Ch.8 and 9

• The Gilded Age glittering layer of prosperity that covered the poverty and corruption that existed in much of society.

• In the late 1800’s businesses operated without much government regulation. This is known as laissez-faire economics. Laissez-faire means ‘allow to be’ in French.

The Business of Politics

The Spoils System• Spoils System, candidates for political office would offer potential

jobs in exchange for votes. The spoils system also gave supporters access to money and political favors.

• During the Gilded Age, to keep party members loyal, candidates rewarded supporters and tried to avoid controversial issues.

• The Republicans: industrialists, bankers, and eastern farmers. Favored gold standard, high tariffs, enforcement of blue laws, regulations that prohibited certain activities people considered immoral.

• The Democratic party attracted the less privileged :northern urban immigrants, laborers, southern planters, and western farmers.

2. Intense 2. Intense Voter Voter

Loyalty Loyalty to theto the

Two MajorTwo MajorPolitical Political PartiesParties

2. Intense 2. Intense Voter Voter

Loyalty Loyalty to theto the

Two MajorTwo MajorPolitical Political PartiesParties

3. Well-Defined Voting 3. Well-Defined Voting BlocsBlocs

3. Well-Defined Voting 3. Well-Defined Voting BlocsBlocs

DemocraticBloc

DemocraticBloc

RepublicanBloc

RepublicanBloc

White southerners(preservation ofwhite supremacy)

Catholics

Recent immigrants(esp. Jews)

Urban working poor (pro-labor)

Most farmers

Northern whites(pro-business)

African Americans

Northern Protestants

Old WASPs (supportfor anti-immigrant laws)

Most of the middleclass

4. Very Laissez Faire Federal 4. Very Laissez Faire Federal

GovtGovt..4. Very Laissez Faire Federal 4. Very Laissez Faire Federal

GovtGovt.. From 1870-1900 Govt. did

verylittle domestically.

Main duties of the federal govt.:

Deliver the mail.

Maintain a national military.

Collect taxes & tariffs.

Conduct a foreign policy.

Exception administer the annual Civil War veterans’ pension.

5. The Presidency as a Symbolic 5. The Presidency as a Symbolic OfficeOffice

5. The Presidency as a Symbolic 5. The Presidency as a Symbolic OfficeOffice

Party bosses ruled.

Presidents should avoid offending anyfactions within theirown party.

The President justdoled out federal jobs.

1865 53,000 people worked for the federal govt.

1890 166,000 “ “ “ “ “ “

Senator Roscoe Conkling

1880 Presidential Election: 1880 Presidential Election: RepublicansRepublicans

1880 Presidential Election: 1880 Presidential Election: RepublicansRepublicans

Half BreedsHalf Breeds StalwartsStalwarts

Sen. James G. Blaine Sen. Roscoe Conkling (Maine) (New York)

James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur (VP)

compromise

Reforming the Spoils System

President James A. Garfield• Before the 1880 presidential election the Republican party

was split into three factions. – The Stalwarts defended the spoils system. – The Half-Breeds hoped to reform the system.– The Independents opposed the spoils system.

• Garfield wanted to reform the system. His running-mate was Chester Arthur, a Stalwart.

• On July 2, 1881 Garfield was assassinated by a Stalwart who wanted Arthur as president.

Arthur Reforms the Civil Service• After the assassination, President Arthur was able get

congressional support for the Pendleton Civil Service Act. This act created a commission which classified government jobs.

TheTheMugwumpsMugwumps

TheTheMugwumpsMugwumps

Men may come and men may go, but the work of reform shall go on forever. Will support

Cleveland in the1884 election.

Regulating Railroads• By 1880, about 14 states had railroad commissions that

looked into complaints about railroad practices. One practice that caused problems was railroads offering rebates, partial refunds, to favored customers.

• In 1877, the Supreme Court, in Munn v. Illinois allowed states to regulate certain businesses within their borders, including railroads. But since railroads cross state borders, it was argued that only the federal government could regulate them.

• In 1887, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act and set up the nation’s first federal regulatory board, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). However, the ICC did not have the power to set railroad rates and was often overruled in the Supreme Court.

The Immigrant Experience• Immigrants came to the United States fleeing crop failures,

shortages of land and jobs, rising taxes, famine, and religious and political persecution.

