Welcome to the Review of American History Gilded Age through Imperialism

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Welcome to the Review of American HistoryGilded
Age through Imperialism
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The Gilded Age 1877-1900

• While the rich wore diamonds, many wore rags. In
  1890, 11 million of the nation's 12 million
  families earned less than 1200 per year of this
  group, the average annual income was 380, well
  below the poverty line. Rural Americans and new
  immigrants crowded into urban areas. Tenements
  spread across city landscapes, teeming with crime
  and filth. Americans had sewing machines,
  phonographs, skyscrapers, and even electric
  lights, yet most people labored in the shadow of
  poverty.

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What was the Gilded Age and its approximate dates?
A period of great industrial and economic
growth in the U. S. between 1877-1900 (End
of Reconstruction to the turn of the
Century). The U. S. grew faster than any
other country in the world at the time, and
quickly became the choice investment area by
Europeans. A "golden period when capitalism
flourished, laissez-faire was government
policy, and some reforms began.
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Factors that made the Gilded Age a tremendous
growth period.

• Tremendous growth of the American population
• B. An energetic population who was eager to work
  
• C. Great amounts of wealth from gold, silver,
  and oil
• D. An aggressive group of
• capitalistic entrepreneurs
• E. Great improvements in
• transportation and
• communications

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Role of the Railroads in the Development of the
United States
a. Railroads helped connect the eastern
and western sections of the U. S. b. They
helped people settle the western areas
faster. c. Railroads could go almost
anywhere d. Railroads helped end Native
American control of the West e. Time zones were
set up in the U. S. because of railroad
travel f. Increased Chinese and Irish
immigration as workers to build railroads.
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The Role of Robber Barons
They made the U. S. the industrial, economic, and
transportation giant of the whole world. Their
methods were brutal and aggressive. Profit and
power were their goals.
Astor House
John D. Rockefeller- Standard Oil Company Andrew
Carnegie Carnegie Steel Corp. J. P. Morgan N.
Y. Banker and Financier Cornelius Vanderbilt
Steamships and Railroads
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Gilded Age Inventors

• Cyrus Field - laid the first transAtlantic
  telegraph cable between the U.S. and Europe
• Alexander G. Bell - invented the telephone, a
  metal detector, hearing
• devices, and made improvements to the
  telegraph
• Thomas Alva Edison - patented over 1100
  inventions including the light bulb, motion
  picture camera, a dynamo, phonograph, an improved
  
• telegraph.
• Christopher Sholes - first practical typewriter
• Edwin L. Drake - drilled first oil well at
  Titusville, Penn. in 1859
• Henry Bessemer - English inventor of the process
  to make steel from iron
• Elias Howe - invented a sewing machine
• George Washington Carver - many uses for peanuts
  and sweet potatoes
• Frank Woolworth - Chain department stores
• Aaron Montgomery Ward - first mail order business
• John Deere - iron plow and later tractor
• Cyrus McCormick - grain harvester
• Elisha Otis - electric elevator for buildings.
  Made skyscrapers possible.

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Gilded Age Immigration

• American industrialists welcomed immigration and
  encouraged it. Immigrants worked cheaper and
  seldom joined unions or complained about working
  conditions.
• The Irish came to America in the 1840s because of
  the potato famine. The Chinese came to the U. S.
  for the gold rush in the 1850s, and as
  construction workers on the transcontinental
  railroad in 1864. In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion
  Act was passed forbidding most Chinese from
  entering the U. S.
• Between 1890-1914 3.6 million Italians arrived in
  the U. S. in search of work and a better life.
  They created Little Italys in many major
  cities.
• The OLD IMMIGRANTS before 1880 adapted to life in
  the U. S. rather easy. Many had money, created
  they own communities and became prosperous.
  Immigrants after 1880, the NEW IMMIGRANTS, found
  life difficult. Many of them were poor,
  illiterate and not prepared for the industrial U.
  S. They quickly became slum dwellers living in
  poor GHETTOS. E. Europeans.
• From 1892 to 1954, Ellis Island processed nearly
  twelve million immigrants who landed there is
  search of economic, political, or religious
  freedom.

