S apt ect er ion 25 1 Section 1 Terms and People Jim Crow laws poll tax literacy test grandfather clause gre tion and Social Tensions

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1 Terms and People Jim Crow laws laws that kept blacks and whites segregated poll tax a tax which voters were required to pay to vote literacy test a test, given at the polls to see if a voter could read, used to disenfranchise black citizens grandfather clause a law which allowed a person to vote only if his ancestors had voted prior to 1866, also used to disenfranchise black citizens

2 Terms and People (continued) Booker T. Washington the most famous black leader during the late 19th century, he encouraged African Americans to build up their economic resources through hard work W.E.B. Du Bois a black leader in the late 19 th century who disagreed with Washington and argued that blacks should demand full and immediate equality Ida B. Wells an African American teacher who bought a newspaper and embarked on a lifelong crusade against the practice of lynching

3 Terms and People (continued) Las Gorras Blancas a group of Mexican Americans who protested their loss of land in the Southwest by targeting the property of large ranch owners

4 How were the civil and political rights of certain groups in America undermined during the years after Reconstruction? In the course of the Gilded Age, the equal rights extended to African Americans during Reconstruction were narrowed. This move away from equality for all had a lasting impact on society in the United States.

5 Federal troops were removed from the South in Ways in which blacks right to vote was restricted in the South: poll taxes literacy tests grandfather clauses violence Segregation via Jim Crow laws became the norm, and blacks lost voting rights.

6 The many strategies used to keep black voters away from the polls were very effective.

7 In addition to losing their voting rights, blacks also faced widespread segregation in the South and in the North. The constitutionality of Jim Crow laws was upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson. Still, African Americans refused to accept their status as second-class citizens. Several important leaders emerged and called for equality.

8 Booker T. Washington was the most famous black leader of the late 19 th century. Washington believed that black citizens should accommodate themselves to segregation and build up their own economic resources through hard work.

9 Some disagreed with Booker T. Washington. W.E.B. Du Bois argued that blacks should demand full and equal rights immediately. Du Bois felt the burden of achieving equality should not rest on the shoulders of African Americans alone. Another black leader was Ida B. Wells, who devoted her life to the crusade against lynching.

10 In the Southwest, four out of five Mexican Americans lost their land after the Mexican- American War, despite a treaty which guaranteed their property rights. Las Gorras Blancas, a Mexican American group, fought for their rights by inflicting property damage on landowners and publishing grievances in their own newspaper.

11 Chinese immigrants also faced racial prejudice in the West at this time. Faced with severe job discrimination, some Chinese- Americans started their own businesses.

12 Prior to the Civil War, women played a large role in reform movements, including the call to abolish slavery. Leaders wanted to further the rights of women and were disappointed when women were not included in the 14th and 15th Amendments. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869.

13 Susan B. Anthony voted in an election in 1872 and was arrested. Awaiting trial, she toured the nation, delivering a powerful speech on the issue. Activists did not secure women s suffrage during the 19th century.

14 Terms and People spoils system a system in which politicians awarded government jobs to loyal party workers with little regard for their qualifications civil service a system that includes federal jobs in the executive branch Pendleton Civil Service Act a law passed in 1883 that established a Civil Service Commission, which wrote a civil service exam gold standard using gold as the basis of the nation s currency

15 Why did the political structure change during the Gilded Age? Congress passed few laws between 1877 and 1900, in an era marked by inaction and political corruption. The Gilded Age raised questions about whether or not democracy could succeed.

16 Between 1877 and 1897, party loyalties were evenly divided. Neither political party achieved control of both the White House and Congress for more than two years in a row. Presidents during the Gilded Age were elected only by slim margins.

17 Corruption plagued national politics as many officials accepted bribes.

18 Writers, such as Mark Twain, expressed concerns over the corruption. The spoils system, in which party supporters received government jobs regardless of their qualifications, shifted power to a few. This system made the political parties extremely powerful.

19 A movement arose to promote civil service reform. Ending the spoils system was difficult. Change finally happened, in part, because President James Garfield was assassinated by a man who believed the Republican Party owed him a job.

20 Chester A. Arthur became President and supported civil service reform. In 1883, he signed into law the Pendleton Civil Service Act, which established a merit-based system for government employment.

21 The economic issues of tariffs and monetary policy caused debate during the Gilded Age. Tariffs taxed imported goods, which supported American industry but increased consumer prices. Monetary policy disputes concerned the gold standard, where gold became the basis of the nation s currency.

22 Monetary policy centered on a debate over the Coinage Act of Some people wanted to use only gold as money. Some wanted to use both gold and silver. Bankers were worried silver would undermine the economy. Farmers favored it to create inflation and raise their income.

23 Terms and People Oliver H. Kelley a Minnesota farmer and businessman who organized the Grange Grange an organization of farmers who joined to learn about new farming techniques, to call for the regulation of railroad and grain elevator rates, and to prompt the establishment of the ICC Populist Party a political party formed in 1892 on a platform of silver coinage, government ownership of the railroads, and fighting the corrupt and unresponsive elite

24 Terms and People (continued) William Jennings Bryan the Democratic nominee for president in 1896, who supported many Populist principles including silver coinage, and who toured the country to speak directly to voters William McKinley the Republican candidate for president in 1896, who followed a traditional strategy of letting party workers campaign for him

25 What led to the rise of the Populist movement, and what effect did it have? Millions of Americans moved west after the Civil War to pursue the American dream. A variety of factors made their lives extremely difficult, which led to the social and political revolt known as Populism and created one of the largest third party movements in American history.

26 People moving to the West and South in the late 1800s knew that their lives would not be easy. Problems facing the farmers of the West and South low prices for crops high transportation, equipment, and loan costs drought reduced influence in politics They did not anticipate many problems that made survival nearly impossible.

27 Frustrated by these problems, farmers began to organize.

28 Farmers created groups to address their problems. These groups formed a network called the Granger movement. The Grange was formally organized by Oliver H. Kelley in 1867 and gained a million members. The Grange declined after the 1870s, but Farmers Alliances became important reform organizations that continued the Grange s goals.

29 The spread of the Farmers Alliances led to the formation of the Populist Party in The Populist platform, outlined at the party s 1892 convention in Omaha, NE, called for: coinage of silver an income tax government ownership of railroads bank regulations

30 The debate over monetary policy was an important issue of the day. Those who wanted a gold standard were on one side. Those who wanted to use silver including the Populist Party were on the other.

31 The Populists did well in 1892, electing three governors, five senators, and ten congressmen. The Populist candidate for president received one million votes in that election.

32 An economic depression began in 1893 and labor unrest and violence broke out. The Populist Party grew. In 1896, a young lawyer named William Jennings Bryan spoke at the national Democratic convention. The speech, with its Populist message of free silver, moved Democrats to nominate Bryan. The Populist Party chose to give him their support.

33 William Jennings Bryan campaigned against Republican candidate William McKinley in a way that had never been seen before. He toured the country, talking directly to voters.

34 McKinley won against Bryan in 1896 and in Bryan s emphasis on money reform wasn t popular with urban workers.

35 The Populist Party was weakened by supporting William Jennings Bryan on the Democratic ticket. It survived another decade, but its viability as an alternative to the two major parties was over. Many of the reforms sought by the Populists became a reality. The new campaigning style used by Bryan became the norm.