RECONSTRUCTION AND THE SOUTH

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RECONSTRUCTION AND THE SOUTH

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Title: RECONSTRUCTION AND THE SOUTH

1
RECONSTRUCTION AND THE SOUTH

Presidential Reconstruction
after John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham
Lincoln on April 14, 1865, the national mood
hardened
however, in spite of the amount of blood shed,
the Civil War caused less intersectional hatred
than might have been expected animosity quickly
subsided, and most Confederate leaders were only
mildly punished

the status of the southern states raised complex
legal questions about the process of readmitting
them to the Union
the process of readmission began in 1862, when
Lincoln appointed provisional governors for those
areas of South occupied by federal troops
in December 1863, he issued a proclamation that
provided that southerners, with the exception of
high Confederate officials, could reinstate
themselves as United States citizens by taking a
loyalty oath

a state could set up a government when a number
equal to 10 percent of those who voted in 1860
took the oath
the Radicals disliked Lincoln's plan and passed
the Wade-Davis Bill, which required a majority of
voters in a state to take the loyalty oath before
a constitutional convention could be convened
the bill further required that the states
prohibit slavery and repudiate Confederate debts.
Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill

after Johnson became president, he issued an
amnesty proclamation only slightly more rigorous
than Lincolns
by the time Congress reconvened in December 1865,
all of the southern states had organized
governments, ratified the Thirteenth Amendment,
and elected senators and representatives.
Johnson submitted the new governments to Congress

Republican Radicals
both radical and moderate Republicans wanted to
protect ex-slaves from exploitation and to
guarantee their basic rights
radicals, however, demanded full political
equality moderates were unwilling to go so far
their agreement on a minimum set of demands
doomed Johnsonian Reconstruction

Republicans feared that the balance of power in
Congress might swing to the Democrats because the
13th Amendment increased the Souths
congressional representation by negating the
Three-Fifths Compromise
southern voters provoked northern resentment by
electing former Confederate leaders to office
Black Codes passed by southern governments to
control ex-slaves further alarmed the North
congressional Republicans rejected Johnsonian
Reconstruction and created a committee on
Reconstruction to study the question of
readmitting southern states

Johnson further alienated Republicans in Congress
by vetoing an extension of the Freedmans Bureau
and the Civil Rights Act
Congress overrode the veto of the Civil Rights
Act, and thereafter Congress, not the president,
controlled Reconstruction

The Fourteenth Amendment
in June 1866, Congress submitted the Fourteenth
Amendment to the states
this truly radical measure granted blacks
political rights and, in doing so, expanded the
power of the federal government at the expense of
the states
in addition, it broadened the definition of
citizenship and struck at discriminatory
legislation, such as the Black Codes, by
guaranteeing all citizens due process and equal
protection of the law

it attempted to force southern states to permit
blacks to vote those states that did not faced a
reduction of their congressional representation
the amendment also barred former federal
officials who had served the Confederacy from
holding state or federal office unless they
received a pardon from Congress
finally, it repudiated the Confederate debt

Johnson made the choice between the Fourteenth
Amendment and his own policy the main issue of
the 1866 elections
this strategy failed dismally the Republicans
won veto-proof majorities in both houses of
Congress and control of all the northern state
governments

The Reconstruction Acts
the refusal of southern states to accept the 14th
Amendment led to the passage, over Johnsons
veto, of First Reconstruction Act in March 1867
this law divided the South into five military
districts commanded by a military officer with
extensive powers to protect the civil rights of
all persons and to maintain order
to end military rule, states had to adopt new
constitutions that both guaranteed blacks the
right to vote and disenfranchised many
ex-Confederates

the new state governments also had to ratify the
14th Amendment
Congress passed two more Reconstruction Acts to
tighten and clarify procedures
Arkansas became first state to gain readmission
in June 1868, and by July enough states had
ratified the 14th Amendment to make it part of
the Constitution
last southern state to qualify for readmission,
Georgia, did so in July 1870

Congress Takes Charge
the Souths refusal to accept the spirit of even
the mild Reconstruction designed by Johnson
goaded the North to ever more strident measures
to bring the ex-Confederates to heel
Johnsons intractability also influenced the
Republicans, and they became obsessed with the
need to defeat him
a series of measures passed between 1866 and 1868
increased the authority of Congress over many
areas of government

still not satisfied, the Republicans finally
attempted to remove Johnson from office
although a poor president, Johnson had really
done nothing to merit ejection from office
the Republicans accused Johnson of violating the
Tenure of Office Act by dismissing Secretary of
War Stanton without obtaining the Senates
approval
the House promptly impeached Johnson, but the
Radicals failed to secure a conviction in the
Senate by a single vote

