Readiness standards comprise 65% of the U. S. History Test

3 (A)

Readiness Standard (3)

The student understands the political, economic, & social changes in the U. S. from

1877 to 1898.

The Student is expected to:(A) Analyze political issues such as

Indian policies, the growth of political machines, civil service

reform, & the beginnings of Populism

Readiness Standard (3)The student understands the political,

economic, & social changes in the U. S. from 1877 to 1898.

(A) 1 Indian policies

The WestExploiting An Empire inthe Late-19th Century

Horace Greeley’s Mantra

“Go West, young man,

go West!”

“An almost unbroken stream of emigrants from horizon to horizon”

• Americans moved West without compunction or pang of conscience

• They believed that God prospered their enterprises

• A logical extension of “Manifest Destiny”

The “Great Plains”• Rich soil

• Almost treeless, flat sea of grassland and prairie

• Rainfall of 15 inches per year—not enough to support extensive agriculture

• Climatic extremes

• Buffalo bonanza—some 13-15 million lived on the Plains

Climatic Extremes• Hot summers and

grasshopper plagues• Grass fires in fall• Severe cold in winter

with “Northers” and blizzards

• Floods from melting snow in spring

Great Plains Buffalo

Some 13-15 million lived on the Great Plains

Commemorated on an earlier

version of our nickel

Around 66% of the Native Americans lived on the Great

Plains—most were:• Nomadic

• Warlike

• Dependent on buffalo to preserve their culture

• Dependent on horse

Dependent on buffalo to preserve their culture

• Hides for teepees, blankets, robes, and clothes

• Sinew and tendon for thread and bowstrings

• Bones for tools • Horns for eating utensils• Dung for fuel• Tongue for hairbrush • Hooves boiled and made into glue

Crushing of Native American Culture

• Indian Removal Policy of President Andrew Jackson (1830s)

Laramie, Wyoming—1851

• Treaty to contain Indians to certain assigned areas

• Neither Indians nor U.S. government could enforce

• Indians fought against people who regularly broke their promises to them—U. S. military mercilessly struck back Thomas Fitzpatrick,

architect of the Laramie Treaty

The Great Sioux War of 1865-1867

• An Indian reaction against the invasion of gold miners

• Congressionally created Peace Commission (four civilians and three generals) decided on policy of small reservations to isolate and eventually civilize Native Americans

• Policy drove Indians off old hunting grounds and locked them into poverty and isolation

Crazy Horse—a typical Sioux Braves who

responded violently to the invasion of the Black Hills

by gold-rushers

The “New Indian Policy” of the 1860s • Confine Indians

to reservations

• Continuing conflict

• Corruption in Bureau of Indian Affairs

George Armstrong

Custer

Sitting Bull

Crazy Horse

Battle of the Little Big Horn—June 26, 1876

Chief Joseph and the Nez Percé

• In 1877, they tried to flee across 1,321 miles from the reservation to Canada

• They defeated a pursuing army but ran out of food, horses, and ammunition

• Upon surrender, Chief Joseph declared his immortal words, “I will fight no more forever.”

Wounded Knee—December 29, 1890

• Restless Teton Sioux of South Dakota revived the practice of Ghost Dances

• The U.S. Army intervened to stop the dancing

• The Seventh Cavalry caught retreating Indians and took them to an army camp at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota

• A short fired in this camp prompted soldiers to open fire with machine guns resulting in the death of some 200 Indian men, women, and children

The Buffalo Holocaust• 1860s—food for

railroad crews • 1870s—Eastern

market for buffalo robes; 2-3 million hides sold per year

• Of the 13-15 million buffalo in 1860 only a few hundred left by 1900

The Recovery of the buffalo population today

Calls for reform of American Indian Policy• Susette La Flesche—an Omaha

Indian—drew attention to Indian grievances through writings & lecture tours

• Helen Hunt Jackson wrote A Century of Dishonor (1881)—outlined broken treaties between U. S. & Indians and Ramona (1884)—the Uncle Tom’s Cabin of Indian policy

The Dawes Act of 1887• Implied Indian ways

were inferior to white ways

• Aimed to bring Indians into mainstream of American life by making them live like the white man

• The Indians resistedSenator Henry

Dawes

Readiness Standard (3)The student understands the political,

economic, & social changes in the U. S. from 1877 to 1898.

