History Notes: Civil War to Progressive Beliefs Flashcards
What are some of the things emancipation of slaves (after the Civil War) meant for white planters?
Had to do labor themselves (some for the first time), tried to impose own vision of freedom upon former slaves
What did freedom mean to white planters after the Civil War?
Still meant hierarchy and mastery, and it still meant no economic independence or civil/political equality for former slaves
What was the top priority for former slaves after the Civil War?
Economic autonomy
After the Civil War for African Americans
Slaves were already testing their freedom. Some left, some stayed behind but abandoned their own slave quarters for their own plot of land
What did freedmen want after the Civil War?
Community building, voting, access to land and fruits of labor, schools, churches, and political organizations
On July 4 1865, Southerners lost their freedom, and they banned the holiday until when?
1960s
What was the Northerner’s vision of freedom after the Civil War?
Saw freedom as free labor, thought blacks should just become wage workers and the South should become a free industrial society
What was the white planter’s vision of freedom after the Civil War?
They wanted a system as close to slavery as possible
What was the freedmen (former slaves)’ vision of freedom after the Civil War?
Land and economic autonomy
What did President Johnson offer the South during Reconstruction?
He didn’t like Southern planters, but he offers pardon to Confederates. Southerners who took oath of allegiance can have their property back. Slavery is abolished, and Confederates had to renounce their previous secession.
Black Codes
1865-1866. Freedmen could be married, own property, have access to courts, but they could not testify against whites, serve in juries or state militias, could not vote, forced to sign labor contracts (if not, they were vagrants and could possibly go to jail). Some states prohibited land ownership
Freedmen’s Bureau
Agency that helped former slaves after the Civil War
What are some of the things the Freedmen’s Bureau did?
Established some of the first public schools in the South, gave aid to the poor and aged, protected white Unionists who lived in the South
What did the Freedmen’s Bureau believe that stable relations between whites and blacks were dependent on?
Good wages and working conditions
13th Amendment
Reconstruction amendment, prohibited slavery in the US in January 1865
14th Amendment
Reconstruction amendment; defined national citizenship to include former slaves, prohibited denying rights to citizens without “due process of the law”, and denied former Confederates the right to hold office. June 1866
Which amendment gave citizenship to formally enslaved individuals in the United States?
14th Amendment
Which amendment defined national citizenship to include former slaves?
14th Amendment
What were some of the attitudes and actions of the Confederates during the Southern “redemption”?
Humiliated and angry, reminded constantly they had lost the Civil War. They accused Reconstruction governments of corruption, and resented the federal government and the Freedmen’s Bureaus for “coddling” African-Americans. They could not accept them as equals
What were some of the results of the Southerners’ humiliation during the “redemption”?
Terrorism and the Ku Klux Klan
When was the Ku Klux Klan founded?
In 1866 by six Confederate veterans
Ku Klux Klan
Terrorist wing of the Democrat party in the South
What are some of the things the Ku Klux Klan did?
Burned churches and schools, tried to keep blacks out of politics, killed African Americans and whites that would challenge Democratic power in the South
What was one of the Ku Klux Klan’s most important goals?
To undercut the legitimacy of the Reconstruction
In the face of the Ku Klux Klan and other terrorism, what did Southern Republicans need?
Protection from federal government and Northern sympathies
Why was Ulysses S. Grant popular in his time?
He was seen as one of the people who helped end the Civil War
In response to the escalating violence, what did Ulysses S. Grant pass in his first year in office?
The Enforcement Acts
Enforcement Acts
Forbade racial discrimination in voting, gives power to President to appoint election supervisors
What did the passing of the Enforcement Acts mark?
The first time certain crimes could be punishable under federal law
What were some of the results of the Enforcement Acts?
Dozens of Klansmen were prosecuted, boosted morale of the Republicans
Without the federal government’s support, some of the Reconstruction governments would have
collapsed
What kind of tactics did the Ku Klux Klan use to ensure Democratic dominance would once again reign in the South?
Tactics involved violence, attacked Republican leaders and African Americans, burned down churches and schools, etc.
Northern Retreat
Growing criticism for Reconstruction, seen as too much federal power. A growing divide among Republicans, from which a new party emerges
What party emerged from the divide among Republicans during Reconstruction?
Liberal Republican Party
In 1872, what party was formed by anti-Grant republicans?
Liberal Republican Party
What are some of the points/arguments of the Liberal Republican party?
The South should go back to “local self-government”, through economic and political reform.
Critics of the Liberal Republican party thought they would be too easy on the
South
The Panic of 1873 was otherwise known as
The “Great Depression” before the Great Depression of the 1930s
The Panic of 1873
The Jay Cooke Company collapsed, banks failed, stock markets closed, workers laid off. It was one of the first great crises of industrial capitalism
What was the new focus in the Panic of 1873?
