Unit 6 Pt. 2 Flashcards
(28 cards)
Growing population/frontier thesis
As the rails pushed country westward, settlers started filling in territory, by 1889, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, and Montana were populous enough to achieve statehood; Wyoming and Idaho followed in 1890.
Result of the 1890 census prompted historian Frederick Jackson Turner to declare that American frontier was gone, and with it, first period of American history
Argued that the frontier was significant in shaping American character, defining American spirit, fostering democracy, and providing a safety valve for economic distress in urban, industrial centers by providing a place to which people could flee (called Turner or Frontier Thesis)
Industry in Great Plains
Farming and ranching constituted main forms of employment .New farm machinery and access to mail (and mail-order retail) made life on the plains easier, but it was still lonely and difficult.
The government, realizing the potential of the region as that nation’s chief agricultural center, passed two significant pieces of legislation in 1862 – Homestead Act and the Morrill Land-Grant Act
Homestead Act
Anxious to attract settlers to the West, federal gov offered 160 acres of land to anyone who would “homestead it” (cultivate land, build a home, live there) for five years
Quickly discover that 160 acres wasn’t enough to productively farm on some of the dry land int he west or to compete with some of the large-scale agricultural farms, so subsequent acts had to give out more land if farmers agreed to irrigate the land or plant trees on the land.
OF course, the government was giving out land that belonged to NAtive Americans. Furthermore, private speculators and railroad companies often exploited the law for their own personal economic gain
Morrill LAnd-Grant Act
Set aside land and provided money for agricultural colleges
Eventually, agricultural science became a huge industry in the U.S.
Environmental protections
With many heading West, both gov and conservation groups sought for added protection of natural resources
US Fish Commission was created in 1871 to study, monitor and preserve wild fisheries.
1892, naturalist John Muir created Sierra Club, one of the first large organizations devoted to conservation in the US. Later, Roosevelt would be known as a president who further environmental preservation of the West through the National Parks system
Native Americans (Western expansionism)
In this expansionist era, those who lost out the most were the Native Amerians.
At first, pioneers approached the tribes as sovereign nations, made treaties with them, which the settlers or their immediate successors broke, result was warfare, leading gov to try another approach
New tack was to force Native Americans onto reservations, which typically were made up of the least desirable land in a tribe’s traditional home region
The reservations system failed for a number of reasons, including the inferiority of the land, the grouping of incompatible tribes on the same reservation, and the lack of autonomy granted the tribes in managing their own affairs.
Plus, some Westerners simply ignored the arrangement and poached on reservation lands
Helen Hunt Jackson’s book A Century of Dishonor detailed the injustices of the reservation system and inspired reformers to push for change, which came in 1887 in the form of the Dawes Severalty Act
Dawes Severalty Act
The Dawes Severalty Act broke up the reservations and distributed some of the land to the head of each Native American family
Similar to Homestead Act, the allotment was 160 acres of land. This time, however, it was required that the family live on the land for 25 years, after which time the land was legally theirs. And the grand prize was American citizenship!
The Dawes Act was intended as a humanitarian solution to the “Indian problem”; its main goal was to accelerate the assimilation of Native Americans into Western society by integrating them more closely with white people. Native Americans, naturally, resisted. Furthermore, poverty drove many to sell their land, leading to them becoming literally homeless
Native American religious movement
Some displaced Native Americans turned to religion for comfort
The Ghost Dance Movement started in 1889, inspired by the visions of the prophet Wovoka. In his prophecies, Wovoka promised followers that, through proper ceremony and supernatural magic, federal expansion in the West would end and Native Americans would live peacefully on their native lands.
Many Lakota Sioux were active in the Ghost Dance Movement and later died at the hands of federal agents during the Wounded Knee Massacre, a dispute started by cavalry troops intent on disarming members of the Pine Ridge Reservation
Hundreds of Lakota were killed or injured and the site of the battlefield is now a National Historic Landmark
National Politics
America looked to have entered a period of prosperity, with a handful of families having amassed unprecedented wealth, but affluence of a few was built on the poverty of many.
American politics looked like a shining example of representative democracy, but just beneath the surface lay crass corruption and patronage
Political machines, not municipal governments, ran the cities
Big business bought votes in Congress and then turned around and fleeced consumers.
Workers had little protection from the greed of their employers because the courts turned a deaf ear to worker complaints.
