apush chapters 16 & 17 quiz

National labor union

Attempt to federate separate unions into single national organization came when William Sylvis founded National Labor Union Eventually disappeared

Lester Frank Ward

Darwinist who rejected application of Darwinism to human society Argued civilization governed not by natural selection but by human intelligence which was capable of shaping society as it wished Active govt engaged in positive planning was society's best hope

Horatio Alger

Most famous promoter of the success story Originally a minister in small town in Massachusetts but riven from pulpit as result of sexual scandal Moved to NY where wrote celebrated novels about poor boys who rise from rags to riches Folk hero in american culture Few fans aware of his homosexuality Private and carefully hidden in fear public would destroy reputation

Moving assembly line

Most important change in production technology was mass production and assembly line by Ford Cut time significantly

Turner's frontier thesis

Most influential statements of romantic vision of fronteir came from historian Frederick Jackson Turner of Univeristy Wisconsin 1892, delivered memorable paper to meeting of American Historical Association in Chicago- Significance of the Frontier in American History Argued end of frontier also end of most important democratizing forces in American life Inaccurate and premature

Transformation of higher education

university laboratories received funding from corporations to do research of (economic) interest to them, created a partnership between the academic and commercial world in late 19th/early 20th cent. that didn't happen in europe at the time, likely led to US's more rapid economic development in 20th cent.

Ineffective child-labor laws

1.7 million children under 16 in factories and feilds Some families desperately needed more money Reluctance for wives to work Outraged public opinion, 38 state legislatures passed child-labor laws in late 19th century, but laws of limited impact 60% of child workers employed in agriculture Set minimum age of 12 and max work day of 10 hrs, often ignored Many industrial accidents- exhausted

Increasing inequality

4/5 American people lived modestly and at least 10 million people lived bellow poverty line Standard of living rising but gap between rich and poor increasing

Indian resistance

Almost incessant fighting between whites and Indians from 1850s to 1880s as Indians struggled against growing threats to civiliazation Indian warriors, usually travel in raiding parties of 30-40 men Attacked wagon trains, stagecoaches and isolated ranches, often in retaliation for earlier attacks As US army became more deeply involved in fighting, tribes began to focus more of attacks on white soldiers

Transformation of the national economy

America's rise to industrial supremacy not sudden Nation been building manufacturing econmoy since early 19th century Industry well established since before Civil War Developments of last three decades of 19th century overshadowed everything earlier Years witnessed nothing less than transformation of national econmy

Opposition to female employment

American Federation of Labor adopted contradictory policy toward women Male leaders of AFL hostile to idea of women entering paid workforce Weak, employers could easily take advantage by paying less than men Women workers drove down wages for everyone

Henry ford

American automobile industry developed rapidly in aftermath of breaktrhoughs Charles and Frank Duryea built first gasoline driven motor vehicle Henry Ford produced first of Ford cars 1910- industry major force in the econmy and automobile was reshaping American social and cultural life, as well as national landscape in 1895 only 4 automobiles on American highways by 1917, nearly 5 million

Myth of the cowboy

Appealing free-spirited lifestyle associed with West that supposedly contrast increasingly stable and ordered wor;d of East Many 19th century americans romanticize figure of cowbou and transformed him remarkably quickly from low-paid worker he actually was into powerful and enduring figure of myth

Social Darwinism

Application of Darwin's laws of evolution and natural selectoin among species to human soceity Just as only fittest survived in evolution, Social Darwinism claimed so in human society only the fittest survived and flourished in the marketplace

Heightened ethnic tensions

Arrival of new groups introduced heightened ethnic tensions into the dynamic of the working class Low paid poles, greek, french canadians began to displace higher paid british and irish in textile factories Major source of labor for mining industry in east traditionally native dominated

Anti-coolie clubs

As Chinese communities grew larger and more conspicuous in western cities, anti-Chinese sentiment among white residents became increasingly strong Anti-coolie clubs emerged in 1860s and 70s Sought a ban on employing Chinese and organized boycotts of products made with Chinese labor Some of these clubs attacked Chinese workers in the streets and were suspected of setting fire to factories in which Chinese worked Such activities reflected the resentmnet of many white workers toward Chinese laborers for accepting low wages and thus undercutting union members

Building the transcontinental railroad

As mining declined as a source of wealth and jobs for Chinese railroad employment grew Beginning in 1865, Chinese found work building transcontinetnal raiolraod In fact, Chinese workers formed 90% of labr force of Central Paciic and were mainly responsible for construction of western part of the new road Company preferred them to white workers because had no experience of labor organization Worked hard, made few demands, and accepted low wages Many railroad workers recruited in China by agents for CEntral Pacific Organzied into work gangs under Chinese supervisors

Government assistance

Beleaguered westerners looked to the federal government for solutions to their problems In response to their demands, Congress increased the homstead allotments The Timber Culture Act permitted homesteaders to receive gratns of 160 additiona acres if they planted 40 acres of trees on them The Desert Land Act provided that claimants could buy 640 acres at $1.25 an acre provided that they irrigated part of their holdings within three years Timber and Stone Act authorized ssales at $2.50 an acre Laws made it possible for individuals to acqure as much as 1280 acres of land at little cost Fraud rampant

Rockefeller's standard oil

Both horizontal and vertical integration Rockefeller launched refinin company in Cleveland and immediately began trying to eliminate his competition Allying himself with other welathy capitalists, he proceeded methodically to buy out competing refineries Formed Standard Oil Company

concentration policy

By early 1850s, idea of establishing one great enclave in which many tribes could live gave way, in the face of white demands for access to lands in Indian Territory New reservations policy- concentration Each tribe assigned own defined reservation, confirmed by separate treaties (often illegitamately negotiated) Divided lands easier to control Government forces tribes to scattered locations and takes over most desirable lands

New source of immigration

By end of century, major sources of immigration had shifted with southern and eastern Eurpoeans: Italians, Poles, Russia, Greek, Slavs, etc West: Mexico and Asia (until exclusion act)

Rapid corporate consolidation

By the end of the 19th century, as a result of corporate consolidation, 1% of the corporations in America were able to control more than 33% of manufacturing System of economic organization emerging that lodged enormous power in hands of very few men: great baners of NY such as Morgan, industrial titans such as Rockefeller and others

Establishment of chinatowns

Chinese immigrants flocked into cities By 1900 nearly half th eChinese population of Cali lived in urban areas Largest single Chinese community was in San Francisco Much community life ther and in other Chinatowns throughout the West, revolved around powerful organizations-usually formed by people from a single clan or cummunity in Chine- that funcitnoed as something like benevolent societies to address common social and financial issues and filled many of the roles that political machines often served in immigrants communites in eastern cities Leading merchants- Six Companies- often worked together to advance their intesests in the city and state Became employment brokers, unions, arbitrators of disputes, defenders of community, etc

Caste system

Complex interaction between the Pueblos and Spanish produced an elaborate caste system in the Southwest Top were Spanish or Mexicans, who owned the largest estantes and controlled the trading centers at Santa Fe and elsewhere The Pueblos, subordinate but still largely free, were below Apaches, Navajos, and others- some captured in war and enslaved for a fixed time, others men and women who had voluntarily left their tribes- were at the bottom: known as Genízaros, Indians without tribes Caste System reflected how Spanish Empire in America was preoccupied with racial ancestry

Limited social mobility

Despite the neormous geographic mobility in western society, actual social mobility was limited Many americans though of West as limitless opportunity but advancement easiest for those economicaly advantaged to begin with Social mobility no greater than east Distribution of wealth in west no different

National strike

Eastern railraods announced 10% wage cut Strikers disputed rail service from Baltimore to St Louis, destroyed equipment and rioted in streets of Pitt and other cities State militias called out and President Hayes ordered federal troops to suppress disorders More than 100 people died before strike finally collapsed several weeks after it had begun

Looking backward

Edward Bellamy's novel Described experiences of young Bostonian who went into hypnotic sleep and awoke in year 2000 to find new social order where want, politics, and vice unkown New society peacful evolutionary process

Rapid expansion of the railroad

Every decade, total railraod trackage increased dramatically Subsides from federal, state, and local govts, as well as investments from abroad were vital to vast undertaking, which required more capital than private entreprenueres in america could raise by themselves Emergence of great railraod combinations brought most of nation's rails under control of very few men Most railroad combinations continued to be dominated by individuals

Isolation

Farm families virtually cut off from outside world During winter- loneliness and boredom unbearable Lack of education for children, medical facilities, activities, etc

Barbed wire

Farmers had to enclose their land to protect it from herds of open-range cattlement Traditional wood/stone fences too expensiveand ineffective for cattle Joseph Glidden and I.L. Ellwood develop and market barbed wire which became standard on plains and revolutionized fencing

