A Walk Through Modern U.S. History

1. AWalkThroughModernU.S.History

2. Rutherford B. Hayes1877 – 1881Republicanfrom: OhioGilded Age President

3. Compromise of 1877 1. Election of 1876 between Samuel Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes filled with corruption – both sides claim victory. 2. Compromise of 1877 gives Hayes the election in return for removing federal troops from the south. 3. Compromise of 1877 ends Reconstruction and removal of troops paves the way for segregation – leads to Exoduster migration – freed slaves moving west for land.

4. Western Frontier • Native Americans protesting U.S. policy of assimilation – making them like us – Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce is the most outspoken critic. • The Ghost Dance causes the U.S. army to become more aggressive in forcing the Native Americans onto reservations.

5. Politics 1. Patronage – Also known as the spoils system, political officials reward their supports with government jobs – leads to corruption. • Political machines (like Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall in New York) keep their power by aiding the poor/immigrants in exchange for support.

6. Economy • The economy operates under the principle of laissez – faire (hands off), so there is no government regulation of business. • Bland-Allison Act – Bimetalism – gold and silver used as currency in the U.S. • Thomas Edison invents the light bulb, allowing factories to work around the clock.

7. Labor • Factory workers work long hours for low wages in terrible conditions. • Leads to the rise of labor unions. • Railroad Strike of 1877 – 2/3’s of the nations railroads were idle. Hayes called in troops to stop the strike – 100 were killed. • Munn vs. Illinois says states have the right to regulate railroad rates. • Knights of Labor, led by Terence Powderly, becomes the first large labor union – accepts anyone.

8. James Garfield1881 - 1881Republicanfrom: OhioGilded Age President

9. Election of 1880 1. Republican Party splits: Stalwarts – Chester Arthur – favor the spoils system Half-Breeds – James Garfield – support civil service reform 2. Garfield wins nomination (and election) with Arthur as his running mate.

10. Western Frontier • Helen Hunt Jackson writes A Century of Dishonor, describing the treatment of the Native Americans. 2. She’s part of the Social Gospel movement – push to apply Christian principles to social problems.

11. Politics • The big issue is civil service reform. • The spoils system has led to corruption in government, especially under the influence of big businesses.

12. Economy 1. Corporations, trusts and monopolies have developed. • Laissez – faire practices and Social Darwinism have combined to create a large gap between the factory owners and labor. • The Salvation Army, another aspect of the Social Gospel movement, develops to help the lower classes.

13. Garfield’s Assassination • Garfield will be assassinated by Charles Guiteau at a Washington D.C. train station. • Guiteau was upset that he didn’t get a job in the government. • His death led to the passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Act. • The bullet didn’t kill Garfield, his doctors did.

14. Chester Arthur1881 – 1885Republicanfrom: New YorkGilded Age President

15. Pendleton Civil Service Act • The Pendleton Civil Service Act applicants for government jobs to take an exam to prove they were qualified for the position. • This law created much more accountability in government (at the federal level – state and local levels still dealing with the spoils system and corruption).

16. Western Frontier • Live on the Great Plains difficult but new inventions like barbed wire and improved plows are making it easier. • Transcontinental railroad completed – Chinese laborers no longer necessary so the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibits the immigration of Chinese (now seen as competition for jobs).

17. Politics • Nativism developing – don’t like the new immigrants coming from Eastern and Southern Europe. • They don’t assimilate into “American” culture. 3. Tenements developing to house the influx of immigrants – overcrowded, unsanitary and full of crime.

18. Economy • Standard Oil formed by John D. Rockefeller – develops a monopoly on the oil trade using horizontal integration. • Robber Baron v. Captain of Industry debate develops. • Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth says what they are doing is good but they have a responsibility to give back.

19. Social Changes • Booker T. Washington starts the Tuskegee Institute. • The Brooklyn Bridge is completed – Bessemer process for making steel will lead to skyscrapers eventually. • Time zones established to make train schedules run smoother.

20. Grover Cleveland (#1)1885 – 1889Democratfrom: New JerseyGilded Age President

21. Election of 1884 • The Republicans nominated James Blaine and the Democrats nominated Cleveland. • The election is a mud-slinging contest. Blaine’s corrupt and Cleveland had a pre-marital affair and a bastard child. • Charges of corruption (Mulligan Letters) lead to Blaine losing the election.

22. Western Frontier • Railroad has a detrimental effect on the Native Americans – it brings more settlers west and it also brings the buffalo hunters. • The wide-spread slaughter of the buffalo does more to force the Native Americans onto the reservations than the U.S. army does. • 1886, Geronimo arrested – last of the major fighting between the Native Americans and the U.S. army. • In 1887 the Dawes-Severalty Act was passed – it broke up the reservations in order to get more land for settlers – Native Americans were encouraged to assimilate into U.S. society.

23. Politics • The case Wabash vs. Illinois reversed the Munn vs. Illinois case, ruling that state’s couldn’t regulate railroads because it interfered with interstate commerce. • In response, the Interstate Commerce Act was passed to regulate railroads – not very effective because no real enforcement power.

24. Labor • Haymarket Square Riot occurs – strikers blamed for the violence and the Knights of Labor go on the decline. • Samuel Gompers forms the American Federation of Labor – only allowed skilled workers in – no women or minorities. Strikes still the main weapon of the union.

