Wednesday Grooop Stuff

Polly has been workin' on the railroad...

Railroad: By 1900, there were 250,000 miles of railroad track laid. James J. Hill and Cornelius Vanderbilt were the railroad barons at the time, controlled up to 90% of the railroad at the time. Because of this, they could charge whatever price they wanted to people. However, they could cut deals for their rich buddies so they could travel at lower prices.


Railroad transport was very important as it moved resources from the west-to-east, east-to-west.


Railroad technology: Air brakes, refrigerated railcars, luxurious sleeping cars, electromagnetic braking systems, as well as dining cars.


Railroads also affected how Americans thought about time, people would measure the trip into how many hours it was instead of miles, and this is how time zones came about!


Improved communication inventions: Telephone made in 1876, telegraph.

Other inventions: Kodak Camera invented in 1888, Lewis Latimer improved on the lightbulb, giving it a threaded socket and an improved filament, automatic shoemaking machine.


Thomas Edison inventions: Telephone transmitters, storage battery, electric lightbulbs made in 1879, phonograph made in 1877

THE AGE OF BIG BUSINESS!

      Oil was one of the biggest industries back then, and people were finding better, more efficient ways to get it out of the earth faster. Cars were becoming powered by gasoline which helped people get the oil faster and with more reason. Steel business was booming with all the railroads being built and in heavy use. Development of new manufacturing tools made steel very inexpensive.

     The corporations grew larger. J.D. Rockefeller and his railroad business and Andrew Carnegie with his steel industry were becoming highly successful.

Many mergers happened at this time, since there many monopolies, people would combine businesses to form corporations to be more beneficial to both parties. 

SHERMAN ANTITRUST ACT

This law was in 1890, and it sought to protect trade and commerce from unlawful restraint and commerce. However, it didn't fully define trusts or monopolies so people began to reinterpret the act.

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS!

     In 1800's most working women were domestic servants, but then by the 1900's more than 1,000,000 women worked in the industry. But since no laws regulate women's salaries, they earned half of what men earned for the same work.

In 1900, a thousand children under the age of 16 were working for the industry. Many states began passing laws that children couldn't work until they were 12 and couldn't work more than 10 hours a day.

Unsatisfied workers formed labor unions so that they could get better working conditions and salaries for them.



HAYMARKET RIOT!

    Seven people died... thanks to Manda's bomb. Way to go! :)

THE OTHER GROUP'S STUFF!

ACTS
Pendleton Act: 1883 - Established Civil Service Comission and set up exams for federal jobs.
Sherman Antitrust Act: 1890 - First federal law to control trusts and monopolies.
Interstate Commerce Act: 1887 - Required railroads to charge "reasonable and just" rates & to publish these rates.
Meat Inspection Act: 1906 - Prevented bad meat/misbranded meat products from being sold.
Pure Food and Drug Act: 1906 - Required accurate labeling of food and medicine and banning the sale of harmful food.

CLUBS
Women's clubs were focused on cultural activities like music + painting. Many clubs gradually became concerned with social problems. When clubs refused to admit black people, they established their own clubs. 
Women vote nationally thanks to the 19th amendment in 1919 ratified in 1920. This was just in time for the next election! :D
Woman's social reform to protect children.
The WTUL women's trade union leagues encourage working women to form women's labour unions. It also supported laws to protect the rights of women factory workers. WTUL helped to raise money to help striking to pay bail for women who were arrested for participatin in strikes. 

THE 18th AMENDMENT: 1919 - Prohibition Law. Made it illegal to transport, make or sell alcohol in the United States.
THE 19th AMENDMENT: 1920 - Provided for woman's suffrage! They could finally vote and this amendment came just in time for the upcoming election. Woohoo! 


