Module one - Gilded Age

American Society During the Gilded Age

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Because of the growth of business and the changing nature of work, social divisions became increasingly apparent in the late 19th century. These groups did not socialize, nor did they intermarry. America was increasingly becoming divided between the haves and the have nots.

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Socioeconomic Groups in the U.S.

• Nouveaux Riche

The Wealthy

• White-collar professional • Service-based careers

The Middle Class

• Skilled vs. Unskilled workers • Industrial jobs

The Working Class

• Gilded Age Society was largely divided into three distinct groups: the wealthy, the middle class, and the working class.

• In 1861, there were only a few dozen millionaires in the nation. The expansion of the economy and growth of industry, however, created a group of wealthy individuals and families with great wealth. By 1900, the richest 10% of the families in the country owned 75% of the nation’s wealth.

• Essentially, the nation’s wealth became increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. • While there were the traditionally wealthy families, those who made new fortunes in

industrialization, big business, and finance were known as the Nouveaux Riche, the New Rich. • The wealthy, whether old money or nouveaux riche, consumed their wealth conspicuously.

They showed it off by building mansions, wearing elaborate clothes, hiring servants, and a whole host of other ways.

• The Middle Class was neither wealthy nor poor. • They were people who worked with their hands or their brains. • This was the time period in which we saw the growth of white collar professionals – managers,

accountants, editors, engineers, and attorneys. • These were service-based careers, typically removed from hard physical labor.

• The Working Class was essentially everyone else. • Made up of skilled and unskilled workers who were typically involved in the production of

industrial products. • Skilled workers required some sort of training or apprenticeships. They were paid

higher wages.

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• Examples include carpenters, blacksmiths, etc. • Unskilled workers had no training beyond the position they filled at the time.

• Examples include coal shovellers, meat packers, machine operators, etc.

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• Why did they come to the cities?

• Growing up, not out

Growing American cities

• Because of the altered economy, the size of American cities exploded during this time as well. • From 1865 – 1900, the urban population of the country grew from 8 million to 30 million.

• Chicago, for example, had a population of 100,000 in 1860, but grew to 2 million by 1900.

• The maps on this slide shows two different things: the largest cities in 1880 and 1920 as well as the percentage of the population living in cities.

• What do you notice about the percentage of population living in cities in 1880 versus 1920?

• What do you notice about the locations of the cities? • The big question, of course, is why did people come to the cities? There are many reasons for that.

• 1) Immigration • Immigration has always been and continues to be part of the American historical

experiences. In 1825, only 10,000 immigrants came to American shores. From 1845 forward, the number reached and exceeded 100,000 immigrants per year, never again dipping below that number.

• In 1854, 428,000 immigrants arrived in America. • From 1900 until 1906, more than 1 million immigrants came to America. • A total of 8.4 million immigrants came to America from 1880 – 1910. • On one single day in 1907, 11,747 immigrants came through Ellis Island. • Many immigrants settled in cities either because they offered opportunities

or because they had no money to go any further. • 2) The failure of farms and homesteads

• Homesteading in the west and the establishment of farms were difficult and arduous tasks. Not everyone was successful. Some could not contend with the isolation.

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Others were subject to natural disasters. Cities offered a place to go if your farm failed for whatever reason, as well as the possibility for employment.

• 3) Job opportunities • Rural areas certainly offered the possibility of employment, but most occupations were

related to agriculture in some way. Cities offered factory work, service jobs, and other opportunities not widely available in more rural areas.

• 4) Excitement • Rural life was more traditional and a bit slower. Work revolved around the seasons, and

many families were isolated for part of the year. Cities offered year-round activity in the form of entertainment. Bars and saloons, sporting events like boxing or early professional sports, dances, vaudeville shows, and other forms of entertainment were readily available for people living in cities – and it was, arguably, more exciting. It was also, however, more dangerous in some ways. The mortality rate in cities was much higher than that of rural areas, but many still saw country living as less favorable due its remote location and lack of access to goods.

• By 1860, the majority of American cities had geographic limits like oceans and rivers which prevented them from spreading out. Instead, during the second half of the 19th century, cities began to grow up instead of out.

• The first skyscrapers were built during this time. • The first was built by William Jenney in Chicago in 1884 – the Home Insurance Building.

• These skyscrapers, however, were only feasible thanks to the invention of the elevator by Elisha Graves Otis.

• Larger bridges were also built, making new expansion possible, particularly in New York. The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge allowed for increased settlement as well.

