INTELLECTUAL AND CULTURAL TRENDS of the Industrial Age Chapter 19

INTELLECTUAL AND CULTURAL TRENDS of

the Industrial AgeChapter 19

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES 1878–1898: Number of colleges increased from 350 to 500 and

student body tripled Elective system introduced (Harvard) Modeled schools on German universities: research and freedom

of inquiry were guiding principles Johns Hopkins

Wealthy individuals funded other universities State and federal aid to higher education expanded rapidly

Morrill Act Seven Sisters:

Effects?

Problems Elective system led to superficiality scientific methods in history and economics Gifts of rich industrialists sometimes came with strings Politicians often interfered in academic affairs Campus social activities became more important than academics

REVOLUTION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Academics were often motivated by the issues of their age Slums Trusts Theory of Evolution

Classical School vs. Institutionalist School in Economics Classical School:

natural laws governed all human behavior used Darwinian principles to justify unrestrained competition

and laissez-faire Institutionalist School:

the state was an educational and ethical agency: economic problems were moral ones whose solution required combined efforts of Church, state, and science

Same issues in Political Science and Sociology

PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION Traditionally, teachers had emphasized the three “R”s and relied on

strict discipline and rote learning Did not prepare students for life in industrial America

Handicrafts Citizenship Personal hygiene

Good teaching required: Professional training Psychological insight Enthusiasm & Imagination

John Dewey (U of Chicago) gave direction to these complaints – “Progressive education” School should be an “embryonic community” new information needs to be related to what the child already

knew Schools should also be an instrument for social reform Education should build character and teach good citizenship

LAW AND HISTORY 1881: Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. published The Common

Law rejected the idea that law consisted only of what was written

in books Argued the “felt necessities of the time” rather than

precedent should determine the rules by which people are governed

Historians became interested in studying the origins and evolution of political institutions Concluded roots of democracy were to be found

in customs of the ancient tribes of northern

Europe (theory has since been thoroughly discredited) Unfortunately, provided ammunition for those

who claimed blacks were inferior beings and

immigration should be restricted

LAW AND HISTORY

Frederick Jackson Turner in “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” (1893) the frontier experience had affected the

thinking of the people and helped shape American institutions

the need to create civilization anew with each advance of the frontier accounted for the individualism of Americans and the democratic character of their society

Insistence of new historians on thoroughness, precision and fairness did much to raise professional standards

REALISM IN LITERATURE At the beginning of the Gilded Age, literature was

dominated by the romantic mood Reaction and change gave rise to Age of Realism

Industrialism The theory of evolution New sciences Complexities of modern life What is realism? multi-dimensional characters, depicted persons of

every social class, used dialect and slang to capture the flavor of particular types, and fashioned painstaking descriptions of the surroundings in which they placed their characters

Novelists undertook the examination of social problems Slum life Conflict between labor and capital Political corruption

MARK TWAIN The first great American realist (Samuel Clemens,

b.1835) Books

Gilded Age (1873) Tom Sawyer (1876) Life on the Mississippi (1883) Huckleberry Finn (1884) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889)

Twain’s greatness came from his sense of humor, and his ability to be at once in society and outside it, to love humanity but to be repelled by human vanity and perversity

Epitomized zest, adaptability and materialism of his age but died a dark pessimist

WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS William Dean Howell’s realism was more self

conscious than Twain’s Realism to him meant a realistic portrayal of individual

personalities and the genteel, middle-class world he knew best

Hazard of New Fortunes (1890): attempted to portray the whole range of metropolitan life

Most influential critic of his time and brought a number of famous foreign writers to U.S. as well as encouraging young American novelists

Naturalist writers believed that the human being was essentially an animal, a helpless creature whose fate was determined by the environment World was mindless without mercy or justice

HENRY JAMES Very different than naturalists

Born to wealth Spent most of adult life in Europe writing novels, short

stories, plays, and volumes of criticism His major theme was the clash of American and

