1865-1898 (10-17%)

Question 1

What was the Wade-Davis Bill?

Answer 1

• Called for the president to appoint a provisional governor for each conquered state
• When a majority of white males of a state pledged their allegiance to the Union, the governor could summon a state constitutional convention, whose delegates were to be elected by voters who had never borne arms against the United States
• Required the abolishment of slavery, the disenfranchising of Confederate civil and military leaders, and repudiate debts accumulated by the state governments during the war
• Left the question of political rights for blacks up to the states
• Congress passed the bill, but Lincoln disposed of it with a veto

Question 2

What was Reconstruction Plan (1867/1868)?

Answer 2

• Tennessee was readmitted
• Congress rejected the Lincoln-Johnson governments of the other ten Confederate states and, instead, combined those states into five military districts
• A military commander governed each district and had orders to register qualified voters
• Once registered, voters would elect conventions to prepare new state constitutions, which had to include provisions for black suffrage
• Once voters ratified the new constitutions, they could elect state governments
• Congress had to approve a state’s constitution, and the state legislature had to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment
• Once enough states ratified the amendment to make it part of the Constitution, the former Confederate states could be restored to the Union
• Congress later added an additional requirement for readmission - ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, which forbade the states and the federal government to deny suffrage to any citizen on account of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”

Question 3

What was the 14th Amendment (1868)?

Answer 3

• If you were born in the U.S. or naturalized, you were automatically a citizen
• Citizens were entitled to all the “privileges and immunities” guaranteed by the Constitution
• Imposed penalties on states that denied suffrage to any adult male inhabitants
• Prohibited former members of Congress or other former federal officials who had aided the Confederacy from holding any state or federal office unless two-thirds of Congress voted to pardon them

Question 4

What was the 15th Amendment (1870)?

Answer 4

The Fifteenth Amendment forbade the states and the federal government to deny suffrage to any citizen on account of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude

Question 5

What was the Tenure of Office Act and the Command of the Army Act?

Answer 5

The Tenure of Office Act forbade the president to remove civil officers without senatorial consent. The law was passed over Pres. Andrew Johnson’s veto by Radical Republicans in Congress in their struggle to wrest control of Reconstruction from Johnson.

The Command of the Army Act instructed the President to issue orders only through the General of the Army, then Ulysses S. Grant, who could not be removed nor sent outside of Washington without Senate permission.

These acts were the Radical Republicans’ attempt to curb the power of the executive branch.

Question 6

Who did “scalawags” and “carpetbaggers” refer to?

Answer 6

• “Scalawags” were Derogatory terms for Southern white Republicans. Many scalawags were former Whigs who never were comfortable in the Democratic Party or farmers who live in remote areas where there had been little or no slavery.
• Carpetbaggers were white men from the North who looked on the South as a more promising frontier than the West and had settled there at war’s end as hopeful planters, businessmen, or professionals.

Question 7

Who were the “greenbackers”?

Answer 7

During the Civil War, Congress had authorized “greenbacks”, a form of money redeemable in government bonds, rather than in gold as was traditional. After the war, many Democrats and Republicans in the East sought to return to the gold standard, and the government began to withdraw greenbacks from circulation. The reduction of the money supply, combined with the economic depression, made life harder for debtors, farmers, and industrial laborers; the Greenback Party hoped to draw support from these groups.

Question 8

What was the legacy of the Reconstruction?

Answer 8

Reconstruction, in U.S. history, the period (1865–77) that followed the American Civil War and during which attempts were made to redress the inequities of slavery and its political, social, and economic legacy and to solve the problems arising from the readmission to the Union of the 11 states that had seceded at or before the outbreak of war. Long portrayed by many historians as a time when vindictive Radical Republicans fastened Black supremacy upon the defeated Confederacy, Reconstruction has since the late 20th century been viewed more sympathetically as a laudable experiment in interracial democracy. The federal government imposed no drastic economic reforms on the region and few lasting political changes other than the abolition of slavery. The U.S. failed to address the problem of race, and the experience so disillusioned white Americans that it would be nearly a century before they would try again to combat racial injustice.

Question 9

Who was Booker T. Washington and what did he believe in?