Political Bosses:
-to gain voters
-did favours for people
-provided jobs for immigrants
-helped needy families
-to gain money!
-accepted bribes
-received campaign contributions
-accepted kickbacks

~ PRESIDENTS - PROGRESSIVES ~
Teddy Roosevelt: In 1902 he ordered the Justice department to take legal action against certain trusts that had violated the Sherman Antitrust act. He targeted the Northern Security compant, the trust was broken apart. He obtained a total of 25 legal charges against beef, oil, and tobacco companies. He made the united mine workers have a normal work pattern. He enforced the US forest service to help preserve nature. (Park Service :o )

William Howard Taft: He won more antitrust in four years than Roosevelt did in seven. He favoured the intro to safety standards in mines and railroad workings. In 1920, Roosevelt challenged Taft in the next election because he was disappointed in Taft. Roosevelt was angry because he didn't get a nomination on the first ballot so he made the Progressive Party. Neither of them on, Wilson did!


Woodrow Wilson: He achieved tariff reforms in 1913. That same year, Congress also passed the Federal Reserve Act to regulate banking. In 1914 he established the Federal Trade Commission to investigate corporations for unfair trade practices. He reserved millions of acres of land for natural forest preservation stuffs. People got more hours which meant more moneys!@#!@#!@#

More Questions ---Chapter 21

7. How did corrupt political bosses get voters for their parties?

Doing favours for people, being total brown-nosers and trying to build the most positive public image they could in order for the votes. Most of the time, they weren't giving a damn about the people, and just played the nice guy role to get who they wanted within a position of power.

8. Why were journalists important to the reform movement?

They brought corruption and injustice to the public eye through media. Because they were sifting through all the lies to find the truth for the American public, the investigative journalists soon came to be called "muckrakers" which I find to be a pretty cool word to say...

9. What amendment provided for the direct election of senators?

The Seventeenth Amendment, ratified in 1913.

10. What amendment provided for woman suffrage?

The Nineteenth Amendment provided for woman suffrage, ratified in 1920.

11. What is arbitration?

"The settling of a dispute by agreeing to accept the decision of an impartial outsider."

12. Why did progressives form their own political party?

Because Roosevelt thought that Taft had stolen the presidential nomination from him as he was another Republican. Therefore, he made a new party to counteract this, called the Progressive party, which he was instantly elected as the Progressive candidate.

13. What was the purpose of the Federal Reserve Act?

To regulate banking by creating 12 national banks that were controlled by the central government. D.C. could keep a better eye on what happened with all the nation's wealth this way.

14. What is discrimination?

De people be hatin' on de utha folks cuz of de coluh o' dey skin, where dey from, where dey go t'church, and whutnot. (Or as the book says, "Unequal treatment because of race, religion, ethnic background, or place of birth.)

15. What did Dr. Carlos Montezuma think about Native American reservations?

He felt that they were hurting the Natives, and he decided to become an activist and bring the problems out to the public that the government was abusing them. Montezuma wanted the Natives to leave the reservations and establish their own way in American society to prevent being holed up in a tiny reservation away from the world.

16. Why did Mexican Americans organize mutualistas?

They couldn't stand alone, especially as a minority is a very bigoted society full of whites. Therefore, the Mexicans formed groups to help one another so that their voice could be heard. Mutualistas did more than that though, they raised money for the Mexican cause and provided for insurance and legal help.

17. How did the Seventeenth Amendment give people a greater voice in government?

Because people now had more control over not just the decision over the executive branch of the government, but also the legislative as it gave direct election for state senators/representatives.

18. Why was the railroad industry subject to so many government regulations?

Because it functioned as an oligopoly (Another awesome word!) and big corporations controlled the prices of everything related to them. People thought this unfair so they wanted the government the step in, because legally they had the power to regulate prices and overall had more control since the railroad crossed state lines.

19. Re-create the diagram below and identify how these laws promote justice and insure citizens' rights.

19th Amendment provided for women suffrage, which was a huge step forward as they had very little rights before the 1920 ratification of this amendment.

