Westward Expansion and Industrialization

By 1848, 14,000 people had traveled West to reach rich

Farmlands. Miners were in search of the Big

Strike: GOLD◦ Forty-niners- miners in search of gold.

Mainly men coming from all over including Europe and China

◦ Between 1850-60 California’s population jumped from 93,000 to over 380,000 and towns were formed

◦ Many searched the Black Hills of the Dakotas and very few ever struck it rich. Many believed in the saying “Gold is where I ain’t”

Mining and Ranching Opportunities in the West

Ranchers and Cowboys◦ Ranchers settled in the Great Plains utilizing a

different natural resource: GRASS◦ With growing population in the Eastern Cities,

demand for Beef was high. ◦ Chisholm Trail- cowboys followed this trail and

drove longhorns north for San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas. From Kansas the beef was shipped on the railway to meat packing centers like Chicago

◦ Cowboys led rough lives, defending against Indian attacks and people who tried to steal the cattle.

◦ Barbed wire was invented to fence off farms.◦ Blizzard of 1886-87 killed thousands of cattle

forcing ranchers into bankruptcy.

Mining and Ranching Opportunities in the West

Transcontinental Railroad- In progress through out the 1950’s. After the Pacific Railway Act was passed in 1962, Central Pacific and Union Pacific started constructing rail lines

Central Pacific worked from the west and hired many workers from China and began construction in 1865. Rough Terrain was a major challenge. Canyons, mountains, heat and snow all made major obstacles on the job.

Union Pacific worked from the East with many Irish Immigrants, ex-soldiers, and former slaves. Challenges for Union Pacific mainly came from Native American Tribes who opposed the building of the railroad.

Promontory Point, Utah- May 10th, 1869. Traveling across country now took 10 days rather than 4 months. Rail road expansion continued and towns sprang up along the rail lines.

Railroads Open the West to Rapid Settlement

The Railroad was a threat to the Native American existence. It cut through their hunting ground and disturbed the Buffalo

Native American’s refused to change their customs to conform to the settlers and conflicts arose◦ Indian Removal Act of 1930- forced tribes to move

West, then settlers began to move in creating conflict◦ Conflict occurred due to… Nomadic styles of living,

killing of the Buffalo, and giving up homeland◦ Sand Creek Massacre-US military slaughtered 150

Native American Women and Children in Colorado◦ Reservations- Federal Land reserved for Native Tribes,

but often reservations were violated and utilized by settlers

◦ Battle of Little Big Horn- “Custer’s Last Stand”- Sioux and Cheyenne Native Americans were under attack of US Calvery Troops under General Custer. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse wiped out Custer’s troops. The next few years federal forces hunted and captured over 3,000 Sioux warriors.

◦ Dawes Act 1887- federal law distributing land to individual Indians rather than to tribes therefore encouraging Indians to become assimilated.

Indian Wars

Settling the Great Plains

OpportunitiesChallenges

Expansion of Railroads Safer from Tribes Homestead Act- 160 acres

of public land for a small fee if you agreed to work and live the land for 5 years

Morrill Land-Grant Act- gave each state large tracts of public land to sell and use the fund to to build agricultural colleges

Fresh Start for Settlers

Building homes- dugouts (dug into the side of a hill) and Soddies (stacked prairie turf)

Droughts (windmills) Blizzards

Former Slaves were looking for opportunity to own their own land.

Thousands of former slaves migrated to Kansas and beyond became known as Exodusters.

Although many African American’s adjusted well, some still faced racism.

African Americans See the Plains as the “Promise Land”

Farmers were struggling with a cycle of debt.

Cycle of Debt for farmers Machinery-Expensive and usually

required farmers to barrow money As prices went up farmers would make

money to pay off loans As prices dropped they would try and

plant as many crops as possible to make up the difference

Farmers would often barrow money to purchase more land to grow more crops to make more money in order to make money to pay off debts (never ending cycle)

Shipping Problems of Farmers◦ -Farmers were at the mercy of the Railroads◦ - Railroads established rates for western

farmers that were higher than the east◦ - Railroads were monopolies (could charge

what they wanted because there was no competition

Farmers Rise up in PROTEST

Populism- a political philosophy that favors the common person’s interest over those of wealthy people or business interests

1870’s- Granger laws were passed in several states◦ Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific R.R. v.

Illinois- the federal government has the right to regulate interstate commerce

◦ Interstate commerce Act of 1887- established the Interstate Commerce Commission to ensure that railroads set “reasonable and just rates.”

The Populist Party

Gold Standard- monetary policy in the US where every paper dollar is backed by gold (Gold Bugs)

Greenbackers (Populist Party) supports every dollar in the economy being backed by silver and gold to increase the amount of dollars in the economy. (Silverites)

Populist Party backed William Jennings Bryan in the 1896 election, but after Bryan’s defeat the populist party died but left a lasting impression for reform for the common man.

