This document summarizes key events and developments in the United States between 1869-1900 as the country transitioned from a rural to industrial society. Some main points: - The U.S. saw rapid urbanization and industrialization as new technologies emerged. The rise of large industry transformed the economy and society. - The construction of an extensive railroad network was a major factor in opening up the Western frontier and facilitating the movement of goods across the country. The government supported railroad expansion through land grants. - Political corruption was widespread during the Gilded Age. Economic turmoil, including the Panic of 1873, increased calls for reform. Labor unrest grew as working conditions declined. - The period was marked by

1. UNIT 6
1869-1900
Forging an Industrial Society

2. Forging an Industrial Society
 America went from a rural society beginning of the Civil War to
urbanizing, industrial one by the end of the century
 Economic and technological change allowed a whole new civilization to
emerge
 The last part of the 1800’s saw the rise of industry and industrial giants
 American movement to urban areas brought into question the spirit of
individualism, but also expansion and closure onto the Western frontier
 Reformers ushered in an age of more active governmental affairs on the
social and business fronts
 Economic change brought political and social turmoil and allowed for the
expansion of labor unions
 Disputes over monetary policies divided industrialists and farmers and gave
rise to the Populist party
 The South remained untouched by this prosperity and African Americans
became victims of institutionalized racism
 As the century ended Americans were again gripped by expansionism and
people questioned American’s role on the world stage

3. CHAPTER 23
Political Paralysis in the Gilded
Age

4. I. The Bloody Shirt Elects Grant
 Civil War brought government corruption
and many Americans were disillusioned
 Politics during the last 30 years of the century
were corrupt at best
 1868 US Grant elected president
 Grant’s victory could be attributed to former
slaves voting him into office, also the
memories of his war exploits (waving the
bloody shirt)
 First many money issues came up during this
election; eastern wealth focused on gold
standard vs. Midwestern farmers who wanted
to stay with system of greenbacks (money
backed by faith and credit of US)
 Farmers wanted to keep more money in
circulation and keep interest rates low

5. II. The Era of Good Stealings
Postwar political atmosphere was
full of political corruption
Jay Gould and Jim Fisk and their
plot to corner the gold market was
an example of the time
Tweed Ring in NYC- Boss Tweed
leader gained favor of immigrants
by making promises, providing
services to them in return for
support
Once in office he stole, bribed and
fleeced the city for over $200
million (cartoons of Thomas Nast
brought public attention and put
him behind bars (1871)

6. III. A Carnival of Corruption
Misdeeds of federal government
Grant’s cabinet was full of crooks
1872 Credit Mobilier Scandal Union Pacific RR
formed Credit Mobilier Construction to build railroads
and hired themselves at inflated prices
Gave stock to key Congressmen to cover up investigation,
even paid off VP
1874-1875 Whiskey Ring robbed treasury of millions
in excise tax revenue
1876 Sec. of War had to resign after pocketing bribes
from suppliers to Indian reservations

7. IV. The Liberal Republican Revolt of 1872
Reformers tired of corruption formed Liberal
Republican Party in 1872
Nominated editor of New York Tribune, Horace
Greely
Democrats endorse Greely and his views on national
unity
Election 1872 between Grant and Greely a choice of
the lesser of two evils and Grant won

8. V. Depression, Deflation and Inflation
 1873 Economic Panic
 Over production, expansion caused loans to go
unpaid
 Riots in NYC, black Americans and business
hardest hit (less stable footing)
 Call for “greenbacks”, not money based on gold
standard to pay back debt easier (greenbacks could
be traded for gold)
 Hard money people wanted to get rid of currency,
removing it from circulation would make the value
higher not lower (create scarcity)
 Soft Money advocates wanted more money in
circulation, it would cause higher prices, more
profit and make debt easier to pay
 Hard money won out, Grant refused to print more
money

9. V. Depression, Deflation and Inflation
 Debtors looked to silver as a substitute for greenbacks and gold
 Silver undervalued by US government (16:1), higher prices on open
market so miners did not sell to US government
 1873 Congress formally drops making silver coins
 New discoveries in the same year, production up and mining
interests and debtors called end of production “Crime of ’73”
 Demand for more silver scheme to promote inflation
 Grant has government buy more gold and reduce greenbacks, policy
of contraction worsened panic
 1874- Result of money policy led to Democrats regaining control of
Congress
 1878 limited production of silver coinage (Bland-Alison Act)

10. VI. Pallid Politics in the Gilded Age
 Political balance switched back and forth
during this period, no president won popular
vote during this period
 Voter turnout was high and few significant
economic issues separated the parties
 Political affiliation came from ethnic and
cultural differences
 Lifeblood of both parties was political
patronage, federal jobs (civil service) in
exchange for votes, kickbacks in exchange for
votes
 1870’s Republicans split into two camps
Stalwarts (led by Roscoe Conkling) and
Half Breeds (led by James Blaine)
 Stalwarts embraced system of exchanging
votes for jobs, Half Breeds toyed with idea of
civil service reform

11. Republicans vs. Democrats
Northern Protestant
African Americans
Supported nativitist causes
Supported prohibition
Pro-business
Southern whites
Immigrants
Catholics
Jews
Freethinkers
Farmers

12. Role of Government During Gilded Age
 From 1870-1900 Govt. did very little domestically.
 Main duties of the federal govt.:
 Deliver the mail.
 Maintain a national military.
 Collect taxes & tariffs.
 Conduct a foreign policy.
 Administer the annual Civil War veterans’ pension.
 Americans expected little support from federal
government most was local and state support
 Party bosses ruled.
 Congress most powerful branch of government during
this period
 Presidents should avoid offending any factions within
their own party.
 The President just doled out federal jobs.
Roscoe Conkling
US Senator
aka Lord Conkling

13. VII. Hayes-Tilden Standoff and Compromise (1876-1877)
 1876 Grant does not run,
Republicans pick Rutherford Hayes
as compromise (from electoral rich
Ohio)
 Democrats pick Samuel J. Tilden
(NY), man who bagged Boss Tweed
 Tilden wins popular vote, disputed
electoral votes in SC, LA, FL- no
official winner as inauguration
approached
 Compromise of 1877 settled
dispute
 Hayes would take office in exchange
for federal troops leaving the south
 Republicans promised political
patronage to Dems. and to subsidize
construction of southern RR

14. VII. Hayes-Tilden Standoff and Compromise (1876-1877)
Compromise brought end to
Reconstruction, also sacrificed A-A’S in
South
Civil Rights Act of 1875 last major
legislation by radicals in Congress
(guaranteed equal accommodations in
public places)
Declared unconstitutional 1883, ruling
stated only government, not individuals,
were subject to 14th
Amendment
When troops left Republican regimes
across South fell apart

