“Redeeming” a New South
The Democrats who took power in the South were known as “Redeemers” It was a diverse group with interests in agriculture,
commerce, and manufacturing They did not share one common ideology although they
all supported laissez-faire economics and white supremacy
They tended to focus on the needs of the planter class, merchants, and industrialists while neglecting the small farmers and the working classes
Once in power, they ended many of the positive programs of Reconstruction This included major cuts in public services especially
education
“Redeeming” a New South
As the Redeemers neglected the small farmers, both whites and blacks started to suffer from the crop lien system
High cotton prices immediately after the war persuaded southern farmers to grow as much cotton as possible Prices quickly spiraled downward from $0.11/pound in
1875 to $0.05/pound in 1894 This threw the entire region into more debt and
poverty
“Redeeming” a New South
Many farmers would buy their supplies on credit to help them survive until the next harvest When the next harvest came in, many found that they had
not earned enough to pay off their debt By 1900, more than half the South’s white farmers and
three-quarters of the black farmers were tenantsBecause of this, farmers had no way of
improving their technology or diversifying their crops Farmers relied increasingly on cotton even though prices
were dropping Not enough farmers were growing food crops which led
to shortages
The Rise of Jim Crow
Once the Democrats were in power, they sought to make blacks even more of second class citizens than they already were
State constitutions were amended to disenfranchise blacks Many areas made it difficult for blacks to vote by
imposing poll taxes, literacy taxes, and having all-white primaries
These kept the blacks from votingThe “grandfather clause” was put in place
Only those who were able to vote before the war were exempt from literacy and poll taxes
The Rise of Jim Crow
In the 1890s, state and local laws legalized informal segregation through “Jim Crow” laws This was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1896 in Plessy
v. Ferguson which stated “separate but equal” facilities did not violate the 13th and 14th Amendments
Now the south could push the segregation boundaries even farther
Incidents of lynching and other forms of violence against blacks increased This was designed to keep blacks “in line” During the 1890s, more than 1,400 black men were
lynched or burned alive, with more than 1/3 accused of “sex crimes”
The Rise of Jim Crow
Northern leaders did nothing to protect blacks They even promulgated negative stereotypes in the media Many magazines called blacks the “lowly variety of man” and
believed that blacks in the U.S. had “too much liberty”
After the 1876 election, those in Congress were not so liberal either In 1890, Congress failed to pass bills aimed to support and
assist the newly freed slaves One of these was the Blair Bill which was designed to give
federal assistance to blacks This was due to a new generation of politicians in Congress
The Rise of Jim Crow
Supreme Court made a number of detrimental rulings for southern blacks In 1878, it overruled a Louisiana statute banning
discrimination in transportation In 1882, it stated that sections of the Ku Klux Klan Act of
1871 was unconstitutional In 1883, it stated that parts of the Civil Rights Act of 1875
was unconstitutional because the federal government did not have the right to involve itself in racial matters
Encouraged by these actions, southerners sought to make blacks permanently into second class citizens
Black Life in the South
Political and social discrimination made it possible to keep blacks permanently confined to agricultural and unskilled labor By 1900, 84% of black workers were involved in some
kind of agricultural work or service jobs Blacks held very few if any positions in factories, so they
were not able to learn new skills or move up the social ladder
Blacks did not accept their declining position passively In the 1880s, they joined Knights of Labor, a labor
organization However, whites did not like the blacks joining and
many left the organization, breaking the union
Black Life in the South
T. Thomas Fortune organized the Afro-American League in 1890 This was a precursor to the NAACP It was designed to encourage independent voting, oppose
segregation and lynching, and urge the establishment of black institutions to support black businesses
Some blacks continued to support the idea of migration Either to other parts of the Americas or back to Africa Bishop Henry McNeal Turner founded the International
Migration Society in 1894 to help blacks return to Africa
Black Life in the South
Booker T. Washington had a more moderate program to bring justice He was a former slave who founded the Tuskegee
Institute in 1881, which educated young blacks in vocational skills
In his 1895 Atlanta Compromise, he stated that blacks should abandon efforts to obtain civil, social or voting rights and settle for economic opportunity
In 1903, W.E.B. DuBois attacked Washington’s position He was first black man to be awarded a Ph.D. from
Harvard He stated that political rights should precede, not follow,
economic well-being
Post-War South
After the Civil War, the south was in very rough shape
There were major questions that needed to be answered How was the economy going to be rebuilt? How is the economy going to be transformed from a
slave-based economy to a freed labor one? What was going to be the new position of all the newly
freed slaves? What kind of rights should be extended to them?
