unit 2 the new south and the move westward (1865-1900) u.s. history ii his-112

Unit 2The New South and the Move Westward

(1865-1900)

U.S. History IIHIS-112

“Redeeming” a New South

The Democrats who took power in the South were known as “Redeemers” It was a diverse group with interests in agriculture,

commerce, and manufacturing They did not share one common ideology although they

all supported laissez-faire economics and white supremacy

They tended to focus on the needs of the planter class, merchants, and industrialists while neglecting the small farmers and the working classes

Once in power, they ended many of the positive programs of Reconstruction This included major cuts in public services especially

education


As the Redeemers neglected the small farmers, both whites and blacks started to suffer from the crop lien system

High cotton prices immediately after the war persuaded southern farmers to grow as much cotton as possible Prices quickly spiraled downward from $0.11/pound in

1875 to $0.05/pound in 1894 This threw the entire region into more debt and

poverty


Many farmers would buy their supplies on credit to help them survive until the next harvest When the next harvest came in, many found that they had

not earned enough to pay off their debt By 1900, more than half the South’s white farmers and

three-quarters of the black farmers were tenantsBecause of this, farmers had no way of

improving their technology or diversifying their crops Farmers relied increasingly on cotton even though prices

were dropping Not enough farmers were growing food crops which led

to shortages

Jim Crow Era

The Rise of Jim Crow

Once the Democrats were in power, they sought to make blacks even more of second class citizens than they already were

State constitutions were amended to disenfranchise blacks Many areas made it difficult for blacks to vote by

imposing poll taxes, literacy taxes, and having all-white primaries

These kept the blacks from votingThe “grandfather clause” was put in place

Only those who were able to vote before the war were exempt from literacy and poll taxes


In the 1890s, state and local laws legalized informal segregation through “Jim Crow” laws This was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1896 in Plessy

v. Ferguson which stated “separate but equal” facilities did not violate the 13th and 14th Amendments

Now the south could push the segregation boundaries even farther

Incidents of lynching and other forms of violence against blacks increased This was designed to keep blacks “in line” During the 1890s, more than 1,400 black men were

lynched or burned alive, with more than 1/3 accused of “sex crimes”


Northern leaders did nothing to protect blacks They even promulgated negative stereotypes in the media Many magazines called blacks the “lowly variety of man” and

believed that blacks in the U.S. had “too much liberty”

After the 1876 election, those in Congress were not so liberal either In 1890, Congress failed to pass bills aimed to support and

assist the newly freed slaves One of these was the Blair Bill which was designed to give

federal assistance to blacks This was due to a new generation of politicians in Congress


Supreme Court made a number of detrimental rulings for southern blacks In 1878, it overruled a Louisiana statute banning

discrimination in transportation In 1882, it stated that sections of the Ku Klux Klan Act of

1871 was unconstitutional In 1883, it stated that parts of the Civil Rights Act of 1875

was unconstitutional because the federal government did not have the right to involve itself in racial matters

Encouraged by these actions, southerners sought to make blacks permanently into second class citizens

Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)

Black Life in the South

Political and social discrimination made it possible to keep blacks permanently confined to agricultural and unskilled labor By 1900, 84% of black workers were involved in some

kind of agricultural work or service jobs Blacks held very few if any positions in factories, so they

were not able to learn new skills or move up the social ladder

Blacks did not accept their declining position passively In the 1880s, they joined Knights of Labor, a labor

organization However, whites did not like the blacks joining and

many left the organization, breaking the union


T. Thomas Fortune organized the Afro-American League in 1890 This was a precursor to the NAACP It was designed to encourage independent voting, oppose

segregation and lynching, and urge the establishment of black institutions to support black businesses

Some blacks continued to support the idea of migration Either to other parts of the Americas or back to Africa Bishop Henry McNeal Turner founded the International

Migration Society in 1894 to help blacks return to Africa


Booker T. Washington had a more moderate program to bring justice He was a former slave who founded the Tuskegee

Institute in 1881, which educated young blacks in vocational skills

In his 1895 Atlanta Compromise, he stated that blacks should abandon efforts to obtain civil, social or voting rights and settle for economic opportunity

In 1903, W.E.B. DuBois attacked Washington’s position He was first black man to be awarded a Ph.D. from

Harvard He stated that political rights should precede, not follow,

economic well-being

Richmond in 1865

Post-War South

After the Civil War, the south was in very rough shape

There were major questions that needed to be answered How was the economy going to be rebuilt? How is the economy going to be transformed from a

slave-based economy to a freed labor one? What was going to be the new position of all the newly

freed slaves? What kind of rights should be extended to them?

