westward expansion & the gilded age

Westward ExpansionWestward Expansion

Section 1 of 2Section 1 of 2

The Great PlainsThe Great Plains

•Native Americans disrupted expansionist dreams of white settlers in the east for decades

•During the 1860s Indian tribes on the Great Plains began disrupting dreams of Manifest Destiny

•As president, Andrew Jackson moved the Cherokees from the SE along the Trail of Tears to reservations in present-Oklahoma

This Presentation is Available Online at: www.livingamericanhistory.blogspot.com

The Great Plains...Cont’d.The Great Plains...Cont’d.

•Perhaps Jackson didn’t think America would stretch across the plains•He didn’t address the situation of the Natives roaming free around the Great Plains•Geographically, the Great Plains stretch from North Dakota to Eastern New Mexico


The Great Plains...Cont’d.The Great Plains...Cont’d.

• Scientists believe the plains formed 60 million years before 1860

• The Rockies rose out of the sea, caused the shallow sea to the east to dry up

• Left a bare surface• Little vegetation• Only roaming animals

(grazing) survived well


Tribes of the Great PlainsTribes of the Great Plains

• The Sioux are a great example of tribes on the plains

• Originally from northern Minnesota area• Crossed MO River in 1760• Nomadic people—followed the buffalo• Acquired horses from SW

tribes/became skilled riders and warriors


Tribes of the Great Plains...Cont’d.Tribes of the Great Plains...Cont’d.

• Claimed the entire plains north of Arkansas River as hunting grounds

• Religion was polytheistic=many gods

• Traded w/French trappers for kettles, blankets, knives, and firearms


The “Great American Desert”The “Great American Desert”

• Americans first thought the Great Plains were better off with the Indians

• Agriculturally, Americans thought the land was worth little

• When gold was discovered in California (1840s) Americans wanted a quicker way west

• 12,000 wagons traveled to Oregon and California


The “Great American Desert”...Cont’d.The “Great American Desert”...Cont’d.

•Missouri was called the “Gateway to the West” •It was the last “civilization” before the plains•The 1st wagon train of white travelers left Missouri in 1842•Travelers faced natives, little food, vicious weather, tight conditions


The RailroadThe Railroad

•After the US gained territory from Mexico (1848) the Trans-Continental RR was built

•The route west was through Indian country, very few towns and little white population

•The Government spent a lot of $ building the lines


The Railroad...Cont’d.The Railroad...Cont’d.

•Union Pacific built from Nebraska

•Central Pacific built from further east

•Met at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869

•During the 1880s, 40,000 miles of track were laid linking California to New Orleans and Kansas City to Minnesota

•Nearly 5 million longhorn cattle grazed on Texas ranches


The Railroad...Cont’d.The Railroad...Cont’d.

•It was unprofitable to drive them north•By 1865 the Missouri Pacific RR reached Sedalia•If ranchers got cattle to Sedalia the cars would move them west•Cattle was worth $40 in the north and $5 in Texas


The HomesteadersThe Homesteaders

•To convince Americans to move west the US government passed the Homestead Act (1862)•Granted 160 acres of land to settlers in Kansas•An attempt to move settlers west•Moving west was a major decision•Caused gender shifts


The Homesteaders...Cont’d.The Homesteaders...Cont’d.

•Gender Role-the tasks (jobs), attitudes & actions society believes a man or women should complete or possess•Women were to cook, clean and raise children•Men were for manual labor, providing and “thinking” for the family•Women worked alongside men on the plains


The Indian WarsThe Indian Wars

•The Trans-Continental Railroad spread across the plains

•Ranchers’ lands grew

•Homesteaders settled the plains

•Gold was still dug in California

•Indians faced extinction


The Indian Wars...Cont’d.The Indian Wars...Cont’d.

•Sioux Chief Red Cloud said in 1870:•“The white children have surrounded me and left me nothing but an island…When we first had all this land we were strong; now we are all melting like snow on a hillside, while you [white Americans] are grown like spring grass.”•By the 1870s most Americans agreed Indians should be moved off the plains or concentrated somewhere


The ReservationsThe Reservations

•Reservations required assimilation to white culture•Assimilation-taking on the attitudes, appearance, and sensibilities of another culture•South Dakota—Sioux•Oklahoma—Plains tribes and Choctaws, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles•Southwest—Apaches, Navahos, Utes


The Reservations…Cont’d.The Reservations…Cont’d.

•Many tribes refused to move onto reservations

•Chief Joseph (Nez Perce)

•Marched his people 1,500 miles from Oregon to Canada

•Apaches fought w/Geronimo in New Mexico

•Tribes also fought throughout Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas


Little Big HornLittle Big Horn

•In 1868, a treaty was made between Sioux and the US government

•Sioux would always own Powder River hunting grounds

•In 1875, US government ordered Sioux to vacate Powder River and move to reservations

•Chief Sitting Bull led Sioux and Cheyenne warriors to the Little Big Horn River, west of the hunting grounds


Little Big Horn…Cont’d.Little Big Horn…Cont’d.

