PERIOD 6
Periodization:
.As the Civil War ended and slavery, along with sectionalism, continued to be the main issue in the South, a different idea overwhelmed the North: the American Dream. Immigrants from Europe, mostly Ireland and Germany, as well as many more immigrants from China, came to America for the American Dream: to have their own land, their house, and, above all, their own lives in America. The Irish and Chinese were best known for their work on railroads, and Irish women were also often associated with factory work in the North. As time progressed more immigrants came from other areas of Europe, like Italy and Poland, also came to America. These immigrants from other parts of Europe were referred to as "New Immigrants" while the Irish and Germans were referred to as "Old Immigrants". Sadly, Chinese immigration was cut off due to the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was created as many Americans feared they were taking jobs away. This fear was also present in regards to the Irish, and while the Irish did face discrimination in the workplace, they weren't cut off from immigrating to the US. As the number of immigrants grew, so did the wage gap within American society. While immigrants often lived in tenant housing, the rich's wealth grew. As the number of immigrants grew in factory and railroad jobs, the more big businesses grew. Inventions like the Bessemer steel process allowed more skyscrapers and railroads to be built, while big business practices like consolidation and monopolization became more popular. Big business owners often donated their money and became philanthropists, like Andrew Carnegie, who wrote the essay Wealth. The idea of Social Darwinism also became popular in this period, which essentially served as an excuse for the massive wage gap. Eventually the US runs out of land to expand upon in the west, and the rise of muckrakers like Jacob Riis and Thomas Nast.
Documents and political cartoons:
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Turning points:
Dawes ActA)Conflict with Native Americans during westward expansion.
B)Forced assimilation of Native Americans into "American" society. Took children from their families and forced them to change culture. C)Worsened relations between Native Americans and the US for future generations. |
homestead actA)Manifest Destiny, the desire for the US to become larger and therefore more powerful.
B)Gave immigrants and people free land if they agreed to work on it for 5 years. C)Fueled Manifest Destiny to help it become a reality, led to massive westward expansion and increased immigration from Europe. |
Sherman Anti-trust actA)Public opposition to monopolies, trusts, and they control they hold over the rest of the US.
B)Outlawed trusts. C)While it had great intentions, the wording was vague and led to the break up of labor unions, hurting the general public more. |
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory FireA)Poor working conditions, overcrowding, lack of government standards for working, etc.
B)There was a huge fire and 146 garment workers died, mostly young women, the youngest of whom were just 14. C)Led to public outrage and a demand for regulations to ensure safer worker conditions. |
How the Other Half LivesA)Poor living conditions of the poor due to the massive wage gap between the rich and poor.
B)Jacob Riis released this, which showed the more fortunate side of America how terrible immigrants had it. C)Led to advocacy of better living conditions, and eventually the fall of big business. Created a shift in America from Social Darwinism to Progressivism. |
Parallels/Synthesis:
"Laissez-Faire" PoliticsIn the Gilded Age, the government allowed businesses to basically do whatever they wanted, similar to how the government treated businesses during WW1 in efforts to boost production. It also resulted in a lot of failures of labor unions as the government mostly sided with big businesses.
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The Gospel of WealthThe Gospel of Wealth was similar to Reagonomics/Trickle-Down Economics, because it involves one very small, incredibly wealthy class that would then use their money to benefit the rest of the nation.
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Women in the workforceSimilar to how women began working in factories (usually textile) in this period, women in WW2 also became a larger portion of the workforce than ever before.
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