the ability to produce newspapers inexpensively change their content?
Cheaper newspapers meant that newspapers could now appeal to the coarse majority who could now afford them and content became riddled with scandal, rumor, and human-interest instead of serious issues.
Apostles of Reform
Know: Edwin L. Godkin, Henry George, Edward Bellamy
14. How did writers in the 1870's and 1880's try to address the problems of their time?
In magazines, newspapers, and novels writers promoted social and civil-service reform and honesty and economic growth were also promoted.
Postwar Writing
Know: Dime novels, Horatio Alger, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson
15. Did the trends in writing after the Civil War make it a good period for literature? Explain.
The trends after the Civil war had realistic historical context that made it effectively capturing.
Literary Landmarks
Know: Kate Chopin, Mark Twain, Bret Harte, William Dean Howells, Stephen Crane, Henry James, Jack London, Frank Norris, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Charles W. Chestnut, Theodore Dreiser.
16 What did many writers in the late 1800's have in common?
Writers such as Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Bret Harte, William Dean, Howells and Chopin began to connect their work to some of the realism during that time (that of an industrial society).
The New Morality
Know: Victoria Woodhull, Anthony Comstock
17. What evidence demonstrated a battle raging over sexual morality?
The ideals of the Woodhull sisters like Victoria's belief in free love, which she proclaimed publicly; she was also a divorcee, stockbroker, and a feminist propagandist. She and her sister published a far-out periodical called Woodhull and Claflin's weekly that claimed Henry Ward Beecher had an affair for 4 years. Anthony Comstock also showed people the ongoing battle in the late-nineteenth-century America over sexual attitudes and the place of women. Comstock Law- defender of sexual purity= took away obscene pictures framed and unframed and boxes of bills and powders used by abortionists- this caused 15 suicides.
Families and Women in the City
Know: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, National Women Suffrage Association, Ida B. Wells
18. What changes were occurring in the women's rights movement?
Newest leader Carrie Chapman Catt stressed the desirability of giving women the vote if they were to continue to discharge their traditional duties as homemakers and mothers in the increasingly public world of the city. Women had special responsibility for the health of the family and the education of children, the argument ran. On the farm, women could discharge these responsibilities in the separate sphere of the isolated homestead. But in the city, they needed a voice on boards of public health, police commissions, and school boards. By thus linking the ballot to a traditional definition of women's role, suffragists registered encouraging gains as the new century opened.
Prohibition of Alcohol and Social Progress
Know: Women's Christian Temperance Union, Carrie Nation, Anti-Saloon League, 18th Amendment, Clara Barton
19. What social causes were women (and many men) involved in the late 1800's?
Women's suffrage, temperance/prohibition, and animal protection.
Artistic Triumphs
Know: James Whistler, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, George Inness, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Metropolitan Opera House, Henry H. Richardson, Columbian Exposition
20. Why is this section titled "artistic triumphs?"
People were artistic and so there were many painters, scupltors, and operas etc.
The Business of Amusement
Know: Vaudeville, P.T. Barnum, Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, James Naismith
21. What forms of recreation became popular from 1870 to 1900?
Because baseball, football, croquet, boxing, bicycling, basketball, Wild West shows, circuses, minstrel shows all came to be. Vaudeville and minstrels performed.
Chapter #23.2 Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age – Big Picture Themes
1. The government did reach the billion dollar level for the first time. This was largely due to military pension plans. The plans were very popular and revealed the goal of the legislators—pass something that will get me reelected.
2. Populism started. This was a farmer and worker movement that sought to clean up the government, bring it back to the people, and help the working man out.
Chapter #23.2 Identifications
James A. Garfield
still deadlocked in the 1880 election, the Stalwarts and Half-Breeds nominated this compromise "dark horse" for president. Republican candidate in presidential election of 1880 (against Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock); won election but assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau a year later.
Chester A. Arthur
Senator Roscoe Conkling ran a powerful political machine in New York in the 1870s. This man, who later became president, was his chief henchman. He was the Vice President of James A. Garfield. After President Garfield was assassinated, September of 1881, Arthur assumed the position. He was chosen to run as Vice President, primarily, to gain the Stalwart's vote. Arthur was left in charge of the United States with no apparent qualifications. He was also in favor of civil service reform.
Charles J. Guiteau
Shot President Grafield in the back in a Washington railroad station. Allegedly committed this crime so that Arthur, a stalwart, would become President. His attorneys used a plea of insanity, but failed and he was hung for murder. After this event politics began to get cleaned up with things like the Pendelton Act.