Focus shifted from Reconstruction to trying to revive the economy, people were no longer very concerned with North vs. South crises
The “Mississippi Plan” in South Carolina
“White man” party; made sure African Americans would not have access to the ballot, or intimidated enough that they would stay home. Causes the Republican party to quickly fall
Samuel Tilden
One of the candidates in the election of 1876; reformer, critical of reconstruction
Rutherford B. Hayes
Wins election of 1876
Rutherford B. Hayes is elected as president because
“he is obnoxious to no one”, very bland
Rutherford B. Hayes wanted to return the South back to
local governments
The Reconstruction is often called a
“unfinished revolution”
“Tilden or Blood”
Democrats freak out when Tilden is not elected in 1876, threatens to terrorize and start another Civil War
Backroom deals after election of 1876
Democrats: Rutherford can be president but we want “home rule”, subsidies for railroads in the South, cabinet positions for the Democrats, federal troops to leave the South within two months
The backroom deals after the election of 1876 was basically the end of
the Reconstruction
The Reconstruction
an “unfinished revolution”, an experiment with interracial democracy, an era of black community building and political participation
“Redemption”
Southern white counterrevolution, reestablishes white supremacy and conservative government, undermines growth of Republican party in the South
Retreat
The North loses interest in the South and economic issues become top priority
America’s Gilded Age
Wealthiest Americans consciously pursued an aristocratic lifestyle, actively spent money not on needed or desired goods, but on things that demonstrated the possession of their wealth
Who is Horatio Alger?
extremely popular author around the Gilded Age. His stories were about young boys who were born into misfortune and poverty but able to pull themselves up by the bootstraps
What do Horatio Alger’s books say about the attitude of Americans at that time?
Americans were increasingly focused on the economy, and these stories encouraged rising out of tribulation by working hard enough
During the Gilded Age, America rapidly entered into an
Industrial Age
What is one of the reasons America industrializes so rapidly during the Gilded/Industrial Age?
the railroads
Why were railroads important?
They moved raw materials, labor (helped people go to work), moved goods to consumers, communication, permanent settlement
Other reasons for rapid industrialization
Space to expand, immigration, increase of unskilled labor, technological advancements, government policies, urbanization (larger labor pool for factories), Horatio Alger
In the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, workers base success on
value of their labor
Factors in the workplace/wages that led to strikes
Longer work hours, more rules, and less freedom, growing managerial class, more danger in the workplace, unsteady employment, workers replaced by cheaper labor
How did workers respond to changes in workplace wages around 1877?
Unionization, and the Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor
founded 1869, first national union and first group to assemble skilled and unskilled workers, women, men, white, black (but not Asian), in strikes, boycotts, political action and educational/social activities
What labor organization was the largest in the nineteenth century?
Knights of Labor
Gold standard
Policy at various parts of American history by which the value of a dollar is set at a fixed price in terms of gold
What were some of the goals of the Knights of Labor?
Child labor reform, graduate income tax, monetary reform, eliminate traditional wage systems, promote economic cooperation, decide wages, figure out decisions for pricing, and have a cut of the profit, 8 hour work day
What day did the Haymarket Riot occur?
May 4, 1886
What happened at the Haymarket Riot?
Strikers were protesting police violence and striking for an 8 hour work day. Someone throws a bomb into the crowd and the police open fire. Afterwards, police chase out Knights of Labor leaders
What organization did Samuel Gompers found?
American Federation of Labor
AFL
American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor
Founded in 1881 as a federation of trade unions composed mostly of skilled, white, native-born workers
What are some of the things the AFL/Samuel Gompers wanted?
Unionism, better working conditions, shorter hours and higher wages, but only for skilled laborers (not women or racial minorities)
During the 1880s, you were a successful person if you could
provide for yourself
For farmers, public work and having to leave the farm meant
failure (and seen as a form of slavery)
Sharecropping
where the producer relies on the landowner for expenses, what they grow is supposed to cover the cost of expenses
What was involved in tenancy in the South?
Tenant provides seeds and tools, pays rent, and landowner provides the land
Crop Lien System
produce to pay off a loan that you take from a landowner or merchant
The number one concern of most farmers and workers at the end of the 19th century was
The Gold Standard
Why was the Gold Standard the number one concern of farmers at the end of the 19th century?
it meant higher interest rates and few dollars to lend
What were some of the causes for agricultural woes for farmers in the Industrial Age?