European cultures Primary interest was the close-up examination of

wealthy, sensitive, yet corrupt persons Dealt with social issues such as feminism and the

difficulties faced by artists in the modern worldBooks The American (1877 The Portrait of a Lady (1881 The Bostonians (1886)

REALISM IN ART

• Realism had a profound impact on American painting as well as writing

• Thomas Eakins• Winslow Homer• James McNeill Whistler • Mary Cassatt

The Gross ClinicEakins, 1875

The Swimming HoleEakins, 1885

Snap the WhipWinslow Homer, 1872

The Gulf StreamWinslow Homer, 1899

James McNeill WhistlerArrangement in Grey and Black, 1871

The Childs BathMary Cassatt, 1893

THE PRAGMATIC APPROACH

Evolution and Religion Bitter controversy which was won by evolution The Bible remained a source of inspiration and

wisdom Evolution and Philosophy

Moved away from fixed systems and eternal truths toward specific applications and practical effects

PRAGMATISM: logic requires us to accept the briefness of even scientific laws

THE PRAGMATIC APPROACH

William James and Pragmatism: most influential philosopher of his time

Beliefs Free will Desire to survive existed independently of surrounding

circumstance Truth was relative What a person thought helped make that thought occur

Pragmatism inspired much of reform spirit of late 19th and especially early 20th century

James undercut laissez-faire extremism of the time

THE KNOWLEDGE REVOLUTION

Chautauqua Movement Illustrative of desire for new information Open air offerings of all sorts with a variety of famous

speakers and correspondence courses that led to a degree

Books were written specifically for the program Published a monthly magazine

By 1900 there were 200 Chautauqua style organizations Often standards were low Entertainment was as important as education Reflected prevailing American tastes: diverse, uncritical,

enthusiastic, and shallow

THE KNOWLEDGE REVOLUTION

Magazines: by1900 5000+ in publication

Newspapers were important for distributing information and educating the masses Joseph Pulitzer

and the New York World in 1883: selling more than 1 million a year by the late 1890s

Public libraries nearly all states supported libraries by 1900 Private donors contributed millions to the cause

Politics: Local State and National

Chapter 20

CONGRESS ASCENDANT Congress controlled the government as a series of weak

presidents occupied the White House Senate was more influential than House

Filled with wealthy men of long tenure Small enough to engage in real debate Had a long-established reputation for wisdom, intelligence,

and statesmanship House of Representatives was a disorderly and

inefficient legislative body Political parties divided into sections, with South solidly

Democrat, New England Republican, and the rest of the country split Republicans: preponderance of well-to-do cultured northerners,

blacks Democrats: immigrants, Catholics, and non-black minorities

RECURRENT ISSUES

Republicans attacked Democrats by waving the “Bloody Shirt” which reminded voters: Democrats were the men behind the Confederacy and the

Civil War Democrats denied rights to blacks in the South

Veterans Pensions: after Civil War, Union soldiers founded Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) which had a membership of 409,000 by 1890 and pressured Congress to aid Union veterans

RECURRENT ISSUES Tariff: While people talked about free trade, few

believed it Manufacturers: it would protect wage levels Farmers desired protection for products

Currency Reform: war greenbacks ($450 million in circulation) caused fear of inflation and pressure developed to withdraw them Instead: deflation after war hit debtors—especially

farmers― hard, resulting in pressure for currency inflation

Civil Service Reform: Federal employees rose from 53,000 in 1871 to 256,000 by end of century Corruption, waste, and inefficiency flourished Politicians argued patronage was the lifeblood of

politics and refused to seriously consider reform

PARTY POLITICS: Sidestepping the Issues

Because Democrats dominated the South and Republicans consistently took New England and most states west of the Mississippi, a selection of states usually determined the outcome of elections: New York (New Jersey, Connecticut) Ohio Indiana Illinois

Of all nominations for president between1868 and 1900, only three were not from one of these states

