The Gilded Age Industrial Growth in America- late 1800’s to early 1900’s
The Gilded Age
Industrial Growth in America-
late 1800’s to early 1900’s
Westward Expansion, The
Transcontinental Railway, and
Native Americans
Civil War and the
Transcontinental Railroad
Government turned towards National
Transportation
Kansas-Nebraska Act (what did it do?)
proposed to open up Nebraska to development
and the building of railway lines
What political party controlled the national
government during the Civil War and
immediately after the Civil War? Republicans:
Free from State’s Rights Southern Democrats, began passing legislation that would promote the Transcontinental Railway Subsidies (grant of money to help
investors build the railways cheaply) and Western land grants to Railway developers (Pacific Railway Act)
Sold land to gain money to purchase tracks
Promoted Westward Expansion through free land grants (Homestead Act) gaining support and need for national transportation
Republicans
and the
Railroads
Effect of Transcontinental
Railroad Created a national
market and economy, linking the East and West Farmers and Ranchers
could sell their products to the large markets of the East without spoilage
Easter Industries could easily get cheap natural resources from the West
Increased migration to the West Immigrants such as Irish
and Chinese moved to work on the railway lines
Effects on Chinese
Chinese Exclusion Act Many Chinese had migrated
for the gold rush then took up
working to complete the
Transcontinental Railway
Discriminated but tolerated
In 1882 after the completion
of the Railway passed laws to
stop Chinese immigration
Law made it almost impossible
for new Chinese to come to
America and made current
Chinese no longer citizens Families were permanently split,
unable to reunite after the law
Effects on Native Americans
Killing of the Buffalo Buffalo continuously slaughtered for their hides to
clear land for cattle ranchers
Killed because they often destroyed railway tracks
By 1889 population of buffalo dropped to only
1000
Effect of Buffalo Killing on
Plains Indians
Native American Tribes of the Plains relied
on the buffalo for food, clothing, and shelter Their slaughter left them unable to sustain
themselves
Indian Removal Continues
Much like the Trail of Tears, Federal Government continued this policy in the West
Tribes in the Plains were forced into smaller and smaller pieces of Indian Territory Lands prevented their
nomadic way of life Often forced to live
next to hostile tribes, leading to fighting between tribes
Don’t get too comfortable,
Removal Again
When valuable resources found on the land
granted to the Native Americans, they were
forced out again into the worst lands for
farming and survival
Indian Wars begin
Violent resistance by the Native Americans
became more and more common place Example: Cheyenne people had agreed to move to
reservations but became upset when their promised
land was again being taken
Sand Creek
Massacre
In response, US troops surprised 500 Cheyenne at Sand Creek
The Sand Creek Massacre left over 270 Native Americans – most of which were women and children dead
“Fingers and ears were cut off
the bodies for the jewelry they
carried. The body of White
Antelope, lying solitarily in the
creek bed, was a prime target.
