ISSUES OF THE GILDED AGE 1877 1900 SEGREGATION

ISSUES OF THE GILDED AGE 1877 -1900

SEGREGATION AND SOCIAL TENSIONS 1 A, 4 C

KEY TERMS AND PEOPLE � Jim Crow Laws � Poll tax � Literacy tests � Grandfather clause � Booker T. Washington � W. E. B. Du. Bois � Ida B. Wells � Las Gorras Blancas

Jim Crow Laws � Southern governments enacted laws to segregate blacks and whites

Limiting Voting Rights � 15 th amendment was SUPPOSED to grant all men the rights to vote � BUT ◦ Poll tax: tax to vote, poor people could not pay so they could not vote ◦ Literacy test: reading comprehension tests ◦ Grandfather Clause: if your grandfather could vote then you could �Allowed poor whites the ability to still vote � As a result, black voter registration in the south plummeted

New Laws Force Segregation � Jim Crow Laws � Plessy (1896) vs Ferguson ◦ Upheld constitutionality of Jim Crow Laws ◦ “Separate but Equal” doesn’t violate 14 th amendment

African Americans that Oppose Segregation � Accommodate to segregation � Called for “gradual progress” � Atlanta Compromise speech � Tuskegee Institute Booker T. Washington � Criticized Washington � Demanded IMMEDIATE equality � Niagara Movement � NAACP 1909 W. E. B. Du. Bois

Ida B. Wells � African America teacher that spoke out against lynching � Used newspaper articles

Chinese Immigrants Face Discrimination � Perceived threat that Chinese were taking jobs � Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act ◦ Prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the country � Chinese used the court system to sue for their rights

Mexican American Struggle � Many lost land they had been granted at the end of the Mexican American War ◦ They couldn’t prove that it was actually theirs ◦ Had no federal representation in Congress � Fighting Back ◦ Los Gorras Blancas �Targeted land of big ranchers �Cut holes in barbed wire

Women � Improved education � Organized activists groups ◦ Women’s Christian Temperance Union �Pushed Prohibition � Didn’t get a Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote ◦ National Women’s Suffrage Association �Susan B. Anthony �Elizabeth Cady Stanton Gains Set Backs

Political and Economic Challenges 1 b, 6 bc

KEY TERMS AND PEOPLE � Spoils system � Civil service � Pendleton Civil Service Act � Gold Standard

Balance of Power Creates Stalemate � Party loyalties were equally divided ◦ No group gained control � Presidents of Gilded Age are seen as WEAK ◦ Won by small margins ◦ Lacked integrity � Most Noteworthy President of the Period ◦ Grover Cleveland �Known for his integrity

Corruption � Lots of political corruption during the time ◦ Dishonest politicians � Political Cartoonists raise an alarm to the corruption � Thomas Nast: one the most famous cartoonists of the time ◦ Disliked Boss Tweed �Party Boss of the Political Machine, Tammany Hall

Political Cartoons Show Corruption

Thomas Nast

The Spoils System aka Patronage � Politicians awarded government jobs to loyal party workers-not based on their merit ◦ Kept the parties powerful � President Garfield is assassinated as a result of not giving in to patronage ◦ Chester Arthur steps up as President and passes…. � Pendleton Civil Service Act ◦ Must take an exam to prove merit for government job ◦ Slowed down patronage

Economic Issues ◦ A tax on imported goods ◦ Makes locally made goods cheaper ◦ Republicans �High tariff: promote industry and jobs ◦ Democrats �Low tariff: increased costs of goods to consumers and American farmers can’t sell their goods abroad Tariff � Gold Standard vs Bimetallism � Gold: money is backed by the gold we have � Minting Silver: would cause inflation ◦ Too much money in circulation ◦ Causes a rise in prices Monetary Policy

Farmers and Populism 5 a, 5 b

Farmers Face Many Problems � Falling Prices & Rising Debt ◦ Crop prices plummeted �Cost more to produce than they could sell them for ◦ Cost of doing business rose �Went in debt to pay for machinery, seed, livestock, etc � Big Business Practices ◦ Blame was on �Railroads: charging too much for freight �Banks: charging too high interest rates

Farmers Organize � The Grange ◦ Oliver H. Kelley ◦ Goals �Providing education on new farming techniques �Regulation of railroad rates �Regulation of grain elevator rates ◦ Some states pass “Grange Laws” �Set maximum freight charges and elevator storage �Prompted Congress to establish the ICC

Farmers Organize, Cont’d � Farmer’s Alliance ◦ Formed cooperatives to sell crops ◦ Called for “subtreasuries” �Low interest banks

The Populist Party � AKA The People’s Party ◦ New political party from the grass roots up ◦ Farmers � Goals ◦ End political corruption ◦ Increase the money supply �Free coinage of silver ◦ Government ownership of railroads

Economic Crisis & Populism’s Decline � 1893 Depression � 1896 Election ◦ Worsened conditions for farmers ◦ William Jennings Bryan runs as the Democrat �Ran with the Populist Goals �“Cross of Gold” speech ◦ William Mc. Kinley ran as Republican �Cast Bryan as a potential dictator �Supported the Gold Standard �Won the election

Populism’s Legacy � Populism declined but the Progressives’ pushed many Populist goals ◦ Graduated income tax ◦ Regulation of the railroads ◦ More flexible monetary system