Racism

Few Chinese had come to California even before gold rush but after 1848 the flow increased dramatically 1/10 Cali population Came as free laborers, and welcomed by whites for a time as hardworkers Very quickly, white opinion turned hostile- in part because the Chinese were so industrious and successful that some white Americans began considering them rivals, even threats Experience of Chinese immigrants in west became struggle to advance economically in face of racism and discrimination

Sand creek massacre

Fighting flared up in eastern Colorado, where Arapaho and Cheyenne coming into conflict with white miners settling in region Bands of Indians attacked stagecoach lines and settlements in effort to regain lost territory Whites called up large territorial militia Governor urged all freindly indians to congregate at army posts for protection before army began campaign Black Kettle escaped Sand Creek massacre 4 years later, he and Cheyennes caught on Washita river near Texas border White troops killed chief and slaughtered people

Dissolution of the knights of labor

First genuinely national labor organization Noble Order of the Knights of Labor Loosely organized Remained secret fraternal organization Entered period of expansion Claimed 700,000 membership Launched series of strikes Striking railway workers

Taylorism

Frederick Winslow Taylor urged employer to reorganize production process by subdividing tasks Would speed up productin and make workers more interchangable and diminish manager's dependence on employee Reduce need for highly trained skilled workers If properly managed by extperts, workers using moder machiens could do simple tasks at great speed Scientific management make human labor compatible with demands of machine age

The AFL's agenda

Gompers's goal was to secure a greater share of capitalism's material rewards for workers Opposed creation of worker's party; generally hostil to any government efforts to protect labor or improve working conditions, convinced that what government could give it could take AFL concentrated on relationship between labor and management Supported better wages and working conditions

The union defeated

Governor of Penn sent state's entire National Guard contingent to Homestead Production resumed, with strikebreakers now protected by troops Public opinon turned against strikers when radical made attempt to assasinate Frick slowly, workers drifted back to jobs and 4 months after strike, Amalgamated surrendered

New steel production techniques

Henry Bessemer and William Kelly developed process for converting iron into durable steel Bessemer process also relied on discovery by Mushet that ingredients could be added to iron to transform it to steel Abram S Hewitt introduced open-hearth process for steel making which supplanted Bessemer process Techniques made possible production of steel in great quantitites and dimensions

Hispanic resistance

Hispanic societies survived in the southwest because so far from the enters of English-speaking society that Anglo-American migrants were slow to get there Mexican Americans in the region alos fought to preserve control of their societies In late 1880s, Mexican peasants in area of modern Nevada successfully fended off encroachment of English-speaking cattle ranchers

Horizontal and vertical integration

Horizontal- combining of numher of rims engaged in same enterprise in to a single corporation Vertical- taking over different businesses on which a company relied for primary function

Chinese exclusion act

In 1882, Congress responded to the political pressue and the growing violence by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act banning Chinese emigration to US for 10 years and barring Chinese already in country from becoming naturalized citizens Support for act came from representatives from all over country Reflected growing fear of unemployment Renewed law for another 10 years in 1892 and made it permanent in 1902 Dramatic effect on Chinese population which declined by more than 40% in 40 years after its passage

Haymarket square

In Chicago, center of labor and radical strength, strike in progress at McCormick Harvest Company when general strike began City police harassing striker s and labor and radical leaders called protest meeting at Haymarket Squre Police ordered crowd to disperse, someone threw bomb that injured 74 Police fired into crowd Officials charged 8 anarchist with murder saying they incited bomber Seven sentenced to death Symbol of social chaos and radicalism

Declining status of Hispanics

In Texas, where many Mexican landowners lost their land after the territory joined the US Occured as result of fraud, coercion, and the inability of even the most substantial Mexican ranchers to compete with enormous Anglo-American ranching kingdoms 1859, Mexican resentments erupted in an armed chalenge to American power; a raid on a jail in Brownsville, led by rancher Juan Cortina, who freed all Mexican prisoners Resistance had little long term effect Cortina continued to harass Anglos in Texas until 1975 but Mexican government fillay imprisoned him Mexicans in southern texas, like califormia, became increasingly impoverished working class relegated largely to unskilled farm or industrial labor