Post-War South
The economy was struggling while it was flourishing in the rest of the country Many industries and farms were destroyed during the
course of the war
It was the poorest of all agricultural regions In 1880, southerners’ yearly earnings were only half
the national average Planters struggled to switch away from slave-based
labor Agricultural labor force was neither efficient nor
prosperous enough to invest in needed improvements
Post-War South
The south did not embrace industrialization the way the north did Therefore, it remained dependent on the North for
goods Those who did work in industries were poorly paid
and had little hope of advancement
As the rebuilding began, there were calls for a “New South” They wanted to kick away the old customs and
traditions southerners clung on to and bring industry to the South
Rebuilding the South
To keep up with the north, the southern railroad companies redid the railroad tracks and adjusted rolling stock throughout the south in 1886 This way it would fit the gauge of northern railroads
States would give incentives to help bring investors down south Several states offered tax exemptions and even cheap
convict labor They gave out railroad land grants Atlanta and Louisville held large industrial exhibitions It worked
Rebuilding the South
Throughout the late 1800’s, northerners invested heavily on rebuilding the south They increased their investments in the cotton industry
by 700% Their investments also help to expand railroad systems
throughout the south
A side effect of these investments was the expansion of the cities People flocked to the cities to find work in the new
industries In 1860, only 7% of southerners lived in the cities By 1900, it was up to 15% (national average was 40%)
Rebuilding the South
The different cities took on their own identities based on what industry they embraced Birmingham, once just a huge cornfield, grew to become
the center of the southern iron and steel industry Memphis prospered from lumber and cottonseed
products Richmond became the country’s tobacco capital Augusta focused on the textile industry
The New South leaders liked to boast about the growth of the south They used statistics to prove success of their
modernization efforts
Rebuilding the South
The middle class southerners did begin to accept new entrepreneurial values However, not everyone was willing to embrace it
Even though the south was making process, it was doing it very slowly Many people still romanticized about the past,
including the New South leaders A lot of businesses did not invest in a modern
workforce Southern schools lagged far behind that of the North Industry was still dependent on the traditional crops of
cotton and tobacco South did not better its position relative to the North
Rebuilding the South
South failed to reap many benefits from industrialization In 1860, the south had 17% of the country’s
manufacturing In 1904, it had only 15%
The only great southern corporation that arose was the American Tobacco Company The rest of the companies were owned by northerners Dollars fled north along with decision making power In many cases, the southern companies would do the
beginning work and then the items would be shipped north to be completed
Rebuilding the South
Those who did work in the southern industries had even worse working condition than in the north They worked long hours at low pay and had very little
chance for advancement They earned less and worked longer than any other
place in the country with their earnings about ½ of the national average
Black workers, who made up about 6% of the manufacturing force in 1890 usually had the worst jobs and the lowest pay
Thousands of women and children joined the work force
Modernizing Agriculture
From 1865 to 1900, the number of farms in the U.S. more than doubled in number
With the help of new machinery, farmers were able to focus on specialized crops While small family farms still dominated, there was an
increase in large single crop operations west of the Mississippi
Because of this, farming was no longer the dominant job in the country with numbers declining to 37 percent of the workforce in 1900
With the development of the expanding railroad system, they were then able to transfer these goods to markets
Modernizing Agriculture
One major factor contributing to the expansion of agriculture in the U.S. was the dramatic rise of population in Europe There was an increasing demand for crops as many
European countries had to import most of their food, especially England
In response, U.S. farmers attempted to improve crop yields and livestock They used new technologies such as the horse-drawn
harvester to increase the size of harvests This not only benefitted American farmers but also help
encouraged new trends in agriculture elsewhere in the world
Modernizing Agriculture
As part of this, there was the development of transportation both home and abroad to get the goods to new markets
By specializing for certain markets, farmers were dependent on outside forces and demands Every part of their lives were tied in to foreign
influences, including borrowing money from foreign banks, using foreign transportation
However, if one part of the chain broke down or stopped, U.S. farmers were hurt greatly
An example was the ban of American pork by European countries
Modernizing Agriculture
Another factor that participated in the expansion of agriculture was technological innovation There was the development of new machinery that
reduced amount of work required This made the growing of crops cheaper and easier
One problem was that this machinery was expensive Many American farmers went into debt to buy it
Having too large a harvest can also cause problems The harvests were too large for the domestic market This as well as foreign competition and deflation caused
prices to fall
Modernizing Agriculture
Not all farmers were hurt with by the declining prices They were receiving less money, but the costs of
farming declined as well This meant that the farmers continued to overproduce
which led to lower prices
The price deflation also increased the real value of debt In 1888, the interest on a $2,000 mortgage cost 174
bushels of wheat In 1895, it was up to 320 bushels
The West
After the Civil War, there was a rise in migration out west A lot of this had to do with an increase in European
migration to the U.S.