Besides scalping him the soldiers
cut off his nose, ears, and
testicles-the last for a tobacco
pouch”
Custer’s Last Stand
Sioux outraged over treatment of
Cheyenne
Surrounded an outnumbered US
Calvary run by general Custer
Killed Custer and 200 soldiers
Became last victory for the Native
Americans
Eventually the Sioux and Cheyenne
were forced onto reservations in
the Dakotas and Oklahoma
Battle of
Wounded Knee
1890
In face of being forced
onto reservations, Native
Americans attempted to
hold onto their culture
and revitalize their morale Sioux, under Chief Sitting
Bull, began their
traditional Ghost Dance
Dance was believed to bring
back the buffalo, restore their
native lands, and banish the
white men
US Calvary believes it is an
act of Rebellion
Battle of Wounded Knee 1890
Soldiers attempt to arrest
Chief Sitting Bull resulting
in a gunfight and the
death of 14 people as well
as Chief Sitting Bull
Sioux under Chief Bigfoot
Flee but are pursued by
the soldiers to Wounded
Knee Creek
Battle of
Wounded
Knee 1890
A shot is fired, and soldiers just open fire on the tribe
At the end 150 Native Americans, 25 soldiers dead
Wounded Knee ends the Indian Wars and begins a
new era of US Native American relations
Dawes Severalty Act
Americans begin criticizing
treatment of Native Americans
(specifically removal from
promised reservations)
Government takes a new
approach of assimilation
(attempt to Americanize and
incorporate the Native
Americans into US culture)
Parts of the Dawes Severalty Act
Abolished Tribal Lands Broke land into individual plots
of land granted to Native American families to be farmed rather than communal land
25 years later could become citizens
Effect: On worst land of the west and did not know how to farm, completely against their belief in communal land ownership
Effect: many ended up losing their farms and forced to sell to whites
Parts of the Dawes Severalty Act
Carlisle Indian School Took Native American Children to boarding
schools in the East
Forced them to become “white”- taught English,
forced to dress as White Americans and reject their
entire culture
Overall Effect on Native
Americans
Poverty Stricken Worst land, little economic
opportunities
Cultural Destruction Forced out of their native
ways of life
No voice in American
Democracy No citizenship or voting
rights until 1924 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfRHqWCz
3Zw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioAzggmes
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Government Promotes
Industrial Development
American Post
Civil War
Industrialization- To
develop industry, on the rise
Urbanization-The process
by which cities grow or by
which societies become
more urban.
Agriculture- on the decline
Government Policies
promoting Industrialization
National Bank Republicans, free from Southern Democrats for farming, created
policies favoring industrial development of the North
Bank provides loans (capital) to Industrial investors
Government Policies
promoting Industrialization
Westward Expansion Access to abundant
resources
New land for development
Removal/control of
Native Americans
attempting to stop the
access to these resources
Government Policies
promoting Industrialization
New Laws upheld by the
Supreme Court Laws protecting contracts (people
were now held to written contracts
for labor, investment, etc)
Created the US Patent Laws:
protected the new inventions of
people to ensure their personal
success
Government can regulate
interstate commerce (trade)
Open Immigration Provided a plethora of
cheap labor for
industries
Government
Policies
promoting
Industrialization
Government Policies
promoting Industrialization
Protective Tariffs New American
industries free from
foreign competition
were able to take
control of their
markets
Effects of these
Policies
Promoted “Big Business” Policies helped Industrial owners
become more and more successful
Took advantage of workers Workers forced into harmful
conditions at low pay with no government protections
Took advantage of consumers Tariffs meant little competition
and high prices on products
Industrial Surplus Began producing more than
Americans could consume leading to new international trade and international influence
Post Civil War Technologies
Promoting Development
Telegraph and Telephone
Samuel B Morse (Morse Code) invents the telegraph
Alexander Graham Bell the telephone
Effect: Individual and business communication easier spreading trade of goods and ideas wider
Light Bulb
Thomas Edison
George Westinghouse-electricity
Effect: Factories could be
located anywhere not just near
water for hydroelectric power or
coal power
Factories could run for longer
hours of the day
Steam
Engine
Made the Steam ship possible (5mph at first! Woo hoo!!!)
Eventually lead to steam powered trains
Oil-new source of power lead to combustion engine and the automobiles
The Captains of Industry
The Gilded
Age
Pretty on the outside, ugly on the inside
The period from 1877 until the early 1900s came to be called the Gilded Age
The phrase comes from the writer Mark Twain, and refers to a time in which it appeared that a thin layer of prosperity was covering the poverty and corruption that existed in much of society
Beliefs of the Gilded Age
Capitalism: economic system where
businesses are owned by private
individuals or corporations (stock
holders)
Laissez-faire: Government does not
interfere with the economy or businesses
Beliefs of the Gilded Age
Social Darwinism: some people, groups, or businesses are more
naturally “fit” or talented/stronger, so they are the ones that survive
becoming rich and powerful
Law of Supply and Demand: Businesses will naturally adjust supply
to meet the demands of the public without government interference.
