The Great Plains

- Parts of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, South and North Dakota, and Montana

Why Move West?

• Good deals on land.• Freedom.• New start.• Gold.• Railroads.

Homesteaders

• Homestead Act– 160 free acres to any citizen who was head of a

household and farmed the land for 5 years.– 600,000 families move west.

• Morrill Land Grant– Gave land to build agriculture colleges

• Exodusters– African Americans who head west from post-

Reconstruction South.

Life on the Plains

• Flat – dry – very few trees• Tough soil but fertile• Dugouts and Soddies– Sod houses

• New technology – all made life easier– Barbed wire– Steel plow– Mechanical reaper– Steel windmill

Homestead Cartoon

• On a piece of paper you need to draw your own homestead. It must contain the following…. (15 minutes)– Sod home– Family members working– Livestock– Steel plow, mechanical reaper– Barb wire fence– Windmill

Cowboys

• The long drive on the Chisholm Trail.– Texas Longhorns– Bring cattle to “cowtowns” such as Abilene

Kansas.– Dangerous job – stampedes, lightning, crossing

rivers.– Railroads eventually end the era of the cowboys.

Americanize the Native Population

• Dawes Act– Assimilate Native Americans• Have them become more “American”

– Broke up reservations and gave individuals land, most land taken by whites

• Plan was to bring them into American society• Ghost Dance– Belief that practicing the Ghost Dance would

make fighters invincible, make the Americans leave the plains, and bring back the buffalo.

Conflict with Native Americans

• Treaty of Fort Laramie– Temporary halt to fighting

• Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse• George Custer – Battle of Little Bighorn– “Custer’s Last Stand”– Native American victory

• Battle/Massacre of Wounded Knee– End of the Indian Wars, 300 unarmed Native

Americans were slaughtered by the United States Army.

Why America?• In the 19th century,

people came from Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and Mexico came to the United States seeking freedom and better lives for their families.

• They left Europe because:– Lack of farmland and

industrial jobs – Unemployment and

over population in European cities

– Religious persecution of the Jews in Russia.

Why America? (cont.)

• America offered:– Religious and political freedom– Economic freedom and opportunities in industry and land in

the Great Plains• Immigrants played a vital role in the dramatic increase in

industrialization and urbanization after the Civil War, working as:– laborers in the building of the transcontinental railroad (China)– textile and steel mill workers– coal miners

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me: I lift up my lamp beside the Golden Door.”-Emma Lazarus, from the Statue of Liberty

An Invitation?

The Old and the New

• Old Immigration (1820-1865)– Mostly from northern

and western Europe (Britain, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, etc.)

– Spoke English, similar dress, literate, and skilled workers.

– No issues assimilating into American culture.

The Old and the New (cont.)

• New Immigration (1870-1920)– Mostly from southern and

eastern Europe and Asia (Italy, Greece, Poland, Russia, China, and Japan)

– Poor, illiterate, autocratic governments, many languages, different religions (Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Jewish, etc.)

– Moved and settled in large urban areas for industrial work.

– 25% were ‘birds of passage’ (those who intended to immigrate for a short period of time and earn money before returning).

Welcome to America

• Cheap transatlantic trips with steamships made it possible for people to make the trip.– Traveled in steerage across the Atlantic or the Pacific

Ocean.

Welcome to America (cont.)

• Not all were allowed to enter the country, upon arriving at Ellis Island, prospective immigrants had to:– pass a physical– possess appropriate

paperwork and be questioned

– have some money (at least $25 after 1909)

• Between 1892 and 1924, 17 million people entered the United States through Ellis Island.

“The Melting Pot”

• Issues:– Needed a job.– Needed a place to live.– Had to integrate themselves into an unfamiliar culture.– Attempted to maintain heritage while becoming

American (start of hyphenated Americans).

• The establishment of ethnic neighborhoods in the new cities (Chinatown, Little Italy, etc.)-schools, churches, and newspapers-made it easier to adapt.

