Download American Industry/Urbanization PPT

American Industry
Hayes Leaves the White House
-> Hayes served only one term as
President - he did not want to
run for a second term.
• When Hayes left office, he spent
the rest of his life working for
Civil Rights and education
reform.
• Instead, the Republican Party
was split between Ulysses S.
Grant (who wanted another shot at the Presidency)
and James Garfield.
-> Garfield would win first the Republican nomination,
then the Presidency - defeating Democrat Winfield
Hancock.
Garfield - Early Life
• He went to school at Hiram College in
Ohio, then Williams College, and
spent time as both a preacher and a
teacher.
• Garfield married Lucretia Randolph
- the two had seven children.
-> Before his election to the
Presidency, Garfield campaigned
against slavery, and against
Southern secession.
- Garfield served in the Union Army during the Civil War.
-> He supported the Radical Republican’s plan for
Reconstruction, and the Freedmen’s Bureau.
-> He became President in 1881.
Garfield -
Presidency
• As soon as Garfield became President,
people flocked to the White House.
• The White House did not have the
same security it has today. Anyone
could come and meet with the
President.
-> Many people came, hoping for political
positions, or to ask favors from the
President.
-> Usually, when a new President took
office, these positions turned over many people expected Garfield to give
them jobs.
-> Garfield described this rush for jobs as,
“a barrage of fear and greed.”
Garfield -
Presidency
-> Garfield focused on Civil
Service Reform.
-> He wanted to make sure
that people who were
in powerful positions
were good for those jobs.
• Many people expected
positions because they
had friends in high places
- not because they were
qualified.
-> One of these men looking for a job was Charles
Guiteau.
Garfield -
Presidency
• Charles Guiteau was a preacher, and a writer who
thought he deserved a political position.
-> Guiteau was deluded into thinking that a brief
meeting with Garfield meant that Garfield owed
him a position.
-> When he was not offered a political office, Guiteau
stalked the President.
• At first, it seemed Guiteau did not have the nerve.
• His first attempt was at a train station, but he saw Garfield’s
sick wife and stopped.
-> Guiteau’s next attempt was successful - he shot Garfield
twice - once in the arm and once in the back.
Garfield -
Death
-> Garfield would not die immediately. He spent 80
days bedridden.
• Because of his injury, Alexander Graham Bell
developed a metal detector, in hopes of finding the
bullet.
• An early air conditioner was also created to help
Garfield.
• It seemed at some points that he would recover,
however this was not the case.
-> Ultimately, Garfield would develop blood poisoning,
and pneumonia. He would die of a brain aneurism.
-> Chester A. Arthur became President.
Guiteau
-> Guiteau was put on trial for the murder of
the President.
• This was one of the first cases in which the
insanity defense was used.
• Guiteau’s trial became a huge spectacle.
• Guiteau constantly insulted his defense
team, and formatted his testimony as
epic poems, which he recited for the jury.
• He would pass notes to random audience members asking for
legal advice, and claimed that Garfield’s murder was “God’s Will”.
He sung songs in court.
• While awaiting sentencing, he dictated his autobiography ending it with a personal ad for a “nice Christian lady.”
-> Guiteau claimed to have been insane at the time of the shooting,
but no longer so. He also planned to run for President himself
after the trial.
-> Guiteau was found guilty, and hanged.
Guiteau - Response
•
•
•
•
Answer the following questions for homework:
Why did Guiteau kill Garfield?
What was so unique about his trial?
Do you think he
should have been
given the death
penalty? Why or
why not?
(1 paragraph)
Urbanization
• Before the Civil War, cities were small, with
relatively small populations.
• However, with the Industrial Revolution, this
changed.
->New York went from 800,000 inhabitants in 1860
grew to 3.5 million by 1900.
• Many of these new people were immigrants to the
country.
->Most of these immigrants lacked the money to
move away from the city and afford larger homes.
Instead, they stayed in the cities.
-> At the same time, many rural Americans began
moving to the cities. Cities offered more jobs, that
paid better.
Urban Problems
• Although living in a city was often cheaper, and
more convenient, it also posed problems.
