PART 1; Reconstruction and the Gilded Age Flashcards
1
Q
What caused the failure of Recon
A
- violence of seg
- andrew Johnson
- Ulysses grant
- war weary north
- stubborn south
- Radical Recon
2
Q
presidents during recon and their success
A
- Abraham Lincoln (march 1861 - april 1865) very successful, passed 13th amend and freedman bureau
- andrew johnson (1865-1869) - not very successful, only united opposition against him, southner, didn’t help blacks, tried to veto freedoms extention -1866 and they tried to impeach him in 1868. dead dog.
- Ulysses Grant - (1869-1877) - yes passes amendments and treated south harsh but ruined by scandals
3
Q
Key dates
A
13th amend - jan 1865 - slav freedmans beureu - march 1865 black codes - 1865-6 kkk - 1865 14th amend - 1868 - citizen 15th amend -1869 - vote civil rights act - 1875 - blacks equality in all places whiskey ring - 1875 comprimse of 1877
4
Q
why did the us experience rapid industrial growth after civil war?
A
- civil war impact - simulated need for goods, developed mass production, forced banking to develop due to more money in circulation
- availability of land - west, railroad devel encouraged, used land for mass wheat production - improved machinery
- population growth - cheap labour 3.1mil in 1860 and 50mil in 1880. immigrants…
- transport - railroads went from 35,000(1865) to 200,000 (1893), transcontinental railroad in 1869.
- technological innovation - e.g Carnegie and the Bessemer converter to make produce of steel cheaper
- role of gov - no interfernace - big bus did what they wanted e.g. set own opening hours and no requirement to work with trade unionists.
5
Q
reason for westward expan
A
- 1860-70
- west = land of opportunity and empty
- offered cheap land and could start new life
- John O’sullivan - manifest destiny - god chose people to move west and populate land BUT used as a radical doctrine of white supremacy so blacks couldnt get land. e.g Texas - 1864 - annex due to manifest destiny
- homestead act - 1862 - free land and all could qualify
- railways
- gold rush - e.g black hills
6
Q
natives
A
the great sioux war - 1876 - after discovery of black hills in Dakota - gold prospectors wanted native territory.
gov offered natives 6 mill but refused
took harsher action sent troops in and killed all natives
7
Q
who were robber barons
A
captains of industry
not regualated by gov - did what they liked
no morals - ruthless
8
Q
whats laissez-faire
A
economic and political doctrine
favours individuals and self interest and oppose that taxation and regulation of commerce.
reached peak in 1870s
9
Q
survival of the fittest
and
vertical integration
A
- those best equipped to survive in business and completion will outlive others
- expanding into other areas of business - e.g manufacture owns supplier…
10
Q
who are the 4 main robber barons
A
- Cornelius Vanderbilt - Railroads - when he died in 1877 he was the richest man in us. Brought out many eastern firms - some ruthless.
- John Rockefeller - OIL - brought oil refinery in 1862 - 8yrs later set up Standard Oil Company in Ohio - known for ruthlessly eliminating competitors, fixed prices and being good negotiator. By 1880’s controlled 85% of US oil production and first billionaire in 1913 BUT did give lots to charity (550mil)
- Andrew Carnegie - Steel - bessemer converters, created new ways of manufacturing - didn’t buy out competitors just produced good, low cost steel - famous for vertical integration - gave to charities and set up schools. sold empire to Morgan in 1900 for 480mill
- J.P.Morgan - Finance - created own private banking system J.P.Morgan and co - one of the leading financial firms - criticised for creating monoploies and making it difficult to compete against him, flaunted wealth.
11
Q
whats gilded age
A
1878-1900
after recon
comes from title of book by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner about corrupt businesses
some say filled with corruption and private gain, no difference between either party
others say this was over exaggerated, say most politicians were honest and there were many good times. many wanted to help stop corruption.
12
Q
5 presidents during GA
A
- rutherford hayes - 1877-81
- James garfield - 1881
- chester arther - 1881-84
- grover cleavland - 1884-88
- benjamin harrison - 1880
13
Q
were GA presidents weak?
A
- rutherford hayes - 1877-81 - not very, simply set the ball rolling for reforms like Pendleton Act 1883 but more weakness, issues dominated presidency e.g. rail road strike 1877, couldnt convince congress to outlaw spoils system
- -James garfield - 1881 supported reform for civil service and strengthened federal authority over new york customs house but this was all he could do as he was killed by charles guiteau, criticised for simply continuing efforts of everyone else.
- chester arthur - 1881-84 -he brought into power the pendelton act 1883 and tariff act of 1883 which tried to reduce tariffs. BUT supporter of spoils system and was attacked for it. and congress simply dismissed him e.g raised rates as he trimmed tarrifs.
- grover cleavland - 1884-88 - first dem elected after civil war and only president to leave and get re-elected 4 yrs later - he reduced number of federal employees as department was bloated with political timesavers BUT he lost 1888 to harrison and then his own party abandoned him in 1896 for bryan
14
Q
economy and societys development
1870-90
agriculture
A
AGRICULTURE
- after civil war became very important - part of growing us ecomnoy
- farmers grew from 10million in 1865 to 35mill in 1890.
- homestead act ‘62 - land available
- technological advances - fridges
- vunrable to fluctuations in market e.g. panic of 1873.
15
Q
economy and societys development
1870-90
NESW
A
NORTH
- agriclture benefited from expanding markets in towns and cities but depended on market forces it couldnt control
- By 1880s cities like Chicago were hubs of wide distribution, shipping goods to urban northwest and timber to great plains.
- Railroads vital - but - monopoly power and high rates
SOUTH
- economy trapped in history
- slavery ended but king cotton ruled
- Reconstruction failed to break down tradition structures of economy and old ruling elite.
- black and white farmers often unable to buy or keep land/ falling back
- difficult to get loans or products to market without BB interference
- economic development in ‘new south’ - e.g railroad expansion, cotton/tabac and sugar.
WEST
- ‘wild west’ happened quick
- homestead act ‘62 - accelerated movement
- transcontinental railroad, Union Pacific - 1869
- conquer/colonisation of native land complete by 1877
- open land carved by railroad, Frances and mining towns
- development by land hungry settlers