Grover Cleveland
Democratic nominee for presidential election of 1884 (against Republican James Blaine); campaign full of slander (barely any focus on platforms); barely won the election through winning plurality in New York; first Democrat to take office since Buchanan (28 years earlier); narrowed North-South chasm by naming two former Confederates to his cabinet; favored civil-service reform; vetoed many bills, took a lot of risks as President; openly appealed to Congress for lower tariffs (tentative issue at the time), which was often against his party's platform; 1888, lost re-election to Republican Harrison; later re-elected in 1892 (the only President to be reelected after defeat) against Republican Harrison; depression of 1893 sprang up right after his re-election, burdening him with a deepening deficit, Treasury was quickly losing gold; caught in a snag over making a deal with a banker to lend the government gold and over signing a bill which barely lowered tariffs and was deemed unconstitutional for violating the "direct tax" clause
Resumption Act
Resumption Act of 1875, which pledged the government to the further withdrawal of greenbacks from circulation and to the redemption of all paper currency in gold at face value (to begin in 1879); the 1875 act of Congress in which the government was to withdraw greenbacks from circulation and begin in 1879 to redeem all paper currency in gold
Crime of '73
The Fourth Coinage Act was enacted by the United States Congress in 1873 and embraced the gold standard and de-monetized silver. U.S. set the specie standard in gold and not silver, upsetting miners who referred to it as a crime
Bland-Allison Act
government buys silver each month and mint it into coins
Half-Breed
opponents to the Coklingites; flirted coyly with civil-service reform, but whose real quarrel with the Stalwarts was over who should grasp the spoils; champion was congressman James G. Blaine; Conkling and Blain e succeeded only in stalemating each other and deadlocking their party; Blaine later became Garfield's secretary of state
Mugwump
reform-minded Republicans who could not stomach the 1884 nomination of James Blaine were given this nickname
Pendleton Act of 1833
Garfield's death in 1881 may have contributed to the passage of this 1883 civil service reform act. 1883; spawned by Garfield's murder; it made compulsory campaign contributions from federal employees illegal and established the Civil Service Commission to make appointments to federal jobs on the basis of competitive examinations rather than "pull"
Thomas B. Reed
"The Czar" When Republicans controlled everything, he was Speaker of the House and he ran the House like his own castle. He and
"Billion Dollar" Congress
under Benjamin Harrison, the Fifty-First Congress reached a spending milestone and was subsequently nicknamed this
Pension Act
Passed by the Fifty-First congress in 1890 under the direction of president Harrison; it awarded stipends to all Civil War veterans who had fought for at least 90 days and were no longer able to do manual labor. Foreshadowed the "welfare state" of the next century. Won support from the GAR and the GOP.
Chapter #23.2 Guided Reading Questions
The Birth of Jim Crow in the Post-Reconstruction South
Know: Redeemers, sharecropping, tenant farming, Jim Crow laws, Plessy v. Ferguson
1. Analyze the data in the lynching chart on page 513.
The lynching slowly went down as the years go by. More blacks were lynched than whites in total, by year, it fluctuates.
Class Conflicts and Ethnic Clashes
Know: Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Denis Kearney, Coolies, Chinese Exclusion Act
2. What was the significance of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877?
State militia units were brought in, but often proved to be ineffective because of their sympathy for the strikers. And it was the first time soldiers were used in a labor matter. There were great loss of life and property damage. A massive intervention by the federal government crushed the strikers and helped the employers. The strike of 1877 was the most violent labor-management confrontation; it was the start of an era of strife between workers and owners.
Garfield and Arthur
Know: James A. Garfield, Charles J. Guiteau, Chester A. Arthur, Pendleton Act of 1883
3. What new type of corruption resulted from the Pendleton Act?
It made the politicians look elsewhere for money and they turned to big corps'. They milked money from manufacturers and lobbyists. It helped drive politicians into "marriage" with big business leaders.
The Blaine-Cleveland Mudslingers of 1884
Know: James G. Blaine, Tattooed man, Mugwumps, Grover Cleveland, Ma, ma where's my pa?, Rum, Romanism and Rebellion
4. Explain how character played a part in the presidential election of 1884.
Personal character was paramount in the 1884 campaign, James G. Blaine couldn't get the Republican presidential nomination during the last 2 elections because of the "Mulligan letters". Governor Grover Cleveland though, was known as "Grover the Good" for his integrity. He had been the mayor of Buffalo and then the governor of the state of New York, cleaning up large amounts of Tammany Hall's graft. But Cleveland had an affair and an illegitimate child, a scandal used against him.
“Old Grover" Takes Over
5. Assess the following statement: "As president, Grover Cleveland governed as his previous record as governor indicated he would."
Grover Cleveland was a good and fair governor as well as a good and fair president. He believed that the government don't support the people, people support the government and so he vetoed the act for farmers.
