THE MACHINE AGE ( ) CHAPTERS 23 AND 24 APUSH STUDY SESSION #7

The Age of Invention and Economic Growth Thomas Edison revolutionized industry with the light bulb and with the development of power plants Technological advances in the Age of Invention generated mass production and economic growth Captains of industry (aka “robber barons”) amassed wealth and power  Justified their standing through Social Darwinism  Some leaders, like Andrew Carnegie, preached the Gospel of Wealth

Industrialization and Corporate Consolidation Economies of scale dictated that with new, faster machines running at capacity, the lower the cost of the product  The lower the cost to produce, the lower the cost to sell, and the more products sold  Relied on assembly line production Businesses grew rapidly, with very few government restrictions, and became larger all the time  Supreme Court was also very pro-business

Holding companies were created as one type of business organization  Company owned enough stock in various companies to influence all aspects of production and sale  Eventually led to monopolies, or complete control of an entire industry Horizontal and vertical integration were the most common forms of business consolidation  Horizontal integration created monopolies within a particular industry (e.g. Standard Oil under John D. Rockefeller)  Vertical integration allows other companies in the same industry to survive and compete (e.g. Swift Premium)

Problems were created by this consolidation of power:  Rapid growth required money which businessmen borrowed  Sometimes led to panics  Monopolies created a class of titans of industry, whose interests clashed with those of society, at large  Public resentment increased and the government responded with laws to restrict monopolies Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 forbid combinations or conspiracies in the restraint of trade

Factories and City Life Manufacturers focused on cutting costs and maximizing profits  Hired women, children, and immigrants  Factories were dangerous Cities were filled with crime and disease and dealt with substandard housing and an expanding population  Poverty rose as higher classes moved out of the city (largely due to improvements in mass transportation)  Most residents were blacks, Latinos, and immigrants who settled in ethnic neighborhoods  “New Immigrants” were from southern and eastern Europe

City governments did not address the needs of the poor  Corrupt political bosses provided services in exchange for votes (e.g. Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall in NYC) Labor unions were formed to counter poor treatment of workers  Had little support outside of the workers themselves  Hired thugs and federal troops often broke strikes

 Included:  Knights of Labor, who organized skilled and unskilled workers from a variety of crafts into one union Became increasingly violent as strikes failed Haymarket Square Riot reinforced the view of unions as subversive forces  Later American Federation of Labor organized skilled workers ONLY within a confederation of trade unions, or workers within a certain trade Remained apolitical and focused on “practical” labor issues Led by Samuel Gompers  No early unions accepted blacks, immigrants, or women

Charitable middle-class organizations also promoted urban reform  Often led by women  Created settlement houses (e.g. Jane Addams and Hull House)  Community centers in poor neighborhoods that provided schooling, childcare, and cultural activities  Lobbied for building-safety codes, better sanitation, and public schools Life improved for the upper and middle classes  Had more money for luxuries and more leisure time  Sports, high theater, and movies became popular

Newspaper industry grew under Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst  Used “yellow journalism” to sell papers

Jim Crow Laws and the South Most Machine Age advancements affected the North  Agriculture was still the main economic activity in the South  Reconstruction did help industrialize the South  Created textile mills and tobacco processing plants Post-war southern economy forced many small farmers to sell their land to wealthy planters  Landless farmers were forced into sharecropping using the crop lien system  Landlords kept the poor in a state of virtual slavery

Southern states and cities began passing Jim Crow laws, which discriminated against blacks  Supreme Court helped promote discrimination in several rulings:  14 th Amendment did not protect blacks from discrimination by privately owned businesses and blacks would have to seek equality from states, not the federal government  Reversed the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which opened the door to legal segregation  Said that “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites were legal in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Southern blacks became involved in the quest for equal rights  Booker T. Washington promoted economic independence through training and education as a path to equality  He founded the Tuskegee Institute  People criticized him for being accommodationist  W.E.B. DuBois was Washington’s more aggressive rival who demanded equal rights and political representation  Helped found the NAACP

Railroads and Developments in the West Ranching and mining were growing industries in the West Railroads caused huge changes in the West  They were privately owned but were built at public expense  Federal and state governments provided substantial assistance  Although the railroads were paid for with public money, individual proprietors rejected any government control It took years for railroad rates to come under regulation, so monopolies formed and gouged consumers (especially farmers)