• Expected to assimilate-learn English, adopt American customs, and become citizens.– Public schools made this transition easier-children

could learn English and American customs.

Backlash

• Immigrants ran into resentment from several parts of American society:– Whites and African

Americans had to compete with immigrants for jobs and feared that immigrants would do the same job for less pay.

– Experienced religious prejudice (anti-Jewish, Catholic, and Buddhist sentiment).

Backlash (cont.)

– Nativists-a coalition of groups that sought to limit immigration• Argued that immigrants’ language, customs, and ideas were

anti-American.• Believed that being protestant and born in America made them

superior to all others.• Labor unions were prominent nativists-argued that unskilled

immigrant took the jobs of native-born Americans by working for less.

Backlash (cont.)

• Congress passed legislation restricting immigration:– Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)-banned Chinese

immigration for 10 years.• Extended indefinitely until it was repealed in 1943.

– Emergency Quota Act (1921)-put quotas on immigration from all areas except northwestern Europe.

– National Origins Act of 1924-a stricter quota system that allowed for more immigration from northwestern Europe and barred Asians from immigrating to the United States.• Lasted until 1965.

– No restrictions placed on immigrants coming from Latin America and Canada-Mexican immigrants were important to farming in the Southwest.

A Modern Economy• Following the Civil War, the United States

experienced an economic transformation spurred by advancements in technology that involved:– The emergence a strong industrial economy– The expansion of big business– The growth of large-scale agriculture– The rise of labor unions – The urbanization of America

• This Second Industrial Revolution was possible because of America’s:– Wealth of natural resources (coal, timber, iron, etc.)– Several navigable rivers– An increasing labor supply as a result of immigration

and people moving from agriculture to industry (rural to urban).

Advancements in Technology

• Growth in industry was spurred by advances in technology:– The Bessemer Process (Henry

Bessemer-1850s)-cheap, efficient process that converted iron into steel.

– Steel was lighter, stronger, rust-resistant-could make stronger structures (bridges, skyscrapers, etc.).

• The light bulb (Thomas Edison) and electricity-used to power machines in factories (could now put factories anywhere), electricity in the home, electric streetcars.

Advancements in Technology (cont.)

• Telephone (Alexander Graham Bell)-opens up national and eventual worldwide communication network.

• Airplane (Wright Brothers-1903)-move people and goods farther and faster.

• Assembly line manufacturing (Henry Ford-1910s)-made industrialization faster and more efficient.

Emergence of Big Business• Laissez-faire or capitalistic economy with

special considerations. – Businesses operated with little or no

federal restrictions.– Land grants to railroad builders and

factory owners.• Limited liability corporations: investors

are not responsible for all of the debt their company might have.

• Emergence of monopolies-when one corporation controls a majority of goods or services in a particular industry.– Eliminated most or all competition– Increased prices– Huge profits for owners– Weakened workers rights

Lions of Industry

• Cornelius Vanderbilt-Railroad Industry– was an early founder of corporations.– Consolidated many smaller railroads into one big corporation.– Influenced other industries.

• J.P. Morgan-Banking Industry– Financer that controlled many corporations though holding

companies (buy 51% of stock in industry to gain control).

Lions of Industry (cont.)

• Andrew Carnegie-Steel Industry– Carnegie Steel produced

more steel than all of English industry in 1900 and employed 20,000 people.

• John D. Rockefeller-Oil Industry

– First oil well was drilled in PA in 1859 by Edward Drake

– Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in 1863 and controlled 90% of oil industry by 1881.

Factory System

• The modern factory system radically changed the lives of American workers: places they lived, work they did, and time they worked.

• New Workplace:– Semiskilled, unskilled workers– Monotonous, repetitive, and impersonal– Worker a part of the machine.

Factory System (cont.)• Conditions:

– 10 to 14 hour day.

– Low wages.– Forced to live in

tenements near factories.