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Gilded Age Labor Organizations

• Labor unions were organized to improve working
  conditions, wages, and safety conditions by
  combining the workers and threatening to stop
  work if their demands were not met.
• Major Unions of the Gilded Age
• 1. Knights of Labor (1872-1886)
  Terence Powderly. Allowed
• women, Blacks, and unskilled
  workers. Violent strikes.
• 2. American Federation of Labor
  (1886-1910) Samuel Gompers.
• Most successful of early unions.
  Avoid reformers and violent
• strikes.
• 3. Congress of Industrial Organizations
  (1890-1910) split with
• A.F. of L. but rejoined in 1910.
  Led by George Meany.
• 4. A.F. of L./ C. I. O formed in 1910
  when the two groups
• rejoined. George Meany became
  leader.

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Major Gilded Age Labor Strikes

• Haymarket Square Strike (1886) K. of L. started
  a strike and rally against McCormick Harvester
  Co. Anarchists joined the rally and threw a
  bomb killing 7 policemen and wounding others. K.
  of L. was blamed and its membership declined.
• Pullman Strike - (1894) Eugene V. Debs of the
  Amer. Railway Union called a strike against the
  Pullman Co. over wages, and stopped trains. The
  company owners asked for government help to
  deliver the mail. Pres. Cleveland sent troops to
  break up the strike. Debs arrested and jailed.

Eugene V. Debs
Grover Cleveland
Haymarket Square Riot
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Populists and their Goals

• The Populists were a group of reformers during
  the late 1800s who organized a political party,
  won elections, and worked for many changes in
  American social and political life.
• Populist Goals
• 1. 8 hour day for federal employees
• 2. 10 hour work day for women
• 3. End of child labor (12 and under)
• 4. Increase in minting of silver money in
  circulation
• 5. Use of secret ballot in elections
• 6. Restrictions on immigration,
  particularly Chinese
• 7. Direct election of senators
• 8. Suffrage rights for women

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Absolutely Know This Supreme Court Case!!!

• Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896)
• was a landmark United States Supreme court
  decision upholding the constitutionality of
  racial segregation even in public accommodations
  (particularly railroads), under the doctrine of
  separate but equal treatment. This case set
  the precedent for segregation in the United
  States for the next 5o years, until 1954.

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Native Americans during the Gilded Age

• During the 1860s and 1870s, the Sioux fought hard
  to keep control of their traditional hunting
  grounds in the North and South Dakota area.
• Settlers, prospectors, and the army all tried at
  times to push the Sioux out of their land.
• The Sioux leaders were Red Cloud, Crazy Horse,
  and Sitting Bull. By the 1870s, these leaders
  led their people off the reservations in the
  hopes of returning to their traditional
  lifestyles.
• 1876 - Custers Massacre at the Little Bighorn
  River by the Sioux led by Crazy Horse and Sitting
  Bull.
• 1877 Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe was
  captured by the
• U. S. Army as he tried to escape to Canada.
  From where the sun now stands, I will fight no
  more forever.
• 1890 Army massacre of nearly 300 Sioux men,
  women, and children at Wounded Knee, S.D.
  Last of major Indian wars.

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American Imperialism
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Ideas that guided the U. S. from 1790s to 1890s.

• Monroe Doctrine - closed the W. Hemisphere to
  European colonization
• b. Isolation - after the Civil War the U. S. was
  more interested in developing itself internally
  than in becoming involved in foreign affairs

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Alfred T. Mahan and the Imperialists
Alfred T. Mahan wrote a book entitled, The
Influence of Sea Power Upon History. In his
book, Mahan suggested that every great world
power in history had had a great navy to support
it. This book became a favorite of Theodore
Roosevelt and others who wanted to make the U. S.
a world power. They pushed for the creation of a
new all metal American navy and the creation of
an American empire. This group became the
biggest supporters of American imperialism.
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What were the major causes of the
Spanish-American War of 1898?

