Lesson 15 - Post-Reconstruction Era
The Reconstruction Era ended with the election of 1876. The presidential race was between Rutherford B Hayes (Republican) and Sam Tilden (Democrat). The race was very close. Read about it here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_election.html
The agreement that led to Hayes' victory was called the Compromise of 1877. The compromise effected ex-slaves the most, as well as southerners. The compromise ended the help being sent to the South to help build it up. The end of the federal aid left the south stuck in poverty.
After only one term in office, Hayes declined to run again. James Garfield would become the next president.
The agreement that led to Hayes' victory was called the Compromise of 1877. The compromise effected ex-slaves the most, as well as southerners. The compromise ended the help being sent to the South to help build it up. The end of the federal aid left the south stuck in poverty.
After only one term in office, Hayes declined to run again. James Garfield would become the next president.
Spoils System
Early in the history of the world, if you overthrew a country, you took what the other country had. These goods were called the "spoils of war". These spoils are often divided out by the king or head of the army, the best stuff going to his friends and the leftovers going to the peasants or lowest soldiers.
The spoils system is similar to the spoils of war. Many federal jobs were given by the president. If "Job X" was a job that the president was able to give away, then under President 1, Johnny had the job, but when President 2 became president, Johnny might not have a job anymore, especially if President 1 and President 2 were from different political parties.
James Garfield was elected president in 1880. As was common for the time, he was able to give jobs to people who had helped get him elected. Read about James Garfield and his experiences with the spoils system here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/jamesgarfield
Chester Arthur would be the fourth vice president to rise to the presidency due to the death of the president. Unlike Garfield's incident, Arthur had no problem with the spoils system. In fact, he liked it. However, as many vice presidents do, Arthur felt that he needed to do what the previous president would have done had he survived, so Arthur put through the Civil System Reform. It set laws in place to protect jobs within the government so that a new president couldn't just fire everyone. The Civil System Reform protected 10% of the jobs. Today, over 90% of the jobs are protected. Overall, this is good because then you don't have someone new every four years trying to relearn the same job over and over. Nothing would get done if that is how it was done today. The down side is that it is extremely difficult to get rid of incompetent workers because they will claim they were getting fired due to politics rather than because they really just couldn't do the job.
The spoils system is similar to the spoils of war. Many federal jobs were given by the president. If "Job X" was a job that the president was able to give away, then under President 1, Johnny had the job, but when President 2 became president, Johnny might not have a job anymore, especially if President 1 and President 2 were from different political parties.
James Garfield was elected president in 1880. As was common for the time, he was able to give jobs to people who had helped get him elected. Read about James Garfield and his experiences with the spoils system here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/jamesgarfield
Chester Arthur would be the fourth vice president to rise to the presidency due to the death of the president. Unlike Garfield's incident, Arthur had no problem with the spoils system. In fact, he liked it. However, as many vice presidents do, Arthur felt that he needed to do what the previous president would have done had he survived, so Arthur put through the Civil System Reform. It set laws in place to protect jobs within the government so that a new president couldn't just fire everyone. The Civil System Reform protected 10% of the jobs. Today, over 90% of the jobs are protected. Overall, this is good because then you don't have someone new every four years trying to relearn the same job over and over. Nothing would get done if that is how it was done today. The down side is that it is extremely difficult to get rid of incompetent workers because they will claim they were getting fired due to politics rather than because they really just couldn't do the job.
Transcontinental Railroad
The transcontinental railroad was one of the biggest projects in history, rivaling with projects such as the Panama Canal and going to the moon. This project was to build a railroad that would go from the east to the west coast. There were two railroads that raced to build it - the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific. Both were chartered and created for the project in 1862. The Central Pacific started in Omaha, Nebraska and the Union Pacific started in Sacramento, California. They met at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869, where the last spike to be driven and complete the rail was made of gold. That is why Promontory is also known as where the "golden spike" was. As a note of interest, the golden spike was immediately removed and replaced by a steel spike, which was good because a lot of people have pulled the spikes out in that area looking for "the" golden spike. Ogden, Utah was the closest town to the "golden spike" and it became known as the crossroads of the West.