-> Crime, violence, disease, pollution, and even fire
became issues that were complicated by a large
population in a small area.
• Minor criminals such as pickpockets thrived in
crowded conditions.
• Major crimes multiplied as well – from 1880 to
1900 the murder rate jumped sharply.
-> Native-born Americans often blamed immigrants
for the increase in crime and violence.
Why would immigrants be blamed for these problems?
Urban Problems
• Alcohol contributed to violent crime as well.
-> Saloons and bars were accused of “breeding
poverty” and “corruption of the child”.
– Saloons were accused of corrupting politics, bringing
suffering to families affected by alcoholism, and also
selling beer/liquor to minors.
-> Disease and pollution were even bigger problems
-> Improper sewage disposal contaminated drinking
water – leading to cholera and typhoid
• Horse waste and trash in the streets, as well as air
pollution (soot/ash etc.) also caused issues –
creating sanitation and breathing problems.
Immigration and Overcrowding
• Much of cities’ populations were made of
immigrants.
• These people had come to America for a better
life, better jobs, or better pay.
• Usually, they did not have enough money to move
out of the city.
• This led to overcrowding of buildings, and illegal
tenement housing.
-> Immigrants were also shunned by nativists
-> Nativists blamed immigrants for stealing jobs,
committing crimes, and otherwise corrupting
American society.
Urban Politics
• In order to address these unique urban problems crime, disease, fires, etc - a new political system
developed in cities.
-> This system
provided essential
city services in
return for political
power.
-> This leads to two
phenomena: The
Political Machine
and the Party Boss.
Urban Politics
-> The political machine was an informal
political group.
-> The political machine was designed to gain
and keep power.
-> It came about because cities had grown much
faster than their governments could handle.
• New arrivals in the cities needed jobs, housing,
food, heat, and police protection.
-> In exchange for the promise of votes, political
machines and the party bosses who ran them
were happy to provide these necessities.
Urban Politics
• George Plunkett, an Irish immigrant who rose to
be one of NYC’s most powerful party bosses,
explained how the system worked when a fire
burned down a neighborhood:
“I just get [housing] for them, buy clothes for
them…and fix them up till they get things runnin’
again. It’s philanthropy, but it’s politics too mighty good politics. Who can tell how many votes
one of these fires bring me? The poor are the
most grateful people in the world, and, let me tell
you, they have more friends in their
neighborhoods than the rich have in theirs…”
In your notebooks:
Describe why people would vote for Plunkett in this situation.
How is this similar/different to politics today?
Urban Politics
• As Plunkett said in the
previous quote, the pay
off for party bosses came
on Election Day.
-> Urban immigrant groups
(which had huge numbers)
voted in overwhelming
numbers for the political
machines.
• These people had helped them. They had proven that
they would take care of the immigrants in these urban
areas.
-> By providing support (financially, especially), to these
immigrant groups, the party bosses and their political
machines could essentially buy elections.
Urban Politics
• The party bosses who ran political machines also
controlled the city’s finances.
-> Many machine politicians grew rich as the result of
fraud or graft.
-> Graft is getting money through dishonest or
questionable means.
• There was also the ‘honest graft’.
– For example, a politician might find out in advance where a park
was being built, and buy up all the land near the site, then would be
able to sell the land to the city for a profit.
-> Outright fraud was when party bosses accepted
bribes, especially from contractors who wanted to
build in the area.
• These bosses could also sell permits to build to
friends, family etc so that money and power stayed
close.
Tammany Hall
-> Tammany Hall was the New York Democratic
political machine.
• It became the most famous political machine in the
United States.
-> William “Boss” Tweed was Tammany Halls
leader during the 1860s-70s.
-> Other cities’ machines controlled all the city
services - including the police department.
-> Most Bosses never feared arrest, because the
police were controlled by the political machine.
• Despite the corruption of the system, political
machines did provide necessary services, and
helped immigrants adapt to life in a new city.
The United States Industry
• The Industrial Revolution had spread to the United
States in the early 1800s.
• Where did the Industrial Revolution begin?