The Fifteenth Amendment
the Republican candidate, Ulysses Grant, defeated
the Democratic nominee, Horatio Seymour, for the
presidency in 1868
Southern blacks enfranchised under the
Reconstruction Acts provided Grants narrow
margin of victory in the popular vote
the Fourteenth Amendment and Reconstruction Acts
enabled southern blacks to vote, but the Radicals
wanted to guarantee blacks the right in all
states, despite the unpopularity of the idea in
the North

Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment, which
forbade states to deny the right to vote on
account of race, color, or previous condition of
servitude
the amendment became part of the Constitution in
March 1870

Black Republican Reconstruction Scalawags and
Carpetbaggers
during Reconstruction, former slaves had real
political influence they voted, held office, and
exercised the rights guaranteed them by 14th
Amendment
however, black officeholders were neither
numerous nor inordinately influential
real rulers of black Republican governments
were scalawags, southern whites who cooperated
with the Republicans, and carpetbaggers

carpetbaggers were northerners who went to the
South for idealistic reasons or in search of
opportunities
Blacks failed to dominate southern governments
because they generally lacked political
experience, were often poor and uneducated, and
were nearly everywhere a minority
those blacks who held office tended to be better
educated and more prosperous than most southern
blacks many had been free before the war

most black officeholders proved to be able and
conscientious public servants
others were incompetent and corrupt
in this regard, little distinguished them from
their white counterparts
corruption in northern cities dwarfed that in the
South
radical southern governments, in conjunction with
the Freedmans Bureau and philanthropic
organizations, did much to rebuild the South and
to expand social services and educational
opportunities for whites and blacks

The Ravaged Land
the Souths economic problems complicated the
rebuilding of its political system
although in the long run the abolition of slavery
released immeasurable quantities of human energy,
the immediate effect was chaos
Thaddeus Stevens was the leading proponent of
confiscating the property of southern planters
and distributing it among blacks
establishing ex-slaves on small farms without
adequate tools, seeds, and other necessities,
however, would have done them little good

yet, without a redistribution of land, former
slaves were confined to the established framework
of southern agriculture
southern whites considered blacks incapable of
providing for themselves as independent farmers
southern productivity did decline, but not
because blacks could not work independently
Blacks chose no longer to work like slaves for
example, they did not force their children into
the fields at very early ages

Sharecropping and the Crop-Lien System
immediately after the Civil War, southern
planters attempted to farm their lands by gang
labor consisting of ex-slaves working for wages
this system did not work because it reminded
blacks of slavery and because capital was scarce
sharecropping emerged as an alternative.
Sharecropping gave blacks more control over their
lives and the hope of earning enough to buy a
small farm

however, few managed to buy their own farms, in
part because of white resistance to blacks owning
land
many white farmers in the South were also trapped
by the sharecropping system
Scarcity of capital led to the development of the
crop-lien system, which locked southern
agriculture into the cultivation of cash crops
the Souths economy grew slowly after the Civil
War, and its share of the national output of
manufactured goods declined sharply during the
Reconstruction era

The White Backlash
to check black political power, dissident
southerners formed secret terrorist societies,
the most notorious of which was the Ku Klux Klan
formed in 1866 as a social club, the Klan soon
became a vigilante group dedicated to driving
blacks out of politics the Klan spread rapidly
throughout the South
Congress attacked Klan with three Force Acts
(1870-1871), which placed elections under federal
jurisdiction and punished those convicted of
interfering with any citizens right to vote

by 1872, federal authorities had broken the power
of the Klan, but the experience of Klan, however,
demonstrated the effectiveness of terrorism in
keeping blacks away from polls, and paramilitary
organizations adopted the tactics the Klan had
been forced to abandon
Conservative parties (Democratic in national
affairs) took over southern governments
terrorism and intimidation account only in part
for this development
sectional reconciliation and waning interest in
policing the South made the North unwilling to
intervene

Grant as President
Grant failed to live up to expectations as
president
the general was a poor executive his honest
naivete made him the dupe of unscrupulous friends
and schemers
he failed to deal effectively with economic and
social problems, and corruption plagued his
administration
Grant did not cause or participate in the
scandals that disgraced his administration, but
he did nothing to prevent them

in 1872, Republican reformers, alarmed by rumors
of corruption in Grants administration and by
his failure to press for civil service reform,
formed the Liberal Republican party and nominated
Horace Greeley for president
Democrats also nominated Greeley, but Grant
easily defeated him