History Questions

5. Implementation of the Standard gauge, air brakes, car couplers, refrigerated cars, and luxury cars for people to sleep in.

6. The Lightbulb! An automatic telegraph machine. The Phonograph. Motion picture projector. Telephone transmitter. Storage Battery.

7. The Telephone, Telegraph and the postal service, which helped people send letters from all around the country.

8. He made the automobiles run on gasoline. He also manufactured a ton of cars so that there was such a huge supply, driving the price way down.

9. Vertical integration is the joining of important companies who manufacture important resources vital to a large-scale corporation, into said corporation. It is most notable done by Andrew Carnegie as well as J.P. Morgan after purchasing Carnegie's steel plant and forming the United Steel Corporation.

10. In 1890 the government passed the Sherman Antitrust Act so that it could protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraint and monopoly. However, like many other bills/laws/amendments, people decided to be smartasses and atttempt to reinterpret the act because they weren't defined enough.

11. When unions take a position of power to settle deals with management for the benefit of the workers.

12. People were acting up, so the Haymarket Riot put the negative view of terrorism and chaos into the minds of the American people which disheartened them. (As you can imagine...)

13. Automatic Shoemaking machine. Improved lightbulbs. Electric Incubators. Electromagnetic brake system. Automatic circuit breaker.

14. Horizontal integration involved the merging of firms to build a corporation. Vertical integration involved merging companies that provided resources or equipment to help attain a certain purpose of the industry.

15. Because standing alone with a single voice isn't going to get the government/employers attention. Bonding together and forming a group (strength in numbers) is a better way to go about campaigning for something that is desired.

16. Railroad network --> Helped connect both coasts, increased resources flowing from west to east, east to west.

17. Railroad/Trains, Canals/Water travel.

18. The lumber industry due to the amount of how many Sawmills are marked on the map.

19. The South Bend iron/steel industry looks like it has tons of railroads and a notable shipping route coming out of it. It must have an important location. Ohio has two in the Northeastern part of the state, Pennsylvania has one, New York has one, and there's even one in Canada. :o

20. Central, Mountain, and Pacific zones.

21. Midnight, 12:00

22. Noon, 12:00

Doughnut Know Much About History...

How did the Civil War shape our lives today? 
It totally screwed over the South economy, ended slavery and indentured servitude, and kept us as one country instead of a divided nation of Confederates and Union...ers.

Name three ways the Civil War changed the South.
-Rise of the KKK
-Severely diminished economy and farmland.
-Congress felt the need to punish them once Lincoln was assassinated.

What constitutional right did Lincoln suspend?
Habeus Corpus - having a prisoner set free if significant evidence against the prisoner in question is not provided.

List the four border states.
Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware.

Why did West Virginia form?
It was a admitted into the Union after the Wheeling Conventions and there was part of the Virginia state that wanted to be in the Union. Therefore, it seceded from Virginia, which was a Confederate State, in order to stay with the Union Forces.

What disadvantages did the South face?
Much less territory, only 11 states to the North's 23. There was a more noticeable disadvantage in the amount of people that were on each side, especially the number of those who were actually fighting. 22,000,000 people total in the North against the 9,000,000 Southerners. This was more than double and it meant that there was a great chance of you dying if you fought for the South!

Why did the Confederate States believe they had a right to leave the Union?
They felt independent and much stronger than the Union. They also wanted to protect their right to own slaves and felt the North weren't in a position to take away their biggest source of labour and economic growth. The South also wanted to keep state's rights and were in control of their own state, just how it was run back in the late 1600's.    

What were the three main strategies of the Union?
They blocked off the ports of the South so that no import or export could benefit them anymore.
They wanted to wage 'total war' on the whole South.
Control the Mississippi to control the West as well as important trade routes/systems.

What was the average age of soldiers who fought in the Civil War?
Most were 21 or younger, but the average age was about 25.