• In the 1880s in Russia many Jewish people fled a wave of pogroms, or violent massacres of Jews.

• Steam-powered ships could cross the Atlantic Ocean in two or three weeks. Most immigrants traveled in steerage, a large open area beneath the ship’s deck.

• Between 1865 and 1890 about 10 million immigrants arrived. Most came from northwestern and central Europe.

• In the 1890s, most new immigrants came from central, southern, and eastern Europe and the Middle East.

• More than 70 percent of all immigrants came through New York City which was called the “Golden Door.”

““Dumbell” Dumbell” TenementTenement

““Dumbell “ Dumbell “ Tenement, NYCTenement, NYC

Jacob Jacob Riis: Riis:

How the How the

Other Half Other Half LivedLived(1890)(1890)

Tenement Slum Tenement Slum LivingLiving

Lodgers Huddled TogetherLodgers Huddled Together

Mulberry Street Bend, 1889Mulberry Street Bend, 1889

5-Cent Lodgings5-Cent Lodgings

Men’s LodgingsMen’s Lodgings

Women’s LodgingsWomen’s Lodgings

Immigrant Family LodgingsImmigrant Family Lodgings

Blind Beggar, 1888Blind Beggar, 1888

Italian Rag-PickerItalian Rag-Picker

1890s ”Morgue” – Basement Saloon1890s ”Morgue” – Basement Saloon

”Black & Tan” Saloon”Black & Tan” Saloon

”Bandits’ Roost””Bandits’ Roost”

Mullen’s Alley ”Gang”Mullen’s Alley ”Gang”

The Street Was Their PlaygroundThe Street Was Their Playground

Lower East Side Immigrant FamilyLower East Side Immigrant Family

A Struggling Immigrant FamilyA Struggling Immigrant Family

Another Struggling Immigrant Family

Another Struggling Immigrant Family

Rosa Schneiderman, Garment Worker

Rosa Schneiderman, Garment Worker

Child LaborChild Labor

Immigrants from Europe• In 1892, new immigrants must undergo a

physical exam. • Immigrants with contagious diseases, such as

tuberculosis, faced quarantine, a time of isolation to prevent the spread of disease.

• Urban neighborhoods dominated by one ethnic or racial group called ghettos.

• Ghettos formed b/c immigrants more comfortable living around same language and traditions.

Mulberry Street – “Little Mulberry Street – “Little Italy”Italy”

St. St. Patrick’s Patrick’s

CathedralCathedral

Hester Street – Jewish Hester Street – Jewish SectionSection

Immigrants from Europe

Immigrants from Asia• railroad companies recruited 1/4 of a million Chinese

workers.• Under pressure from labor unions, Chinese Exclusion Act

in 1882. Prohibited Chinese workers from entering US. Not repealed until 1943.

• In 1906, the San Francisco school ruled Chinese, Japanese, and Korean students should attend separate schools. The Japanese government condemned the policy.

• President Theodore Roosevelt compromise with Japanese govt. Called Gentlemen’s Agreement b/c was not official. San Francisco end policy / Japan stop issuing passports to laborers.

Gentleman’s Agreement: Gentleman’s Agreement: 19081908

Gentleman’s Agreement: Gentleman’s Agreement: 19081908A Japanese note agreeing A Japanese note agreeing to deny passports toto deny passports tolaborers entering the U.S.laborers entering the U.S.

Japan recognized the U.S.Japan recognized the U.S.right to exclude Japaneseright to exclude Japaneseimmigrants holding immigrants holding passportspassportsissued by other countries.issued by other countries.

The U.S. government got The U.S. government got thetheschool board of San school board of San Francisco Francisco to rescind their order toto rescind their order tosegregate Asians in segregate Asians in separateseparateschools.schools.

1908 1908 Root-Takahira Root-Takahira AgreementAgreement..

Immigrants from Mexico• Employers hired Mexican laborers to work

on farms, ranches, and mines, and railroads in SWest

• New opportunities were a “pull” factor that drew Mexican workers to the United States. Turmoil at home was a “push” factor that encouraged them to leave Mexico.

• The 1910 Mexican Revolution and the civil war that followed killed approximately ten percent of Mexico’s population.