•The US military wanted to force the tribes back to the reservation

•George Custer led the assault of US Cavalry

•He did not know that the Indian warriors outnumbered him w/3 times his strength

•He divided his cavalry into 3 columns each being driven backThis Presentation is Available Online at: www.livingamericanhistory.blogspot.com

Little Big Horn…Cont’d.Little Big Horn…Cont’d.

•Custer faced one of the fiercest Sioux—Crazy Horse•Custer ordered his men to shoot their horses to make a wall•Custer and his men were killed before the Indians retreated from approaching reinforcements


Wounded Knee 1891Wounded Knee 1891

•In response to the outlawing of native freedom (by the move to reservations) many natives looked to the shaman Wovoka•Wovoka promised the “Ghost Dance” would bring back dead natives, buffalo would return, new soil would cover the whites and restore the prairie


Wounded Knee 1891…Cont’d.Wounded Knee 1891…Cont’d.

•The Ghost Dance spread to Sioux reservations at Pine Ridge (SD)•Scared white Indian Agents who called for protection•Sitting Bull was killed in Canada in December


http://digilander.libero.it/Bologna16/indian-faces/sitting-bull.jpg


•Chief Big Foot was a target and led his people to the Pine Ridge Reservation

•They camped by Wounded Knee Creek

•While Bigfoot was meeting with the US officers someone fired a shot



•The natives scattered as the military poured gunfire into men, women, and children•25 US soldiers were dead compared with 300 Sioux•The massacre at Wounded Knee ended the Ghost Dance movement and, for the most part, the Indian Wars


The gilded AgeThe gilded AgeSection 2 of 2Section 2 of 2

The “Gilded Age”The “Gilded Age”

•The Gilded Age followed Reconstruction •Lasted from 1877-1900•Given the name by Missouri author, Mark Twain

Gilded Age-Society was corrupt and gilded to cover its impurities and imperfections•Characterized by three qualities: Excess, Greed, and ClassismThis Presentation is Available Online at: www.livingamericanhistory.blogspot.com

What’s So Bad About Excess?What’s So Bad About Excess?

•The Credit Mobilier Scandal (1872)•A director of the Union Pacific RR created a company (Credit Mobilier) to receive all government building contracts•Paid $94 mil by Congress •Only used $44 mil worth•Sold shares to D.C. movers for half price


What’s So Bad About Excess?...Cont’d.What’s So Bad About Excess?...Cont’d.

•Central Pacific RR

•Also created companies to gain government monies

•Benefited Leland Stanford of California

•Used the money to establish his famous Univesity


What’s So Bad About Excess?...Cont’d.What’s So Bad About Excess?...Cont’d.

•Whiskey Ring Scandal

•US Treasury Dept. and President US Grant’s personal secretary defrauded the government

•Millions in taxes

•Represented what was to come


Robber BaronsRobber Barons

•Robber Barons-American businessmen who made their fortunes from the expanding railroads•Term coined in 1878 at the height of the railroad boom•Three American capitalists especially earned the name: “Robber Baron”•J.P. Morgan Sr., John D. Rockefeller, & Andrew Carnegie This Presentation is Available Online at: www.livingamericanhistory.blogspot.com

J.P. Morgan Sr. J.P. Morgan Sr.

•Drafted into Union army after Gettysburg

•(Paid $300 for a filler)

•Purchased obsolete carbine rifles for $3.50/piece

•Sold them to a buyer for $11.00/piece

•Resold them back to the government for $22.00/piece


J.P. Morgan Sr....Cont’d.J.P. Morgan Sr....Cont’d.

•When gold prices fluctuated during the CW, he tried to rig the system by shipping gold out of the country

•He was a millionaire banker

•His banking house loaned money to countless banks

•By 1900 he owned half of America’s RR track mileage

•(His friends owned the rest)


John D. RockefellerJohn D. Rockefeller

•Began an oil operation in Ohio in mid-1860s•Expanded to form Standard Oil in 1870•He didn’t have a monopoly...•Other smaller oil companies existed•Received rebates from the RR (lower shipping costs=higher profit)•Also made secret payments and allowed price-cutting


John D. Rockefeller...Cont’d.John D. Rockefeller...Cont’d.

•Controlled 90% of nation’s oil-producing capacity by end of 1870s•Government got involved (feared a monopoly)•Standard Oil of Ohio could not legally own stock in other oil companies (or conduct business in other states)•Standard Oil became a trust•Trust-Caretakers (trustees) manage the money (because they have more power than the corp.) and spread holdings (because of no restrictions on trusts, only corporations)


Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie

•Immigrant from Scotland•Went from telegraph clerk to private secretary of president of Pennsylvania RR•Played the Stock Market throughout the 1860s—focused on steel in 1873•Revolutionized the manufacture of steel


Andrew Carnegie...Cont’d.Andrew Carnegie...Cont’d.