The Disputed Election of 1876
in 1876, Republicans nominated Rutherford B.
Hayes, and Democrats chose Samuel J. Tilden
in Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana, where
Republican regimes still held power, Republicans
used their control of the election machinery to
invalidate Democratic votes and declare Hayes the
winner in those states
in January 1877, Congress created an electoral
commission to decide the disputed elections
the Republican majority on the commission awarded
the disputed votes to Hayes

The Compromise of 1877
many southern Democrats were willing to accept
Hayes if he would promise to remove federal
troops from South and to allow southern states to
manage their own internal affairs
once in office, Hayes honored most elements of
the compromise
he removed the last troops from South Carolina
and Louisiana in April 1877 and appointed a
former Confederate general, David M. Key, as
Postmaster General

the alliance of ex-Whigs and northern Republicans
that produced the compromise did not last
the South remained solidly Democratic
the Compromise of 1877 did, however, mark the end
of the Reconstruction era and the recognition of
a new regime in the South

31
IN THE WAKE OF WAR

New Problems, New Solutions
industrialization and urbanization changed the
structure of the American economy and society
American political history in the last quarter of
the 19th century was singularly divorced from the
meaningful issues of the day
on the rare occasions that important issues did
become the subject of debate, they occasioned far
less argument than they merited

The Triumph of Self-Interest
after Civil War Americans became materialistic
they professed a belief in laissez-faire, a
policy of government noninterference in business
people tolerated the grossest kind of waste and
corruption in high places
Mark Twain described this period as the Gilded
Age dazzling on the surface but base metal below

by the 1870s, Charles Darwins Origin of the
Species (1859) influenced American public opinion
William Graham Sumner drew an analogy between
survival of the fittest in nature and in human
society
the application of Darwinist theory to social
relations became known as social Darwinism

Congress Ascendant
a succession of weak presidents occupied White
House, and Congress dominated government
within Congress, the Senate generally
overshadowed the House
critics called the Senate a rich mans club, but
its real source of influence derived from the
long tenure of many of its members and the small
number of senators
then, too, the House of Representatives was one
of the most disorderly and inefficient
legislative bodies in the world

although the Democrats and Republicans competed
fiercely, they seldom took clearly opposing
positions on the issues of the day
fundamental division between Democrats and
Republicans was sectional, result of Civil War
the South was heavily Democratic New England
remained solidly Republican and the rest of the
country was split, although Republicans tended to
have the advantage
wealthy northerners and blacks tended to be
Republicans immigrants and Catholics tended to
be Democrats

even though Democrats won presidency only twice,
most presidential elections in late nineteenth
century were extremely close, and congressional
majorities fluctuated continually

The Political Aftermath of War
Republicans attacked Democrats by waving the
bloody shirt (reminding voters that the
Democrats had been party of secession and that
Democrats denied rights to blacks in South)
other major issues included the tariff, currency,
and civil service reform

Blacks After Reconstruction
both Republicans and Democrats subscribed to
hypocritical statements about black equality and
constitutional rights, but neither did anything
to implement them
for a time, southern blacks were not totally
disfranchised
rival white political factions tried to
manipulate black voters
in the 1890s, however, southern states began to
use poll taxes and literacy tests to bar blacks
from voting

Supreme Court decisions curtailed black civil
rights and power of government to defend them
in the Civil Rights Cases (1883), Court declared
the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional and
ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed
civil rights against invasion by the state, but
not by individuals
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld legality of
separate public accommodations for blacks and
whites, so long as they were of equal quality
in practice, facilities provided for blacks were
separate they were rarely equal

Booker T. Washington A Reasonable Champion for
Blacks
some blacks responded to racism and
discrimination by adopting militant black
nationalism others advocated a revival of the
African colonization movement neither of these
approaches won many adherents
the dominant black leader of the period, Booker
T. Washington, believed that blacks needed to
accommodate themselves to white prejudices, at
least temporarily, and concentrate on
self-improvement

these ideas, expressed in his Atlanta
Compromise speech, established his reputation as
a moderate, reasonable black leader
in public, he minimized the importance of civil
and political rights behind the scenes, however,
he lobbied against discriminatory measures and
financed test cases in the courts