What was the outcome of Bull Run?
Thomas J. Jackson earned his famous nickname, Stonewall Jackson during this battle and led the Confederates to an important victory. First battle of the Civil War, fought just 20 miles or so from the Nation's capital. Made it apparent that the war was going to last a very long time. People sat and watched and had a picnic. :D

Discuss the Battle of Shiloh.
It was the bloodiest as well as the costliest battle in the war, and an important Union victory. More casualities in this battle alone than all American wars combined. The first day of the battle, the Confederates were in the lead, because the Union retreated to the Hornet's Nest. The important thing in the battle is the death of the Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston. His death, causes the Confederates to retreat and weakens their forces as a whole. Grant and Sherman start to go ham after this battle, taking over/destroying everything in their path.

What were Lincoln’s reasons for the Emancipation Proclamation?
He used it as a political tool, a scare tactic, to hopefully incite the slave revolts and runaways. This would severely hurt the South, losing their prime source of economic superiority.

What did the 13th Amendment do?
It outlawed slavery and indentured servitude except as punishment for a crime.

How was the Civil War a rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight?
It was considered this because it was a war that decided which part of the nation would be in an economic advantage. Plus, the drafted men could pay their way out of it by paying a poor person to take their place. Whichever side won would also be in the economic advantage, since North would further industrialization, and the South would flourish in agriculture and slave labour trade.

Discuss the draft laws in the north.
If someone was drafted, they could pay their way out of it, or hire someone to go join the army in their place.

Discuss the importance of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.
Gettysburg = Robert E. Lee invading the North and it was a heavily bloody battle. Last time the South invade the North in the war. Turning point in the war, sort of like the Saratoga of the Civil War. 70,000 casualties compiled on both sides. The South loses so much men, and spends the rest of the war practically running from Grant. July 1st through the 3rd.
Chancellorsville = Southern Victory, Joe Hooker gets defeated, yet Stonewall Jackson dies. Robert E. Lee loses his secondhand man.

How did Sherman use “Total War” against the South?
By killing and destroying every single piece of land, well... pretty much anything he marched through. Whenever he led his troops, he annihilated the surrounding area.

Who were the Presidents of the Confederacy and the United States during the Civil War?
Jefferson Davis was the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, and Abraham Lincoln was the President (16th) of the United States of America.

What, exactly, did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
Freed the slaves in the south as a plot to get slaves to run away and possibly revolt. 

North consisted of Twenty-three states, including California, Oregon, and seven other territories. Population of approximately 22,000,000.
South consisted of Eleven states. Population of approximately 9,000,000.
Costs: Money:
North: $6,000,000
South: $3,000,000
Dead Men:
North: 360,000
South: 260,000
Total: 620,000 ~ 3.3 million served for both sides total. (Approx. 1-5 chance of dying.)

Homework Stuffs

11. What was the purpose of the Missouri Compromise?
 To prohibit slavery north of a certain latitude line, except in the proposed state of Missouri.
12. List the five parts of the Compromise of 1850?
 Slave trade abolished in the Washington D.C. area, California becomes a free state, Utah and New Mexico have restrictions on slavery cut, the fugitive slave law comes into play that hurts those working for the underground railroad and already free slaves, and a defined border between Texas and Mexico.
13. What was Stephen Douglas's solution to the slavery issue in the Kansas and Nebraska territories?
 To let new settlers decide on a majority whether or not slavery will be admitted to a new territory.
14. How did Abraham Lincoln become a national figure in politics?
He was tall, had a cool beard, and wore a pro top hat. More importantly, he gained fame with his debates with many men and his intellect was made apparent that he was going to be important in years to come in politics.
15. What was the Dred Scott decision? What did it mean for those opposed to slavery?
Considering slaves to be property, a supreme court Justice makes a decision that repeals almost all Compromise up to this point in history, which upset many people.
16. Why were there four parties and candidates in the presidential election of 1860?
There were heavy disagreements that split the Democrats up into selecting to candidates for presidential election. The republicans  
17. How did Lincoln plan to prevent secession?
Sends troops to Maryland so that the nation's capital didn't fall to the South.
18. Why was the balance of free and slave states in the Senate such an important issue?
Because when there was balance, there was no majority in the senate and no side felt left out or underprivileged. Government did not want an uproar of hate and feuds/war so they tried to settle the dispute whenever a new slave/free state entered the country. (Such as the Missouri Compromise.)