– Factories unsafe and unhealthy-poor air & machines unsafe.

– Child labor as young as age six.

– Entire families worked-hired young children and women because they could pay them less for the same amount of work.

Impact of Industrialization

• By 1900, the United States had surpassed Great Britain, France, and Germany as the leading industrial power in the world because of:– An abundance of natural resources.– A growing population (aided by immigration)=more

workers and more consumers.– Development of new technologies.

• Results:– The rich get richer.– Expansion of the middle class (white-collar America).– More working women.– Emergence of labor unions and struggle between

workers leaders of industry.– The urbanization of America-growth of American cities.

Labor Unions• The main goals of labor unions were

to get higher wages, a shorter work day, and a safer workplace.

• Difficult to unionize workers because of frequent job changes and a constant stream of new immigrants-cheaper source of labor who could replace those on strike.

• Labor leaders could not agree on whether to organize skilled and unskilled or just skilled and on tactics:– Some wanted political action,

while others wanted to strike, boycott, or use slowdowns

• Employers used blacklists, scabs, and lockouts to break unions.

• Law enforcement and the government supported the employer against the workers.

Labor Unions (cont.)

• National Labor Union (1866)-first attempt to unionize all workers (skilled and unskilled) in all industries (agricultural and industrial).

• Knights of Labor (1869)-founded by Terrence Powderly, the Knights of labor was the second national union that existed in secret until 1881.– Sought the abolition of child labor and trusts and

monopolies.– Wanted to solve issues through collective bargaining

rather than striking.

• American Federation of Labor (1886)-founded by Samuel Gompers, the AFL was the country’s largest union.– Gompers instructed workers to walk-out until a better

contract was negotiated through collective bargaining.

Labor Unions (cont.)

• American Railway Union (1893)-founded by Eugene V. Debs, the ARU was first industrial union.

• International Ladies Garment Workers Union (1909)-founded by 16-year old Pauline Newman (had worked in the industry for 8 years), the IRLGWU was an organization for women textile workers.– Fire at Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

demonstrated the unsafe working conditions of the textile industry.

• Industrial Workers of the World (1905)-founded by William “Big Bill” Haywood, the IWW (aka Wobblies) embraced socialism.– Unite the working class against the

upper class and abolish the wage system.

Key Strikes• Great Railroad Strike of

1877– During an economic

depression, workers along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad went on strike following a second cut in wages.

– Affected railroads in 11 states.

– Other industries joined the strike.

– President Hayes was forced to use federal troops to end the strike-more than 100 died.

– Some workers got their demands.

Key Strikes (cont.)

• The Haymarket Affair (1886)– May Day meeting to organize workers for shorter workday.– During rally, seven police officers were killed by a bomb.– Police responded by opening fire on crowd-4 killed, many

more wounded.– American public starts to view unions negatively.

Key Strikes (cont.)

• Homestead Strike (1892)– Carnegie cut wages by 20%

and workers at steel plant in Pittsburg went on strike.

– Workers locked out and strikebreakers and private guards were used to deny jobs to workers.

– Violence-three guards and nine workers killed, PA National Guard called in .

– Steelworkers would not be able to unionize again until the 1930s.

Key Strikes (cont.)

• Pullman Strike (1894)– Pullman cut wages and fired union members.– ARU went on strike-Debs ordered workers not to handle

trains that had Pullman cars.– Federal government used injunction ordering workers to

stop the strike because they interrupted the mail service.– Failure to comply led to the jailing of leaders (Debs),

Supreme Court ruled that the government could use injunctions against strikes.

– Violent repression of the Union and radicalization of the Union movement.

Urbanization

• Urbanization-the movement of people from the country (rural) to the city (urban).

• Industrial growth led to the emergence of American cities as manufacturing and transportation centers (Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, New York).– The world’s first subway

system in New York.– Many cities built trolley

and streetcar lines.

Urbanization (cont.)