15. VIII. The Birth of Jim Crow in the Post-Reconstruction South
White Redeemers using fraud,
intimidation and playing on racial
fears retook power
Blacks who tried to assert their
rights faced discrimination at every
turn
Many blacks and poor whites were
forced into tenant farming (crop-
lien system) and remained
perpetually in debt
What began as informal separation
of the races in 1870’s became
systematic across the south within
20 years
Legal codes that became known as
Jim Crow laws

16. VIII. The Birth of Jim Crow in the Post-Reconstruction South
Jim Crow laws:
 Literacy requirements and poll taxes ensure
disenfranchisement of South’s black
population
 1896 Supreme Court validates South’s
social order with Plessey vs. Ferguson
ruled “separate but equal” was
constitutional under 14th
Amendment
 Created inferior schools, separated most
public facilities, made blacks second class
citizens
 Blacks that tried to stand up for themselves
were dealt with harshly, indicated by record
number of lynching's
 Would be nearly a century before these
problems were addressed

17. IX. Class Conflicts and Ethnic Clashes
 1877 Ended age of regional warfare and opened age of racial and class
warfare
 Byproduct of economic depression following Panic in 1873
 RR workers wages cut and workers struck back
 Work stoppages across nation and Hayes sent in troops to quell unrest
(hundreds killed)
 Failure of strike showed weakness and first stirrings of labor movement
 Racial and ethnic tension fractured unity

18. IX. Class Conflicts and Ethnic Clashes
Tension high in California between Chinese
and Irish
Many Chinese came to work in goldfields
and RR’s
Irish (Kearneyites) resented competition of
cheap Chinese labor , terrorized Chinese
1882 Congress cuts off further immigration
from China until 1943
1896 and 1898 victory for Chinese in Yik
Wo vs. Hopkins, US vs. Wong Kim protected
them in employment and citizenship
(guaranteed by 14th
Amendment)
Wong Kim case protected other immigrant
groups as well

19. X. Garfield and Arthur
1880 presidential campaign
Republicans nominate James
Garfield and Stalwart running mate
Chester A. Arthur, they win election
Garfield was assassinated by
disgruntled office seeker Charles
Guiteau
Outcome of death was that it led to
call for reforming spoils system
Arthur was thought to be a man in
favor of the spoils system but he shut
out many of his Stalwart pals and
advocated for reform

20. X. Garfield and Arthur
1883 Pendleton Act passed –
established a Civil Service Commission
that made appointment to federal jobs
based on examination rather than
influence and political favor
Banned practice of compulsory
campaign donations from federal
employees
Politicians had to find money
elsewhere and they turned to the big
corporations; they supported big
business with legislation, they were
rewarded with money

21. XI. Blaine- Cleveland Mudslingers of 1884
 1884- Blaine (leader of Half- breeds)
nominated , Democrats nominate Grover
Cleveland
 Cleveland had been reformer mayor of Buffalo,
NY and Governor of NY
 Reformers called Mugwumps
 Reform to them, create a disinterested,
impartial govt. run by an educated elite like
themselves.
 Social Darwinists
 Laissez faire government to them:
 Favoritism & the spoils system seen as
govt. intervention in society.
 Their target was political corruption,
not social or economic reform
 Campaign 1884 one of the dirtiest in American
history with accusations and partisan fervor
(turned many off to voting)

22. XII. Old Grover Takes Over
 The “Veto Governor” from New York.
 First Democratic elected since 1856.
 A public office is a public trust
 His laissez-faire presidency:
 Opposed bills to assist the poor as
well as the rich.
 Vetoed over 200 special pension bills
for Civil War veterans
 Biggest political issue was the tariff
 America had profited from protection and the Treasury had a huge
surplus ($145 million)
 1887 Cleveland brings up tariff issue and this becomes a major
issue in the next presidential election
 1888 Cleveland voted out of office and Republican Benjamin
Harrison takes over

23. XIII. The Billion Dollar Congress
 Republicans couldn’t wait to take office,
Democrats planned to thwart all House
business
 Republicans in Congress passed first
billion dollar budget and depleted treasury
 Gave out more pensions to Civil War
veterans, increased government purchases
of silver, passed higher tariff
 Tariff caused farmers more problems
selling goods on the unprotected world
markets, protected goods were very
profitable for American industry
 Rural voters turned out in 1890
Congressional elections and Republicans
fell out of power

24. XII. Cleveland, Depression and Backlash
 Democrats and Cleveland retake presidency
1892
 1893 financial panic and depression hit
American economy
 Over speculation, overbuilding, depressed
agricultural prices, labor unrest all
contributed
 Free silver agitation hurt American credit
abroad and European banks called in loans
 Federal government laissez faire policies did
not help American people
 Cleveland had to deal with deficit left behind
by Harrison
 Gold reserve in the Treasury fell and the
Sherman Silver Purchase Act was repealed
 US was in danger of going off gold standard
and having currency become unreliable

25. XII. Cleveland, Depression and Backlash
1895 Cleveland turns to financier
J.P. Morgan and Wall Street to lend
government $65 million worth of
gold
Created a backlash that seemed like
government was in bed with big
business
 Democrats tried to lower tariffs to
make economy more competitive
abroad and they passed a small
income tax (later struck down by
Supreme Court)
Disallowing income tax seemed like
more proof that government was a
tool of big business

26. XIV. The Drumbeat of Discontent
 1892 Populist Party first appeared
 It was a coalition of frustrated farmers in the south and west that
denounced government injustice
 They met in Omaha to announce their support for the following
1. System of “sub-treasuries.”
2. Abolition of the National Bank.
3. Direct election of Senators.
4. Govt. ownership of RRs, telephone & telegraph companies.
5. Government-operated postal savings banks.
6. Restriction of undesirable immigration.
7. 8-hour work day for government employees.
8. Abolition of the Pinkerton detective agency.
9. Australian secret ballot.
10.Re-monitization of silver.
11. A single term for President & Vice President

27. XIV. The Drumbeat of Discontent
 1892 Nationwide strikes, Homestead Steel strike
 Workers rights seen as trampled on
 Populists see possibility of farmers and workers joining together
 Populists run James Weaver for president and win over 1 million votes
 The populists did not get the support from the industrial workers in the north and the
farmers in the south
 In the south the political elite played on racial fears to keep Populist support down
 Caused Southern states to aggressively disenfranchise A-A voters (literacy tests and
using the “grandfather clause”), 50 years before blacks would vote in heavy numbers
again