Answer 9

Booker T. Washington, educator, reformer and the most influentional black leader of his time (1856-1915) preached a philosophy of self-help, racial solidarity and accomodation. He urged blacks to accept discrimination for the time being and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work and material prosperity.

Question 10

What happened in Plessy vs. Fergusson?

Answer 10

Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine. As a result, restrictive Jim Crow legislation and separate public accommodations based on race became commonplace.

Question 11

Who were the Radical Republicans?

Answer 11

The Radical Republicans were a faction of the Republican Party during the American Civil War. They were distinguished by their fierce advocacy for the abolition of slavery, enfranchisement of black citizens, and holding the Southern states financially and morally culpable for the war.

Question 12

Indicate how militant white opposition gradually undermined the Republican attempt to empower Southern blacks.

Answer 12

They had laws restricting blacks the right to vote, one such law was the grandfather clause. If your grandfather was considered a slave, you did not have the right to vote. There was also a convict system in which white corporations or just rich whites would hire current convicts (mainly blacks) to work for them for no pay and horrible hours. Of course there was attacks by the KKK and other ex confederate organizations that kept the blacks in constant fear and convinced them to not speak out.

Question 13

Describe the nature of the cultural conflicts and battles that accompanied the white American migration into the Far West.

Answer 13

White Americans tried to wipe out the Indian way of life through the Dawes Severalty Act. They didn’t like the migratory life of the Indians and tried to change that so they would settle. Indians killed the buffalo to survive and the white man killed the buffalo for sport. The whites brought disease and alcohol which was harmful. The whites forced the Indians onto reservations, and killed them if they acted up.

Question 14

Explain the development of federal policy towards Native Americans in the late nineteenth century.

Answer 14

Reservation system: created boundaries for tribes and attempted to separate Indians into North and South with white settlements in between.

Dawes Severalty Act (1887): Attempted to wipe out Indian culture and get them to behave like white people.

Question 15

Explain the impact of closing the frontier, and the long-term significance of the frontier on American history.

Answer 15

The concept of the “frontier” was a force of colonization and genocide of indigenous people in what is now known as the United States throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Manifest Destiny was the driving concept that supported the westward colonial expansion of white settlers. The process of westward expansion is typically celebrated as a reflection of American individualism and ruggedness. Movies and films celebrate the raiding and massacring of indigenous tribes as white settlers forced their way westward, destroying the homelands of many tribes. When the “frontier” was officially closed in 1890, the United States immediately began turning into an imperialist power that sought to colonize and control other nations around the world. The Spanish-American War, particularly, ignited this imperialism across the world.

Question 16

Describe the revolutionary changes in farming on the Great Plains.

Answer 16

The Great Plains of the U.S. was used primarily for grazing cattle, but after the Homestead Act of 1862, thousands of settlers started farms in the grasslands. Many of these farms failed due to the harsh conditions that come along with dryland farms, but thanks to some revolutionary changes in farming techniques, these failures grew less frequent.

First, the introduction of new crops helped reduce fallow fields. Winter wheat was introduced from Europe, along with corn, beans and even watermelons. These crops were able to thrive with a minimum of rainfall.

In order to capture as much moisture as possible, summer fallow rotations, leaving stubble to capture snow moisture and terracing of fields were all techniques perfected in the Great Plains.

To prevent erosion from taking valuable topsoil, windbreaks, low tillage, spreading straw and strip farming were all utilized.

Question 17

Explain how the transcontinental railroad network provided the basis for the great post-Civil War industrial transformation.

Answer 17

Just as the construction of the interstate highway system would facilitate the more efficient movement of goods and people many decades later, the establishment of the transcontinental railroad system made possible the far more efficient movement of people and goods. The nineteenth century had seen the westward movement of Americans seeking land, fortune, and, in some cases, religious freedoms unavailable in the early incarnation of the United States. Movement by horse-drawn carriage, however, was slow and extremely limited in capacity. Rail provided the opportunity for the mass movement of cargo, including livestock, as well people transiting between distant points.

The requirement for steel for both train construction and for the construction of the rail lines themselves spurred the development of that industry, and the demand for coal as fuel for train engines helped lift the mining industry. The agriculture sector benefited from the speed and bulk movement capabilities rail provided farmers, whose goods could reach more distant markets without spoiling.

