1870s-1880s Part 3 + Last Canada Section
Frederick Douglass’s Senate career began in 1858 in his home state of New York. Every time there was a new piece of civil rights legislation, he fearlessly supported it and helped spearhead it. He argued in favor of protecting the liberties of Americans whenever they were under threat. From police reforms due to concerns over racism to the clearing of ghettos and replacement with actually functioning communities, he was always at the tip of the movement. Protecting Americans whenever they needed it. He joined the Progressive Party, joining luminaries such as Sumner, Banks, Butler, C.F. Adams, and the Hoar brothers. As a Senator, Frederick Douglass hated oppression of any kind, and rallied against the corporations that were causing pay cuts and making the lives of many Americans miserable. Douglass also made sure to keep his constituents happy so they would re-elect him when the time came. Indeed, many people in his support base wanted him to aspire to something more.
Another issue by the 1870s and 1880s was corporate corruption. Cartels and trusts started to form, which prevented or reduced competition. This led to a tide of either poorly-made products or very overpriced products. As a result, protest movements started to begin, first on the streets, and later on in the Progressive Party and to a lesser extent in the Democratic Party, which had a large discussion on whether or not to back corporations or seek corporation reform. In many cases, Democratic Party candidates or officials wanted to fix the most egregious cases of corporate monopoly, but feared the repercussions of wholesale change, at least at first.)
Some of the first socialists in the US appeared in the 1880s as some people thought insufficient changes were occurring with the big business problem. They had their support primarily in labor unions, but would never become a major part of the political spectrum. Some of their views were too far to the left for much of the American electorate. That does not mean they did not cause real change. They did lead to the formation of more labor unions, and other political parties often chose to help the American worker to prevent the Socialists from becoming a major force in American politics.
One of the worst corporations at this point was the Gould Railway Conglomerate, which was a controlling interest of much of America’s railway system. When people like Rockefeller and Carnegie (also wealthy industrialists with very large companies) think someone is greedy, that someone must have an insatiable desire for wealth indeed. And so it was with Gould, who was willing to manipulate anyone to get more wealth. This would lead to his undoing. Gould was always accused of various financial crimes such as one of the first pyramid schemes, but little could be proven directly since Gould was very capable at covering his own tracks. Nevertheless, something had to be done about the exorbitant pricing he had over the rail system. Hamlin did attempt a law that would regulate trusts and monopolies in industry (The Liberty of Commerce Act, passed in 1871; challenged but upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court in 1877). In the Hayes era (1872-76), he did not do much to enforce that act. Gould would meet his demise in 1877 primarily because his trust was considered a bad one that raised prices excessively and hurt the American people.
American policy, especially foreign policy, was not always successful in the late 1870s and 1880s. The Scramble for Africa had occurred, with European countries (especially the British Empire and France) taking large swathes of Africa. The U.S. could complain but do little about this since it was not willing to go into a fight against some of the foremost powers in the world at this point. It was not only the British and French that swallowed up expanses of Africa. The Dutch, Italians, and Portuguese also took small amounts of the land there. Colonialism in Africa was primarily to secure resources and for economic purposes. Perhaps two of the most destructive cases involved diamonds and gold, where appalling conditions in mines in Angola (Portuguese) and Rhodesia (British) led to some of the most dangerous working environments in recent history. Much of the native population had actually died in the mines. There were stories coming out of those areas, but somehow the truth was worse than the stories--The problem with colonialism there (and really anywhere else) is that the European power did not think much about the colonized people. Much of the original culture ended up torched or destroyed by the Europeans. This loss of culture would eventually be decried by the U.S. as the term “Cultural Annihilation”.
You might have wondered why there is no Canada content. The truth is, after Canadian independence, they had great difficulty setting up a functioning country. (This would have repercussions later on in history as well). The 1840s were not a particularly good time for Canada despite gaining their independence from Britain. It turned out that actually running a country might have been harder than gaining one. So it was with the constitution building in Canada, where many initial discussions fell apart despite the best efforts of various Canadian revolutionaries and politicians to make a functioning one.
This quote encapsulates the failure of the Canadian nation-building effort.