28. Chapter 24
Industry Comes of Age
1865-1900

29. I. Iron Colt Becomes the Iron Horse
 Many lured away from politics to business
 America lost civic leadership in late 19th
century
 US move to industrialization caused
transformation in everyday lives of
Americans, growth of railroad leads the way
 Prime example of government and business
entanglements was the RR industry
 RR building expensive and needed
government money
 Arguments used- to populate country, postal
needs and military needs
 Federal government gave land grants to RR,
all land given to them was not open to public
until they decided what they wanted to do
with it

30. I. Iron Colt Becomes the Iron Horse
 1887 Cleveland opens up unclaimed land to the public
 Government received benefits of using RR for military and mail
 Granting land was way to subsidize RR construction without taxes
or cash
 RR used land as collateral for loans, and to make money selling it
(land had little value until RR )
 Many frontier outposts competed for RR, those that won bidding
flourished

31. II. Spanning the Continent with Rails
1862- Congress passes
provisions to allow for
transcontinental RR, to bind
east and west
Construction begins after war
1869- Union Pacific from the
east, Central Pacific from the
West meet in Ogden, Utah
Allowed goods to travel across
country for first time, opened
trade with Asia, allowed for
opening of growth of West

32. III. Binding the Country With Railroad Ties
Four other Transcontinental lines completed by 1900
All except Great Northern received federal land grants

33. III. Railroad Consolidation and Mechanization
Many western lines were expansion of older
eastern lines
Major player behind this was Cornelius Vanderbilt,
offered superior railway service at lower rates
Technology and standardization effected RR
industry
Steel, not iron rails
Air brakes
Standard gauge track width
Pullman cars

34. IV. Revolution on the Railways
RR changed many parts of American life
 Country united in a physical sense
 Created domestic market for consumer goods and raw materials,
spurred industrialization
 Opened up new markets and sources for raw materials
 Allowed cities to grow
 Immigrants came to regions advertised in Europe
 Made millionaires of men (new RR aristocracy), became an
investment opportunity for those on Wall Street
 Time was “industrialized” with establishment of standardized time
zones to keep train running on schedule
Environmental Impact: Destruction of tall grass
prairie, “industrialized” land into square grain plots, cattle
displaced buffalo, forests cut and transported to growing
cities

35. V. Wrongdoing in Railroading
 Corruption allowed fortunes to grow
 Credit Mobilier, land speculation, boom and bust of RR
stock
 Stock watering favorite get rich quick scheme
 Inflated value of lines assets and profitability, sold
overvalued stocks to investors
 Forced RR to charge higher rates to provide return on
investments
 Railroaders bought and sold public officials to gain
favor
 Control of RR by few allowed monopoly to grow
 Competition between RR grew into cooperation, used
the “pool” method to divide business in given area and
split the profits
 Some granted special rates to some shippers for steady
money and traffic
 Charged more for short haul than long haul
 These actions were done with little regard to the
American consumer

36. VI. Government Bridles the Iron Horse
Farmers resented RR
plutocracy because of high rates
Government slow to respond to
economic injustice, counter to
American ideal of free
enterprise, competition and
government interference in
business
Depression of 1870’s hit
farmers hard and felt RR rates
were part of the problem
Agrarian groups like the Grange
formed to lobby for farmers
and use state legislative action
to regulate the RR monopoly

37. VI. Government Bridles the Iron Horse
 States had some successes in the Midwest (Grange Laws) but Supreme
Court put an end to all of it
 1886 Wabash vs. Illinois decided that states had no authority to
regulate interstate commerce, only the federal government
 1887 Congress passes the Interstate Commerce Act
 Prohibited rebates and pools
 RR had to publish rates openly
 Forbid discrimination against shippers, rates for short and long haul
 Set up Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to enforce, regulate
new legislation
 Act provided a way for business interests to resolve their differences in the
open, country could avoid rate wars and action by state legislatures
 ICC stabilized business in America
 First large scale attempt to regulate business in the interest of
society at large, demonstrated that government would protect
public interest

38. VII. Miracles of Mechanization
 After the war America steadily grew to be the world leader in Industrial
production
 Why?
A. Natural resources- coal, timber, many navigable rivers, in 1859 oil was
discovered - new source of inexpensive energy
B. Workforce growth- Immigrants pushed from their homeland pulled by
the opportunity that America offered. Mechanization of agriculture pushed
many farmers to the new, growing cities to find work. Provided new
industry a huge workforce
C. Capitalism- liquid capital became more available after the war, system of
free enterprise allowed entrepreneurs to fuel industrial growth, established
factories, created jobs, attracted foreign investment
D. Government Policies- encouraged growth of business. Provided
railroads millions of acres of land to link the country. Passed protective
tariffs, encouraged laissez- faire policies Strong legal system and private
property rights encouraged investment and growth
E. Technological Innovation- capitalism encouraged innovation and
efficiency, brought women into the workplace, established a
communication network, changed the daily lives of Americans

39. VIII. The Trust Titan Emerges
 New ways of doing business emerged that concentrated capital and allowed
for more efficient control of industry
 Corporation people share ownership through stock ownership, created
huge pool of capital to invest in the business, run different factories
 Corporations worked to maximize profits, tried to pay workers as little as
possible, pay low prices for raw materials.
 Monopolies were formed to gain complete control of a product or service
charge low fares to put others out of business,
 Others tried to eliminate competition by forming cartels to keep prices
artificially high
 More efficient ways of doing business and organizing their companies
 Two new methods:
 Horizontal Integration- consolidating many firms into one business
(Standard Oil and refineries)
 Vertical Integration- gaining control of the many different businesses
that make up all parts of a products development (Carnegie Steel)

40. Vertical and Horizontal Integration

41. Capitan’s of Industry
Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan,
Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck were men skilled
in organizing and promoting big business.
A.Rockefeller, Carnegie were known for their
innovations in organization
B.J.P. Morgan developed investment banking
C.Sears and Roebuck were the pioneers of mail order
retailing

42. IX. The Supremacy of Steel and Andrew Carnegie
Steel was a scarce expensive
commodity before the Civil
War, after the war with the
perfection of the Bessemer
Process steel became
inexpensive and fueled
industrial and economic
expansion in the US
By 1900 the US produced 1/3
of the worlds steel
America was one of the few
places in the world where the
raw materials needed for
steel production were found
close together (coal, iron ore,
abundant labor supply)

