Chapter 25: America Moves to the City,

APUSH CH 25+26 Lecture Name: Hour: Chapter 25: America Moves to the City, 1865-1900 I. Growth of the American City A. Moving to the City 1. City=opportunity/jobs 2. Caused society to become more urbanized 3. Industrialization drew people away from the farms and into the city 4. Immigrants lived in cities because they were the cheapest and most convenient places to live a. They also offered immigrants a chance at unskilled jobs b. By 1910, immigrant families made up more than half of the total population of 18 major American cities 5. Cites started to contain department stores (Macy s and Marshall Field s) 6. Electricity was brought to city life 7. Skyscrapers and mass transit also developed in cities B. The Problems of Urbanization 1. Housing was limited for the working class a. Some lived in dumbbell tenements that had little ventilation 2. Sanitation was a problem: now all of the sudden those living in urban areas had to dispose of waste the question was what to do with it? 3. Lack of water/dirty water 4. Development of slums (many immigrants lived here) 5. Urbanization went hand in hand with industrialization a. By 1900 about 40% of Americans loved in towns/cities II. Immigration A. The New Immigrants 1. Until the 1880s most immigrants came from Britain or areas of Western Europe a. They were considered a higher class of immigrants (except those that were Catholic) 2. From the 1880s onward, new immigrants arrived from areas of Southern and Eastern Europe (Slovaks, Croats, Greeks, Poles, and Italians) a. These immigrants were seen are poverty-stricken and lowly b. Crowded into cities and worked low-wage jobs c. Often lived in areas that other groups had left behind 3. Some immigrants came as birds of passage: to earn money and return to Europe 4. Political bosses tried to give jobs to immigrants in exchange for votes a. Bosses treated them better than most and in some cases rewarded them with city jobs 5. Overall nativism still existed a. The new immigrants were hated and blamed for the ills of society b. The American Protective Association (APA) formed in 1887 to push for stricter immigration requirements 6. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act a. Banned entry to all Chinese (there were some exceptions to this) 1

III. Reforms A. Reforms 1. Settlement houses were founded to improve local living conditions a. They provided local assistance to local men, women, and children (especially immigrants) b. Jane Addams is known for her creation of Hull House (famous settlement house) 2. The Social Gospel movement sought to use religion to point out and draw attention to the problems in society 3. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony founded the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1890 to secure the right to vote for women 4. The Woman s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) formed in 1874 a. It was a response to the excessive drinking of factory workers that led to poverty 5. The literacy rate rose to 90% by 1900 a. There was increased support for children to get an education i. Increase in amount of high schools between 1880-1890s 6. The Morrill Act of 1862 gave a grant of public land to states to support education a. Many universities would be built with this money (Texas A & M, Ohio State University, etc.) b. Increase in the number of technical schools due to industrialization c. The wealthy also donated money (and colleges like the University of Chicago and Stanford University were created) B. Education for Blacks 1. It was believed education would help blacks to achieve equality 2. Booker T. Washington a. Founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in 1881 (later known as the Tuskegee Institute) b. The school taught trades such as carpentry, farming, and mechanics (also trained teachers) c. He believed that technical/vocational training was best for blacks, not college d. He thought blacks would do better with learning skills and that would help them achieve economic prosperity e. Gave a famous speech called the Atlanta Compromise which many saw as controversial i. He stated that blacks should give up on achieving equality with whites and instead find ways to advance themselves economically ii. His philosophy/ideas were criticized by Du Bois 3. W.E.B. Du Bois a. Supported education for talented blacks called the talented tenth i. This group would serve as leaders for the black community and achieve greatness ii. Wanted blacks to get a college education and not be limited by Washington s approach of only a vocational education b. Wanted blacks to push for their rights and for equality c. Helped found the Niagara Movement (1905), to fight racial discrimination saw this as a white problem and that blacks needed to demand equal rights d. His book, The Souls of Black Folks clearly criticized Washington 2