Post-War South

The economy was struggling while it was flourishing in the rest of the country Many industries and farms were destroyed during the

course of the war

It was the poorest of all agricultural regions In 1880, southerners’ yearly earnings were only half

the national average Planters struggled to switch away from slave-based

labor Agricultural labor force was neither efficient nor

prosperous enough to invest in needed improvements

Post-War South

The south did not embrace industrialization the way the north did Therefore, it remained dependent on the North for

goods Those who did work in industries were poorly paid

and had little hope of advancement

As the rebuilding began, there were calls for a “New South” They wanted to kick away the old customs and

traditions southerners clung on to and bring industry to the South

Rebuilding the South

To keep up with the north, the southern railroad companies redid the railroad tracks and adjusted rolling stock throughout the south in 1886 This way it would fit the gauge of northern railroads

States would give incentives to help bring investors down south Several states offered tax exemptions and even cheap

convict labor They gave out railroad land grants Atlanta and Louisville held large industrial exhibitions It worked


Throughout the late 1800’s, northerners invested heavily on rebuilding the south They increased their investments in the cotton industry

by 700% Their investments also help to expand railroad systems

throughout the south

A side effect of these investments was the expansion of the cities People flocked to the cities to find work in the new

industries In 1860, only 7% of southerners lived in the cities By 1900, it was up to 15% (national average was 40%)


The different cities took on their own identities based on what industry they embraced Birmingham, once just a huge cornfield, grew to become

the center of the southern iron and steel industry Memphis prospered from lumber and cottonseed

products Richmond became the country’s tobacco capital Augusta focused on the textile industry

The New South leaders liked to boast about the growth of the south They used statistics to prove success of their

modernization efforts


The middle class southerners did begin to accept new entrepreneurial values However, not everyone was willing to embrace it

Even though the south was making process, it was doing it very slowly Many people still romanticized about the past,

including the New South leaders A lot of businesses did not invest in a modern

workforce Southern schools lagged far behind that of the North Industry was still dependent on the traditional crops of

cotton and tobacco South did not better its position relative to the North


South failed to reap many benefits from industrialization In 1860, the south had 17% of the country’s

manufacturing In 1904, it had only 15%

The only great southern corporation that arose was the American Tobacco Company The rest of the companies were owned by northerners Dollars fled north along with decision making power In many cases, the southern companies would do the

beginning work and then the items would be shipped north to be completed


Those who did work in the southern industries had even worse working condition than in the north They worked long hours at low pay and had very little

chance for advancement They earned less and worked longer than any other

place in the country with their earnings about ½ of the national average

Black workers, who made up about 6% of the manufacturing force in 1890 usually had the worst jobs and the lowest pay

Thousands of women and children joined the work force

Overshot hay stacker in Montana

Modernizing Agriculture

From 1865 to 1900, the number of farms in the U.S. more than doubled in number

With the help of new machinery, farmers were able to focus on specialized crops While small family farms still dominated, there was an

increase in large single crop operations west of the Mississippi

Because of this, farming was no longer the dominant job in the country with numbers declining to 37 percent of the workforce in 1900

With the development of the expanding railroad system, they were then able to transfer these goods to markets


One major factor contributing to the expansion of agriculture in the U.S. was the dramatic rise of population in Europe There was an increasing demand for crops as many

European countries had to import most of their food, especially England

In response, U.S. farmers attempted to improve crop yields and livestock They used new technologies such as the horse-drawn

harvester to increase the size of harvests This not only benefitted American farmers but also help

encouraged new trends in agriculture elsewhere in the world


As part of this, there was the development of transportation both home and abroad to get the goods to new markets

By specializing for certain markets, farmers were dependent on outside forces and demands Every part of their lives were tied in to foreign

influences, including borrowing money from foreign banks, using foreign transportation

However, if one part of the chain broke down or stopped, U.S. farmers were hurt greatly

