Chapter 23 Gilded Age

1. Chapter 23Gilded Age 1869 - 1896

2. The Gilded Age • Sarcastic name given to the three-decade-long-post- Civil War era by Mark Twain • Age of Economic Growth • U.S. begins its transition from a nation of farmers to a nation of industrialists

3. Forgettable Presidents

4. Question By looking at the previous table, what can you conclude about the time period post-Reconstruction and 1900?

5. The Era of Good Stealings • “A few skunks can pollute a large area.” • postwar atmosphere stunk of corruption • Cynics defined an honest politician as one who, when bought, would stay bought

6. Thomas Nast • Father of the American political cartoon • Attacked social and political issues of the post-Civil War period • His focus was on imagery • “Let’s stop them damn pictures. I don’t care so much what the papers write about —my constituents can’t read—but damn it, they can see pictures.”

7. Ulysses S. Grant • Plagued by a cabinet full of shady individuals • Credit Mobilier Scandal • Whiskey Ring • Plagued by economic Panic of 1873 • Exhausted markets • Bankers made imprudent loans • Worldwide economic collapse

8. Panic of 1873 Too much expansion of rails, mines, factories, and grainfields Bankers made too many poor loans Profits failed Loans went unpaid

9. Question CCOT Relate the Panic of 1873 to a previous event (something you learned in US I) Can you relate it to a future event?

10. End of Reconstruction • Hayes-Tilden Standoff of 1876 • Compromise of 1877 • Democrats accepted Hayes in return for removing federal troops in the south

11. Question Why Did Reconstruction End?

12. Why did Reconstruction End? • Political Scandals • Unstable Economy • Need for national reform over region problems • Passing of white reformers, forged by abolitionist fervor • example: Charles Sumner

13. Question What impact did the end to Reconstruction have? Abandonment of racial equality End of Regional Warfare Increase in class and ethnic conflict

14. Jim Crow South • White southerners were back in the political saddle. • Blacks faced unemployment, eviction, and physical harm • Jim Crow • segregation of public schools, public places and public transportation, and the segregation of restrooms, restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks. • Backed by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) • Separate but equal

15. Class Conflicts • Presidents of nation’s four largest railroads collectively decided in 1877 to cut employees’ wages by 10% • Working class struck back • Govt sided with the railroads • Fed Courts, US Army, state militias, local police all sided with big business

16. Ethnic Clashes • Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 • Stopped further immigration from China • U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) • 14th Amendment • Birthright citizenship

17. Question What does it take for there to be Civil Service reform? What problems did Civil Service reform create?

18. Garfield and Arthur • Garfield is assassinated shortly after he is elected • One positive outcome: • It shocked politicians into reforming the spoils system • Chester A. Arthur’s duty • Pendleton Act of 1883 • Made compulsory campaign contributions from federal employees illegal • Established the Civil Service Commission

19. Primary Source • Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), an ardent civil-service reformer, condemned the patronage system as • “tending to degrade American politics…. The men who are in office only for what they can make out of it are thoroughly unwholesome citizens, and their activity in politics is simply noxious…. Decent private citizens must inevitably be driven out of politics if it is suffered to become a mere selfish scramble for plunder, where victory rests with the most greedy, the most cunning, the most brazen. The whole patronage system is inimical to American institutions; it forms one of the gravest problems with which democratic and republican government has to grapple.”

20. Election of 1884 • James Blaine vs. Glover Cleveland • Cleveland won • First Democrat to take oath since Buchanan • Party of disunion now controlled the Union • Neither candidate served in Civil War • Treasury Surplus • Wanted to lower the tariff • Lower prices for consumers • Less protection for monopolies

21. Benjamin Harrison • Presided over the “Billion Dollar” Congress • Used money to pay pensions of Civil War vets. • Passed McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 • Meant to protect Republican industry from foreign competition

22. Rise of Populists • Coalition of disgruntled farmers and workers • Led a slew of strikes throughout the nation • Ex. Andrew Carnegie’s steel plant near Pittsburgh • Homestead • Homestead Strike • Steelworkers were angry over pay cuts

23. Populist Party • Elected James Weaver • 5% of electoral vote in 1892 • Mainly from midwest and western states • Party Platform: • Demanded inflation through free and unlimited coinage of silver at the rate of sixteen ounces of silver to one ounce of gold • Graduated income tax • Government ownership of the railroads, telegraph, and telephone • The direct election of U.S. senators • A one-term limit on the presidency • The adoption of the initiative and referendum to allow citizens to shape legislation more directly • Shorter workday • Immigration restriction

24. Question Why weren’t the Populists so popular?

25. United we Stand, Divided We Fall • The workers were split • Skilled vs. unskilled • Immigrant vs. Native • White vs. Black • Those who rebelled were seen as anarchists • Against American ideals of capitalism • Different Party Identification

26. Going to the Source Industrial millionaires were condemned in the Populist platform of 1892: “The fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen to build up colossal fortunes for a few … and the possessors of these, in turn despise the Republic and endanger liberty. From the same prolific womb of governmental injustice we breed the two great classes—tramps and millionaires.”