Psychological loss

In accepting idea of passing frontier, many americans acknowledging end of most cherished myths As long as possible for them to consider west and empty land, possibole to believe constantly revitalizing oppurtunites in AMerican life Now vague and ominous sense of opportunities foreclosed, of individuals losing ability to control own destines Psychological loss all greater because of past view that West potential to be Garden of Eden where life anew and democracy restored

Drought

In plains states, problems of water create disaster Series of dry seasons and lands that had been fertile now semidesert Some farmers delt with by using deep well pumped by steel windmills- dryand farming- system to conserve moisture in soil Only large scale irrigation could save endangered farms Irrigation projects of necessary magnitude requred government assistance and wouldnt

Decline of mission society

In the 1830s, after the new Mexican goverment begun reducing the power of the church, the mission society largely collapsed, despite strenuous resistance from the missionaries themselves In its place emerged a secular Mexican aristocracy which controlled chain of large estates in fertile lands west of the Sierra Nevada Arrival of Anglo-Americans before/after Civil War disastruous Californios (hispanic residents of state) had little power to resist onslaught In central/northern parts of state, where the Anglo populaton growth was greatest, californios experienced series of defeats English speaking prosepectors exluded them violently from mines during gold rush Many californios also lost their lands- either through corrupt business deals or through outright seizure Years of litigation by displaced Hispanics had little effect on changin distribution of landownership

Shifting nature of the workforce

Many immigrant workers came to America intending to remain briefly to earn money and go home Assumption that had no long-range future in country eroded willingness to organize Other workers in constant motion from job to job seldom in place long enough to establish institutional ties or exert real power

Myth of the self-made man

Individualism in capitalism Millionares claimed to be self-made Most business tycoons had begun from wealth and privilege

New managerial techniques

Large business entreprises needed more systemic administrative structures than local ventures of past Coroprate leaders introduced set of managerial techniques- relied on division of responsibilites, carefully designed hierarchy of control, modern cost-accounting procedures, and a new breed of buriness executive; the middle manager who formed layer of command between workers and owners Moved quckly into every area of large scale industry Made consolidation possible

Loss of control

Loss of control over labor conditions Even semiskilled workers and common laboreres managed to maintain some control over labeor in informal working conditions of 19th century Employees set to make factory more efficient Centralizing control of workplace in hands of managers, ensuring workers had no authority or control that might disrupt flow of production

Key role of the railroad

Making acess to Great Plains easier- railraods spur agricultural settlement there Railroad companies actively promoted settlement, both to provide themselves with customers for ther services and to increase value of vast landholdings Companies set rates so low for settlers that almost anyone could affort trip west Sold much of land at low prices with liberal credit to prosepective settlers

Chisholm trail

Market facilities grew up at Abilene, Kansas on Kansas Pacific Railroad and for years town reigned as railhead of cattle kingdom Between 1867 and 1871, carttlemen drove up Chisholm Trail to Abilene By mid-1870s, agricultural development in western Kansas eating away at open range land at same time that supply of animals increasing Cattlement had to develop other trails and market outlets farther west

hard times for farmers

Most people who moved into region previously farmers New farmers had no issue getting credit and believed they could soon retire their debs Arid years when crop prices falling while producion more expensive Many farmers couldnt pay debts and forced to abandon farms Revers migration back east Ghost towns

Plains indians

Most widespread Indian presence in the West was the Plains Indians, a diverse group of tribes and language groups Some tribes formed alliances, others in constant conflict Some lived sedentary lives as farmers, others nomadic hunters Despite their differences, the tribes shared some traits Cultures based on close and extended family networks and on an intimate relationship wiht nature Subdivided into bands of up to 500; each has its own governing council but community had decision making process in which most members participated Within each band, tasks were divided by gender Women domestic and artistic: raise children, cook, gather, artwork, erc Men hunters and traders, religious/military life Most religion in plains based on natural world

Life cycle of a mining boom

News of a gold or silver strike in area usualy began with stampede remisiscient of the Califonia gold rush of 1849 Individual prospectors would exploit the first shallow deposits of ore largely by hand, with pan and placer mining After thees surface deposits dwindled, corporations moved in to engage in lode or quartz mining, which dug deeper beneath the surface As those deposits dwindled, commercial mining either disappeared or continued on a restricted basis, and ranchers and farmers moved in and established a more permanent economy

