Believe it or not, major events occurred in the 1870s. They did not go wild in their cowboy boots and hats riding along on their horses. The American people were expanding west and man was the controversy endless. Come on now, it’s drama, it can be dated back to the B.C. years. Of course the drama was all tied into politics. Politics in the 1870s consisted of changes, first time events, and two elections.
Changes occur on a daily basis. The changes that occurred in the 1870s, for the most part, were positive. The first change took place on February 3, 1870, when the 15th Amendment was ratified. It prohibited the federal and state government from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen’s “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Unfortunately, through the use of poll taxes and literacy tests southern states disfranchised African Americans (“Primary Documents in American History”). Another change that occurred is one that is in the book for the records. On February 25, 1870 Hiram Rhodes Revels, a republican from Mississippi, became the first African American to fill a seat in the United States Senate (“REVELS, Hiram Rhodes”). What’s a decade without a manipulative President? President Ulysses S. Grant added two justices to the Supreme Court to reverse the decision of declaring the Civil War Legal Tender Act unconstitutional. This is why the current size of the Court today is nine justices (Kennedy, 542). One last change of the 1870s occurred in 1875, when Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The Act guaranteed equal accommodations in public places and prohibited racial discrimination in jury selection. Once again the law meant nothing to some and stayed that way for more than a century (Kennedy, ...
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Works Cited
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Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Bailey. The American Pageant. Fourteenth ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010. Print.
"Primary Documents in American History." 15th Amendment to the Constitution: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
"Reconstruction Era." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Jan. 2014. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
"REVELS, Hiram Rhodes." US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
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...et al. Vol. 4: Primary Sources. Detroit: UXL, 2006. 146-161. U.S. History in Context. Print. 17 Nov. 2013.
Gladstone’s Ministry of 1868-74 as a Great Reforming Government ‘We came in on the principle of not harassing the country’ Benjamin Disraeli on the 1874 general election. Gladstone’s ministry of 1868-74 was renowned for reforming, this is largely due to the number of reforms passed in the six year period and the vast variety of the reforms. Indeed there were thirteen reforms during this ministry and they covered areas such as: education; the armed forces; trade unions; Ireland the electoral system and many more. Despite this to truly gauge how great a reforming government this was one must consider what ‘a great reforming government’ is. For instance, was the large number of reforms unusual to ministries of this time?
During the time period of 1860 and 1877 many major changes occurred. From the beginning of the civil war to the fall of the reconstruction, the United States changed dramatically. Nearly one hundred years after the Declaration of Independence which declared all men equal, many social and constitutional alterations were necessary to protect the rights of all people, no matter their race. These social and constitutional developments that were made during 1860 to 1877 were so drastic it could be called a revolution.
We saw the Thirteenth Amendment occur to abolish slavery. We also saw the Civil Rights Acts which gave full citizenship, as well as the prohibiting the denial of due process, etc. Having the civil rights laws enabled African Americans to new freedoms which they did not used to have. There was positive change occurring in the lives of African Americans. However, there was still a fight to suppress African Americans and maintain the racial hierarchy by poll taxes and lengthy and expensive court proceedings. Sadly, this is when Jim Crow laws appeared. During this time African Americans were losing their stride, there was an increase in prison populations and convict labor, and the convicts were
Sectionalism can be described as loyalty specifically to one’s section or region. In terms of the United States, sectionalism refers to two major regions, the North and the South. It became a rising issue in the colonies in the 1800’s and undoubtedly aided in the start of the civil war. If one was to ask Northerners, they would blame the South and vice-versa. To be brutally honest, it was a combination of both regions and their extreme sectionalism that inevitably led to an American’s nightmare, a Civil War within the Union.
The period from 1877 to 1901 in American history was known as the Gilded Age, it was titled so because during this time things on the surface seemed peaceful and good but underneath lay corruption in the society. This era was marked by the end of Reconstruction of the South, as well as the presidencies of Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, Harrison, and McKinley. Significant events of this time were the 1878 Bland Allison Act in which the federal government bought silver and turned it into cheap money. The 1881 Chinese Exclusion Act which banned all Chinese immigrants coming into America because they were hurting employment opportunities for American laborers. The 1883 Pendleton Act that ended Jackson’s spoils system in the government and made the Merit System based on intelligence and ability. The 1887 Interstate Commerce Act which regulated the railroads. The Sherman Antitrust Act which outlawed any combination in restraint of trade. And last, the Gold Standard Act of 1900 that made the American monetary unit based on gold.
Walens, Susann. A. United States History Since 1877. Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT. September 2007.
Divine, Robert A. America past and Present. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Longman, 2013. 245. Print.
Change happens all of the time in our ever advancing society. Many changes have occurred from 1930 to 2009. Changes like these can be very affective in a positive or negative way and I, as a young Alabamian experience changes every day. Moral upbringings have become unimportant and have caused a drop in society. Education of children now is very important and necessary to help them to succeed. The crime rate has risen in small towns causing more uproar in usually quiet towns. These changes are not very drastic but they are important factors in our daily life and can help or hinder our society.
After the emancipation of slaves in 1862, the status of African-Americans in post civil war America up until the beginning of the twentieth century did not go through a great deal of change. Much legislation was passed to help blacks in this period. The Civil Rights act of 1875 prohibited segregation in public facilities and various government amendments gave African-Americans even more guaranteed rights. Even with this government legislation, the newly dubbed 'freedmen' were still discriminated against by most people and, ironically, they were soon to be restricted and segregated once again under government rulings in important court cases of the era.
Nineteenth century America was full of economic, political and social change. There were many fluctuations of economic prosperity and depression. Land size and population was expanding at an enormous rate. This time in American history was marked with turmoil and chaos as the young nation experienced rapid growth. African Americans dealt with slavery and subsequent freedom. Ex-confederate soldiers had to readjust to a changed society. Women fought for education, political rights and equality. Immigrants flooded the country and fueled industrialism. Native Americans fought a battle to preserve their heritage and culture as they faced white expansion and the loss of vital natural resources. Outside influences shaped the changes that occurred and these Americans responded to the situations of their time.
All in all, between 1860 and 1877, the constitutional and social developments have amount to a revolution. A revolution encompasses improvements and downfalls, and without a doubt, the times between 1860 and 1877 covered all of this. The revolution solidified the power of the federal government and gave new suffrage and civil opportunities for black freedmen with the reconstruction amendments. Also, at the same time, the revolution contained resentment from white men, through terrorist activities, the Ku Klux Klan, and black codes. As a result, the new constitutional and social developments changed the American nation with a revolution of good and bad.
The 1840s was a time of slavery, new inventions, expansion and war throughout the U.S. Slavery was filled throughout the southern states while the north opposed it. There were many arguments debating whether new states admitted to the union should be able to have slavery or not. Both the Northern and Southern states were adamant on their views toward the slavery issue.
George Browm Tindall, David Emory Shi. American History: 5th Brief edition, W. W. Norton & Company; November 1999
King, David C. Children's Encyclopedia of American History. New York: DK in Association with the Smithsonian Institution, 2003. Print.