(A) 2 The growth of political machines

Politics & the Problems Faced by Rapidly Expanding Cities?

• Overcrowded tenement housing, slums (led to crime, disease, misery)

• No place to dispose of sewage, garbage

• Disease from lack of good, proper hygiene

• Crime

• Corrupt politicians—enriched selves from their positions of power in running the city

City Politics—The Emergence of Powerful City Political Machines

• jobs for the unemployed • food baskets on holidays • loans to pay medical bills • English lessons to immigrants• they were able to retain power in part by taking

advantage of immigrants who lacked experience in democratic forms of government

Political bosses—powerful influential leaders who tied together a network of wards or precinct captains—provided:

“Honest” John Kelly (1859-1908) of New York

City

Richard Croker (1841-1922, below) and Charles F.

Murphy (1858-1924) ran

Tammany Hall

Michael “Hinky Dink” Kenna

(1857-1946) and “Bathhouse John” Coughlin (above)

of Chicago

James McManes was one of

the Philadel-

phia bosses

William “Boss” Tweed (1823-1878)

He headed a ring that plundered New York for tens of millions of

dollars

“Let us prey.”

Main Goals of Good Government Movement

• Make cities cleaner (e.g., tenements)

• Safer

• More efficient—city government reputed to be expensive, inefficient, and corrupt

Grover Cleveland (1837-1908)—public office = public trust, i.e., government officials should serve the people, not themselves

Readiness Standard (3)The student understands the political,

economic, & social changes in the U. S. from 1877 to 1898.

(A) 3 Civil service reform

Election of 1880

James A. Garfield

• Union Army hero

• 9-term representative from Ohio

Assassination of Garfield by a deranged lawyer and disgruntled office seeker, Charles J. Guiteau (September 19, 1881)

Chester A. Arthur, the “accidental

president”

Approved construction of a modern U.S. Navy

Created bipartisan Civil Service Commission (in part, a response to Garfield’s assassination)—it administered competitive exams and appointments based on merit

Readiness Standard (3)The student understands the political,

economic, & social changes in the U. S. from 1877 to 1898.

(A) 4 The beginnings of Populism

The Depression Years—The Causes

• In response to rapid industrialization, the U.S. economy expanded too rapidly in the 1870s and 1880s

• Industrialists had overbuilt, hoping for continuing growth—companies grew beyond their markets

• Farmers and businesses borrowed heavily to expand

Causes Continued

• Business investments dropped sharply • Drought and hot summer west of

Mississippi in 1894 • The U.S. gold reserve dropped sharply

hurting business confidence and leading to. . • A stock market collapse May 5, 1893

—“Industrial Black Friday” was Wall Street’s worst day until 1929

Impact of the Stock Market Crash

• Bankruptcy or failure of many firms, businesses, mines, and banks

• Some 3 million unemployed by 1894

• The American public became restive and angry

Jacob S. Coxey (above)--his leadership inspired a

march on Washington, D. C. Photo upcoming

shows some of Coxey’s marchers in their quest.

Coxey’s Army

The Silverite Movement: A Quick Economic Fix Embraced by Some

• Free, independent silver coinage at a ratio of 16 ounces of silver to every one ounce of gold

• Free coinage meant U.S. mints would coin all silver given to them

• Inflation—higher prices and lower purchasing power due to rising costs

The Silver Controversy—An Effective Solution for Economic

Troubles?

• People wanted quick solutions to the economic problems of the day

• Americans in the South and West—particularly those in the Democratic Party—favored a silver policy

• Why Did Farmers Favor Unlimited Coinage of Silver?

Who supported silver and why?