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• “New Immigrants”

• Ethnic neighborhoods

• Tenement Houses • Multi-generational or large families • Horrific conditions • Breeds crime and vice

Impact of Immigration

• As previously stated, one of the major contributing factors to the growth of cities was immigration. • Immigrants came to the United States for a myriad of reasons. • Push factors were circumstances in their home countries which encouraged people to

immigrate. • In some places, the standard of living dropped dramatically, forcing people to choose

between possible opportunity in America and reduced circumstances in their native countries. Industrialization was also a push factor and industrialization created some jobs while destroying others. Fear of military service was also a reason to leave. If you lived in Russia and were conscripted, you were required to serve for 25 years. In Austria-Hungary, you served for 10-12 years. Famine and starvation, combined with natural disasters in some locations, also drove people away, as did political changes through revolutions and the installment of reactionary regimes.

• Pull factors were circumstances in America which attracted people. • The two most notable pull factors were the potential to own land and the possibility of

employment. • The United States seemed to have an inexhaustible amount of land, providing the

opportunity of land ownership for anyone willing to work hard. • Likewise, with growing cities, the move towards industrialization, and the discovery of

vast untapped resources (like gold and silver), jobs seemed to be abundant and the possibility of supporting a family more likely.

• Historians typically divide immigration into two groups – Old immigrants and New Immigrants. • Old immigrants were groups which had been coming to the United States since the colonial

period.

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• Prior to 1880, most immigrants came from Northern Europe and China. They came from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia.

• These groups typically assimilated easily within a few generations because of similar cultures and religious practices, but there were some exceptions.

• The Irish, for example, were familiar with basic culture, but were considered savage, drunk and stupid by the English – an opinion shared by many Americans at the time. As a group of immigrants, the Irish were set apart by two important differences.

• First, most Irish immigrants were Roman Catholic, a religion despised by most Protestants of the time period.

• Second, most Irish immigrants were poor and practically starving upon arrival.

• German immigrants were also set apart by their cultural practices, choosing to establish their own towns, using German as their daily language, and

• The Chinese came to escape a country plagued by overpopulation, floods, famine, disease, and civil war, but had been encouraged to come by American companies who actively advertised. Chinese immigrants were arguably the most isolated group of immigrants, isolated both by American society and by choice. Because they were a different race, American discrimination encouraged their isolation. Their desire to maintain cultural traditions and return to their homeland also contributed to their isolation.

• Most Chinese immigrants came to earn money to support their families; they did not consider it a permanent move. They mined abandoned gold digs, and worked in menial jobs as cooks, launderers, farmers, servants, and railroad workers.

• Jewish immigrants came from a myriad of countries, but typically stayed in urban locations.

• After 1880, large numbers of immigrants came from South and Eastern Europe, thus making them New Immigrants.

• Hailing from Italy, the Ottoman Empire, Greece, Romania, Austria-Hungary, South Russia, and the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), these “new immigrants” came from a variety of places and each experienced America differently.

• When these groups arrived, they had differences which set them apart, but they also had common difficulties.

• New immigrants were often faced with adaptation to a society based on the clock or time management instead of season-regulated tasks.

• The lack of tradition was concerning for many. • The variety of languages spoken in America’s cities could be frightening, but

also made communication difficult.

• When these “new immigrants” arrived, particularly people from Southeast Europe, many stayed in cities where they helped establish ethnic neighborhoods.

• Groups centralized themselves in a certain geographic areas or ghettoes of the city where they established their own stores, restaurants, and other institutions. An immigrant could find common language, cultural practices, foods, and customs in these neighborhoods – a little familiarity in a strange new place.

• Examples of this include Little Italy, Chinatown, and other ethnic neighborhoods. • In these neighborhoods, local organizations helped new immigrants adapt to life in America.

• The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society provided job and shelter for newly arriving Jews. • The Catholic Church offered help with food and shelter, but was separated by country of

origin. Italian churches helped Italian immigrants; Irish churches helped Irish immigrants.

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• Most immigrants, upon arrival, were relegated to menial labor jobs – industrial or otherwise – with low wages. Because of those low wages, they were often left with few options in terms of housing. Crowded living conditions were the rule. Many immigrant families lived in tenements.

• Originally, tenements were single family houses carved up into smaller and smaller apartments. Later, they were constructed on purpose.