Chief Joseph

Nex Perece- small peaceful tribes Leader- Chief Josehph- urged followers to flee from American troops Scattered in several directions and became part of remarkable chase Joseph moved iwth 200 men and 350 women, children, and elders in effort to reach Canada and take refuge with Sioux there Pursued by four columns of american soldiers, Indians covered 1321 miles in 75 days, evading army Finally caught just short of border Joseph and most of followers gave up in exchange for promise that band could return to reservation- governor refused and moved from one place to antoer for years

Decimation of the buffalo

Not just hunting that threatened the buffalo Ecological changes accompanying white settlement- reduction and virtual disappearnce of open plains also decimated buffalo population Sothern herd was virtually exterminated by 1875 and within few years, smaller northern herd met the same fate In 1865 fewer than 1000 survived Army and agents of Bureau of Indian Affairs condoned killing Destroying buffalo herds meant destoying food source and supplies and abiltiy to resist Contributing to climate in which INdian warriors felt need to fight to preserve way of life

Indian hunting

Not only US army that threatened tribes, also unofficial violence by white vigilatnes who engaged in "Indian Hunting" Cali particular, indians became sport Some who didnt engage in killing offered rewards to those who did Bounty hunters brought back scalps and skulls as proof Sometimes killing in response to INdian raids on white communities Often in service to more basic and terrible purpose Considerable numbers of whites comitted to goal of literal elimination of tribes, goal that rested on belief in inhumanity of Indians and impossiblilty of white soceity's coexistance

Romantic image of the west

Not simply character of new West that made so important to nation's imagination Considered last frontier Age of uncharted territory to west comforted and inspired those dreamed of starting life anew Now, last of land slowly civilized Mark Twain

Russell Conwell

Notion of private wealth as a public blessing existed alongside another popular concept: the notion of great wealth as something available to all Russel Conwell a Baptist minister became the most prominent spokesman for the idea by delievering one lecture Told series of stories which he claimed were true, of individuals who had found opportunites for extraordinary welath in their own backyards

Henry George

One of most best-selling nonfiction works in America Tried to explain why poverty existed amid the wealth created by modern industry

Frederic Remington

Painter and scuplor captured romance of west and image as alternative to settled civilization of east Portrayed cowboy as natural aristocrat One of most successful artists of 19th century

Andrew Carnegie

Pennsylvania railroad and others were among first to adopt new corporate form of organizatio n Quickly spread beyond railraod industry In steel, central figure Andrew Carnegie Dominated industry Cut costs and prices by striking deals with railroads and bought out rivals who couldnt compete with him Henry Clay Frick and him bought up coal mines and leased part of Mesabi iron-ore range in Minnesota Carnegie controlled processing of steel from mine to market Financed by his own profits Sold out for $450 million to JP Morgan

The trust agreement

Pioneered by standard oil in early 1880s and perfected by JP Morgan Stockholders in individual corporations transferred their stocks into a small group of trustees in exchange for shares in teh trust itself Owners of trust certificates often had no direct control over the decisions of the trustees Simply received a share of the profits of the combination

Indian weaknesses

Plains warriors most formidable foes white settlers encounterd but also had several weaknesses that made it impossible to prevail Inability of various tribes to unite against white agression Frequently distracted from their battles with whites by conflicts among the tribes themselves Some tribes able to overcome divisions and unite effectively for some time Sioux, Arapaho, and CHeyenne forged powerful allinace Indians tragically vulnerable to eastern infectious diseases Smallpox epidemics decimated Pawness and many California tribes Long term disadvantage with industrially advanced people (outnumberd/outgunned)

Eugene Debs

Pullman Companty slashed wages 25% citing depression Pullamn refused to reduce rents Workers went on strike and persuaded militant American Railway Union led by Eugene Debs to suppport them by refusing handle Pullman cars and equipment Persuaded its member companies to discharge switchmen who refused to handle Pullman cars Deb's union instructed members who worked for offending companies to walk off jobs Thorusands of railraod workers on strike Debs arrested and imprisoned and strike collapsed

Corporate research and development

Rapid devlopment of new industrial technolgies encourgaed usiness leaders to sponsor their own research to allow them to keep up with the rapid changes in industry General Electric, fearful of technological competitionl created one of first corporate labs 50+ companies budgeting hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for research by their own engineers and scientists Emergence of corporate research and development labs concided with decline in gov support for research Helped corps attract skilled researchers who once worked for goct Decentralized sources of research funding and ensure that inquiry would move in many differnt directions, not just along paths determined by govt

