Actual Ch. 16-19 Flashcards
In 1877Unionized RRD workers protested
wage cuts because the Panic of 1873
What did these strikes lead to?
Violence, which was broken up by militia hired by employers
What president also sent militia?
Hayes
What was one of the only trade unions that survived the Panic of 1873?
Knights of Labor
Haymarket Riot
In Chicago, groups joined the campaign for an 8 hour work day and organized mass strikes?
Who was involved in this?
Anarchists and craft unions
What was the response to this riot?
an outbreak of police brutality a bomb was set off in Haymarket Square [presumably by anarchists], resulting in the arrest of 8 immigrant radicals
who went on strike in 1892?
AFL- Affiliated Iron and Steelworkers Association
WHat was the result?
Henry Frick had to close down his plant and hire Pinkerton detectives to defend it.
Although the strikers eventually gave in, it gave the union more bad PR due to workers attacking, etc.
Pullman Strike
To protest Pullman’s policies in his company town, workers walked out at the factory.
How did Pullman react?
Refused to negotiate
Outcome:
workers for the American Railway Union called a strike. Pullman closed the factory; the Union [Eugene V. Debs] refused to handle Pullman cars; and finally a court injunction was used to stop the strike.
Knights of Labor: Founded in
1869 by Terence V. Powderly,
Ideaologys of KOL
get rid of capitalism in favor in which workers worked for themselves. Consequently, the KOL refused to strike
Outcome of KOL strike
Powderly met with Gould and called off the strike, but Gould would not concede, so the militant unions began to quit the KOL, seeing it as weak.
American Federation of Labor: The AFL emerged as the major organization after the year
- Led by Samuel Gompers,
Ideologies of AFL
avoided the KOL idealistic rhetoric, concentrated on concrete goals [higher wages, shorter hours, right to bargain collectively], and excluded unskilled workers and women. The AFL also avoided party politics.
IWW Ideaologies
aimed to unite all workers, was basically a socialist/anarchist organization that believed violence was justified to overthrow capitalism. The organization finally collapsed in WWI.
Women’s Trade Union League was founded.
in 1903
WTUL Ideologies
encouraged protective legislation, education, and women’s suffrage
most Unions also rejected _______b/c of__________
immigrants and African Americans, lower wages, and prejudices were reinforced when blacks worked as strikebreakers.
Wht made it hard for unions to form effectively
job instability
Some symptoms of commercialization
higher life expectancy due to advances in medical care and better diets, more upwards mobility [education became key], flush toilets, processed and preserved foods, ready-made clothing, department and chain stores, and my personal favorite, advertising.
Working class families could hypothetically afford new stuff, but
but they would have had to find additional sources of income [i.e. subletting, child labor].
paid employment became more
prevalent, leading to the growth of our commercial society.
Social Darwinism was taken over by
William Graham Sumner
how did social Darwinism apply to companies
survival of the fittest implied that the gov’t should stay out and let the rightful winners take their share. Monopolies = natural accumulation of power.
Andrew Carnegie Gospel of Wealth concept
wealth carries moral responsibilities, and it’s good we moguls have it all b/c that way we can be the guardians of society.
business leaders still pressed the gov’t for assistance, which it provided
form of tariffs on foreign goods [allowed them to raise prices], subsidies, loans, and tax breaks.
in 1883 sociologist Lester Ward appealed for
gov’t intervention and a cooperative philosophy in Dynamic Sociology, kind of like socialism
1879 writer Henry George asked for a
tax on the rise in property values in Progress and Poverty
in 1888 novelist Edward Bellamy wrote
of a utopian, council of elders controlled city where jobs were managed by a small elite in Looking Backward.
As a result of popular pressure, states began to
prohibit monopolies.
Sherman Antitrust Act,
was left vague but made illegal anything that was in “restraint of trade.”
What was ironic about this?
the act was used against striking workers more than it was against trusts.
Munn v. IL (1877)
– RRDs discriminated against farmers
Outcome
IL passed pro-farming legislation in the Grange Laws. This was challenged by the corporations, but the SC ruled in favor of state regulation b/c it had a direct effect on the general public.
US v. EC Knight Co. (1895) –
Sugar company had monopolized industry, so Cleveland ordered a case against the trust,
Outcome
the SC ruled that the sugar people were in manufacturing, not commerce, so it was okay.
The Gilded Age (1877 – 1900) was defined by
industrialization, urbanization, and the commercialization of agriculture. Inevitably, the turbulence of the era made for a dynamic political climate
WHat was at its peak in gilded age
politics
Democratic Party –
opposed interference by gov’t w/respect to personal liberty, restrict gov’t power, mainly Catholic immigrants
Republican Party
gov’t as agent of moral reform, direct gov’t action, mainly native-born Protestants
Seventeenth Amendment (1913),
which provided for direct election of Senators.
Stalwarts (republicans)
led by NY Senator and party boss Conklin, heavy reliance on spoils system
Half-Breeds (republicans)
– led by Blaine, supposed idealists but really just out of power
Mugwumps (republicans)
true idealists, tended towards Democratic side
the Gilded Age resulted in three main things
the rise of special interests
some major legislative accomplishments
and the continuation of political exclusion for minorities/women.
key legislation was passed during the Gilded Age, mainly relating to the following issues…
Sectional Issues
Civil Service Refrom
Railrod regulation
Tariffs
Monetary Policy
civil service reform
promotion based on merit rather than on party loyalty/spoils system
Did people like it?
