Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

(2)

African Americans Loose Freedoms

•

States’ governments limit voting rights.

– Poll tax: African Americans were required to pay $2-3.oo for the right to vote. Most could not afford this.

– Literacy Tests and “understanding tests” before being able to vote. Most blacks were not literate.

– _{Grandfather Clause: you could only vote if your grandfather had been}

able to vote. This allowed poor and illiterate whites to vote but not African Americans.

– _{White only primaries.}

(3)

Laws regarding segregation

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Jim Crow Laws separating the races.

•

White only railroad cars, white only restrooms,

white only waiting areas.

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Plessy v. Ferguson the Supreme Court ruled that

(4)

African Americans Oppose Injustices

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They established their own black newspapers, women’s

clubs, fraternal organizations, schools and colleges.

•

Booker T. Washington:

–

African Americans need to build up their own economic

resources.

–

Created the Tuskegee Institute, a school in Macon County

Alabama.

–

Providing “industrial education” referred to as vocational

(5)

Cont.

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W.E.B. Du Bois: earned his Ph.D. from Harvard

– _{Criticized Washington's willingness to accommodate southern}

whites.

– _{Blacks should demand full and immediate equality}

•

Ida B. Wells fought for justice

– _{Bought a newspaper and named it}_{Free Speech}_{to write editorials}

condemning the mistreatment of blacks.

– _{She went around the country attacking the practice of lynching –}

(6)

Chinese Immigrants face discrimination

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Faced racial prejudice on the West Coast.

•

California barred cities from employing people of Chinese ancestry.

•

San Francisco established a segregated “oriental school”

•

Whites felt the Chinese had taken their jobs.

•

Supreme Court decision in Yick Wo v. Hopkins struck down a law

that prevented the Chinese from opening laundry’s

•

Court also ruled that they could not have their citizenship

(7)

Mexican Americans

• _{Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo guaranteed the property rights of Mexicans who lived}

in the Southwest.

• _{When Anglo-Americans and Mexican Americans laid claim to the same land the US}

courts forced the Mexicans to “prove” their claim.

• _{The “Santé Fe Ring” got the US to grant them control over millions of acres in New}

Mexico.

•

• _{Thousands of Mexican Americans had lived on the land and farmed it – but they}

had no rights because New Mexico was not a state.

• _{Mexican Americans formed a group called “Las Gorras Blancas who targeted the}

property of large ranch owners = burning houses and vandalism.

• _{Alianza Hispano-Americana was formed in 1894 to protect their culture, interests}

(8)

Women’s Rights

•

Women thought that since they had helped out in the

Revolutionary War, the Civil War that the government

would finally give them the right to vote.

•

Susan B. Anthony and Cady Stanton formed the National

Woman Suffrage Association to fight for an amendment

granting women the right to vote.

•

The number of women going to college grew.

•

Frances Willard led the Women’s Christian Temperance

(9)

Political and Economic challenges

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Balance of Power creates stalemate.

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Congress: because there was so much party

loyalty it was hard to get any laws passed.

•

Only twice between 1877 and 1897 did either the

Republicans or Democrats gain control of the

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Presidents of the Gilded Age

• _{Most of the Presidents appeared weak.}

• _{Rutherford B. Hayes made a secret deal to win the presidency.}

• _{Benjamin Harrison lost the popular vote but won the electoral college.}

• _{Chester Arthur came to be president after someone assassinated}

James Garfield.

• Grover Cleveland was the only president who seemed to have integrity.

(11)

Corruption in Politics

•

Political cartoonists made fun of the

politicians and focused on how much “big

money” had “paid” to get certain people

elected.

•

Most famous “corrupt politician” was a New

(12)

The spoils system and civil service

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Spoils system: politicians awarded government jobs to loyal

party workers.

•

Candidates for President did not go out and campaign – the

election was run by local “political machines”.

•

Civil Service: a system of federal jobs. At one time jobs were

given out based on “who you knew

•

Pendleton Civil Service Act 1883

– _{Set up the Civil Service Commission which developed and}

administered the tests.

(13)

Economic Challenges to the Nation

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The Gold Standard: means that the gov. would use

gold as the basis of the nation’s currency.

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Tariff question: how to put a tax on imported goods.

•

Major political question between republicans &

democrats in 1888.

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Republicans wanted a high tariff believing that it would

allow American industries to grow.

–

Democrats wanted low tariffs because High tariffs

(14)

Conflicts over paper money

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During civil war gov. issued “greenbacks” .

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Coinage Act of 1873 reversed the gov. policy

of making both gold and silver coins.

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The bankers and others in international trade

(15)

Farmers and Populism (sect. 3)

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Farmers problems:

– _{Between 1870 – 1895 prices plummeted.}

– _{Cotton went from 15 cents a pound to 6 cents}

– _{By 1890’s it cost a farmer more to grow crops than by selling it so}

they burned it as fuel.

– _{The cost of farm equipment, seeds etc. went up}

•

Farmers blamed banks and railroads:

– _{Railroads charged whatever they wanted for shipping} – _{Banks set interest loans to high}

– _{Dishonest merchants and landlords}

– _{Felt they were being ignored by Presidents who did not understand}

(16)

Farmer’s Organizations

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The Grange: formed by Oliver H. Kelly

–

Had about 1 million members

–

Goals of the grange: providing education on new

farming techniques

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Calling for regulation of railroad and grain elevator

rates

–

Some states did set a maximum rate for shipping and

grain storage

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Cont.

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Southern Farmer’s Alliance

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Formed cooperatives to sell their crops

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Wanted “sub-treasuries” which are postal banks to

provide farmers with low-interest loan.

–

Georgia Alliance led a boycott against manufacturers

that raised the price of special cord that farmers used

to wrap bundles of cotton

(18)

Populist Party

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AKA the People’s Party – 1892

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They warned about the dangers of political

corruptions, Inadequate monetary supply, and

unresponsive gov.

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Their platform called for coinage of silver,

government take over ownership of Railroads.

–

Election of 1892 they elected 3 governors, 5

senators, and 10 congressmen,

(19)

Economic Crisis and Populism’s De

cline

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1893 the US had a four year depression

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Labor unions and violence.

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Election of 1896

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Democrats nominate William Jennings Bryan for

president

–

His address to the national Democratic convention

• _{Spoke for the “Plain people of this country” and “For our}

farms”

• _{The Speech is known as the “Cross of Gold” because it}

ended with the statement

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Cont.

• _{Populists decided to support Bryan with the hope that they could in the}

White House.

• _{For the first time, a presidential candidate toured the nation speaking}

directly to the people.

• _{The Republican candidate had $15 million (30 times what Bryan had).}

• _{The Republicans portrayed Bryan ad a potential dictator or an evil}

witch.

• _{McKinley won the election.}