In the Wake of War

1. In the Wake of War

2. Americans focused on materialism – tired of sacrifice • The Gilded Age – Mark Twain • “The Great Barbeque” – everyone rushing to gobble up the national inheritance • A succession of weak presidents – dominated by Congress • Senate – the “rich man’s club” • The House – disorderly and inefficient

3. Political parties were enemies but seldom separated by political positions • Biggest difference between Democrats and Republicans was sectional (South versus North) • Minorities voted for both parties for diverse reasons • Although most presidential elections were close, between 1856 and 1912 Democrats were elected only twice

4. There were four major issues in the years following the Civil War • The Bloody Shirt • The Tariff • Currency Reform • Civil Service Reform

5. The Bloody Shirt • A shirt of a carpetbagger bloodstained after being flogged by Southern terrorists • Used as a symbol of sacrifice made by the North during and after the Civil War and the Democrat’s role in causing the war • It was often used to divert attention from Northern shortcomings • Also used as a symbol in the fight for the rights of blacks

6. Also used in relationship to pension rights of former Union soldiers under the leadership of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) • The GAR wanted help for disabled veterans and eventually pensions for all

7. The Tariff • Both manufacturers and farmers sought tariffs to protect US businesses • Tariffs became an issue as American technology was advancing so rapidly protection was no longer needed • Tariffs became a tool for politicians whose states’ industries demanded protection

8. Currency Reform • Needing to pay for the war, the US government suspended payment of specie and printed “greenbacks” • Greenbacks were not trusted by the people and prone to inflation – pressure to withdraw paper money • In fact, the period after the war was deflationary • Farmers particularly hard hit as they had borrowed heavily during boom times

9. Civil Service Reform • The need for a professional administration increased due to more complex government • Numbers of employees rose from 53,000 in 1871 to 256,000 at the turn of the century • Corruption, waste, and inefficiency was the norm especially in the New York Custom House • Politicians against reform

10. Minorities were treated poorly after the Civil War • Successive presidents from either party did little to address the problem • For awhile rival white groups manipulated the blacks for their votes • By the 1890’s most Southern states had disenfranchised blacks through poll taxes and literacy tests (using “understanding” clauses to protect illiterate whites)

11. In 1896 in Louisiana 130,000 blacks voted In 1900 only 5,000 voted • Almost every Supreme Court case involving blacks curtailed or nullified their rights • “Separate but Equal” made law by Plessy v. Ferguson

12. Since most scientists and other experts on race deemed blacks inferior it was generally accepted as fact by the public • This attitude was contested by blacks in different ways • Rise in black nationalism • Attempt to revive African colonization movement • Some demanded full civil rights and even advocated the use of violence

13. Militancy and separatism found few adherents in the black community especially the South • Many blacks found segregation beneficial as they filled the void created by white refusal to provide services such as stores and barbershops • Black standard of living doubled between 1865 and 1900 • This made whites even more angry and vindictive

14. Washington was born a slave in Louisiana • He obtained an education while supporting himself as a janitor • With financial help from Northern philanthropists, he founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama • He advocated that blacks raise themselves up and accommodate themselves to racism • His views caused many whites to see him as a “reasonable” champion of blacks

15. The Atlanta Compromise • Washington told blacks to stop fighting segregation and concentrate on acquiring useful skills • He asked Southern whites to support black efforts to advance themselves • This attitude delighted white Southerners and won financial support for Washington • Washington became a powerful man

16. Blacks had mixed reactions to Washington’s viewpoint – some questioned the cost of surrendered dignity • Confrontation or accommodation? • Washington worked behind the scenes to fight segregation • Was Washington a tool of the white? An Uncle Tom or Oreo?

17. After the Civil War and the end of slavery, whites kept blacks in submission through violence • Each year from 1890 – 1910 almost 100 blacks were lynched each year • White fears were excited by rumors of black rapists • Black men were driven out of public spaces creating increasing opportunity for black women to take on leadership roles

18. Much of the West had large foreign-born populations: Mexicans, Chinese, Irish, and Germans were the largest • There was no “one” West and no typical Westerner • Burlingame Treaty of 1868 – brought in thousands of Chinese laborers for railroad construction

19. When construction was complete and Chinese now competed for other jobs riots erupted • The California constitution denied Chinese the right to vote • After 1888, the US Congress prohibited all Chinese immigration

20. By the 1860’s the Eastern Indians were residing peacefully in Oklahoma, the Western Indians had been pretty much eradicated by miners, and the Great Plains were dominated by about ¼ million Indians • The tribes lived on buffalo • Horses (reintroduced to North America by the Spanish) provided vital transportation, enhanced hunting skills, and made warfare more effective

21. Early relationships with whites were generally friendly • As whites needed more Indian lands, treaties were negotiated that treated Indian tribes as sovereign nations – divided and conquered • Limiting the size of hunting grounds in return for gifts and payments was known as “concentration”

22. Treaties with Indians were broken as whites needed Indian lands for railroads, gold mining, etc. • During Civil War, Indians rose up and attacked white settlements • Sand Creek Massacre • Fetterman Party Massacre The Plains Indians

23. US government moved to put Indians on two small reservations • Chiefs agreed but most Indians went to war • Indians expert at guerrilla warfare – small groups tied up thousands of troops • The offices of Indian Affairs within the Department of the Interior were the most corrupt in government

24. Efforts at reform were blocked by Congress who benefited from the corruption • The discovery of gold in 1874 on Indian reservation in Black Hills of South Dakota brought white miners and renewed warfare • July 1876 – Custer’s “last stand” • Indians eventually forced to return to reservations