• A typical tenement building was 5-6 stories tall, using 90% of land space of the lot. There were few windows, sometimes only at the end of hallways. Tenements used a centralized water source and restroom facilities as well as a centralized single staircase. Most tenements housed multi-generational or large families in single tenement apartments, 10-12 people at a time in 1-3 rooms.

• Because of their construction, their location, and overcrowding, problems were abundant in tenements.

• Ventilation was single windows or sometimes none. Given that most people used coal to heat their dwellings, what did that mean for air quality?

• Access to water was provided, but it was common to see rusted water spigots and contaminated water rushing through the pipes.

• Some tenements featured only single privies (outhouses) out back. Others had single restroom facilities per floor, shared by the 5-6 families. If no bathroom facilities were provided, human waste went into the street.

• Tenements also contributed to the spread of disease. Crowded living conditions proved to be breeding grounds for epidemic diseases (small pox, cholera, measles, typhus, etc.)

• Fire was also an ever-present fear with devastating consequences. Each tenement burned coal for heat and used candles or lamps for lighting until electricity became widely available. If a fire broke out, the building was evacuated using the single staircase. With 5-6 families per floor, and 5-6 floors per building, what was the likelihood that everyone would escape safely?

• Crime and Vice were also a byproduct of living in tenements. • Crime is defined as something that breaks the law – something that is illegal.

Examples include theft, assault, murder, etc. Vice is defined as something that breaks moral codes – something which is not illegal but is frowned upon by society. Examples include drinking, gambling, prostitution, and drug use.

• Pickpockets and robbery were not uncommon, particularly around pay day.

• Gangs formed both as a source of protection and as a means of self- support.

• Illegal gambling and prostitution also provided a means of income and enjoyment for the working class.

• Why do you suppose that crime and vice were commonplace in tenements and in American cities at the time?

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Progress and Poverty

• New industrial world was far different

• New hardships • Opportunities for economic and

social mobility

• How do you explain poverty? • Social Darwinism • Gospel of Success • Gospel of Wealth

• Responses?

• During the 19th century, the move towards industrial work was much different from what most Americans were used to. It created hardships for many and destroyed smaller businesses. Most Americans, however, accepted the new economic world because it appeared to be more financially promising and provided a number of opportunities for both economic and social mobility. Given those opportunities, however, many people questioned the continued existence of poverty.

• If this was the best economic system, if this system provided the most opportunities for improvement, why did poverty continue to exist in the United States.

• Three major explanations came to the forefront during this time: • Social Darwinism • The Gospel of Success • The Gospel of Wealth

• Social Darwinism was the application of Darwin’s theory of natural selection (or survival of the fittest) to society and economics.

• According to this theory, natury ensured that the most able competitors would win and improvement would continue in technology and innovations throughout the business world. This explained the existence of the wealthy – arguing that they were more fit competitors. This theory assumed that change

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over time was slow and only occurred without government interference. • The leading proponents of this theory were Herbert Spencer (of Great Britain) and

William Graham Sumner, a professor at Yale. • These mend argued that society functioned under a general law of

evolution where the poor were unfit and thus should be eliminated by nature. Government was not allowed to interfere with what was deemed a natural process of elimination. Civilization relied upon competition to reform society in a gradual way. Some Americans accepted this theory because it reflected their views of America. Those who were wealthy were rugged individualists who succeeded in spite of their conditions. Competition was a positive thing.

• However, this was not a widely accepted theory because of its indifference and coldness. This was a theory which reduced people to numbers and removed the human element. It made the assumption that people who were poor were lazy and did not work – an incredibly flawed assumption since the majority of those in poverty in the nation worked for 10-14 hours for little pay because they had no other opportunities.

• Lester Ward was a famous critic of this theory. In his book, Dynamic Sociology, Ward argued that evolution existed as two different types for human beings and society – physical and mental.

• Physical evolution had no purpose in society. Mental evolution, however, could be altered by education. Ward said that nature transformed animals and plants, but man was able to transform the environment to suit his needs. Competition, when unrestricted, was harmful to society. It didn’t promote survival – it prevented survival of the fittest.

• Ward also argued that education was the great leveler of American society, providing opportunities for the lowest classes to identify and utilize their talents to improve their situation and escape poverty.

• The Gospel of Success was another theory which sought to justify the success of the rich. • This belief was based on the premise that competition for riches was an inherent

American virtue, that the United States was built upon the desire for wealth and prosperity. Assuming the truth of that belief, proponents of the Gospel of Success (or the Social Gospel) argued that great wealth reflected great virtue. In other words, if you were a moral upstanding citizen, you would become wealthy through hard work and humility. If you were not a moral upstanding citizen, you would remain poor.