43. IX. The Supremacy of Steel and Andrew Carnegie
 Master of steel industry was Andrew Carnegie
 Born in Scotland to a poor family experienced a rise from rags
to riches
 During the Civil War developed a military telegraph system
 After the war- built railroad bridges, steelmaking and
investments
 1873 Carnegie began to concentrate on steel
 Not a technical expert but a salesman, promoter and
organizer
 Hired men of ability to run business and used the most up to
date machinery
 Bought out struggling companies and had a philosophy of
continual innovation
 Stood out as a thinker and publicized a philosophy for big
business, “ The Gospel of Wealth” (1889)
 When he retired at 65 devoted himself to giving away his
fortune for the public good. Gave money to universities,
libraries, parks, churches, public buildings

44. John D. Rockefeller
 Obsessed with order, precision, tidiness he
decided to bring order to the oil industry
 Recognized the potential for profits in the
oil industry
 1870-Standard Oil of Ohio, began to buy
out other refiners, in less than six weeks he
controlled 90% of all oil refining in the
United States
 Began to purchase all aspects of production
barrels, pipelines, tank cars, oil storage
facilities and he made deals with railroads
to ship his products cheaply
 Established a trust to make business more
efficient, centralize control of the business,
established the idea of a holding company
(controlling the majority of stock of many
different companies)
 End of his life Rockefeller gave most of his
fortune away, gave away more than $500
m.

45. J.P. Morgan
 Born to a wealthy family
 Used his connections to bring capital from
Europe to the United States to invest in
businesses
 Purchased stock and bonds wholesale and
sold them for a profit- beginning of
investment banking
 Morgan began to consolidate these
companies into trusts
 By the 1890’s he was in charge of one sixth
of the nations railroads
 Morgan believed that control brought
stability to the economy
 1901 Morgan purchased Carnegie’s steel
and iron holdings
 Created the first billion dollar corporation in
the United States (US Steel)

46. Sears and Roebuck
 Many new products in the later 1800’s
needed markets.
 How did retailers reach the millions of
people that lived in small towns and
isolated farms?
 1890’s two Chicago entrepreneurs
Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck began
offering goods by mail.
 They purchased goods in high volume
from wholesalers and sold it at prices
lower than the local rural stores
 Development of free rural mail delivery
in 1898 meant that rural Americans could
purchase goods, before were expensive or
only available to city dwellers
 The new business helped create a truly
national market

47. X. The Gospel of Wealth and Social Darwinism
 Industrialists credited heavenly help for success
 Carnegie said wealthy entrusted with riches of
society, they must be morally responsible
according to Gospel of Wealth
 Wealthy trustees of poor
 Many business leaders followed idea of Social
Darwinism, survival of the fittest theories
(business and race)
 Questioned what do social classes owe each
other?
 Involved contempt for the poor
 Industrial plutocracy took its stand based on the
Constitution
 Lawyers stood behind 14th
Amendment,
corporation was a legal entity and had same
protections as individuals when it came to
protection of rights
 Many business incorporated in easy states like
where restrictions were mild or nonexistent

48. XI. Government Tackles the Trust Evil
Masses begin to mobilize against the monopolies
State legislation did not work
1890- Congress passes the Sherman Anti-Trust
Act
Forbid monopolies that restrained trade (bigness
was the sin)
Law was ineffective and hard to enforce, actually
used against labor unions to curb their activities
Early step to government control of the business
sector

49. Robber Barons or Captains of Industry?
 Captains of IndustryCaptains of Industry
 Business leaders served nation
positively
 Provided jobs
 Technology, innovation helped
American economy, allowed
America to become an
international leader
 Many were important
philanthropists
 Robber BaronsRobber Barons
 Americans felt that cartels,
trusts, monopolies gave
businessmen unfair advantage
 Consumers and workers were
harmed by these business
practices

50. XII. The South in the Age of Industry
 Industrial expansion did not touch south,
after Reconstruction South struggled to
develop industry, remained agricultural and
poor
 Absentee land ownership (land worked by
sharecroppers)
 South produced fraction of manufactured
goods as the north
 1880’s Southern agriculture received a
boost with invention of machine rolled
cigarettes, tobacco consumption went up
 Tobacco became a consolidated monopoly ,
controlled by James Duke
 Southern leaders pushed for “New South”-
modernized economy, agriculture and
industry

51. XII. The South in the Age of Industry
 Railroads expanded, linked rural areas across south
and to port cities
 Few railroads connected to northern cities
 South used federal money and prison labor to finance
and build rail lines
 Plenty of natural resources, not enough skilled labor or
capital
 Limited education, few technical colleges
 Low wages
 Banks had limited assets, wealth concentrated among
small group of people
 Railroad rates- charged more for goods going north;
except raw materials
 Manufacturing cotton textiles had modest success in
south
 Labor nonunionized and cheap, Southern leaders also
gave manufacturers tax incentives
 Cheap labor major southern attraction
 Provided work to women and children instead of farm
work (working conditions no better than in north)

52. XIII. The Impact of the Industrial Revolution on America
 Increased wealth, higher standard of living
 Urban centers grew
 Cities and jobs attracted rural people and immigrants
 Jeffersonian ideal of Americans as small farmers was
dying
 Federal authority was expanding to protect
consumers from large corporations
 Lives were chained to factory whistle
 Women felt biggest changes, invention of typewriter
and telephone provided employment opportunities
 Marriage was delayed and the size of families dropped
 Women still earned lower wages
 Image of women as having more power “Gibson Girl”
 Extravagance of age led to criticism, mostly from
European immigrants (socialists)
 Nation of farmers became a nation of wage earners,
more venerable to swings in economic cycle
 Reformers wanted more economic security for
workers

53. The Labor Movement

54. XIV. In Unions there is Strength
 Wage workers did not share in benefits employers had
 Worker was lever puller, originality and creativity stifled
 Personal relationship with employers was lost, factory was depersonalized
 Mechanization caused unemployment, a glutted labor market, brought down wages
 Individual workers were powerless so they united
 Corporation had federal courts in their corner
 They could request troops to break strikes, impose lockouts or make employees sign oath of
allegiance
 Many lived in company towns and were in perpetual debt to the company
 Middle class did not listen to outcry, agreed with ideas of the day like Social Darwinism
 Strike also seemed like foreign idea and was seen as unpatriotic