An example was the ban of American pork by European countries


Another factor that participated in the expansion of agriculture was technological innovation There was the development of new machinery that

reduced amount of work required This made the growing of crops cheaper and easier

One problem was that this machinery was expensive Many American farmers went into debt to buy it

Having too large a harvest can also cause problems The harvests were too large for the domestic market This as well as foreign competition and deflation caused

prices to fall


Not all farmers were hurt with by the declining prices They were receiving less money, but the costs of

farming declined as well This meant that the farmers continued to overproduce

which led to lower prices

The price deflation also increased the real value of debt In 1888, the interest on a $2,000 mortgage cost 174

bushels of wheat In 1895, it was up to 320 bushels

Cattle Farming in the West

The West

After the Civil War, there was a rise in migration out west A lot of this had to do with an increase in European

migration to the U.S.

With this, more and more farms were created west of the Mississippi River The most dramatic increase took place in the Great

Plains region which had been ignored by settlers prior to the Civil War


The first big farmers into the Great Plains were cattle farmers

During the Civil War, Texas cattle farmers were unable to sell their livestock to the Confederate states This led to a huge rise in the number of cattle in Texas

After the Civil War, railroads were built to take the cattle to markets throughout the mid-west

Cattle ranches spread as far north as the Dakotas New breeds of cattle were developed to help them deal

with the cold weather


In the 1870s and early 1880s huge ranches popped up throughout the mid-west They were owned by outside investors and paid off

handsomely Cattle grazed on public domain lands so there was

little cost to feeding them Cowboys, a large percentage Mexican and black,

herded the steers but made very little incomeBy the mid-1880’s, farmers started moving

into the Great Plains They purchased large chunks of public lands and

enclosed them


Along with the farmers, there were a number of other problems that led to a rapid decline in cattle farming Many ranchers overstocked their herds The winter of 1886 witnessed incredible harsh weather Ranchers frantically tried to cut their losses by selling

what was left

Those who remained in cattle farming adopted new techniques This included fencing in cattle and feeding them grains

in the winter

Migration to the West

Farms in the Great Plains

After the Civil War, railroads began to crisscross the mid-west

Many of the railroad companies encouraged people to move to the Great Plains This was done through promotional materials about

how fertile the land was for farmingSettlers could either purchase land from the

government under the Homestead Act or from the railroads The railroads owned the best lands so these were

usually sold first


The first boom in settlement took place from 1879 to the 1890s Settlers came from both the U.S. and Europe

Even though the land in the Great Plains was cheaper than in the east, it was still expensive to start up a farm Many farmers went into debt purchasing the land and

necessary machinery Others leased their lands because they did not have

the start up money


Life in the region was not easy Many of the settlers did not expect the drastically

changing weather There were constant shortages of water Shortage of wood forced many to live in sod homes Long-term success depended upon short-term survival

Technology did help make the settlers lives easier Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire in 1874 which

gave farmers an alternative for fencing Twine binders replaced reapers for faster harvesting

and better protection for the harvested crops


First boom ended abruptly in the late 1880s and early 1890s This was due to a combination of falling agricultural

prices and devastating droughtThousands lost their farms to creditors while

others stayed on as tenants. By 1900, 2/3 of homesteads had failed

The farming efforts had long-term negative on the plains Cattle, hunting of game, and depletion of the water

table all eventually contributing to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s

Farming in the Pacific

With the completion of a national railroad system, farming became California’s greatest asset

These farms were very different from the small homesteads in the mid-west The farms were much larger and heavily dependent on

the railroads They also used more machinery and relied on

irrigation They also used migrant labor, especially Mexicans and

Chinese

Farming in the Pacific

Water was a very valuable commodity in California Many irrigation projects were completed to bring more

water in, including damns and canals The costs of these projects were passed on to new settlers

who were forced to buy water rights with their land By 1890, more than one quarter of farms benefited from

irrigation

In the 1880s, railroads lowered rates and introduced refrigeration With this, grain was replaced with fruit and vegetables as

the dominate California crops

California Gold Rush of 1849

Exploiting Natural Resources in the West

The “gold rush” began in 1848 when gold was discovered in California

Other metals, such as silver, iron, copper, lead, zinc, and tin, were discovered out west They were just as important as gold because they

attracted people and businesses west However they only stayed as long as the mines