• This was an influential and popular idea amongst capitalists, businessmen, and Americans in general as it provided justification for success and wealth. It was more accommodating than Social Darwinism, arguing that every American could and should be wealthy. If a man was poor, it was his own fault – not society’s. America provided all the opportunities necessary for success, but it was up to the individual to seize those opportunities and remain virtuous.

• Authors of the period wrote stories about individuals who began life in dire and

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destitute circumstances, but rose to greatness through virtuous living and opportunity. Andrew Carnegie appeared to many as the poster boy for hard work and wealth.

• The flaw of this theory, however, was the idea that wealth was an indication of virtue. Many of the wealthiest men in America during the time period had used unscrupulous means to achieve their wealth. They were dishonest, they betrayed partners, speculated recklessly, and cut corners wherever possible.

• The Gospel of Success was Andrew Carnegie’s contribution to thoughts about poverty and wealth. Carnegie argued that while financial success bolstered the American society, it also required the man who became wealthy to use his money to provide opportunities for those less fortunate. He also went so far as to say that a rich man who died rich was a failure. Carnegie spent millions of dollars to provide libraries, schools, and other types of public service institutions.

• The response to these theories was mixed, and some did not see vast wealth as a benefit. Instead, they attacked the rich and powerful and dreamed of a nation with different responses to poverty.

• Henry George, for example, wrote a book called Progress and Poverty in 1879 where he suggested a redistribution of wealth based on a flat tax which would affect only land speculators.

• Mark Twain argued that the idea of rags to riches was simply an American myth that provided false hope. He argued instead that financial success was more likely for those who cheated and lied to their partners and customers.

• Edward Bellamy’s book, Looking Backward, told the story of a man who fell asleep and awoke in the year 2000 to find a nation without the problems of poverty and war. Everyone worked for the common good and the government ran a centralized economy. This idealistic commentary attempted to solve the problems faced by America in the late 1800s.

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Politics During the Gilded Age

Politics during the Gilded Age are typically characterized by a lack of federal involvement in daily life and control by political machines. The period had largely forgettable presidents who lacked charisma, influence, and memorable acts. Presidents Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, and Cleveland

Politics was a business unto itself, and corruption was common. In addition, Americans were very involved and politics were intensely personal and emotional.

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Gilded Age Politics

• Politics as business • System of patronage (Spoils

system) • Pork-barrel bills

• Like the economy, Gilded Age politics were often dominated by wealthy businessmen and thus became a business itself.

• This is best exemplified by the System of Patronage, also known as the Spoils System, and Pork-barrel bills.

• The System of Patronage was essentially an exchange of political support for government jobs or contracts. When a political party won an election, it then rewarded its supporters with positions or contracts, thus encouraging them to continue to support the party.

• After receiving such posts, the new government or employees were expected to pay “fees” for their posts during reelection year, providing the party with campaign funds.

• Pork-barrel bills were government contracts awarded based on party affiliation or support. Businesses who supported a party or candidate could expect to receive contracts to provide necessities for government administration, contracts for construction projects, or other financially beneficial agreements.

• Because of this system of rewards, Americans were typically fiercely loyal to their political parties and participated in every election – local, state, and federal. The average election turnout was somewhere between 70 and 80% of registered voters. Compare that to today’s numbers.

• In an average presidential election, approximately 50% of Americans eligible actually

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show up to vote. • In an average local election, approximately 10% of eligible voters show up.

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Immigration and Politics

• National Issues • Civil Service Reform

• The Pendleton Act (1883) • Bimetallism • Nativism

• Political responses to immigration • Immigration Act of 1882 • The Chinese Exclusion Act

(1882) • Alien Contract and Labor Laws

(1885, 1886)

• National politics were dominated by two political parties – the Democrats and the Republicans.

• Democrats drew support from the South and in New York City. Republicans drew support from the Northeast, Midwest, and African Americans while they could vote.

• The national parties were more powerful than today, but avoided controversial issues over concern of losing votes. They had different opinion on the tariff,

• Third parties like the Prohibitionists and Populists also developed during this time, but remained on the fringes until the election of 1896.

• The most significant issue of the time for political parties was corruption and Civil Service Reform.