Presidents during the Gilded Age
Presidents of this era were generally not corrupt, but they were relatively weak. (The president is only as powerful as his support allows him to be; thus popular presidents, such as Andrew Jackson and Franklin Roosevelt, were able to accomplish so much)
Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, and Chester A. Arthur concerned themselves mostly with civil service reform, while Grover Cleveland believed that government governed best which governed least
Harrison took opposite tack, and he and his allies in the Capitol passed everything from the nation’s first meat Meat Inspection Act to banning lotteries to purchase of several battleships
Much of the legislation we have discussed, from the Sherman Antitrust Act to the second Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act, was passed under Harrison’s watch. But public’s discomfort with activism of Harrison and Billion-Dollar Congress of 890 led to Grover Cleveland’s return to the White House
Regulating corruption in gov and business
Many state imposed railroad regulations because railroads were engaging in price gouging
In 1877, Supreme Court upheld an Illinois state law regulating railroads and grain elevators in case of Munn v. Illinois. This was surprising, given that railroads crossed state lines and only Congress can regulate interstate commerce. Court argued that states had power to regulate private industry that served the public interest
Although Supreme Court would reaffirm Congress’s authority 9 years later in the Wabash case, when it ruled that states could not establish rates involving interstate commerce, an important precedent for regulating business in the public’s interest had been established.
In 1887, just one year after the Wabash decision, Congress passed the first federal regulatory law in US history. The Interstate Commerce Act set up the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to supervise railroad activities and regulate unfair and unethical practices
Women’s suffrage
women’s suffrage became an important political issue
Susan B. Anthony led the fight, convincing Congress to introduce a suffrage amendment to the Constitution, bill was introduced every year and rarely got out of committee, but the fight had begun in earnest.
Meanwhile, organizations like the American Suffrage Association fought for women’s suffrage amendments to state constitutions
By 1890, they had achieved some partial successes, gaining the vote on school issues.
Silver issue/farmer’s plan
In the period after the Civil War, production on all fronts – industrial and agricultural – increased
Greater supply accordingly led to a drop in prices
For many farmers, lower prices meant trouble, as they were locked into long-term debts with fixed payments
Looking for a solution to their problem, farmers came to support a more generous money supply. An increase in available money, they correctly figured, would make payments easier. It would also cause inflation, which would make the farmers’ debts (held by northern banks) worth less
Not surprisingly, the banks opposed the plan, preferring for the country to use only gold to back its money supply.
Farmers’ plan called for the liberal use of silver coins, and because silver was mined in the West, this plan had the added support of western miners along with that of midwestern and southern farmers.
Issue had a regional component, because it pitted poor farmers against wealthy bankers, it also had elements of class strife
Although a complicated matter, the money issue was potentially explosive
Farmer’s organizing
“silver versus gold” debate provided an issue around which farmers could organize
First came the Grange Movement, which, founded in 1867, boasted more than a million members by 1875
Grangers started out as cooperatives, with purpose of allowing farmers to buy machinery and sell crops as a group and, therefore, reap the benefits of economies of scale
Soon, the Grangers endorsed political candidates and lobbied for legislation.
The Grangers ultimately did out because of a lack of money, but they were replaced by Farmers’ Alliances
The Alliances allowed women to be politically active (Mary Elizabeth LEase was a huge organizer for them), and they had branches all around the nation
The Farmers’ Alliances were even more successful than the Grange Movement, and they soon grew into a political party called the People’s Party, the political arm of the Populist movement.
People’s Party
political arm of the Populist movement.
held a convention in 1892
their platform was called the Omaha Platform, called for solidarity with industrial workers, opposition to immigration to help American workers, and trying to earn more support for Eastern laborers, among other things.)
Aside from supporting the generous coinage of silver, Populists called for government ownership of railroads and telegraphs, a graduated income tax, direct election of U.S. senators, and shorter workdays
1892 pres - James Weaver came in 3rd, 1 million votes
1896 pres - ran Williams Jennings Bryan, he lost, this coupled with imrpvoed economy led to end of populist movement
Although their 1892 presidential candidate, James Weaver, came in third, he won more than 1 million votes, awakening Washington to the growing populist movement
As Cleveland took office in 1893, the country entered a four-year financial crisis. Hard economic times made Populist goals more popular, particularly the call for easy money. (Most people at the time, after all, had no money at all.)
Times got so bad that even more progressive (some would say radical) movements gained popularity; in 1894, the Socialists, led by Eugene V. Debs, gained support. By 1896, the Populists were poised for power
They backed Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan against Republican nominee William McKinley, and Bryan ran on a strictly Populist platform; he based his campaign on the call for free silver. He is probably best remembered for his “Cross of Gold” speech. He argued that an easy money supply, though inflationary, would loosen the control that northern banking interests held over the country.