• However, until after the Civil War, the United
States was mostly a farming country until the
1900s.
->After the Civil War, industry rapidly expanded.
• Millions of Americans left their farms to work in
mines and factories.
-> By the early 1900s, Americans had transformed
the United States into the world’s leading industrial
nation.
The United States Industry
-> By 1914, the nation’s gross national product
(GNP) was eight times greater than it had been
when the Civil War ended.
• The GNP is the total value of all goods and services
produced by the country.
• This was in great part due to two factors:
• Natural resources
• Large workforce
• Why would these two factors lead to a boom in
industry?
Natural Resources
• An abundance of raw materials was one reason for
the nation’s industrial success.
-> The U.S. contained many natural resources that
industry needed in order to develop.
-> This included water, timber (wood), coal, iron and
copper
• This mean that American companies could get
these resources for cheap.
-> Most of these resources were found in the
mountains of the American West
-> Americans settling West after the Civil War, and the use
of trains meant that people could ship these resources
East to factories.
Natural Resources
• At the same time, while some
natural resources were being
found in the West, a new
resource was being exploited.
-> Petroleum was in high demand:
-> It could be turned into kerosene,
which could be used for fuel in
lanterns and stoves.
• With the invention of the automobile,
petroleum had a new use - gasoline
for the cars.
-> The American oil industry was built on the demand for
kerosene.
• In 1859, Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well in
Pennsylvania.
-> By 1900, oil fields from Pennsylvania to Texas had been
opened.
A Large Workforce
-> Between 1860 and 1910, the
population of the United States
tripled.
• This population provided
industry with a large workforce.
• It also created a huge demand
for the goods the factories
produced.
-> Population growth came from
two sources:
-> Larger families and lower
child death rate
-> Influx of immigrants
-> This population boom helped factories increase their
production while also creating greater demand.
Free Enterprise
• An important factor that helped the U.S. to
quickly industrialize was the free enterprise
system.
-> This was also called laissez-faire (lah-sayfair) from a French phrase which means “let
do”.
-> It means, “let people do as they choose.”
What do you think this means when it
comes to government? Write a sentence
or two.
Free Enterprise
-> In a laissez-faire system, the government does
not interfere with the economy.
• The only time the government should get involved
is to maintain peace.
-> Supporters of laissez-faire argue that if the
government regulates the economy, it increases
costs and hurts society - not helps it.
-> Laissez-faire relies on supply and demand.
• In this theory, an economy will regulate itself competing companies keep prices down, and
leads to more wealth for everyone.
Are there any problems that might
develop with this system?
Free Enterprise
• Laissez-faire supporters also
wanted to keep taxes low.
• This is to make sure that
individual people - not the
government - decide how
money will be spent.
• In the United States, the
possibility of profit attract
people to business.
-> This leads to the American
entrepreneur.
->Entrepreneurs are people
who risk their own money
to organize and run a business
- they run a high-risk, highreward business.
Businessmen like John
Rockefeller start becoming
very rich.
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Homework: Two Great Inventors
• For homework tonight, do some research!
Find 10 facts about Nikola Tesla OR 10 facts about Thomas Edison
•
Include the SOURCE for your facts. You must cite the
source correctly!
•When you know the author’s name:
Last Name, First Name. "Page Title." Website title. Sponsoring
Institution/Publisher, Publication Date. Medium. Date Accessed.
Example: Smith, John. "Obama inaugurated as President." CNN.com. Cable
News Network, 21 Jan. 2009. Web. 1 Feb. 2009.
•When you DON’T know the author’s name:
"Page Title." Website title. Sponsoring Institution/Publisher,
Publication Date. Medium. Date Accessed.
Example: “Obama inaugurated as President." CNN.com. Cable News
Network, 21 Jan. 2009. Web. 1 Feb. 2009.
New Inventions = Advances in Industry
-> The most famous inventor of
the late 1800s was Thomas
Alva Edison
• Edison’s lab in New Jersey
became the forerunner of the
modern research laboratory.
• Edison first became famous
with the invention of the phonograph.
-> Edison later perfected the light bulb and the electric
generator.