Cleveland Battles for a Lower Tariff
6. What were the reasons behind Cleveland's stance in favor of lower tariffs?
He supported lower tariffs because it meant lower prices for consumers and less protection for monopolies.
The Billion Dollar Congress
Know: Thomas Reed, Civil War pensions, McKinley Tariff Act of 1890
7. Explain why the tariff was detrimental to American farmers.
It gave 2 cents per pound to American sugar producers and raised agricultural tariffs.
The Drumbeat of Discontent
Know: Populists
8. What was the most revolutionary aspect of the Populist platform? Defend your answer with evidence.
The nomination of William Jennings Bryan on a free-silver platform. It caused the nationalization of railroads, income tax, recall elections, referendums, and reelection of senators.
Cleveland and Depression
Know: Grover Cleveland, Depression or 1893, William Jennings Bryan, Sherman Silver Purchase Act
9. What could Cleveland have done to lessen the impact of the financial turmoil?
He could have avoided the intervention in the Pullman Strike of 1894 to keep the railroads moving since it angered labor unions nationwide and angered the party in Illinois. He could have not supported the gold standard and opposition to Free Silver since it alienated the agrarian wing of the Democratic Party. He should have helped the labor union and not give his support of the gold standard.
Cleveland Breeds a Backlash
Know: Wilson Gorman Tariff
10. Is the characterization of the Gilded Age presidents as the “forgettable presidents” a fair one? Explain.
Yes, none of them did a good job of helping the country out of the post-Reconstruction era and some actually did the opposite of help.
Chapter #26.2 Agricultural Revolution and Populism – Big Picture Themes
1. Miners looking for silver and/or gold fled to Colorado and Nevada seeking quick fortune. A few found it, the vast majority didn’t.
2. Cattle became king in Texas as cowboys drove herds north to the Kansas railroads and reaped quick money.
3. Farmers struggled out west due to several problems: weather, insects, high mortgage rates, high railroad shipping rates, and low prices for their crops.
4. The farmers’ struggles led to the People’s (or Populist) Party. This party sought “cheap money” (or silver money) in order to create inflation and thus make it easier to pay off debts.
Chapter #26:2 Identifications
Joseph F. Glidden
Wa an inventor in 1874 who invented a better type of barbed wire than previously. It solved the problems of how to build fences on the treeless prairies.
James B. Weaver
He was an old Granger who was known because of the Civil War, a veteran who possessed an amazing voice and bearing. He spoke to about a 1/2 million citizens, and around a 100 speeches but he only polled 3 percent in the total popular vote.
Oliver H. Kelly
He was the founder of the Grange; 1867.
Mary Elizabeth Lease
She was called "Patrick Henry in Petticoats" and "the Kansas Pythoness". She was also a Populist of the 1890's who lambasted the rich aristocracy and government "of Wall Street, by Wall Street, and for Wall Street".
Comstock Lode
It was when silver was discovered in Nevada. $340 million was paid to let Nevada become a state. The "fifty-niners" poured in to Nevada to mine for riches, hoping to also find silver.
Long Drive
It was the nickname for the system of driving large herds over unfenced and unpopulated plains until they reached a railroad terminal in the late 1800's. Cattle were driven from Texas to Kansas railroads and cowboys would round up the herds and drive them toward the north.
Homestead Act
It offered a settler 160 acres of free land in 1862 if the settler lived on it for five years, improved it, and paid a $10 fee.
Patrons of Husbandry
The Patrons of Husbandry was a group organized in 1867, the leader was Oliver H. Kelley. It was also known as the Grange. It was a group with colorful appeal and had lots of passwords to preserve secrecy. The Grange was a group of farmers that worked for improvement for the farmers.
Granger Laws
The Granger laws were a series of laws passed in western states of the US after the American Civil War, it regulated grain and railroad rates (make them stable) and rebates and to address long and short haul discrimination and other railroad abuses against farmers.
Farmers' Alliance
It was the first "national" organization of the farmers that eventually led to the creation of the Populist party. The Farmers' Alliance was also known for its social gatherings, activeness in politics, organized cooperatives, and its opposition against the control the railroads and manufacturers had over farmers.
Populists
A political group that started up in 1891. They gained support from farmers who turned to them for in the fight against political unfairness. They used a progressive platform and James B. Weaver was their presidential candidate in 1892. They had an impressive voter turnout and they were known as the People's Party.
Jacob S. Coxey
Was a wealthy Ohio quarry owner who organized a group of unemployed citizens during the time of the depression and convinced them to march to Washington in 1894.