Partisanship was intense Mudslinging, character assassination, lying and bribery were

common Drifters and others were paid cash or given drinks to vote the

party ticket Names of dead people were inscribed in voting registers and

were impersonated at polls

LACKLUSTER PRESIDENTS: From Hayes to Harrison

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881) Former Congressman and Governor

of Ohio nominated for president due to

reputation for honesty and moderation Hayes played down the tariff issue Conservative on money issue Opposed the collection of political

contributions from office holders made requests for civil service reform (but

didn’t follow-through) Complained about southern treatment of

blacks but refused to do anything


James A. Garfield (1881) Former war major general

and congressman Assassinated 4 months after

inauguration By an unbalanced lawyer,

Charles Guiteau in July 1881 Garfield died on September

19, 1881 from infection


Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885) Became president upon Garfield’s

assassination Defender of spoils system

made little effort to push his agenda through Congress

Gave support to civil service reform

Favored regulation of the railroads and tariff reductions

Alienated the Stalwarts (Republican faction) and was not given a nomination to run again


Grover Cleveland (1885-1889) Democrat

governor of Buffalo No-nonsense attitude toward

government—won over reformers

Basic conservatism pleased business leaders

fathered a child out of wedlock Won election due to

corruption of running opponent

Had gained support of renegade Republicans known as Mugwumps

Little imagination and a narrow conception of presidential powers


Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)

Senator from Indiana Flamboyant waver of bloody shirt While claimed to favor civil

service reform, actually did little to forward it

Congress under Harrison Spent more than a billion dollars

in a single session Raised the tariff to an all time

high Passed the Sherman Antitrust

Act Harrison’s lackluster leadership

led to the loss of Congress in 1890 and then the presidency, to Grover Cleveland, in 1892

BLACKS IN THE SOUTH AFTER RECONSTRUCTION

Little federal support was offered to blacks after Reconstruction

Starting with Mississippi in the 1890s, southern states began to deprive blacks of the vote Poll taxes Literacy tests Louisiana had 130,000 black voters in 1896 and 5,000 in 1900

Supreme Court rulings Civil Rights Cases (1883)

declared the Civil Rights Acts of 1875 unconstitutional blacks who were refused equal accommodations or privileges by

privately owned facilities had no legal recourse Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Court ruled that even in places of

public accommodation, segregation was acceptable as long as facilities of equal quality were provided

BLACKS IN THE SOUTH AFTER RECONSTRUCTION

Total segregation was imposed throughout the South Separate but hardly equal facilities were provided throughout the

South Northerners supported the government and the Court

Progress in public education for blacks stopped with return of white rule Church groups and private foundations supported black schools

after 1877 Two efforts in vocational training: Hampton Institute and

Tuskegee Institute: farmers and craftsmen Segregation imposed a crushing financial burden on

poor, sparsely settled communities

BOOKER T. WASHINGTON: A “Reasonable” Champion for Blacks

Most people, including scientists, were convinced that blacks were inferior beings

Denying blacks decent educational opportunities and good jobs, gave cause that blacks’ resultant ignorance and poverty justified the inferior facilities offered them

Southern black reaction Racial pride and black nationalism Revival of African colonization Demanded full civil rights, better schools, fair wages, and a

fight against discrimination of every sort

BOOKER T. WASHINGTON: A “Reasonable” Champion for Blacks

Initially segregation helped some southern blacks, why? whites would not supply services to blacks became barbers, undertakers, restaurateurs, and shopkeepers Living standard of the average southern black doubled between 1865

and 1900 Booker T. Washington founded Tuskegee Institute

Convinced that blacks must lift themselves up by their bootstraps and accommodate themselves to white prejudices

Atlanta Compromise (1895) speech Don’t fight segregation and second class citizenship Concentrate on learning useful skills Progress up economic and social ladder would come from self-

improvement Asked whites to help blacks with economic self-improvement

CITY BOSSES City governments were affected by:

Rapid, helter-skelter growth Influx of European immigrants Need to develop costly transportation, sanitation and other

public utility systems Crime and corruption that size, confusion and anonymity

fostered Immigrants lacked experience with democracy and

representative government Newcomers to life in the slums concentrated on surviving

rather than on broad social issues All of the above enabled urban politicians—

predominantly Irish—to take command of urban masses and control them at the polls