55. XV. Labor Limps Along
 Civil War put a premium on labor, boost to unions
 By early 1870’s thousands of workers unions
 1866 National Labor Union, skilled and labor,
mostly white males
 Colored National Labor Union represented A-A’s
 NLU worked for 8 hour day, arbitration of
industrial disputes
 Labor hurt during economic troubles of 1870’s
 1869 Knights of Labor pick up where NLU left
off, included skilled and unskilled labor, did not
enter politics , instead campaigned for economic
and social reform, also campaigned for 8 hour work
day
 Against foreign labor, wanted worker owned shops,
equal pay
 Leader Terence Powderly

56. XVI. Unhorsing the Knights of Labor
 Knights downfall came in 1886
 Called for May Day strikes across nation mostly
failed
 Chicago where most violent action occurred
 Anarchists mixed with strikers at Haymarket
Square during workers protest
 Tensions escalated and somebody threw a
bomb in the crowd, killing and injuring
civilians and police
 Anarchists charged with bombing known as
“Haymarket Riot”
 Five sentenced to death, others received long
prison terms, later pardoned by governor of IL.
 Decline of Knights of Labor- Public began
to associate Knights with anarchists, Knights
inclusion of skilled and unskilled labor
undermined position to bargain

57. XVII. The AFL to the Fore
 1886- American Federation of Labor
founded, early leader was Samuel Gompers;
Jewish immigrant that worked his way up
the ladder, led AFL 1886-1924
 AFL consisted of self governing national
unions
 AFL just unified overall strategy
 Only open to skilled labor
 Did not enter politics, presented economic
strategies and goals
 Wanted better wages and working hours
 Major goal was closed shop (all union
work force)
 Chief weapon was walkout or boycott, kept
national strike fund to ride out prolonged
strikes

58. Labor Disputes 1870-1900

60. XVII. The AFL to the Fore
Labor disorders were not solved by
labor unions, continued through
the end of the century
Won about half of their strikes but
management still held upper hand
By 1900 public attitude toward
labor changed, they thought
workers had right to organize
Management wanted to avoid
economic warfare and began to
bargain with labor, although
equality was a long way off

61. Chapter 25
America Moves to the City
1865-1900

62. I. The Urban Frontier
 Decades following Civil War, population doubled,
population of American cities tripled
 By 1900 40% of Americans were urban dwellers
 European peasants pushed off land to cities by
lure of industrial jobs, revolution in American
agriculture fed growing American and European
cities
 1860 no city in US had 1 million people, by
1890 three cities had over 1 million population
(NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia)
 Skyscrapers became a symbol of the growth of the
American city
 Americans became commuters, mass transit lines
spread out from central city to suburbs
 City became immense, impersonal, megalopolis
 Different distinct enclaves emerged for business,
industry and residential living (often separated
by race, ethnic and social class)

63. I. The Urban Frontier
 Farmers (rural to urban migrants) – agriculture
became more mechanized, making a living farming
became harder, city life seen as more exciting
 Move to city was hard, worked on schedule,
confined factories
 African- Americans left the south for Midwestern
cities
 Economic opportunity (factory jobs, service
industry)
 More opportunity and promise for women and
children (jobs, schools)
 Variety, glamour- theaters, social clubs, museums
 Opportunity for people to raise their standard of
living
 Department stores (Macy’s, Marshall Fields)
provided urban workers jobs (many women),
ushered in age of consumerism
 Products available at lower prices, advertising,
money back guarantee, trademarks, distinctive
brands emerged, contributed to mass culture of
Americans

64. I. The Urban Frontier
 Growth caused cities to respond to new problems (water, sewers,
schools, safety)
 New technology developed to meet challenges
 Skyscrapers- more efficient use of space, gave cities recognizable
skylines
 Technology- steel frames, elevator, central heat, telephone, electricity
 Architecture- emerged as a specialized career, new buildings used
artistic design to magnify height
 City Planning designed to make cities more beautiful, functional,
control growth
 Zoning laws- certain areas for certain functions
 Public libraries, public buildings, parks and recreational spaces
 Fredrick Law Olmsted designed Central Park nations first urban public
park (1860’s)

65. I. The Urban Frontier
 Overcrowding, poverty caused problems
 Poor lived near their work
 Lived in densely populated neighborhoods,
tenement buildings (low-cost housing
designed to house many families)
 Cities were filthy
 Unpaved streets, trash, dead horses,
animal waste all left in the streets
 Many tenements had no indoor plumbing
 Late 1880’s government, city planners
regulate housing, sanitation, public health,
water quality
 Developed police force and firefighters,
improved safety with streetlights
 Tension between ethnic groups, race,
class, neighborhood loyalties defined life
for many generations

66. II. The New Immigration
 Many Europeans migrated to American
cities at the end of the 19th
century
 Until 1880’s most came from British Isles
and Western Europe
 Had high rates of literacy and were familiar
with representative forms of government
 After 1880 character of immigrant changed
 New Immigrants came from Eastern
Europe, many Jewish or worshiped in
Orthodox churches, poor, illiterate
 Came to urban areas to seek jobs, some went
back many stayed
 Settled in ethnic neighborhoods and did not
assimilate easily into American life

67. III. Southern Europe Uprooted
 60 million left in the late 19th
and early 20th
century,
more than half came to US
 US seen as land of opportunity
 American industry needed their low wage labor,
wanted buyers for western land,
 Advertisements in Europe enticed many to come
over, persecution pushed many from their homes
 Jews had best experience with city life and they
assimilated and experienced success in cities
 Many immigrants that stayed struggled to
preserve their traditional culture, established
schools, newspapers and ethnic restaurants to
preserve culture of home
 Children of immigrants typically adopted
American language and culture

68. IV. Reaction to New Immigrants
Government did little to weed out new immigrants or help
them adjust to American life
City government was the most proactive force for their
assimilation and they did very little
Political machines and party bosses took care of many
immigrants; they provided jobs, housing, food and public
services in return for votes
Immigrants awakened social consciences of American
reformers, many used ideas of Christian charity to help
immigrants (Christian Socialists), paved the way for
Progressive movement of early 20th
century

69. IV. Reaction to New Immigrants
 Jane Adams, reformer form middle class
family
 1889 opened Hull House in Chicago
 Settlement House movement began
 Located in poor neighborhoods; provided
instruction in English, daycare,
counseling on how to cope with new life,
cultural activities
 Other settlement houses were opened in
big cities
 Became centers of women's activism and
social reform
 Lobbied for women’s protection in
factories, battled for welfare for
consumers, blacks

70. IV. Reaction to New Immigrants
Work of women began new career
of social work
Urban frontier opened up more
opportunities for women
Strict social codes prescribed work
for women
Usually single and type of job
depended on race and ethnic class
Jobs brought working women
economic freedom and social
independence