“The differences between Upper and Lower Canada, combined with the rate of rioting and political disorder in the mid and late 1840s, was why annexationists (who wanted to join with the USA) became rather common. This rose to the extent that even many of the reformers started to give up on their dream. The constitution building, while supposedly based off the American example, fell into such disagreements between the different parts of Canada (especially the English versus French, Protestant versus Catholic lines) that eventually, many of the reformers just threw their hands in the air and accepted a deal with the US, for becoming part of the US in exchange for preservation of large parts of their culture”
Another issue by the 1870s and 1880s was corporate corruption. Cartels and trusts started to form, which prevented or reduced competition. This led to a tide of either poorly-made products or very overpriced products. As a result, protest movements started to begin, first on the streets, and later on in the Progressive Party and to a lesser extent in the Democratic Party, which had a large discussion on whether or not to back corporations or seek corporation reform. In many cases, Democratic Party candidates or officials wanted to fix the most egregious cases of corporate monopoly, but feared the repercussions of wholesale change, at least at first.)
Some of the first socialists in the US appeared in the 1880s as some people thought insufficient changes were occurring with the big business problem. They had their support primarily in labor unions, but would never become a major part of the political spectrum. Some of their views were too far to the left for much of the American electorate. That does not mean they did not cause real change. They did lead to the formation of more labor unions, and other political parties often chose to help the American worker to prevent the Socialists from becoming a major force in American politics.
One of the worst corporations at this point was the Gould Railway Conglomerate, which was a controlling interest of much of America’s railway system. When people like Rockefeller and Carnegie (also wealthy industrialists with very large companies) think someone is greedy, that someone must have an insatiable desire for wealth indeed. And so it was with Gould, who was willing to manipulate anyone to get more wealth. This would lead to his undoing. Gould was always accused of various financial crimes such as one of the first pyramid schemes, but little could be proven directly since Gould was very capable at covering his own tracks. Nevertheless, something had to be done about the exorbitant pricing he had over the rail system. Hamlin did attempt a law that would regulate trusts and monopolies in industry (The Liberty of Commerce Act, passed in 1871; challenged but upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court in 1877). In the Hayes era (1872-76), he did not do much to enforce that act. Gould would meet his demise in 1877 primarily because his trust was considered a bad one that raised prices excessively and hurt the American people.
American policy, especially foreign policy, was not always successful in the late 1870s and 1880s. The Scramble for Africa had occurred, with European countries (especially the British Empire and France) taking large swathes of Africa. The U.S. could complain but do little about this since it was not willing to go into a fight against some of the foremost powers in the world at this point. It was not only the British and French that swallowed up expanses of Africa. The Dutch, Italians, and Portuguese also took small amounts of the land there. Colonialism in Africa was primarily to secure resources and for economic purposes. Perhaps two of the most destructive cases involved diamonds and gold, where appalling conditions in mines in Angola (Portuguese) and Rhodesia (British) led to some of the most dangerous working environments in recent history. Much of the native population had actually died in the mines. There were stories coming out of those areas, but somehow the truth was worse than the stories--The problem with colonialism there (and really anywhere else) is that the European power did not think much about the colonized people. Much of the original culture ended up torched or destroyed by the Europeans. This loss of culture would eventually be decried by the U.S. as the term “Cultural Annihilation”.
You might have wondered why there is no Canada content. The truth is, after Canadian independence, they had great difficulty setting up a functioning country. (This would have repercussions later on in history as well). The 1840s were not a particularly good time for Canada despite gaining their independence from Britain. It turned out that actually running a country might have been harder than gaining one. So it was with the constitution building in Canada, where many initial discussions fell apart despite the best efforts of various Canadian revolutionaries and politicians to make a functioning one.
This quote encapsulates the failure of the Canadian nation-building effort.
“The differences between Upper and Lower Canada, combined with the rate of rioting and political disorder in the mid and late 1840s, was why annexationists (who wanted to join with the USA) became rather common. This rose to the extent that even many of the reformers started to give up on their dream. The constitution building, while supposedly based off the American example, fell into such disagreements between the different parts of Canada (especially the English versus French, Protestant versus Catholic lines) that eventually, many of the reformers just threw their hands in the air and accepted a deal with the US, for becoming part of the US in exchange for preservation of large parts of their culture”