CITY BOSSES City machines were loose-knit neighborhood

organizations headed by ward bosses Bosses performed many useful services for those they

considered their constituents Found jobs for new arrivals Distributed food and aid in bad times aid those in trouble with the law Unconsciously helped immigrants bridge gap from

Old World to complexities of modern American life Price of such aid was unquestioning political support

which bosses converted to cash through such means as Tribute on gambling A hand in the liquor business Control of issuance of peddler’s licenses

CITY BOSSES Better-known city bosses obtained money through bribes or

kickbacks William Marcy Tweed [1869-1871]: New York: Tammany Hall Richard Crocker [mid-1880s to turn of century] and Tammany

Hall: New York

In the end, most bosses were essentially thieves who got away with it because most middle-class people ignored them or shared indirectly in the corruption Tenement owners wanted to crowd as many people in as

possible Utility companies seeking franchises preferred a system that

enabled them to buy favors

Many urban reformers resented the boss system because it gave power to “unfit” men

How Did Tammany Hall Work?1. Boss Tweed instructs corrupted

politicians in the state legislature to build a new park or bridge (Central park, Brooklyn Bridge)

2. His campaign contributors (friends) buy the land where the park or bridge is built.

3. The government buys the land from Tweed’s friends at inflated prices.

– Tweed gets kickback from profits– friends make campaign contributions

to Tweed’s candidates.

How Did Tammany Hall Work?

Jobs are given out to immigrants who vote for Tweed’s candidates.• Tammany does favors for

immigrants in exchange for their votes, family votes, even votes of dead relatives

– In result: » Tammany controlled the

New York State Legislature

» Controlled New York’s electoral votes

CROPS AND COMPLAINTS

The poor, who had little influence or power, were largely ignored, however; one important group in society was increasingly disgruntled—farmers

After Civil War, farmers did well Harvests were bountiful Wheat prices were high Population rose in west giving higher demand Land prices rose and farmers borrowed money to expand

their farms In the 1890s, disaster struck with a succession of dry

years and poor harvests

CROPS AND COMPLAINTS

Then farmers in Australia, Canada, Russia, and Argentina took advantage of improvements in transportation to sell their produce in European markets that previously bought from U.S. Price of wheat and cotton fell dramatically

Problems for farmers Tariff on manufactured goods Domestic marketing system, which enabled a multitude of

middlemen to take a large share of the profits Shortage of credit Downward business cycle, which meant settlers had spent more

on land than it was worth by borrowing money at high interest rates

Thousands lost their farms and returned eastward

THE POPULIST MOVEMENT

Farm depression triggered new radicalism—the Alliance movement Organizations of farmers’ clubs which had emerged during

1870s Knights of Reliance

Stressed cooperation Co-ops bought fertilizer and other supplies in bulk and sold them

at fair prices Sought to market crops cooperatively but could not get

necessary capital from banks -led them to question financial and monetary system

Similar though less influential movement developed in North

THE POPULIST MOVEMENT All Alliances agreed:

Agricultural prices were too low Transportation costs were too high Something was radically wrong with U.S. financial system Need for political action if there was to be improvement

1890: Farm groups entered politics South: Alliance-sponsored candidates won elections West: Alliance candidates swept Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota

and Minnesota

February 1892: Farm leaders, Knights of Labor representatives and various professional reformers met in St. Louis and organized the People’s party (Populists) Issued call for national convention in July

Convention nominated General James B. Weaver of Iowa for President

THE POPULIST MOVEMENT Drafted a platform

Graduated income tax National ownership of railroads and telegraph and

telephone systems Demanded unlimited coinage of silver and an increase in

the money supply to at least $50 per capita Denounced the use of Pinkerton detectives in labor

disputes and supported the 8-hour day and restriction of “undesirable” immigrants