Farmers Who Supported Silver

• They believed that the coinage of silver would cause inflation and help them repay their debts with less valuable money than they had borrowed

• They believed it would raise wages and crop prices

• They believed it would challenge the hated power of the gold-oriented Northeast

Two Free Silver Cartoons of the 1890s. At left, William Jennings

Bryan advertises free silver as an elixir to heal what ails you. See

Election of 1896 below. To right, an ex-Confederate soldier—now

a farmer—argues his case for free silver as a panacea that will

restore favorable economic conditions across the United

States of America

Who Supported the “Gold Standard”?

• Bankers and established business people, especially in the East

• Workers who feared inflation would lessen the purchase power of their wages

Gold Standard—currency based solely on gold; it held down the money supply and

kept prices from rising

Sherman Silver Purchase Act, 1890

• U.S. Treasury directed to purchase 4.5 million ounces of sliver a month

• Treasury to issue legal tender—Treasury notes—in payment for this silver

• Both sides—silver and gold—were satisfied with this compromise

Repeal of Silver Purchase Act, 1893

• President Cleveland repealed the bill

• This reduced the flight of gold out of the U.S. but did not solve the Treasury’s gold problem

• It boosted business confidence

• It contracted currency when inflation was needed

Continued. . .

• It failed to revive business or the stock market, reduce unemployment, or prevent a fall in farm prices

• The repeal discredited President Cleveland

• It confined the Democrats to the South

• It propelled the Republicans into the majority party by 1894

Trouble of the Farm—Demanding a “Fairer Share” of Economic and

Social Benefits• Plentiful supplies on foreign market drove

down crop prices

• Credit was difficult to obtain

• Deflation

• Rising freight charges imposed by railroads (although rates actually fell during this period)

Continued. . .

• Drought

• Mortgages that were burdensome (although not crippling)

• Crisis of Self-Esteem

“Farm discontent was a worldwide phenomenon between 1870 and 1900. With the new means of

transportation and communication, farmers everywhere were caught up in a complex

international market they neither controlled nor entirely understood.”

The exodus from farm to city led to a new “literature of disillusionment.” Such books were Hamlin Garland’s Son of the Middle Border, 1890 (frontispiece right) and Main-Travelled Roads, 1891. Hamlin Garland, left.

Problems led to formation of organizations like the Grange (1867

by Oliver Kelly)

• Supported passage of “Grange Laws” regulating railroad freight rates

• Worked to boost farm profits

• Pooled resources to form cooperatives running grain elevators and marketing grain on their own

Various Farmers Alliances also formed through U. S.

• They used many of the Grange’s methods and shared many of the same goals

• National Farmers’ Alliance

• Farmers’ Alliance and Industrial Union

The Ocala Platform

• Easier credit for farmers—most important of the demands

• End to deflation by increasing the money in circulation

– Deflation = falling value of price for goods and services; meant that the farmers who borrowed actually had to pay back more than they had borrowed

– Notion of doing so by minting silver became very popular—would increase the money supply

– Urged free coinage of silver

Continued. . .

• Graduated personal income tax in proportion to one’s income

• Strict regulation of the railroads

• Charged government added to farmers’ misery with high tariffs

• Creation of a “sub-treasury” system

The Rise of Populism and the Formation of a “Third National

Party”Members of the farm alliances (National

Farmers’ Alliance) were disappointed when reform candidates elected in 1890s failed to carry out their promises. Those

who promised to support farm-related reform enjoyed great success. . . but then

they did not carry out their promises. Populist Party gathered in Omaha,

Nebraska in 1892. “There was no reason to cooperate with the Democrats who

exploited Alliance popularity but failed to adopt its reforms.”

Goals of the Populist Party • Like labor movement of late-

1800s, it tried to protect interests of ordinary working people against industrialists and railroad owners—was based on idea that united action was more effective than individual action

• Weaver (left) was the first third-party presidential candidate to receive more than a million popular votes. He received 22 electoral votes for carrying Kansas, Idaho, Nevada, and Colorado, and parts of North Dakota and Oregon.

James B. Weaver—from Iowa, he was the Populist candidate for president in

1892

Why Did the Populist Movement Fade After 1896?