• a. Spanish oppression of the Cuban people during
  a series of revolt between 1880-1895. American
  sympathy for the Cuban people.
• b. American desire for Cuba - Issued Teller
  Amendment to deny this.
• c. Yellow Journalism - Hearst and Pulitzer's
  newspapers printed news
• stories that stirred up the public against
  Spain.
• d. DeLôme Letter - letter from Senor Depuy
  DeLôme, foreign
• minister to friend in Cuba, criticizing
  McKinley and the U. S.'s
• involvement with Cuba.
• e. Sinking of the Maine battleship in Havana
  harbor - ship was
• sunk under mysterious conditions and Spain
  was blamed.
• f. Imperialistic mood in the U. S. - T.
  Roosevelt and others favored a
• war to show America's strength.

DeLôme Letter
Yellow Boys cartoon
Hearst
Pulitzer
Alfred Mahan
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Remember the Maine
The U. S. S. Maine
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What were the results of the Spanish-American
War and The Treaty of Paris of 1898?

• a. Cuba got its independence from Spain
• b. The U. S. defeated a European nation and
  became a world power
• c. The U. S. acquired a colonial empire
  Philippines, Guam, Hawaii, and Samoan Islands.

Treaty of Paris 1898
Emilio Aquinaldo
Cuba
Samoan Islands
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Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

• In 1902 and again in 1904, Theodore Roosevelt had
  to use U. S. military forces to make two
  countries in the Western Hemisphere pay their
  debts to European countries to prevent the
  Europeans from invading the Western Hemisphere.
• T. R called this policy the Roosevelt Corollary
  to the Monroe Doctrine. It said the U. S. might
  have to use force to make some W. Hemisphere
  countries behave in order to uphold the Monroe
  Doctrines practice of keeping Europeans out.

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What were the reasons the U. S. felt the "Open
Door Policy" was necessary?

• a. Several European countries had taken over
  land from the weak
• Chinese govt. and created "Spheres of
  influences."
• The U. S. wanted part of the profitable Chinese
  trade.
• The U. S. also felt China should have control
  over its own land.
• b. Sec. John Hay sent messages to the European
  nations asking them to open up their "spheres" to
  all nations for trade and to restore Chinese
  integrity. When they didn't answer he informed
  the world press that they had agreed which forced
  them to comply some.

Spheres of Influence
John Hay
Slicing the Chinese Pie
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What were the reasons the U. S. was interested
in a Central American canal? What were the two
suggested routes?

• a. 1. To shorten the distance for naval ships to
  travel and make it
• possible to have a 2 ocean navy.
• 2. To make it more profitable for trade
  between the west coast
• and east coast and with South America.
• b. Through Nicaragua which was flatter but
  longer distance and through Panama which
  was shorter but more mountainous.

Panama and the canal zone
Roosevelts Big Stick
Traveling through the canal
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Discuss how the U. S. obtained control of the
land through Panama to build a canal.

• The U. S. encouraged Panama to rebel from
  Columbia, and blocked Columbia's attempts to stop
  the rebellion.
• After its independence Panama signed the
  Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty with the U. S. giving
  the U. S. a lease on the 10 mi. wide canal zone
  for 10 mil. and 250,000 a yr. payment.
• Panama later claimed that it was tricked into
  signing the agreement by Bunau-Varilla, a
  Frenchman, and the U. S.

Columbia in T. R.s sights
Through the canal
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Dollar Diplomacy and the Good Neighbor Policy

• Dollar Diplomacy- the U. S. belief that American
• money, influence, or military might can
  accomplish anything the U. S. wants. Practiced by
  Pres. Taft
• Good Neighbor Policy-attempt to create a better
  image of the U. S. with our neighbors in the
  Western Hemisphere by cooperation instead of
  bullying. Practiced by Pres. Wilson

Taft
Wilson
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How did the Roosevelt Corollary and "Dollar
Diplomacy" affect U. S. relations with South
America?

• The Central and Latin American countries thought,
  and still think, that the U. S. tries to either
  buy everything it wants or uses its military
  might to force everyone to obey it.
• They see the U. S. as the "Bully in the North."

Roosevelt and his Big Stick Policy