• Both parties had corrupt officials, but both parties also had internal groups who wanted to eliminate corruption as well. In 1883, following the assassination of President Garfield by a disgruntled Republican who had been turned down for a government job, Congress passed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act.

• The Pendleton Act created the Civil Service Commission to oversee the implementation of a civil service exam, a competitive merit test, for federal jobs. Instead of using the system of patronage, this new law was the first step in ensuring that qualified and capable individuals were hired by the federal government.

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• A second significant national issue was currency and bimetallism. • Following the Civil War, the amount of money in circulation had decreased,

causing deflation to occur. In addition, Congress passed a law in 1873 requiring that all coins be made out of gold. This was particularly controversial at the time because silver mines were extracting more and more silver in the west.

• Two different schools of thought emerged concerning backing for U.S. currency. • The Gold Standard argued that only gold should be used as currency.

Supporters of this idea argued that it created a sound money system and would help control inflation. Those involved in banking and finance as well as those who received pensions from the government supported this school of thought.

• Bimetallism, however, argued that both gold and silver should be used as currency as well as paper money. Supporters of this idea wanted to see some inflation occur, thus causing higher prices to be paid. Farmers, those with significant debts, and silver miners supported this school of thought.

• Eventually, the Gold Standard won out, defeating supporters of bimetallism, but this practice also contributed to the development and length of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

• A third national political issue was Immigration and American response to it. • As immigration grew and changed rapidly in the second half of the nineteenth

century, many Americans were concerned with the economic, political, and cultural impact of the United States. For some Americans, nativism seemed an appropriate response.

• Nativism was a movement of exclusion. White, native-born, Protestant Americans were often hostile to European immigrants. It attracted all levels of society. The middle and upper classes saw the “new” immigrants as socially inferior people who lacked intelligence and experience. The working class also gravitated towards nativism because they saw immigrants as competition. When combined with political discontent and economic troubles, the working class believed that these new immigrants took away American jobs, caused an increase in crime, drank too much, and were poor. In other words, immigrants were a threat to the American way of life that was inherently superior to all other races. Xenophobia, a general fear or hatred of foreign people, was the hallmart of the movement.

• Nativists hated Roman Catholics particularly, as they did not conform to the same religious beliefs or practices. They also believed that these immigrants polluted politics through ignorant voting and feared Catholic influence on the political process. They blamed immigrants for social, political, and economic troubles, and thus worked to limit immigrant rights by getting involved in a variety of institutions and pushing for political solutions to this “threat.”

• Throughout American history, Congress has passed laws regulating immigration. At this time, many of those laws were frequently were rooted in racial and ethnic prejudice.

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• The Immigration Act of 1882 imposed a head tax on all noncitizens and restricted certain classes of people from immigrating – criminals, the insane, or “any person unable to take care of him or herself.”

• The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first federal law to restrict immigration based on race. It barred all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. This law was renewed and extended over the course of the last 20 years of the 19th century, and then extended indefinitely until 1943.

• The Alien Contract and Labor Laws were passed in 1885 and 1886 respectively. These laws prohibited the importation and migration of foreigners and aliens under contract or agreement to perform work.

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Early Attempts at Regulation

• Interstate Commerce Act (1887)

• Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)

• In spite of the laissez faire belief of the late 19th century, there were early attempts at regulation.

• The Interstate Commerce Act, passed in 1887, regulated shipping rates among railroad companies and ended the practices of pooling and rebating. This law created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), the first truly federal regulatory agency, to address the issues of railroad abuse and discrimination.

• This law required railroad shipping rates to be “reasonable and just.” Companies were required to publish their rates, and secret rates were outlawed. Price discrimination against small markets was also made illegal.

• Though positive in its intentions, the ICC was severely limited in manpower and enforcement strength in courts. The Commission was granted the power to investigate abuses and summon witnesses, but lacked the resources to accomplish its goals. Often, presidents appointed pro-railroad commissioners to assure that reform wouldn’t go too far. The law was worded very vaguely and thus difficult to enforce.

• The Sherman Anti-trust Act, passed in 1890, was based on the constitutional power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. Various states had passed similar laws, but they were limited to intrastate businesses.

• This law declared illegal every contract, combination (trust or

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otherwise), or conspiracy in restraint of interstate foreign trade. This is the oldest of America’s anti-trust laws, the first action taken by the federal government to place limits on business monopolies and cartels.

