U.S. History Chapter 11
 

Urbanization:

  • Early Films of New York, 1898-1906 - Library of Congress
     
  • Problems
    • Loss of freedom - emphasis on increased production
    • Loss of identity - wide gap between big bosses and workers
    • Long hours/low wages - 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week, $3 - 12 a week
    • Dangerous working conditions
    • Child labor - forced to give up school and chance of a better life
    • Lack of good housing - most lived in tenements which were extremely crowded
    • Transportation - solved by subways and trolley cars
    • Sanitation
    • Crime
    • Fires
    • de facto segregation
Immigration:
  • Jobs and opportunities drew huge numbers from 1880 - 1915
  • Came from southern and eastern Europe rather than northern Europe
  • Melting pot v. Mixed salad
  • Many Americans resented immigrants
    • Cultural differences
    • Prejudice against Catholics
    • Threat to jobs
    • Racism
     
  • The RMS Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912
       
    • The Loss of the S. S. Titanic is a book written by Lawrence Beesley, a surviver.

She sank in 2 hours and forty minutes.

Her final resting place was located in 1985.

Rise of the Political Machine:

  • City governments were not very efficient due to various problems and the sudden influx of immigrants
  • Political machines developed in part to fill this void
  • Dominated by a political boss, a political machine was a well organized group that controlled all of the political activities of a political party in a large area
  • Provided services to the general population in exchange for votes
  • Provided favorable treatment from government officials for businesses in exchange for money
  • Concentrated heavily on immigrants because they were the most vulnerable and most in the need of help
  • Padded voting lists
  • Kickbacks
  • Municipal graft
The Labor Movement Began:
  • First major strike was in 1877 against the railroads
    • Workers all over the country struck
    • Federal government restored order and broke the strike
  • Knights of Labor
    • Formed in 1869
    • Supported 8 hour workday
    • Opposed child labor
    • Supported health and safety laws
    • Supported equal pay for equal work for men and women
    • Preferred political activity rather than strikes
  • American Federation of Labor (AFL)
    • Founded in 1881 by Samuel Gompers
    • Less political than Knights of Labor
    • Wanted shorter hours, higher pay, and better working conditions
    • Used collective bargaining and strikes when necessary
  • Craft Unionism
    • Only included skilled workers
  • Industrial Unionism
    • Organized workers, skilled or unskilled, who worked in the same industry
    • American Railway Union
      • Formed by Eugene Debs who ran for president in 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, 1920 as a Socialist
        • Received the most votes in 1920 while in prison
    • Government sided with management and issued injunctions to prevent strikes
Rutherford B. Hayes and civil reform:
  • Hayes wanted to eliminate patronage(spoils system) and corruption, both of which were essential to political machines
  • Caused a split in the Republican Party
    • Stalwarts were against reform

Presidential Election of 1880:
  • Republicans nominated a reformer, James Garfield, for president and a stalwart, Chester A. Arthur, for vice president
     
  • Democrats nominated Winfield Scott Hancock (48.2% of popular vote)
     
  • Garfield won (48.3% of popular vote) but was shot by Charles J. Guiteau in Washington, DC on July 2, 1881.  
  • Garfield died eleven weeks later on September 19, 1881.
       
    • It was not until the ratification of the twenty-fifth amendment in 1967 that United States law provided a procedure for what to do if the President were incapacitated.

     
  • Chester A. Arthur became president and changed to a reformer
     
    • Pendleton Act of 1883 created a civil service exam for all classified positions and gave the president the power to expand the list of classified positions
      • Merit system
      • Today 85% of federal jobs are classified

Presidential Election of 1884:  
The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886.

 
Presidential Election of 1888:

  • Benjamin Harrison
     
    • Grandson of William Henry Harrison
    • Republican
    • Won electoral vote but not popular vote against Cleveland
    • Harrison (47.7% of popular vote) - Cleveland (48.6% of popular vote)

Presidential Election of 1892:
  • Cleveland - Democrat (46.0% of popular vote)
    • First and only to serve non-consecutive terms
    • Issue was tariffs
  • Harrison - Republican (43.0% of popular vote)
  • James Weaver - Populist Party (8.5% of popular vote)

Rise and Fall of Populism:
  • Arose out of the Granger movement and wanted cheap money (inflation) because there was deflation after the war and farmers could not pay back their loans
  • Populist platform
    • Bimetallism
    • Graduated federal income tax
    • Government ownership and operation of railroads, telegraph, and telephones
    • Direct election of senators
    • Single term for the president
    • Secret ballot
    • Initiative
    • Recall
    • Referendum
  • Wanted to incorporate the labor movement
  • Did very well in the elections of 1892 and 1894
  • Incorporated by the Democrats in 1896
Presidential Election of 1896: