The Gilded Age A History in Documents Janette Thomas Greenwood Oxford University Press In memory of my mother, Feme E. Thomas General Editors Sarah Deutsch OXFORD Associate Professor of History UNIVERSITY PRESS University of Arizona Oxford New York Carol Karlsen Professor of History Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aries Cape Town Chennai University of Michigan Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Robert G. Moeller Sao Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Professor of History University of California, Irvine Copyright © 2000 by Janette Thomas Greenwood First published as an Oxford paperback in 2003 Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom Associate Professor of History Design: Sandy Kaufman Indiana University, Bloomington Layout: Loraine Machlin Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., Board of Advisors 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Steven Goldberg Social Studies Supervisor Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press. New Rochelle, N.Y., Public Schools All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, John Pyne stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any Social Studies Supervisor means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, WestMilford, N.J., Public Schools without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Gilded Age: a history in documents Janette Thomas Greenwood, p. cm. - (Pages from history) Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index. Cover: On July 16, 1892, the Homestead Summary: Uses a wide variety of documents to show how Americans dealt Riot made the cover of Harper's Weekly. with an age of extremes from 1887 to 1900, including rapid industrializa- The use of force against striking workers at the Homestead Steelworks epitomized tion, unemployment, unprecedented wealth, and immigration. the labor violence that marred the ISBN 0-19-510523-0 (hardcover) 0-19-516638-8 (paperback) Gilded Age. 1. United States-History-1865-1898-Sources 2. United States-Social conditions-1865-1918-Sources Frontispiece: In Pennsylvania's coalfields, [1. United States-History-1865-1898-Sources.] I. Greenwood, Janette "breaker boys" sorted through processed Thomas. II. Series. coal, picking out slate and other refuse, E661.G45 2000 for less than a dollar a day. Many miners 973.8-dc21 began their careers as breaker boys, often 99-098194 before they were 10 years old. Title page. In marked contrast to the many 3579864 Gilded Age Americans who suffered extreme poverty, a few enjoyed fabulous Printed in the United States of America wealth. Cornelia Ward and her children, on acid-free paper depicted in this 1880 painting, led a lifestyle very different from that of working mothers and child laborers. Contents 6 WHAT IS A DOCUMENT? Chapter Six 8 HOW TO READ A DOCUMENT 91 THE NEW SOUTH 11 INTRODUCTION 94 A Sharecropper's Contract 96 "A Perfect Democracy" Chapter One 99 Cotton Mill Workers 13 BIG BUSINESS, INDUSTRY, 100 The Rise of "Jim Crow" AND THE AMERICAN DREAM 16 Captains of Industry Chapter Seven 18 Muckraking 115 THE WEST 20 "Survival of the Fittest" 120 An Indian Victory 24 Responsibilities of the Rich 123 "Whitening" Indians 26 From Rags to Riches 127 Pioneers 129 Exodusters Chapter Two 130 Mexican Americans Fight Back 29 IMMIGRATION TO A "PROMISED LAND" Chapter Eight 33 Arrival 133 THE FARMERS' REVOLT 35 Opportunity 138 Farmers' Alliances 38 Sacrifices 143 The Populist Party 40 Racism 148 Election 1896 45 Advice Chapter Nine Chapter Three 153 THE UNITED STATES BUILDS 49 THE SORROWS OF LABOR AN EMPIRE 51 The Knights of Labor 157 The Spanish-American War 53 The Haymarket Affair 162 Anti-Imperialism 55 Trade Unions 163 The Philippines 57 Industrial Unions 59 Women in the Work Force Chapter Ten 62 Child Labor 171 NEW WOMEN, STRENUOUS MEN, AND LEISURE 64 The Homestead Lockout 173 "The Strenuous Life" Chapter Four 175 Sports 67 THE PERILS AND PROMISE OF 178 Rebellious Women URBAN LIFE 71 Social Activism 180 TIMELINE 76 Social Darwinism 182 FURTHER READING 78 Ward Bosses 185 TEXT CREDITS 79 Prohibition 187 PICTURE CREDITS 188 INDEX Chapter Five: Picture Essay 83 JACOB RIIS AND THE POWER OF THE PHOTOGRAPH 6 THE GILDED AGE What Is a Document? the historian, a document is, quite simply, any sort of histori- cal evidence. It is a primary Tosource, the raw material of his- tory. A document may be more than the expected government paperwork, such as a treaty or passport. It is also a letter, diary, will, grocery list, newspaper article, recipe, memoir, oral history, school yearbook, map, chart, architectural plan, poster, musical score, play script, novel, political cartoon, painting, photograph—even an object. Using primary sources allows us not just to read about history, but to read histo- ry itself. It allows us to immerse ourselves in the look and feel of an era gone by, to understand its people and their language, whether verbal