71. V. Narrowing the Welcome Mat
 1880’s nativisim returned
 New immigrants seen as un-American in
their ways
 Competition was fierce for American jobs
 Worry about dangerous doctrines of
socialism, communism, anarchism
 Anti-foreign organizations grew
 Hard to unionize new immigrants and they
were usually used as “scabs” during strikes
 American workers wanted to be protected
from foreign labor like American industry
was protected from foreign competition
 1882 Congress passes first restrictive laws
to check flow of immigrants, many more
passed over the next few decades

72. VI. Churches Confront the Urban Challenges
 Protestant churches suffered under changing urban conditions
 Traditional doctrines seemed irrelevant, and were slow to raise voice
against changing social and economic values
 Concern with mounting emphasis on materialism
 New Gospel of Wealth said God allowed righteous to prosper
 1875-1925 new liberal ideas and rise of liberal Protestants
 Adaptation to modern culture called for social reforms
 “Social Gospel” movement
 Message of forgiveness, community fellowship, focus on earthly salvation and
personal growth
 Roman Catholics strong in labor movement
 Salvation Army established, appealed to down and out
 Christian Scientist movement founded by Mary Baker Eddy found converts
in urban areas
 YMCA’s provided spiritual, physical education

73. VII. Darwin Disrupts Churches
Religion received blows from
modern science
Darwin and natural selection,
rejected dogma of “special
creations”
Darwin and other new ideas
loosened America’s religious
roots; religion and personal
faith became private matters

74. VIII. The Lust for Learning
 More acceptance for tax supported public
schools
 Helped check abuses of child labor, schools
Americanized immigrants and made them
better citizens
 1880’ and 1890’s high school education began
to spread, idea of free education became a
birthright of Americans
 Teacher training and teaching as a science
(John Dewey)
 New Immigration allowed for expansion of
Catholic parochial schools
 For adults there were free public lectures, the
Chautauqua Movement provided lectures and
home study
 Cities provided better educational facilities
than rural areas but across the country
literacy rates climbed throughout the century

75. IX. Booker T. Washington and Education for Black People
 South lagged behind in public education (44%
illiterate in 1900)
 Champion of black education was Booker T.
Washington
 1881 began career at Tuskegee Institute in AL
 Taught trades as way to gain economic security
 Washington advocated economic progress
as path to social equality
 W.E.B. Du Bois condemned Washington’s
approach
 Du Bois was Harvard educated , founder of
NAACP (1910)
 Demanded A-A’s be given full and
immediate equality
 Ideas of each reflected life experience of southern
and northern blacks

76. X. Hallowed Halls of Ivy
 Colleges and universities grew during period
 College education became noteworthy for success in the modern
world
 Women’s colleges, black institutes of education were founded
 Growth of higher education can be traced to Morrill Act of 1862
that granted public land to states to support education
 Hatch Act 1887 extended Morrill Act and provided funds to
establish agricultural experiment stations for “land grant” colleges
 New industrial millionaires gave money to colleges (Vanderbilt,
Stanford, Duke, University of Chicago)
 Increase in technical, professional and graduate schools
 Increase in elective system of education was due to increasing
specialization of workforce
 Medical schools were established that promoted public health

77. XI. The Appeal of the Press
 Books, magazines, newspapers all grew during
the Gilded Age
 More literate population was a factor
 Mechanization allowed presses to feed word
hungry public
 Public libraries opened in big cities, Carnegie
contributed millions toward the construction of
libraries
 Newspapers became less opinionated and began
to publish sensational, scandalous articles
 New journalistic tycoons William Randolph
Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer built powerful
newspapers
 “Yellow journalism” was name given to
scandalous papers
 Creation of press services like the Associated
Press led to the standardization of news

78. XII. Postwar Writing
 Dime novels about “wild west” first appeared
 Horatio Alger “rags to riches” stories, reward of
success because of hard work
 Novel writing reflected materialism of industrial
society (not rugged individualism of earlier in
century), realism about problems of changing society
 Mark Twain, satire about greed an corruption gave
time period its name (Gilded Age 1873)
 Twain humorist, satirist, foe of social injustice,
captured frontier realism with American dialect
 Stephen Crane wrote about life on streets of urban
America, most famous novel The Red Badge of
Courage, about Civil War life
 Jack London wrote about contemporary life and
social problems; Call of the Wild, about struggle
between modern and older society
 Black writers, Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Charles
Chestnut, different type of realism with black dialect
and folklore that captured richness of southern black
culture

79. Postwar Art
Modern realistic art
replaced
impressionism
Depicted scenes of
urban life, slums and
streets
At turn of the century
New York group of
artists known as the
Ashcan School

80. XIII. The New Morality, Families and Women in the City
 Battle between sexual attitudes and place of
women continued
 New opportunities for women became tools for
liberation
 Soaring divorce rates, use of birth control,
discussion of sexual topics
 Cities were isolating places for families, family only
place for emotional, psychological satisfaction (no
longer extended family)
 Family work habits changed, more children meant
more mouths to feed in uncertain urban
environment, because of this marriage was
delayed, family size dropped
 1898- Charlotte Perkins Gilman called on
women to abandon dependent status, became part
of economy
 Many feminists began to demand the right to
women's suffrage

81. XIV. Families and Women in the City
 New generation of feminist leaders
emerged like Carrie Chapman Catt,
demanded equality for women
 Social responsibilities of women as head of
family needed voice in community to vote
for public positions
 Women were increasingly giving right to
vote in local elections and control their
own property after marriage by the turn of
the century
 Excluded black women, Ida B. Wells
took the lead for these women by
launching an anti-lynching crusade
 1896- formed National Association of
Colored Women

82. XV. Prohibition of Alcohol and Social Progress
Temperance reform found a new life
with influx of immigrants
Assault amounted to a type of class
warfare (middle class reformers vs.
working classes)
1869 National Prohibition Party
formed
Carrie Nation was a leading reformer
breaking into saloons and smashing
them with a hatchet
Culminated in 1919 with passage of
18th
Amendment

83. XV. The Business of Amusement
 Music through the phonograph for the masses and
the patronage of the newly rich became popular
forms of entertainment
 Vaudeville and its variety of acts was popular
 The first circus appeared (P.T. Barnum)
 Wild West shows traveled the country
 Baseball was emerging as a national pastime
 Basketball was invented by a YMCA instructor in
Mass.
 Spectator sports like football, boxing, horseracing
became popular
 Ethnic Americans supported athletes that shared
their background
 These forms of entertainment, the rise of cities and
their cultural attractions caused Americans to adopt
a popular mass culture