Completion of the transcontinental railroad system was instrumental in the growth of the United States. The scale of commercial activity increased exponentially because of the bulk capability rail transportation provided, and human travel was additionally facilitated by the construction of the rail system. Rail remains important today for the same reason it was instrumental in national development. It remains a cost-efficient method for moving goods to market.

Question 18

Identify the abuses in the railroad industry and discuss how these led to the first efforts at industrial regulation by the federal government.

Answer 18

The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 marked the beginning of federal regulations on the free enterprise system. It was the result of railroad barons profiting heavily from monopolistic practices. Although the federal government did not impose specific rates, it required the railroad industry to offer “fair and just” rates that had to be published for the public.

Railroads were the most powerful industry and controlled the fastest mode of transportation in the late nineteenth century. Due to lack of competition, a short list of railroad companies were able to dominate the transportation market, creating the nation’s first multi-millionaires. The rise of the US railroad industry began in the 1820s with the Army Corps of Engineers assisting private entrepreneurs looking to model rail systems after the emerging developments in the UK.

Railroads began to proliferate across the country over the next several decades. The development of the First Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s was a milestone that introduced coast to coast travel. It was the nation’s largest engineering project at the time.

A major factor behind this railroad expansion was labor imported from China. In 1867, many Chinese railroad workers went on strike in the west, petitioning for the Central Pacific Railroad to grant them equal pay, shorter workdays, and better working conditions. Although they were not granted these demands, it marked the beginning of national strikes that eventually led to worker rights and improved labor conditions.

The call for railroad regulation came more from midwestern merchants and wholesalers who felt financially victimized by railroad industry practices. An activist organization known as the Grange persuaded Congress to create the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in 1887. As the nation’s first national regulatory body over an industry, the ICC regulated common carriers. In addition to forbidding unreasonable rates, the commission put restrictions on the practice of overcharging for short distances.

The ICC’s powers, however, were weakened by Supreme Court decisions. Nevertheless, the Grange still worked at passing legislation to limit railroad abuses, such as the Elkins Act of 1903, which forbade railroads from issuing rebates to large companies. This law was strengthened by the Hepburn Act of 1906, allowing the ICC to establish maximum freight rates. Tougher industry regulations were crystalized by the Transportation Act of 1920.

Question 19

Describe the economic crisis of the 1870s and explain the growing conflict between “hard-money” and “soft-money” advocates.

Answer 19

The Panic of 1873 was initiated by the over-spending of borrowed money by large corporations as railroads and factories. The economy had been over-expanding to a point in which the market could no longer sustain the growth. In turn, bankers had too many loans and when they were not being paid the economy began to crumble. The Panic led to the bankruptcy of more than 15,000 businesses. The unemployed swamped the streets holding rallies and riots. The hardest hit community were the blacks. With the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Co. bankrupt, black Americans lost more than $7 million in savings.

Debtors wanted paper money, or greenbacks, to be printed in order to create inflation that way it would be easier for them to pay their debts. The strategy was called soft money, or cheap money. The wealthy bankers opposed their strategy and favored that of hard money. Hard money would keep the amount of money stable and backed by gold rather than just distributing paper money willy-nilly without any substance or backing. President Grant announced the Resumption Act, which favored the hard money strategy, it lowered the amount of greenbacks in circulation. As retaliation, debtors demanded that the government issue more silver coins. More silver coins would mean more inflation and would make it easier to pay off debt. The nation entered a period of contraction, decreasing the amount of money in circulation and raising the value of the dollar bill.

Question 20

Explain the intense political partisanship of the Gilded age, despite the parties’ lack of ideological differences and poor quality of political leadership.

Answer 20

During the Gilded Age the two primary political parties were the Republicans and Democrats. Most of the parties agreed on similar ideologies, only differing in small reform movements. The Republican party relied strongly on good morals. The party itself was supported by the North and West. In contrast, Democrats got their support from the South, by Lutherans and Catholics. The two parties still continued to clash due to their ideals and morals. In the 1870’s, the Republican Party split into the Stalwarts, led by Roscoe Conkling, and the Half-Breeds, led by James G. Blaine. Due to the challenges of the two parties to communicate and work together, the needs of the classes were often ignored. As a result many new parties were introduced to fend for the everyday citizen. The Greenback Labor Party was started in 1878 with the purpose of supporting cheap money, or the backing with silver. The Populist Party also emerges from the Farmers Alliance. The party supported the idea of inflation through cheap money.