-> Edison also developed the modern battery, the
mimeograph, and the motion picture camera.
• In 1882, the Edison Electric Illuminating Company began
supplying electricity to New Yorkers.
• In 1889, the company would turn into Edison General
Electric Company - today called GE.
Edison v. Tesla
• Another important inventor was
Nikola Tesla.
-> Tesla was Serbian-American. He
invented alternating current
(the electricity we all use today).
• At one point, he worked for Edison.
• Edison offered Tesla one million
dollars to fix the problems
Edison was having with direct
current.
• Tesla fixed the issues, and asked for the money.
• Edison laughed and said, “Tesla, you don’t understand our
American humor.”
-> Edison later used Tesla’s alternating current to
electrocute local dogs and cats to prove how “dangerous” it
was.
Edison v. Tesla
• Tesla’s greatest flaw was that he
had a hard time dealing with
people.
• He was reluctant to enforce his
own patents – allowing other
inventors to use them and profit
from them.
• Tesla had very few personal
relationships. His closest friend
was his pet pigeon (pictured)
• Tesla may have suffered from OCD – he was obsessed
with the number 3, and avoided physical contact with
people whenever possible.
• Ultimately, Tesla died alone, and relatively unknown – his
image had been smeared by Edison. It is only recently that
Tesla has been gaining popularity again.
New Inventions = Advances in Industry
• Certain inventions helped move the American Industrial
Revolution forward.
• One of the most important invention in the late 1800s was
the telephone.
-> Alexander Graham Bell came up with the idea by which
he believed it would
be possible to “talk by
telegraph”.
-> The telephone revolutionized
communication.
-> In 1877, Bell and others
organized the Bell
Telephone company,
which would become the
American Telephone and
Telegraph Company (AT&T)
Life for Workers
-> Life for worker in industrial America was difficult.
-> Workers had to perform highly specific, repetitive tasks.
• Workers could take very little pride in their work.
• It wasn’t their design, or their creativity - they were just repeating
the same task again and again.
• Working conditions were often unhealthy and dangerous.
-> Workers breathed in
lint, dust, and toxic
fumes.
-> Heavy machines
lacking safety
devices caused
many injuries.
Standard of Living
-> Even though there were difficult working conditions,
industrialization brought a dramatic rise in the
standard of living.
• Only a few entrepreneurs became rich, but even the
average worker made more money
-> Wages earned by the average person rose by about
50% between 1860 and 1890.
-> Despite this rise in standard-of-living, the gap
between the wealthy and the working class caused
issue.
• In 1900, the average worker made 22 cents an hour,
and worked 59 hours per week.
More “Bang for the Buck”
-> In the late 1800s, the
American dollar experienced
deflation.
-> This means that there was a
rise in the value of money,
which made prices fall.
-> This increased buying power.
Money stretched further, and bought
more
• Even though companies sometimes
slashed wages, prices fell even faster, allowing the average
person to start buying luxury goods.
• However, many workers were unhappy - companies were
paying workers less money for more work.
-> Many workers decided the only way to improve their
conditions was to organize unions.
Early Unions
-> In the 1800s, there were two types of workers: craft
workers and common laborers.
-> Craft workers had special skills and training.
• This included iron molders, stonecutter, shoemakers,
carpenters etc.
• Craft workers received higher wages and had more control
over their time.
-> Common workers needed less specialized skills.
• They had few skills, and received lower wages.
-> In the late 1830s, craft workers began to form trade
unions - unions limited to people with certain skills.
• By 1873, there were 32 national trade unions in the
United States.
Industry Against Unions
• Employers were often forced to negotiate with trade
unions because they represented workers whose skills
they needed.
• If workers had a specific skill, they could not be easily
replaced.
• Even though they had to deal with them, most employers
thought unions were conspiracies.
-> Owners of large corporations hated industrial unions,
which united all workers (craft and common) in an
industry.
-> Companies tried to keep unions from forming.
-> Often, workers who tried to organize unions were fired
and placed on a blacklist.
-> Once blacklisted, it was very hard for a worker to get
another job.