White Violence and Vengeance
for decades after the Civil War, some southern
whites had attempted to replace the legal
subjugation of slavery with a new form of
subjugation based on terror
between 1890 and 1910, an average of nearly a
hundred blacks were lynched each year
even more striking was the utter savagery of many
of the lynchings
violence succeeded in disfranchising southern
black men and driving them out of public spaces

ironically, this created an opportunity for black
women to fill the void created by the
disfranchisement of black men
black women in religious and reform associations
became the points of contact with the white
community

The West after the Civil War
there was neither a typical West nor westerner
many parts of region had as large a percentage of
foreign-born residents as the eastern cities
although often portrayed as an unpopulated region
with large open spaces, the West contained
several growing cities, including San Francisco
and Denver
if the western economy was predominantly
agricultural and extractive, it also had both a
commercial and developing industrial component

the West epitomized the social Darwinist
psychology of post-Civil War America
beginning in the mid-1850s, a steady flow of
Chinese immigrated to the United States
many worked building the railroads
with the completion of the railroads, Chinese
began to look elsewhere for work
workers in San Francisco, who resented the
competition, rioted
by 1882, these problems led Congress to prohibit
Chinese immigration for ten years later this ban
was extended indefinitely

The Plains Indians
in 1860, the Indians still occupied roughly half
the United States by 1877, they had been
shattered as independent peoples the Plains
Indians lived by hunting
they eagerly adopted the products of white
culture-clothing, weapons, horses
westward expansion by whites put pressure on
Indian lands
in 1851, Thomas Fitzpatrick, an Indian agent,
negotiated agreements with several tribes of
Plains Indians at Horse Creek, Wyoming

each tribe agreed to accept definite limits on
its hunting grounds
in return, the Indians were promised gifts and
annual payments
this policy, known as concentration, was
designed to reduce intertribal warfare and, more
important, to enable the government to negotiate
separately with each tribe
the United States maintained that each tribe was
a sovereign nation, to be dealt with as an equal
in treaties, although both sides knew that such
was not the case

Indian Wars
white encroachments led to the outbreak of
guerrilla warfare, in the course of which both
sides committed atrocities
in 1867, the government tried a new strategy to
replace the concentration policy
all Indians would be confined to reservations and
forced to become farmers
some Indians refused to yield to the new policy
and waged war against both the U.S. Army and
settlers

Indians made superb cavalry soldiers and often
held off or defeated American troops
granting the inevitability of white expansion,
some version of the small reservation policy
was probably best for the Indians
however, maladministration hampered the
governments policy
treaties did not provide adequate land for the
Indians, and Indian agents often cheated Indians
the discovery of gold on the Black Hills Indian
Reservation led to further fighting, including
Custers defeat at the Little Bighorn

The Destruction of Tribal Life
the bison formed the mainstay of the Indians
food and provided materials for clothing, tools,
and shelter
its destruction led to disintegration of tribal
life
many whites, including those sympathetic to the
Indians plight, believed that the only way to
solve the Indian problem was to persuade them
to abandon their tribal culture and to live on
family farms

the Dawes Severalty Act (1887) allotted tribal
lands to individual Indians, provided funds for
education, and granted United States citizenship
to those who accepted allotments and adopted the
habits of civilized life
although the bills sponsors perceived it as a
humanitarian reform, it had disastrous results
it shattered what remained of Indian culture
without enabling Indians to adapt to white ways

The Lure of Gold and Silver in the West
Americans had long regarded the West as a
limitless resource to be exploited
miners chased strikes, which gave rise to boom
towns, many of which soon died
major strikes were made at Fraser River, Pikes
Peak, and Nevada (the Comstock Lode)
the boom towns of the West reflected the
get-rich-quick attitude prevalent in the East
few gave any thought of conserving the resources

gold towns attracted a variety of characters, and
law enforcement was a constant problem
prospectors may have made key discoveries, but
larger mining interests developed the resources
and made most of the profits
gold rushes increased interest in the West and
generated a valuable literature
moreover, each new strike and rush, no matter how
ephemeral, brought permanent settlers farmers,
cattlemen, storekeepers, lawyers, and ministers

gold bolstered the financial position of the
United States and helped pay for the import of
European goods
gold towns also consumed American agricultural
and manufactured goods

Big Business and the Land Bonanza
the Homestead Act (1862) intended to create
160-acre family farms, but things did not work
out as planned
even if land was free, most landless Americans
could not afford the cost of moving and
purchasing the necessary farm equipment
factory workers had neither the skills nor the
interest to become farmers

moreover, 160 acres was not sufficient for farms
in the far West the Timber Culture Act (1873)
increased the figure to 320 acres and required
the planting of trees on the land
large speculators grabbed much of the land, and
private interests destroyed much of the western
forests
some corporate bonanza farmers made profits,
but even commercialized agriculture could not
withstand the droughts of the 1880s

