1. The Gilded Age
Issues & Problems

2. African Americans & Social Tensions
Experienced a narrowing of rights
President Hayes removed federal troops from the South after the Election of 1876
Compromise of 1877
Southern states passed several restrictive measures to get around the 15th Amendment

3. Disenfranchisement Literacy tests Poll Tax
Grandfather clause required ancestors to have voted prior to 1866
Intimidation by violence
1894—130,000 registered black voters v 1904—1,300
Image:

4. Segregation Jim Crow Laws—kept blacks & whites segregated
Railroad cars
Waiting stations
Jury boxes & Bibles
Cemeteries
Restaurants
Parks
Hospitals
Image:

5. Segregation Cont’d De facto Segregation
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)Homer Plessy sat in a car reserved for whites & was arrested
Argued the Separate Car Act violated 14th amendment
Supreme Court maintained that Jim Crow Laws were constitutional because “separate but equal” facilities didn’t violate the 14th amendment
Not equal in reality
Ex.: In 1915, $14 for every white student in S.C. v. less than $3 for every black student

6. Booker T. Washington Most famous black leader of the 19th century
Born a slave in 1856
Called for blacks to build up economic resources & establish reputations
Prove themselves
Shouldn’t focus on overturning Jim Crow
Championed education
Taught at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama
vocational education

7. W.E.B. DuBois
Criticized Washington for accommodating southern whites & segregation
Argued for full & immediate equality for blacks
Blacks should not limit themselves to a vocational education
Blacks shouldn’t have to “earn” the right to vote

8. W.E.B Du Bois Wrote an essay called, “The Talented Tenth” in 1903
The term described the likelihood of 1 in 10 African American men becoming leaders
These talented tenth need to step up to the plate and be role models
Advocated classical education as opposed to just industrial/vocational education

9. Niagara Movement Founded the Niagara movement in 1905
Black civil rights organization
Educated blacks should make a difference and take action now
Called for end to disenfranchisement, segregation, and policies of accommodation
Image:

10. Ida B. Wells Fought for justice for blacks
Schoolteacher in Memphis, Tennessee
Bought a local newspaper— “Free Speech”
Wrote articles against mistreatment of blacks
Wrote editorials attacking lynching in the South
Run out of town for crusade against lynching

11. Discrimination in the West
Chinese & Mexican Americans

12. Chinese Immigrants
Barred from employment in California cities & attacked by mobs of whites for taking “white” jobs.
Segregated schools
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882—prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the country
Several federal court cases sided with Chinese and upheld their rights

13. Yick Wo v. Hopkins
1886
Supreme Court sided with a Chinese immigrant that challenged a California law banning him from operating a laundry
1898
Supreme court ruling of Wong Kim Ark

14. Mexican Americans
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) had guaranteed property rights of Mexicans who lived in the Southwest prior to the Mexican- American War
Despite treaty, many Mexican-Americans lost their land
Image:

15. Mexican-Americans & Land
U.S. Courts put burden of proof on Mexican- Americans to show they owned the land
Different legal customs & communally held land made ownership difficult to prove
“Sante Fe Ring”—group of whites that used political connections to take millions of acres of land in New Mexico through fed. Gov. grants

16. Mexican Americans cont’d
Fought to maintain rights and land
“Las Gorras Blancas” (1889) fought back by cutting holes in fences, burning barns, haystacks, & scattering livestock of large white ranch owners.
Hispanic citizens in Tucson formed the “Alianza Hispano-Americana” in 1894 to protect their culture, interests, & legal rights.
Image: southvalleyart.com

17. Women Gains & Setbacks Left out of 14th & 15th Amendments
In 1869, Susan B. Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association
1872, Anthony voted illegally in an election in New York—tried and convicted
Fined $100
Never paid the fine
U.S. Government took no collection action against her

18. Women’s reform in other areas
By 1906, only 4 Western states granted women’s suffrage—Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, & Idaho
More women attending college
By 1900, women represented 1/3 of ALL college students.
Frances Willard formed the Women’s Christian Temperance Union
prohibit sale of alcohol
public health, welfare reform

19. Challenges of the Gilded Age
Politics & economics
Challenges of the Gilded Age

20. Stalemate in politics Parties evenly divided
No group could gain control for a significant amount of time
Between , Republicans or Democrats gained control of the White House & both houses of Congress at the same time only twice.
Neither held control for more than 2 years
Difficult to pass new legislation

21. Presidents of the Gilded Age
Weak in comparison to Lincoln
Won by slim margins
Lacked integrity
Hayes won through the Compromise of 1877
1880—Garfield (Republican)/ Arthur
1884—Cleveland wins as first democrat in 24 years
1888—Benjamin Harrison (Republican) lost popular vote
1892—Cleveland
1896—McKinley (Republican)

22. Age of Corruption Many government officials accepted bribes
Spoils System
Made parties very powerful
Political cartoons—big money & corruption
Thomas Nast—editorial cartoonist “Father of the American Cartoon
Image:

23. Civil Service Reform
Civil Service—system of federal jobs in the executive branch
Jobs to be awarded on basis of expertise regardless of reigning political party
Civil service reform becomes a reality after the assassination of President James Garfield (1881)
Shot by Charles J. Guiteau because he believed the Republican Party owed him a gov. job

24. Chester A. Arthur & Civil Service Reform
Garfield’s vice president
Supported civil service reform
Public indignation over assassination
Signed Pendleton Civil Service Act in 1883
Formed Civil Service Commission
Civil service exam for those who wanted to work for the government
Reduced power of the spoils system

25. Economic Challenges Debate on tariffs
Republicans supported high tariffs
Democrats thought tariffs increased cost of goods & hurt American farmers
Major parties committed to the gold standard
Rise of populists & bimetalists
Coinage act of 1873
Reversed policy of making gold and silver coins
“Crime of 1873”
Anti-silver—undermine economy
Pro-silver—rise in prices would increase income