• Failure of morale within the party

• Many Populists returned to the Democratic Party

• The economy improved—prosperity returned

Fading of Populism and Rise of William Jennings Bryan

Bryan was a powerful leader who was able to unite the “Silver Faction” One reporter aptly

prophesied, “All the Silverites need is a Moses,” and in Bryan, they certainly found one

Bryan’s Qualities

• Dramatic public speaker—“The Voice”

• Used gestures dramatically

• Called the “Great Commoner” in reference to his identification with the common man

• Religious upbringing

Bryan’s father, a Baptist deacon and his mother, devout Methodist. He learned in both

denominational environments, eventually becoming an expert on the Bible and a spokesman for

Fundamentalist views

Bryan’s “Public Event”

Bryan’s rousing conclusion: “Having behind us the

producing masses of this nation and the world. . . we will

answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them:

‘You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of

thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”

• Barely 36 years old in 1896

• Little political experience

• His “Cross of Gold” speech at the 1896 Democratic Convention

• Spoke as in defense of a righteous, holy cause

• Captivated delegates at the Convention

Bryan the Man

Bryan’s Platform of 1896

• It reflected the Populist Creed: – regulate

railroads – curb monopolies – establish a

currency backed by silver

“The Battle of the Standards”—a contest between the gold vs. silver standard

The Election of 1896: McKinley vs. Bryan

The Wizard of Oz—An Allegory of the Times

Frank Baum and The Wizard of Oz, 1900. Literary critics contend that this

book is an allegory of the silver movement of the late-19th century.

The parallels are startling:

In 1939, Hollywood turned the book into a successful movie

Baum emphasizes the grays in his opening description of Kansas. Life on the prairie

during that period was gray, bland, difficult, lonely and windswept

Aunt Em and Uncle Henry—When she arrived in Kansas, Em was youthful and attractive. By the time the reader meets her, she is worn and without the sparkle that once

lightened her eyes.

Henry never laughs; he joylessly toils from early in the morning

to nightfall.Their condition is like that of

many Kansans who were devastated and demoralized by

the droughts that buffeted Kansas after 1887.

Gold versus SilverMany Great Plains farmers

believed that the free coinage of silver would bring

relief with higher crop prices, more available money, and a return to

prosperity.

The industrial Northeast favored the Gold Standard. Silverites considered these wealthy people to be the idle rich. Silver was the metal of the common folk

Dorothy represents every person. The cyclone that

carries her out of drought stricken Kansas to Oz--a symbolic victory at the polls of silver over gold.

In Baum’s book, Dorothy’s slippers are made of silver rather

than ruby

Wicked Witch of the East—This witch is symbolic of eastern money

and those who favored gold. By destroying her, Dorothy frees the

Munchkins--another symbol of the common people.

The Emerald City

The Emerald City represents

Washington, D. C., the national capital,

portrayed in a “green-back” color

The Yellow Brick RoadIn her silver slippers, Dorothy trip down the golden colored

road represents a right balance--a proper relationship between the

two foremost precious metals, gold and silver.

“Oz” was a contemporary abbreviation to anyone involved in the fight for the 16 to 1 ounce ratio of

silver to gold

Good Witch of the NorthThis witch represents the Northern voters who protect Dorothy as she travels down the Yellow Brick Road.

Scarecrow—he is symbolic of the American farmer. Although he has “no brain,” he does have remarkable common sense. The Scarecrow’s eventual rule of the Emerald City points to the triumph of the farmers

Tin Woodman—he represents the industrial worker. While he may at first

seem heartless, he finds within himself the spirit of love and cooperation. The Tin

Woodman’s rule over the west alludes to the Industrialization of the American West.

The Lion—symbolic of reformers in general and William Jennings Bryan in

particular, he finds the courage he thinks he lacks.

Wicked Witch of the West—this witch symbolizes

heartless mortgage companies. Dorothy

dissolves her with a bucket of water, symbolic of the rain needed by drought-

ridden farmers.

The Wizard—while appearing great and powerful, in the end he is a charlatan and manipulator

whose power is but an illusion. He represents the money power of the

period.Glinda, the Good Witch of the

South—she represents support of silver that came from the South.

Fini