Yes
National Civil Service Reform League was formed,
in 1881
1882 the Pendleton Civil Service Act was passed, which
created the Civil Service Commission to oversee exams for positions for 10% of jobs
to kill competition, RRDs developed several nasty habits:
raising and lowering rates, making pricing dependent on competition rather than on distance, and playing favorites for big corporations.
Farmers demand regulation, resulting in
commissions in 14 states by 1880. Munn v. Illinois reinforced the state regulation deal,
But,
1886 Wabash case showed states couldn’t regulate interstate lines
In 1887, though, the Interstate Commerce Act was passed, which created
the Interstate Commerce Commission to investigate RRD practices but didn’t provide for its enforcement – so the pro-business SC limited its powers through the Maximum Freight Rate case (1897 – ICC can’t set rates) and the Alabama Midlands case (1897 – RRDs can give higher rates for shorter distances).
How did Republican deal with tariffs?
made protective tariffs part of their platform
How did Democrats deal with tariffs
pushed to lower rates (reduce the surplus by cutting taxes/tariffs, gov’t shouldn’t be making $
In the end, Republicans won out w/the
McKinley Tariff of 1890
Why did farmers get introuble after the civil war?
their debts were worth the same, but their products were worth less. As a result, they went for silver while creditors favored a more stable gold-backed money supply
“Crime of ’73.”
the sides were clear – creditors (gold) and debtors (silver) – and when silver dollars were taken away after their value went up in respect to gold it was referred to as the
Bland-Allison Act (1878,
allowed the Treasury to buy $2-4 million of silver
Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1890)
passed by the U.S. Congress to supplant the Bland-Allison Act of 1878. It not only required the U.S. government to purchase nearly twice as much silver as before, but also added substantially to the amount of money already in circulation.
NWSA [(National Womens Suffrage Association)
[militants Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony wanted overall rights]
AWSA(American Women Suffrage Association)
Suffrage Only
Who merged and how were they successful?
NWSA, AWSA, were successful in training leaders, raising awareness, and getting individual states to cooperate, nat’l suffrage was to come later.
“agrarian revolt” took the form of the
Grange Organizations
Why were farmers mad?
Sharecropping- if farmers [usually in South] were unable to pay their debts [for supplies], they had to promise to pay with their crops. The crops would rarely be worth enough, so they would borrow more
Economic Change- yeoman farmers were being pushed into cotton raising b/c of the debts incurred during the war. This made the debt situation worse and put them at the mercy of merchants
Price Inflation/Interest Rate - to make matters worse, merchants took advantage by charging insane interest and inflating prices.
Grange Movement (1870s) –
farmers formed a network of Granges w/elected officers and membership oaths. E/t they began as social things, Granges soon turned to economics/politics.
Farmers’ Alliances (1890s) –
there were two (Great Plains & South). They began in Texas, and were generally groups of small farmers that were trying to combat big money, esp. RRDs.
WHat Did the Grange Movement and Farmers Alliance have in common
held rallies, educational meetings, and had cooperative buying and selling agreements.
The Grangers and Farmers Alliance eventually formed a third party in Omaha 1892
the Populist Party
Who did the Populist party nominate in the 189 election?
Wever, ran on the Omaha Platform which called for gov’t ownership of utilities and RRDs, gov’t ownership of land, farm loans, expansion of the currency, an income tax, direct election of Senators, and a shorter workday.
Who did Weaver lose to?
Cleveland
Who formed the form the Socialist Party of America
The biggest socialist leader, Eugene V. Debs
Coxey’s Army
Coxey, who advocated public works projects and low-interest gov’t loans, led a huge number of farmers/unemployed people on a march to the capital.
Coxey Army outcome
police stopped the protestors and arrested Coxey.
1896 Republican Nominee-
William McKinley [at the suggestion of Marcus Hanna, an Ohio industrialist] w/o any problems;
1896 Democrat Nominee-
William Jennings Byran, who wrote the famous convention pro-silver speech
WHo did Populists go with?
Bryan (MCKinley Won)
McKinley signed the Gold Standard Act (1900)
required that all paper money had to be backed by gold; he also raised tariffs and encouraged imperialism
Why did the economy improve?
Gold discoveries in Alaska
the Progressives
the culmination of a series of reform movements that began in the 1890s.
SOCIETY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SHOULD HELP THEM – as opposed to Gilded Age
Causes of Progressivism
The 1890s- Panic of 1893, labor problems, political issues, and foreign entanglements.
Capitalism OUT OF CONTROL – many people started to realize that capitalism, w/its monopolistic tendencies
Screwed-Up Cities – Disease, poverty and crime were often rampant.
Immigration and the rise of a new socio-economic elite – This made people nervous.
Progressive Ideals
End Abuses of Power – Trust-busting, consumers’ rights, good government.
Build New Institutions – Schools, hospitals, all that crap.
Be Efficient –
Achieve Perfection – Yeah, they really thought it could happen. Geez.
party loyalty and voter turnout
declined as politics opened to new interest group
Politics also became more open to
foreign models/ideas and reform took on a far more urban orientation, as opposed to the Populist movement that culminated in the 1896 election.
Muckraking Journalism
journalists who combined the public’s love of scandal w/exposes of social/political injustices (Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, Upton Sinclair)
Robert “Battling Bob” La Follette
installed a major reform program w/direct primaries, fairer taxes, RRD regulation, and commissions staffed by experts.
abor regulation, however, legislation was much more effective b/c
both reformers and bosses supported it. States passed laws protecting public health and safety (police), supporting factory inspection, requiring accident compensation, and banning child labor.
Eighteenth Amendment
outlawing the sale of liquor.