Too much supply leads to low prices and too much demand leads to
high prices
Effects of these Beliefs
Robber Barons formed: owners of large industries who used “questionable” tactics such as bribery/threats to form monopolies or trusts (which are?)
Monopolies limited competition causing prices of products to rise, hurting consumers
Effects of these Beliefs
Robber Barons subjected workers to long hours, poor
working conditions, and low wages to make a large profit
Off and on Depressions from bankrupting companies
Examples of Robber Barons
Boom Towns
Towns along the Transcontinental Railway
boomed (Chicago)
Industries such as lumber (to build wooden
tracks and railway cars), steel to build tracks and
trains, meat packing (ship meat without
spoilage), oil and coal (for fuel) boomed to
support the railways
Industrial giants within these cities and
industries developed
Andrew Carnegie
Steel Tycoon
2 methods to form his
monopoly on Steel Bessemer Process: makes the
processing of steel quicker and less
expensive increasing his
production
Vertical Integration: (controlling
all levels of a business from raw
materials to selling the final
product) Controlled not only the
steel mills but also the coal and
iron mines for raw materials (Kept
costs low could force his
competitors out of business)
John D. Rockefeller
Oil Tycoon (Standard Oil Company)
Used Vertical Integration and “Horizontal Integration:” (buying up all your competitors to form a monopoly) Got railway companies to give him rebates and bribed stores into only carrying his products no other company’s oil, driving down his costs and forcing his competitors out of business. Then bought these companies for cheap, driving up oil prices afterwards
Overview of Additional
Robber Barons
Cornelius Vanderbilt (Railroad
tycoon-died worth what would
be about $143 billion today)
JP Morgan (banking tycoon)-
bought up stocks in businesses
($22 billion)
The Positive
Images of Robber
Barons
Rags to Riches stories Most Robber Barons
began with nothing, some as poor immigrants
Author Horatio Alger’s book will inspire the idea of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.” that anyone can come from nothing and become rich
The Positive Images of Robber
Barons
Carnegie’s The Gospel of
Wealth Belief that God had given
these men the ability to
make more and more
money so it was their
responsibility to use that
money for the good of
others (ie give to charity) Believe Carnegie donated ½ of
his earnings to charitable
organizations
Mixed Feelings towards this era
Mass production of these products will create overall cheaper
products and a higher standard of living for the middle class
Women will be welcomed into the workforce within textile mills
Others begin to question the methods by which these men got rich
and thought the government protected them too much
Sherman Anti-
Trust Act
Business owners and managers
used the government to pass
Tariffs limiting competition and
to protect them from rebellious
laborers
1890 Government makes the first
attempt to limit the power of
Business Owners through the
Sherman Anti-Trust Act Made monopolies illegal
Supreme Court passes measures to
make it difficult to use the
Sherman Anti-Trust Act though
Also used by anti-union movement
to break up unions saying they
were a monopoly
The Populist Movement of the 1890’s
Agricultural Mechanization
Many farmers moved out West for cheap land
Farmers began relying on the latest technology (reapers,
steel plows) to increase production
Effects: Less farmers were needed so many moved to cities to get
industrial jobs
Agricultural production boomed but the supply was higher than
demand meaning what happened to the price?
Who’s to Blame?
Blamed politicians and big business
Formed cooperatives (farmers working together) to protect their interests
Got politicians elected to pass Grange Laws Passed laws that limited how
much railways could charge farmers to ship their products
Overthrown by the Supreme Court
Congress passes the Interstate Commerce Act instead: Allowing federal government to regulate these rates and set a precedent that the government can regulate business despite laissez-faire.
