The Grange develops into Farmers Alliances working to curb the power of big businesses. Agricultural Issuesįarmers face issues of low prices for their crops combined with high costs of production. Political patronage is commonplace and the Pendleton Act attempts to lessen patronage. Although appearing to provide services to its community, machine politicians often grew rich off of graft and bribery. Political bosses such as Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall manipulate voters to increase their own fortunes. Both movements sought to bring about social reform by addressing issues that were seen as major contributors to poverty and inequality. The temperance movement sought to reduce or eliminate drunkenness through legislation, and education reform aimed to improve the quality of education and increase access to it for all. Temperance and education reform were also key movements during the Gilded Age. Advocates of this movement believed that it was their Christian duty to address social issues such as poverty and inequality, and they encouraged people of means to take action to address urban problems. The Social Gospel movement also emerged during this time, advocating for social reform through religious means. These settlement houses provided services such as education, healthcare, and job training to help immigrants and other marginalized groups assimilate into American society. Reformers like Jane Addams and others established settlement houses such as Hull House to assist struggling immigrants and address issues of poverty and inequality. Despite this, labor unions continued to organize and advocate for workers' rights, and the strikes served as a catalyst for later labor reforms in the United States. This attitude of the government, combined with the power and resources of the big businesses, led to the failure of many of these strikes, and the workers' demands were not met. It guided many politicians and businessmen, who thought that unions were a threat to the natural order of society and to the progress of industrialization. This was partly due to the influence of Social Darwinism, a belief that the strong should survive and the weak should be eliminated. However, during these strikes, the government often sided with big businesses and took actions to break the strikes, rather than support the workers. These strikes were organized by workers to protest cuts in wages and poor working conditions, and they brought attention to the struggles of laborers during the Gilded Age. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, the Homestead Strike of 1892, and the Pullman Strike of 1894 were significant labor strikes that took place during this time. Labor unions used the strike as a means to combat poor working conditions and low wages. The AFL was a skilled labor union and thus carried a bit more leverage into the negotiating room and was more effective in improving conditions for its members. The American Federation of Labor, founded by Samuel Gompers, fares much better. Distrust following the Haymarket Riot leads to the downfall of the Knights of Labor. Terrance Powderly creates the Knights of Labor, an unskilled labor union designed to bring about better wages and better conditions. The result is the growth of the labor movement. The robber barons or captains of industry reap the benefits of immigration and a surplus in labor to pay low wages in difficult working conditions. The acronym ROSE will serve you well in this chapter.Railroads, Oil, Steel, and Electricity. Rockefeller (oil), and Westinghouse (electricity) improve upon efficiency and mass production. The economy features unparalleled growth as entrepreneurs like Andrew Carnegie (steel), J. Progressives encourage government resources to improve the economy, society, and political environment. Political greed runs rampant, the urbanization of America becomes obvious, and society explodes with immigrants looking for an opportunity in the Gilded Age. In addition, the oil, steel and electrical industries explode in importance. TRAINS, Trains, and more trains!!!! During this period, American Industry and the locomotive are the catalysts for incredible economic growth. Overview of Period 6 (1865-1898) Summary of Events
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