Ch. 26 Notes PDF

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Kevin Hou

Chapter 26 Notes

1-22-18

The Clash of Cultures on the Plains 

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Conflict often arose between Indians and whites. o Whites would give Indians many diseases and would try to force them off their land. Federal government began to pacify the Indians with treaties. This marked the beginning of the reservation system in the West.

Bellowing Herds of Bison 

Bison were an annoyance to the railroad companies who had to wait when bison crossed the train tracks. o Buffalo Bill and other Americans slaughtered these animals by the thousands.

The End of the Trail  

Dawes Severalty Act forced Indians off their lands to allow whites to settle. Carlisle Indian School was founded in Pennsylvania in 1879 to teach native children how to behave and live like Europeans.

Beef Bonanza and the Long Drive 

After the civil war, farmers began to ship cattle westwards. o Railroads sped up the trade of cattle farming.

The Farmers’ Frontier 

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Homestead Act of 1862 allowed farmers to acquire as much as 160 acres of land just by living on it for 5 years, maintaining the land, and paying a nominal fee of just $30. o Fraud was at the center of this act, as many companies sent people out west to claim the best land for the company.  Railroad companies as well as other natural resource companies such as oil companies engaged in this.  Most of the land went to the companies and the farmers only got a small portion of their intended share. Famers ignored advice of U.S. geological survey in 1874 not to farm past the 100th meridian. o Made the already dusty situation much worse and resulted in devastation of soil fertility in the area.

The Fading Frontier  

Frontier has always been a “safety valve” because when in hard times, people in the city could always move west to the frontier and restart their lives. Frontier slowly disappeared as more people began settling in these areas.

The Farm Becomes a Factory 

High prices persuaded farmers to grow specific cash crops such as corn or wheat rather than a bunch of crops.

Kevin Hou

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Chapter 26 Notes

1-22-18

o Agriculture became more and more large scale. Mechanization of Agriculture changed the entire farming scene in the U.S. o Many small farmers were forced out of the market, but the ones who survived created massive large-scale agriculture projects.

Deflation Dooms the Debtor  

Cash crop agriculture doomed the farmers. Once prices dropped, they all filed for bankruptcy. Farmers were in a very competitive market for cash crops of corn and wheat. o Some farmers became tenant farmers, renting, instead of owning the land.

Unhappy Farmers 

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In addition to their economic woes, farmers were suddenly hit with environmental issues too. o Cotton-boll weevil ravaged cotton plants and the fertile earth of the Midwest was going sour due to over irrigation and floods. Government added high tariffs on their products. o Big trusts extorted the farmers and became middlemen and charged high prices for their goods. o Farmers sold their goods in an unprotected world market, but bought their equipment in a tariff protected domestic market.

The Farmers Take Their Stand  

The National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry (aka The Grange) was founded to improve the farmers’ collective rights. Grangers went into politics and obtained a number of successes.

Prelude to Populism  

Farmers came together to socialize and break the grip of the railroad and manufacturing companies through the Farmers’ Alliance. The Populist Party came out of the Farmers’ alliance. o They attacked Wall Street and the “money trust”. o They wanted the free and unlimited coinage of silver. This would cause mass inflation.

Coxey’s Army and the Pullman Strike  

Panic of 1893 and ensuing depression reinforce the Populists’ argument that the farmers and laborers were being oppressed by the economic and political system. Pullman Strike of 1894 was a violent flareup regarding labor protests. o Workers overturned Pullman railroad cars and paralyzed traffic from Chicago to the Pacific Coast.  Federal troops had to go in to crush the Pullman Strike.

Kevin Hou

Chapter 26 Notes

1-22-18

Golden McKinley and Silver Bryan  

Monetary issues loomed: whether to maintain the gold standard, or inflate the currency by monetizing silver. McKinley, a civil war hero, strongly supported the gold standard while William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska supported monetizing silver. o Bryan and Democrats sought to inflate currency with 16:1 ratio, 16 ounces of silver per ounce of gold as the exchange value.

Class Conflict: Plow holders Versus Bondholders 

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Hordes of democrats hailed Bryan as the messiah to lead them out of their economic woes by monetizing silver. o In reality, monetizing silver would make it worse for them because of the inflation. Republican business people were able to work with manufacturers to support McKinley. o Contracts were created contingent on the election of McKinley and workers were told not to come to work if Bryan won. McKinley won the presidential election of 1896. This election was known as the free silver election....