The Great West & Gilded Age

1. The Great West & Gilded Age American History II - Unit 1 Ms. Brown

2. Review • What were some “push” factors contributing to increased immigration to America in the early 1900s? • Religious persecution, rising populations, job and food scarcity, high taxes • Where were the 2 most prominent immigration processing centers? • Ellis Island, NY • Angel Island, CA • Nativist sentiments contributed to a dislike of which immigrant groups? • “New Europeans” (eastern/southern European), Jews, Catholics, Asians • Name 3 challenges faced by immigrants and the working poor due to urbanization. • Tenement housing, ill-kept transportation, unsanitary water, trash/sewage in the streets, increased crime rates, high likelihood of fires • How did Addams’ Hull House and the Americanization movement try to help immigrants assimilate to American life? • Teach English and other cultural skills

3. 1.5 – Politics of the Gilded Age

4. Political Machines • Turn of 20th century  increased urbanization + dog-eat-dog Social Darwinism = increased corruption in politics • Political machine – organized groups that controlled political activity in a city • Offered special services to voters in return for support • Wanted to ensure the election of politicians that would favor the political machine • 1 in each large city

5. Political Machines • Precinct Captains – 1st/2nd generation immigrants • Spoke foreign languages and helped immigrants get established in exchange for votes. • Reported to Ward Bosses • Ward Bosses – managed districts/wards • Secure voter support of certain candidates before an election • Reported to City Boss • City boss – head of the political machine

6. Political Machines • Roles of the City Boss • Sometimes the mayor of the city • Controlled access to municipal (city) jobs and businesses licenses • Helped immigrants get naturalized (obtain citizenship)  voter! • Focused on helping the urban poor by establishing parks, schools, hospitals, and orphanages • NOT to correct societal injustices • BECAUSE political machines could gain the support of many lower-class and immigrant voters (bulk of voter population)

7. Election Fraud and Graft • If an election of a candidate was not secure, city bosses practiced voter fraud (fake/dead names). • Once candidate was in office, political machine would take advantage of graft – illegal use of political influence for personal gain • Ex: political machine would help a worker find a job as a city contractor with help of the politician ask the worker to bill the city more than the actual cost  worker could kickback the profits to the machine and politician.

8. Boss Tweed • Boss (William) Tweed – head of Tammany Hall – NYC’s democratic political machine • Tweed Ring – Tammany Hall’s corrupt politicians • Influenced NYC gov’t to charge taxpayers $13 million to build NY County Courthouse BUT the construction only cost $3 million  Tweed and Tammany Hall pocketed $10 million • 1871 - Thomas Nast brought down Boss Tweed by exposing his abuses through a series of political cartoons  Tweed convicted of fraud and jailed.

9. Other Political Corruption • Patronage – giving gov’t jobs to people who help a candidate get elected. • Essentially the spoils system – jobs given based on connections not qualifications • Reformers pushed for the elimination of patronage and institution of a merit system for civil service jobs (gov’t jobs) • Merit system – jobs based on qualifications

10. POTUSs Reform Civil Service • Hayes (1877-1881) – anti-patronage, appointed independents to cabinet • Garfield (1881) – independent (nominated by Republicans) with Arthur as VP, assassinated by a political machine member • Arthur (1881-1885) – persuaded Congress to pass the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 – federal law stipulating that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit rather than patronage • Merit determined by score on an examination

11. Business and Politics • Big businesses hoped politicians would keep, even raise, high tariffs  foreign goods more expensive, increased demand for domestic goods • Cleveland (1885-1889) – Democrat (anti-tariff), tried to lower tariffs, Congress did not • Harrison (1889-1893) – Republican (pro-tariff), raised tariffs • Cleveland (again, 1893-1897) – Democrat, tried to lower tariffs • McKinley (we already talked about him… 1897-1901) – Republican, pro-tariffs, gold standard

12. The Gilded Age • “Gilded” = covered thinly with gold • “The Gilded Age” – the term for the late 1800s (coined by Mark Twain) • Seeming prosperity, rise of industrialization, new technologies, population growth • Really full of corruption, growing wealth disparity, mistreatment of poor

13. Final Thoughts… • At the turn of the 20th century… • Corruption in politics is rampant • The poor are getting poorer • Immigration to US increases • Economy is dominated by a few wealthy industrialists, no free market • REFORM  The Progressive Era • “Progressive” = favoring or implementing social reform

14. Thomas Nast Cartoons on Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall