Chapter 15 & 16 Test Questions – Flashcards

Laissez Fair and subsidies led to corruption because of the little amount of involvement that the government had in the regulation of business. Subsidies were payments made by the government to encourage the development of certain key industries. This caused larger businesses to preside over small mom and pop businesses. In order to ensure the governments aid many business giants used bribes and gifts as a sign of their support for certain politicians. A combination of this led to corruption in American politics.

In the spoils system elected officials appointed friends and supporter to government jobs, regardless of their qualifications. By the Gilded Age the government was filled with dishonest, unqualified employees. This system was so appealing to politicians because it ensure a loyal group of followers. Both parties handed out jobs to pay off the people who got them elected. The system led to corruption when dishonest appointees used their jobs for personal profit.

He appointed qualified political independents and fired employees who were not needed. His goals was to reform the civil service, or the government's nonelected workers. Hayes had no congressional backing during his attempt to reform. Although he announced he would not run for a second term he probably would not have one the election due to his bold attack on the spoils system.

James Garfield was a "Half Breed" which meant he wanted to reform the spoils system while remaining loyal to his party. However his term was cute short when a man who was a Stalwart (defenders of the Spoils system) shot Garfield.

Since President Garfield's assassination had been so recent Arthur was able to obtain congressional support for reforming the spoils system. The Pendleton Civil Service Act created a Civil Service Commission which classified government jobs and tested applicants' fitness for them. It also stated that federal employees could not be required to contribute to campaign funds and could not be fired for political reasons.

The economy was the biggest political issue of this time period. Cleveland lost the presidential election in 1888 because he wanted to reduce tariffs while is running mate wanted to increase them which gained him business support and the presidency. During Harrison's presidency he caused more damage to economy and was not reelected. Cleveland ran again and was elected this time. Cleveland's second term started out with a financial panic which began a depression. The unemployed were angry because the government offered no help. He also angered people when the Sherman Silver purchase act was repealed and when he sent federal troops to Chicago.

The Populists had emerged during the time of the depression and had made gains politically. However Republican William McKinley was elected. He was supported by urban workers and the middle class. McKinley brought the nation back to prosperity but unfortunately did not live long enough to see it.

The majority of immigrants were from Europe however people came from all over the world. They were coming for many reasons such as to get rich, accumulate land through the Homstead Act, personal freedoms, job opportunities, and religious freedom. Immigrants often sought to live in communities established by previous settlers from their homelands. They chose to live near their own ethnic groups for the comfort of the language and traditions.

Immigrants were often looked down upon and seen as inferior. They were not really accepted in communities of other Americans.

The Asian culture differed greatly from the European. Asian immigrants found that acceptance was much more difficult to gain. Chinese immigrants had to work until they had paid the cost of their passage and upkeep. Labor unions fought hard to keep the Chinese excluded because they worked for low wages which affected the rate of pay for all workers. For some time the Chinese Exclusion Act prevented the Chinese from immigrating to America. Labor unions and political leaders also fought to stop Japanese immigration. European immigrants did not face the same prejudice. This is most likely attributed to the fact that Europeans look and act more like Americans than Europeans.

There was a large arrival of newcomers which forced cities to modernize in order to grow to fit the amount of people. Motorized methods of transportation made communicating much easier. Cities grew upward as well as outward. Urban space became scarce which cause building to be built up. Banks, financial offices, law firms, and government offices were located in one central area.

Tenements- lost-cost apartment building designed to house as many families as the owner could pack in. A group of dirty, run-down tenements could transform an area into a slum. Living conditions grew worse and worse. The air was dirty and disease spread. Fires were also a constant concern.

Corrupt politicians could easily take advantage of immigrants who were poorly educated and unfamiliar with democracy. They often times supported political machines because they helped the poor people at a time when neither government nor private industry would. The most notorious political boss was Tweed who controlled Tammany Hall which was a political club that ran New York City's Democratic Party. Used fraud and graft (the use of one's job to gain profit) to steal millions of dollars.

He was a political cartoonists that helped bring political boss, Tweed, down by exposing his methods to the public. His cartoons depicted Tweed as a thief and dictator.