Wounded knee

Seventh Calvary tried to round up group of 350 cold and starving Sioux and Wounded Knee, South Dakota Fighting broke out in which about 40 white soldiers and more than 300 of Indians, including women and children, died Dispute to what precipitated conflict Battle soon turned into one-sided massacre White soldiers turned revolving cannons on Indians and killed

Little Bighorn

Sioux rose up in 1875 and left reservation When white officials ordered them to return, bands of warriors gathered in Montana and united under Crazy Horse and Sitting Bulll Three army columns set out to round them up and force them back to reservation George A Custer- glory seeker Battle of LIttle Bighord in Montana- most famous conflict betwn whites and INdians- tribal warriors surpirsed Custer and 264 members of regiment surrounded them and killed every man Custer accused of rashness but encountered something no white man would have predicted Chiefs gathered one of largest indian armies ever assmbled at one time in US Lacked politcal organiztion and supplies Accepted defeat

Justifying the status quo

Social darwinism appealed to business men legitamizing success Justified tactics Insisted all attempts by labor to raise wages by forming unions would fail because ecnoomic life controlled by natural law of competition

Pittsburgh

Steel industry emerged in west Pennsylvania and east ohio Iron ore found there in abundance and already flourishing industry there New forms of steel production created demand for new kinds of fuel- anthracite (hard coal found in Penn) New techniques made possible to use soft coal which could then be converted to coke to fuel steel furnaces Pittsburg center of steel world Industry growing so fast that new sources of ore soon necessary

Henry Clay Frick

Steel industry had introduced new production methods and new patterns of organization that were streamlining the steelmaking process and reducing companies' dependence on skilled labor In carnegie system, union had foothold in ony one of corporation's 3 major factories- Homestead Plant Carnegie's chief lieutenant, Frick, decided Amalgamated had to go At first, union acquiesced, aware it wasnt strong enought to wage sucessful strike

Rise of the petroleum industry

Steel industry's need for lubrication for its machines helped creat another important new industry in late 19th century- oil Existence of petroleum reserves in western Penn had been common knowledge for some time In 1850s, Penn businessman George Bissell showed that substance could be burned in lamps and yield such products as paraffin, naphtha and lube oil Bissel raise money to drill and Edwin Drake (employee) established first oil well Demand for petroleum grew quicly and promoters developed other fields

Chinese resistance

The Chinese in America did not accept the new laws quietly Shocked by the anit-Chinese rhetoric that lumped them together with African Americans and Indians They were, they insisted, descendants of a great enlighted civilization White Americans, they said, did not protest the great waves of immigration by Italians or Irish or Jews The Six Companies in San Francisco organized strenuous letter-writing campaigns and filed suit in federal court, which had little effect

Assimilation

The Dawes Severality Act provided for the gradual elimination of tribal ownership of land and the allotment of tracts to individual owners Adult owners given US citizenship, but could not gain full title to property for 25 years Act applied to most of west tribes Pueblo excluded from provisions In applying Dawes Act, Bureau of Indian Affaris promoted idea of assmilation- tried to move Indian families onto own land and took some children away to send to white schools

Rocky Mountain school

The allure of west obvious lanscape of brilliant diversity and grandeur Painters of rocky mountain school celebrated new West grandiouse canvases, some of which were taken on tours around eastern and midwestern states and attracted enormous crowds, eager for vision of Great West Such paintings emphasized ruggedness and dramatic variety of region and reflected same awe toward land that earlier regional painters displayed toward Huson River valley and other areas

Economic importance of the buffalo

The buffalo, or bision, provided economic basis for Plains Indians' way of life Buffalo flesh was principal source of food and skin supplied materials for clothing, shoes, tepees, blankets, robes, and utensils Buffalo chips- dried manure- provided fuel Buffalo bones-knives/arrow tips Buffalo tendons-strings of bows

Homestead act

The land policies of the federal government also encouraged settlement Homestead Act of 1862 permitted settlers to buy plots of 160 acres for a small fee if they occupied the land they purchased for five years and improved it Homestead Act was intended as a progressive measure Would give a free farm to any American who needed one Owuld be form of government relief to people who might not have prospects Would help create new markets and new outposts of commercial agriculture for the nation's growing economy