19. Why did Northerners protest Douglas's plan to repeal the Missouri Compromise?
20. List three ways pro- or antislavery groups changed the structure of political parties in the 1850's.
The Republican party was born out of the events during this era, the free-soil party was created out of the Republican party later on, and the Whigs were seeing a drop in numbers and eventually faded away into nothingness. 
21. How did the North's larger population give it an edge over the South in the 1860's election?
It had more votes to go around which led to larger representation in the election in the Northern part of the country. The democrats had two candidates as well which split the votes up more, whereas the Republicans only had one candidate, Abraham Lincoln, who got all of the Republican votes of the north, for some Southerners weren't allowed to vote for Lincoln.

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~--~ Chapter 16 ~--~
5. During what years was the Civil War fought?
April, 1861 - April, 1865
6. What 3 advantages did the Confederate states have in the war?
The Confederate leaders were much stronger than those in the Union. 
7. Who were the presidents of the United States and of the Confederate States of America?
Abraham Lincoln was the President of the United States and Jefferson Davis led the Confederate States for its entirety. 
8. What role did Clara Barton play in the Civil War?
She was a nurse/medic that is responsible for starting the American Red Cross.
9. Why did the union blockade Southern ports?
To cut them off financially so it'd be easier for the North to outproduce them to win the war with greater ease.
10. What was the outcome of the battle of Gettysburg?
The battle started with a large amount of Confederates that outnumbered the Union soliders, however the Union had come out victorious in this battle and this marked a turning point in the war due.
11. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
It ordered the Slaves in the Union fighting against the South were free and that the Confederate slaves would be free as well if they returned to the Union. More than 3,000,000 slaves were freed as Union soldiers advanced on Confederate lines and took action. This gave slaves an incentive to fight because if they fought they'd have a chance at their freedom.  
12. In what ways did African Americans contribute to the war efforts?
The tension between slave states, free states, balance/equality were big issues that built up to the start of the war. During the war however, Southern blacks weren't allowed to fight at first, yet the Union had many black volunteer soldiers that contributed to help the North compensate for the South's already huge number of men.
13. How did the Civil War hurt the South's economy?
The ports were blockaded which severely cut the South off from importing goods, and exporting their cash crops. the removal of slaves also hurt their livelihood and the cash crop and plantation work/production plummeted tremendously.
14. What terms of surrender did Grant offer to Lee?
The Confederates had to agree not to fight anymore and lay down their arms, but were free to go back to the South safely.
15. How did people of western Virginia respond to Virginia's secession from the Union?
They were super mad!@#!@#! Seriously, most were disappointed and it got to a point where the ones who disagreed with the secession, moved north to stay in the Union, away from their home state, just to stay away from the Confederacy. 
16. Why was controlling the Mississippi River vital to the North and to the South?
It was much like the Ohio River in the French Indian wars, it was a great barrier for whoever controlled it, and it was a source of many trade routes that would benefit the controller financially and led for easy transport for troops to different parts of the country as well.
17. Why do you think many leaders called for African Americans to be allowed to fight in the Civil War?
Because there were many African Americans to go around, and it would give both sides a boost in numbers. 
18. Why do you think General Lee was such an effective military leader?
He was professionally trained and had experience in previous wars which led to his decision making and leadership skills as well as fighting tactics.

Thy Questions of The Marvelous Chapter XII

1) What was Manifest Destiny?