•Two main ideas: 1. Cut costs (increase profit) &

2. Vertical integration (control every step in production)•Profit went into new equipment and the business•Controlled mines (raw materials), boats (to move ore on rivers), RR (to move to mill), and a sales force (to market goods)


Consumer to CapitalConsumer to Capital

•The Gilded Age was characterized by:•Excess•Greed•Classism•These three qualities revolved around one of the main features of the period: economic success


Consumer to Capital...Cont’d.Consumer to Capital...Cont’d.

•Before the Gilded Age, American industry produced consumer goods•Consumer Goods—goods directly related to agriculture & sold for consumer use•During and after the Gilded Age, industry produced capital goods•Capital Goods—goods that added to productive capacity of the economy


Consumer to Capital...Cont’d.Consumer to Capital...Cont’d.

•Examples:•Consumer Goods—textiles, shoes, paper, furniture•Capital Goods—railroad track, machinery, construction material (steel)•American industry relied on vertical integration and innovation •Embodied in G.F. Swift


G.F. SwiftG.F. Swift

•Chicago cattle dealer; recognized that cattle deteriorated as it went east •Because of no refrigeration•Wanted to dress it at the Chicago stockyards & shipit east•How? A rolling refrigerator•Developed a cooling system & a fleet of refrigerated cars


G.F. Swift...Cont’d.G.F. Swift...Cont’d.

•Created refrigerated warehouses•Wagons distributed meat to local butchers•Facilities processed what was left from butchering•Dealt other grocery commodities•Used vertical integration like Andrew Carnegie


Mass-MarketingMass-Marketing

•The refrigerated cars worked but the public wasn’t convinced•Mass-marketing was needed to change their minds—this was the birth of modern advertising•Brand names & billboards were born in the late 19th century


Mass-Marketing...Cont’d.Mass-Marketing...Cont’d.

•By 1900 companies spent $90 million/year for space in newspapers & magazines

•Adverts urged readers to bathe with Pears’ soap, eat Uneeda biscuits, sew on a Singer machine, snap pictures w/a Kodak camera


Women to WorkWomen to Work

•During the Industrial Revolution immigrants made up a large # of the urban workforce•This was the same during the Gilded Age•Women began working in urban jobs during this period as well•Over 4 million women worked for wages in 1900


Women to Work...Cont’d.Women to Work...Cont’d.

•Wives were not supposed to work outside the home (especially in middle-class or wealthy families)

•Older women working outside the home signaled problems (widowed, divorced, etc)

•Women’s work fell into 3 categories:

-1. Maids/domestic servants

-2. Teaching, nursing, sales, office work

-3. Industry (garment trades/textile mills)


The Common Worker During the Gilded AgeThe Common Worker During the Gilded Age

•Excess, greed, and classism benefited the wealthy like Morgan, Rockefeller, and Carnegie•How did the Gilded Age effect the everyday worker? What did they want?•An egalitarian society in which every citizen might hope to become economically independent


The Knights of LaborThe Knights of Labor

•This desire led to the formation of the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor•Founded in 1869 as a secret society of garment workers in Philadelphia•Spread to other cities by 1878 like the Masons of IOOF


The Knights of Labor...Cont’d.The Knights of Labor...Cont’d.

•Their big idea: establish factories and shops owned/run by the employees•Public “education” was their main outcome•KOL, like trade unions, were favorite causes of radical political parties•Communism & Anarchism


Haymarket Square RiotHaymarket Square Riot

•Anarchy—a stateless/anti-government society•Chicago anarchists held public meetings like the fateful meeting in Haymarket Square•Large #’s of anarchists/trade unionists, mostly German immigrants, met at Haymarket Square•Police moved in to break up the rally...


Haymarket Square Riot...Cont’d.Haymarket Square Riot...Cont’d.

•Someone threw a bomb into the crowd of police, killing and wounded several•A small group of anarchists were tried, found guilty, and executed•Anti-Union hysteria broke out after Haymarket Square•Broke strikes through force, compiled blacklists, & outlawed union activity


The Homestead StrikeThe Homestead Strike

•Homestead, Penn. Was the site of one of Carnegie’s steel mills•Carnegie had always said that workers had the right to organize and it’s wrong to bring in strikebreakers•He also believed in making money and believed skilled workers could be replaced by advanced machinery


The Homestead Strike...Cont’d.The Homestead Strike...Cont’d.