Molly Maguires

Widespread unemployment and middle class hostility toward unions when labor disputes turned bitter and violent, much of public blamed workers Molly Maguires- militant labor organization in arthracite coal region of Penn Operated within Ancient Order of Hibernias Attempted to intimidate coal operators through violence and urder Added to growing perception that labor activism motivated by dangerous radicals Much of violence attributed to Mollies however instigated by informers and agents by mine owners

Limited liability

Under laws of incorporation passed in many states in the 1830s and 40s, business organizations could raise money by selling stock to members of the public After civiil war, one industry after another began doing so Same time, affluent americans began to consider purchase of stock a good investment if they were not involved in business whose stock they purchase Limited liability

Myth and reality

West of the mid-19th century was known as legendary and no longer like the Great American Dessert; now the "frontier" awaiting settlement, wealth adventure, opportunity In reality, diverse land with many different regions and climates; extenslively populated with variety of cultres

Mexican origins

Western cattle industry mexican and texan by ancestry Long before US citizens invaded SW, mexican ranchers developed trchniques and equipment that cattlemen and cowboys of Great Plains later employed: branding, roundups, roping, and gear of herders Americans in Texas adopted methods and carried them to northern ranges of cattle kingdon Texas had largest herds of cattle in country

racially stratified working class

Western working class highly multiracial English speaking whites worked alongside African Americans and immigrants from Europe Chinese, Filipinos, Mexicans, and Indians Workforce highly stratified along racial lines Ini west, whites occupied upper tiers of employmet Lower tiers- people who did unskilled/adruous work in mines, railraods, agriculture (mostly nonwhites)

Taos Indian rebellion

When US acquired title to New Mexico after Mexican War General Stephen Kearny tried to establish territorial government that excluded the established Mexican ruling class Drew most officials from Anglo-Americans in region, ignoring Hispanics Widespread fears a mong Hispanics and Inidans tht the new American rulers of the region would confiscate their lands and otherwise threaten their societies In 1847, Taos Indians rebelled, they killed the new governor and other Anglo American officials before being subdued by US Army forces New Mexico remained under military rule for 3 years, unitl US organized territorial government there iin 1850

comstock lode

While the Colorado rush of 1859 was still in progress, news of another strike drew miners to Nevada Gold had been found in the Washoe district, but the most valuable ore in the great Comstock Lode and other veins was silver First prospector to reach the Washoe fields came from California and Califronians dominated the settlement and development of Nevada In remote desert without railroad transportation, territory produced no supplies of its own, and everything had to be shipped from Cali to Virginia and other gold rush settlements Nevada lodes yeilded bullion worth $306 million After, quickly played out

Poorly administered reservations

White managment of indian matters entrusted to Bureau of Indian Affairs, branch of Department of Interior responsible for distributing land, Record appaling Bureau's agents in west often men of extraordinary incompotence and dishonesty Most honest and diligent agents generally ill prepared for jobs, had no understanding of tribal ways, and had little chance of success

poorly paid women

Women industrial workers overwhelmingly white and young Immigrants or daughters of immigrants Most women in unskilled and semiskilled machine labor Textile industry largest single industrial employer of women Low wages low necessary for survival 1/2 male wages

Political gains for women

Women own the vote earlier in the west than in rest of nation, although different reasons in differnt places In Utah, Mormons granted women suffrage in effort to stave off criticism of polygamy Some places, women won suffrage before statehood to swell electorate to number required by Congress In others, women won vote by persuading men they would bring moral voice to politics Men believed women more virtuous

Corporate strength

Workers made few gains in 19th century because of strength of forces against them Corporate organizations of wealth and power which determined to cursh efforts

Consequences of overproduction

Worldwide overproduction led to drop in prices for most agricultural goods and great economic distress for many farm families 27% of farms in country mortgaged Commercial framing made some wealthy but farm economy as whole suffer significant declien

Ghost dance

Wovoka- Paiute who inspired spiritual awakening that began in Nevada and spread quickly to plains New revival emphasized coming of messiah but most conspicuous feature was mass, emotional Ghost Dance which inspired ecstatic visions Images of a retreat of whites from plains and restoration of great buffalo heards White agents watched dances in fear and some believed might be preliminary to hostilities

Gender imbalance

men greatly outnumbered women in mining towns, and younger men had difficulty finding female compaions of comparable age Those women who did not gravitate to the new communities often came with husbands and activities generallly confied to domestic tasks Single women or women whos hubbys earning no money, worked for wages at times as cooks, laundresses, and tavernkeepers And in sexually imbalanced mining communities, always ready market for prostitutes