Chapter 23-25

Big businesses were granted the opportunity to rise up and control government monopolies because the reconstruction era was largely focused on politics. This allowed them, in a sense, to abuse the system through bribes and corruption. The new wide open market created a motive for people to fight for personal gains, which also resulted in the manipulation of immigrants for votes.

There was a ton of overbuilding and speculation, labor disorders and agricultural shortages, which resulted in very angry debtors and workers. Grover Cleveland ended up turning to JP Morgan and other Wall Street bankers to get $65 million in gold as a loan, which restored the people's confidence in the nation's finances. However, this move was largely looked at as a sellout corrupt move.

The Chinese came mostly from Guangdong for the purpose of digging in goldfields and creating transcontinental railroads. Racists discriminated against them heavily, and to top it all off, Congress created the Chinese exclusion act to prohibit any new Chinese immigrants.

The South's issues mainly dealt with blacks. The economy was failing without the security of slavery so they decided to hire cheap immigrants and sharecroppers, with the intent to stop blacks from gaining any sort of land territory. Additionally, segregation and Jim Crow laws were created and those who broke these laws were penalized harshly.

The main issues that existed were that Tilden only had 184 out of the necessary 185 electoral votes to become president. Hayes and Tilden both sent representatives to swing states for the purpose of gaining additional votes. Nothing changed as a result, so a compromise was created saying that Hayes would be president only if he removed all troops from the South. Hayes ended up winning the presidency in a very close race.

The gospel of health dictated that people that were more fortunate with much money should give back to society in the form of charity. People who believed in social darwinism also believed in the \"survival of the fittest\" mentality. The ones who were wealthy simply had better ability than those who were poor. They justified the concentration of wealth by holding the poor in contempt and believing that they were lazy/unskilled.

People wanted to be able to transport goods faster and more efficiently. It would allow greater connection between all sections of the nation, while also making land more valuable near stations. This overall connected the nation much more. However, it led to a major monopoly on railroads and in turn, brought more corruption.

The government mostly tried to control the big trusts with legislation. The major laws passed were the Sherman Anti Trust Act and the interstate commerce act. The former tried to forbid combinations in restraint of trade but proved ineffective due to legal loopholes. The latter attempted to regulate the increasing of the railroads giants, which was one of the first attempts to regulate monopolies.

A few of the biggest challenges facing labor were that people became more expendable and often were replaced by machines. In addition, pay got worse for the workers, and increased specialization was detrimental in the sense that individuals were powerless to fight off bigger corporations. Often, laborers were forced to sign contracts in order to not unionize. Labor conditions were as bad as they had ever been during this time period.

This time period marked a record high for the amount of immigrants coming to America. These new immigrants came from southern and eastern Europe including Jews, Italians, Croats, and Poles. For the most part, these immigrants were illiterate and in poverty, deciding to stick to major coastal cities. The majority of immigrants never experienced a democracy too.

One of the biggest issues was sanitation as the poverty-ridden streets of cities were often overcrowded and full of animals and waste. There was plenty of disease and trash everywhere. Job markets increasingly became more overcrowded, and competition was at its peak, leading to hostility among different members of the populace. It was very dangerous to tread on the ground of poor neighborhoods.

Darwin went against the church in suggesting that us humans evolved by natural selection. Many scientists began to separate religion from science. While many rejected Darwinism, it provoked skepticism and opened America's mind up to more liberal beliefs. Scientist began to align themselves with the country, specifically in regards to the separation of church and state.

Kate Chopin wrote the Awakening, and was an early advocate for feminism. Mark Twain wrote many books, notably \"Tom Sawyer\", and was able to bring both a sense of humor and realism to American society. Bret Harte wrote many stories about the gold rush that underlined the American promise for economic opportunity.

A major reform movement was Booker T Washington's attempt at providing education for blacks. He avoided social equality, instead advocating for increased economic independence. The NAACP was also formed for increased black rights. A few advocated for journalistic reform as an attempt to drive public opinion in a positive direction, encouraging debate among different sections of the population.