Welcome to "American Cultures 1877–1900"!
Hi there! You are about to dive into the final chapter of The Making of America, 1789–1900. By this point in your studies, the Civil War is over and the "Wild West" is being tamed. In this section, we look at how the United States transformed into a modern, industrial power and how this change affected different groups of people. It’s a story of incredible wealth and growth, but also one of great struggle and loss. Don't worry if it seems like a lot to take in—we'll break it down step-by-step!
Quick Review: Before 1877, America was trying to "reconstruct" itself after the Civil War. By 1877, federal troops left the South, and the focus shifted toward building big businesses and settling the remaining land in the West.
1. Native Americans: The End of a Way of Life
For the Native Americans of the Plains (like the Lakota Sioux), the years between 1877 and 1900 were a time of "forced change." The U.S. government wanted them to stop being nomadic hunters and start living like white farmers.
The Destruction of the Buffalo
The buffalo was the "shopping mall" of the Plains Indians. It provided food, clothing, tools, and even their homes (tipis). Between 1870 and 1883, white hunters killed millions of buffalo, encouraged by the government and railroads.
Analogy: Imagine if someone permanently closed every grocery store and clothing shop in your town. You would have no choice but to rely on that person for survival. That is what happened to the Native Americans.
Life on Reservations
By the late 1870s, most Native Americans were forced onto reservations—specific areas of land managed by the U.S. government.
- Loss of Power: Tribal chiefs lost their authority to government agents.
- Education: Children were often sent to boarding schools where they were forced to speak English and cut their hair.
- Religion: Traditional ceremonies, like the Sun Dance, were banned.
The Dawes Act (1887)
The government passed the Dawes Act to speed up assimilation (making Native Americans "blend in" with white culture). It broke up reservation land into small individual plots (160 acres) for families to farm.
The Catch: Any "extra" land was sold to white settlers. Native Americans lost millions of acres of land because of this act.
Did you know? The final major conflict was the Battle of Wounded Knee (1890). It wasn't really a battle, but a massacre where over 250 Lakota men, women, and children were killed by the U.S. Army. It marked the end of armed Native American resistance.
Key Takeaway: By 1900, the traditional way of life for Plains Indians had been destroyed through the loss of the buffalo, the reservation system, and the Dawes Act.
2. African Americans: From Hope to "Jim Crow"
After the Civil War, African Americans were legally free, but by 1877, life in the South became increasingly difficult and dangerous.
Political and Social Change
Once federal troops left the South in 1877, white Southern Democrats took back control of state governments. They introduced:
- Disenfranchisement: Tactics to stop Black people from voting, such as literacy tests (which were intentionally impossible) and poll taxes (fees to vote).
- Jim Crow Laws: These were state laws that enforced segregation. This meant Black and white people had to use separate schools, trains, parks, and even water fountains.
- Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): The Supreme Court ruled that segregation was legal as long as facilities were "separate but equal" (though they were almost never equal).
Economic Reality: Sharecropping
Most African Americans remained in the South working as sharecroppers.
How it worked: A landowner gave a farmer land, seeds, and tools in exchange for a "share" of the crop (usually half). However, the farmer usually ended up in so much debt to the landowner that they could never afford to leave. It was a cycle of poverty that felt very much like slavery.
The Great Migration and "Exodusters"
To escape the South, many moved. Exodusters were African Americans who migrated to Kansas in 1879 to find freedom and land. Later, many began moving to Northern cities for factory jobs.
Memory Aid: Remember the 3 P's for African American life in this era: Plessy (segregation), Poverty (sharecropping), and Polling taxes (losing the vote).
Quick Review: Despite being "free," African Americans faced a new system of oppression called Jim Crow which used segregation and violence (like lynching) to keep them from having equal rights.
3. Big Business, Cities, and Mass Migration
While the South and West were changing, the North and East were exploding with growth. This period is often called the "Gilded Age."
Analogy: Something that is "gilded" is covered in a thin layer of gold but is plain or rotten underneath. America looked rich and shiny on the outside, but underneath there was a lot of poverty and corruption.
The Growth of Big Business
Giant corporations began to dominate the economy. Men like Andrew Carnegie (Steel) and John D. Rockefeller (Oil) became incredibly wealthy.
- Monopolies: These big businesses often crushed their competition so they could control the entire market and set high prices.
- Work Life: For the average worker, jobs in these factories were dangerous, low-paying, and involved very long hours.
Urbanization (The Growth of Cities)
Cities like New York and Chicago grew at a dizzying speed.
The Problem: They grew too fast! Many people lived in tenements—cramped, dark, and unhealthy apartment buildings. Disease spread quickly because of poor sanitation.
Mass Migration
Between 1877 and 1900, millions of "New Immigrants" arrived, mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe (Italy, Poland, Russia).
- Push Factors: Poverty and religious persecution in their home countries.
- Pull Factors: The promise of freedom and jobs in American factories.
- Ellis Island: Opened in 1892 as the main processing center for immigrants in New York.
Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't assume all Americans welcomed immigrants. Many "nativists" (people born in America) feared that immigrants would take their jobs or change American culture, leading to the first laws to restrict immigration, like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
Key Takeaway: America became an industrial giant. This created massive wealth for "Big Business" owners but led to overcrowded cities and difficult lives for factory workers and new immigrants.
Summary: A Changing Nation
By 1900, the United States was a very different place than it had been in 1789.
- Native Americans were confined to reservations and losing their culture.
- African Americans were struggling under the weight of Jim Crow and segregation.
- The Economy was booming thanks to big business, but the gap between the rich and the poor was wider than ever.