ISSUES OF THE GILDED AGE

1877-1900

SEGREGATION AND SOCIAL TENSIONS

1A,4A,4C

Jim Crow Laws Poll tax Literacy tests Grandfather clause Booker T. Washington W.E.B. DuBois Ida B. Wells Las Gorras Blancas

KEY TERMS AND PEOPLE

Southern governments enacted laws to segregate blacks and whites

Jim Crow Laws

15th 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

Limiting Voting Rights

Jim Crow Laws Plessy vs Ferguson

(1896)◦ Upheld

constitutionality of Jim Crow Laws

◦ “Separate but Equal” doesn’t violate 14th amendment

New Laws Force Segregation

African Americans that Oppose Segregation

Booker T. Washington W.E.B. DuBois

Accommodate to segregation

Called for “gradual progress”

Atlanta Compromise speech

Tuskegee Institute

Criticized Washington Demanded IMMEDIATE

equality Niagara Movement NAACP 1909

African America teacher that spoke out against lynching

Used newspaper articles

Ida B. Wells

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

Chinese Immigrants Face Discrimination

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

Mexican American Struggle

Women

Gains Set Backs

Improved education Organized activists

groups◦ Women’s Christian

Temperance Union Pushed Prohibition

◦ National Women’s Suffrage Association Susan B. Anthony Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Didn’t get a Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote

Political and Economic Challenges

1b, 6bc

Spoils system Civil service Pendleton Civil Service Act Gold Standard

KEY TERMS AND PEOPLE

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

Balance of Power Creates Stalemate

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

Corruption

Political Cartoons Show Corruption

Thomas Nast

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

The Spoils Systemaka Patronage

Economic Issues

Tariff Monetary Policy

◦ 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

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

Farmers and Populism

5a, 5b

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 Face Many Problems

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

Farmer’s Alliance◦ Formed cooperatives to

sell crops◦ Called for “sub-

treasuries” Low interest banks

Farmers Organize, Cont’d

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

The Populist Party

1893 Depression◦ Worsened conditions for farmers

1896 Election◦ William Jennings Bryan runs as the Democrat

Ran with the Populist Goals “Cross of Gold” speech

◦ William McKinley ran as Republican Cast Bryan as a potential dictator Supported the Gold Standard Won the election

Economic Crisis & Populism’s Decline

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

Populism’s Legacy