Question 21

Indicate how the disputed Hayes-Tilden election of 1876 led to the Compromise of 1877 and the end of Reconstruction.

Answer 21

Due to the corruption of his administration, Grant was no longer considered for the election of 1876. Instead, the Republican party nominated Rutherford B. Hayes, governor of Ohio. Hayes running mate was Democrat nominee Samuel J. Tilden. What made the election so controversial was that the two nominees were in a deadlock for 185 votes needed to win. Both parties sent representatives to southern states of Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida. However, each state sent back two sets of returns, one democratic and one republican. The decision was then handed over to Congress where the deadlock would be broken by the electoral committee. As it would seem, members of the commission finalized a deal with both parties. Republican Hayes would be President while under the condition that he removed all federal troops from the south. Democrats were also assured a spot on the presidential patronage trough and support for a bill subsidizing the Texas and Pacific Railroad’s construction of a southern transcontinental line. With the signing of the Compromise of 1877 and the removal of federal troops from the south Reconstruction was officially over. Republicans quickly abandoned racial equality in the south leaving freed black Americans to fend for themselves.

Question 22

What was the McKinley Tariff?

Answer 22

The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost fifty percent, an act designed to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. It caused the Hawaiian pineapple market to be undersold by the American producers which led to an economic depression that swept the islands, leading to the eventual annexation of Hawaii.

Question 23

What was the Interstate Commerce Act?

Answer 23

Approved on February 4, 1887, the Interstate Commerce Act created an Interstate Commerce Commission to oversee the conduct of the railroad industry. With this act, the railroads became the first industry subject to Federal regulation.

Question 24

Who were the Grangers?

Answer 24

The lack of innovation in agricultural practices astounded Oliver Hudson Kelley, the head of the Department of Agriculture, on a visit to the south. He and five others formed the Grange. It was comprised by farmers and for farmers and its main aims were to instigate agricultural education to learn about the science behind agriculture. Another one of their goals was to provide farmers with a tool for social networking, since farming led to a lonely lifestyle. The Grange encouraged: cooperatives in order to leave the middle men out of business, pools in order to provide them with more buying power, manufacturing to decrease the price of equipment, and education in order to learn about science and technology.

Question 25

What were the Farmers’ Alliances?

Answer 25

Due to the Grange’ lack of political success, a new farmer’s organization was formed in Lampassas Texas comprised of radical farmers. Their demands included forming cooperatives in order to eliminate the middle men, government regulation of railroads, and monetary policy reform. One of their main aims was to integrate industrial workers into their movement because they had the same common enemy, big business. The farmer’s alliance paved the way for the most successful third party in the history of the country, the Populist Party.

Question 26

What happened in the Panic of 1893?

Answer 26

Due to the monetary policies following the coinage act of 1873 taken by the federal government, a period of economic downturn ensued in 1873. Farmers retired their money and asked for notes on their loans in fear as banks went bankrupt and the government did not guarantee their money. Many banks went bankrupt in this period of time. This would lead to the farmers to become political.

Question 27

What was the “Silver Question”?

Answer 27

Many people believed that currency was worthless if there was not something concrete behind it - precious metal, which holders of paper money could collect if they presented their currency to a bank or to the Treasury. “Bimetallism” recognized gold and silver as a basis for the dollar. Owners of silver could get more by selling it for manufacture into jewelry and other objects than they could by taking it to the mint for conversion into coin. As a result owners stopped taking silver to the mint, and the mint stopped coining silver
Many Americans concluded that a conspiracy of big bankers had been responsible for the “demonetization” of silver and referred to the 1873 law as the “Crime of ‘73”.

Question 28

What was the Greenbacker Movement?