The Republicans, on the other hand, became solidly allied with big businesses, as McKinley received huge campaign contributions from large companies. Business leaders told their employees that they would lose their jobs if Bryan won the election. Bryan lost the campaign; this, coupled with an improved economy, ended the Populist movement
Background for tariffs
Before the Civil War, most Americans earned their living by farming. By 1900, however, the U.S. had become the leading industrial power in the world
It is difficult for us to imagine the enormous controversy surrounding the issue of the tariff throughout U.S. history. Remember that there was no federal income tax until the 16th Amendment was adopted in 1913.
Clearly, the most infamous tariff was the Tariff of Abominations (1828), this ultimately triggered the Nullification Crisis during Jackson’s first administration.
Following Civil War, the tariff came to dominate national politics, as industrialists competing in an international market demanded high tariffs to protect domestic industries. Farmers and laborers, on the other hand, were hurt by high tariffs. Generally, Democrats supported lower tariffs while Republicans advocated high, protective tariffs.
McKinley Tariff
1890, Congress enacted McKinley Tariff
raised the level of duties on imported goods almost 50 percent. Certain products, however, such as unprocessed sugar, were put on a duty-free list
Wilson-Gorman Tariff
1894, essentially resembled the schedule established by the McKinley Tariff, despite heated debate between members of the House of Reps and Senate.
Tariff issue not only dominated congressional debate, it also had a tremendous impact on foreign relations (see below)
For example, the Wilson-Gorman Tariff’s high tax on imported sugar, a critical element of the Cuban economy, caused increased poverty and dissatisfaction among Cubans, who ultimately rebelled against Spain. This is often thought to be an indirect cause of the Spanish-American War.
Increased production, nationalism, increasing global status
Throughout the machine age, American production capacity grew rapidly
Not every American had enough money to buy the products they made at work.
America began looking overseas to find new markets
Increased nationalism also led American business to look for new markets. America’s centennial celebration in 1876 heightened national pride, as did awareness that the country was becoming a world economic power
As Americans became more certain that their way of life was best, they hoped to spread that around the globe. This philosophy led American influence to expand into a number of new arenas
Wiliam Seward, increased participation in foreign affairs
Secretary of state under Lincoln and Johnson, set precedent for increased American participation in any and all doings in the Western Hemisphere
Engineered the purchase of Alaska and invoked the Monroe Doctrine to force France out of Mexico
In the following decade, American businesses began developing markets and production facilities in Latin America, and gradually they gained political power in the region.
Ideas of Imperialism
As long as America moved into regions to do business, it was practicing expansionism, which most Americans supported
When the United States took control of another country, however, it was exercising imperialism
Book by naval Captain Alfred T. Mahan, called The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1890), piqued the government’s interest in imperialism
Mahan argued that successful foreign trade relied on access to foreign ports, which in turn required overseas colonies, and colonies in turn required a strong navy.
The book popularized the idea of the New Navy, and after the United States invested in upgrading its ships, it turned its attention to foreign acquisitions.
U.S. and Hawaii
Search for a port along the trade route to Asia attracted the United States to Hawaii
Foreign missionaries had arrived in Hawaii in the early 1800s, but significant U.S. involvement there began in the 1870s, when American sugar producers started trading with the Hawaiians
Due in large part to American interference, the Hawaiian economy collapsed in the 1890s.
The U.S. had allowed Hawaii tariff-free access to American markets. Then, when Hawaii became dependent on trade with the U.S., the gov imposed high tariffs (the McKinley tariff mentioned above), thereby greatly diminishing Hawaiian exports
The white minority overthrew the native gov, and eventually, the United States annexed Hawaii. Japan was outraged; more than 40 percent of Hawaii’s residents were of Japanese descent.
Cuban Revolution, Spanish-American War, imperialism
Another opportunity for American expansion arose when Cuban natives revolted against Spanish control
Cuban Revolution was caused in part by high tariffs imposed by the U.S on sugar, a critical staple of the Cuban economy, that caused great hardship and political unrest
A violent Cuban civil war followed reported in all its govern detail in the sensational Hearst newspaper (yellow journalism).
When an American warship, the Maine, exploded in the HAvana harbor under circumstances that remain a mystery, drumbeats for war grew deafening
In the ensuing war, the United States not only drove Spain out of Cuba, but also sent a fleet to the Spanish-controlled Philippines and drove the Spanish out of there too
In the Treaty of Paris, Spain granted Cuba independence and ceded the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the United States
U.S. Imperialism in Cuba
Despite the Teller Amendment, in which the United States claimed it would not annex Cuba after Spain’s departure from the island in 1898, U.S. troops remained in Cuba for another few years