There were many changes that came due to the railroad. Before rail, it would take weeks and months to go from one side of the country to another. Now, with rail, instead of weeks, it was hours or a day. This created the need for time zones, which is why it is a different time in New York than here in Utah. Agriculture and mining boomed because food could be shipped without spoiling as quickly and it was less expensive to ship the ores than sending it by wagon. Millionaires began to pop up for the first time.
A standard gauge was created for the size of the railroad tracks. Before this, there were different sizes, depending on who owned the track. The standard gauge was set at four feet eight and a half inches. This is also the standard gauge for wheels of smaller cars as well (which is why the DeLorean in the movie Back to the Future III was able to run on the train tracks). Double tracks (tracks with another set of tracks nearby) were built, a precursor to the two-way road, which allowed trains to turn around or wait for another train to pass.
The Bessemer process was influential in the building of the transcontinental railroad. It allowed the rails to be made of steel instead of iron. Iron cracks and rusts easier than steal, so steel rails meant that they didn't need to be replaced as often. (Remember that the Bessemer process is where oxygen is blown through the molten metal causing impurities to burn away and purifying the metal.) Air brakes were invented to help stop trains more quickly, allowing the trains to move faster as well. It also got rid of the need for brakemen, which meant the cost of operation of the train went down. Lastly, new motors were created that would allow the train to start slowly and then increase speed.
There were many changes that came due to the railroad. Before rail, it would take weeks and months to go from one side of the country to another. Now, with rail, instead of weeks, it was hours or a day. This created the need for time zones, which is why it is a different time in New York than here in Utah. Agriculture and mining boomed because food could be shipped without spoiling as quickly and it was less expensive to ship the ores than sending it by wagon. Millionaires began to pop up for the first time.
A standard gauge was created for the size of the railroad tracks. Before this, there were different sizes, depending on who owned the track. The standard gauge was set at four feet eight and a half inches. This is also the standard gauge for wheels of smaller cars as well (which is why the DeLorean in the movie Back to the Future III was able to run on the train tracks). Double tracks (tracks with another set of tracks nearby) were built, a precursor to the two-way road, which allowed trains to turn around or wait for another train to pass.
The Bessemer process was influential in the building of the transcontinental railroad. It allowed the rails to be made of steel instead of iron. Iron cracks and rusts easier than steal, so steel rails meant that they didn't need to be replaced as often. (Remember that the Bessemer process is where oxygen is blown through the molten metal causing impurities to burn away and purifying the metal.) Air brakes were invented to help stop trains more quickly, allowing the trains to move faster as well. It also got rid of the need for brakemen, which meant the cost of operation of the train went down. Lastly, new motors were created that would allow the train to start slowly and then increase speed.
Assignment #1
1. Explain the pros and cons of the spoils system. In your opinion, should the spoils system be allowed or not? Explain your reasoning.
2. Why did Rutherford B Hayes become president?
3. The Union Pacific Railroad is a well known railroad company today. When was it created?
4. What is the disadvantage of having different gauges for railroad tracks?
5. What significant event occurred in Utah in 1869?
6. If you were a wheat farmer in Kansas, how would the transcontinental railroad help you?
7. How did the Bessemer process help with the railroad?
8. Explain what the Civil Service Reform did.
2. Why did Rutherford B Hayes become president?
3. The Union Pacific Railroad is a well known railroad company today. When was it created?
4. What is the disadvantage of having different gauges for railroad tracks?
5. What significant event occurred in Utah in 1869?
6. If you were a wheat farmer in Kansas, how would the transcontinental railroad help you?
7. How did the Bessemer process help with the railroad?
8. Explain what the Civil Service Reform did.