• The rapid growth of cities led to housing shortages and forced families into crowded tenements and slums.

• Workers moved into older parts of the city (central) that were close to the factories.– Tenements lacked

adequate plumbing, ventilation, and sanitation.

• Wealthy and middle-class moved to suburbs. Street cars provided transportation.

Gilded Age

• Gilded Age (1870-1890)-era of rapid industrial and urban growth, an inefficient national government, and corrupt local governments.

• Following Reconstruction, social problems in both rural and urban areas as a result of industrialization led to the emergence of third party movements-Populism and Progressivism.

• Ultimately, many believed that government should reform the perceived problems and social injustices brought on by rapid industrialization.

Justification

In order to justify the new wealth as a result of industrialization after Reconstruction, individuals like Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and Vanderbilt used social philosophies:

•Social Darwinism-Darwin’s theory of evolution applied to society.

– Survival of the fittest –the most fit are those with wealth, property, and social status.

– Government should stay out of business (laissez faire)– Justified monopolies and ill treatment of workers

Justification (cont.)

• Gospel of Wealth-Andrew Carnegie argued that the wealthy should distribute their wealth for the public good-universities, libraries, hospitals, parks, concert halls, and churches.– God blessed the most

able-they gave back to society through charity.

Rise of the Machine

• Political bosses ran the political party for a given city.– Tightly organized, corrupt groups known as political

machines.– Controlled access to jobs, business licenses, and

courts.– Offered services and favors to voters for their political

support (money and votes).– Election fraud-fake names, cast as many votes as

possible• Anything to get their candidate elected

(positions=power).

Rise of the Machine (cont.)

• The machine targeted immigrants:– Immigrants needed jobs and housing.

• Had to vote for the bosses candidates or lose house and job.– Bosses would help immigrants become citizens quicker.

• Boss Tweed –head of Tammany Hall, New York City's Democratic political machine.– Estimated 65% of public funds for New York City went to Tweed and

his supporters.– NYC Courthouse cost $3 million to build, but the city was charged

$13 million.

National Politics• Following Reconstruction and the election of Hayes in

1876 (Compromise of 1877), politicians ignored emerging issues and avoided tackling any controversial issues.– No president served two consecutive terms for the

remainder of the century.

Hayes (1877-1881)

Cleveland (1885-1889)

Cleveland (1893-1897)Harrison (1889-1893)

Arthur(1881-1885)

Garfield (1881)

National Politics (cont.)

• The end of the 20th century was an era lacking in legislative accomplishments and important political achievements.– National leaders were more concerned with

gaining office, holding office, providing jobs for their supporters.

• Patronage (Spoils System):– Both parties awarded political jobs for support

at the ballot box.– Jobs were given to individuals that were

incompetent and corrupt.

National Politics (cont.)• Civil Service Reform

– Disappointed office seeker assassinated President Garfield.

– Americans demand reform-hire people based on qualifications, not connections.

– Pendleton Act of 1881:• Federal employees

must pass exam to obtain job-competence.

• Public officials cannot make campaign contributions.

• Forces politicians to look elsewhere for money-big business and the rich.

Rise of the People• Political corruption, increasing

difference between rich and poor, and poor living and working conditions led to calls for reform.

• Populism-movement of the people-People’s Party.– Supported by struggling farmers

and workers (poor whites and African Americans) who wanted to change society.

– Populists wanted: Direct election of Senators 8 hour work day More money (silver) and credit Initiatives and Referendums Secret Ballot Graduated Income Tax-those

who make more, pay more taxes Restrictions on immigration Single term presidency

Rise of the People (cont.)• People’s Party won 10% of

the popular vote and 22 electoral votes in 1892.– Five Senators, three

governors, and 1,500 state legislators elected.

• Populism began to fade following the election of William McKinley in 1896, but was important because:– Demonstrated that all parts of

society had a political voice (more power to the Common Man).

– Paved the way for the progressive movement.