APUSH Period 6

Wages

2/3 of employees worked for wages. Jobs required 6 10-hr days. Usually large supply of immigrants competing for wage jobs. Most wage earners could not support a family decently. About 12% of children were employed. Averaged less than $380 a year income.

W.E.B. Du Bois

African American leader who demanded an end to segregation and the granting of equal civil rights to all Americans. Change was slowly coming to the South. Emphasis of Black self-reliance and Black-owned buisnesses. White supremacy and segregation continued to dominate race regulations.

Ida B. Wells

Africans refused to be powerless. Ida B. Wells- black editor who stood up against lynching and Jim crow laws. Death threats forced Wells to carry on her work in the North.

Decline of the Long Drive

Also known as cattle drives. Overgrazing destroyed grass. Drought/blizzard killed 90% of cattle. Barbed wire cut off access to what used to be open range. Largely tamed by the 1890's. America's eating habits changed.

Ideas of Henry Gray

Argued for economic diversity and laissez-faire capitalism. Offered tex exceptions to investors. Improved railroads symbolized efforts to create New South.

Reform Efforts

Arose in response to the economic and cultural changes of the nation. Workers and the middle class began to demand changes. Women wanted to gain voting rights. Farms protested against railroad rates. Provided 20th century with new ideals.

Criticisms of Corporations

Bad for economy by creating monopolies. Subverted competition in open and free markets. Monopolies showed innovation, overcharged consumers, and developed excessive political influence. "Monopoly" came to stand for a large and powerful company that threatened interest.

The Ocala Platform

Became reality when farmers gathered in Florida to address rural problems in America. Attacked both major parties. Called for many reforms. Direct election of senators, lower tariff rates, graduated income tax. New banking system regulated by federal government.

Knights of Labor

Began as a secret society to avoid detection by employers. Went public in 1881. Advocated worker cooperatives, no child labor, no monopolies, and settling labor disputes. Declines in 1886.

American Indians in the West

Belonged to many different tribes and groups. 2/3 of tribal groups lived in the Great Plains. Many gave up farming with introduction of the horse. Became skillful riders that hunted Buffalo. Lived in smaller bands. Conflict w/ US were result of loose understanding of their lifestyle.

Marketing Consumer Goods

Businesses could now sell to a larger market. Large department stores were popular in big cities. Many buisnesses used improved rail system to mail goods to rural customers. Many brand names became common in American homes.

The Concentration of Wealth

By 1890's riches 10% controlled 90% of the nation's wealth. Industrialization created new class of millionaires. Found hope in examples of self made man. Horatio Alger wrote novels ab young men who become $ thru work. Rags-to-riches career was not common, however. Studies demonstrate typical wealthy businessman was white, protestant males.

"Old" Immigrants

Came from British Isles, Germany, and Scandinavia. Most were Protestants. Made it easy for these immigrants to blend in to American culture.

"New" Immigrants

Came from South and Eastern Europe. Italian, Greek, Croats, Slovaks, Pules, Russians. Unaccustomed to democratic conditions. Crowded ethnic neighborhoods.

Railroad Power

Captured imagination of 19th century America. Customers and investors felt they were victims of schemes and practices. Public interest was not protected until Interstate commerce Commission did in the 20th century Progressive era.

Role of Towns & Cities

Challenged view by saying cities were not a late edition. Boosters strove to establish their town as the territorial hub. Urban markets made development possible.

Social Darwinism

Charles Darwin's belief in natural selection and offended religious conservatives. Bolstered views of economic conservatives. Survival of the fittest. Prof. William Sumner introduced this to sociology.

Patterns of Urban Development

Cities grew in size and the internal structure of the cities changes as well. Upper and middle class moved to streetcar suburbs. Higher income residents left old city parts to the poor. Reflected class, race, and religion (cultural divisions).

Discrimination And Supreme Court

Civil Right cases of 1883- Court rules Congress could not ban discrimination practiced by private organizations. Plessy v. Ferguson- upheld law requiring "separate but equal accommodations" Jim Crow Laws- wave of segregation laws. Required segregated washrooms, drinking fountains, benches, and many other public places.