Western Railroad Building
the government subsidized the construction of
western railroads through a combination of land
grants and loans
government lands adjacent to the railroads were
not open to homesteading because such free land
would prevent the railroads from disposing of
their granted lands at good prices
land grant railroads encouraged the growth of the
West by advertising and selling their lands
they also provided inexpensive transportation and
shipping for settlers
corruption and waste often marred the
construction of railroads

The Cattle Kingdom
the cattle industry developed as a result of
increasing demands for food in eastern cities and
the expansion of the railroad network
cattle were driven from Texas to Sedalia,
Abilene, and points westward on the railroads,
where the cattlemen sold them for substantial
profits the long drive produced the American
cowboy, about a third of whom were black or
Mexican
cattle towns such as Abilene, Wichita, and Dodge
City thrived
life in these towns was neither so violent nor
disorderly as legend has it

Open-Range Ranching
cattlemen began raising stock closer to the
railheads, eliminating the long drive
open-range ranching on the northern plains
required little more than the possession of
cattle and access to water
the open range made actual ownership of much land
unnecessary
ranchers often banded together to obtain legal
title to watercourses and grazed their cattle in
common on adjacent lands

their herds became intermixed and could be
distinguished only by brands
Easterners and Europeans invested in the ranches,
and a few large ranches eventually came to
dominate the industry

Barbed Wire Warfare
by the mid-1880s, crowding on the range and lack
of clear land titles gave rise to conflict and
violence
compounding matters, Congress refused to change
the land laws and thereby encouraged those who
could not get title to enough land legally to
resort to fraud
individuals and groups began to fence off large
areas of land they considered their own, a step
made possible by the invention of barbed wire
fencing often led to conflicts

overproduction drove down beef prices, and many
sections were overgrazed
the severe winter of 1886 to 1887 killed between
80-90 percent of cattle on the range and ended
open-range cattle ranching
the industry revived on a smaller, more efficient
scale

63
AN INDUSTRIAL GIANT

Essentials of Industrial Growth
American manufacturing flourished in the last
quarter of the nineteenth century
new natural resources were discovered and
exploited, creating opportunities that attracted
the brightest and most energetic Americans
the national market grew, protected from foreign
competition by tariffs, and foreign capital
entered the market freely

European immigrants provided the additional labor
needed for industrial expansion
advances in science and technology created new
machines and power sources, which increased
productivity

Railroads The First Big Business
in the last quarter of the nineteenth century,
railroads were probably the most significant
element in American economic development
important as an industry themselves, railroads
also contributed to the growth and development of
other industries
railroads developed into larger and more
integrated systems, and their executives,
including Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jay Gould,
became some of the most powerful and wealthiest
people in the country

railroad equipment became standardized, as did
time zones
land grant railroads helped to settle the West by
selling their lands cheaply and on easy terms to
settlers
new railroad technology, including the air brake
and more powerful locomotives, made it possible
for larger trains to travel at faster speeds

Iron, Oil, and Electricity
the transformation of iron manufacturing affected
the United States almost as much as the
development of railroads
new techniques, including the Bessemer process,
made possible mass production of steel
huge supply of iron ore and coal in U.S. allowed
for rapid growth of steel production
the Mesabi range yielded enormous quantities of
easily mined iron
Pittsburgh, surrounded by vast coal deposits,
became the iron and steel center of the country

the petroleum industry expanded even more
spectacularly than iron and steel
new refining techniques enabled refiners to
increase the production of kerosene, which, until
the development of the gasoline engine, was the
most important petroleum product
technological advances and the growth of an urban
society led to the creation of new industries,
such as the telephone and electric light
businesses

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in
1876, and his invention quickly proved its
practical value
of all Edisons many inventions, the most
significant was the incandescent light bulb
the Edison Illuminating Company opened a power
station in New York, and power stations began to
appear everywhere
the substitution of electric for steam power in
factories had an impact comparable to the
substitution of steam for water power before the
Civil War