84. THE GREAT WEST, THE
AGRICULTURAL
REVOLUTION AND THE RISE
OF THE URBAN CLASS
CHAPTER 26
1865-1896

85. I. THE CLASH OF CULTURES ON THE
PLAINS
 After Civil War frontier in America steadily
marched westward
 On Great Plains relatively few white settlers
right after Civil War, habitat of Indian,
buffalo
 1860 most Native Americans confined to
this region
 Migration and conflict not foreign to tribes,
many had been pushed westward by white
settlement and clashed with other tribes
 White soldiers and settlers in the decades
before the Civil War accelerated a fateful
cycle of disease, environmental destruction
and settlement that undermined
foundations of Native American culture
 Inevitable clash between acquisitive,
industrial civilization and Native American
culture
 By 1890 entire region populated by
American settlers

86. I. CLASH OF CULTURES ON THE PLAINS
 American policy since the 1830’s had been
resettlement and confinement of Native
Americans
 1850’s beginning of reservation system,
established boundaries for Indian and white
settlement
 Whites misunderstood basic structure of
Indian culture in these agreements
 1860’s intensification of policy of confinement,
herded Indians into smaller reservations
 Indians received promises from federal
government for food, clothing and supplies,
run by Indian agents that were often corrupt
 Decade after Civil War saw increase of warfare
on Plains
 Army troops met formidable resistance by
Native Americans
 20% of U.S. soldiers were African American
(buffalo soldiers)

87. II. RECEDING NATIVE POPULATION
 1864- Sand Creek, CO U.S troops
attack Indian camp, kill 400
 1866- Sioux ambush US Calvary
in MT, killing all; one of the few
Indian victories (whites abandon
region temporarily)
 1868- Ft. Laramie Agreement
guarantees new reservation to
Sioux
 1874- gold discovered in Black
Hills of North Dakota, white
settlers swarm to region that was
part of Sioux land and Indians
took to the warpath
 1876- Gen. George Custer attacks
Indian force on Little Bighorn
River (MT), superior Indian force
wipes out all of Custer’s troops

88. II. RECEDING NATIVE POPULATION
 1877- US authorities try to heard Nez
Perce of Idaho onto reservations, pursue
then for 3 months and send to reservation
in KS
 1880’s Apache of Arizona one of the last
tribes to be subdued by US troops
 Indian policy shattered spirit, ghettoized
Indians on reservations, placed them on
marginal lands
 Became wards of the government, easier
to feed than fight
 RR’s instrumental in defeat; brought
people (soldiers, farmers, settlers), white
disease and alcohol contributed
 Destruction of buffalo that had provided
sustenance to Plains culture was also a
factor

89. III. THE END OF THE TRAIL
 1880’s national conscience turned to plight
of NA’s
 Helen Hunt Jackson A Century of Dishonor
(1881) recorded ruthless government
dealing with Indians
 Some Americans sympathized with Indians,
some wanted policy of forced containment,
neither side showed much respect for Indian
culture and wanted Indians to assimilate
into American culture (boarding schools,
Carlisle Indian School)
 Ghost Dance cult of 1890 (centered on Sioux
reservation in the Dakota Territory)
 Religious revival to banish white settlers
and bring back the buffalo (Ghost Dance)
 Grew in popularity, U.S. government
became concerned
 Wounded Knee Indian Reservation, soldiers
fired into a group protesting death of Sitting
Bull, 100 men, women, children killed
 End of Native American resistance

90. III. END OF THE TRAIL
 1887 Dawes Severalty Act
dissolved tribes as legal entities,
wiped out tribal ownership of land,
provided families 160 acres of land,
citizenship in 25 years
 Reservation land not allotted was
sold to settlers, proceeds used for
education of tribes
 Tried to make farmers out of
Indians, ignored tradition of
tribally held lands
 Forced assimilation was Indian
policy for 50 years

91. IV. MINING BOOM :FROM DISHPAN TO ORE
BREAKER
 After Civil War millions of acres of land permanently
altered by humans
 Ming first great boom (three phases)
A. Discovery
B. People pour into area
C. Communities grew, others saw opportunity supply miners
 Gold and silver discoveries across West (CA, CO, ID,
MT, NV) brought miners, settlers
 Boomtowns sprang up where lynch law and vigilante
justice reigned
 Once surface gold was mined, big industry moved in
 Big business entered mining 1870’s
 Capital used to buy equipment, hire crews of
immigrant labor
 Mining companies caused extensive environmental
damage
 Federal government supported large mining
operations- provided inexpensive land, approved
patents, provided RR land to move out ore
 Mining boom helped fuel nations industrial growth,
injected silver issue into American politics, caused
conflict with Native Americans

92. V. BEEF BONANZAS AND THE LONG
DRIVE
 Texas plains great for raising of beef, no
way to profitably get them to market
 Issue solved by building of RR’s, cattle could
be shipped to stockyards of KC and Chicago
 “Beef barons”, Swift, Armor; and a highly
industrialized meatpacking industry
developed
 Products could be processed and shipped on
refrigerated car to eastern urban centers
 1866-1888 ‘Long Drive”, “cow towns” sprang
up
 Age of the cowboy
 End of “open range” ranching mid 1880’s
A. Invention of barbed wire
B. Supply of beef exceeded demand
C. Extreme winters, droughts (1886-1887)
D. Ranchers used hay to feed cattle
E. Farmers began to settle on open range,
brought by railroads

93. VI. THE FARMERS’ FRONTIER
 Homestead Act 1862 allowed settlers to acquire
160 ac. of land by living on it for 5 years, paying
nominal fee
 Land divided along section, township lines set out in
Northwest Ordinance
 Public land given away to fill it up, not for revenue,
provide stimulus to family farm
 Many purchased land from RR, states and land
companies
 Land speculators took advantage of system to grab
up best land
 RR’s induced immigrants with cheap land
 Higher wheat prices, iron plows made marginal
land more attractive
 160 acres inadequate on arid Great Plains
 Innovations in farming, new types of grain made
region profitable for agriculture
 Drought persistent problem, farming techniques led
to “Dust Bowl” of the 1930’s
 Federal government financed huge irrigation
projects to allow for agriculture in region; had more
to do with shaping of west than settlers, miners,
cowboys