25. Social Changes • The Flatiron Building is built in New York City. • The countries first “skyscraper”, it will lead to cities growing up instead of out – along with the invention of the elevator. • The Statue of Liberty goes up in New York Harbor (Staten Island).

26. Benjamin Harrison1889 – 1893Republicanfrom: IndianaGilded Age President

27. Election of 1888 • The Republicans nominate Benjamin Harrison to run against Grover Cleveland. • Cleveland won the popular votes by 100,000 but lost the electoral votes by 36. • Harrison promised a strong, protective tariff as part of his campaign.

28. Fredrick Jackson Turner • In his thesis, Frederick Jackson Turner is going to claim that the American frontier is gone. • The Oklahoma Territory will be set aside for the Native Americans. • The Battle of Wounded Knee marks the last fighting between the Native Americans and the U.S. army.

29. Politics • The Populist Party forms to fight for the rights of the American farmer – income tax, direction election of Senators, coining silver and controlling the railroads. • The Sherman Antitrust Act is passed in an attempt to regulate monopolies. • The Sherman Silver Purchase Act is passed – requires the government to buy silver and redeem currency in gold or silver. • The McKinley Tariff is passed – the highest tariff in American history.

30. Economy • The McKinley Tariff is going to create a huge surplus that Harrison is going to use for many internal improvements around the country – the Billion Dollar Congress.

31. Labor • The Homestead Strike occurs in 1892. • Company town where workers live in deplorable conditions – go on strike to demand better pay and living conditions. • Pinkerton detectives come in to bust up the strike and ten people are killed. • In the end, the union survives but the working conditions remain.

32. Social • Jane Addams opens the Hull House. • The Hull House is a settlement house. • Its purpose is to aid immigrant women and children in the crowded tenements. • Provided a place to live, day care, job training and educational services.

33. Grover Cleveland (#2)1893 – 1897Democratfrom: New JerseyGilded Age President

34. Election of 1892 • The Democrats nominate Grover Cleveland to run against Harrison again. • The Populist Party nominates James Weaver. • Cleveland wins, becoming the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms.

35. Frontier Remember, there is no frontier any more. However, farmers living in the west are struggling due to the high tariffs, unfair practices of the railroads, corporate greed and general and by the fact that the Sherman Silver Purchase Act is about to be repealed and we are going to go onto the Gold Standard, making currency even more scarce in the west. This will lead to the growth of the Populist Party.

36. Politics • The Sherman Silver Purchase Act is repealed in response to the Panic of 1893.

37. Economy • The Panic of 1893 was the worst economic depression the country had faced at that time. • Cleveland did little to address the situation because he believed the economy would fix itself. • Coxey’s Army was a group of unemployed workers who marched on Washington D.C. – want the government to create jobs using tax dollars – they were eventually arrested for trespassing on the Capital grounds – maybe led to the Wizard of Oz.

38. Labor • Eugene V. Debs become president of the American Railway Union. • In 1894 the workers at the Pullman factory go on strike over wagers and high rents. • Cleveland eventually sends in troops to stop the strike because its interfering with the delivery of the mail. • Debs was arrested and jailed.

39. Social • Plessy vs. Ferguson opens the door for legalized segregation in the south. • Booker T. Washington gives the Atlanta Compromise speech – draws criticism from northern African Americans. • Hurst and Pulitzer are competing to attract customers with yellow journalism. • Williams Jennings Bryan gives his Cross of Gold speech and begins preparing for his stay in the White House (not).

40. William McKinley1897 - 1901Republicanfrom: OhioProgressive President

41. Election of 1896 • The Republicans run William McKinley against Williams Jennings Bryan and the Democrats (try #1). • The big issues were the tariff and the gold standard. • McKinley won easily.

42. Frontier/Imperialism • There is no frontier, so some are pushing for the U.S. to expand her borders for both trading and military purposes. • We will get into the Spanish-American War and be involved in the Boxer Rebellion during this time – part of our Open Door Policy to keep China open for trade.

43. Politics • The Gold Standard Act will be passed, requiring all U.S. currency to be backed by gold. • The Teller Amendment said that the U.S. wouldn’t take over Cuba. • We annexed Haiwaii.

44. Social • The first grandfather clause is enacted in Louisiana. That combined with the poll tax and literacy test effectively allowed poor, uneducated whites to vote while keeping African Americans from voting.

45. Spanish-American War Causes: 1. Atrocities committed by the Spanish against the Cubans. 2. DeLome Letter – Spanish diplomat accused McKinley of pushing for war – leaked to the press. 3. Yellow journalism. 4. Sinking of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor – blamed on the Spanish but probably came from within the ship.

46. Spanish-American War Effects: 1. Teddy Roosevelt becomes famous with his Rough Riders squadron. 2. We get the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico - later put down a rebellion in the Philippines. 3. War ended with the Treaty of Paris.

47. Election of 1900 1. The Republicans run McKinley with Teddy Roosevelt (his first vice president died in office) against Williams Jennings Bryan and the Democrats (try #2). • The big issue was imperialism – isolationists are opposed to the U.S. operating in other areas of the world.

48. McKinley Assassination • McKinley was assassinated in a receiving line in Buffalo, N.Y. • He was shot by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist. • His vice president Teddy Roosevelt became president.

49. Theodore Roosevelt1901 - 1909Republicanfrom: New YorkProgressive President

50. The Square Deal • Roosevelt’s social platform was called the Square Deal. • It involved the Three C’s: • Control of corporations (not all were bad though) • Consumer protection • Conservation of natural resources