Economic, Social, and Political Problems in the Post-Civil War era

1177 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Industrial revolution impact on economy

Americans suffered many economic, social, and political problems in the post-Civil War era. I have identified one of each of these types of problems that I believe were among the most important during the period of 1865-1900. The economic issue that I believe had one of the biggest impacts on Americans at the time is the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The social issue that I feel greatly affected America after the Civil War is Chinese immigration. One of the biggest political issues, to me, is the Populist Party.

I feel that the Great Railroad Strike of 1887 was a major issue because it made Americans realize just how deeply Americans were invested in the railroads. At the time, the biggest investment banking firm in America, Jay Cooke and Company, was pouring a disproportionate amount of depositors’ funds into the railroads. When Cooke’s firm failed, a big portion of the country was thrown into a frenzy; but the most effected were the railroads, in the way of 10% wage cuts, distrust of capitalists and poor working conditions. The railroads’ shortcomings went far from unnoticed by the workers, leading to many strikes, which prevented many trains from moving. Trains were the main means of shipping almost any goods, which meant that anything needed to be shipped either arrived late and in smaller quantities, or was never received at all. The government soon became frustrated and sent in militia units to restore order, but the men refused to use force against the workers. Then the governors sent out regiments of the National Guard, who were attacked by citizens as they marched down the roads. These riots caused several deaths and more injuries. After over a month of consistent rioting the president, Rutherford B. Hayes, sent in fed...

... middle of paper ...

... members openly spoke about the need of poor whites and poor blacks to set aside racial indifferences and to unite in their struggle.

It is clear that Americans were at the hand of many issues after the Civil War, but I feel as if these were of the most important. The Great Railroad Strike proved just how embedded to railroad was in American civilization and how hard they could fall with a mishap amongst the railroad system. The immigration of the Chinese and most of America’s protest proved that no matter what any papers might have stated following the Civil War, America was still unable to cope with the idea of racial integration. And finally, the Populist Party showed both the Republicans and Democrats that not only do they not cover all of the important issues in American society, but that citizens that knew what needed to be done could oppose the major parties.

Show More
Related

  • Differing Perspectives of the American Civil War

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    The decades leading up to the American Civil War showed a great divide in the economic, political, and regional attitudes between the North and South. These divisions still plague the country today. However, there is a divide on whether economic anxieties or political differences were the major factor in the run up to the Civil War.

    Read More

  • Compare Civil War To The Modern Day

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    wonder how the Civil War has affected different aspects of the United States over the years. If

    Read More

  • Election of Lincoln and Civil War

    1277 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected as president of the United States of America, the repercussions of which led to civil war. However it was not only Lincoln’s election that led to civil war but also the slavery debate between the northern and southern states and the state of the economy in the United States. Together with the election of Lincoln these caused a split, both politically and ideologically, between the North and South states which manifested into what is now refereed to as the American Civil War.

    Read More

  • Reconstruction: A Partial Success and a Partial Failure

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ights of blacks due to the inequitable laws such as the Black Codes, Jim Crow Laws, and sharecropping, and the fact that the Economic Depression of 1873 and the common acts of corruption distressed the economy. The southern states were reunified with the northern states through Lincoln and Johnson’s Reconstruction programs, even though Congress did not fully support them and created their own plan. Reconstruction was meant to truly give blacks the rights they deserved, but the southerners’ continuous acts of discrimination including the Black Codes, Jim Crow Laws, and sharecropping eventually denied them of those rights. Lastly, the negative effects of the corruption and the Panic of 1873 lead to economic failure during Reconstruction. These issues relate to our society because people do still face discrimination and corruption in our economy still exists today.

    Read More

  • Sectionalism In The United States:

    1378 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sectionalism, slavery and other issues leading up to the Civil War were some of the most disturbing aspects of our history. The years during the Reconstructive Period were also volatile and often violent. However, these were all critical and contributed to the growth and development of today's United States; the strongest and most democratic country in the world.

    Read More

  • Reconstruction Dbq Essay

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the words of President Abraham Lincoln during his Gettysburg Address (Doc. A), the Civil War itself, gave to our Nation, “a new birth of freedom”. The Civil War had ended and the South was in rack and ruin. Bodies of Confederate soldiers lay lifeless on the grounds they fought so hard to protect. Entire plantations that once graced the South were merely smoldering ash. The end of the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery, stirred together issues and dilemmas that Americans, in the North and South, had to process, in hopes of finding the true meaning of freedom.

