The Civil War was a devastating event that ended up tearing the United States apart despite desperate attempts at trying to keep the country together. The Union was the one who won the war, and the Reconstruction era that came after the devastation of the Civil War attempted to rebuild the South and make it part of the country once more. It eventually ended after the North’s waning resolve at trying to keep its implementations in place.
The industrialization that had been mainly found in the North had begun to rapidly spread, however, and around this time, the country’s industrial economy began to grow much larger in an era called the Gilded Age, a time period filled with corruption and issues, and with the rise of big corporations and big businesses that had major influence and power over the country. The rise of big businesses was a cause of improvements in technology and transportation, and some consequences because of it were social inequality, Social Darwinism, protests, and a rise in immigration and xenophobia.
The rise of big businesses owes its thanks to technological and transportational improvements. These improvements, specifically the increased production of railroads, allowed for the economy to flourish. Steel and iron production skyrocketed thanks to the added 40,000 new railroad tracks between the 1870s and 1880s.(Br, 459) “… the principal agent of industrial progress in the late nineteenth century remained the railroad.”(Br, 463) Because railroads were the country’s most used form of transportation, where they went was vital for the development of the country. Rapid expansion allowed for industry to prosper. The construction of railroads allowed for “the emergence of great railroad combinations that brought most of the nation’s rails under the control of a very few men,”(Br, 463) as well as a “a new institution, the modern corporation.”(Br, 464)
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Modern corporation was appealing to many, and the abilities that came with it allowed others to gain large amounts of capital. This method quickly spread and reached places other than the railway industries. Many corporations also ended up developing new approaches to management as well. An unfortunate consequence of the improvements in technology was that skilled labor wasn’t as necessary as before. The efficiency and convenience of unskilled workers caused them to be seen just as capable as the skilled. Unskilled workers, thanks to the improvements in technology and industry, could do the simple job of assembling a part of an item all day long. One group would be in charge of assembling one piece, and a different group in charge of another.
The end result would be a finished product similar to one made by a skilled laborer. The advantage the corporations with unskilled laborers had, however, was that their products were produced at a quicker and more convenient pace than the other. Unfortunately, even that had its drawbacks. There was an underlying issue regarding the treatment of the working laborers in the US that came along with it. The working class would often have low pay, dangerous conditions, and long, hard working hours. Corporations would do this to be as efficient as possible so they could make a profit while keeping their sales at low prices. This practice caused a huge gap between the rich and the poor, the head of businesses and the struggling workers. Many Americans viewed monopolies as a threat to a person’s freedom and “ability of individuals to advance in the world.” (Br, 475)
Henry Demarest Lloyd describes the people on top (those who’ve achieved massive amounts of wealth) as gluttons consuming the riches of the world while depriving the others (the poor people) of them. He states, “Liberty produces wealth, and wealth destroys liberty.” With the freedom in the US, industrialization and the rise of big businesses allowed certain people the ability to gain means of producing massive amounts of wealth for themselves. In order to gain as much of a fortune as possible, the people on top abused their power and used it to not only exploit those beneath them, but put them in a state where they had to suffer tremendously. Lloyd says that the amount of wealth during that time is too much, and that those at the top will end up destroying everyone’s freedom along with everything else.
Henry Demarest Lloyd often spoke against the inequalities of monopolies and big businesses, for he believed it was a threat to liberty. He mentions the “unfair railroad taxation fairly represented by the case of the Standard Oil Company,” and seeks for more stability and equality, for the national board to hear any and all complaints they may have, for laws to be established that allow for justice to prevail, among other conditions that speak out against “the forces of capital and industry.” Lloyd says, “When monopolies succeed, the people fail.”
The wealthy would often view themselves as deserving to be where they were, above most of everyone else, because, in their eyes, they were the ones who were the “fittest.” They used the Social Darwinist theory, one that applied Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution to society, in order to morally justify themselves and their actions. The rich and wealthy believed that society was made up of those who struggled to survive, and that only those who were better would come out on top. Andrew Carnegie, a leader of the American steel industry, said, “The contrast between the palace of the millionaire and the cottage of the laborer with us today measures the change which has come with civilization.
This change, however, is not to be deplored, but highly welcomed and beneficial.” He then goes on to call this development essential, and talks about how these are good, positive developments thanks to the “law of competition.” Carnegie clearly agrees with the idea of Social Darwinism, and feels superior to those that are not as wealthy as him. He claims that the rich have a duty to the poor with their better, wiser knowledge, and when talking about people like him, Carnegie uses the phrase “superior wisdom,” and also says that, when talking about the duty they have to the poor, they (the rich) will do for them better than what they could do themselves. Despite the struggles the working class had to endure, people found ways to protest. They formed unions and strikes to call attention to the injustices that were occurring in the country.