Competition and Monopoly The Railroads
growing importance of expensive machinery and
economies of scale led to economic concentration
deflationary pressures after 1873 led to falling
prices and increased competition, which cut
deeply into railroad profits
railroads attempted to increase the volume of
shipping by giving rebates, drawbacks, and other
discounts to selected customers

sometimes these discounts were far beyond what
the economies of bulk shipment justified in
order to make up these losses, railroads charged
higher rates in areas where no competition
existed
combination of lost revenue from rate cutting and
inflated debts forced several railroads into
receivership in the 1870s
in the 1880s, major railroads responded to those
pressures by creating interregional systems
these became the first giant corporations

Competition and Monopoly Steel
the iron and steel industry was also intensely
competitive production continued to increase,
but demand varied erratically
Andrew Carnegie used his talents as a salesman
and administrator, along with his belief in
technological improvements, to create Carnegie
Steel Company, which dominated the industry
alarmed by Carnegies control of the industry,
makers of finished steel products began to
combine and considered entering primary production

in response, Carnegie threatened to turn out
finished products
J. P. Morgan averted a steel war by buying out
Carnegie, his main competitor, and the main
fabricators of finished products
the new combination, United States Steel, was the
first billion-dollar corporation
Carnegie retired to devote his life to
philanthropy

Competition and Monopoly Oil
competition among refiners led to combination and
monopoly in the petroleum industry
John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil
Company in 1870
he used technological advances and employed both
fair and unfair means to destroy his competition
or to persuade them to join forces
by 1879, Rockefeller controlled 90 of nations
oil refining capacity
to maintain monopoly, Rockefeller developed a new
type of business organization, the trust

Competition and Monopoly Utilities and
Retailing
utilities, such as the telephone and electric
lighting industries, also formed monopolies in
order to prevent costly duplication of equipment
and to protect patents
Bell and Edison fought lengthy and expensive
court battles to defend their inventions from
imitators and competitors
competition between General Electric Company and
Westinghouse dominated the electric lighting
industry

the life insurance business expanded after the
Civil War, and it, too, became dominated by a few
large companies
in retailing, this period saw the emergence of
urban department stores, including Wanamakers
and Marshall Field
the department stores advertised heavily and
stressed low prices, efficient service, and
guaranteed products

Americans Ambivalence to Big Business
the expansion of industry and its concentration
in fewer hands changed the way many people felt
about the role of government in economic and
social affairs
although Americans disliked powerful government
and strict regulation of the economy, they did
not object to all government involvement in the
economic sphere
the growth of huge industrial and financial
organizations frightened many people

at the same time, people wanted the goods and
services big business produced
the public worried that monopolists would raise
prices still more significant was the fear that
monopolies would destroy economic opportunity and
threaten democratic institutions

Reformers George, Bellamy, Lloyd
the popularity of several reformers reflected the
growing concern over the maldistribution of
wealth and the power of corporations
in Progress and Poverty (1879), Henry George
argued that labor was only true source of capital
he proposed a single tax on wealth produced by
appreciation of land values
Edward Bellamys utopian novel, Looking Backward
(1888), described a future in which America was
completely socialized and carefully planned

Bellamys ideal socialist state arrived without
revolution or violence
Henry Demarest Lloyds Wealth Against
Commonwealth (1894) denounced the Standard Oil
Company
his forceful but uncomplicated arguments made
Lloyds book convincing to thousands
despite their criticisms, these writers did not
question the underlying values of the middle
class majority, and they insisted that reform
could be accomplished without serious
inconvenience to any individual or class

Reformers The Marxists
by the 1870s, the ideas of the Marxian socialists
began to penetrate the United States Marxist
Socialist Labor party was founded in 1877
Laurence Gronlunds The Cooperative Commonwealth
(1884) attempted to explain Marxism to Americans
leading voice of Socialist Labor party, Daniel De
Leon, was a doctrinaire revolutionary who
insisted that workers could improve their lot
only by adopting socialism and joining Socialist
Labor party
he paid scant attention to the opinions or to the
practical needs of common working people

The Government Reacts to Big Business Railroad
Regulation
political reaction to the growth of big business
came first at the state level and dealt chiefly
with the regulation of railroads
strict railroad regulation resulted largely from
agitation by the National Grange and focused on
establishing reasonable maximum rates and
outlawing unjust price discrimination
in Munn v. Illinois (1877), the Supreme Court
ruled that such regulations by states were
constitutional when applied to businesses that
served a public interest

however, the Supreme Court declared invalid an
Illinois law prohibiting discriminatory rates
between long and short hauls in the Wabash case
(1886) on the ground that a state could not
regulate interstate commerce
the following year, Congress passed the
Interstate Commerce Act, which required that
railroad charges be reasonable and just
it also outlawed rebates, drawbacks, and other
competitive practices
in addition, the act created the Interstate
Commerce Commission, the first federal regulatory
board, to supervise railroad regulation