produced and left ghost towns behindMining projects required a large labor force

and expensive machinery Work was dangerous and conditions terrible


Between mining and the construction of towns and railroads, there was large scale clearing of forests The wood was necessary not only for building projects

but shaft work in mines and wooden ties for railroads

This had a huge impact on the ecology By the late 1860s, ½ of California’s forests were cut

down It changed the nature of soil composition, water flow,

and the habitats of native animals

The timber industry believed that these lands should be cleared for development


Timber and Stone Act (1878) Affected California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington It allowed for the sale of 160-acre parcels of public

domain that were unfit for cultivation Timber companies hired middle-men to buy the parcels

and turn them over, gaining some 3.5 million acresMany Americans called for government

intervention and conservation They believed the decimation of the forests would have

negative impacts on the environment and overall beauty of the country

John Muir helped Yosemite become a national park in 1890 and established the Sierra Club in 1892

Lakota Chief Sitting Bull (c. 1831-1890)

Native Americans in the West

As farmers settled the west, they clashed with Native Americans In California, disease and violence killed 90% of the

Native American population in the 30 years following the gold rush

Most tribes resisted attempts to curb their way of life and transform their culture

The Plains Indians’ lives revolved around the buffalo The increasing number of settlers disrupted animal

migration patterns and tribal hunting The federal government did try to persuade Plains tribes

to stay away from settlers but had little luck


In Oklahoma during the Civil War, eastern tribes that had relocated there had supported different sides After the war, all were branded as traitors

Sand Creek Massacre – (November 29, 1864) Colorado militia massacred a band of friendly

Cheyenne at Sand Creek 150 to 200 Cheyenne were murdered, with most of

them being women, children, and elderly The troops proceeded to scalp the dead and use the

scalps and other body parts to dress their equipment This massacre led to retaliation by the Cheyenne,

Arapaho and Sioux


The congressional commission in charge of negotiating peace with the Native Americans believed that the west belonged to the whites They believed that the Indians should give way before

progress

Treaties were made in 1867 and 1868 to force American Indians to settle in the Dakotas or Oklahoma The chiefs who had signed had little authority in the

tribes, while most refused to sign The Senate did not hold up its end of the bargain by

refusing to send supplies to the tribes


When Indians could not be convinced to move and stay on the reservations, the military attacked In 1867, winter campaigns were launched to attack tribes

when they were divided

In 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed This added more pressure for “solving” the Indian question The railroads wanted rights to travel through tribal lands

and to have those lands settled by whites

What options were available to the government to deal with the Indian question?


In 1872, the commissioner for Indian Affairs, Francis Walker, believed there were more major issues with Native Americans One was how to prevent Indians from blocking white

migration and the other was what to do with them in the long run

He believed that Indians should be lured to reservations with gifts and food

Once there, “rigid reformatory discipline” would be imposed “to save them from falling hopelessly into the condition of pauperism and petty crime”

Basically, they should be given the choice of “yield or perish”


Broken promises by the government fueled Indian resistance to attacks on their ancient way of life

They were able to win some small victories In 1875, the Sioux defended their sacred land in the

Black Hills against gold prospectors At the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876, they defeated

General George Custard

However, they could not withstand the power of the well-supplied, well-armed and determined U.S. Army


One major component to the defeat of the Native American lifestyle was the wholesale destruction of the buffalo White hunters killed the buffalo for their hides Ranchers killed them off because they were

competition for grass for their cattle Sportsmen killed them off for fun By 1883, over 13 million by 1883 buffalo had been

killed Native Americans saw this an unwonted destruction

as they only killed what they needed


There were many attempts to undermine tribal integrity and leadership In 1871, Congress abandoned the long time practice

of treating the tribes as sovereign nations The government extended federal jurisdiction to the

reservations Tribes were even warned not to gather for religious

ceremoniesMany believed that the Indians’ tribal bonds

kept them in “savagery”Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 – It allotted land

to individual families rather than tribes The lure of private property would supposedly break

those tribal bonds


The “Surplus” land from the Dawes Act would then be sold to white settlers Profits from these sales held in trust by the

government for use in “civilizing” the Indians Within 20 years, Native Americans had lost 60% of

their landsMany Native Americans rallied around the

Paiute prophet, Wovoka He believed that the whites would eventually be

destroyed and the Indian ancestors would return He preached that if Indians lived righteous lives and

performed the Ghost Dance (a 5-day long round dance), they would help bring this about