Populist Party supports Silver and Gold

The horse and buggy, candles, oil lamps, and ice box era was soon to come to an end

Capitalism- economic system in which factories, equipment, and other means of production are privately owned rather than being controlled by government.

Patents- gives the inventor the sole legal right to make or sell and invention for a specified period of time. 1790- 1860: 36,000 patents from 1860-1900: 600,000 patents were issued

New Inventions and Technologies

1836- Telegraph, Samuel B Morse 1876- Telephone, Alexander

Graham Bell Automobiles from Europe in the

late 1800’s 1903- Airplane, Wright Brothers

from Dayton Ohio 1880’s- Light Bulb and Electricity,

Thomas Edison (factories run at night, industry BOOMED)

Communication and Transportation changes

1859- Edwin Drake was successful drilling for OIL with the steam engine.

Oil is a resource with lots of value. 1855- Henry Bessemer: Bessemer

Steel Process- blowing air into iron to remove the carbon and make steel. A much cheaper process. Steel began to be used in EVERYTHING, railroads, skyscrapers, bridges, machines, etc…

Andrew Carnegie decided to invest heavily in steep and formed the Carnegie Steel Company in Pittsburg Pennsylvania (hence, the Steelers YUCK)

Oil and Steel Discoveries

FACTORS of PRODUCTION: Land, Labor and Capital◦ Land- resources; oil, forests, and minerals◦ Labor- workers (immigrants)◦ Capital- Money, buildings, tools, and machinery

Corporations- company that is recognized by law as existing independently from its owners. Helped small businesses expand and buy more capital

People could invest (buy stock) in corporations and the owners were not liable for failure of the business.

Industrial Growth

John D Rockefeller: Standard Oil Company, found ways to reduce competition by buying or bankrupting competitors. He would often undersell his product.

Forming Trusts- a trust is a set of companies that were managed by a small group known as trustees, which have the power to prevent competition from anyone in the Trust.

Monopolies Form

Corporations expand-◦ Horizontal Integration- joining firms in the same

industry◦ Vertical Integration-taking control of each step in the

production and distribution of a product (raw materials, manufacturing, packaging, and shipping)

Government Leaves Business Alone◦ Laissez Faire- (allow to do) The market will regulate

itself through supply and demand (NO GOVERNMENT)◦ Social Darwinism- Charles Darwin’s theory of

evolution, the best run businesses are run by the most capable people and will survive and prosper. (No Government)

Big Business and Government

Sherman Anti-trust Act- Outlawed trusts, monopolies, and other forms of business that restricted trade and reduced competition. Although the language was vague, government was stepping in.

Government Takes Some Action

Something that is gilded looks like GOLD, but only on the outside.

Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt- started as entrepreneurs (risk takers) and along the way made mass fortunes.

Robber Barons or Captains of Industry??? Supporters or critics, you decide.

The Gilded Age

Working Class- Men, Women, and Children who provided skill, muscle that helped push America productivity to new heights that made employers rich. (6 days a week, 10-12 hours a day, $1 a day)

Division of Labor- Production divided into different tasks, one assigned to each worker. ◦ Hazardous environments (slaughter houses)

Whirling shafts, slippery floors, spinning blades, no helmets or safety glasses, toxic gases and dust (coal miners)

Working Class Conditions

Even with both parents working, a typical family could barely survive and children went to work.

Children earned less than adults, so employers enjoyed hiring them. 6 year olds worked in cotton mills of Georgia and 8 year olds worked in Coal Mines.

Children were smaller so often had more dangerous jobs (fit into running machinery to fix it)

Child Labor

Tenements- run down apartment buildings often in heavily populated slums.◦ Over crowded (eat, cook,

and sleep in a 10x10 room for a family of 6)

◦ No pluming◦ Disease infested◦ No air◦ No electricity

Unsanitary Living Conditions

Labor Unions- group of workers organized to protect the interest of its members (most unions focus on three goals: higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions)

Strike- a labor action in which workers simply refuse to go to work (this could shut down a mine, factory, or railroad) Strikes are generally the last resort.

Many employers forced workers to sign yellow dog contracts, written pledges to not join a union and if workers refused they were blacklisted.

