chapters 23 +24 Flashcards
Ulysses S. Grant
“Let us have peace,” His cabinet was a nest of corruption & incompetence, as Grant seemed easy to influence
Jay Gould & Jim Fisk’s plan to corner the gold market
The two men hoarded gold and madly bid the price of gold skyward (while gaining Grant’s trust, convincing him not to sell gov’t gold). Then they sold their shares and made a killing.
The Tweed Ring/Tammany Hall
(Led by William Magear “Boss” Tweed) used bribery, graft, & fraudulent elections to earn millions from the people of NYC
Thomas Nast
His cartoon helped apprehend Tweed in Spain
Credit Mobilier scandal
Union Pacific RR insiders such as Thomas Durant formed the Credit Mobilier construction company & then cleverly hired themselves at inflated prices to build the RR line, while buying off key congressmen & Grant’s 1st V.P., Schuyler Colfax
Whiskey Ring
Robbed the Treasury of millions in excise tax revenues. The ring involved gov’t officials, whiskey distillers & distributors around the country
Liberal Republicans
(Horace Greeley) Vowed to “Turn the Rascals Out,” & urged the end of military reconstruction
Economic panic of 1873
Came about due to too many loans & lack of profits; greenbacks were virtually worthless
Greenback Labor Party
(Midwest-based) elected 14 members of Congress in 1878
Gilded Age
Sarcastic name given to the three decades following the Civil War when corruption abounded between business & politics despite many advancements [Mark Twain]
patronage
Rewarding supporters with public office
Hayes vs. Tilden Election (Hayes & the Compromise of 1877)
The election deadlocked, there were disputed returns from 3 states, a bipartisan electoral commission was set up to count the votes. Hayes won.
Compromise of 1877: In return for Hayes taking office, Democrats wanted federal troops withdrawn fro LA & SC, subsidy for the TX & Pacific RR’s southern transcontinental line, & patronage jobs
Jim Crow laws
Legal segregation in southern states
Plessy v. Ferguson
Legalized separate but equal accommodations under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment
Railroad Strike of 1877
Employee wages cut by 10% in 4 large RR companies. President Hayes called in federal troops to quell the unrest
Chinese Exclusion Act
Congress banned the importation of Chinese laborers on the grounds that the Chinese caused disorder in certain areas [act repealed by FDR in 1843]
Stalwarts vs. Half-breeds
Stalwarts: the “old guard” Republicans loyal to Pres. Grant. They were pro-patronage
Half-Breeds (moderate Reps.): followed Sec. of State James G. Blaine & wanted to reform the patronage system
Garfield’s assassination
Charles Guiteau believed that a speech he had written &
distributed while working of the Garfield campaign had
helped elect the president. So, when Garfield refused to
grant Guiteau the position he wanted (consul general to
Paris), Guiteau decided to shoot Garfield.
Pendleton Act
Made compulsory campaign contributions from federal employees illegal & established the Civil Service Commission to make appointments of ¼ of federal jobs based on competitive exams
Grover Cleveland
Advocated laissez-faire (hands-off) government, was tactless & direct, outspoken, & hot-tempered
McKinley Tariff Act
The highest peacetime tariff yet at ~48%
Populist Party demands
Inflation through coinage of silver, graduated income tax, govt. ownership of the RRs, telegraph, & telephone, one-term limit on the presidency, a shorter workday, immigration restrictions
Homestead Strike
300 armed Pinkerton Detectives were called in to crush a strike by steelworkers over Carnegie’s refusal to increase workers’ pay despite a 60% increase in company profits. 10 people died & 60 were wounded in the 143-day strike
Benjamin Harrison
Ran against Cleveland in the 1888 election and won
Cornelius Vanderbilt
“Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt made his money in steamboats and then railroad consolidation (offering service at low rates).