Answer 28

In the 19th century it was customary for regional banks to print their own currency. Because of the Reclamation Act of 1875 the federal government stopped the minting of money and placed the country under a gold standard. Farmers, who depended on credit to finance their farms were against this act. The Greenbackers were a movement that favored soft currency because their economy depended on the amount of credit available. They wanted to standardize the dollar and to institute a legal tender across the United States. Although they were viewed as radicals and associated with the left it was mainly a farmer’s movement that would eventually lead them to get political in the Farmer’s alliance.

Question 29

What was the Interstate Commerce Act?

Answer 29

Approved on February 4, 1887, the Interstate Commerce Act created an Interstate Commerce Commission to oversee the conduct of the railroad industry. With this act, the railroads became the first industry subject to Federal regulation.

Question 30

Who were the Grangers?

Answer 30

The lack of innovation in agricultural practices astounded Oliver Hudson Kelley, the head of the Department of Agriculture, on a visit to the south. He and five others formed the Grange. It was comprised by farmers and for farmers and its main aims were to instigate agricultural education to learn about the science behind agriculture. Another one of their goals was to provide farmers with a tool for social networking, since farming led to a lonely lifestyle. The Grange encouraged: cooperatives in order to leave the middle men out of business, pools in order to provide them with more buying power, manufacturing to decrease the price of equipment, and education in order to learn about science and technology.

Question 31

What were the Farmers’ Alliances?

Answer 31

Due to the Grange’ lack of political success, a new farmer’s organization was formed in Lampassas Texas comprised of radical farmers. Their demands included forming cooperatives in order to eliminate the middle men, government regulation of railroads, and monetary policy reform. One of their main aims was to integrate industrial workers into their movement because they had the same common enemy, big business. The farmer’s alliance paved the way for the most successful third party in the history of the country, the Populist Party.

Question 32

What happened in the Panic of 1893?

Answer 32

Due to the monetary policies following the coinage act of 1873 taken by the federal government, a period of economic downturn ensued in 1873. Farmers retired their money and asked for notes on their loans in fear as banks went bankrupt and the government did not guarantee their money. Many banks went bankrupt in this period of time. This would lead to the farmers to become political.

Question 33

What was the “Silver Question”?

Answer 33

Many people believed that currency was worthless if there was not something concrete behind it - precious metal, which holders of paper money could collect if they presented their currency to a bank or to the Treasury. “Bimetallism” recognized gold and silver as a basis for the dollar. Owners of silver could get more by selling it for manufacture into jewelry and other objects than they could by taking it to the mint for conversion into coin. As a result owners stopped taking silver to the mint, and the mint stopped coining silver
Many Americans concluded that a conspiracy of big bankers had been responsible for the “demonetization” of silver and referred to the 1873 law as the “Crime of ‘73”.

Question 34

What was the Greenbacker Movement?

Answer 34

In the 19th century it was customary for regional banks to print their own currency. Because of the Reclamation Act of 1875 the federal government stopped the minting of money and placed the country under a gold standard. Farmers, who depended on credit to finance their farms were against this act. The Greenbackers were a movement that favored soft currency because their economy depended on the amount of credit available. They wanted to standardize the dollar and to institute a legal tender across the United States. Although they were viewed as radicals and associated with the left it was mainly a farmer’s movement that would eventually lead them to get political in the Farmer’s alliance.

Question 35

What was the New Manifest Destiny?

Answer 35

Alfred Thayer Mahan, writer of The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1890) believed the U.S. should acquire defensive bases in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and take possession of Hawaii… that’s what they did. No longer was the U.S. destined to conquer the Atlantic to the Pacific, it was to conquer much as they could.

Question 36

Describe the U.S. efforts to become an imperial power in the late nineteenth century.

Answer 36

In the late nineteenth century, the United States abandoned its century-long commitment to isolationism and became an imperial power. After the Spanish-American War, the United States exercised significant control over Cuba, annexed Hawaii, and claimed Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines as territories. Both a desire for new markets for its industrial products and a belief in the racial and cultural superiority of Americans motivated the United States’ imperial mission.

Question 37

What was the “Open Door Policy” and the “Spheres of Influence”?

Answer 37

Because the spheres of influence limited US access to the Chinese market and the United States wanted to prevent any of these other countries from colonizing China, the Open Door Policy was established in 1899. This allowed for all countries to have equal access to trade with China.