How did evolving American ideals contribute to the changes in American society; who gained and who lost in the struggles for expansion during this era?
"Go west, young man" was uttered supposedly first by a newspaper editor as Americans sought to move into the new western territories and expand, based on the concept of Manifest Destiny. As Americans did, they often found themselves subject to the harsh terrain and clashes with many Native American populations, but for those who found opportunities, they often were able to make their place in society. A lucky few were able to strike it rich, leading to an idea of America as the land of opportunity.
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Much of the westward expansion was thanks to the government securing land treaties from native populations then selling it for cheap to Americans willing to move there or seek opportunities. Later on, through legislation like the Homestead Act (1862), Americans were able to take land for free.
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The Gilded Age
To gild something means to cover it with a thin layer of gold. This looks beautiful and shiny on the outside, but it hides whatever it is that has been gilded. Much like this technique, the Gilded Age refers to a period in American history with lots of wealth and extravagance, but underneath happened to be a lot of problems or issues faced by many Americans. During this era, the United States took a very laissez faire (pro-capitalism) approach to society wherein they more or less allowed people to make decisions freely and run businesses however they wanted. While this led to great wealth for people like John D. Rockefeller or Andrew Carnegie, for workers it often meant dangerous conditions, 12 hours shifts, and low pay.
The government philosophy to let things be went hand-in-hand with the ideas of Social Darwinism, an idea that originated out of Charles Darwin's theories of natural selection and applied to human societies by Herbert Spencer. The idea behind Social Darwinism was that the rich must naturally be more fit than the poor, as they are and were more successful - it was a means to justify their wealth through an attempted scientific lens.
Other attempts to justify the wealth included one put forward by Carnegie - the Gospel of Wealth. Under this philosophy, the wealthy were right to have their wealth due to their hard work but also, perhaps more so, because they would use it to promote the best use in society. Through funding the arts, education, museums, libraries, concert halls, and more, the wealthy were creating conditions that would help people to improve their own conditions.
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A final response to the vast discrepancies in wealth was the Social Gospel movement, which encouraged Protestants to apply Christian ethics to a variety of social problems, such as poverty, alcoholism, and unhealthy or unsafe environments. These ideas would be shown in things like Jane Addams' Hull House, that sought to provide social services to many of the inner city poor.
Monopolies & the Economy
As the titans of industry built up their fortunes in this era, they devised new tactics to establish their economic dominance. For example, Cornelius Vanderbilt worked to encroach on the steamboat businesses of others and accepted cash in return for an agreement to stop competing with the current monopoly. But monopolies themselves were the primary way these captains of industry sought to maximize their profits.
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Carnegie, who grew his wealth in the steel industry, worked to create a vertical monopoly, where he owned all levels of steel production: raw materials, transportation, manufacturing, finance, and distribution. This allowed Carnegie to control all aspects of his company and maximize profits at all levels, while simultaneously minimizing the inefficiencies in his business. It also allowed him to charge a high price to his steel competitors who wished to use his other services, such as transportation. At his plants, Carnegie often operated them at maximum production, seeking to have 12 hour shifts and low wages, which sometimes led to injuries and discouraged workers.
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Rockefeller struck it rich in the oil business. To grow his business, he bought out competitors (to create a horizontal monopoly) and then subsequently shut down inefficient companies and kept the most profitable open. Furthermore, the size of his company allowed him to make deals, such as a discount on shipping so long as his company agreed to ship a certain amount of oil daily. These actions and others led to state and federal governments eventually taking a look at his monopolistic business practices. Many referred to titans of industry like Rockefeller and Carnegie as robber barons, for many of their underhanded business practices.
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This was also an era of massive invention. Inventors like Thomas Edison pioneered many things we use today while companies like Eastman Kodak brought the camera and film into prominence. It was also this era that saw the development of new and innovative techniques at creating goods. For example, specialization in factories allowed them to become faster and more efficient. When a worker on the factory line only had to learn and know how to do one or two things, they could become experts at that task and do them more quickly. These new techniques allowed for a greater mechanization of labor than ever before, leading to increases in profitability and efficiency.
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Labor Unions
In response to many of the horrible conditions, low pay, and long hours, many workers at this time began to form labor unions. Unions are a way for workers to use their power in numbers, making it more challenging for a boss to fire them if and when they ask for better pay or conditions. For example, unions typically appoint or elect one or more members to negotiate on their behalf in something called collective bargaining. This member negotiates with the employer on behalf of all employees. This saves the union and boss time but also gives the union more power. If the boss walks away and fires them all, they have to spend time rehiring to fill every single position (of new employees who will need training, no less). If things are going smoothly during negotiations or if employees think the boss is negotiating in bad faith, they have some tools at their disposal. First, unions can institute a strike, which means all workers will collectively stop working to bring production to a halt and force the employer to negotiate better or lose profit. Second, a union can hold a picket line outside the company, which brings a negative press onto the company by highlighting the conditions they are protesting. This can lead other people to hold a more negative view of the company and take their business elsewhere or even boycott the company.
Employers also have tools they can use to help bring workers back to work. At this time, blacklists were used routinely by employers at this time. These were made up of lists of pro-union agitators who bosses worked to ensure wouldn't be hired and therefore encourage their employees to unionize or strike for better pay. Employers can also hold a lockout, preventing employees from coming in to work if negotiations turn sour. This applies pressure to the workers to return to negotiations as it cuts off their ability to make a paycheck. Finally, if the workers do go on strike, employers can hire strikebreakers to come in and get to work - though they may be undertrained or require training. Strikebreakers are often referred to as scabs by those who disapprove of them.