J. P. Morgan
(Financier) eliminated wasteful competition through interlocking directorates: consolidating rival enterprises & placing officers of his own company on their various boards of directors – also called “Morganization”
Andrew Carnegie
(Steel corporation) practiced vertical integration: owning all aspects of production & distribution for a product. From ore, to ships, to railroads, to production - he owned it all
John D. Rockefeller
(Standard Oil) was a master of horizontal integration (the trust): allying with competitors to monopolize a given market
Pacific Railroad Act
The Union Pacific & Central Pacific RR companies received land (100 yd.-wide swath for tracks) & money (thousands per mile)
Union Pacific & Central Pacific (Transcontinental RR)
The Union Pacific, with Thomas Durant in charge, built west from Omaha
The Central Pacific, with Theodore Judah in charge, built east from Sacramento
stock watering
Exaggerating the profitability of stock with the object of selling it far in excess of its real value
pooling
Dividing the available business & sharing the profits
rebates
Offers to powerful shippers for reduced rates in return for steady business
The Grange
(Patrons of Husbandry) called for state gov’t regulation
Wabash RR. v. Illinois
S.C. ruled that only the federal government can regulate interstate commerce. This led directly to the passage of the ICA
Interstate Commerce Act
Prohibited rebates & pools & required RRs to publish their rates. It set up an Interstate Commerce Commission to monitor the RRs
Carnegie & vertical integration
Owning all aspects of production & distribution for a product. From ore, to ships, to railroads, to production - he owned it all
JDR & horizontal integration
Allying with competitors to monopolize a given market
Morgan & interlocking directorates
Consolidating rival enterprises & placing officers of his own company on their various boards of directors – also called “Morganization”
Thomas Edison
Inventions: phonograph, mimeograph, dictaphone, light bulb, electric chair, etc.
Gospel of Wealth
Carnegie believed that the wealthy, encrusted with society’s riches, had to prove themselves morally responsible according to the “Gospel of Wealth”
Social Darwinism
Believed that millionaires are a product of natural selection. They held contempt for the poor - if they had made millions, why couldn’t others?
Horatio Alger’s stories
Inspired the “rags-to-riches” mentality of the age. It was possible for someone from a humble background to become rich & successful through hard work
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Forbid “combinations in restraint of trade”
It was ineffective due to many legal loopholes, so early prosecutions of trusts were not successful. Labor unions were prosecuted using this act
The “New Woman” and the Gibson Girl (Charles Gibson)
The “New Woman” was upper class, independent, athletic, educated, & politically active, demanding sexual freedom & suffrage
The Gibson Girl depicted the visual ideal of feminine beauty for the 1890s (including an “S”-shaped body using the corset)
Company Town
A town owned & operated by a corporation, like Pullman Palace Car Co. Homes, stores, etc. were all owned by the corp. Workers would be paid in scrip (worthless currency outside the town)
Pullman Strike
Railroad strike that disrupted rail traffic in the Midwest of the United States. The federal government’s response marked the first time that an injunction was used to break a strike.
scabs
Import scabs (strikebreakers) & employ thugs to beat up labor organizers
injunctions
Call upon the courts to issue injunctions to break up strikes
yellow-dog contracts
Compel workers to sign yellow-dog contracts (pledges not to join a union)
lockout
Use the lockout, where factory doors were locked against rebellious workers
National Labor Union (Sylvis)
Founded in 1866; led by William H. Sylvis. Sought to bring together skilled, unskilled, and farm labor; (no Chinese laborers), included women & Black people in name only (not in practice) Agitation was for the 8-hr. workday: “bread and butter unionism”
Knights of Labor (Powderly)
Formed in 1869 & led by Terence V. Powderly; had about 750,000 members. Sought to include all workers (except “nonproducers” such as liquor dealers, professional gamblers, lawyers, & bankers). Campaigned for economic & social reform & codes for safety & health
Haymarket Square incident
This followed a 4-day strike for the 8-hr. day. Some strikers were killed by the police on May 3rd. At the Hay. Sq. gathering, several dozen people were killed/injured by a bomb, thrown by an unknown person. Eight suspected anarchists were rounded up
American Federation of Labor (Gompers)
Founded in 1886; led by Samuel Gompers. The AF of L was an association of ~25 self-governing national unions that sought the “closed shop,” better wages, hours, & working conditions rather than general social reform. Their chief tactics were the walkout & the boycott. Was composed only of skilled craftsmen; their greatest weakness was that they embraced only a small minority of working people
