Unit 4: Concern for Human Rights. I. Problems of the Industrial Era A.Industrial Problems Ohio became primarily a farming state after the Civil War. The.

Unit 4: Concern for Human Rights

I. Problems of the Industrial Era

A. Industrial Problems

• Ohio became primarily a farming state after the Civil War.• The population began to explode in Ohio cities.• Many new residents could not afford to buy farmland so they

stayed in the cities where they worked for wages.• Factory owners kept costs down by keeping wages low & and

not being concerned with things such as workplace safety or cleanliness.

• This was the era of BIG BUSINESS• Big corporations, stockholders, trusts, monopolies, etc

II. Reforms in Federal Legislation

A. Problems of the Federal Government

* Spoils System – Handing out of government jobs to political helpers.

• This system led to unqualified people working in important government jobs.

• These people often did not care about the Constitution or taxpayers.

• George H. Pendleton – Ohio Senator who sponsored a bill to end the spoils system.

• Pendleton Civil Service Act – Called for tests to be taken by prospective government employees to determine if they were qualified. Workers were chosen based on their scores on the tests.

• Ohio Rep Samuel Cox worked hard to pass this through the House of Representatives.

B. Antitrust Legislation

* Benjamin Harrison, a President from Ohio promised to look at the issues of trusts by businesses.

* Standard Oil Trust – Formed by John D. Rockefeller in Cleveland. Was the largest trust in the U.S.

* John Sherman, a U.S. Senator from Ohio, pushed for legislation to outlaw trusts that formed a monopoly. – Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

* Ohio had become an industrial center in the U.S. and many trusts existed in Ohio..so this was a huge change in Ohio.

* By the 1880’s Cincinnati was the largest city in Ohio with over 300,000 citizens.

Cincinnati Industry in late 1800’s & Beyond

• Steamboat manufacture and repair

• Meatpacking led to the nickname “Porkopolis”.

• Called the flavor capital of the world with the many flavor making companies here

• Queen City Forging – Manufactured carriage hardware..still here today.

• Over 30 beer breweries were run in Over the Rhine, the primary area of Cincinnatians of German ancestry. Christian Moerlein & Hudepohl-Shoenling were the most notable.

– Was a central part of the culture and economy of the area.

– Over 1.2 million in payroll paid to brewery workers each year.

– The beer industry supported farmers as far away as West Chester. Restaurants, beer gardens, and shipping companies also profited from the beer industry.

• Proctor and Gamble (1837) Got their start manufacturing & selling STAR candles. Became a national name with the creation of IVORY soap..the only soap that floats.

• http://www.pg.com/en_US/company/heritage.shtml (7:21)

• The Kroger Company – Started off as a bakery company that eventually morphed into the major supermarket chain that we know today.

• http://www.thekrogerco.com/corpnews/corpnewsinfo_timeline.htm

Playing Cards – The U.S. Playing Card Company (Bicycle cards)

1867•

The Ace of Spades served a famous purpose in the war in Vietnam. In February, 1966, two lieutenants of Company "C," Second Battalion, 35th Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, wrote The United States Playing Card Company and requested decks containing nothing but the Bicycle® Ace of Spades. The cards were useful in psychological warfare. The Viet Cong were very superstitious and highly frightened by this Ace. The French previously had occupied Indo-China, and in French fortunetelling with cards, the Spades predicted death and suffering. The Viet Cong even regarded lady liberty as a goddess of death. USPC shipped thousands of the requested decks gratis to our troops in Vietnam. These decks were housed in plain white tuckcases, inscribed "Bicycle® Secret Weapon." The cards were deliberately scattered in the jungle and in hostile villages during raids. The very sight of the Bicycle® Ace was said to cause many Viet Cong to flee.

III. Better Government for Ohio Cities

• In the 1880’s most cities in the U.S. were run by political machines – small groups of leaders who controlled the political activity in their party and the city.

• Cincinnati – Ruled by George B. Cox, otherwise known as Boss Cox.

Boss Cox

• Son of British Immigrants, forced to help support the family when his father passed away when he was 8.

• Became a saloon operator in notorious area of Cincinnati called “Dead Man’s Corner” known as such because of the high rate of unsolved murders there.

• Tired of his bar’s illegal gambling operation being raided by the po-po…he ran for city council.

• He then started running the political activities of Cincinnati and was labeled a political superpower.

• Used his influence to win over voters and control elections.• Paved roads and cleaned up the city..he felt that Cincinnati’s

government under his control, was the best system in the U.S.• Reform era leaders felt the exact opposite…that Boss Cox was one

of the most crooked politicians in the U.S.

• The Cincinnati subway system was begun under his leadership, but after his death the project fell apart.

• Boss Cox is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery which is also “home” to other famous Cincinnatians such as Salmon P. Chase, William Proctor, & Powell Crosley Jr.

IV. Progress in State Government

A. Workers Rights

* Industrial towns were not always peaceful..as many labor strikes took place when workers felt they were not treated well.

* Knights of Labor – National labor rights group that fought for shorter hours. Many Ohio factory workers were members.

* American Federation of Labor – Labor union started in Columbus, Ohio 1886.

>Many new laws passed in Ohio regarding the rights of workers.

> Ohio gained worldwide acclaim for it’s progressive ideals

regarding workers rights.

* American Federation of Labor – Labor union started in Columbus, Ohio 1886.

>Many new laws passed in Ohio regarding the rights of workers.

> Ohio gained worldwide acclaim for it’s progressive ideals

regarding workers rights.

B. Women’s Rights

• Ohio WAS slow in coming around to women’s rights in general.

• 1850 – Women’s Rights convention held in Salem, Ohio

• 1852 – Ohio Women’s Rights Association formed.

• 1852 – Ohio General Assembly voted to limit women working hours to 10 hrs per day.

• 1887 – Married women given the right to own property.

• 1919 – Ohio ratified the 19th amendment giving universal women’s suffrage.

C. Children’s Rights

• Ohio was one of the 1st states to limit the number of hours children could work each day.

• 1905 – boys under 15 and girls under 16 not allowed to work during the school year.

• Bing Law of 1921 required children in Ohio to attend school until age 18. Also set min. ages for certain types of jobs.

D. Black’s Rights

• Slavery was never legal in Ohio

• The General Assembly DID pass laws that limited the freedom of blacks.

• Black Laws– Main purpose of the laws was to dissuade free blacks and fugitive

slaves from settling in Ohio.

– Did not really serve it’s purpose as many slaves fled to Ohio on the Underground RR on their way to Canada..or even settling in Ohio once they learned they would not be sent back to slavery by local law enforcement.

• 1965 Ohio passed the Fair Housing Law – forbid racial discrimination in the sale or rental of housing.

• High unemployment rates for African Americans in many U.S. cities such as Cincinnati, Cleveland, & Toledo.

• President Lyndon Johnson pushed for an end to racial segregation in jobs, education, and housing.

• By 1969 racial desegrgation – or an end to separating people apart had become a major issue in Ohio.

V. Later Progress in Ohio

A. Conservation