Questions & Answers: U. S. History - Gilded Age

Review the construction on the transcontinental railroad.
In 1869, the Union Pacific Railroad completed the first section of a planned transcontinental railroad. This section went from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California. With the rise of the railroad, products were much more easily transported across country. While this was positive overall for industry throughout the country, it was often damaging to family farmers, who found themselves paying high shipping costs for smaller supply orders while larger companies received major discounts.
Ninety percent of the workers constructing the railroad were Chinese, working in very dangerous conditions for very low pay.

Explain the Gilded Age.
The time period from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of the First World War is often referred to as the Gilded Age, or the Second Industrial Revolution. The U.S. was changing from an agriculturally based economy to an industrial economy, with rapid growth accompanying the shift. In addition, the country itself was expanding, spreading into the seemingly unlimited West.
This time period saw the beginning of banks, department stores, chain stores, and trusts—all familiar features of our modern-day landscape. Cities also grew rapidly, and large numbers of immigrants arrived in the country, swelling the urban ranks.

Review some of the changes with agriculture in the 19th century.
During the mid 1800s, irrigation (i.e., watering of crops) methods improved in many ways. Changes happened with making land ready for growing crops. Some changes came to fertilizer and crop rotation. Other changes came with more herded animals. In the Great Plains, also known as the Great American Desert*, the dense soil was made ready for growing crops with steel plows. In 1892, farmers started to use gasoline-powered tractors. Many farmers started to use these tractors by 1900. Other changes in technology for agriculture were barbed wire fences, combines, silos, deep-water wells, and the cream separator.
*Note: Before the 19th Century, desert meant that the land had no trees. Now, desert means that the area has little to no rainfall.

Review government actions that influenced immigration in the United States.
In 1870, the Naturalization Act put limits on U.S. citizenship, allowing full citizenship only to whites and those of African descent. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 put limits on Chinese immigration. The Immigration Act of 1882 taxed immigrants, charging fifty cents per person. These funds helped pay administrative costs for regulating immigration. Ellis Island opened in 1892 as a processing center those arriving in New York. 1921 saw the Emergency Quota Act passed, also known as the Johnson Quota Act, which severely limited the number of immigrants allowed into the country.

Review some of the inventors of the late 19th century.
This was a busy time for invention. About 700,000 patents were registered between 1860 and 1900. In this time, people saw many important inventions and discoveries being made:
Alexander Graham Bell—the telephone
Orville and Wilbur Wright—the airplane
Richard Gatling—the machine gun
Walter Hunt, Elias Howe, and Isaac Singer—the sewing machine
Nikola Tesla—alternating current
George Eastman—the camera
Thomas Edison—light bulbs, motion pictures, and the phonograph
Samuel Morse—the telegraph
Charles Goodyear—vulcanized rubber
Cyrus McCormick—the reaper
George Westinghouse—the transformer and the air brake

Review government actions that helped make agriculture better in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Technological Advances
During the mid 1800s, irrigation techniques improved significantly. Advances occurred in cultivation and breeding, as well as fertilizer use and crop rotation. In the Great Plains, also known as the Great American Desert, the dense soil was finally cultivated with steel plows. In 1892, gasoline-powered tractors arrived, and were widely used by 1900.
Other advancements in agriculture’s tool set included barbed wire fences, combines, silos, deep-water wells, and the cream separator.
Major Legislation
The Department of Agriculture came into being in 1862, working for the interests of farmers and ranchers across the country. The Morrill Land-Grant Acts were passed in 1862, allowing land-grant colleges. In conjunction with land-grant colleges, the Hatch Act of 1887 brought agriculture experimental stations into the picture, helping discover new farming techniques. In 1914, the Smith-Lever Act provided cooperative programs to help educate people about food, home economics, community development and agriculture. Related agriculture extension programs helped farmers increase crop production to feed the rapidly growing nation.

Review the Homestead Strike.
The Homestead Strike, the first large, well-organized strike, happened in 1892. The strike happened between the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Works and the Carnegie Steel Company. The Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Works was a strong American labor union.
In 1892, Andrew Carnegie, the owner of Carnegie Steel Company wanted to break up the union. So, the manager of the steel plant called for more work to be done, but the union workers did not do more work. The manager locked the workers out of the plant, and the workers went on strike. After the state’s militia came to help, Carnegie was able to remove the plant’s union.

Explain the history of the Populist Party and some of their values.
A major recession struck the United States during the 1890s, with crop prices falling dramatically. Drought compounded the problems, leaving many American farmers in crippling debt. The Farmers Alliance formed, drawing the rural poor into a single political entity. Recession also affected the more industrial parts of the country. The Knights of Labor, formed in 1869 by Uriah Stephens, was able to unite workers into a union to protect their rights. Dissatisfied by views espoused by industrialists, these two groups, the Farmers Alliance and the Knights of Labor, joined to form the Populist Party.
Some of the elements of the party’s platform included:
· National currency
· Income tax
· Government ownership of railroads, telegraph and telephone systems
· Secret ballot for voting
· Immigration restriction
· Term limits for President and Vice-President
The Populist Party was in favor of decreasing elitism and making the voice of the common man more easily heard in the political process.

Review the importance of Mary Harris Jones.
Mary Harris Jones, also known as Mother Jones, organized the Children’s Crusade to challenge child labor. A protest march went to the home of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902. Jones also worked with the United Mine Workers of America. Also, she helped to start the Industrial Workers of the World.

Review the Pullman Strike.
In 1894, the Pullman Palace Car Co. cut the wages of their workers by 28 percent. So, Eugene Debs, an American union leader, led workers to start the Pullman Strike. Then, President Grover Cleveland called in troops to break up the strike. Cleveland brought in troops because the strike interfered with mail delivery.

Review some of the recessions of the 1890s.
A major recession happened in the United States during the 1890s. During this time, crop prices fell and a drought created more problems. These problems left many American farmers in terrible debt. Out of these events, the Farmers Alliance brought the rural (i.e., country) poor into one political group. The recession affected some industrial parts of the country.
The Panic of 1893 was an economic emergency that affected most of the world. As a response to the Panic, President Grover Cleveland removed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. Cleveland removed the act because he feared that it had caused the downturn rather than helped the economy. The Panic led to bankruptcies (i.e., unable to pay debts). Factory unemployment rose as high as 25 percent. In the end, the Republican Party regained power due to the economic emergency.