Holding Company

Company created to take control of diverse companies. Banker Morgan managed banking, rail transportation, and steel.

AF of L (American Federation of Labor)

Concentrated on narrower goals. Founded as 25 craft unions- led by Samuel Gompers. Nations largest labor organization by 1901. Did still not achieve national success.

Competition & Consolidation

Construction of many different railroads resulted in different track sizes across the country. Inefficiencies were reduced after wasr through consolidation of competing railroads. Trunk line was the major route between cities.

Business Influences Outside the United States

Corporations increasingly desired to do business in other continents. Industries wanted raw materials they could convert into finished goods. Imports from Asia, Cuba, and Brazil accounted for about 30% of US exports. Growth of business was one reason the US became more involved in international affairs in late 1800's-early 1900's.

Demands & Shortcomings of the Farmers' Alliance

Demanded treasury notes & silver be used to up$. Proposed federal storage for crops. Stopped short of political party. Reforms became part of populist movement.

Disenfranchisement

Discriminatory laws resulted in disenfranchisement of black voters in 1900. South invented various legal and political devices to prevent Africans from voting. Most common were literacy tests, poll taxes, and white political party primaries. Many southern states adopted grandfather clauses- allowed men to vote if their grandfathers did. Discrimination took many forms. Lynch mobs- killed more than 1400 blacks. Economic discrimination kept many southern African Americans out of many jobs. Africans remained in low-level jobs.

Tactics used by Labor

Divided on the best methods. Some advocate political action, direct confrontation, collective bargaining- ability o workers to negotiate over wages and working conditions.

The Cattle Frontier

Economic potential of Great Plains was finally reached and realized. Vaqueros- cowboys Longhorn cattle were borrowed from Mexicans. 5 mil cattle roamed free by the 1860's. Easy to get into b/c the grass was free (cattle too).

Homestead Act

Encouraged farming on Great Plains. Offered 160 acres for any family that settled for 5 years. Induced many immigrant families. Best lands often ended up in possession of railroad companies.

The Farmers' Alliance

Farmers formed alliances to express their discontent. Had serious potential to create an independent political party. 1mil joined by 1890.

Changes in Agriculture

Farming became increasingly commercialized. Farmers focused on raising specific cash crop for national and international markets. Large farms were run like factories and smaller farms could not keep up.

Laissez-Faire and Adam Smith

Fed, state, and local gvt. supported growth with actions such as high tariffs, infrastructure, and operating public schools and universities. Religious and political beliefs led people to laissez-faire. Adam Smith argues mercantilism was less efficient (invisible hand).

Concentrating Ownership

Financial panic made 1/4 of railroads bankrupt. With competition eliminated, rates were stabilized and debts were reduced. Few dominated by interlocking directorates and created railroad monopolies.

Immigrants from Asia

First wave was from China after gold was discovered in 1848. Chinese Exclusion Act- ended immigration from China. Many other asians found work in Hawaii. Congress passed rules that stopped almost all immigration from the continent.

Rockefeller-Oil Industry

Founded company that eliminated its competition and took control of oil refineries. He had become a monopoly. Fortune was $900 mil by retirement. Company became very powerful.

National Labor Union.

Founded in 1866. Had 640,000 members by 1868. Had a broad social program. Equal rights, monetary reform, and worker cooperatives. Lost support after 1873 depression.

Comstock Lode

Gold lot that produced more than $340 million in gold and silver. Led to Nevada entering the Union.

Booker T. Washington

Graduated from Hampton in Virginia. Established industrial and agricultural school for African Americans. Learned skilled trades while Washington preached virtues of hard work. Atlanta Compromise- belief that Black and White southerners should make their region prosper. Emphasis on economic cooperation won praise from Whites.

Migration & Urbanization

Growing industrial cities pulled many migrants. Large waves from Europe and Asia entered the Americas. Urban development. Expanding middle class enjoyed more leisure time.

Westinghouse

Held more than 400 people and developed an air brake for railroads. Air conditioning. Made possible for lighting of cities and electric streetcars. Electric trades employed nearly a million people. 'Power' was the nation's largest industry.