With this, more and more farms were created west of the Mississippi River The most dramatic increase took place in the Great
Plains region which had been ignored by settlers prior to the Civil War
Cattle Farming in the West
The first big farmers into the Great Plains were cattle farmers
During the Civil War, Texas cattle farmers were unable to sell their livestock to the Confederate states This led to a huge rise in the number of cattle in Texas
After the Civil War, railroads were built to take the cattle to markets throughout the mid-west
Cattle ranches spread as far north as the Dakotas New breeds of cattle were developed to help them deal
with the cold weather
Cattle Farming in the West
In the 1870s and early 1880s huge ranches popped up throughout the mid-west They were owned by outside investors and paid off
handsomely Cattle grazed on public domain lands so there was
little cost to feeding them Cowboys, a large percentage Mexican and black,
herded the steers but made very little incomeBy the mid-1880’s, farmers started moving
into the Great Plains They purchased large chunks of public lands and
enclosed them
Cattle Farming in the West
Along with the farmers, there were a number of other problems that led to a rapid decline in cattle farming Many ranchers overstocked their herds The winter of 1886 witnessed incredible harsh weather Ranchers frantically tried to cut their losses by selling
what was left
Those who remained in cattle farming adopted new techniques This included fencing in cattle and feeding them grains
in the winter
Farms in the Great Plains
After the Civil War, railroads began to crisscross the mid-west
Many of the railroad companies encouraged people to move to the Great Plains This was done through promotional materials about
how fertile the land was for farmingSettlers could either purchase land from the
government under the Homestead Act or from the railroads The railroads owned the best lands so these were
usually sold first
Farms in the Great Plains
The first boom in settlement took place from 1879 to the 1890s Settlers came from both the U.S. and Europe
Even though the land in the Great Plains was cheaper than in the east, it was still expensive to start up a farm Many farmers went into debt purchasing the land and
necessary machinery Others leased their lands because they did not have
the start up money
Farms in the Great Plains
Life in the region was not easy Many of the settlers did not expect the drastically
changing weather There were constant shortages of water Shortage of wood forced many to live in sod homes Long-term success depended upon short-term survival
Technology did help make the settlers lives easier Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire in 1874 which
gave farmers an alternative for fencing Twine binders replaced reapers for faster harvesting
and better protection for the harvested crops
Farms in the Great Plains
First boom ended abruptly in the late 1880s and early 1890s This was due to a combination of falling agricultural
prices and devastating droughtThousands lost their farms to creditors while
others stayed on as tenants. By 1900, 2/3 of homesteads had failed
The farming efforts had long-term negative on the plains Cattle, hunting of game, and depletion of the water
table all eventually contributing to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s
Farming in the Pacific
With the completion of a national railroad system, farming became California’s greatest asset
These farms were very different from the small homesteads in the mid-west The farms were much larger and heavily dependent on
the railroads They also used more machinery and relied on
irrigation They also used migrant labor, especially Mexicans and
Chinese
Farming in the Pacific
Water was a very valuable commodity in California Many irrigation projects were completed to bring more
water in, including damns and canals The costs of these projects were passed on to new settlers
who were forced to buy water rights with their land By 1890, more than one quarter of farms benefited from
irrigation
In the 1880s, railroads lowered rates and introduced refrigeration With this, grain was replaced with fruit and vegetables as
the dominate California crops
Exploiting Natural Resources in the West
The “gold rush” began in 1848 when gold was discovered in California
Other metals, such as silver, iron, copper, lead, zinc, and tin, were discovered out west They were just as important as gold because they
attracted people and businesses west However they only stayed as long as the mines
produced and left ghost towns behindMining projects required a large labor force
and expensive machinery Work was dangerous and conditions terrible
Exploiting Natural Resources in the West
Between mining and the construction of towns and railroads, there was large scale clearing of forests The wood was necessary not only for building projects
but shaft work in mines and wooden ties for railroads
This had a huge impact on the ecology By the late 1860s, ½ of California’s forests were cut
down It changed the nature of soil composition, water flow,
and the habitats of native animals
The timber industry believed that these lands should be cleared for development