The Labor Movement

Knights of Labor- 1869-1886: by Terence Powderly, Union for all people

American Federation of Labor- 1888: By Samuel Gompers, Union for skill workers in particular trades

Industrial Workers of the World- 1905: William Haywood, Eugene V. Debs, and Daniel De Leon; Union for lumbermen, miners, textile workers, and dockworkers. (Very Socialists- advocates ownership of the means of production rather than private property: Karl Marx, German Philosopher)

Unions

Railroad Strike 1877: Railways slashed workers wages and children were starving to death. Rail workers across the nation went on strike and ½ the nations railways had shut down. Riots broke out and violent clashes with the state militias occurred and Rutherford B. Hayes called the army to restore order. 100 were killed during the two week strike.

STRIKES

Haymarket Affair- Chicago 1886, a protest meeting was called by anarchists on Haymarket Square in Chicago protesting police brutality. Although the protest remained calm 180 police stormed the protest and someone threw a bomb into the crowd. Police fired and 4 were killed. Four radical anarchists were tried and executed for their part in the demonstration. This affair left the labor movement divided for unions feared backing radicals.

Strikes Continued.

Homestead Strike- Homestead Pennsylvania 1892, steelworkers went on strike over pay cuts. Henry Frick, Carnegie’s manager, hired 300 private guards to protect the plant against the strikers. Strikers were armed and ready to fight the private guards. Pinkerton’s guards lost the battle even though 9 strikers died. State militia was called and strikers were locked out of the plant for 45 years.

Strikes Continued..

Pullman Strike- Chicago 1894, Pullman town was created around the railcar factory. All Pullman employees lived in the town, had company owned houses, and bought food from company owned stores. Many workers were in debt to Pullman Car Company. Pullman cut wages and a strike occurred shutting down traffic in the Midwest. President Cleveland sent in troops and after a violent encounter the strike collapsed. Most workers were fired and blacklisted and Pullman Car Company was never the same.

Strikes Continued…

Push Factors- problems that cause people to move

Pull Factors- attractions that draw people to another place

People were pushed from Europe due to population growth, hunger, availability of land, and religious persecution

People were pulled to the United States because of the free democratic society, ample farmland, minerals, plains, industry (jobs), and America Letters (letters from relatives who had already migrated).

The Immigrant Experience

The voyage which once took 3 months now took 2 weeks due to technological advances

Travel was not easy on steerage( open area below the main deck) where people slept in the same room on metal beds, seasickness, spoiled food, overcrowded, and filthy toilets.

Transportation

1892- Ellis Island Immigration Station was built in the New York Harbor. Immigrants arriving from Europe often arrived at Ellis Island.

Inspections and Exams◦ Medical Inspections (6 second

exam)◦ Physical examination (LHX)◦ Legal Interviews (names

shortened)◦ Contract Laborers20 % were denied entrance and had

to stay for treatment or await hearings only 2% were every deported.

Ellis Island

Main cities (industrial centers)◦ New York◦ Boston◦ Chicago◦ Cleveland

Population booms Ethnic Cities (little Italy,

China Town, etc..)

Life in the Cities

With a lack of education, money, and support immigrants suffered

Immigrants need help◦ Relatives or friends◦ Immigrant Aid Society (met in

churches, groceries, or saloons)◦ Settlement house- community center

that provided aid to immigrants (child care, classes, health clinics, and recreational opportunities)

◦ Political bosses- powerful leaders who ran cities would help the immigrants in exchange for votes

Immigrants not welcomed

Assimilation- Americanization of immigrants Nativism- Americans who disliked anyone

who was not “native” born 1894- Immigration Restriction League- all

new arrivals had to take literacy tests- the President Vetoed it….but began to pass quota laws

Immigration

Chinese seek gold, jobs, and new opportunities

Chinese Exclusion Act 1882- shut the doors on China by prohibiting immigration from Chinese laborers for 10 years (1st time the US had restricted immigration)

Immigration went from 40,000 to 279 two years later

Immigration from Asia

Angel Island Immigration Station 1910- “Ellis Island of the West” San Francisco Bay, mainly used to restrict Chinese Immigrants

Other Immigrants◦ Japanese◦ Koreans◦ Filipinos ◦ Hawaiians

Gentlemen's Agreement- notes between U.S. and Japan where Japanese officials agreed not to allow laborers to emigrate to the U.S.

Angel Island

North- French Canadians- came to US for Civil War and over 900,000 came to US after mainly from Quebec.

Mexico- immigrated to California and Texas to work on farms, railroads, and in mines.◦ Mexican Revolution 1910- brought many more

Mexicans to the US.

Immigration from North and South

Racism Lower Wages Discrimination Segregated Schools Unwilling to become members of American

Society

Immigrants Still Faced Discrimination

1st Wave- 1820-1870◦ Northern and Western Europe

2nd Wave- 1880-1920◦ Southern and Eastern Europe

3rd Wave- 1965-present◦ End of quota system immigration from

everywhere◦ 33 million/12% of the population were immigrants

in 2003

Three Great Waves of Immigration