American Era Between 1870 and 1920 Essay

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American History Between 1870 and 1920

The years between 1870 and 1920 had been the period of astonishing changes because of the political, social and military upheaval that occurred during the period. Typically, the United States had witnessed several changes that affected the American way of life during the period. For example, period of 1877 -1900 had witnessed the rise of the industrial revolution. The years between 1870 and 1920 were the period of momentous and dynamic changes in the American history because they set in motion the industrial and socio- economic development that shaped the country for several generations which include industrialization, labor strike, westward expansion, immigration, urbanization, and integration of millions of freed American Americans.

The objective of this paper is to explore the fundamental changes that occur between 1870 and 1920 and the impacts on the American life. The paper also explores different labor strikes and massacres that occurred during the era, and methods they affected the different American way of life.

Fundamental Changes between 1870 and 1920

The urbanization, growth of cities, and rise of industrial America represented the greatest changes that occurred to the United States between 1870 and 1920. For the first time in the American history, wage earners outnumber self --employed, and by 1880s, wages earners were the employees of larger corporations. In the same period, skilled workers were remarkably successful, however, relatively high wages demanded by the skilled workers made employers replace them with semi-skilled and unskilled workers. Moreover, many companies devised a mechanization tactic leading deskilling and low wages. The issues resulted led into many bitter strikes that American had ever witnessed. For example, the Pullman Strike of 1894 was the most severe labor conflict in the American history. Typically, the Pullman was the central event in the American labor crisis in the 1890s. Richard believed that the Pullman strike continued to be "one of the important watersheds in American history" (p 3)[footnoteRef:1]. [1: Richard Schneirov, "Labor and the New Liberalism in the Wake of the Pullman Strike," in Richard Schneirov, Shelton Stromquist, and Nick Salvatore, eds., The Pullman Strike and the Crisis of the 1890s (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1999), 204-231.]

It is essential to realize that the 1890s crisis culminated within a quarter of a century due to the growing socio-political unrest and volatile socioeconomic development. Typically, the crisis triggered financial panic of 1893 leading to a full-blown depression that lasted for almost five years. In essence, the Pullman strike was characterized by the spectacular violence and bloodshed such as the 1886 Haymarket tragedy. In 1890s, the United States also witnessed another major strike between

"Homestead Steel workers against the Carnegie Corporation, the miners' strikes in the coal mining regions of the East and hard rock states in the West, a longshoremen's strike in New Orleans that united black and white workers, and numerous railroad strikes" ( 5).[footnoteRef:2] [2: Ibid Richard]

Thomas also contributed to the argument by pointing out that the era witnessed a fundamental change in the American history from economic transformation to the labor unrest and conflict[footnoteRef:3]. Thomas identified the Ludlow massacre of 1914 as one of the turning events in the American history where two children, eleven women, and five men were killed. The massacre of the innocent citizens made the Fuel and Iron Company to join in the strike. The outcome of the strike made the management of the company evict miners and their families from company-owned houses. By consequence, the company used the company guards, Colorado militiamen and thugs to carry out the massacre that resulted to the death of 18 striking miners as well as their families. Moreover, 11 children and four women were burnt to death holding each other's hand. The gravity of the massacre made the U.S. authority to intervene and the outcome of the investigation revealed that kerosene was intentionally poured in the tent to set people inside ablaze. Moreover, the guards dug a foxhole in the tent and randomly shot all people so that no one would escape. The nature of the killings of innocent people made Ludlow massacre to be one of the most watershed movement in the American labor relations. Thomas believed that Ludlow Massacre culminated the most violent struggle between labor men and corporate power in American history. The leader of the organized labor responded to the massacre by issuing a call to arms calling all the union members to acquire arms and ammunitions legally and be ready for a guerilla warfare.

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In response to this call, between 700 and 1000 strikers armed themselves and attacked mines killing or driving out guards and set the building ablaze. The massacre lasted for 10 days leading to the killing of 50 people. A fundamental legal impact of the strike was that it had influenced a long lasting effect on the American labor relations because several workers' reforms were carried out. [3: Thomas G. Andrews, Killing for Coal: America's Deadliest Labor War (Cambridge:Harvard University Press, 2008), 123-156.]

It is essential to realize that factors that led to the bitterest and hottest strikes during the period were to change the working rule rather raising wages. For example, Great Rail Strike (1877) Pullman Strike (1894), 1886 Great Upheaval and Homestead Strike (1892) were the largest confrontations in the American history involving violence and intervention of federal or state governments to suppress the strikes. Shelton believed that many of the strikes involved the mines and railroads because the rail road seemed to influence the whole economy.[footnoteRef:4] [4: Shelton Stromquist, Reinventing the People: The Progressive Movement, the Class Problem, and the Origins of Modern Liberalism (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006), 56-82]

Despite the major conflicts and strikes that occurred between 1870 and 1920, the United States underwent both industrial and socio-economic transformation leading to a rise of big corporations, maturing of the industrial economy, development of large scale agriculture and rise of industrial and union conflicts[footnoteRef:5]. The fundamental changes outburst the technological innovation fuel by the headlong economic growth. Moreover, mechanization revolutionalized agricultural business accompanying with a rise of the American corporation that resulted in a concentration of American productive capacities in fewer hands. A boom in agricultural production made the United States to become the first global food producer. The U.S. industrial revolution and rapid development of agriculture brought about the influx of immigrants between 1877 and 1900. [5: Leon Litwack, Trouble in Mind: Black Southerners in the Age of Jim Crow (New York: Knopf, 1998), 114-178.]

During these years, American received the influx of 7,348,000 people from different part of the world making American population to increase by approximately 27 million. Then increase to 49 million in 1880 and 76 million in 1900. The American industrial revolution led to a chain of immigration. Early immigrants contacted home to bring families, neighbors and friends to the United States. Before 1880, the immigrants were largely from Western Europe and the Republic of China. As a whole between 1860 and 1900, German immigrants into the United States comprised of 28%, British comprised 18%, Irish 15%, and Scandinavians 11%. Altogether, they comprised of approximately 72% of the total immigrants, however, the influx of immigrants worried many native-born Americans.

Despite a great concern about the influx of foreigners into the United States, immigrants entered in large numbers and settled in every part of the country including western, mid-western and north eastern part of the country. In the Dakota and Minnesota, German was the primary spoken language leading to a tension between native-born Americans and immigrants about the official language to be spoken in public schools. Although, not all immigrants intended to stay, however, economic opportunities had been the major reasons for immigration. High wages and cheap land were available regardless of their citizenship. Moreover, the Homeland Act allowed immigrants to file for land similar the way American citizens file for land. The railroads also sold their land cheaply to both Americans and immigrants leading to the wide distribution of largely accessible and astonishing fertile land. Between 1870 and 1900, 225 million acres had been brought under cultivation that made farmers to abandon small and worn-out farms to a large, new and more fertile land.

The availability of cheap land made American farmers invest in technology and focusing on improve reapers, plows and threshers. A reaper assisted a farmer to increase acreage and production with few hired labor. However, in 1890, mining and manufacturing provided 30% share of the American GNP. Although, percentages of labor in agricultural sector fell, nevertheless, the agricultural system reflected its efficiency and significance. Farmers recorded overproduction and produced excess than what the country could consume using smaller percentages of labor. Famers sold their output abroad, which translated into consumption and savings at home that transformed the development of the American industry. The rise of American agricultural productivity between 1870.....

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