Chapter 17- The Gilded Age, Populist Party, Segregated South
group of several hundred unemployed workers that protested in DC in 1894
Coxey's Army
In the election of 1896, which two parties joined under one candidate?
Democrats and Populists under William Jennings Bryan
McCormick workers went on strike on May Day, turned violent; 4 strikers killed by strike beaters and police men, strikers protested these deaths, bomb went off, more people killed; leaders of the Labor Movement in Chicago were arrested without any proof they set off the bomb; became a symbol for the Labor Movement's struggle for rights
Haymarket Affair
Strikes on same time, same day, different industries; all strike for 8 hour work day; May 1st
May Day
The _________ embraced scientific methods of agriculture, modern technology, and realized the national market was important to sell their goods
Populist Party
Illinois railroad strike protesting wages; crippled nations railway services; attorney general got court order to order the workers to go back to work
Pullman's Strike 1894
Most industrial workers voted-
Republican
Who won the election of 1896?
Republican McKinley marked the height of political participation in the country
Why was the election of 1896 the first modern election?
Republicans gave a lot of money to the campaign, tried to educate the people about the gold standard
Describe the south in the 1800's
Southerners were hoping for the transformation to a "New South" region was impoverished most southern cities had little industry south was dependent on the north
The Populist Party included-
The Knights of Labor, The Grange, etc
coalition of merchants and planters and businessmen who ruled the south after 1877- said they redeemed the south from black rule; wanted to reverse Reconstruction
The Redeemers
What was William Jennings Bryan's speech about that won over the democratic party?
The currency debate
The Farmer's Alliance had to get involved in politics when the banks would not give them any loans for their exchanges. What did the Farmer's Alliance believe the government should do?
They said the government should provide these exchanges to store their crops until they were sold, and argued that the farmers could get more fair railroad rates and more fair price on their crops. Also said that the government should loan money to farmers at low rates.
What was the currency debate?
William Jennings Bryan Bryan said that the gold standard (paper money based on the value of gold) caused the government not to print money because they didn't have the gold to back it up- said it would lower the value of a dollar Bryan called for the free coins of silver; said it would help the farmers and raise the price of goods
Republicans nominated ______ to go up against the democratic and populist Bryan
William McKinley
Most labor unions excluded-
black membership
________ suffered the most from the poor economic conditions of the south
blacks
Business owners continued to paint the Labor Movement as-
dangerous radicals
Southerners were ______- called for small, less active government
democratic
Most industrial workers ________ vote populist
did not few of the populist demands spoke to their needs
What was the 1892 Populist Platform?
direct election of US senators government control of currency a graduated income tax low-cost public financing for farmers the right to organize unions national ownership of railroads
The Farmer's Alliance formed in the late 1870's. They wanted to created cooperatives called _________, where they could more easily finance and market their crops
exchanges
Who did the Populist party appeal to?
farmers and producers (miners, industrial workers, small business men)
Republicans argued that _______ is the only honest currency
gold
Describe some of the problems farmers faced during the Gilded Age
growing economic insecurity prices were falling sharecropping kept millions of farmers in poverty oversupply of cotton had little cash; had to use credit from the bank corn, wheat, cotton lost their value
Who did the Farmer's Alliance blame their problems on?
high rates of the railroads, high interest rates on the loans from the banks and merchants, federal government
In 1894, the Populist vote in rural areas-
increased
The election of 1896 was the first ______ election
modern
Did the Populists have any success at the federal level during 1894?
no
Were African Americans included in the Populist party?
no
Why didn't southerners move north to escape the poverty and poor economy?
not enough money; many northern manufacturers would not hire blacks
Wealthy Americans (republicans) hated Bryan because they accused him of trying to attack their-
private property
William Mckinley called for a strong _______ back in 1890
protective tariff
What did the Redeemers do?
reduced taxes, reduced public spending, cut back public schools; this hurt black citizens
As the prison population in the south rose, the prisoners were-
rented out for cheap labor; the profits went back to the state
Bryan was influenced by the-
social gospel
Large group of southerners moving to Kansas
the Exodus
"The People's Party"
the Populist party
What were extractive industries in the south?
timber, coal, cotton; taken out of the south by companies in the north that owned these natural resources; profit went to the north
In the segregated south, new laws were passed to arrest the-
unemployed; increasing penalty of minor crimes
The Farmer's Alliance wanted to get loans from banks for silos and granaries (exchanges), but the bank-
would not give them any
Did the Populist Party want the federal government to regulate the market?
yes
