Gilded Age: Depth Study

Question 1

What was Special Field Order No. 15?

Answer 1

An order in 1865 taking away 400,000 acres of Confederate coastal land and reallocated it into the “40 acres and a mule” policy for nearly 18,000 black families.

Question 2

When was the 13th Amendment and what did it do?

Answer 2

1865: Officially abolished slavery.

Question 3

When was the 14th Amendment and what did they do?

Answer 3

1868: Affirmed the idea of birthright citizenship and that all citizens are equal under the law. Same legal rights for all US citizens

Question 4

Outline the creation of Black Codes.

Answer 4

Began in Mississippi and South Carolina in 1865.

For example, courts could declare black children as orphans before then hiring them as unpaid apprentices.

Question 5

When and what was the Colfax Massacre?

Answer 5

The massacre of 150 black people by white supremacist groups in 1873. The Slaughterhouse Cases released the 97 white people arrested.

Question 6

What were the Slaughterhouse Cases?

Answer 6

Landmark decision by SCOTUS in 1873: 14th Amendment protected federal citizenship rights and not state ones. Doctrine of dual citizenship

Question 7

What was in the 1875 Civil Rights Act?

Answer 7

The law affirmed the “equality of all men before the law” and prohibited racial discrimination in public places and facilities such as restaurants and public transportation.

Question 8

How much did Mississippi cut the proportion of black voters by 1892 since Reconstruction?

What is this an example of?

Answer 8

From 90% during the Reconstruction Period to just 6% by 1892.

The Jim Crow Laws.

Question 9

By how much did black turnout decrease as a result of the poll tax in Georgia? When?

What is this an example of?

Answer 9

50% in 1877.

The Jim Crow Laws.

Question 10

When did Georgia rule political parties to be outside the remit of the 15th Amendment?

What is this an example of?

Answer 10

In 1902.

The Jim Crow Laws.

Question 11

When did SCOTUS strike down the 1875 Civil Rights Act?

Answer 11

In 1883.

Question 12

When did Ida B. Wells launch a global anti-lynching campaign?

Answer 12

• In 1884, she refused to move to a segregated rail car and then sued the rail company.

Question 13

When was Plessy v Ferguson? What did it do?

Answer 13

Ruled that segregation was constitutional under the separate but equal doctrine in 1896.

Question 14

When was the Wyoming Territory Suffrage Act? What did it do?

When did the next states follow suit?

Answer 14

Made Wyoming the first state in the US to allow women the vote in 1869.

THe next states to do so were Colorado in 1893 and Utah in 1896.

Question 15

When was the Women’s Christian Temperance Union founded?

Answer 15

1874 by Frances Willard

Question 16

When were NWSA and AWSA formed?

Answer 16

Both in 1869.

NWSA by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

AWSA by Lucy Stone.

Question 17

Outline the events of the trial of Susan B. Anthony.

Answer 17

• Tried to vote in the US Presidential election in 1872, along with 14 other Rochester women
• Arrested, convicted and fined $100
• Most importantly, they were all pardoned by Ulysses Grant

Question 18

What did Ulysses Grant do to help the women’s movement?

How can we see the outcome of this?

Answer 18

Signed a modified version of the Arnell Bill in 1872 which was designed to ensure equal pay for equal work for female federal clerks.

The percentage of women at higher pay grades in the Treasury rose from 4% to 20% during the 1870s

Question 19

When was Bradwell v Illinois? What did it do?

Answer 19

1873: Ruled that the 14th amendment did not extend to women, and that they had no guaranteed right to pursue a profession

Question 20

When was Minor v Happersett? What did it do?

Answer 20

1875: Ruled that citizenship did not automatically give women the right to vote.

Question 21

When and what was the Edmunds-Tucker Act?

Answer 21

1887: disenfranchised all women in Utah territory despite them previously being given the right to do so in 1870.

Question 22

When did Jane Addams found Hull House? What was its aim?

How many institutions like Hull House were there by 1900?

Answer 22

In 1889. To provide housing and improvements in living conditions for mainly immigrant women and provide social help.

These places though naturally became a focal point for social reform discussion amongst women.

100.

Question 23

When did NWSA and AWSA merge? How many members were in the new joint NAWSA?

Answer 23

Merged in 1890, with a combined 7,000 members initially.

Question 24

Outline the surge in WCTU membership in the mid-1890s. Compare this to NAWSA. [2]

Answer 24

• Reached 150,000 bythe mid-1890s.
• At the same time, NAWSA had just 13,000 members.
• Note that whilst the WCTU was founded earlier, NAWSA was an amalgamation of two separate organisations, both of which predated the existence of the WCTU.

Question 25

When did William McKinley invite Susan B. Anthony to the White House?

Answer 25

In 1900, to celebrate her 80th birthday and her impact on women's rights and activism.

Question 26

When was the Fort Laramie Treaty? What did it grant the Sioux?

Answer 26

1868: Gave extensive land to the Great Sioux Nation but could only be changed with agreement of ¾ of tribal male population. Also forced communities into unfamiliar areas and cut off access to buffalo herds.

Question 27

When was the first transcontinental railroad built? What was its impact on the Native Civil Rights movement?

Answer 27

1869: Destroyed buffalo herds, brought mass settlement, and led to military massacres and Congress granting millions of Native acres to railroad companies. Connected East to West though.

