US HISTORY: 1877-1929 Flashcards
mining, ranching, and farming frontiers in the settlement of the West and how it affected Natives
a. mining frontiers: the discovery of gold in the west led to the boom and bust of the mining frontier
b. ranching frontiers: the cattle industry of bison from the Great Plains impacted the settlement of the West
- the railroad was very beneficial to the industry as it provided practical means for getting cattle to the market
c. farming frontiers: dry farming took place on the Great Plains
- this required heavy reliance on agricultural machinery: improved steel plows, threshing and haymaking machines, seed drills, and windmills
- barbed wire was an important innovation: made in 1874, allowed farmers to fence their fields to keep cattle from trampling their crops
d. by the 1880s, most Native tribes had been confined to reservations, often in areas that appeared least desirable to white settlers
federal gov. policies that encouraged the agricultural development of the trans-Mississippi West:
- homestead act of 1862
- timber culture act of 1873
- desert land act of 1877
a. Homestead Act of 1862: provided 160 acres of land to one who resided on the land for 5 years
b. Timber Culture Act (1873): homesteaders could increase their holdings and acquire an additional 160 acres if they planted and maintained trees on parts of that land
c. Desert Land Act (1877): gave farmers an additional 640 acres at $1.25 an acre if the land was irrigated within 3 years
rise in Industrial Empires
- second industrial revolution (focusing on what kind of industry?)
- railroads: the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad
a. end of the 19th c. saw the Second Industrial Revolution - the nation began to focus on heavy industry (steel, petroleum, electricity, and industrial machinery)
b. the railroads: the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869 - the Union Pacific Railroad reaches the east and west (labor = war vets and Irish immigrants)
- the Central Pacific Railroad started from the Sierras and moved eastward (labor - Chinese laborers)
- before 1900, 4 more railroads were completed
- the railroads were badly managed - during the Panic of 1893, over one-quarter of the railroads were bankrupt
conflict between industrial capitalism and organized labor
- the homestead strike (1892)
- the pullman strike (1894)
a. the late 19th c. saw a boom in industrial capitalism
b. harsh and unfair working conditions led to protests and gatherings by Unions
- which function to protect workers’ wages, hours of labor, and working conditions
c. the Homestead Strike (1892): Henry Clay Frick, manager of the Homestead Steelworks locked members of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (AA) out of the Homestead Steelworks → AA struck the plant
- the Union unfortunately lost
d. the Pullman Strike (1894): became a nationwide railroad strike as the American Railway Union, led by Eugene Debs. - the Pullman company agreed to rehire the strikers if they signed a pledge to never join a union
changing patterns of immigration during this period and its impact on urbanization
a. 1880-1900: immigration was at its peak - the “old immigration” brought thousands of Irish and German
b. new groups arriving by the boat included Greek, Italian, Polish, Slovak, Serb, Russian, Croat, Japanese, and Chinese
c. industrialization → rapid urbanization - by 1900, nearly 40% of Americans lived in cities
- increasing factory businesses create more job opportunities in cities and people began to move from rural areas to large urban areas
- minorities and immigrants increased these numbers.
- factory jobs were readily avail. for immigrants - as more moved to cities to work, the larger cities grew
rise of the New South
- Henry W. Grady
- textile mills
- what kind of work prospered and what didn’t
a. 1874: Henry W. Grady coined the term “New South” which referred to a southern economy enriched w/ broadly expanded manufacturing facilities and commerce
b. most notable initiative was textile mills - 1880s, Northern capitalists invested in building mills in the South bc they could pay workers in the South less than in the North
c. land and factory owners prospered, while sharecropping and low-wage factory work kept many in the region in poverty
d. the benefits of the New South didn’t apply to African Americans
disenfranchisement and segregation of African Americans during the rise of the New South
- jim crow and black codes
- laws during the reconstruction era
- the grandfather clause
a. southern states passed black code and Jim Crow laws that severely limited the rights of Black people
- limited jobs they could work, property they could own
b. the Reconstruction Act of 1867 weakened the effect of the Black codes - they were able to vote and hold office, but after the Reconstruction pd. ended in 1877, southern states enacted discriminatory laws again
c. although the 14th and 15th amendments protected Blacks right to vote, southern states devised indirect measures to disenfranchise them
- the grandfather clause: a man could only vote if his ancestor had been a voter before 1867 - but the majority of their ancestors were enslaved and constitutionally ineligible to vote
d. legal segregation was in high gear
influential African Americans: Booker T. Washington,
W. E. B Dubois, Ida B. Wells
a. Booker T. Washington: (1856-1915) born into slavery and rose to a leading African American intellectual - founded Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now Tuskegee Uni.) in 1881 and the National Negro Business League in 1901