Some of the more notable unions to develop during this time are the Knights of Labor, the American Federation of Labor, and the Industrial Workers of the World.
During this era, many workers started to pushback on the pay cuts and poor conditions they found at their jobs. One such event was the Great Upheaval. It started with workers for railroads protesting a 10% pay cut (a second reduction in less than a year) and eventually led to workers for other companies participating in their own strikes. Though a majority of these strikes were unsuccessful, some were. However, the federal government called upon the police and military to get things moving again on behalf of the companies.
On May 4, 1866, in Chicago, Illinois, a peaceful gathering of people out in support strikers working for the 8 hour workday erupted into violence when someone threw a bomb at police who were there to break up the rally. This came to be known as the Haymarket Riot. A number of anarchists were arrested and some sentenced to life in jail while others were hanged. After, many considered the trial extremely unfair and a miscarriage of justice. Whether it was or not, the movement only gained steam from this event and even led to May 1 (May Day) being recognized internationally as labor day (though not in the United States, as they didn't want to encourage people to align with anarchists and socialists).
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In direct response to the low pay and conditions at one of Carnegie's factories, workers instituted the Homestead Strike. Workers stopped working and barricaded themselves within the factory. As tensions were boiling over, Carnegie took a trip to Scotland and left Henry Frick in charge, subtilely encouraging him to do what was needed to break the strike and make the plant profitable. In an effort to break the strike, Frick hired the Pinkertons, a private detective and security agency known for breaking up and infiltrating many unions, to come end the strike. The result was a firefight that resulted in many dead workers. At first, sympathies went to the workers, as the fight seemed an unnecessary escalation on Frick's part. However, anarchists and socialists within the labor movement (who were often seen as subversive to America) carried out an assassination plot against Frick that left him wounded but alive. This shifted public opinion back in favor of the owners. Ultimately, the governor quelled the violence of this strike by bringing in Pennsylvania's militia to end the standoff and get the factory back up and running.
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Immigration
In 1892, most immigrants came to the United States through Ellis Island just outside New York City. Those seeking to enter the United States were required to answer various questions to determine their physical and mental fitness - those who answered poorly were often sent back to Europe.
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On the West Coast, immigrants, primarily coming from China, entered through Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. All these immigrants came to America to seek new opportunities or escape possible misfortune in their previous home countries.
Many of the different waves of immigration were fueled by circumstances within the old countries immigrants had left. For example, in the mid-1800s, Ireland experienced a large famine which led to large numbers of immigrants coming from Ireland and Europe. Other times, immigrants came seeking new opportunities, such as when a large number of Chinese immigrants came to America, lured by the promises that a Gold Rush in California brought. These waves came to be known as the "old immigrant." The "new immigrants" who arrived during this time period continued to come from northern and western Europe, but the number of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe greatly expanded.
Responses to Immigration
A rush of immigrants also meant a rush to the cities, were jobs were more plentiful than in the rural countrysides. People flooded the cities before the cities could even build themselves up properly to accommodate that many people, leaving streets dirty and many people crammed tightly into high-density apartments with small living facilities called tenements.
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A movement focusing on reforming conditions and helping people in these situations called the settlement movement. Individuals like Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in Chicago, Katharine Coman, Vida Scudder, and Katharine Lee Bates in Boston, and others across the nation founded houses and organizations to help immigrants find jobs, housing, childcare, education, and other services to help immigrants live happier and healthier lives.
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However, not everyone was welcoming to new immigrants. A movement called nativism arose (again and again in US history) that sought to limit the arrival of new immigrants in favor Americans that were already there. Nativist sentiments often flared up over thoughts of distrust at the new immigrants, fear over loss of jobs to immigrants, and the problems that came with overcrowding and rapid urbanization in the cities.
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On the west coast, Chinese immigrants coming over faced discrimination. Many Chinese laborers were able to find work for the rail companies laying track. They were sometimes preferred by the rail owners for their record of being diligent workers. However, with more immigrants coming to the West Coast, that meant that small towns grew rapidly, leading to increases in costs and the challenges that come with a greater population. In response to the rise in nativist thought, Congress passed laws to restrict immigration, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. A fire in San Francisco that was caused by a devastating earthquake that burned up many of the immigration records allowed a large number of Chinese immigrants to falsify papers showing they were related to other people in the United States, giving them a loophole to enter into the United States, but even with that, the number of Chinese immigrants dropped and many railroad companies turned to Mexican immigrants for laborers.
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A final response to immigration was the Americanization movement. This movement sought to bring immigrants into the culture of America, making them more American through adopting culture, language, or beliefs found in their new home.
Gilded Age Politics
Politics during the Gilded Age revolved around local parties and party bosses. Since elections are won by whoever gets the most votes, it was important to rally people to your side. Many party bosses, like William "Boss" Tweed, welcomed immigrants and found them places to work, places to live, handed out food or coal and winter coats during cold weather, and informed them of the local issues. Of course, came with the implicit agreement that he could count on their vote for the person he supported in the next election. Not all party bosses focused their efforts on immigrants, others looks to turnout crowds of Americans by playing on nativist fears.
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