However, one strike in 1877, the Great Railroad Strike, was not only unsuccessful, but also devastating for many workers. The strike had started because of wage cuts that had been announced during an economic depression. Workers of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway station in West Virginia detained trains and prevented them from leaving their stations unless the wage cuts were removed. When the police and militia were unable to do anything about the situation, federal troops were called in to disperse the group. However, the strike had begun to spread during this time. Men from nearby factories and iron mills began to join the movement. Then, on July 20, militiamen killed at least ten people in Cumberland, Maryland.
On July 21, both protesters and troops were killed in a riot that arose in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The crowd, angry at the situation that had unfolded, began to set fire to engines, cars, and other types of equipment along with some buildings. Twenty more crowd members were killed with five guardsmen. A general strike in the city emerged, filled with people such as miners, laborers, iron workers, and more. Despite that and all their efforts, it, too, was crushed once the National Guard of Pennsylvania arrived on July 29. Even though the strikes had spread throughout a good portion of the North, by the end of July almost all of them had collapsed. (Ba). The Great Railroad strike ended up as a failure, but it encouraged laborers to join various organizations.
The membership of the Knights of Labor began to rise, a union that welcomed not only skilled and unskilled laborers, but both men and women. The goal of the group was to improve the economy, but they also “envisioned a cooperative producer-centered society that rewarded labor, not capital.”(Y) It was the “first important national labor organization” in the US.(Ba) However, their popularity and importance began to plummet after the Haymarket Riot that took place in Chicago in 1886. Laborers and radicals were protesting at Haymarket Square on May 1st. However, as police attempted to break up the people, a bomb went off and killed seven policemen. Four protesters were then killed by police gunfire.
This event caused unions to be associated with radicalism, and the Knights of Labor membership sharply dropped. Although the Haymarket Riot also ended up as a failure, strikes continued to occur throughout the country. “The final two decades of the nineteenth century saw over twenty thousand strikes and lockouts in the United States.”(Y) They felt it necessary to protest and fight against what they believed to be injustice and inequality. On the other hand, they were not the only ones who faced difficulties in the growing country. As industry and big business grew in the United States, so did the immigrant workforce. In the decades after the Civil War, immigration was at its height.
Between 1865 and 1915, it included people from Asia, Mexico, Canada, and Europe. Northern European immigrants were common in the 1870s and 1880s, but it eventually shifted to those from Southern and Eastern Europe. Many immigrants came to the US not only to escape the poverty and oppression they faced in their own countries, but also because of the rumors of opportunity they had heard. Unfortunately, most often than not, those promises ended up being false. In addition, to make the United States more appealing to others, promises and advertisements that were purposefully deceptive and untrue were made to lure in immigrants. (Br, 476) The arrival of these new immigrants caused tension in the country, however.
The American concept of citizenship was once again redefined, changed from the “egalitarian” view the nation had around the time of the Civil War, to one that was based on race.(ER, 131) Immigrants were seen to weaken American society by preventing the “better, fitter” race from being on top and flourishing. Many would view immigrants with contempt and prejudice, despite how valuable and important they proved to be. In an excerpt from 1892, Charles B. Spahr says, “I am for the protection of American civilization against the Asiatic” He then quotes, from a man he refers to as Mr. Beecher, “An ox eats hay; but the ox does not turn into hay; the hay turns into ox,” and then goes on to talk about how taking in immigrants seems harmless, but it is in fact the opposite of that. Spahr continues with, “…we have found one kind of immigrant that cannot be turned into ox.
The Chinese ranks not as hay, but as garbage, and if the ox takes too much, the change takes place in the wrong way.” Spahr compares the Chinese to garbage, and America as the ox. He is saying that Chinese immigration is tainting the country and doing it a great harm. In fact, anti-Chinese sentiment was so great that on May 6, 1882, the Supreme Court passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. This act prevented future Chinese immigrants from entering the US. Congress stated that “the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States” was to be suspended, and that during the suspension, it would be illegal for any more Chinese laborers to come. The document, filled with 15 different sections, talks about the terms the act will have. The second section says that “the master of any vessel” that knowingly brings a Chinese laborer in to the US shall be charged with a fine and possibly imprisoned.
The fourth says that for identification purposes, the Chinese laborers (that the Act does not apply to) must be put on a list if they wish to depart the United States and return and must also receive a certification. The ninth section that the vessel and passengers must be examined. The document goes on with other similar conditions that pertain to making sure no new Chinese immigrants are allowed to enter the United States. The rise of big business was both a positive and negative thing for the United States. It came with a growing economy and an increase in production thanks to improvements in tech and transportation, but it also caused many people in the country to suffer tremendously with only a few wealthy individuals at the top. In addition, xenophobia and Social Darwinism to rose thanks to the Gilded Age.