 Buffalo were hunted to near extinction, which created more tension between Native Americans and white settlers  Federal troops were sent into the region and fighting broke out  Although Native Americans won some battles like Little Big Horn, the federal army overpowered them  Depot towns became vital cities  Spread culture and technology across the country  Developments in railroad technology accelerated the industrial revolution  US created standardized time zones to help people follow the rail schedules

American frontier disappeared as new territories and states were created  Frederick Jackson Turner argued that the American frontier was gone in his Frontier Thesis, but that it had been important because it:  Shaped the American character  Defined the American spirit  Fostered democracy  Allowed people to flee from urban problems

Farming and ranching were the primary occupations in the Great Plains  Government realized they had to entice more settlers to relocate to this region and passed two significant pieces of legislation:  Homestead Act (1962) gave 160 acres to anyone who would develop that land for five years  Morrill Land Grant (1962) set aside land and provided money for agricultural colleges

Native Americans lost their land and their way of life  Initially, treaties were made with Native Americans as settlers treated them like sovereign nations  When war broke out, the government tried to force Native Americans onto reservations  This system failed  Helen Hunt Jackson brought attention to this abuse in A Century of Dishonor  Dawes Severalty Act (1887) broke up reservations and distributed 160 acres of Native American heads of families  Settlers had to live on it for 25 years to own it and to become American citizens  Sought to assimilate Native Americans, who resisted

The Gilded Age ( ) Looked good on the surface, but masked corruption and patronage beneath Political machines and bosses ran cities Big business bought votes in Congress and fleeced consumers Workers had little protection from their employers

US was led by a series of weak (and not necessarily corrupt) presidentsand  Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, and Harrison The popular outcry against corruption forced the government to regulate itself and business  Many states imposed railroad regulations  Railroads challenged these and often won in court  Interstate Commerce Act (1887) set up the ICC to supervise railroad activities and regulate unfair and unethical practices  This was the first federal regulatory law in US history

 Pendleton Act created the Civil Service Commission to oversee exams for potential employees Susan B. Anthony helped lead the women’s suffrage movement

The Silver Issue and Populism Industrial and agricultural productivity increased  This led to a drop in prices, which locked farmers into long- term debts with fixed payments  Farmers began supporting a more generous money supply This would make payments easier and would cause inflation, which would make farmers’ debts worth less Wanted to use silver coins because silver was plentiful and mined in the West This issue had regional and class divisions Banks opposed this

Farmers organized around the silver vs. gold issue  Grange Movement started as cooperatives, but eventually endorsed political candidates and lobbied for legislation  Farmers’ Alliance was more successful and grew into a political party called the People’s Party  This was the political arm of the Populist movement The Populist party eventually forced Washington to listen to the farmers  Supported coinage of silver, government ownership of railroads and telegraphs, graduated income tax, direct election of senators, and shorter workdays

The US entered a four-year economic crisis in 1893  Populists became more popular with their call for easy money  Progressive parties like the Socialists, under Eugene V. Debs, drew followers Populists backed Democrat William Jennings Bryan against William McKinley in the Election of 1896  Bryan ran on a Populist platform  Based his campaign on the call for free silver  Gave the “Cross of Gold” speech  His loss, along with an improving economy, destroyed the Populist party  This election marked the starting point of the Republican party’s support of big business  The Wizard of Oz is an allegory of Populism

Foreign Policy—Tariffs and Imperialism As America transitioned from farming to industry, the tariff issue became more important  Dominated politics as industrialists competed in an international market  Democrats supported lower tariffs while Republicans supported high protective tariffs  McKinley Tariff (1890) raised tariffs by almost 50%  Wilson-Gorman Tariff (1894) lowered tariffs slightly but imposed a 2% income tax

Americans embarked on a policy of expansionism  Looked overseas to find new markets for their goods  William Seward had set the precedent for increased American participation in the Western Hemisphere  Purchased Alaska and invoked the Monroe Doctrine to keep France out of Mexico  America practiced expansionism as it spread outward economically, which most Americans supported  America transitioned to imperialism as it took control of other countries, which was more controversial  Based on ideas of Alfred Thayer Mahan, who believed that a strong navy was crucial to a country’s economic strength US focused on creating a strong navy and then turned outward