The Social Gospel Movement was a social reform movement that sought to apply the gospel of Jesus directly to society. This Movement was different from the COS because it was more spiritual. The COS was more of a scientific enterprise. They helped those who were the most needy by keeping files and wanted immigrants to adopt American customs while the SGM didn't blame immigrants but sought to treat the problems that drove people into bad activities

It set up child care centers, playgrounds, clubs, summer camps, launched investigation of city economic, political and social conditions,

Nativism- favoring native-born Americans over immigrants. This was because of the rise of immigrants to positions of power in the cities. The Chinese Exclusions Act was an example of this. The American Protective Association was a nativist group that targeted immigrants.

The goals of prohibition and the temperance movement were to diminish drinking on the grounds that it led to personal tragedies. Drinking was also linked to saloons, immigrants, and political bosses. Women's Christian Temperance Movement was one of the major groups that opposed drinking. Carry Nation won fame by smashing illegal saloons with a hatchet in her home state of Kansas.

As industries grew after the Civil War parents that their children needed more skills to advance in life. They felt that the basics of reading and writing were no longer enough. So in order to expand their education they pressure their local governments to raise funding, lengthen the school year, and limit child labor laws. therefore their children could stay in school for as long as possible.

Colleges and universities opened to train young people in skills needed by a growing industrial economy. Private women's colleges were established and some colleges accepted all races of student to include African Americans. Some black colleges were also set up.

Booker T. Washington taught his students the skills and attitudes to help them succeed in American society. He believed that they should put aside political equality for now and focus on building economic security. He felt that they should prepare for productive and profitable work and to bring their intellect. Eventually the AA could win white acceptance by succeeding economically. W.E.B. Du Bois believed that the brightest AA's had to step forward and lead their people in a quest for political and social equality and civil rights. He believed that future leaders should seek and advanced liberal arts education rather than a vocational education. He said that AA should not define themselves buy how white people see them but rather take pride in their heritage.

They called for full civil liberties, an end to racial discrimination, and recognition of human brotherhood.

Americans enjoyed -Vaudeville: a type of inexspensive variety show that first appeared in the 1870s, often consisting of comic sketches, son-and-dance routines, and magic acts. -Movies: improving technology and the increasing popularity of films let to better movies. They were cheap -The Circus: circus trains traveled to locations. Hundreds of people came to see the performance. -Amusement Parks: an inexpensive escape form everyday life. -Sports: people could watch or participate.

Newspapers, magazines, and popular fiction.

Ragtime and jazz became new styles of music. It was a more modern and upbeat approach to music. Also people could now enjoy music at home through a player piano or the phonograph.

The purpose was to keep African American men from voting. Poll taxes were beyond the financial reach of most AA. The Grandfather Clause exempted a group of people from obeying the law if they had met certain conditions before the law was passed. African Americans did not meet the requirements of this also due to the fact that they had not already voted and did not have an previous ancestors who had voted. Since they did not meet these requirement they had to take a literacy test which was too difficult for them to pass.

The intensions of segregation and Jim Crow laws was to separate blacks from whites. Jim Crow laws required the separation of blacks and whites in schools, parks, public buildings, hospital, and transportation systems. They could not use the same water fountains or public toilets. Facilities designated for black were almost always inferior.

The case called for "separate but equal" however this was rarely the case. The court said the 14th Amendment called for political and civil equality but not social equality. They said as long as facilities for black were the same as those for white people then there was no issue. However this was difficult to enforce.

They formed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to abolish segregation and discrimination, to oppose racism, and to gain civil rights for African Americans. The Niagara Movement came together to denounce discrimination.

Women should be able to vote. They should be able to control their own property and income, and they should have access to higher education and professional jobs. Some people argued that giving women these rights would upset the social order and destroy femininity.

Women still did most of the work around the home however due to technological advances that work was made easier. Carpet sweepers, electric vaccuums. Canned food made preparing meals less time consuming.

Growing urban populations, an abundance of manufactured goods, the expansion of public transportation, and electric lighting led to the development of department stores. These became a one stop shop for women and reduced the amount of time they had to spend shopping. Catalogs allowed for more rural families to be able to access the same products offered in the city.

Women were often time live-in servants. They also worked as typists, operators, and took telephone orders for department stores. Women usually had jobs that were more secretarial rather than jobs who required them to supervise others.

"New Women" wore shorter hairstyles, raised their hems, went out on dates with men without supervision, had higher expectation for marriage, pushed for the legalized spread of birth control.