“Guilded Age” Was Coined by Mark Twain. It Refers to the Condition Of
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American History Notes Gilded Age 1876-1896 The Term “Guilded Age” was coined by Mark Twain. It refers to the condition of American society that was shiny gold on the outside (Such as in opportunity and riches of people like J.P. Morgan) while rusty on the inside (labor conditions, bad politics, etc). It is the period where American violence escalates. For ex ample, there is violence against Indians, blacks, industry/farm/labor, assassina tions, etc. 1. The South and its effects on Blacks a. Economic i. Land vs. Labor 1. 13th amendment freed slaves 2. The effects of the War caused poverty in the south 3. There was plenty of land/crops, but all the labor was shifted and needed to be reorganized ii. Sharecrop System (colorblind) 1. People with land shared crop for labor 2. The ration depended on situation 3. Reunited Land and Labor iii. Crop Lein (Mortgage) System 1. Poor farmers would mortgage crops for necessary supplies at stores 2. Was only valid for Cotton 3. Drought, Bad season, bad luck Debt 4. Debt tied farmers to the land 5. This diminishes freedom iv. One Crop Dependency 1. The south only produced cotton until Panic of 93 because it was dependab le and profitable 2. Later Tobacco took cottons place when cotton prices fell b. Social i. 14th Ammendment – no state can deny person equal protection of the law ii. Jim Crow Laws – enabled Racial Segregation iii. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – The Supreme court upholds segregation. Coin s the phrase “Separate but Equal” 1. Actual trial was about railroad segregation iv. Atlanta Compromise 1. Booker T. Washington gave speech at Atlanta Convention 2. Gave black people three messages a. 1st Get an education b. 2nd Make Money c. 3rd Let Whites control government until we are stronger c. Political i. 15th Amendment – Black suffrage ii. Whites denied votes to blacks in many ways 1. Grandfather Clause – if Grandfather could vote, you can 2. 8 Box Law – each ballot in separate box…requires ability to read 3. Poll Tax – hurt poor blacks/whites alike 4. Residency Requirement 5. KKK - VIOLENCE a. Developed after War by confederate officers who wanted to preserve south ern values b. Later fell into crime and violence against blacks 6. Crime Ineligibility a. If one was convicted of crimes such as arson they could not vote b. These were crimes which white juries would convict black men 7. Literacy Test a. You had to be able to read, write, and understand (biased) 2. Frontier – place where population ceases a. Extra stuff i. Was the trans-Mississippi west ii. Legends of cowboys and Indians iii. World viewed all Americans as gruff frontiersmen iv. Frontier exemplified democracy and equality b. Indians i. By this point they had become nomads seeking buffalo ii. When buffalo populations decreased, they took to war iii. East saw the Indians as noble, the west saw them as a threat iv. We dealt with them as both foreigners (Dept. of State) and Insiders (Dep t. of the Interior) v. Indian Wars - VIOLENCE 1. Col. Chivington killed Indians at San Creek 2. Custer’s Stand 3. Ended mainly in 1886 with Geronimo’s surrender vi. After subdued 1. Indians were exploited, subdued, given bad conditions 2. H. H. Jackson wrote A Century of Dishonor, which had the same effect Unc le Tom’s Cabin had for Blacks 3. Led to Dawes Act, which gave the Indians individual plots of land and at tempted to “Americanize them” vii. Other things throughout history 1. 1924 – Indians get citizenship 2. 1960’s – Indians are granted greater control of their practices c. Mining i. Background 1. Began with 49ers 2. Stopped during the War 3. Picked up again after War ii. The New Rushes 1. Colorado – Pikes Peak 2. Nevada – Comstock 3. Montana – Anaconda Copper Company 4. Deadwood, Dakota’s Silver strike 5. Tombstone, Arizona, which had “boot hill” 6. Death Valley compounds 7. Legend of Death Valley Scottie, who had secret gold mine that made him r ich iii. Influences 1. Rise of Boom towns and relic “Ghost” towns 2. New specie to back currency 3. Raised currency controversy – election of 1896 4. Clash with Indians led to Indian Wars 5. Effects of Big Business a. 1st The west epitomized the American dream, individualism b. Later is taken over by big business d. Cattle i. Legends 1. Legends of Trials like Goodnight and Scion 2. Cowboys and Indians ii. Effects of Cows 1. Ate “public” grass, was stealing from government iii. Big Business 1. Joseph McCoy – combined railroad and cattle to transport to Chicago iv. Towns 1. Abelene – cattle town 2. Always had “wrong side of tracks” where brothels, etc were v. Individual cattle trade