Rise of the Populists
or the People’s Party
Political Party favoring the needs of farmers seeing it as the backbone of America
Later would also favor the working classes of the Northeast
Appealed to the “Common Man”
Wanted Blacks and Whites to unite in order to overcome oppression and corrupt politicians
What the Populists Wanted:
1. Regulate rail and banks to support cheap transportation of goods and cheap loans to expand businesses
2. Bimetallism: wanted the dollar bill to be backed by both Gold and Silver This would flood the market with
“Greenbacks” or paper money, leading to inflation, and higher farm prices
What the Populists Wanted:
3. Increase government
regulation of businesses
4. Supported an 8 hour work
day and limited immigration
for industrial workers to gain
their support as well
5. Wanted a graduated income
tax (tax for businesses and
individuals that increases with
the amount of money you
make)
What the Populists Wanted:
6. Direct election of
Senators instead of them
being elected by State
legislatures to increase
the power of the people
7. Secret Ballots to avoid
political intimidation
Election of 1896
Conditions not favorable for reelection of
Republican President McKinley Middle of an economic depression from farmers
and bankrupted businesses
Had backed the Gold Standard (backed American
money only by gold not silver)
Election of 1896
Main Issue: “Soft Money”- Greenbacks or Dollar Bills versus “Hard Money”- Gold and Silver
Question: Would dollars be backed by the Gold Standard or Bimetallism (gold and silver) Gold Standard favored by Bankers and Businesses Bimetallism by farmers and laborers
Election of 1896
Democrats are split but
ultimately nominate a
Populist leaning
candidate William
Jennings Bryan Meaning he supported
Gold Standard or
Bimetallism_______?
Election of 1896
William Jennings Bryan
makes a famous speech the
“Cross of Gold Speech” at
the Democratic Convention In it he stated, “You shall not
press down upon the brow of
labor this crown of thorns,
you shall not crucify mankind
on a cross of gold” Meaning?
Election of 1896
McKinley Responds with the
“Front Porch Campaign” Rather than campaigning around
the country, pays for and invites
people to his home where he
speaks individually
Gains trust
Promises industrial workers “full
dinner pail” believing big
business and gold was the key
to continued prosperity
Election of 1896
Big Business of the
Northeast assured
McKinley's victory
Populist party dies
but its ideas would
be adopted by the
Progressive party in
years to come
Urbanization of the Late
19th Century
Urbanization
The growth of cities Cities first became trading centers
Railway gave rise to new cities as transportation
centers (Chicago)
Electricity turned them into Industrial Centers
Inventions Grow Cities Up and
Out
Elevators and Steel
girders (beams) lead
buildings to get taller
and taller First McNally
Building in Chicago
First “Skyscraper”-
10 stories high!
Inventions Grow Cities Up and
Out Suspension
Bridges, Electric Trolley Cars, and elevated tracks (els) grew cities outwards (suburbs), because transportation to the central city easier
Populations of Cities Explode
Though most people will continue to live in
rural areas until 1920, the population of cities
begins to explode for several reasons: Mechanization meant less farmers were able to
make a living, leading many to move to the cities
for factory jobs
Populations of Cities Explode
African Americans of the
South: Most will stay in the South
until the early 20th Century
but many begin migrating
northward during the
Gilded Age for 4 reasons: 1. Cotton yields and prices fell
2. Could not get jobs in
Southern textile mills
3. Jim Crow Laws
4. Constant threat of lynchings
Still discriminated against
“last hired first fired” and
still segregated in the North
Populations of Cities Explode
Increased Immigration Massive migration of Southern and
Eastern Europeans in the late 19th
century: Jews, Poles, Italians, and
Russians Escaping famine, political persecution, and
overpopulation
By 1880’s 80% of New Yorkers are foreign
born
Most stay in these port cities because they
have little money to move across country
Less accepted because they were of a
different religion (Catholic, Jewish,
Orthodox) and had a somewhat darker
complexion
Replaced former immigration from
Northern and Western Europe
Ellis Island To handle this large number