- advised presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft
b. W. E. B Dubois (1868-1963): writer, teacher, sociologist, and activist - used data to solve social issues for the Black community
- “the Souls of Black Folk” - examined the Black experience in America
- editor of the magazine “The Crisis” which was very influential covering race relations and black culture
c. Ida B. Wells (1862-1931): journalist, educator, and early leader of the civil rights movement - one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
- published “A Red Record” - detailed book about lynching
how the Spanish-American war lead to the US as a world power and the policies the US placed for Latin America and Asia:
- the Spanish American war
- Roosevelt Corollary (1904)
- extended open door policy
a. Spanish-American war (1898): the US’ victory in the war gave them Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines (w/ the purchase of $20 million) → having overseas possessions put them on the global stage as a military power
b. in 1904, Roosevelt added to the Monroe Doctrine to create the Roosevelt Corollary: stated the US would intervene in Latin American countries where EU powers sought to collect debts or whose govs. were thought to be unstable
- Roosevelt was convinced all of Latin America was vulnerable to EU attack, so he created that^
c. the acquisition of the Philippines triggered a new American policy for East Asia, specifically China
- EU invasions in China threatened to cut off American access in the Chinese market
- John Hay extended the Open Door policy in 1900: called for protection of equal privileges for all countries trading w/ China and the support of Chinese territorial administrative integrity
key issues of the debate over US expansionism:
- imperialists
- anti-imperialists
- view on the US
a. the annexations of the PI, Puerto Rico, and Guam after the Spanish-American war raised debates about expansionism
b. those who supported US expansionism believed that it’s the duty and destiny for the US to annex foreign lands
- argued that adopting these nations would help the nations grow into a “great and independent” nation like the US
c. anti-imperialists argued that the US should not get involved w/ the liberated states so they can create their own destinies
- believed expansionism went against the principles laid down by the Founders
d. both arguments were aimed at portraying the US as an exceptional nation w/ a special role to play in history
overview of the Progressive Era
- dates
- reformers goals
- what was achieved
a. 1890s-1920s - an era of intense social and political reform aimed at making progress toward a better society
b. reformers sought to harness power of the fed. gov. to eliminate unethical and unfair business practices, reduce corruption, and counteract the negative social effects of industrialization
c. during this era, protections for workers and consumers were strengthened and women achieved the right to vote
progressive emphasis on science and efficiency: eugenics
a. eugenics: advocated by progressive reformers, and also known as selective breeding. this was considered “the science of better breeding” that aimed to improve the genetic quality of the human pop.
- based on racial and class hierarchy
> whites at the top and lower classes, ethnic minorities, immigrants, mentally ill, and disabled were bottom of the hierarchy
- 1907: US became the first to pass a compulsory sterilization law
major governmental and legislative reforms of the progressive era
- the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th amendments
- the pure food and drug act of 1906
- the clayton antitrust act of 1914
- the immigration laws
a. the 16th amendment (1913): established a federal tax
b. 17th amendment (1913): allowing voters cast direct votes for US senators
c. 18th amendment (1919): outlawed the production, sale, and transportation of alcohol
- later repealed by the 21st amendment
d. 19th amendment (1920): gave women right to vote!!!
e. Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906: created the food and drug admin to guarantee safety and purity of food products and pharmaceuticals
f. the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914: sought to curb business practices aimed at stifling competition
g. Immigration Act of 1917 and National Quota Law of 1921: limited immigration based on nationality, and excluded all Asian immigrants
causes of US participation in WW1
☆ the US remained neutral until 1917
a. the sinking of Lusitania by German U-boats - 128 Americans died which caused outrage in the US
b. propaganda of anti-German sentiment was sweeping through the US
c. American businesses and banks made huge loans to the Allies, if they lost, they weren’t going to get their $$ back
d. several US cargo vessels were sunk w/ out warning by Germany → the US severing diplomatic ties w/ Berlin
e. the Zimmerman telegram: Germany proposed a secret alliance w/ Mexico if the US entered the war. the telegram was intercepted and decrypted by the British who sent it to Washington
- US declared war on Germany
the growth of a consumer economy in 1920s
- mass production
- credit
- advertising
a. prosperity of the 1920s led to new patterns of consumption - mass production spread new consumer goods into every household
b. the expansion of credit allowed for the sale of more consumer goods and made automobiles affordable for Americans
c. advertising helped build this new consumer economy
