1. What were some of the major problems facing workers in the Gilded Age?
Labor and Management battled over wages and working conditions, with workers organizing local and national unions.

2. Goals of the Knights of Labor
Eight-hour workday.
Workers’ cooperatives.
Worker-owned factories.
Abolition of child and prison labor.
Increased circulation of greenbacks.
Equal pay for men and women.
Safety codes in the workplace.
Prohibition of contract foreign labor.
Abolition of the National Bank.

3. Labor Unrest:

4. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877

5. McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.
Haymarket Riot (1886)
McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.

6. Anarchists Meet on the Lake Front in 1886

7. The American Federation of Labor: 1886
Samuel Gompers

8. How the AF of L Would Help the Workers
Catered to the skilled worker.
Represented workers in matters of national legislation.
Maintained a national strike fund.
Evangelized the cause of unionism.
Prevented disputes among the many craft unions.
Mediated disputes between management and labor.
Pushed for closed shops.

9. The Pullman Strike of 1894

10. President Grover Cleveland
If it takes the entire army and navy to deliver a postal card in Chicago, that card will be delivered!

11. What were some
of the major
problems facing
farmers during the
Gilded Age ??

12. New systems of production and transportation enabled consolidation within agriculture, which, along with periods of instability, spurred a variety of responses from farmers

13. Populism: An Agrarian Revolt
Never got a president elected, but ideas led to several Progressive reforms!

14. Price Indexes for Consumer & Farm Products: 1865-1913

15. The Grange Movement
First organized in the 1870s in the Midwest, the south, and Texas.
Set up cooperative associations.
Social and educational components.
Succeeded in lobbying for “Granger Laws.”
Rapidly declined by the late 1870s.

16. Supreme Court Decisions
Munn vs. Illinois (1877)—Illinois can control rates for grain storage.
Wabash, St. Louis, & Pacific Railroad Company vs. Illinois (1886)—Only Congress can control interstate commerce.

18. The Farmers Alliances Worked to fight RR abuses & lower interest rates
Worked for cooperatives and a subtreasury (would have allowed farmers to store their harvests at federal warehouses for low prices and loans up to 80% of crops market value)
Shaped a new political agenda

19. The Populist (Peoples’) Party
Populist: Appeals to the interests of the general population

20. Platform of Lunacy

21. Omaha Platform of 1892 System of “sub-treasuries.”.
Direct election of Senators.
Govt. ownership of RRs, telephone & telegraph companies.
Government-operated postal savings banks.
Restriction of undesirable immigration.
8-hour work day for government employees.
Abolition of the Pinkerton detective agency..
Re-monitization of silver.
A single term for President & Vice President.

22. Govt.-Owned Companies

23. 1892 Election

24. Bi-Metallism Issue

25. The
Panic
of 1893

26. The 1893 Panic Begun 10 days after Cleveland took office.
Bank failures followed causing a contraction of credit [nearly 500 banks closed].
By 1895, unemployment reached 3 million.
Americans cried out for relief, but the Govt. continued its laissez faire policies!!

27. Characteristics of the Gilded Age…
Frequent expansions and contractions of the economy.
Prosperity and depression

28. Written by a Farmer at the End of the 19c
When the banker says he's broke And the merchant’s up in smoke, They forget that it's the farmer who feeds them all. It would put them to the test If the farmer took a rest; Then they'd know that it's the farmer feeds them all.

29. Coxey’s Army, 1894 Jacob Coxey & his “Army”
March on Washington  “hayseed socialists!”

30. The
1896
Election

31. Gold / Silver Bug Campaign Pins

32. William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925)
The “Great Commoner”

33. Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” Speech
You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!

35. Democratic Party Taken Over by the Agrarian Left
Platform  tariff reductions; income tax; stricter control of the trusts (esp. RRs); free silver.

36. William McKinley ( )

37. Mark Hanna to Candidate McKinley

38. “A Giant Straddle”: Suggestion for a McKinley Political Poster

39. The Seasoned Politician
vs.
The “Young” Newcomer

40. Why Did Bryan Lose?
His focus on silver undermined efforts to build bridges to urban voters.
He did not form alliances with other groups.
McKinley’s campaign was well- organized and highly funded.

41. Gold Triumphs Over Silver
1900  Gold Standard Act
confirmed the nation’s commitment to the gold standard.
A victory for the forces of conservatism.

42. 1964: Henry Littlefield’s “Thesis”?

43. The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

44. Why Did Populism Decline?
The economy experienced rapid change.
The era of small producers and farmers was fading away.
The Populists were not able to break existing party loyalties.
Most of their agenda was co-opted by the Democratic Party.

45. “Parable of the Populists”?
Tornado  ?
Dorothy  ?
Toto  ?
Kansas  ?
Wicked Witch of the East  ?
Tin Woodsman  ?
Scarecrow  ?
Cowardly Lion  ?
Yellow Brick Road  ?
Silver Slippers  ?
Emerald City  ?
Oz  ?
The Wizard  ?
Munchkins  ?
Wicked Witch of the West  ?
Flying Monkeys  ?
Yellow Winkies  ?

46. American Imperialism: US Becomes a World Power
Spanish-American War—1898
Spain v. US over Cuban independence
Why expand?
Competition
New Markets
Stronger navy (Mahan)
Spread Christianity
Yellow Journalism—Hearst and Pulitzer

47. US Imperialism
US Annexes Hawaii: Sugar planters revolt after US ends duty free status
Spanish American War: Cuba
Teller Amendment: US will leave Cuba after independence
Platt Amendment: Reserve right to intervene and hold naval base.

48. Paris Peace Treaty 1898 US gets Puerto Rico and Guam
US purchased Philippines (Paid 20 mil)
Cuba is independent
SETS OFF DEBATE

49. Pro Imperialism
Josiah Strong—Our CountryChristianize the weak Alfred Thayer Mahan—The Influence of Sea Power On History Henry Cabot Lodge (MA Senator) Teddy RooseveltSocial Darwinism McKinley”Our little brown brothers”

50. Anti-Imperialism ClevelandQuestioned annexation of Hawaii
Anti Imperialist League—Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie
Some former Mugwumps

51. Insular Cases Insular (Islands)
Several US cases concerning the status of territories acquired by the Spanish-American War
“The Constitution does not follow the flag.”