The Government Reacts to Big Business The
Sherman Antitrust Act
first antitrust legislation originated in the
states
federal action came with the passage of the
Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), which declared
illegal trusts or other combinations in restraint
of trade or commerce
the Interstate Commerce Act sought to outlaw the
excesses of competition the Sherman Act intended
to restore competition

the Supreme Court undermined the Sherman Act when
it ruled that the American Sugar Refining
Company, which controlled 98 percent of sugar
refining, was engaged in manufacturing and
therefore its dominance did not restrict trade
in later cases, however, the Court ruled that
agreements to fix prices did violate the Sherman
Act

The Labor Union Movement
at the time of the Civil War, only a small
percentage of American workers were organized,
and most union members were skilled artisans, not
factory workers
the growth of national craft unions quickened
after 1865
the National Labor Union was founded in 1866, but
its leaders were out of touch with the practical
needs and aspirations of workers
they opposed the wage system, strikes, and
anything that increased laborers sense of
membership in the working class

their major objective was the formation of
worker-owned cooperatives
founded in 1869, the Knights of Labor supported
political objectives that had little to do with
working conditions and rejected the idea that
workers must resign themselves to remaining wage
earners
the Knights also rejected the grouping of workers
by crafts and accepted blacks, women, and
immigrants
membership in the Knights grew in the 1880s,
encouraged by successful strikes against railroads

in 1886, agitation for an eight-hour day gained
wide support
clashes between workers and police in Chicago led
to a protest meeting at Haymarket Square
a bomb tossed into the crowd killed seven
policemen and injured many others

The American Federation of Labor
the violence in Chicago damaged organized labor,
especially the Knights of Labor, which the public
associated with anarchy and violence
membership in the Knights declined
a combination of national craft unions, the
American Federation of Labor, replaced the
Knights of Labor as the leading labor union
led by Adolph Strasser and Samuel Gompers, the
AFL concentrated on organizing skilled workers

it fought for higher wages and shorter hours
the AFL accepted the fact that most workers would
remain wage earners and used its organization to
develop a sense of common purpose and pride among
its members
the AFL avoided direct involvement in politics
and used the strike as its primary tool to
improve working conditions

Labor Militancy Rebuffed
threatened by the growing size and power of their
corporate employers, the substitution of machines
for human skills, and the influx of foreign
workers willing to accept low wages, labor grew
increasingly militant
in 1877, a railroad strike shut down two-thirds
of the nations railroad mileage
violence broke out, federal troops restored
order, and the strike collapsed
in 1892, violence marked the strike against
Carnegies Homestead Steel plant

the defeat of the Amalgamated Association of Iron
and Steel Workers eliminated unionism as an
effective force in the steel industry
the most important strike of the period took
place in 1894, when Eugene Debss American
Railway Union struck the Pullman company
President Cleveland broke the strike when he sent
federal troops to ensure the movement of the mail
when Debs defied a federal injunction to end the
strike, he was jailed for contempt

Whither America, Whither Democracy?
each year more of Americas wealth and power
seemed to fall into fewer hands
bankers dominated major industries
centralization increased efficiency but raised
questions about the ultimate effects of big
business on democracy
the defeat of the Pullman strike demonstrated the
power of courts to break strikes

the federal government obtained an injunction in
that case by asserting that the American Railway
Union was engaged in a combination in restraint
of trade prohibited by the Sherman Act
after the failure of the Pullman strike, Debs
became a socialist

95
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96
AMERICAN SOCIETY IN THE INDUSTRIAL AGE

Middle-Class Life
American middle-class culture took elements of
romanticism (the optimism about human potential,
the quest for personal improvement, the passion
for competition) and tempered them with
self-control
Victorian family relations, however, were not
nearly so stiff and formal as often imagined

diaries and letters indicate that many couples
experienced sexually fulfilling relationships
middle-class families also began to have fewer
children abstinence accounted for much of the
decline in fertility, but the use of
contraceptive devices and abortion contributed as
well
Americas middle-class comprised professionals,
varied groups of shopkeepers, small
manufacturers, skilled craftsmen, and established
farmers
middle-class family life was defined in terms of
tangible goods, thus giving rise to a culture of
consumption