The duty that God gave the white people to take full control of all American territories and bring life/civilization and technology to the people in order to introduce culture and positive change throughout the land. 

2) The Oregon Territory consisted of what area? Who claimed it?

"The huge area that lay between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains north of California." Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana were among the present-day states that were in the territory. U.S. Spain, and Russia had claims in the area.

3) Who were the Mountain Men?

Americans who spent a lot of time in the mountains, engaging in trade with the Native Americans for fur and other goods. They were a huge community and would gather annually to compete and tell tales of adventures past.

4) Why was the Oregon Trail important?
Because it led the pioneers to Oregon, and the depression in the east helped the migration west to settle new land and find new stuff/jobs/wealth
 
5) Discuss the meaning behind the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight"?
The slogan for the Democratic party on the line of latitude for where they felt the national capital for Oregon country would be. If it wasn't the way they wanted, they would fight (go to war) about it. 

6) James Polk made what promises to the American public during the election of 1844 (list four - you might need to look up on the internet).
Promised to serve only one term.
Promised to colonize the Oregon country.
Promised to lower taxes.
Promised to take California territory from the Mexicans. 

7) Discuss how Texas became independent.
They needed to fight the Mexicans for independence. The Tejanos and Americans proclaimed their independence.  

8) Discuss the battles of The Alamo and San Jacinto.
The Alamo = Less than 200 Texan soldiers hold out for 12 days, fending off 1,000+ Mexican soldiers.
San Jacinto = Surprise attack on the Mexicans, capturing many captives and is the battle that ends with the taking of Santa Anna and the war as a whole.

9) How long did it take the U.S. to annex Texas? Why?
Eight years, and it took a while because the addition of yet another slave state to the nation might upset the balance of things. This was the reason Johnson hadn't done anything with the place, during his administration, but Polk does. 

10) How did the Mexican-American War start? Why did it start? Was it a "Just War"?
The Americans built a fort on the Rio Grande and the Mexicans got all mad and started attacking for it was built on their land which triggered the war. Perhaps it wasn't just because the Texans weren't really supposed to be in the land of the Mexicans and have no right to fight in the war. 

11) What was the American response to the war?

12) List the major battles of the war.
The Alamo. San Jacinto. Buena Vista. Monterey. Mexico City.

13) What was the cost of the war?
$100-125 million...?
 
14) Why was the California Gold Rush important?
Because it led to a lot of people moving west from all areas of the country in hopes to make it big by striking up a fortune in gold. California going 20,000 to 220,000 in a matter of 4 years really helped solidify the western United States and advanced the nation towards collecting more states to the union. Also brought the Mormons over to the west/Utah. 

15) Answer the following questions on page 380 - #6 - #10, #13-#15.
6. They remained on the 49th latitude line.
7. Because he didn't want to disrupt the ratio of slave states to non-slave states.
8. Strength in Numbers! Also, the borders on the east and west side would both be oceans instead of another foreign country. 
9. The invasion of their land. Annexation of Texas. Mexican doesn't sell it's land.
10. Because people were desperate to strike it rich and would buy anything because there was no other place to buy things around for miles. They needed the stuff, and the merchants charged quite a bit to make a fortune.
13. The states of Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, California, Utah, etc. etc. came out of it and the borders were the oceans instead of the foriegn countries/Rio Grande.
14. They were like "These fools be trippin'?" and they weren't all like "Whaaaat?". They felt it was just an excuse to hold land and take over everything. They were greedy little people!!!

Picture of Manifest Destiny

The picture is of the tall, white-robed lady (angel) that is bringing light into the undiscovered land. The area to the left is dark, and untouched by Americans and therefore it is hopeless. God has apparently given the duty to the Americans to fully control the land, and wherever they go, light is brought to the otherwise desolate area. The manifest destiny is how Americans feel they have the right to own all of the land area in America and to control everything in the new continent. God was guiding them on an adventure and the land was corrupted and impure without their presence.