27. The construction of the Transcontinental Railroad and the killing of the buffalo were most responsible for the end of the Indians • Buffalo numbers went from 30 million to about 1,000 in a few decades • 1886 - The Apache were the last Indians to give in when Chief Geronimo was captured

28. Indians were now expected to become farmers on reservations • Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 – Tribal lands split up into individual parcels to be given to Indians who would farm • To keep speculators from taking the land, land could not be disposed of for 25 years • The Dawes Act shattered Indian culture • Whites tricked Indians out of their lands – by 1934, 86 million out of 138 million acres were in white hands

29. The lure of “striking it rich” brought prospectors to every part of the mountains from Canada to Mexico • They exploited the country’s resources without a thought to the future • Boom towns were erected overnight next to strikes - most disappeared quickly • Boom towns brought in the dregs of society including gamblers, thieves, and prostitutes

30. Virginia City was built off the Comstock Lode – it boasted 25 saloons before it had 4,000 people • Independent prospectors made the discoveries but large corporations ended up with most of the money as they bought out the little guy • Large mining operations required heavy machinery and other capital investments that only corporations could provide • Most “deep” miners were imported from Britain

31. Gold and silver bolstered America’s financial position and paid for European imports • The metals also increased interest in the West • Gold and silver rushes also brought in permanent settlers: farmers, cattlemen, shopkeepers, teamsters, lawyers, etc.

32. The intent of the Homestead Act of 1862 was to allow small farmers 160 acre plots and keep out large landowners and speculators • The reality was different – few could afford the ~$1000 necessary to establish a farm • The Timber and Stone Act of 1878 allowed anyone to buy a section of forest land if it was “unfit for civilization”

33. This loose clause allowed huge areas to be bought and exploited by lumber companies • Farmers that were able to purchase lands found farming difficult • Soil was rich but semi-arid climate made agriculture difficult to impossible • Blizzards, floods, grasshopper plagues, prairie fires, drought and summer heat destroyed many farmers

34. Corporation controlled “Bonanza farms” grew • Successful due to large open tracts of land, mechanical farm equipment, and ability to negotiate discounts for seed and railroad transport • Drought brought end to bonanza farms in 1880’s • Despite obstacles, prairies became American breadbasket

35. Transcontinental railroad construction not feasible through total private investment yet government did not want to award outright subsidies • Solution- government land grants • About 75% of all land grants went to the 4 transcontinental railroads • Pacific Railway Act of 1862 established the pattern for the grants

36. RR- Time Zones

37. Were the railroad land grants fair? • No railroad made huge monetary gains from land sales • Land grants encouraged the growth of the West • Land grants required railroads to carry troops and handle government business free or at reduced rates • However, money from land grants were sometimes used extravagantly and encouraged corruption

38. In addition to land grants, railroads were given loans in the form of bonds for every mile of track laid • Union Pacific – east to west – benefited most due to plains • Central Pacific – mountains – huge sums spent on shoddy construction • All transcontinental railroads built with land grants ended up in bankruptcy in 1890’s • The Great Northern (built without land grants) remained viable through the depression of the 1890’s RRRR Transcontinental Race

39. Cattlemen and sheep herders made millions grazing animals on public lands • Enormous herds of cattle roamed loose in Texas – descendants of Spanish cattle let loose • Initially Texas cattle little regarded – no economic benefit • Demand for meat from growing population in the east combined with railroads made Texas cattle attractive

40. 1866 to mid-1880’s Cattlemen moved vast herds to railheads in Missouri and Colorado, then Abilene Kansas • Goodnight and Loving trails, Chisholm trail • Huge profits made • Over 10 million head made the journey

42. Hardy Texas cattle could withstand harsh climate of the prairie • Improvements made by breeding with Hereford bulls • Cattle ranching spread across the prairie states • Open-range ranching required no land ownership except along water – control of water vital

43. Control of water = control of vast amounts of land • Capitalists poured money into cattle ranches • Large corporations ended up dominating the business • Unlike other exploiters of the West’s resources- grass eaten by cattle grew back and droppings helped enrich the soil

44. Desert Land Act 1877 – allowed anyone to buy 640 acres for $1.25 per acre provided the owner irrigated the land within three years • Fraud occurred as cowboys bought up the land for their bosses – no irrigation done • Overcrowding brought violence – cattle ranchers established associations to regulate the land, etc

45. To keep other ranchers from public domain lands they considered theirs, ranchers put up fences • This was possible due to invention of barbed wire by Joseph Glidden • By 1880’s, thousands of miles fenced in by barbed wire resulting in “barbed-wire wars” between ranchers, herders, and farmers

46. Barbed-wire actually harmed ranching as it restricted cattle from naturally finding water or seeking shelter from weather • Thousands of head died in winter – piled up against wire • Overproduction drove down prices, expenses rose, and weather made ranching more difficult

47. The blizzard of 1886 destroyed between 80-90 percent of all cattle • Open-range cattle herding was finished as a business • Fencing continued but only to protect land actually owned • The American frontier was basically closed by the late 1880’s

48. Quiz • What political party dominated the presidency from the Civil War to the turn of the century? • What resulted from the impeachment trial of President Johnson? • The period following Reconstruction in which some gained great wealth at the expense of the land and the poorer population was called this by Mark Twain

49. 4. The US Senate was known as this 5. The US House of Representatives could best be described as this 6. This became the political symbol of the North’s sacrifice during the Civil War 7. The protection of American businesses was the goal in this 8. This was the most important patronage position in the country

50. 9. This monetary controversy erupted due to the government ‘s desire to pay off its Civil War debt 10. These tactics were used to disenfranchise blacks following Reconstruction 11. Segregation was established in the South by this Supreme Court Case 12. How did segregation actually benefit blacks? 13. What black school was established by Booker T. Washington?