•Mill was fortified w/tall wooden fence topped w/barbed wire to keep strikebreakers out•2 barges w/armed guards headed up the river toward Homestead to take control of the steelworks•Strikers fought back and the Pennsylvania milita was called in•Union leaders were arrested on charges of riot, murder, & treason


The Pullman StrikeThe Pullman Strike

•Pullman, Illinois was a model factory town built by George Pullman, inventor of the sleeping car•Panic of 1893 (economic recession) motivated Pullman to cut wages for his workers but not rent •A worker’s committee issued a complaint•Pullman responded: it’s not my responsibility•He then fired the committee


The Pullman Strike...Cont’d.The Pullman Strike...Cont’d.

•Pullman workers refused to operate, repair, or maintain the cars•RR companies were losing money and attached US Mail cars to every train hauling Pullman cars•When strikers stopped the trains the companies appealed to the government


The Pullman Strike...Cont’d.The Pullman Strike...Cont’d.

•The federal government said the mail could not be obstructed •The leaders of the strike were charged and sentenced w/prison terms•The strike fell apart from no leadership•It also indicated the ideology of government:•The federal government will side w/big business


The Wizard of Oz as PopulismThe Wizard of Oz as Populism

Crazy Theory, Half Truth, or Right On?Crazy Theory, Half Truth, or Right On?

What was Populism?What was Populism?

• Populism—political ideology supporting the rights and power of the people in their struggle against the elite (worker against tycoon)

• Populists were largely Midwestern agriculturalists who sided with the Democratic party

• One major element of the Populist movement was their desire to use silver to equalize the nation’s currency

• Republicans wanted to keep the gold standard (which we have today)

What was Populism…Cont’d.What was Populism…Cont’d.

• The depression of the 1890s reeked havoc on American workers– Farm prices bottomed out– Union militancy rose among the urban working class

• Americans wanted a change• That change was found in the 1896 election between

Republican candidate William McKinley and Populist-Democrat William Jennings Bryan

• “The Cross of Gold”• L. Frank Baum (author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)

was a Populist who supported Bryan

Populism and Oz: the SymbolismPopulism and Oz: the Symbolism

• Although some debate exists on the accuracy of the Populism/Oz comparison, the symbolism is certainly evident:

• Every major character and location can be traced to an element of the Populist movement

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Wizard_title_page.jpg

Populism and Oz: the Symbolism…Cont’d.Populism and Oz: the Symbolism…Cont’d.

• The word “Oz” is the abbreviation of ounce—as in ounce (oz) of gold (the Republican position)

• Dorothy—represents “everyman” (symbolic of the commoner)

• Innocent• Ability to recognize Oz for

its tricks• Midwestern (home of

Populism)

Populism and Oz: the Symbolism…Populism and Oz: the Symbolism…Cont’d.Cont’d.

• Munchkins—represent the “little man”

• Common laborers• Controlled by the

Wicked Witch of the EAST (we’ll get to that shortly)

• “The Lollipop Guild”• Guilds were an early

form of unionism

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/Munchkins.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/Munchkins.jpg


• Scarecrow-the farmer, naïve to the tricks of the world

• Muted and dumb by the Wicked Witch of the EAST

• One of the wisest of the traveling companions along the Yellow Brick Road

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Dorothy_and_the_Scarecrow_1900.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Dorothy_and_the_Scarecrow_1900.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/96SILVER.JPG


• Tin Man-the dehumanized industrial worker

• Becomes mechanical (like industry)

• Loses his skilled trade• Unable to love (his

work?)• Needs constant oil • Needs Standard Oil


• Cowardly Lion-represents William Jennings Bryan

• Had a “loud roar” • Had a good platform• Unable to back it up

though• Parades as a humble

king figure

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f9/GC-LION.JPG

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f9/GC-LION.JPG


• Wicked Witch of the West—western industrial influence

• The loss of the common farmer in the west

• Adoption of industry/urbanization

• Destroyed by water=pure nature

• Removal of machinery


• Wicked Witch of the East—represents eastern industrialization

• Birth of the problem for Populists

• Killed/destroyed by the innocent farmer’s daughter’s house from the Midwest


• Yellow Brick Road-the gold standard

• A road paved with gold goes nowhere

• The Republican platform with their reliance on the gold standard keeps the status quo in Oz


• The Silver Slippers—silver standard (bimetallism)

• MGM made the slippers red to showcase Technicolor

• In the original book, published in 1900, the slippers were made of silver


• Winged Monkeys—used in cartoons of the time to ridicule politicians

• May have represented police/private detective agencies/strike-breakers

• Wizard of Oz—the president

• McKinley was often called a wizard of politics

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/1897MCK%24.JPG

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/1897MCK%24.JPG

westward expansion & the gilded age

Documents

plains gold

entire plains

great plains native

plains ranchers lands

white americans

great example of tribes

s americans

west cattle