Railroads, taxation systems, agricultural trusts, deflation, the Gold Standard
What is an agricultural trust?
board that buys up a bunch of supplies and sells them for higher prices
By 1890, only…dollar was circulating for every person in the country
one
The Grange
advocated specific farming methods, wanted regulation of railroads, associated with Farmers’ Alliance
Farmers’ Alliance
largest citizens’ movement of the nineteenth century where farmers sought to remedy their condition
When and where was the Farmers’ Alliance founded?
in Texas in the late 1870s
Labor and populists’ interests
Currency reform, government ownership, graduated income tax
Populist Party’s Omaha Platform
8 hour work day, abolition of private forces, limiting immigration, graduate income tax, Farmer’s Alliance Sub-Treasury plan
In the election of 1896, William Jennings Bryan called for the free coinage of
silver
William Jennings Bryan “Cross of Gold”
Speech wherein Bryan condemned the gold standard, compared the oppression of labor to Christ carrying and being crucified on the cross
Issues with free silver
No more sub-treasury plan, no more government ownership of railroads, no 8 hour day
Who won the election of 1896?
William McKinley
In the election of 1896, Williams Jennings Bryan was supported by
Populists and Democrats
Why did the Populists fail in the Election of 1896?
a “winner takes all” political system, they lacked party structure, had no money, regional divisions, racial divisions/fears
Populist Party
Founded in 1892, it advocated a variety of reform issues, including free coinage of silver, income tax, postal savings, regulation of railroads, and direct election of US senators
Who was Jim Crow?
Minstrel show character whose name became synonymous with racial segregation
Between 1890-1915, racial segregation became
law
Jim Crow Laws
laws enacted to make sure African-Americans do not vote
De facto segregation
It’s not done by law, but by fact
De facto segregation was more commonly done in the
North
De jure segregation
by law
Segregation was local and gradual, and moved from the
lower to upper South
Around 1890-1915, segregation was a
new institution
The Fusionists were comprised of
black Republicans and populists
The Fusionists threatened to steal votes from the
Democrats
Black editor Alexander Manly accused white man of being wrong for
trying to force blacks out of politics
After Alexander Manly’s accusations, who burned Manly’s office and study?
White democrats, Alfred Waddell
The burning of Alexander Manly’s office led to the
Wilmington Riot
How many people were killed in the Wilmington Riot?
about 300 people
What is one thing whites in the South used to reclaim their region?
race riots
Lynching was used by whites to
intimidate African-Americans (and sometimes other whites) to perpetuate white supremacy
Disfranchisement of blacks included
Literacy tests, understanding clauses, The Grandfather Clause, poll tax, white primary
Grandfather Clause
Clause used to disfranchise blacks, clause stated that if your grandfather could vote before 1865, you could vote
White primary
“private club”, in which various states in the South you could only be white to be a Democrat
Plessy v. Ferguson
1896, US Supreme Court decision supporting the legality of the Jim Crow laws that permitted/required “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites
What 1896 US Supreme Court decision supported the legality of the Jim Crow laws that permitted/required “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites?
Plessy v. Ferguson
Louisiana state law segregated railroads, which resulted in the
Plessy v. Ferguson trial
Disfranchisement/disenfranchisement
revocation of the right of suffrage
Pretext of lynching was often
the rape of white women by black women
Lynching was used to justify the protection of
white women
Dawes Act (1887)
meant to encourage adoption of white norms among Indians; broke up tribal holdings into small farms for Indian families, with the remainder sold to white purchasers
The land sold and citizenship through the Dawes Act was only offered to Native Americans if they
adopted civilized life
Indian schools
Americans put Indian children into schools, attempting to “civilize” Natives
50 years after the Dawes Act, natives lost nearly
80 million acres of land
In 1924, Congress made all natives
citizens
Chinese on the West Coast
First arrive during the Gold Rush and railroad building years
Chinese were seen as unwanted
economic competition
Nativism
Anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic feeling especially prominent in the 1830s-1850s
What are some of the things nativists feared?
Immigrants, foreign languages, economic competition, local political power, Anglo-Saxons being outnumbered
Nativist strategies
Restriction of immigrants, discrimination (barred immigrants from clubs, resorts, schools), assimilation and Americanization
The consequences of white supremacy
Exclusion (Jim Crow), immigration restrictions, assimilation (Americanization) of European immigrants, Native Americans, imperialism
Imperialism
aggressive foreign policy towards darker-skinned nations
Progressivism probably began when the Populist movement began to
die out
The progressive moment was a very
diverse group, including businessmen, women reformers, social scientists, etc.
What did the progressives believe?
Belief in progress, individual emancipation, rationality, and methodology
Progressives’ belief in progress
Old civilization had to give way to an industrial one, believes society is continually progressing
Progressives’ belief in individual emancipation
everybody should be free, have freedom of choice
Progressives’ belief in rationality
belief that everybody has the inherent ability to be rational
Muckrakers
journalists that exposed the seedy underbelly of society
Examples of muckrakers
Lincoln Stevens, Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle
• Exposed the disgusting conditions of the meat packing industry, how workers were treated, slaughterhouses, etc.
Lincoln Stevens
First muckraker, book Shame of the City insufficiency in the government
Progressives’ belief in methodology
Society had the means to resolve problems, involved scientific method