94. VII. FAR WEST COMES OF AGE AND THE FADING
FRONTIER
 Far West growth in population from 1870-1890
 Republican Congress gathered more Republican votes during
period with admission of states
 1889 Oklahoma open to white settlers, no longer “permanent”
Indian reservation
 1890 superintendant of the census declared frontier “closed”
 1893 Fredrick Jackson Turner’s “The Significance of the
Frontier on American History” published
 Americans disturbed to find free land gone
 1872-1890- Government began to set aside land for national
parks (Sequoia, Yellowstone, Yosemite)

95. VIII. THE FADING FRONTIER
 Frontier seen as symbol of opportunity, could always
start over
 Land was many settlers most profitable crop
 Frontier acted as a safety valve for displaced; you
could always move west
 Did not really happen, too expensive to get into
farming, possibility of moving west kept industrial
wages higher (maybe)
 Settling Trans-Mississippi West distinct chapter in
American history
 Collision of Anglo, Indian, Mexican cultures where
Anglo’s established dominance
 Scale and severity of environment had unique
challenges that were met by massive government
action (RR’s, irrigation, Homestead Act) that played a
role in economic and social development

96. IX. THE FARM BECOMES A FACTORY
 Situation of American farmers changing
 High prices for specialized cash crops provided profits to
buy manufactured goods
 Large scale farmers became business people, part of the
new industrial order
 Tied into RR’s, banks, manufacturing
 Costly equipment, lack of business sense by many farmers
led to banks, RR’s and global marketplace becoming
scapegoats
 Mechanization and expense took many farmers off lands
 American agriculture became butcher, breadbasket of
the world

97. X. DEFLATION DOOMS THE DEBTOR
 One crop economy good as long as prices high
 Prices were determined on world market (which
also experienced mechanization)
 Low prices, deflated currency, static money
supply (not enough dollars to go around) chief
concerns of farmers
 Many operated year after year at a loss
 Vicious cycle: machines increased output, supply
lowered price, had more debt
 High rates of interest from banks ruined many
farmers
 By 1880 ¼ of all farms operated by tenants,
industrial feudalism

98. Declining Farm Prices 1865-1910

99. XI. UNHAPPY FARMERS
 Nature conspired against farmers-
grasshoppers, floods, drought
 In the South the boll weevil wreaked
havoc on the cotton crop in the 1890’s
 Government over assessed their land for
taxes
 Protective tariffs keep prices high on the
international market, also had to buy
high priced (tariff protected) goods at
home
 Corporations that supplied farm
equipment, seed, fertilizer controlled
prices
 Grain storage operators and RR’s
charged high fees
 1890- ½ of population farmers but they had
nobody to organize them (by nature
individualistic and independent)

100. XII. THE FARMERS TAKE THEIR
STAND
 1867- The National Grange of the
Patrons of Husbandry (Grange)
founded
 Enhance isolated lives of farmers,
provide social, fraternal, educational
activities
 1875- 800,000 members mostly in
Midwest and South
 Began to concern themselves with
collective plight of farmers
 Established cooperatively owned
stores, grain elevators and
warehouses
 Entered politics to control grain,
freight prices, had biggest success in
Upper Midwest
 Many “Granger” laws were struck
down by the Supreme Court (Wabash
vs. Illinois) and their influence faded

101. XIII. PRELUDE TO POPULISM
 Late 1870’s Farmers’ Alliances established in Texas
 Grassroots movement
 By 1890 over 1 million members
 Organized to break control of RR’s through cooperative buying and
selling
 Ignored plight of tenant farmers, excluded blacks
 Racial division kept farmers from working together
 Blacks formed Colored Farmers’ National Alliance
 By 1890’s Farmers Alliances prelude to Populist Party
 Farmers organized to attack money trust of Wall Street
 Wanted nationalization of banks, RR’s, telephone, telegraph and
called for graduated income tax
 Biggest issue was coinage of silver, to create money flow and make
debt easier to pay
 Party wanted to relive farmers problems, unite farmers and urban
workers
 1892 election won several congressional seats
 Racial division kept them apart in the South, more popular in the
West

102. XIV. COXEY’S ARMY AND THE PULLMAN
STRIKE
 Panic 1893 strengthened Populist position’
 Armies of unemployed began marching to protest plight
 1894- most famous Jacob Coxey and followers, marched on Washington to
demand federal works program to ease unemployment
 Violent strikes, labor protest
 Pullman Strike in Chicago
 Eugene V. Debs, labor leader, organized strike to protest wage cuts and no
living cuts in company town
 Paralyzed rail traffic across nation
 Cleveland sends out federal troops (justification to keep mail moving),
crushed strike and sent Debs to prison
 Debs sent to prison because he ignored court injunction to stop strike, first
time this tactic used
 Seen by labor as proof of government, business, court alliance

103. Populist Party Cartoon 1892

104. XV. GOLDEN MCKINLEY AND SILVER BRYAN
 1896 farmers and labor wanted
relief, conservatives feared upheaval
 Monetary policy major issue of
election of 1896
 William McKinley backed by Mark
Hanna was nominee of Republican
Party
 Republican platform favored big
business, hard money policies,
protective tariff and the gold
standard
 Democrats were divided at
convention until Nebraskan William
Jennings Bryan gave his “Cross of
Gold” speech that brought him the
nomination
 Platform demanded unlimited
coinage of silver at 32:1 creating

105. XVI. CLASS CONFLICT: PLOW HOLDERS VS.
BONDHOLDERS
 Populists endorsed Bryan, Democratic party took over agrarian
politics
 Bryan traveled around country preaching free silver
 Caused panic for Republican “gold bugs”, Hanna used slush
fund to push McKinley
 Republican business people used fear of unemployment and
economic hard times to win support
 Huge voter turnout, McKinley won election
 New era in American politics, ascendancy of urban, middle class
voter, Republican grip on White House until FDR, diminishing
voter turnout, rise of new political issues- industrial regulation
and welfare of labor

106. Why Did Populism Decline?
1. The economy experienced
rapid change.
2. The era of small producers and
farmers was fading away.
3. Race divided the Populist
Party, especially in the South.
4. The Populists were not able to
break existing party loyalties.
5. Most of their agenda was co-
opted by the Democratic Party.

107. XVII. Republican Stand-pattisim Enthroned
 McKinley as president – business
given free reign, trusts allowed to
develop, tariffs high (46.5%)
 Prosperity returned, farm prices
rose, all credit given to Republicans
 Money issue faded away- new gold
deposits found around the world,
new technology allowed for
extraction of gold
 Caused more gold on market,
increased supply and inflated value
of currency redeemed in gold
 Gold Standard Act of 1900
allowed paper currency to be
redeemed freely in gold, victory for
conservatives