1. Gilded Age Economics and Politics

2. Segregation and Discrimination

3. How were the civil and political rights of certain groups in America undermined during the years after Reconstruction?
In the course of the Gilded Age, the equal rights extended to African Americans during Reconstruction were narrowed.
This move away from equality for all had a lasting impact on society in the United States.

4. Federal troops were removed from the South in 1876.
Ways in which blacks’ right to vote was restricted in the South:
poll taxes
literacy tests
grandfather clauses
violence
Segregation via Jim Crow laws became the norm, and African Americans lost voting rights.

5. The many strategies used to keep African American voters away from the polls were very effective.

6. In addition to losing their voting rights, African Americans also faced widespread segregation in the South and in the North.
Still, African Americans refused to accept their status as second-class citizens. Several important leaders emerged and called for equality.
The constitutionality of Jim Crow laws was upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson.

7. Booker T. Washington was the most famous black leader of the late 19th century.
Washington believed that black citizens should focus their energies on building up their own economic resources through hard work, instead of using those energies to overturn Jim Crow. 7

8. Some disagreed with Booker T. Washington.
Du Bois felt the burden of achieving equality should not rest on the shoulders of African Americans alone.
W.E.B. Du Bois argued that blacks should demand full and equal rights immediately.
Another black leader was Ida B. Wells, who devoted her life to the crusade against lynching. 8

9. Chinese immigrants also faced racial prejudice in the West at this time.
The Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the country.
Faced with severe job discrimination, some Chinese Americans managed to start their own businesses.

10. Prior to the Civil War, women played a large role in reform movements, including the call to abolish slavery.
Leaders wanted to further women’s rights and were disappointed when women were not included in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments.
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869.

11. Susan B. Anthony voted in an election in 1872 and was arrested.
Awaiting trial, she toured the nation, delivering a powerful speech on the issue.
Activists did not secure women’s suffrage during the 19th century. 11

12. Why did the political structure change during the Gilded Age?
Congress passed few laws between 1877 and It was an era marked by inaction and political corruption.
The Gilded Age raised questions about whether or not democracy could succeed in an era dominated by powerful industrial corporations and men of great wealth.

13. Corruption plagued national politics as many officials accepted bribes.
Nast cartoon of “Boss” Tweed

14. Populism

15. What led to the rise of the Populist movement, and what effect did it have?
Millions of Americans moved west after the Civil War to pursue the American dream.
A variety of factors made their lives extremely difficult, which led to the social and political revolt known as Populism—and created one of the largest third-party movements in American history.

16. People moving to the West and South in the late 1800s knew that their lives would not be easy.
Problems facing the farmers of the West and South
low prices for crops
high transportation, equipment, and loan costs
drought
reduced influence in politics
They did not anticipate the many problems that made survival nearly impossible.

17. Frustrated by these problems, farmers began to organize.

18. Farmers created groups to address their problems.
These groups formed a network called the Grange movement. The Grange gained a million members.

19. government ownership of railroads
The spread of the Farmers’ Alliances led to the formation of the Populist Party in 1892.
The Populist platform warned about the dangers of political corruption, an inadequate money supply, and an unresponsive government. They called for:
coinage of silver
an income tax
government ownership of railroads
bank regulations 19

20. The debate over monetary policy was an important issue of the day.
Those who wanted to use silver and gold—including the Populist Party—were on the other.
Those who wanted only a gold standard were on one side.

21. The Populists did well in 1892, electing three governors, five senators, and ten congressmen.21

22. An economic depression began in 1893, and labor unrest and violence broke out. The Populist Party grew.
In 1896, a young lawyer named William Jennings Bryan spoke at the national Democratic convention.
The speech, with its Populist message of “free silver,” moved Democrats to nominate Bryan. The Populist Party chose to give him their support.

23. McKinley won against Bryan in 1896 and in 1900.