Skyscrapers

Increased land values in central business district. Made construction made taller buildings profitable. Chicago made first skyscraper with a steel skeleton. Made possible with inventions such as the elevator and heating system. Skycrapers became future of skylines.

Mexican Americans in the Southwest

Independence from Spain increased trade and exchange with the United States. Santa-Fe Trial- 1000 mile overland route. Mexican landowners were guaranteed property rights and granted citizenship. Hispanic culture was preserved. Mexican Americans moved thru America to find work. Mexicans were drawn by economic development of America. Competed for land and resources.

Reservation Policy

Jackson's policy of moving native's east on "indian country" proved false when many supplies were moved for a transcontinental railroad. Gvt. began to assign tracts of land with definite boundaries. Many however, refused to restrict their land and continued to roam the Plains.

Homestead Act Problems Solutions

Joseph Glidden invented Barbed wire, windmills, dry farming

Groups Opposed to Immigration & Their Reasons

Labor Union members were motivated by economic concerns. Resented employers using immigrants to depress wages and break strikes. Employers feared radical reforms. Nativists thought they would weaken Anglo-native culture. Social Darwinists- thought British were inferior.

Settlement of the Last West

Lands known as the Great American Desert. Was needed to pass through onto greens of Oregon. Desert recieved less than 15 inches of rainfall a year. Blizzards and dry summers disencouraged western settlement. Wipeout of buffalo herds.

Economic Changes

Large scale industries were capital intensive. Many businesses based in NYC. Advances in technology increased productivity. Depended on expanding markets connected by various transportation methods.

The Ghost Dance & Wounded Knee

Last Indian effort to resist US control. Ghost Dance Movement- leaders believed it would return prosperity, medicine man. Sitting Bull was killed. US army gunned 200 men, women, and children in "battle" of wounded knee. Marker end of Indian Wars.

Industrial Warfare

Lockout- closed a factory to break a labor movement before it was organized. Blacklist- name roster of pro-union workers that employers circulated so they would not find work. Yellow-dog contract- contract that included as a condition of employment that workers could not join a union. Private guards and state militia- forces used by employers Court injunction- judicial action used by an employer to prevent or end a strike. Moreover, management fostered public fear of unions as Un-American. Won most battles. If violence developed, employers could count on the government.

Immigration Restrictions and Impacts

Mainly targeted Chinese. Chinese Exclusion Act- banned immigration from China. Literacy test required for new immigrants. Ellis Island- immigration harbor new arrivals had to pass rigorous examinations and pay a tax. Did not stop flow of newcomers. Foreign-born population was 13-15%. Statue of Liberty was a beacon of hope for the poor and oppressed.

Tenant Farmers & Sharecropping

Many of the South's farmers partook in this. Sharecroppers- paid or use o land with share of the crop. Southern banks had little money to give to farmers. Forced farmers to borrow supplies. Farmers barely got by.

Factors that Caused Growth

Many specialized cities, states specialized in textiles, southern cotton mills, standard gauge rails.

Protestant work ethic

Many successful bankers and industrialists applies this ethic. Concluded "God gave me my riches". Preached everyone had duty to become rich.

Attempts to Organize

Most small farmers in the South remained in cycle of debt and poverty. Farmers Souther Alliance remained in poverty cycle. Colored Farmers Alliance- for African Americans. Economic interests o upper class stood in the way of cycle.

The Steel Industry

New inventions skyrocketed the rise of heavy steel industry. More durable than iron. Blasting air through molten iron produced high-quality steel. Great Lakes region had abundant coal. Emerged as center of steel production.

Factors that Slowed Growth

North financing dominated the South economy, economic growth in South hampered by failure to expand public education.

Alienation

Observed newcomers usually where isolated from new and old cultures. Only children became fully assimilated with the new culture.

African Americans

Observed those who moved to Northern cities faced problem of racism, which created permanent ghettos.