e. Helped found the NAACP (1909) IV. Journalism/Literature A. Newspapers 1. Sensational stories became popular due to Hearst and Pulitzer a. People liked reading about scandal and corruption yellow journalism B. Magazines 1. These were less trashy and qualified as good reading a. Harper s, Atlantic Monthly, and Scribner s Monthly were examples C. Literature 1. Focused more on realism than before 2. Horatio Alger known for his rags to riches stories in which anyone could succeed 3. Mark Twain: fictional author a. Wrote the Gilded Age about the time period following the Civil War; The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn V. Entertainment A. Leisure Time 1. Vaudeville: a form of entertainment with many different acts performing (juggling, dancing, singing, etc.) 2. The circus: Barnum and Bailey 3. Wild west shows (William Buffalo Bill Cody): portrayed battles with Indians 4. Baseball, basketball, and football also became popular Chapter 26: The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution, 1865-1896 I. Settling the West A. Mining 1. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 marked the beginning of the search for silver and gold 2. Gold and silver strikes in what would become Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, and South Dakota kept people heading west a. Nevada was added as a state in 1864 after a large gold strike 3. 1/3 of western miners were Chinese immigrants B. The Cattle Frontier 1. The construction of railroads into Kansas opened up eastern markets for Texas cattle 2. Long cattle dives came to an end in the 1880s a. Overgrazing destroyed the grass b. Severe weather in 1885 killed 90% of the cattle 3. As people settled westward this also slowed down the cattle frontier a. People used barbed wire to outline their land and this ended the open range cattle that has existed C. The Homestead Act (1862) 1. Offered settlers, who were at least 21 and the head of a household, 160 acres of land a. Had to improve the land a pay a small fee to own the land (and live it on for 5 years) b. Not all of the land was well-suited for farming c. Many private speculators used the Act for their own gain d. Railroads companies also held onto land to sell it for a higher profit at a later date (rather than adding more track to the region) 3

e. Facilitated the spread westward of many different groups f. About 500,000 farmers gained land as a result D. The Turner Thesis 1. The Oklahoma Territory (once set aside for Native Americans) was opened for settlement in 1889 a. Hundreds took part in the land rush b. About this time, the frontier was deemed settled 2. Frederick Jackson Turner characterized the settlement of the West with his thesis the frontier thesis a. He believed the advance of American settlement westward was the central story of American history 3. The frontier was where the most rapid Americanization was taking place where the U.S. was expanding further and continuing to develop 4. The frontier represented that a fresh start was available and now that the frontier was closed what would happen to America? II. A Clash of Cultures A. Native American Policy 1. Under President Andrew Jackson (1830s) the policy of moving Native American west of the Mississippi was based on the assumption that this area would remain Indian country that changed B. Whites vs. Native Americans 1. Land: Native Americans did not believe in owning land they held it communally with the members of their tribe a. White settlers defined themselves by being able to own private property and the ability to improve the land 2. Disease: it was very common for smallpox and cholera to be spread from whites to Native Americans 3. Railroads: led more whites to move westward and caused clashes with the Native Americans 4. Buffalo: very important to the Native Americans way of life a. Hunted for sport by whites led the population to dwindle from millions to thousands C. Conflict 1. Sand Creek Massacre (1864): 400 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians living in the Sand Creek Reserve (Colorado) were killed by Colonel Chivington s militia after they believed a peace treaty had been signed a. Looking to push the Indians off the land and allow more room for miners and settlers 2. Bozeman Trail (1866): The Sioux killed over 80 soldiers as they blocked the construction of this area (gold route to Montana) a. Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868): government abandoned the Bozeman Trail i. Allowed Native Americans to maintain the Great Plains as their territory 3. The Black Hills (Sioux territory 1874): General Custer led a group of men into this area (which was rich in gold) 4