Industry Against Unions
-> If workers formed a union, companies could use a
lockout to break it.
-> They locked
workers out of the
property and
refused to pay
them.
-> If a union called a
strike, employers
could hire
replacement
workers, or
strikebreakers.
Class Activity
• PART 1
• Using the chart on the white board,
have each member of your team
reproduce the image taped there.
• Each team-mate should draw the
image in their own square.
• Try to make your picture be as
similar to the original as possible.
Class Activity
• PART 2
• In your notebooks, answer…
• 1. Do all the pictures from your
group look the same?
• 2. Is there a faster way you can
make the picture look more
uniform?
Class Activity
• PART 3
• Assign each member of your group one
TASK.
• One group mate should be in charge of
drawing the head-shape, one draw the
nose, the ears, etc.
• Each group mate should have a
different task.
• Now, take turns going to the board –
have each team mate draw their item on
all of the faces for your group.
Class Activity
• Response
• Read the information at the top of the
Division of Labor worksheet, and think
of how this activity today was similar to
how division of labor worked in
American factories.
DO NOW: Review (Quiz Grade)
•
•
•
•
•
1. What were some problems people faced in factories?
2. What were some positives?
3. What are unions?
4. Why did people join unions?
5. What was the
response of
business owners
to unions?
• 6. What happened
if someone was
blacklisted?
• 7. What is a lockout?
Political/Social Opposition
• Workers who wanted to form a union sometimes
faced problems.
-> There were no laws giving workers the right to
organize.
• Also, owners of companies were not required to
negotiate with unions.
• When cases went to court, often the courts sided with
the company owners.
-> Some people also thought that unions threatened
American institutions.
• This led to the development of Marxism.
Marxism
-> Karl Marx argued that the basic
force that shaped capitalist
society was the class struggle
between workers and owners.
-> Marx believed that workers
would eventually revolt, seize
control, and overthrow the
government.
• He also said that history
repeated itself, and that the
same class struggle had happened many times in the
past.
Discussion: What are some example of class struggle
that have happened in history? Figure out one or two
with your neighbor, then write them on the board!
Anarchy!
• Marx’s ideas were very popular in Europe.
• Some American laborers agreed with Marx too.
-> However, a few supported anarchism instead.
-> Anarchists believe that society does not need any
government.
-> Anarchists believed that, with only a few acts of
violence, they could ignite a
revolution and topple the
government.
• In the late 1800s, anarchists
assassinated government
officials and set off bombs all
across Europe, hoping to
trigger revolutions.
Strike!
• Marxist and anarchist ideas
spread through Europe.
-> At this point, thousands of
European immigrants
were arriving in the United
States.
-> Nativism - anti-immigrant
feelings - was already
strong in the United States.
• As people began to associate immigrants with revolution
and anarchy, they became suspicious
-> This led to factory owners becoming suspicious of unions
that formed - fearing Marxist influence.
-> This meant that owners would use the court system,
police, and in some cases, the U.S. army to break up
unions and stop labor strikes.
The Great Railroad Strike
• Workers tried many times to create large, industrywide unions.
• Because of confrontations with owners of the
factories, and with the government, these were not
successful.
-> However, in 1877 there was a huge recession (the
Panic of 1873).
-> Railroads started
cutting wages.
-> This triggered the
first nationwide
labor protest.
The Great Railroad Strike
-> The Great Railroad strike began in Virginia - workers walked
away and blocked the tracks, stopping transit.
-> It soon spread to 11 states
-> 80,000 workers were on strike.
-> 2/3rds of the country’s railroads were affected.
• Angry strikers smashed equipment, tore up tracks, and
blocked rail service in New York, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, St.
Louis, and Chicago.
-> The governors of several states called out their militias to
stop the violence.
• In many places, gun battles erupted.
• Then-President Hayes needed to restore order
-> The army went to Chicago - but by the time they restored
order, more than 100 people were killed, and millions of
dollars of property had been destroyed.
The Knights of Labor
• The failure of the Great Railroad Strike convinced
many union organizers that workers needed to be
better organized.