Indian Wars

Often brutal. US army was responsible for many massacres. Sioux War(1866)- the Sioux wiped out an entire army column. More treaties attempted to isolate Plains Indians. Indian Appropriation Act(1871)- ended regulation of tribes as independent nations. Conflicts: Red River War, 2nd Sioux Was, Northern Plains-Crazy Horse Conflict

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

One of the worst labor outbreaks. Cut wages during a depression. Spread across 11 states. Shut down 2/3 of rail lines. Joined w/ workers from other industries (500,000) to strike. Used federal troops to end it. 100+ people killed.

Conditions in 1900

Only 3% of workers belonged to Unions. Government would generally take management's side on issues. People began to realize need for a better balance from demands and employers to avoid strikes. GIlded Age- industrial growth was concentrated in Northeast and Midwest. Regions developed were cities and attracted immigrants.

Trust

Organization that manages assets of other companies. Standard Oil(Rockefeller) was a trust.

The Grange Movement

Organized in 1868 by Oliver H. Kelley. Social and educational organization for farmers and families. Established cooperatives for farmers to save costs.

Boom Towns

Overnight towns that were infamous for saloons and party girls. Many became ghost towns.

Changes in Transportation

People could now live farther away from their workplaces thanks to electric streetcars.Horses were being replaced with electric trolleys, elevated railways, and subways, which transported people farther. Big Bridges were made.

Labor Discontent

People often felt accomplished making a product start to finish. Workers learned to work under tyranny of the clock. Many industries were dangerous. Rebelled by missing or quitting work. On average changed jobs every 3 years.

Push & Pull Factors

Poverty of displaced farmers. Mechanization of farm work. Overcrowding and joblessness in Europe. Religious persecution (Jews). Country's reputation. Economic opportunity.

Political Changes

Pro-growth government protected property rights and sheltered domestic manufacturers with high tariffs. Economy suffered panics and depression, also large inequalities in the distribution of wealth.

Transcontinental Railroads Negative Effects

Progress had significant costs. The railroad transformed West. Proved failure as railroad business. Frenzied rush for West's resources. American Indians paid high human and cultural price.

The Transcontinental Railroads

Promoted settlement on the Great Plains. First consisted of two railroads- Union Pacific and the Central Pacific. Others were created in 1883. Opened up western interior and more major cities.

Effects of the Railroads

Railroads opened up the eastern markets for Texas cattle. First stockyards could hold cattle for high rice of $30-50 per head. Many towns sprang up to handle the cattle. Workers received $1 a day.

Problems & Corruption

Railroads weren't always efficient. Companies suffered from mismanagement and fraud. Speculators (Jay Gould) entered the business for quick profit. Railroads competed by offering discounts and kickbacks to favor shippers.

Ongoing Debate

Remained divided on the multiple different immigration interpretations. Questions ast immigration and yet shaped current views of ethnic tension.

Cotton & Other Crops

Remained mainly cotton over the years. Cotton acres doubled. Cotton priced declined. Growth of cotton was promoted (tuskegee institute). Important role in shifting Southern agriculture to be more diversified.

Carnegie-Steel Industry

Scotland immigrant who worked his way up from poverty to become superintendent of a rail business. Outdistanced his competitors w/ tech and tactics. Sold steel company for $400 mil and was the largest enterprise in the world.

California Gold Rush

Set pattern for gold rushes. Mining companies employed deep shaft mining. INdividuals used method called placer mining.

Little Big Horn

Sioux destroyed Colonel Custer's command (1876). Nez Perce lead into Canada to ended the defeat and the surrender of the Sioux.

The Conservation Movement

Sparked from concerns over deforestation. Preserved places such as Yosemite Valley and Yellowstone. Presidents B. Harrison and G. Cleveland reserved 33 mil acres of ntl. timber. Forest Reserve Act and Forest Management Act withdrew federal timber lands and regulated their use. Most conservationists believed in scientific management. Preservationists tried to reserve natural areas.

Pullman Strike

Started when Pullman announced a cut in wages and fired workers who tried to bargain. Appealed for help at American Railroad Union. Railroad owners supported Pullman. American Socialist Party.

Assimilationists

Support for ending Indian culture. Advocated for job training, education, and Christian conversion. Set up boarding schools to segregate Indian children.