a. At the Battle of the Little Bighorn (Custer s Last Stand) there was a clash between Custer and the Sioux i. Resulted in Custer s death and the death of 264 of his men 4. The last effort of Native Americans to resist U.S. government controls came through a religious movement called the Ghost Dance D. Assimilation 1. Helen Hunt Jackson wrote A Century of Dishonor that detailed the injustices done to Native Americans a. The book also created support to end Indian culture and assimilate them this was the goal of the U.S. government regarding Native Americans: to force them to adapt to society 2. The Dawes (Severalty) Act: attempt to make assimilation of Native Americans the official government policy a. Severalty meant a separate and individual right to possession or ownership that is not shared with any other person b. Goal: to destroy tribes and Indian culture c. Dissolved tribes as legal entities and ended tribal ownership of land d. Set-up individual Indians with 160 acres of land i. Indians would own the 160 acres given to them and gained citizenship, after 25 years (all Indians finally gained citizenship in 1924) III. Farmers A. Farming=Debt 1. Farmers became one crop farmers in the 1870s 2. Had to deal with a decline in crop prices and the high price of farming equipment 3. Tariffs protected farmers from competing with imported farm goods 4. Farmers favored inflation to help increase the price of their crops 5. Also had to contend with the cotton boll weevil, floods, drought, etc. B. The Grange (The National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry) 1. Created in 1867 2. Led by Oliver H. Kelley 3. Helped farmers form cooperatives that allowed them to purchase goods in larger quantities 4. Used granger laws to attempt to regulate prices for railroads and fees from grain elevators and warehouses C. Supreme Court Cases 1. Munn v. Illinois (1877) a. Case heard by Supreme Court in 1877 b. The Grange wanted maximum rates charged for the storage and transport of agricultural products to be set by the government i. Decision stated that states had the ability to regulate private property if it affected public interest (14 th Amendment did not apply) 2. Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway Company v. Illinois (1886) a. This can be referred to simply as the Wabash Case b. Stated it was unconstitutional for states to regulate interstate commerce since this was the job of the federal government c. Led to the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887, which had the power to investigate and prosecute pools, rebates, and other discriminatory railroad practices 5

D. The Farmers Alliance and the Populist Party 1. Farmers Alliances gave way to the formation of the Populist (or People s) Party 2. Populist Party was formed in 1892 a. Members met in Omaha and adopted a platform referred to as the Omaha Platform i. They favored: 1. A graduated income tax 2. Relief for farmers 3. Direct election of U.S. Senators 4. Government ownership of railroads, telegraph, and telephone 5. Shorter work days 6. More citizen involvement in government (initiative and referendum) 7. The free and unlimited coinage of silver b. First candidate for the presidency was James B. Weaver (1892) i. He received 1 million votes E. Panic of 1893 and Coxey s Army 1. Started with Cleveland s presidency 2. During this panic, over 15,000 businesses, 600 banks, and 70 railroads failed a. As banks closed, the panic worsened and credit was restricted b. Led to a massive increase in the unemployment rate 3. Jacob Coxey led a march on Washington to protest the lack of government intervention to assist the unemployed during this financial panic (1894) this became known as Coxey s Army a. Coxey and his supporters wanted the government to create jobs through public works projects IV. The Election of 1896 A. The Candidates 1. Republicans: William McKinley a. Former Governor of Ohio b. There was no clear Republican front runner so it led to his nomination at the Convention c. He was committed to protective tariffs and the gold standard 2. Democrats: William Jennings Bryan (The Great Commoner) a. Lawyer and served in House of Reps b. At the Democratic National Convention in 1896 he made a famous speech: the Cross of Gold i. Bryan was committed to the unlimited coinage of free silver at a ratio of 16 ounces to 1 ounce of gold ii. Convinced the Democrats to nominate him for the presidency (at age 36) 3. McKinley won (271 to 176) 4. This election marked a clear victory for big business and the end of the stagnation that had marked the Gilded Age a. It also marked a period of Republican dominance in politics 6

B. McKinley s Administration 1. Began his term by increasing protective tariffs through the Dingley Tariff (1897), which led to record-high tariffs 2. In 1900 the Gold Standard Act was passed and only gold could be exchange for currency 3. The Spanish-American War made McKinley a well-known name and the U.S. a world power (more next week) 7