Skilled and Unskilled Workers
wage earners, especially in the mining,
manufacturing, and transportation sectors,
experienced the full impact of industrialization
skilled industrial workers were generally quite
well off, but unskilled laborers found it
difficult to support a family on their wages
alone
large-scale industry decreased contact between
employee and employer relations between them
became increasingly impersonal

machines set the pace of work
the costs of capitalization reduced the workers
opportunity to rise from the ranks of labor to
ownership
workers became subject to swings of the business
cycle

100

Working Women
with the shift from cottage industries to a
factory system, a growing number of women worked
outside of the home
while many women found work in textile mills and
sewing trades, at least half of all working women
were employed as domestic servants
the Cult of True Womanhood served to open new
employment opportunities for women

101

employers in the retail sector believed women to
be more polite, honest, and submissive than male
workers
for many of these same reasons, educated
middle-class women came to dominate the nursing,
elementary education, and secretarial fields
although employment opportunities for women
increased during this period, management and
entrepreneurial positions remained, for the most
part, a male domain

102

Farmers
long the mainstay of American society,
independent farmers found their relative share of
the nations wealth and their personal status
declining
loss of wealth and influence, along with an
increasing vulnerability to an economy dominated
by industrial trends, fostered periodic waves of
radicalism in the nations farm belts

103

while the Grange movements took hold at different
times in different places and varied in their
impact, they were instrumental in breaking down
rural laissez-faire prejudices
farmers in the older, more established regions
benefited not only from new technology but from
easy access to rapidly expanding urban markets
the frontier farm belts and the Old South proved
less able to adapt to new technologies and
advances in transportation

104

Working-Class Family Life
enormous disparities existed in the standard of
living among workers engaged in the same line of
work during this period
co-workers with the same pay rates often
supported their families in dramatically
different styles
the factors influencing a working-class family
could range from family size to personal spending
habits

105

social workers of the day listed such variables
as family health, intelligence, the wifes
household management skills, the familys
commitment to middle-class values, and pure luck

106

Working-Class Attitudes
surveys conducted among workers during the 1880s
and 1890s revealed a broad spectrum of responses
regarding their employment circumstances
while some workers expressed contentment with
their conditions, others called for the
nationalization of the means of production and
transportation
despite a general improvement in living
standards, the number of bitter strikes revealed
the discontent of many workers

107

this dissatisfaction fell into three broad areas
for some, poverty remained the chief problem for
others, rising aspirations triggered discontent
the discontent of yet another group stemmed from
confusion over their situation the tradition
that no one of ability need remain a hired hand
died hard, even in the face of contradictory
reality
they were drawn to the ideas of a classless
society and the community of interest shared by
capital and labor, but the gap between the very
rich and ordinary citizens was widening

108

Working Your Way Up
Americans were a mobile people. Geographical
mobility often translated into economic and
social improvement
nearly one quarter of all manual laborers studied
rose into the ranks of the middle class

109

while such upward progress was primarily the
result of economic growth, public education began
to provide an additional boost
by the turn of the century, more than 15 million
students attended public schools, curricula had
expanded, and as many as 36 cities had
established vocational high schools

110

The New Immigration
between 1866 and 1915, about 25 million
immigrants entered the United States
the demand for labor created by industrial
expansion drew immigrants, and steamships made
the Atlantic crossing safe and speedy
economic disruption in many European countries,
political upheaval, and religious persecution
pushed this wave of immigrants to Americas shores

111

prior to the 1880s, the bulk of Americas
newcomers were western and northern Europeans
beginning in the 1880s, the sources of
immigration shifted from northern and western to
southern and eastern Europe

112

New Immigrants Face New Nativism
linguistic, religious, and cultural factors,
along with the physical appearance of these new
immigrants, convinced many Americans that these
new arrivals would not assimilate into mainstream
society
old stock American workers, in addition to their
existing prejudices, worried that these new
immigrants undermined their job security
the majority of these new immigrants settled
into ethnic enclaves

113

political nativists, social Darwinists, and
pseudo-scientists found the flow of immigrants
alarming
labor leaders feared competition for jobs.
Employers were not disturbed by the influx of
workers, but many became alarmed by the supposed
radicalism of the immigrants
there were some efforts to limit immigration, but
substantial immigration controls were not enacted
until after World War I

114

The Expanding City and Its Problems
proponents of immigration restriction made much
of crowded ethnic enclaves in cities
immigrants were drawn to cities by the jobs
created by expanding industry, as were
native-born Americans
industrialization alone did not account for the
growth of the cities urban centers served as
commercial and transportation hubs
by the end of the century, however, the expansion
of industry had become the chief cause of urban
growth