The Gilded Age II

Political machines-powerful organizations linked to political parties-controlled government in many local cities

Political boss-was the man who gave his supporters public jobs in return for political favors and support during elections.

Kickback-an arrangement made by contractors to pad the bills or ask for additional payment-went back to the political bosses

Boss Tweed-was a corrupt city boss in New York City’s Democratic Party & headed up the political machine in the 1860’s and 1870’s.

Tweed controlled the police, courts, and some newspapers while collecting millions of dollars in illegal payments.

Thomas Nast- a writer for Harper’s Weekly exposed Tweed in cartoons and Tweed was eventually charged, found guilty, and sentenced to prison.

To break the hold, some cities founded organizations such as the National Municipal League in Philadelphia, these groups worked to make city governments more honest & efficient.

Galveston Texas was wiped out by a major hurricane in 1900 and the city asked the state of Texas to appoint a charter and place the power in the hands of 5 commissioners.

After Galveston’s success in rebuilding their city, 400 cities did similar programs.

The spoils system-also called Patronage-rewarding political supporters with favors & jobs-was a practice that had been in place since the time of Andrew Jackson-some people that received the favors were both dishonest & not qualified.

President Hayes(1877-1881) & Garfield (1881)wanted to reform the Civil Service-the body of nonelected government workers (policemen, firemen, etc) but no party would allow it.

President Chester A. Arthur succeeded Garfield after his assassination and in 1883 Congress passed the Pendleton Act-which established the Civil Service Commission to set up competitive examinations for federal jobs.

Applicants had to showcase their qualifications and abilities for the jobs they sought.

During the late 1800’s many people believed that trusts-combinations of companies-were becoming too large.

In response to the public outcry, Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act-the first federal law to battle these.

An oligopoly-a market structure in which a few large companies control the prices of the industry-is how the railroads functioned, while reformers called for regulations on how much the railroads could charge, Congress acted to ensure railroads charge “reasonable and just” rates.

In 1887, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act, to make sure the railroads posted their rates at the point of purchase.

The act also created the Interstate Commerce Commission to supervise the railroad industry and then later the trucking industry.

Socialism and progressivism were 2 ideas for correcting the evils and the social problems that concerned American reformers.

Eugene V. Debs-founded the American Socialist Party in 1898-ran for president 5 times & never received more than 6% of the vote.

Socialists-believed that the government should own & operate on behalf of all the people.

Progressives-believed government should regulate industry & reform government to be more efficient & better to resist the influence of powerful business interests.

Muckrakers-journalists that exposed injustice & corruption through the news media-because they “raked” (brought to light) “muck” (dirt & corruption) underlying society.

Lincoln Steffens-wrote for McClure’s Magazine-exposed corrupt machine practices in New York, Chicago, & other cities-fought to strengthen urban reform through his book The Shame of the Cities.

Ida Tarbell-also wrote for McClure’s-exposed Standard Oil’s practices in her book.

Upton Sinclair-exposed the horrors of the meatpacking industry in his book-The Jungle.

The uproar from Sinclair’s book moved Congress to pass the Meat Inspection Act in 1906 and later that year passed the Pure Food and Drug Act-to require accurate labeling of food and medicine and banning the sale of harmful food.

Sinclair meant to arouse sympathy for the workers and to popularize socialist views through the book but only succeeded in shocking Americans and Congress.

Robert La Follette-won the support of Wisconsin farmers and workers with his fiery attacks on big business & the railroads.

As governor, he reformed the electoral system to let the voters decide their candidates through a primary.

Oregon made initiatives-allows citizens to place a measure on the ballot in state elections

Referendums-gave voters the opportunity to accept or eject those initiatives.

Recalls-allowed voters to remove elected officials from their offices-called the Oregon System.

During the late 1800’s women were working outside the home while their children were in school & men worked away from home.

The resulting smaller families enabled women to get higher educations and start professional careers.

These changes created the “new woman”- a popular term for educated, up-to-date women-that became role models for all women.

Suffragists-men and women who fought for “suffrage”-or a woman’s right to vote.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony founded the National Woman Suffrage Association-which focused on a constitutional amendment to allow the vote.

A 2nd group the American Woman Suffrage Association focused on state elections.

The 2 groups merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

Anna Howard Shaw-a minister and doctor and Carrie Chapman Catt-an educator and a newspaper editor led the NAWSA to over 2 million members by 1917.

Alice Paul-a Quaker-fought for greater economic and legal equality for women.

Alice met directly with president Wilson and when he refused to sign an amendment, Paul organized women to march in front of the white house until Wilson agreed to sign.

In 1912, women moved to protect children from the abuse and dangers of the Gilded Age.

Women challenged business to sponsor laws to regulate the labor of women & children & require inspection of workplaces.

A crusade against alcohol consumption and favoring prohibition-a law to prohibit the making and selling of alcohol.

Roosevelt was known as a trustbuster but did not want to break up all trusts.

He did however, manage to bring 25 indictments against trusts in the beef, oil, transportation, and tobacco industries.

During a coal strike Roosevelt brought the 2 sides to the white house to come to arbitration-settling the dispute by agreeing to a decision made by an impartial outsider.

Coal workers got their 8 hour workday.

His square deal-promised fair and equal treatment for all-and he won re-election in 1904.

It called for a considerable amount of government regulation of business.

He also supported the Meat Inspection and Pure Food and Drug Acts.

It gave these organizations the power to visit businesses and inspect their products.

Roosevelt had a lifelong appreciation for the great outdoors & the wilderness and believed in the need for conservation-the protection and preservation of natural resources.

In 1905, he proposed the U.S. Forestry Service & pressured Congress to set aside millions of acres for national forests and wildlife sanctuaries.

Roosevelt was able to strike a balance between progress and conservation.

After Taft served as president, Roosevelt was enraged at how Taft had ruined reforms.

During the election of 1912, Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican Party allowing Wilson to sneak into the white house with only 42% of the vote.

Wilson added to the power of Roosevelt’s Sherman Antitrust Act through the enactment of the Federal Trade Commission & the Clayton Antitrust Act.

The progressive movement lost its momentum as the US turned its attention to a conflict going on in Europe-World War I.

Summarize your notes-how did progressivism change America? How did the lives of people get better? How did women’s lives improve/change?