of people arriving in the country, the federal government opened up Ellis Island in 1892
A tiny island near the Statue of Liberty, it became a well known reception center for immigrants arriving by ship
As more and more people immigrated to the US, the nation’s population became very diverse
Effects of
Increased
Immigration
Nativism Spreads: opposition to immigration, began anti-immigrant campaigns (unsuccessful at limited immigration until the 1920’s)
Immigrants faced violence and discrimination by these groups
Effects of Increased
Immigration
Melting Pot Myth: Diversity from immigrants gave
rise to the hope that all these
different groups would mix
together and assimilate into
American Culture
Reality: Ethnic Neighborhoods
formed (Little Italy, Chinatown,
Greektown), keeping traditional
businesses and education alive,
forming their own newspapers
and home away from home
Assassination of William
McKinley
1901
Murdered by
Polish immigrant
Leon Czolgosz
This will increase
Americans fear of
immigrants
Immigration gives rise to Ward
Bosses and Political Machines
“Ward bosses” (like a mob boss) controlled neighborhoods and politics Gained support of community by
helping new immigrants get jobs and cleaning up problems within the neighborhood
Elected to public office Politically, used their status to bribe
and extort business owners who might want to move into the neighborhood
Leader of Tammany Hall:
Democratic Political
Machine of NY.
Known for buying votes to stay
in power, bribing judges to
avoid charges and to get
opponents in trouble, stole
millions in tax money from
contracts and city funds
Ran from the law but caught in
Spain from someone
recognizing him from a
political cartoon in the
newspaper Harper’s Weekly.
NY Boss William
Tweed
The Rise of Labor Unions
Labor Unions
Unions develop: group of workers who join
together to protect the needs of its members
Why did they Develop?
Workers treated as
replaceable (profit above
people)
Influx of former farmers,
immigrants, women,
children, and African
Americans meant more
workers than jobs Effect: 55% of unskilled labor lived
below the poverty line
Unions began protesting-
working conditions, long
hours, low wages, and women
and children working
Example of Early Union
Knights of Labor: open to all people: men,
women, and African Americans (this openness
would be why they ended up falling apart)
Early Trade Unions (unskilled
laborers) Ineffective
Strikes at first were ineffective Too much labor meant
businesses would use “scabs”- new immigrants and African Americans who were hired to work during the strikes to keep business running
Tried to just use education, political pressure, and compromises with managers to get desires (few worked)
How Big Business Controlled
Unions at First
1. Yellow Dog Contracts: cannot join a union as part of their contract
2. Backlisting: Shared list of workers who joined unions or protested so no one would hire him
3. Threats: owned tenements (housing workers lived in) and stores where people bought their goods, threatened to lose home and necessities if protested
4. Turned to the Government to squash strikes
Examples of Government Protecting
Businesses above Workers
Haymarket Riot 1866 Chicago Union members
protesting the death of two laborers a few days earlier
Police sent to stop protest-bomb exploded on the policemen
Labeled unions as “anarchists”
Examples of Government Protecting
Businesses above Workers
Railroad Strike of
1877 Workers violently
protesting a 10% wage
decrease
Government will send
federal troops to help
the railroad owners
Shows government
willing to send troops
to protect businesses
over people
Examples of Government Protecting
Businesses above Workers
Pullman Strike Pullman Railway Company
decreased their wages but
kept rents on their
tenements the same
Union tries to negotiate but
Pullman just decided to
close the factory
Eugene Debs: leads union
calling for boycott and
strike of 120,000 workers
Examples of Government Protecting
Businesses above Workers
Federal Government
once again sends in
troops to crush the strike
President will use the
Sherman Anti-Trust act to
“break up the strike” as a
union that is a monopoly
Business owners know they
can go to the Federal
Government for help
1903 Children’s March
Organized by Mary
Jones=Mother Jones
Marches children of
textile industry to
Washington DC.