    Read More

  • Reconstruction After the Civil War

    1850 Words  | 4 Pages

    loyalty oath. If this happened then that state could setup a new state government. Under

    Read More

  • Reconstruction in America After the Civil War

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    America has gone through many hardships and struggles since coming together as a nation involving war and changes in the political system. Many highly regarded leaders in America have come bestowing their own ideas and foundation to provide a better life for “Americans”, but no other war or political change is more infamous than the civil war and reconstruction. Reconstruction started in 1865 and ended in 1877 and still to date one of the most debated issues in American history on whether reconstruction was a failure or success as well as a contest over the memory, meaning, and ending of the war. According to, “Major Problems in American History” David W. Blight of Yale University and Steven Hahn of the University of Pennsylvania take different stances on the meaning of reconstruction, and what caused its demise. David W. Blight argues that reconstruction was a conflict between two solely significant, but incompatible objectives that “vied” for attention both reconciliation and emancipation. On the other hand Steven Hahn argues that former slaves and confederates were willing and prepared to fight for what they believed in “reflecting a long tradition of southern violence that had previously undergirded slavery” Hahn also believes that reconstruction ended when the North grew tired of the 16 year freedom conflict. Although many people are unsure, Hahn’s arguments presents a more favorable appeal from support from his argument oppose to Blight. The inevitable end of reconstruction was the North pulling federal troops from the south allowing white rule to reign again and proving time travel exist as freed Africans in the south again had their civil, political, and economical position oppressed.

    Read More

  • Coal Strike Of 1902 Essay

    767 Words  | 2 Pages

    The period in American history between 1900 and 1920 was a very turbulent one. Civil unrest was brewing as a result of many pressures placed upon the working class. Although wealth was accumulating at an astonishing rate in America, most people at the lower economic levels were not benefiting from any of it. Worst of all for them, the federal government seemed to be on the side of the corporations. Their helpless situation and limited options is why the coal strike of 1902 is so important.

    Read More

  • The American Civil War

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    Following the American Civil War, the whole nation was forever changed and was the result of many good and bad things. Although it was a very costly war and was So, the Civil War did define us and made us the good and the bad things we are and led to an extremely significant change because slavery was abolished once and for all and African American rights followed many years later, the Federal Government imposed more power over the states, our country was divided for a while, and it left the nation in debt due to the fact that we fought each other.

    Read More

  • American History, 1865-1900

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    The years after the civil war left one half of America, the north, satisfied and the other half, the south, mostly dissatisfied. Therefore the last third of the nineteenth century, 1865-1900, was a time period in which America was mending, repairing, improving, reshaping, and reconstructing its society, economy, culture, and policies. Basically it was changing everything it stood for. This continual change can be seen in the following events that took place during this time. These events are both causes and effects of why America is what it is today. These are some examples: the reconstruction of the south, the great movement towards the west, the agricultural revolution, the rise of industrialism, the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and America's growth to gaining world power. All of these are reasons and events that characterize America as being an ever-changing nation.

    Read More

  • The Transcontinental Railroad

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the end, the transcontinental railroad changed the American landscape both physically and culturally. It formed the foundation for the industrial economy, it produced new business practices and management style of large workforces. It helped established government regulations, taxation and support of public transportation. Above all it drastically changed the American lifestyle, changed where people lived, how they shopped, how they ate, and how they worked.

    Read More

  • Economic Causes To The Civil War

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although the American Civil War mainly occurred because of slavery, the fact is that slavery had a lot to do with economic and social issues.

    Read More

  • U.S. Labor History

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...s became even more desperate at the time of the great depression that ultimately led to the great railway strike, in which many workers lost their lives at the hand of the Pennsylvania militia. This act proved to be a major turning point in the evolution of the labor movement in the United States.

    Read More

  • Impact Of The Civil War On American History

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Civil War was an important war over the freedom of slaves in the U.S.. The Civil War is well known for being caused by the issue of slavery, but it is really a combination of different events and actions that caused tensions to rise throughout the country. The economic and political issues in the U.S., along with certain actions caused the Civil war, which is one of the United States’s worst wars. All in all, the Civil War was one of the most devastating wars for our country as a whole, and the process of rebuilding would take years and is no easy job.

    Read More

More about Economic, Social, and Political Problems in the Post-Civil War era

Open Document