Williams Jennings Bryan
A young Nebraska congressman who fought against Cleveland's choice to repeal the Silver Purchase Act in 1893. He was an outstanding orator, especially during the Cross of Gold Speech. He was a presidential nominee but he lost to McKinley. He was also a politician who ran for president 1896, 1900 and 1908 under Democrats and was a prosilverite and Populist leader.
Bimetallism
It was the usage of both silver and gold as currency. Republicans believed in the opposite of bimetallism (only one- gold), while the Democrats/Populist believed in bimetallism.
Free Silver
It increased currency and money supply which caused higher farm prices. But it also reduced farmers' debts and reduced the power of the eastern bankers. It expanded silver mining and was favored by the Populists.
Depression of 1893
A serious economic depression that began in 1893 due to railroad companies over-extending-overspeculation themselves and causing bank failures. It was the worst economic collapse in the history up to that point.
Cross of Gold Speech
A famous speech given by a great orator, William Jennings Bryan. It was given in support of bimetallism and Bryan condemned the gold standard a burden (like a cross). It was at the 1896 Democratic Convention and he attacked the "gold bugs" who insisted that U.S. currency be backed only with gold/opposed bimetallism. This speech caused the gold-silver issue to pop in the election.
Chapter #26.2 Guided Reading Questions
The Farm Becomes a Factory
Know: Montgomery Ward, Combine
1. Explain the statement, "The amazing mechanization of agriculture in the postwar years was almost as striking as the mechanization of industry."
The Civil War was the first modern war which had been the first time technology and industrial strength played a significant role. The technology invented was supremely beneficial agriculturally but not as much so as factories.
Deflation Dooms the Debtor
Know: Deflation
What problems faced farmers in the closing decades of the 19th century?
The farmers of the West became dependent on the one-crop economy (wheat or corn) and were in the same position/dilemma as the southern cotton farmers. The price of their product was determined by the world market by the world output. In 1870, the lack of currency in circulation forced the price of crops to go down and thousands of farms mortgaged and the mortgage rates kept on rising.
Unhappy Farmers
3. How did nature, government, and business all harm farmers?
The soil of the West was becoming malnourished and floods caused erosion, and droughts forced many people to abandon their farms and towns. Farmers were forced to sell their products cheaply in an unprotected world market, while buying high-priced manufactured goods in a tariff-protected home market. Farmers were also controlled by corporations and processors; they were at the mercy of the harvester trust, the barbed-wire trust, and the fertilizer trust, all of which could control the output and raise prices to high levels. Even though farmers made up ½ the population in 1890, they never organized successfully to restrict production until 50 years later.
The Farmers Take Their Stand
Know: The Grange, Cooperatives, Greenback-Labor Party, James B. Weaver
4. How did the Grange attempt to help farmers?
They protested the outrageous railroad problems, as in the rising prices. They helped farmers control the railroads, to make them stay in the same price range, despite certain conditions.
Prelude to Populism
Know: The Farmers’ Alliance, Mary Elizabeth Lease
5. What steps did the Farmers’ Alliance believe would help farmers?
It operated free mills and gins that small farmers could use and it believed in graduated income taxes, sub-treasures-warehouses, and government ownership of railroads.
Coxey’s Army and the Pullman Strike
Know: Coxey’s Army, Eugene V. Debs, Pullman Palace Car Company
6. Why did President Cleveland send in federal troops during the Pullman Strike?
The railroad workers had stopped the trains which harmed commerce in the US.
Golden McKinley and Sliver Bryan
Know: Mark Hannah, William McKinley, William Jennings Bryan, Cross of Gold speech
7 Was William McKinley a strong presidential candidate? Explain.
Yes, he was wealthy, which is a plus and when going against Bryan he had more means to get his message across.
Class Conflict: Plowholders versus Bondholders
Know: Fourth Party System
8. “The free-silver election of 1896 was probably the most significant since Lincoln’s victories in 1860 and 1864.” Explain.
The outcome was a big victory for large business, big cities, middle-class values, and financial conservatism. The Republican victory of 1896 also started a Republican hold on the White House for sixteen consecutive years.
Republican Standpattism Enthroned
Know: Dingley Tariff Bill
9. Did McKinley possess the characteristics necessary to be an effective president?
Yes, he accepted the commoners beliefs, he related and won.
Varying Viewpoints: Was the West Really “Won”?
Know: Frederick Jackson Turner
10. Which criticism of the Turner Thesis seems most valid? Explain
The thought that the Am character was shaped only by the western wilderness. The railroad expansions, cowboy lifestyles, and precious metal rushes shaped the United States, but it didn't necessarily define it. The culture of the United States was also defined in the eastern cities, where many centers of activities occurred.