->The Knights of Labor was a new organization the first nation-wide industrial union.
-> The Knights called for several things:
->An 8 hour workday
->A government bureau to keep track of labor
statistics
->Equal pay for women
->Abolition of child labor
->The creation of worker-owned factories
The Knights of Labor
• At first, the Knights opposed strikes. They
preferred the use of boycotts to pressure
employers/factory owners.
-> They also supported arbitration.
->Arbitration is when an impartial third party helps workers
and management reach an agreement.
-> In the early 1880s, the Knights began using
strikes, and at first had a lot of success.
• The Knights and their strikes were able to get wage
cuts reversed.
• However, the Haymarket Riot damaged the
Knights’ reputation, and they lost support.
The Haymarket Riot
• In the early 1800s the
movement for an 8 hour
workday was starting to
gain support.
-> In 1886, organizers
called for a nationwide
strike on May 1 to show
support for the 8 hour day.
• On May 3, a clash between
strikers and police left one striker dead.
-> The next night, an anarchist group had a meeting to
protest the death.
• 3,000 people came to hear the speeches.
-> When police entered the square, someone threw a
bomb…
The Haymarket Riot
• The police opened fire - between the police and
the bomb, seven police officers and four workers
were killed.
-> Eight people were arrested for the bombing seven were German immigrants, and supporters
of anarchism.
• No one knew who threw the bomb, and the
evidence was weak.
-> However, all eight suspects were convicted, and
four were executed.
-> One of the men was a member of the Knights of
Labor. This hurt the Knights’ reputation, and they
lost support.
The Pullman Strike
• The Haymarket strike set back people’s support for
unions, but other labor organizers kept up their
efforts.
• In 1893, railroad workers created the American
Railway Union.
-> One of the companies this Union organized was the
Pullman Palace Car Company.
• The Pullman Company was based in Illinois.
-> The Company had built a town (also called Pullman)
nearby.
-> The Pullman company required its workers to live in
the town, and to buy all their goods from the stores
(owned by the company).
Are there any problems that might happen if they had to
buy everything from the company stores?
The Pullman Strike
• In 1893 another
depression hit the U.S.
-> This caused the Pullman
Company to slash wages,
but the prices in the town
of Pullman stayed the same.
• This made it difficult for
workers to pay their rent or buy any supplies.
-> In May 1894, Pullman Co. started firing people who
complained.
-> In response, the American Railway Union (ARU)
refused to handle Pullman cars all across the U.S.
• This boycott tied up railroads, and threatened to
paralyze the economy.
The Pullman Strike
-> In order to force the ARU
workers to handle the
Pullman cars, the Pullman Co.
attached U.S. mail cars to be
attached to the Pullman cars.
-> Stopping the mail was a
federal offense. The ARU
members were forced to handle
the cars.
-> President Grover Cleveland then sent in
American troops, claiming it was his responsibility
to keep the mail running.
• The Pullman Strike collapsed.
The American Federation of Labor
-> One of the most successful unions was the American
Federation of Labor.
• The AFL was made up of delegates
from over 20 different unions.
-> The AFL was led by Samuel
Gompers.
• Gompers helped unions be
accepted in American society.
-> He rejected communism and
socialism, instead urging
unions to fight for small gains higher wages and better
conditions - within the
American system.
-> Gompers was willing to strike
but preferred negotiation.
The American Federation of Labor
• Under Gomper’s leadership, the AFL had three
main goals:
-> 1. To convince companies to recognize unions
and to agree to bargain.
-> 2. Pushing for closed shops - businesses that
would only hire union members.
-> 3. Promoting an 8 hour workday.
-> By 1900, the AFL was the biggest union in the
country.
• However, as the 1900s began, the majority of
workers were still unorganized and relatively
weak.
Working Women
• After the Civil War, the
number of women wageearners began to increase.
-> By 1900, women made up
more than 18% of the
workforce.
• The type of jobs women did
reflected society's idea of
“women’s work”
-> 1/3rd of women worked as
domestic servants
-> 1/3rd worked as teachers,
clerks, and secretaries.