ends in 1886 e. Sheep i. Rivalry between Cowboys and shepherds for grazing land ii. Violence 1. Tonti Basin War f. Farming i. Farmers helped end the frontier ii. Fences 1. Fences were needed to define property lines and separate crops, as well as protect from cows 2. First Sod fences were used 3. Later, Barbed wire (invented by Glidden) was introduced iii. Cowboys clashed with farmers over grazing rights iv. Acts that helped Farming 1. Homestead Act 2. Desert Land Act – more land if irrigate 3. Timber Culture Act – more land if plant trees 4. All of these were corrupted by big business g. Literature i. Ned Buntline – dime novalist of 6-gun heroes ii. Characters include 1. Wokine Marijuita 2. James Butler Hitcock 3. Calamity Jane 4. Bell Star 5. Dock Holiday 6. Billy the Kid iii. Fredrick Jackson Turner 1. Historian that introduced idea of the frontier shaping American history 2. Turner noticed the end of the frontier in 1900 through the census 3. Wrote the book The Significance of the Frontier in American History 4. Turner’s Thesis a. The Existence of an area of free land and continuous expansion westward explains American development b. He disagreed that America was a rehash of solely European ideas c. Instead, he said that Democracy came from the Frontier 5. Some supported, some disagreed, but he led to a revolution in historic t hinking 3. Railroad a. Philosophy of Laissez-Faire i. Background 1. This is the Second economic philosophy during American history 2. Its origin belongs to Adam Smith (English) who wrote Wealth of Nations ii. 3 points of Laissez-Faire 1. Government has no role in Economics 2. Natural Laws govern Economics a. Supply and Demand b. Competition i. Leads to monopolies c. Has bad effect on workers i. An invisible hand will take care of workerd 3. Social Darwinism justifies it iii. Paradox of Laissez-Faire 1. The only way to maintain competition is government control 2. Therefore, government has a role in economics b. Construction i. Background 1. Destruction caused by Civil War 2. Start of the Transcontinental Line a. Government gave two charters to companies i. Union Pacific would build from Omaha, Nebraska to the border of Californ ia ii. Central Pacific would build from coast to border of California iii. The two would meet 1. Ended up meeting at Promontory Point in Ogden on b. This violated Laissez-Faire i. Government participation helped public interest ii. 4 Ways the government helped railroads 1. Gave railroads 400 foot right of way 2. Gave them any construction materials on right of way for free 3. Paid them for mileage complete a. $16,000/mile for level b. $32,000/mile for rough c. 48,000/mile for mountain 4. Gave 12,800 acres per mile in alternate sections iii. Problems 1. Indians a. Called it “Iron Horse” b. Hurt buffalo 2. Difficult Terrain 3. Cost 4. Labor a. Immigrants on bottom of Totem Pole b. Imported Chinese Yellow Peril iv. Results 1. Opens up national, common market 2. Stimulates trade with orient a. Now could land in CA and take railroad 3. Increased number of railroads a. Led to new systems and feeder lines 4. Stimulated Western expansion Note: railroads make money by commodity, not people traveling, and the railroads are private property v. Technology changes 1. Railroad ties change 2. Rails improved to steel 3. Development of new cars a. Pullman’s sleeping car 4. George Westinghouse’s air brake 5. Standard Gage – width of railroad track standardized at 4’ 8 1/2” c. Consolidation i. Cornelius Vanderbuilt 1. Consolidated NY and built Grand Central Station, then connected to Chica go ii. Creation of railroad monopolies 1. People buy out competition 2. Slash rates to defeat them 3. Form “Gentlemen’s agreements” to unite iii. Northern securities Company 1. EH Harreman and J.J. Hill were competing to gain CB & Q (Chicago, Burlin gton and Quincy railroad) in order to get into Chicago 2. J.P. Morgan sides with Hill, but still not successful 3. Finally, the Three join together to form Northern Securities Company 4. They act as monopoly while giving the appearance of being separate iv. Abuse of railroads 1. railroad monopolies start to rip off public 2. Leads to government regulation of railroad a. Violates Laissez-Faire 3. 5 abuses a. Higher Rates b. Rebates to big shippers i. Rich paid less (got money back) c. Free Passes i. Rich, powerful, or government officials traveled for free d. Drawbacks – rebates on competitors e. Long Haul/Short Haul Difference i. Cost more to go shorter distance if less demand or monopoly 4. Response a. Farmers form the Grange to counter railroad monopolies i. Economic weapons didn’t work ii. Political weapons did because the farmers had more votes 1. This brought government back to people b.