Exploiting Natural Resources in the West
Timber and Stone Act (1878) Affected California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington It allowed for the sale of 160-acre parcels of public
domain that were unfit for cultivation Timber companies hired middle-men to buy the parcels
and turn them over, gaining some 3.5 million acresMany Americans called for government
intervention and conservation They believed the decimation of the forests would have
negative impacts on the environment and overall beauty of the country
John Muir helped Yosemite become a national park in 1890 and established the Sierra Club in 1892
Native Americans in the West
As farmers settled the west, they clashed with Native Americans In California, disease and violence killed 90% of the
Native American population in the 30 years following the gold rush
Most tribes resisted attempts to curb their way of life and transform their culture
The Plains Indians’ lives revolved around the buffalo The increasing number of settlers disrupted animal
migration patterns and tribal hunting The federal government did try to persuade Plains tribes
to stay away from settlers but had little luck
Native Americans in the West
In Oklahoma during the Civil War, eastern tribes that had relocated there had supported different sides After the war, all were branded as traitors
Sand Creek Massacre – (November 29, 1864) Colorado militia massacred a band of friendly
Cheyenne at Sand Creek 150 to 200 Cheyenne were murdered, with most of
them being women, children, and elderly The troops proceeded to scalp the dead and use the
scalps and other body parts to dress their equipment This massacre led to retaliation by the Cheyenne,
Arapaho and Sioux
Native Americans in the West
The congressional commission in charge of negotiating peace with the Native Americans believed that the west belonged to the whites They believed that the Indians should give way before
progress
Treaties were made in 1867 and 1868 to force American Indians to settle in the Dakotas or Oklahoma The chiefs who had signed had little authority in the
tribes, while most refused to sign The Senate did not hold up its end of the bargain by
refusing to send supplies to the tribes
Native Americans in the West
When Indians could not be convinced to move and stay on the reservations, the military attacked In 1867, winter campaigns were launched to attack tribes
when they were divided
In 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed This added more pressure for “solving” the Indian question The railroads wanted rights to travel through tribal lands
and to have those lands settled by whites
What options were available to the government to deal with the Indian question?
Native Americans in the West
In 1872, the commissioner for Indian Affairs, Francis Walker, believed there were more major issues with Native Americans One was how to prevent Indians from blocking white
migration and the other was what to do with them in the long run
He believed that Indians should be lured to reservations with gifts and food
Once there, “rigid reformatory discipline” would be imposed “to save them from falling hopelessly into the condition of pauperism and petty crime”
Basically, they should be given the choice of “yield or perish”
Native Americans in the West
Broken promises by the government fueled Indian resistance to attacks on their ancient way of life
They were able to win some small victories In 1875, the Sioux defended their sacred land in the
Black Hills against gold prospectors At the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876, they defeated
General George Custard
However, they could not withstand the power of the well-supplied, well-armed and determined U.S. Army
Native Americans in the West
One major component to the defeat of the Native American lifestyle was the wholesale destruction of the buffalo White hunters killed the buffalo for their hides Ranchers killed them off because they were
competition for grass for their cattle Sportsmen killed them off for fun By 1883, over 13 million by 1883 buffalo had been
killed Native Americans saw this an unwonted destruction
as they only killed what they needed
Native Americans in the West
There were many attempts to undermine tribal integrity and leadership In 1871, Congress abandoned the long time practice
of treating the tribes as sovereign nations The government extended federal jurisdiction to the
reservations Tribes were even warned not to gather for religious
ceremoniesMany believed that the Indians’ tribal bonds
kept them in “savagery”Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 – It allotted land
to individual families rather than tribes The lure of private property would supposedly break
those tribal bonds
Native Americans in the West
The “Surplus” land from the Dawes Act would then be sold to white settlers Profits from these sales held in trust by the
government for use in “civilizing” the Indians Within 20 years, Native Americans had lost 60% of
their landsMany Native Americans rallied around the
Paiute prophet, Wovoka He believed that the whites would eventually be
destroyed and the Indian ancestors would return He preached that if Indians lived righteous lives and