How Cities Grew• Before the Civil War cities were small. Most people

walked wherever they needed to go.• The introduction of the horse-drawn carriage allowed

people to move out of the cites to the suburbs, or residential communities surrounding the cities.

• Later in the 1800s, motorized transportation made commuting even easier.

• The first elevated trains opened in 1868 in New York and the first subway trains appeared in Boston in 1897.

• Buildings became taller too. The first skyscraper in Chicago was ten stories tall.

Western Western Union Union Bldg,. Bldg,. NYC - NYC - 18751875

ManhattManhattanan

LifeLifeInsurancInsuranc

e e Bldg.Bldg.

NYC - NYC - 18931893

SingerSingerBuilding Building

NYC - NYC - 19021902

WoolworWoolworth th

Bldg.Bldg.

NYC - NYC - 19111911

FlatironFlatironBuilding Building

NYC – NYC – 19021902

D. H. D. H. BurnhaBurnha

mm

Grand Central Station, 1913Grand Central Station, 1913

Urban Living Conditions

The Results of City Growth• Rapidly growing cities were difficult to govern.• Increased revenue and responsibilities gave city

governments more power and competition for control grew more intense.

• The political machine, born from clashing interests, was an unofficial city organization designed to keep a particular group in power.

• Political machines worked by exchange of favors. People who wanted favors would pay money, graft, to the machine. Graft was a major source of income for the machines.

• But at least the cities did get things built!

Helping the NeedyKept detailed files on people who

received their help

Decided who was worthy of help

Wanted immigrants to adopt American, middle-class standards.

Sought to apply the gospel teachings of charity and justice to society’s problems.

Moved into poor communities

Their settlement houses served as community centers and social service agencies.

Hull House, a model settlement house in Chicago, offered cultural events, classes, childcare, employment assistance, and health-care clinics.

The Charity Organization Movement

The Social Gospel Movement

The Settlement Movement

The Development of Sociology

• Sociology is a social science. A sociologist collects data on societies and measures the data against theories of human behavior.

• In the late nineteenth century, many sociologists studied the effects of industrialization and urbanization on established communities.

Controlling Immigration and Behavior

• Many Americans linked the problems of the cities to the new immigrants. By controlling immigrants, they hoped to restore what they believed was a past of purity and virtue.

• Many people were Nativists, who believed in nativism, or favoring native-born Americans over immigrants.

• In the 1850s, the Know-Nothing Party had gained many followers by vowing to restrict immigration. The rise of immigrants to positions of power in the cities during the late 1800s provoked a new wave of anti-foreign bias.

Prohibition and Purity CrusadersProhibition• The temperance movement,

campaign to eliminate alcohol consumption saw a revival in the late 1800s.

• Three major groups led the movement and supported prohibition, a ban on the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.

• Groups believed drinking led to personal tragedies, and they also saw a link among saloons, immigrants, and political bosses.

Purity Crusaders• Drugs, gambling, prostitution,

and other forms of vice (immoral or corrupt behavior) became big business.

• “Purity crusaders” led the way. They fought against sending of obscene materials through the mail, information about birth control, and political machines.

Society at the turn of the century

The Growth of Public Schools• More than fifty percent of white children were

attending public school, but a high school diploma was still the exception.

• In farm communities, older students only went to school from November to April so they could help there parents in the fields the rest of the year.

• Public schools played a role in assimilating immigrants into the American way of life. Assimilation is the process by which people of one culture become part of another culture.

Illiteracy in the United States, 1870-1920A democratic society functions best when it’s citizens are literate,

have the ability to read and write.

Higher Education Expands

Women and Higher Education• Between 1880 and 1900,

more than 150 new American colleges and universities opened. College enrollments doubled. Vasser (1865) was the first women’s university.

• There were only about 30 black women studying in American colleges in 1891.

African Americans and Higher Education

• In 1890, only a few colleges, including Oberlin, Bates, and Bowdoin, accepted blacks.

• By 1900, more than 2,000 students had graduated from 34 African American colleges.

Two Perspectives on African American Education

Booker T. Washington• Founded the Tuskegee

Institute in Atlanta• Taught students to put aside

temporarily their desire for political equality

• Thought African Americans should focus on building economic security by gaining vocational skills

• Washington’s ideas reassured those whites who worried that educated African Americans would seek more equality.

