Economic and Social Change Flashcards
1
Q
Economic developments
In what ways was there industrial growth ?
- Iron
- Oil x 3
- Industry
- Steel
A
- Iron production rose from 920,000 tone in 1860 to 10.3 million tons by 1900
- Modern oil production started in January 1901
Lucas Well in Texas produced 70,000 to 110,000 barrels of oil per day for nine days before being capped - By 1913, Oklahoma was producing 25% of the nation’s oil
- By 1904, largest 4% of US companies produced 57% of total industry in US
- 1898 to 1902 = 319 major company consolidations
- US Steel became the world’s first billion-dollar corporation
2
Q
The Depression of 1893
How did the Depression of 1893 start ?
A
- Financial panic began when Reading Railroad declared bankruptcy
- soon after ‘Industrial Black Friday’ hit and 24 businesses collapsed each day in May
- Sparked a 4 year depression
3
Q
Consequences of the Depression of 1893?
A
- 15,000 companies and 600 banks collapsed and nation unemployment reached 20%
- President Cleveland believed this should not be interfered with by politicians but did pass the Repeal of the Silver Purchase Act in 1893 which began to improve the economy
- This encouraged the rise of Progressivism
4
Q
What caused/ was Agricultural discontent?
What did it lead to ?
A
- Lack of prosperity for farmers
- Objected to the power of bankers and corporations
- Farmers traditionally relied on loans but falling agriculture prices and rising prices for grain storage and transportation made these loans harder to repay
- Joined together to form Farmers’ Alliances which eventually led to the Populist Party
5
Q
What was the AFL ?
A
- American Federation of Labour setup 1885
- 1886 = 1,400 strikes involving 500,000 members of the AFL
6
Q
Pittsburgh steelworkers’ strike
When?
Why?
What happened?
A
- Pittsburgh steelworkers’ strike, 1892
- Carnegie’s Homestead Steel Works cut wages and refused to accept union negotiations
- Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers were hired to smuggle in strike breakers but they were attacked by strikers
- The Company called in Militia
- After 5 months, the strike collapsed due to lack of funding
This set back union power considerably
7
Q
When was the Pullman strike ?
Why was the Pullman strike ?
A
- Pullman strike, 1894
- First national strike in the US
- Pullman company cut wages but refused to lower rent of the houses where employees were required to live
- Workers went on strike
- American Railway Union (ARU) refused to handle any trains carrying Pullman cars (including mail trains)
8
Q
What was the result of the Pullman strike?
A
- President Cleveland sent troops to keep the railways running
- Rioting led troops to open fire into the crowd, killing four people
- Strike ended in failure
- Federal government had proved itself hostile to union
- The Omnibus Indictment Act, used against the ARU, permitted legal banning of strikes and remained in force until the 1930s
9
Q
How many immigrants?
Other immigrant facts (3)
A
- 1860 to 1900 = 14 million immigrants arrived in the US
- By 1900, NY had more Italians than Naples and twice as many Irish as Dublin
- By 1914, 1.4 million of the 4.7 million people in NY were Jewish
- By 1890, 1/10th of San Francisco population was Chinese
10
Q
What were the responses to immigration?
A
- Immigrants were often used as a target by those who were worried about the effect of industrialisation
- this was because they were often used as strikebreakers
- Increased racial and ethnic conflict
- Fear that immigrant brought dangerous political ideas such as socialism and anarchism
- 1887, American Protective Association was set up to put pressure on the gov to limit immigration
11
Q
What were the positives of immigration for US?
+ statistic
A
- A major driving force behind industrialisation
- Immigrants were cheap and quickly employed
- By 1900, over 2/3rd of immigrants existed below subsistence level
12
Q
What was the Plessy vs Ferguson case and when?
A
- 1896
- Homer Plessy was light-skinned but was legally classed as an African American
- He refused to leave a ‘white’ train carriage and was arrested
- Plessy insisted his rights were being violated under the 14th Amendment
- Ferguson, the local judge, ruled against him and the case went to the Supreme Court
- 7 of 8 Supreme Court judges ruled that ‘separate but equal’ was legal
13
Q
How did states prevent African American’s from voting?
A
- Many states tried to prevent AA’s from exercising their 15th Amendment right to vote
- Georgia introduced a poll tax of up to $2 to vote meaning most AA’s were too poor to vote
- In 1898, Louisiana introduced the ‘grandfather clause’ that adult males could only vote if their fathers or grandfathers had voted. This excluded AA’s as they had not gained the right to vote until 1867.
- Some states also introduced rules which meant that only those who owned their own homes were allowed to vote
In 1890, Mississippi introduced a literacy test that excluded many illiterate AA’s
14
Q
Who was Booker T. Washington and what did he do?
A
- Born a slave in Virginia until emancipation
- 1881, set up Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and became a model for education and vocational training for AA’s
- Later set up the National Urban League to help black workers adjust to industrial and urban life
- He suggested that African Americans focus on education and economic progress rather than removing segregation and discrimination
- role model
- earned interest of Roosevelt
15
Q
Who was W. E. B. Du Bois and what did he do?
A
- Helped to found the Niagara movement in 1905
- The movement rejected Washington’s cautious approach and put emphasis on protest to demand civil rights
- Movement lacked participants, money and organisation
- Du Bois also played an important role in the setting up of the NAACP
