The Gilded Age

1. The Gilded Age • A. Best and worst American civilization---1870 to 1900 • Major events • Industrial expansion, inventors and inventions • Continuation of the Manifest Destiny • Settlement of the West • Railroad = symbol of grow = distribution system • Rise of a labor unions • Rise of immigration • Rise of urbanization • Political parties took no clear cut stand on issues • Captains of industry were the political leaders • protect a laissez-faire system and capitalism.. • Countered socialism • B. Examples of Corruption

2. 3. James A. Garfied--1881---Republican • Assassinated by an upset spoilsman--Charles Guiteau • 4. Chester A. Arthur---1881 to 1885---Republicans • Pendleton Civil Service Act--reformed the spoils system • 5. Grover Cleveland--1885 to 1889 and 1893 to 1897 • Only Democrat---Serves two terms but not consecutive • Conflicts between business and labor. • Formation of Labor Unions • Haymarket Riot • Pullman Strike • Interstate Commerce Act--1887 • Tariff of 1894 • 6. Benjamin Harrison--1889 to 1893---Republican • Four major laws were signed during his presidency: • Sherman Anti-Trust Act • Sherman Silver Purchase Act • McKinley Tariff Act • Dependent Pension Act

3. GILDED AGE, 1870 to 1900 • Phrase penned by Mark Twain as satire for the way America had become. • The Gilded Age suggests that there was a glittering layer of prosperity that covered the poverty and corruption that existed in much of society. • Theme: The Coming of America • It needed to be reformed.

4. GILDED AGE, 1870 to 1900 • The wealthy showed off their wealth and were snobbish and stuck up…….Ostentatious wealth or conspicuous consumption • Time of corruption, scandals in local, state and national government. • President Grant’s scandals • End of Reconstruction and Jim Crow Era • President Garfield’s assassination • William Boss Tweed

5. The End of Reconstruction

6. 1876 Presidential Tickets

7. 1876 Presidential Election

8. 1876 Election • Tilden did not receive enough electoral votes. • Special Commission gives votes to Hayes. • Hayes wins the election • Democrats refuse to recognize Hayes as President * *Disputed Electoral votes 164 369 total electoral votes, need 185to win.

9. CORRUPT BARGAIN vs Rutherford B. HayesSamuel Tilden • The election of 1876 and the Compromise of 1877 are referred to as the Corrupt Bargain. • The Democrats and Republicans work out a deal to recognize Hayes as President • In return, President Hayes must end Reconstruction and pull the Union troops out of the South. • Once this happens, there is no protection for the Freedmen and the South will regain their states and go back to the way it was.

10. The Political Crisis of 1877 • “Corrupt Bargain” Part II?

11. A Political Crisis: The Compromise of 1877

12. social reality SEGREGATION • After Reconstruction, 1865 to 1876, there were several ways that Southern states kept Blacks from voting and segregated, or separating people by the color of their skin in public facilities. • Jim Crow laws, laws at the local and state level which segregated whites from blacks and kept African Americans as 2nd class citizens and from voting.

13. SHARECROPPING • Sharecroppers were Freedmen and poor Whites who stayed in the South and continued to farm. • Sharecropping is primarily used in farming • Sharecropping is based on the “credit” system.

14. A VICIOUS CYCLE OF DEBT 1. Poor whites and freedmen have no jobs, no homes, and no money to buy land. 2. Landowners need laborers and have no money to pay laborers. Based on a system of “credit” 6. Sharecropper cannot leave the farm as long as he is in debt to the landlord. ECONOMIC SLAVERY • 3. Hire poor whites and freedmen as laborers • Sign contracts to work landlord’s land in exchange for a part of the crop. • Received 30 to 40% of the harvest. • 5. At harvest time, the sharecropper is paid. • Pays off debts. • If sharecropper owes more to the landlord or store than his share of the crop is worth; 4. Landlord keeps track of the money that sharecroppers owe him for housing, food or local store.

15. Sharecroppers SHARECROPPING • Advantages • Part of a business venture • Raised their social status • Received 1/3 to 1/2 of crop when harvested • Raised their self esteem • Disadvantages • Blacks stay in South • Some landowners refused to honor the contract • Blacks poor and in debt • Economic slavery

17. Sharecroppers

20. FREEDMEN'S BUREAU ACTED AS THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN LANDOWNERS AND SHARECROPPERS.

21. Sharecropping

22. social reality JIM CROW • The systematic practice of discriminating against and segregating Black people • Practiced in the American South from the end of Reconstruction to the mid-20th century • Derogatory name for a Black person, ultimately from the title of a 19th-century minstrel song. • Goal: Take away political and constitutional rights guaranteed by Constitution: Voting and equality of all citizens under the law.

23. JC laws

24. JC laws1 Jim Crow Laws: segregated Whites and Blacks in public facilities became the law after Reconstruction: • Used at the local, state levels and eventually the national to separate the races in schools, parks, transportation, restaurants, etc…. • kept Blacks, minorities and poor whites from voting and as 2nd class citizen status

25. social reality Jim Crow Laws Poll Taxes: Before you could vote, you had to pay taxes to vote. Most poor Blacks could not pay the tax so they didn’t vote. Literacy Test: You had to prove you could read and write before you could vote…. Once again, most poor Blacks were not literate. Grandfather clause: If your grandfather voted in the 1864 election than you could vote…..Most Blacks did not vote in 1864, so you couldn’t vote….

