the end of the frontier: the us in 1890 Flashcards
what ideas dominated post civil war economy?
laissez-faire - free competition, individual enterprise, minimum state interference
examples of social darwinism
william graham sumner, argued that the millionaires = ‘naturally selected agents of society’
what were the consequences of laissez faire?
illusion of equality - idea that all had opportunity to succeed w right work ethic etc
but ‘free’ competition not truly free - dominant tendency = consolidation of small, competing enterprises into large-scale units —> monopolies
big businesses eliminated competition.
examples of monopolies
cornelius vanderbilt’s consolidation of the new yokr central and hudson river railroad into monopolistic network
john d. rockefeller’s standard oil trust
in what ways were free markets not truly free?
rigged in favour of large corporations
not free from ‘state interferance’ - big businesses fought hard to avoid state regulation, but relied on govt for support (e.g. tariffs, blind eye to corruption etc)
how did attitudes towards laissez faire change?
prevalent in 1880s, but by 1890s, strong reaction towards laissez faire ideas, critics denounced its materialism, uncontrolled speculation, corruption, tendency to trample the ‘little man’
pressure groups against laissez faire?
small farmers; granger movement
industrial workers; knights of labour
how effective was state legislation that opposed laissez faire?
not that effective - undermined by conservative judgement of supreme court in favour of railroad companies 1886. fed govt did little to disturb dominance of big business, congressmen open to bribery + corruption
granger movement?
850,000 members by 1885. pressure from grange –> increased reg. of railroads + controls of storage + distrubution of corn. success of lobbying undermined by Illinois 1886
knights of labour?
industrial workers, protested against LF. led by terrence powderly, campained for 8 hour working day. gained mass membership 1880s. growing strength of labour movements, american federation of labour 1886
examples of social reformer + theorist criticisms of LF
mark twain’s ‘The Gilded Age’ 1874
henry carter adams’s article for AEA 1887, ‘the Limits of Laissez Faire’
impact of criticism of LF?
late 1880s, pushed politicians to take action - 27 states passed laws limiting trusts
1887 interstate commerce act outlawed restrictive monopolies
sherman antitrust act 1890
what was frederick jackson turner’s frontier thesis?
theory that american democracy shaped by the attitudes + values associated w/ frontier
announced that moving frontier finally filled by settlement + ‘civilisation’ - america now truly a nation from sea to sea
link between frontier thesis + LF
idea of rugged individualisation, self-help, hard work, minimal govt interference
how was the end of the frontier both physical as well as psychological?
physical - transcontinental railroads, settlement of west, most states = full statehood, western cities becoming urban centres. wars w/ native american people ended w/ wounded knee