27. Cleveland, again • First and only president to ever be reelected after defeat. • President of a surplus and then a deficit • Depression of 1893 • Laissez-Faire approach • Gold reserve was dwindling • Ignored the silver option • As depression got worse, Cleveland turned to J.P. Morgan for a loan to restore confidence

28. Forgotten Presidents’ Major Issues • Tariffs • Money Question • Silver/Gold Standard • Rights of Labor • Civil Service and Spoils System • Clearly, the best men were not in politics? • But Why?

29. Primary Source • In a famous series of newspaper interviews in 1905, George Washington Plunkitt (1842–1924), a political “boss” in the same Tammany Hall Democratic political “machine” that had spawned William Marcy (“Boss”) Tweed, candidly described his ethical and political principles: • “Everybody is talkin’ these days about Tammany men growin’ rich on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin’ the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft. There's all the difference in the world between the two. Yes, many of our men have grown rich in politics. I have myself. I've made a big fortune out of the game, and I'm gettin’ richer every day, but I've not gone in for dishonest graft—blackmailin’ gamblers, saloonkeepers, disorderly people, etc.—and neither has any of the men who have made big fortunes in politics. • “There's an honest graft, and I'm an example of how it works. I might sum up the whole thing by sayin': ‘I seen my opportunities and I took ‘em.’ • “Just let me explain by examples. My party's in power in the city, and it's goin’ to undertake a lot of public improvements. Well, I'm tipped off, say, that they're going to lay out a new park at a certain place. • “I see my opportunity and I take it. I go to that place and I buy up all the land I can in the neighborhood. Then the board of this or that makes its plan public, and there is a rush to get my land, which nobody cared particular for before. • “Ain't it perfectly honest to charge a good price and make a profit on my investment and foresight? Of course, it is. Well, that's honest graft.”

31. Chapter 24Industry 1865 - 1900

32. Question Why weren’t the best men in politics?

33. By 1900 • Industrial rather than agricultural • More exports than imports • More railroads • Foreign investment, labor, trade, and technology combined to make all things possibilllllllllllllllllllllle!

34. Lincoln’s Funeral

35. Before his Death • Homestead Act of 1862 • Any citizen, including women and freed slaves had access to 160-acre lands • Morrill Act • Education for farmers and mechanics • Foundation for state university systems • 1862 Pacific Railway Act • Railway from Missouri River to Pacific Ocean

36. Lincoln’s Vision • Hated the aristocratic enterprise that the South represented • Lincoln saw the North as unique • Believed it represented the future • Allow citizens to be economically independent ENTER THE TYCOONS

37. Question How did the railroads benefit the government? How did the railroads benefit those who owned them? How was it that the railroad companies were “shadier” than trees?

38. Benefits to Govt • long term preferential rates for postal service and military traffic • Did none of the work • Loans to railroad companies were repaid • Good for America • States were bound together • Nationalunity • Economic value • Settlement Value

39. Benefits to Railroad Companies • Pacific Railway Act of 1862 • Received $16,000-48,000 per mile of track • Received 20 sections (each being a square mile) of land for every mile of track laid • Could sell that land at a profit • Could use tracks as collateral for loans

43. Shadiness of Railroad Companies • Frontier Villages became cities overnight • Those that were passed became ghost towns • Communities fought one another for the privilege to play host • Central Pacific- not shady • Union Pacific- bribed Congressmen

46. Question Why is the transcontinental railway line such a big deal?

47. American Railroads • Emerged as the nation’s biggest business • Helped the West immensely • Opened up the west and all its resources • Stimulated mining and agriculture • Brought immigrants to the farms • Allowed people to be less self-sufficient

48. Problems with the Rails • Stockwatering, abuse, bribes, freebies, cooperation, rebates, and pools were associated with the railroad industry • Up until now, government didn’t interfere with business. • This was about to change

49. Regulating the Railroad • Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific RR Co. v. Illinois • Individual states had no power to regulate interstate commerce • Job only for Federal govt • Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 • Prohibited rebates and pools • Required railroads to publish their rates openly • Forbade unfair discrimination against shippers • Set up the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to administer and enforce the new legislation • First large scale attempt to legislate business in the interest of society at large

50. 4 Factors of Industrial Growth • Factories • Transportation • Railroads • Natural Resources • Coal • Lumber • Oil • Iron • Liquid Capital • Foreign Investors