Limited Success of Unions
Craft Unions (unions of
skilled laborers) bring some
success because there are not
many skilled laborers (not
replaceable)
Use Collective Bargaining:
employees negotiated for the
needs of a group rather an
individual needs
Reasons for Few Successes of Labor
Unions in the late 19th
Century
1. Public sees unions as violent and dangerous
2. Public sees them as anarchists, socialists,
and communists (wanting government
ownership of business)
3. Government support of big business owners
4. Nativists did not support labor unions
because of their immigrant membership
The Progressive Era
Life in the City
Challenges of Urban Life
Low wages meant
entire families had
to work to afford
basic necessities Men, women , and
children worked 12 or
more hours a day, 6
days a week (Sundays
off)
Working Conditions
Sweatshops were hazardous
Makeshift factories in small apartments or unused buildings
Poorly lit, poorly ventilated Unsafe
Working Conditions
Few breaks Children given the most
dangerous jobs and got little to no education Mills: cleaned thread spools
because their small fingers could fit between the spinning thread, often lead to lost fingers and hands
Coal Mines: sent into the smallest most dangerous mine shafts that could cave in at any moment
Children were frequently beaten if they fell asleep or didn’t work fast enough
Working Conditions
Women gained working opportunities but had no opportunity to advance, management was only for men Paid less Threatened and
taken advantage of by male managers
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
1911
Company located in
NYC.
Fire breaks out.
Emergency Exit doors
are locked trapping
workers inside.
146 dead.
Living Conditions
Cities unprepared for growth Pollution
“clouds of coal vapors,” noise from steam engines, trash, factory run-off dumped into water sources
No sanitary or building codes
Tenements: Large multi-story apartments for factory workers especially immigrants creating urban slums No running water, sewage,
trash thrown on to streets
Living Conditions Public Services Non-
existent: Little Police protection,
mob mentality,
Political Machines
controlling politics
through corruption
Uncontrollable disease
Cholera spread rapidly
due to water
contamination
Average life span half
that of rural working
class
People begin to want
the government to do
something about the
problems in the city
Living Conditions
Upper Class happy Lived in luxurious suburban homes
Growth of Middle Class Skilled workers, professionals, businesspeople, and
wealthy farmers
Had “New Money” Money from working not from inheritance
Problems in the City
lead to Progressive
Movement
Progressive Era: time period of political, social, and economic change in America beginning around the turn of the century (1900) Started by educated
growing middle class tired of paying taxes to corrupt political machines with nothing being done to clean up the city
Media Inspires the
Progressive Movement
Muckrakers: journalists
exposed the social evils of
society during the late 19th
century
First time they had Photography
to take pictures of the
conditions-Jocob Riis-How the
Other Half Lives
Most Famous: Upton Sinclair-
wrote “The Jungle” Exposed poor sanitation and
conditions of the meat industry
Eventually leads to government
inspection of meats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0Q4z
PR4G7M
1:55 minute start
Female Progressives Promote
Social Reform
Jane Addams- creates the Hull House, settlement house in Chicago, IL
Settlement Houses: established in poor neighborhoods to help immigrants and urban poor with vocational training (meaning?), childcare, and other assistance
Called the mother of Social work
Women’s Suffrage Movement
Grows
Causes of the Stronger Push for
Women’s Rights and Suffrage
More women’s colleges Educated and skilled Growing Middle Class of
Women trying to improve their status and the conditions of the city
New working opportunities If we can work like men, we
can vote like men!
