Where to begin? Post-Civil War Era marked by the rebuilding of
the South and reintegration of Southern states into the Union Civil
War ends in April 1865 This begins the process of Reconstruction
Reconstruction lasts until the Compromise of 1877
Slide 3
Effects of the Civil War Prior to the Civil War Americans were
divided on politics, lifestyle, and slavery The biggest point of
debate was the question of whether the federal or state governments
would have control The Civil War firmly decided this in favor of
the federal government
Slide 4
Industrial Revolution Industry expanded rapidly after the Civil
War Industrial goods and products become prime commodities Steel
Oil Chemicals Textiles
Slide 5
Steel One of the biggest industrial products Allowed for the
building of many things including railroads and skyscrapers Mass
production facilitated by the Bessemer Process, discovered in the
1850s Steel industry taken over by Andrew Carnegie
Slide 6
Andrew Carnegie Scottish immigrant born poor Worked from the
time he was a boy One job as an assistant on a railroad Offered an
investment opportunity in a steel mill Eventually sold U.S. Steel
to J.P. Morgan for $480 million By the time he died he had given
away nearly his entire fortune
Slide 7
Andrew Carnegie Wrote The Gospel of Wealth Argued that the rich
have an obligation to care for the poor and give back to society
Numerous parks, libraries, schools, and venues named after him
Slide 8
Secrets to Carnegies Success Two major items Vertical
Integration: to control all steps of the production process Allowed
Carnegie to cut costs by eliminating profit margins of other
service companies Efficiency Carnegie saved and reused all steel,
ran machines full time, and never slowed production
Slide 9
John D. Rockefeller Ruthless and determined oil tycoon Known
for aggressive business practices Frequently engaged in price wars
and relied on capital reserves to force closure of other companies
Created the Standard Oil Company and trusts to avoid anti-monopoly
laws
Slide 10
John D. Rockefeller Standard Oil had a virtual monopoly on the
U.S. oil industry Controlled over 90% of the U.S. oil supply, also
accounted for 2/3 of the world oil supply Was the worlds first
billionare
Slide 11
Monopolies Controlling all of one level of the production
process Also can be called Horizontal Integration This gave
Rockefeller the ability to control prices Generally tolerated on
the theory of
Slide 12
Social Darwinism An adapted version of Charles Darwins theory
Darwins book Origin of Species published in 1859 Chief tenet was
the survival of the fittest This model was applied to business
Could be taken to extremes
Slide 13
Laissez-Faire Economics Hands Off Government policy for most of
the Gilded Age, minimal involvement in the economy Certain policies
naturally affect the economy Tariffs Taxes Subsidies Overall,
minimal regulation
Slide 14
Laissez-Faire Economics One notable exception: Munn vs.
Illinois Railroads were price gouging farmers Supreme Court upheld
the right of the state of Illinois to regulate freight prices This
was an exception to the rule The government usually stayed out
Slide 15
Socialism Pioneered by Karl Marx Marx disturbed at the poverty
of working class Europeans Basic premise is equal distribution of
wealth Goal is a class-less society Government becomes unnecessary
as mankind enters utopia
Slide 16
Communism Same basic goal as socialism but less idealistic
Believes that the government must exist to facilitate the
Revolution and to guarantee the equal distribution of resources
Much more aggressive and militaristic Popularized in 1917 by
Vladimir Lenin
Slide 17
Socialism & Communism in the U.S. Neither ideology gained
much popularity in the U.S. Why? Stories like Carnegie and others
made people believe a better life was possible, unlike socialism
Socialist and Communist parties did form in the U.S. but with
limited success Most of their impact was made in labor reform
Slide 18
Working Conditions Working conditions were abysmal Wages were
extremely low Many jobs required 12-14 hour days, 6 days a week
Hazardous working conditions No recourse for injured workers No
child labor laws
Slide 19
Child Labor
Slide 20
Labor Unions Began to form to address plight of workers Used
collective bargaining and organized protests to try and force
employers to improve conditions Led to numerous strikes and
violence during the 19 th 20 th centuries Slow progress most
strikes failed but ultimately made many gains for workers
Slide 21
Labor Unions Samuel Gompers and the American Federation of
Labor focused on skilled labor, anti- Socialist Eugene Debs and the
Industrial Workers of the World Socialist Numerous others for
various industries
Slide 22
Age of the City Urbanization: Massive growth of the cities This
trend still continues today Two major sources of people coming into
the cities Immigrants Farmers
Slide 23
Immigrants Most immigrants coming from Europe In the late 19 th
century this was primarily Italy and Eastern Europe Tended to
settle in ethnic communities within the cities (Manhattan Island
today)
Slide 24
Farmers Farmers also poured into the cities at this time
Increases in farming technology and falling crop prices reduced the
need for the number of farmers Fewer farmers could now produce more
food The Industrial Revolution was applied to farming
Slide 25
Slide 26
Nativism The backlash against incoming immigrants Immigrants
lowered wages and often lived in slums Usually took a long time to
acclimate to American life Seldom spoke English, sometimes after
several generations in the country
Slide 27
Life in the Cities Living conditions bad initially Poor housing
options Dumbbell Houses
Slide 28
Life in the Cities Over time conditions improved Electricity
Running water Sewer systems Mass Transit Sanitation services
Professional police and fire departments
Slide 29
The Political Machines Placeholder Study on own for now, Boss
Tweed, Thomas Nast, etc
Slide 30
Out West The Great Plains still dominated by Native Americans
Nearly 250,000 Sioux and other tribes Only 25,000 U.S. Cavalry to
deal with them Indian Wars took place between 1870s and 1890 Often
extremely brutal with massacres on both sides Most famous was the
Battle of Little Bighorn
Slide 31
Plains Indians Advantages: Excellent light cavalry Well armed
Outnumbered U.S. Army Disadvantages: No central leadership Entirely
dependent on buffalo
Slide 32
Little Big Horn Blackfoot Sioux left the reservation in South
Dakota Miners discovered gold on their burial grounds U.S. Army
sent to force them back onto the reservation Col. George Custer and
a scouting force of 264 men attacked over 2,500 Indian warriors
They lost
Slide 33
Wounded Knee Last Indian battle in 1890 Blackfoot Sioux rumored
to be doing the Ghost Dance U.S. Army sent to investigate Killed an
entire village of nearly 300, mostly women and children
Slide 34
Cowboys Spanish word for cowboy vaquero The main job was to get
the longhorn cattle from Texas to the railroad stations in Kansas
and Missouri Long, dull, and uninteresting work Provided vital meat
source for cities in the east
Slide 35
Farmers on the Great Plains Difficult life on the Great Plains
Farming only made possible by two inventions Steel plow Windmill
Often people forced to live in dirt houses soddies
Slide 36
Farmers Organize Farmers faced social and political isolation
Organization came in at least three forms: Granges social and
educational organization Farmers Alliance political group to fight
for farmers Populist Party formed by Alliance leaders in 1892
Slide 37
Populist Goals Farmers wanted to reverse trend of deflation
Demanded several things to make this happen: Print more currency
Paper currency over coinage Currency backed by gold AND silver,
aka
Slide 38
Bimetallism Currency backed by both silver and gold Enforced by
the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 Problems came with an
overabundant supply of silver Gold began leaving the treasury Led
to the Panic of 1893 as the U.S. govt. neared bankruptcy Saved by
J.P. Morgan personally restoring investor confidence