-> 1/3rd were industrial
workers - mostly in the
garment industry.
Working Women
-> No matter what job they did, women were paid
less than men.
• It was always assumed that a woman had a man
supporting her - either her father or husband - and
so didn’t need
as much money.
• Also for this
reason, most
unions
(including
the AFL)
excluded
women.
Skyscrapers
• As millions of people moved to the
cities, engineers and architects had
to develop new methods of housing.
• Demand for space raised the price
of land.
-> It was cheaper to grow upward
rather than outward. This leads to
skyscrapers.
• The first skyscraper was built in
Chicago, at 10 stories.
-> New York City soon had more
skyscrapers than any other city –
limited space in Manhattan meant
people could only build up.
Mass Transit
• Various kinds of mass
transit developed in the
late 1800s as well.
-> The goal of mass transit
was to be able to move
large numbers of people
around quickly and
efficiently.
-> At first, almost all cities relied on the horsecar – a railroad
car pulled by horses.
- In 1890, 70% of urban traffic was moved by horsecar.
-> Soon, cities (including San Francisco) began installing
cable cars.
- Cable cars were pulled along tracks by underground
cables.
-> In 1887, Frank Sprague developed the electric trolley car,
which would eventually evolve into the bus.
Mass Transit Cont.
• In the largest cities,
congestion on the
streets (traffic)
became so bad that
engineers began
looking for ways to
move mass transit
off the streets.
-> Chicago built an elevated railroad, which
travelled above the streets.
-> Boston built the first ever subway system.
(Called the T, for “Transit)
• Other large cities, such as New York and
Washington D.C., would soon follow suit and build
subways as well.
Urban Education
-> Also essential to many new immigrants was the process of
Americanization.
• The number of public schools increased quickly after the
Civil War, and more and more children took advantage of
the free education.
-> Public schools were often
crucial to the success of
immigrant children.
-> These schools taught
English, American history,
and the responsibilities of
citizenship.
– Most schools also tried to
instill values that would
help the United States work ethic, and discipline,
for example.
Urban Education
-> Even though schools encouraged Americanization, some
thought this was not the best thing.
-> Some immigrant parents worried that the process of
Americanization would make kids forget their own cultural
traditions.
• There were also
issues with access
to schools.
• Though there were
now more schools
than ever, there
were many who
didn’t have access
to school.
Education Changes
-> At the turn of the century, (early 1900s), cities had more
schools than more rural areas, and kids who lived in the
cities had more opportunity for education.
-> It was also harder for African
American students to get an
education, due to discrimination
in schools.
-> Booker T. Washington founded
the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama
in 1881.
• The Tuskegee Institute (now
called Tuskegee University)
began as a school to train teachers.
• The goal was to train more
teachers who would in turn be
able to teach black students.
Booker T.
Washington
• Booker T. Washington
was born a slave in
Virginia.
• He spent his childhood
forced to work in coal
mines.
-> At age 16, Booker (now
free) heard about the Hampton Institute in Virginia - where
African Americans could learn farming or a trade.
• Washington walked 500 miles to get to the school, where
he worked as a janitor to pay his tuition.
• When he graduated, the school hired him as a professor.
-> Two years later, Booker started a school of his own (the
Tuskegee Institute).
Booker T. Washington
-> Booker T. Washington founded Tuskegee
Institute in 1881.
• The school began with only 40 students
and a “dilapidated shanty”.
-> By 1915, the school had over 100
buildings, and 2,000 students.
-> Washington became well known for
his part in the advancement of
African American education.
Controversy:
Though Booker helped to advance education, and though he
founded Tuskegee Institute, some claim that Booker was
hypocritical, because he did not fight for an end to
segregation in schools.
What do you think? Why didn’t Booker fight to end
segregation? What would you have done in Booker’s place?
Education for the Workplace
• City schools had many important goals:
– Helping immigrants assimilate/Americanize
– Helping future workers prepare for the jobs they hoped would
lift them out of poverty.