Westward Expansion Pioneer women treated as
equals, leads to western States giving women the right to vote locally before the East and the federal government
3 Groups Rise for the Cause of
Women’s Suffrage
National Association of Colored Women: looking to improve civil rights and voting for African American women
3 Groups Rise for the Cause of
Women’s Suffrage
National Women’s Suffrage Association 1890 Looks to State
governments to persuade them to give women the right to vote
Started under Carrie Chapman Catt
3 Groups Rise for the Cause of
Women’s Suffrage
National Woman’s Party Wants a national
Constitutional amendment
not just agreement of State
governments
Wants to use more direct and
forceful methods
Will march and picket the
white house
Led by Alice Paul
Opposition to Women’s Rights
Political Machines and Liquor Industry fight against movement (because many of the Suffragettes support Prohibition and the Temperance Movement-ending the sale of alcohol)
Opposition to
Women’s Rights
Lack of support leads
women to more radical
moves Picketing women
arrested and jailed
In jail women turn to
Hunger Strikes-
refusing to eat until
they are released or
suffrage passed
Jails will force feed the
women, often leading
to infections, disease,
and death of the
women anyway
Progressive Era Presidents
Progressives Reach Political
Office
Began with State and Local Politics Progressives elected as
Mayors to Cities Progressives elected as
Governors of States
Eventually growing support of these politicians will lead to the first Progressive President in 1901
Theodore Roosevelt
William McKinley is
assassinated allows
Theodore Roosevelt to
become president.
Youngest man
inaugurated
Extremely Progressive
Theodore Roosevelt’s “Bully
Pulpit”
Used his office to
Bully and Breakdown
Big Business
Theodore Roosevelt’s
Progressive Reforms
1. Anthracite Coal Mine Strike 1902: Rather than sending troops
to help owners, Teddy sides with the workers and requires the owners to negotiate with the workers over shorter work days and better wages to stop the strike
2. Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Act Gained further control over
the railroads
Theodore Roosevelt’s
Progressive Reforms
3. Trust-Buster Used the Sherman
Anti Trust Act to finally break up and regulate monopolies
4. Founded Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Packing Inspection Act Protecting consumers
as a result of what book?
5. Conservationism-National Parks system began
Teddy’s Bull Moose Party 1912
After 4 years not in office, Theodore Roosevelt decides to run again
Splits the Republican Party between President Taft (more conservative then Teddy) Teddy decides to run because of
Taft’s conservatisms saying "I'm feeling like a bull moose“- ready to push through Taft’s politics
Leads to the victory of Democratic Candidate Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Progressive Governor, opposed Big Business and Big Government
Part of the Solid Democratic South-does nothing to improve African American conditions
Woodrow Wilson’s Progressive Reforms
1. Clayton Anti-Trust Act: Made Unions exempt from anti-trust laws called the “Magna Carta of Labor”-protecting laborers from owners
2. Protects an 8hour work day for some
3. Sets up some worker’s compensation
4. Passes Federal Child Labor Act to restrict hours that children can work Supreme Court rules it
unconstitutional so it is somewhat ineffective
Woodrow Wilson’s
Progressive Reforms 5. Federal Reserve Act:
creates an elastic
money supply (ie
makes it easier to
regulate how much
money is available) Helps Farmers get
loans
Created a safety net of
money if banks failed
Woodrow Wilson’s
Progressive Reforms 6. 16th Amendment:
Graduated or Progressive Income Tax Federal Government can
collect income taxes on individuals and businesses
The amount you pay will go up with the amount of money you make
7. 17th Amendment: Senators will be directly elected by the people rather than State Governments to increase power of the people
Effects of WWI
on Progressive
Era
1. 18th Amendment-Prohibition: Grain shortages and Anti-German Propaganda (portray them as beer makers) leads to Prohibition-illegal to sell alcohol
2. 19th Amendment- Women’s Right to Vote: women working in factories and their war effort will lead to women gaining suffrage Alice Paul (leader of what?) will
continue to fight for an equal rights amendment as well
Neither supported by Woodrow Wilson though passed during his presidency
Effects of WWI on Progressive
Era
3. Anti-Trust Acts will not be
enforced: Big Business had helped
with the war effort so government
began turning a blind’s eye
4. Regular Conservative Republican
elected in 1920 ending enforcement
of Progressive reforms Idea of government working for the
people will not be renewed until
Franklin D. Roosevelt ‘s New Deal
during the Great Depression