performed the Ghost Dance (a 5-day long round dance), they would help bring this about
Native Americans in the West
This movement led to unease among the settlers in the region
Sitting Bull, a Lakota Sioux tribal leader, was targeted as one of the leaders Bureau of Indian Affairs agents killed him while trying
to arrest him on December 15, 1890
A group of Sioux under Chief Big Foot fled to the Pine Ridge reservation to their safety They were captured and held prisoner at Wounded
Knee Creek while awaiting transport to Oklahoma
Native Americans in the West
Massacre at Wounded Knee – (December 29, 1890) While the military disarmed the group, a shot was
accidently fired The Cavalry responded by opening fire on the group Approximately 150 Sioux were killed, many women and
children, while only 25 U.S. soldiers were killed
Col. James Forsyth was later exonerated of charges
This was the last major conflict between the U.S. military and the Native Americans in the west
Farm Protests
After the Civil War, many farmers realized that they could improve their lives through organization Midwestern farmers and those near city markets were
able to adjust to changing economic conditions The southern and western farmers were not able to so
they were hit hardest by changing economic conditions
The Order of Patrons of Husbandry was one of the earliest efforts to organize white farmers It was founded in 1867 by Oliver Kelley Originally it was a social club, it was soon protesting
farming conditions
The Grange in the 1860s and 1870s
By 1875, it had more than 800,000 members and was renamed the National Grange Its main aim was to reform agricultural business,
namely by striving to bypass the middlemen such as railroad shippers and grain elevator owners
“Granger Laws” were successfully passed in a number of states between 1869 and 1874 It was pushed by businessmen and farmers in Illinois,
Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota The laws established maximum rates that railroads
and grain elevators could charge
The Grange in the 1860s and 1870s
Other states set up railroad commissions to regulate railroad rates, or outlawed railroad practices that seemed unjust
Munn v. Illinois (1877), the Supreme Court upheld these laws in However, it was reversed by Wabash v. Illinois (1886)
which put increasing pressure on Congress to act
Interstate Commerce Act of 1887
In 1887, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act This was in response to not only farmers Railroad managers wanted to control the fierce
competition that threatened to bankrupt their companies,
Shippers objected to transportation rates
The act required that railroad rates be reasonable and just Rate schedules were required to be made public and
that unfair practices like rebates be discontinued
Interstate Commerce Act of 1887
It also established the Interstate Commerce Commission It had the power to investigate and prosecute lawbreakers However, its authority was limited to interstate commerce
The ICC was not very effective It had problems defining what a “reasonable rate” was When it took offenders to court, the commission was
quickly overwhelmed with the number of suits In the end, it had little success prosecuting the
railroads for infractions
Southern Farmers Alliance
The Grange declined in the late 1870s Farm protests continued on especially after depression
hit in the late 1880s and worsened in the early 1890sIn the 1880s, one of the most important reform
organizations was the Southern Farmers It sent lecturers across the South and into the Plains
passing its message of reform It supported cooperatives, legislative efforts, changes in
the money supply and measures to improve the quality of rural life
By 1890, more than a million farmers had joined This included black farmers as well as white ones
The Ocala Platform (1890)
In December 1890, the National Farmers Alliance gathered in Ocala, Florida, to develop a platform One of the big criticisms of the Alliance was that the
federal government had not done enough to help out the farmers
The platform was very radical for the late 19th century It called for direct elections of Senators It supported lowering the tariff to reduce prices to help
the poor be able to buy necessary goods It also called for a new banking system controlled by the
federal government which would increase the money supply and cause inflation
The Ocala Platform (1890)
The plan also included: Sub-treasuries in agricultural regions where farmers
could store their produce at low interest rates until market prices favored selling
Government loans to farmers for up to 80% of the value of their crops to tide them over
A graduated income tax Regulation of transportation and communication
networks
The ideas were good for farmers but many Americans saw these ideas as too radical
The Ocala Platform (1890)
The Farmers Alliance supported sympathetic candidates in the elections of 1890 These candidates did get elected to office in numerous
cases However, they did not always push through reforms that
were beneficial to the farmers
Because of the success of these candidates and their failure to uphold farmer ideals, many began to push for an independent political party This leads to the rise of the Populist (People’s) Party in
the 1890s