Munn v. Illinois

Supreme Court case that upheld right of a state to regulate business of a public nature, such as railroads.

Ethnic Neighborhoods/Tenements

Tenement apartments- crammed many people into one block. Passed law that required each bedroom to have a window. Dumbbell tenements- buildings w/ open ventilation shafts to provide windows. Promoted spread of deadly diseases. Each group could contain their own language in ethnic neighborhoods. Tenement apartments & dumbbell tenements. Immigrants could fulfill their own version of the American dream. Renewed populist protests. Served as springboards. Created distinct culture and church.

Boss and Machine Politics

Tightly organized groups of politicians. Started as social clubs and developed. Knew how to manage groups in the city. Brought modern services. Machines could be greedy but also generous. An estimated 65% of funds ended up in tammany Halls' "Boss" Tweed.

Inventions of the 19th Century

Transatlantic cable- made it possible to send messages acorss seas in minutes. By 1900, cables linked all inhaited continents of the world. Instantaneous, global communication :). Internationalized markets and prices for basic commodities. Placed smaller producers wrongly. New inventions- telegraph, telephone (Alexander Graham Bell), cash register, calculating machine, adding machine, camera (George Eastern), fountain pen (Lewis E. Water man), safety razor and blade.

Turner's Frontier Thesis

Turner published proactive and influential essay, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History." Presented frontier settlement as evolutionary. Argued 300yrs. of independence shaped culture. People became wasteful of natural resources.

American Without a Frontier

Turner saw the frontier as a safety valve for American discontent. Historians acknowledged largest movement of Americans was actually rural towns to cities. Dominance of rural America was declining.

Growth of Immigration Statistics

US Population tripled. 23.2 -> 76.2 in 50 years. Arrival of 16.2 immigrants fueled growth. 8.8mil arrived later.

Changes in the 20th & 21st Century

US granted citizenship to all native Americans. Indian reorganization Act- Promoted reestablishment of tribal native culture. Indian identification increased. Today, 3mil Indians & 500 tribes live in the US.

Conelius Vanderbilt

Used millions earned from steamboat business to merge local railroads; ran from NYC to Chicago. Midwestern cities set standards of excellence and efficiency for the industry.

Enduring Mining Towns

Virginia City- added theaters, police, schools, and more. Many towns like this evolved into prosperous cities.

Dawes Severalty Act

Was designed to break up tribal organization. Kept Indians from becoming "civilized". Citizenship was granted to those who stayed on assigned land for 25yrs. Indian population had severely declined to just 200,000 people.

Homestead Act Problems

Water was wood was scarce, Severe weather, grasshopper plagues, lonesome life

Salad Bowl

Where each immigrant (immigration characteristics) remains intact to become successful in new salad. No melting pot.

Melting Pot

Where immigrant groups shed old-world characteristics to become successful in new continent. Expressed early as 1782.

Settlement Houses

Where middle class settled into immigrant neighborhoods to relieve the effects of poverty. Jane Addams- pioneered early education and established neighborhood schools. Many immigrant children joined middle class during this period.

Vertical Integration

Where one company take control of all stages of making a product. Carnegie Steel controlled mines, ships, mills, and distribution.

Horizontal Integration

Where one company takes control of all former companies in a specific industry such as coal or oil.

Segregation

Withdrew protection of African Americans. Democratic politicians who came to power won support from White supremacists. Redeemers used race as cry to deflect attention from real concerns of the poor.

Edison

Worked as a telegraph operator. Established research laboratory in Menlo Park. World's first modern research center. Dynamo for generating electric power. Created electric light. Revolutionized life. Edison became a mythic figure.

Homestead Strike

precipitated by Henry Clay Frick. Cut wages by 20%. Defeated steel workers walkout after 5 years. Failure of this strike set back the Union movement in the steel industry.

The Business of Railroads

the nation's first big business. Railroad mileage increased more than fivefold. Subsidized growth by providing low-interest loans and many areas for companies. Market was a national scale. Affected routines of daily life. American Railroad Association- divided the country into four time zones. Created modern stockholder cooperation. Railroads required much investment. Needed to develop complex finance structures.