Populists saw themselves as a victimized majority Ambivalent about free enterprise system Attributed social and economic injustices to immoral

conspiracies organized by selfish interests

THE POPULIST MOVEMENT 1892: Presidential election saw Harrison and Cleveland re-

fight the election of 1888 Strategy in South was to wean black farmers away from

Democratic organizations Black farmers had their own Colored Alliance White Populist leaders opposed black disenfranchisement and

called for full civil rights for all End results were disappointing:

While Populists swept Kansas and elected local officials in a number of western states, success was limited to Kansas

The effort to unite white and black southerners failed miserably

Elsewhere, the party made little headway Cleveland won the election by 277 electoral votes to

Harrison’s 145 and Weaver’s 22

SHOWDOWN ON SILVER 1892 showed that the money question, especially silver coinage,

was of primary interest to voters Real underlying question was what should be done to check deflationary

cycle

Traditionally, U.S. was on bimetallic standard: Currency backed by both silver and gold the number of grains of each in a dollar adjusted periodically to reflect

their commercial value

California gold rush had depressed the price of gold silver was withdrawn and only gold circulated

Then an avalanche of silver from Nevada and Colorado depressed the price of silver so it became profitable for miners to coin their bullion But the Coinage Act of 1873 had demonetized silver

Silver miners and inflationists demanded a return to silver coinage while conservatives resisted

SHOWDOWN ON SILVER Result was a series of compromises

1878 Bland-Allison Act: authorized purchase of between $2 and $4 million of silver a month at the market price

Government purchased minimum there was little effect Commercial price of silver continued to decline

1890 Sherman Silver Purchase Act: required government to buy 4.5 million OUNCES of silver a month

supplies exceeded demand and silver prices continued to fall.

No one was happy Silver miners’ ore was still worth less than before Debtors found value of their debt rising (worth twice as

much as in 1865) Advocates of gold standard feared silver would destroy the

value of the dollar

THE DEPRESSION OF 1893

After London banking house of Baring Brothers collapsed, financial panic resulted in a worldwide industrial depression hundreds of U.S. cotton mills and iron foundries closed

permanently and millions were without jobs Cleveland believed silver controversy had shaken the

business confidence and led to depression Exerted immense pressure on special session of Congress

to repeal Sherman Silver Purchase Act in October 1893 Only result was to split Democratic party

THE DEPRESSION OF 1893 1894 and 1895: U.S. suffered worse depression it had known Spring 1894: several “armies” of unemployed marched on

Washington to demand relief Wanted government to undertake a program of federal public

works (funded by exchanging bonds for cash) Cleveland arrested leaders and used Federal troops to disperse

protestors 1895: a series of reactionary Supreme Court decisions

United States v. E.C. Knight Company:

refused to use Sherman Antitrust Act to break up the Sugar Trust

Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan and Trust Company:

invalidated a federal income tax law despite the fact one had existed during the Civil War and been upheld by the Court

Court denied a writ of habeas corpus to Eugene V. Debs and the American Railway Union


At the same time, a desperate financial situation developed Treasury’s supply of gold dwindled as people turned in

greenbacks for hard currency and foreign investors cashed out U.S. securities

Early in 1895, reserve was at low of $41 million J.P. Morgan and syndicate of bankers underwrote $62 million

in bonds, guaranteeing that half the gold would come from Europe

Cleveland administration was discredited and Populist vote increased by 42 percent


Situation forced Democrats and Republicans to take a stand on the money issue Republicans announced for the gold standard

and nominated William McKinley of Ohio Democrats called for free and unlimited coinage

of silver at a rate of 16 to 1 after a stirring speech by William Jennings Bryan, whom they nominated for president

THE ELECTION OF 1896

THE MEANING OF THE ELECTION

Election did not mark the triumph of the status quo but the coming of modern America

New discoveries of gold in Alaska and South Africa and improved methods of extracting gold from low grade ore led to an expansion of the money supply (with no need for silver)

McKinley’s approach, unlike Bryan’s, was national and he dealt pragmatically with issues

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INTELLECTUAL AND CULTURAL TRENDS of the Industrial Age Chapter 19