or visual. And it allows us Cartoon to take an active, hands-on role in (re)con- This political cartoon addresses the issue of church and structing history. state. It illustrates the Supreme Court's role in balancing the demands of the First Amendment of the Constitution Using primary sources requires us to and the desires of the religious population. use our powers of detection to ferret out the relevant facts and to draw conclusions from them,- just as Agatha Christie uses the scores in a bridge game to determine the identity of a murderer, the historian uses facts from a variety of sources—some, per- haps, seemingly inconsequential—to build a historical case. The poet W. H. Auden wrote that his- Illustration tory was the study of questions. Primary Illustrations from sources force us to ask questions—and children's books, such as this then, by answering them, to construct a alphabet from the narrative or an argument that makes sense New England to us. Moreover, as we draw on the many Primer, tell us how children were sources from "the dust-bin of history," we educated, and can endow that narrative with character, also what the religious and personality, and texture—all the elements moral values of that make history so endlessly intriguing. the time were. WHAT IS A DOCUMENT? a Treaty A government document such as this 1805 treaty can reveal not only the Map details of government policy, hut A 1788 British map of information ahout the people who India shows the region prior signed it. Here, the Indians' names to British colonization, an were written in English translitera- indication of the kingdoms tion by U.S. officials; the Indians and provinces whose ethnic added pictographs to the right of divisions would resurface their names. later in India's history. Literature The first written version of the Old English epic Beowulf, Jrom the late 10th century, is physical evidence of the tran- sition from oral to written history. Charred hyfire, it is also a physical record of the wear and tear of history. El THE GILDED AGE How to Read a Document hen reading any historical doc- ument, it is crucial to place the document in context. Every document represents a point of view, whether it be an essay, a newspaper account, a diary entry, cartoon, or photograph. We need to ask: Who was the author of the doc- Caricature ument? What was his or her message? Who was In order to make a strong and clear statement, political cartoonists use the intended audience? caricature, or exaggerated features. The author of this cartoon depicts The political cartoon of John D. Rocke- oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller as a giant, towering over Washington, to represent his colossal power and influence. In contrast, President feller and the photograph of the family in Kansas William McKinley cowers under the building, suggesting that Rocke- on the facing page are examples of two important feller dominates even the highest office in the land. types of Gilded Age documents. At the time, Symbols political cartoons were an especially effective means of shaping public opinion, as cheap mass- Cartoonists communicate by using symbols that the reader can readily produced and mass-circulated magazines and identify. Here the Capitol has been turned into an oil refinery, symbolizing Rockefeller's "ownership" of both the House and Senate. newspapers became available to nearly all Ameri- The moneybags surrounding McKinley imply that Rockefeller and cans for the first time. Photography also grew in Standard Oil can easily buy the President. The federal government, importance as newspapers and magazines devel- the cartoonist tells his audience, no longer represents the people, but oped techniques to reproduce photographs on instead is the private domain of the nation's most powerful company. their pages. Technological advances in film, cam- eras, and the flash process made photographs clearer and more lifelike. Other types of documents also fill this book. Pages from mail-order catalogs and house plans show how people dressed and lived. Songs and articles from popular magazines provide slices of Subject popular culture, some of which may seem surpris- Even though a photograph might seem objective, as it captures "reali- ingly familiar. Many of these documents reflect ty" within the camera's lens, the photographer's choice of subject con- public discussions that raged in the United States veys a particular message. The Shores family of Custer County, during the Gilded Age. The nations dramatic eco- Nebraska, migrated to Kansas to flee the Souths racial oppression. Their prosperous homestead testifies to African-American success in nomic and social transformations sparked passion- the West. ate public debate. Americans struggled with the meaning of justice and democracy in a new social Pose setting as their nation became more urbanized, The family poses proudly, conveying strength and determination.