• Its goals were simple: • 1) Protect consumers from big businesses using unscrupulous

means to raise prices artificially. • 2) To break up monopolies formed by combinations through

trusts. • This law authorized the federal government to institute proceedings

against trusts in order to dissolve them, but little to no action was taken for the first 11 years that the law was on the books. In the beginning, Supreme Court rulings prevented enforcement for some years. It began to be invoked with some success, thanks to Teddy Roosevelt, in the early 20th century.

• Violations of the law were treated as misdemeanors. Businesses could receive a maximum $5,000 fine and imprisonment for one year for violating the law. Like ICC, the law was vaguely worded and the courts tended to side with the trusts. Simply changing your company’s name to eliminate the word trust allowed businesses to escape investigation or federal involvement. Ironically, however, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was used against labor unions and farm cooperatives, arguing that they violated the law by organizing workers and farmers which prevented free market trade.

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Local Politics

• Loyalty to party

• Political Machines • Political bosses • Voting recruitment • Winning elections • Jobs • Boss Tweed and New York’s

Tammany Hall

• Why did people support this?

• Like national politics, local politics was dominated by loyalty to party. Winning elections for the party mattered more than the issues in many cases. Local politics were run by political machines, a term that referred to the organization of political parties and their ability to produce political candidates who could win elections.

• Political machines were run by a political boss. • A political boss’s profession was winning elections, and his productivity

was determined by the number of votes he could garner. Rank depended productivity.

• He was responsible for coordinating voting recruitment, and winning elections. In the off years, the boss worked to keep all factions within the party happy using patronage and pork-barrel projects, as well as maintaining control of the city treasury.

• Supporters were rewarded with city jobs in law enforcement, sanitation, and other forms of employment.

• Bosses also accepted kickbacks and bribes in return for ignoring blatantly illegal activity from unlicensed saloons to brothels to gambling dens and drug sales. Influence was a commodity for political bosses, and the law provided them with both the opportunity and the power to use it to their advantage.

• Unlike national politicians, local bosses were usually blunt, to the point,

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and pulled no punches. They did what was necessary. They accommodated all ethnic groups and any boss that delivered votes was acceptable, regardless of background.

• In large cities, many of the political bosses came from Irish heritage. They were successful political bosses for a number of reasons. First, they came from a political background which had denied them participation in government, making them very willing to participate in the United States. Second, they loved eloquent speakers and spoke English, giving them a head start when compared to groups like the Italians and Germans.

• The most infamous of the political bosses was William “Boss” Tweed, the infamous leader of New York’s Tammany Hall.

• Tweed was not a lawyer by trade, but was paid by various city millionaires as a “legal consultant.” His legal consulting, however, simply referred to his ability to purchase the decisions of judges.

• Kickbacks and bribes were a regular of this system. Most bosses supplied the city with various products at exorbitant prices. Boss Tweed owned a printing company and sold the city bottles of ink for $5 a piece, with the profit margin absorbed into his pocket. The Tweed Ring, Boss Tweed’s organization, bilked the city out of $200 million.

• The question that many ask is why taxpayers and voters accepted the illegal activities of their elected officials. In many cases, these elected officials ran against candidates who promised honest government, but the citizenry was willing to retain its corrupt leaders because of what they got in return. Political bosses and elected officials provided social services to the most desperate people in the city.

• Boss Tweed, for example, purchased coal during the winter of 1870 and dumped it on street corners to provide heat for those who were freezing.

• Boss Tim Sullivan of Boston was known for giving away 5,000 turkeys every December to poor families.

• Political bosses and locally elected officials were intimately involved with their constituents. Births, deaths, christenings, and first communions did not go unnoticed as with other politicians. They threw parties to provide escape from the drudgeries of life in the city. They helped people who had run-ins with the law and provided employment in the absence of opportunity. Despite their faults, the political machine and political bosses were useful, necessary, and integral parts of life in the cities.

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Organizing the individualists

• Farming organizations • Patrons of Husbandry (The Grange)

• Original purpose – socialization • Munn v. Illinois

• Farmers’ Alliances • Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific

Railway Co. v. Illinois • The Co-Op movement

• Cooperative purchases of machinery

• Non-profit entities

• Like the industrial workers, farmers saw some benefit in organizing themselves to work for better conditions, prices, and general living conditions. Following the Civil War, a number of farming organizations began to sprout up across the country.