Question 28

Outline the impact of the Dawes Act. [2]

Answer 28

1887. - Fundamentally disrespected customs of female-lead domiciles as seen with the Iroquois, by allocating land to the male head - Reduced 150m acres of land to 78m by 1900.

Question 29

When and what was the Battle of Little Bighorn? What was the government response?

Answer 29

Native Americans defeat Colonel Custer in 1876, with 268 American casualties. Government responded by cutting off all aid to the Sioux, seizing Black Hills in 1877.

Question 30

What did the Major Crimes Act do? When was it?

Answer 30

1885: Made crimes such as murder and burglary under federal jurisdiction if committed on Native soil, significantly reducing tribal sovereignty.

Question 31

What did US v Kagama do? When was it?

Answer 31

Upheld the Major Crimes Act through a ruling in 1886.

Question 32

When was the Oklahoma Land Rush? What did it do?

Answer 32

1889: Led to the settlement of 50,000 white settlers in Oklahoma, accelerating forced assimilation and abolishing tribal courts.

Question 33

When and what was the Massacre at Wounded Knee?

Answer 33

1890: The massacre of 200 starving and unarmed Lakota Sioux, illustrating the Native plight.

Question 34

What was the Curtis Act? When was it?

Answer 34

1898: Ended the exemption of the 5 civilised tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Chocktaw, Muskogee, Seminole) to the Dawes Act, leading to them losing control of 90 million acres of Native land.

Question 35

When was Cherokee Nation v Hitchcock? What did it do?

Answer 35

1902: Supreme Court ruled Congress could alter tribal property and actions without tribal consent.

Question 36

When was Lone Wolf v Hitchcock? What did it do?

Answer 36

1903: Went further than Cherokee Nation, ruling Congress could annul any treaty with Native tribes and forcibly seize their lands, describing Natives as "an ignorant and dependent race."

Question 37

Outline the success of the Navajo. [2]

Answer 37

Sheep population grew from 15,000 to 1.7m 1868-92. Navajo population grew from 8,000 to 22,000 1868-1900. All done with 10.5m acres.

Question 38

Where were the two institutes of education for Natives founded in the 1870s? ## Footnote What did they do?

Answer 38

- Virginia: (Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute) - Pennsylvania: (Carlisle Indian Industrial School) ## Footnote Both banned Native languages, taught gendered trades like sewing vs masonry, and imposed brutal punishments

Question 39

Outline the existence of the National Labour Union.

Answer 39

- Founded by William H. Syvlis in 1866 to campaign for the 8-hour day - Dissolved within 2 years.

Question 40

When was the 8-hour day for government workers granted? Why was it passed?

Answer 40

1868: Due to heavy pressure from the National Labour Union, it was passed. Grant in 1869 issued a proclamation reinforcing that there would be no reduction in pay for fewer hours.

Question 41

Outline the creation of the Knights of Labor. [2]

Answer 41

- Founded in 1869 by Uriah Stephens - Grew to 700,000 members including 50,000 African Americans and 10,000 women

Question 42

Outline the Great Railroad Strike. [2]

Answer 42

- 100,000 workers took part in a major strike halting half of the freight trains on the nation's tracks halt - 100 workers killed

Question 43

What is the Chinese Exclusion Act? When was it passed?

Answer 43

- Suspension of Chinese worker immigration for 10 years - Refused the right to grant citizenship to Chinese immigrants - Largely done as Chinese labour immigrants would send money back to China, leading to resentment from Americans who needed far higher wages to support their families in the US. Felt as though wage cap may be held down as such.

Question 44

What and when was the Massacre at Rock Springs? When was it?

Answer 44

1885: White workers rioting decided to use violence against Chinese workers, killing 28.

Question 45

When and what was the Haymarket Affair?

Answer 45

- Protest for an 8hr workday in 1886 turned violent, killing 7 workers - German immigrants threw a stick of dynamite at the police - KOL image damaged beyond repair as a result

Question 46

When was the American Federation of Labor established?

Answer 46

1886: Tried to focus on workers and legislative reform in a more respectable manner than the KOL.

Question 47

When and what was the Interstate Commerce Act?

Answer 47

1887: Created an Interstate Commerce Commission to oversee the conduct of the railroad industry, making railroads the first industry subject to federal legislation. Began to clamp down on the monopoly of private railroad firms that allowed worker exploitation.

Question 48

When and what was the Sherman-Anti Trust Act?

Answer 48

1890: Banned business practices which constituted monopolisation, fracturing the power of industry barons such as Rockefeller, Carnegie and Vanderbilt. ## Footnote A good example of the federal government acting in support of the working man.

Question 49

When and what was the Homestead Strike? [2]

Answer 49

1892 - Threat of 22% wage cut for workers - Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers made the first organised strike of the period, occupying the plant for 95 days - AA bankrupted and by 1900 not a single steel plant in Pennsylvania remained unionised

Question 50

When and what was the Pullman Strike?

Answer 50

1894: Strike organised by the Pullman Sleeping Car Company, boycotting any train that had a Pullman car following a recession cutting their wages. Setting a precedent, the federal court issued an injunction to stop the union hindering railroad traffic. When Eugene Debs, leader, ignored the injunction, he was arrested and the strike broke.