• Accomodationist

W.E.B. Du Bois• Became the first African

American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard

• Argued for future leaders to seek a university education rather than the vocational education promoted by Washington

• In 1905, Du Bois helped found the Niagara Movement that called for full civil liberties.

• The Talented Tenth

Performances and Recreation• Live theatre was vaudeville, inexpensive variety show that

first appeared in the 1870s.• Movies began to give vaudeville competition. By 1908, the

nation had 8,000 nickelodeons–theaters set up in converted stores or warehouses that charged a nickel admission.

• In 1872, the introduction of the circus train. Annual visit of the circus anticipated event all over America.

• Women and men watched and participated in sports. The most popular was baseball. Some of the others were football, basketball, bicycle riding, ice skating, swimming, gymnastics, and tennis.

• All of these are examples of spectator events that gave diverse cities a sense of community

What People Were Reading

In the late 1800s newspapers became a popular form of entertainment as well as source of information. To sell papers, publishers urged reporters to discover lurid details of murder, vice, and scandal. This sensational news coverage came to be called yellow journalism.

Newspapers

Musical DiversionsThe Negro Spiritual

One series of concerts in 1871 introduced African American religious folk songs, called spirituals, to white audiences. The concerts were originally organized as a fundraiser by a music teacher at the African American Fisk University.

Voting Restrictions for African Americans in the South, 1889-1908

Post-Reconstruction Discrimination• During this period, states also instituted a system of legal

segregation. Segregation means separation of people by race. When this separation is a result of custom it is called de facto segregation.

• In the South, segregation was required by statutes called Jim Crow laws.

• One of the greatest setbacks to African American equality was the Supreme Court’s establishment of the “separate-but-equal” doctrine in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson.

• Many African Americans moved to the North to escape violence and legal segregation. However, they found de facto segregation in housing, education, and employment.

Resisting Discrimination• As conditions deteriorated for African Americans, black leaders began to

seek new solutions. – Booker T. Washington supported legal cases against segregation and

gave financial support to civil rights and black businesses.– W.E.B. Du Bois founded the Niagara Movement. Participants in this

movement insisted on equality and vowed never to accept inferiority nor bow to oppression.

– Ida B. Wells refused to leave a segregated railroad car and filed a lawsuit against the railroad company. She initially won the lawsuit, but it was overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court. She began an editorial campaign and speaking tour against lynching.

– The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) formed in 1909 and works to abolish segregation and discrimination, to oppose racism, and to gain civil rights for African Americans.

Women’s Equality and Women’s WorkWomen’s Equality• Women wanted to be able to

vote.• Women wanted to control their

own property and income.• Women wanted access to

higher education and professional jobs.

Women’s Work in the Home• Women continued to perform most of

the jobs in the home.• The washing machine cut down on

the full day formerly needed to do the family laundry.

• It was estimated that between 18 and 27 hours a week were required just to keep the house clean.

• Fewer urban women were making their own bread or butchering and preserving meat.

• Fewer women were making clothing for the family.

From Producer to Consumer• Women began spending more time purchasing food,

clothing, and furnishings than producing these items.• Transportation, electric lighting, and an abundance of

ready-made goods contributed to the development of department stores. These were large retail stores that divided their merchandise into departments.

• Families in the rural areas of the Midwest wanted access to manufactured goods at low prices. The U.S. Post Office began offering rural free delivery (RFD) in 1896.

• RFD gave farm families access to big-city goods through mail-order catalogs.

Working Outside the Home• In 1870, nearly one out of every eight females over

the age of ten worked outside the home.• Domestic work, teaching, nursing, clerical, and

telephone work were important sources of income for many women.

• Women rarely received supervisory jobs or advanced training. Women earned an average of 30 to 60 percent less than men.

• Volunteer service and women’s groups provided opportunities for women to discuss issues including suffrage and political reform.

New Women, New Ideas• By the early 1900s, the woman question had grown to

include a number of issues besides economic and political rights.

• As more women entered the work force and went to college, they began to work toward a freer society.

• Young women wore shorter hairstyles and shorter hemlines to suit their new independent activities.

• The divorce rates rose as women’s growing independence led them to have higher expectations of fulfillment in marriage.

• Although most women still saw domestic fulfillment as their chief goal, a majority also wanted more societal rights.