This movement led to unease among the settlers in the region

Sitting Bull, a Lakota Sioux tribal leader, was targeted as one of the leaders Bureau of Indian Affairs agents killed him while trying

to arrest him on December 15, 1890

A group of Sioux under Chief Big Foot fled to the Pine Ridge reservation to their safety They were captured and held prisoner at Wounded

Knee Creek while awaiting transport to Oklahoma


Massacre at Wounded Knee – (December 29, 1890) While the military disarmed the group, a shot was

accidently fired The Cavalry responded by opening fire on the group Approximately 150 Sioux were killed, many women and

children, while only 25 U.S. soldiers were killed

Col. James Forsyth was later exonerated of charges

This was the last major conflict between the U.S. military and the Native Americans in the west

The Grange Movement in the 1870s

Farm Protests

After the Civil War, many farmers realized that they could improve their lives through organization Midwestern farmers and those near city markets were

able to adjust to changing economic conditions The southern and western farmers were not able to so

they were hit hardest by changing economic conditions

The Order of Patrons of Husbandry was one of the earliest efforts to organize white farmers It was founded in 1867 by Oliver Kelley Originally it was a social club, it was soon protesting

farming conditions

The Grange in the 1860s and 1870s

By 1875, it had more than 800,000 members and was renamed the National Grange Its main aim was to reform agricultural business,

namely by striving to bypass the middlemen such as railroad shippers and grain elevator owners

“Granger Laws” were successfully passed in a number of states between 1869 and 1874 It was pushed by businessmen and farmers in Illinois,

Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota The laws established maximum rates that railroads

and grain elevators could charge

The Grange in the 1860s and 1870s

Other states set up railroad commissions to regulate railroad rates, or outlawed railroad practices that seemed unjust

Munn v. Illinois (1877), the Supreme Court upheld these laws in However, it was reversed by Wabash v. Illinois (1886)

which put increasing pressure on Congress to act

Interstate Commerce Act of 1887

In 1887, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act This was in response to not only farmers Railroad managers wanted to control the fierce

competition that threatened to bankrupt their companies,

Shippers objected to transportation rates

The act required that railroad rates be reasonable and just Rate schedules were required to be made public and

that unfair practices like rebates be discontinued

Interstate Commerce Act of 1887

It also established the Interstate Commerce Commission It had the power to investigate and prosecute lawbreakers However, its authority was limited to interstate commerce

The ICC was not very effective It had problems defining what a “reasonable rate” was When it took offenders to court, the commission was

quickly overwhelmed with the number of suits In the end, it had little success prosecuting the

railroads for infractions

Southern Farmers Alliance

The Grange declined in the late 1870s Farm protests continued on especially after depression

hit in the late 1880s and worsened in the early 1890sIn the 1880s, one of the most important reform

organizations was the Southern Farmers It sent lecturers across the South and into the Plains

passing its message of reform It supported cooperatives, legislative efforts, changes in

the money supply and measures to improve the quality of rural life

By 1890, more than a million farmers had joined This included black farmers as well as white ones

The Ocala Platform (1890)

In December 1890, the National Farmers Alliance gathered in Ocala, Florida, to develop a platform One of the big criticisms of the Alliance was that the

federal government had not done enough to help out the farmers

The platform was very radical for the late 19th century It called for direct elections of Senators It supported lowering the tariff to reduce prices to help

the poor be able to buy necessary goods It also called for a new banking system controlled by the

federal government which would increase the money supply and cause inflation


The plan also included: Sub-treasuries in agricultural regions where farmers

could store their produce at low interest rates until market prices favored selling

Government loans to farmers for up to 80% of the value of their crops to tide them over

A graduated income tax Regulation of transportation and communication

networks

The ideas were good for farmers but many Americans saw these ideas as too radical


The Farmers Alliance supported sympathetic candidates in the elections of 1890 These candidates did get elected to office in numerous

cases However, they did not always push through reforms that

were beneficial to the farmers

Because of the success of these candidates and their failure to uphold farmer ideals, many began to push for an independent political party This leads to the rise of the Populist (People’s) Party in

the 1890s

unit 2 the new south and the move westward (1865-1900) u.s. history ii his-112

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