• The Patrons of Husbandry, also known as the Grange, was the first example. First founded in the 1860s as a social and cultural organization. They held dances, fairs, and lectures in an effort to unite, educate, and entertain farmers and their families. During the 1870s, they became the primary focal point of Midwest agricultural protest focused on economic freedom. They managed to secure the passage of Granger laws at the state level which regulated railroads by setting maximum rates for hauling and storing. Railroad owners, however, cried foul and sued the states which passed them. In Munn v. Illinois, the Supreme Court ruled that state regulation of this type was legal when a business affected the public interest.

• With the successful passage of legislation, the Grange declined in the 1880s, but Farmers’ Alliances emerged as their replacement. Farmers’ Alliances were similar in their desire to improve the lives of farmers, but were organized regionally and by race. There was Midwest Farmers Alliance, a Southern Farmers Alliance, and a Colored Farmers Alliance. These groups also tended to steer clear of politics, resulting in an overturning of the Granger Laws in 1886 by the case of Wabash v. Illinois in 1886. This court ruling overturned the Granger

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laws, ruling that only the federal government could regulate interstate commerce. Railroads ran through multiple states rather than a single one, thus making them subject to national oversight.

• The Grange and Farmers’ Alliances gave way to the Co-Op movement. The Co-Op movement created non-profit consumer cooperatives where farmers could join forces to purchase and share machinery. They built grain elevators and took storage business away from the railroads, trying to end farmers’ dependence on banks and railroads.

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The Populists

• 1890s – Combined needs of farmers with support for bimetallism

• Platform of reform • Direct election of Senators • Secret ballots • Initiative, referendum, and recall • Abolition of national banks • Government ownership of telegraph

and railroads • Progressive income tax • Free and unlimited coinage of silver

• Because of these developments, a new political party which emerged in the 1890s which combined different groups from the Gilded Age including farmers, bimetallist supporters, industrial labor, and other fringe groups to work towards change and reform through politics.

• The Populists were established in 1890, and their following grew tremendously over the next few years. By 1892, they held their own delegation in Omaha, Nebraska where they formed a national party and nominated their own presidential candidate. Many people believed this party was a collection of crazy folks, but their platform was no joke. They created a broad, sweeping program of reform with political and economic changes. This platform included support for all of the following:

• Direct election of Senators was a way to expand the democratic process by allowing the people to elect their own senators. Until the 20th century, senators were chosen by state legislators.

• Secret ballots would allow people to vote their conscious without fear of reprisal from political machines. Up to this point, votes were cast out loud and in public.

• Initiative encouraged the people to put together and submit legislation for consideration with citizen signatures.

• Referendum allowed the citizens to vote directly on issues such as constitutional amendments and tax measures rather than leaving it solely to the legislature.

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• Recall provided a process to remove corrupt officials without having to wait for another election.

• The abolition of national banks would provide more local control and service. • Government ownership of telegraph and railroads would ensure standardized

rates and fees for transportation and communication. • A Progressive income tax would reduce the burden of taxes on farmers and

workers, placing a larger responsibility on those with greater income. • Free and unlimited coinage of silver would benefit those involved in silver mining,

but also farmers and those with debts by providing a cheaper way to pay off debts.

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The Populists

• Rocketed to the forefront in 1893 with Depression

• Election of 1896 • William Jennings Bryan (D) • William McKinley (R) • William Jennings Bryan (P)

• Short-lived party, but parts of the platform absorbed into later progressive reforms

When a Depression began in 1893, the Populists gained increasing support from sectors of the American economy that suffered as they looked for alternative solutions to the problems facing the nation. That increased following gave them a greater deal of political influence. In 1896, rather than supporting a third party candidate, the Populists threw their support behind William Jennings Bryan, a young and inexperienced Democrat from Nebraska who took on some of the Populists reform agenda as his platform. The Republicans nominated William McKinley, a traditional experiences Republican candidate who supported the gold standard. McKinley won the election in spite of an impressive campaign by Bryan. The Populist party was short-lived, falling apart by 1900, but the platform of reform was later absorbed in Progressivism.

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ConclusionsConclusions

• The Gilded Age saw great wealth – and great despair.

• When combined with changes taking place in the American West, changes in business practices, labor movements, and other social developments, this period of American history gave way to a period of great reform.

The Gilded Age was a period of great wealth and great challenges. When combined with changes taking place in the American West and South, this period of American history gave way to a period of great reform.

This lecture has focused on the changes taking place in terms of economics, politics, and society. Lecture 2 will focus on changes taking place in the South and the West during the same time period.

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