26. 1865Civil War ends Reconstruction begins 1900s-1940s Jim Crow laws prevent African Americans from voting 1950s-1960sCivil Rights movement begins. 1870sReconstruction ends. The Struggle for African American Suffrage Plessy vs Ferguson effected social equality for Black Americans from 1896 to 1960’s

27. social reality SOCIAL REALITY • Plessy vs. Ferguson, 1896 • Supreme Court legalized segregation throughout the nation. • “Separate but Equal” as long as public facilities were equal • Problem: Black facilities never equal to White facilities

28. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 • Crime for any individual to deny full equal use of public facilities and public places. • Prohibited discrimination in jury selection. • SHORTCOMING lacked a strong enforcement mechanism. • No new civil rights act was attempted or 90 years!

29. Voting Restrictions for African Americans in the South, 1889-1950’s

30. South’s Backlash1 Lynchings 0 to 20 20 to 60 60 to 100 100 to 200 200 or more

31. JC laws/map Segregated 1% of Blacks integrated Less than 5% integrated 25% or more integrated

32. South’s Backlash1 The right to vote was taken away from the Freedmen after Reconstruction

37. Reconstruction Ends • Corruption: Reconstruction legislatures & Grant’s administration symbolized corruption & poor government. • The economy: Reconstruction legislatures taxed and spent heavily, putting the southern states deeper into debt. • Violence: As federal troops withdrew from the South, some white Democrats used violence and intimidation to prevent freedmen from voting. This tactic allowed white Southerners to regain control of the state governments. • The Democrats’ return to power: The pardoned ex-Confederates combined with other white Southerners to form a new bloc of Democratic voters known as the Solid South. They blocked Reconstruction policies. • The Country: The Civil War was over and many Americans wanted to return to what the country was doing before the war. There were five main factors that contributed to the end of Reconstruction.

38. Successes Failures Union is restored. Many white southerners bitter towards US govt & Republicans. South’s economy grows and new wealth is created in the North. The South is slow to industrialize. 14th and 15th amendments guarantee Blacks the rights of citizenship, equal protection under the law, and suffrage. After US troops are withdrawn, southern state governments and terrorist organizations effectively deny Blacks the right to vote. Freedmen’s Bureau and other organizations help many black families obtain housing, jobs, and schooling. Many black and white southerners remain caught in a cycle of poverty. Racist attitudes toward African Americans continue, in both the South and the North. Southern states adopt a system of mandatory education. Successes and Failures of Reconstruction

39. Quote by Frederick Douglass 1

40. Quote by Frederick Douglass 2

41. OSTENTATIOUS WEALTH CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION

42. Two Different Worlds 1 TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS • The wealthy lived extravagant lifestyles and considered themselves elitists. • The common people resented their snobbish attitudes and wealth. There was a caste system in the U.S. • 1861---------3 millionaires----------1900--------3,800 • 1900, 90% of wealth, controlled by 10% of population.

43. The Emergence of Political Machines • Political Machine • Organized group that controls a city’s political party • • Give services to voters, businesses for political, financial support • • After Civil War, machines gain control of major cities • • Machine organization: precinct captains, ward bosses, city boss

44. POLITICAL MACHINES • The Role of the Political Boss • May serve as mayor he: • controls city jobs, business licenses • influences courts, municipal agencies • arranges building projects, community services • •Bosses paid by businesses, get voters’ loyalty, extend influence • Immigrants and the Machine • Many captains, bosses 1st or 2nd generation Americans • Machines help immigrants with naturalization, jobs, housing • Election Fraud and Graft • •Machines use electoral fraud to win elections • •Graft—illegal use of political influence for personal gain • •Machines take kickbacks, bribes to allow legal, illegal activities

45. WILLIAM BOSS TWEED • Corrupt political leader put New York City in debt • Political boss • 1851 elected to city council • 1852 served in Congress • Kept Democratic Party in power in NYC called Tammany Hall • Formed the Tweed Ring • Bought votes, encouraged corruption, controlled NYC politics

46. WILLIAM BOSS TWEED • Received large fees for interests (*kickbacks) from the Erie Railroad • Tweed Ring milked the city with false leases, padded bills, false vouchers, unnecessary repairs and over-priced goods *Return of a portion of the money received in a sale or contract often illegal and corrupt in return for special favors.

47. WILLIAM BOSS TWEED • Exposed for his corruption by cartoonist and editor, Thomas Nast • Tweed Ring fell and 1873 Tweed convicted of embezzlement • Later Tweed was arrested on a civil charge and jailed in NYC, later died there

48. The Presidency as a Symbolic Office • Presidents avoided offending any factions within their own party. • 3 assassinations 1865 to 1901 • Grant presidency considered most scandalous in our history. • Impeachment of President Johnson • 2 elections were corrupt. • Congress held most of the power and members of Congress took bribes.

49. Grant Administration Scandals • Grant presided over an era of unprecedented growth and corruption. • Credit Mobilier Scandal. • Whiskey Ring. • The “Indian Ring.” • The Salary Grab

50. PRESIDENT GRANT'S SCANDALS • Credit Mobilier • Phony construction company owned by stockholders of Union Pacific Railroad. • Hired Credit Mobilier to build the transcontinental railroad • Charged the U.S. government nearly twice the actual cost of the project. • Bribed Congress to stop the investigation. • Largest scandal in U.S. history, and led to greater public awareness of government corruption.