• This led to several different levels of schooling
• Grammar Schools - grades 1-8
– Students were divided into 8 grades
– Emphasized the importance of attendance, neatness, and
efficiency - necessary habits for future success in the
workplace
• High schools - grades 9-12
– Provided vocational/technical education
– These gave students the skills required in specific (well
paying) trades.
Education for the Workplace
-> Colleges also multiplied in the late 1800s.
-> This was in part because of the Morrill Land
Grant Act.
• This Civil War-era law gave federal land grants to
states in order to establish agricultural and
mechanical colleges.
• By 1900, land-grant colleges were established
across the Midwest.
• The number of students enrolled skyrocketed.
-> In 1870, about 50,000 students attended college.
-> By 1890, the number had more than tripled to
157,000.
Education for Women
-> Education for women
lagged behind education
for men.
• Around the turn of the
century, however, this
began to change.
-> Private women's
colleges such as Vassar,
Wellesley and Smith opened, that only allowed
women.
-> Traditionally all-male universities also opened
women’s branches - Harvard, Columbia and others
began educating women as well as men.
• In the early 1900s, the “college girl” was educated,
and more likely to find a job in a (still male-dominated)
workforce.
Public Libraries
-> Like public schools, free libraries
also made education available to
people living in cities.
-> One of the strongest supporters of
the public library movement was
Andrew Carnegie.
• Carnegie believed access to
knowledge was the key to getting
ahead in life.
• Carnegie made his fortune in first the telegraph and then
the steel industry.
-> Carnegie donated millions of dollars (most of his fortune) to
building libraries all across the U.S.
• Carnegie also established museums, theatres, and
universities.
Grover Cleveland
-> Cleveland was a Democrat, but he opposed
Tammany Hall (the corrupt Democratic political
machine running NYC)
• Cleveland’s opponent was James Blaine, a former
speaker of the House.
– Blaine was really popular among party workers.
– However, some did not support him.
-> Those Republicans who did not support him abandoned the
party and voted Democrat.
-> These renegade Republicans were called Mugwumps.
-> In the election of 1884, people were worried about
corruption in politics.
• Because of this, the candidates morals were tested.
Grover Cleveland
-> Cleveland faced a lot of criticism early in his
Presidency.
-> The press found out that the unmarried Cleveland had
fathered a child 10 years before.
– Rather than denying the accusation, Cleveland admitted it showing that he wasn’t ashamed of his past.
– Cleveland also paid child support to the mother, and
supported his child (a
son, Oscar).
-> Because Cleveland
admitted this
indiscretion, he showed
he had good character,
and actually gained
support.
Grover Cleveland
-> Because Cleveland had proven that he was honest,
he retained support from most Democrats and
Mugwumps.
• Blaine, in turn, lost support.
– Blaine tried to win the Catholic
vote, but failed.
– Most Irish immigrants instead
voted for the honest Cleveland.
-> Cleveland won the election
in 1884.
-> He became the first
Democratic president
elected since 1856.
Issues for Cleveland
-> Cleveland faced many problems as President.
-> He had to deal with many labor strikes, including the
Haymarket riot and Pullman Strike.
-> The power of large corporations also worried
Americans.
• Small businesses and farmers were mad at the
railroads for becoming so powerful.
• Many people expected Cleveland to be able to fix
these issues.
• When he couldn’t complete the task in one term, the
Democrats lost control.
-> Benjamin Harrison won the election of 1888.
Presidency of Ben. Harrison
• -> People were generally unhappy with Harrison –
he enacted new tariffs (taxes) and created the
Sherman Antitrust Act.
• Harrison also saw the national debt rise to over 1
billion dollars.
• However, he was also an advocate for federal
funding for education, and equal education
opportunities for African Americans.
• He was a strong proponent of civil rights.
• In 1892, however, he was defeated, and
Cleveland again took office.
Issues for Cleveland
• During his second term, Cleveland put down the
Pullman strike
• He helped to re-establish the gold standard for
American currency.
• He also revised Harrison’s tariffs so they were less
extreme.
• Overall, Cleveland’s legacy was very positive –
though most historians say he would have done
better just to have one term.
Response:
Why do you think Cleveland is thought so highly of today?