AHI students have been studying the Gilded Age at the end of the 19th century. A couple of extra credit questions have been added by students below. Students can answer any or all of these.
EXTRA CREDIT:
1. Why did the Populist Party have such a difficult time succeeding their objectives?
2. What were the differences between populism and progressivism?
3. What was the impact of political corruption during the Gilded Age?
4. What was life like for the working class people during the Gilded Age?
2.)The differences between populism and progressivism is that populism is virtually the common people versus the elite and progressivism is a political attitude favoring or advocating changes or reform through governmental action or simply government solutions to problems opposed to a free society problem solving.
ReplyDelete3.)The impact of political corruption during the gilded age was politicians in this era bought votes by providing services to the people in their districts you can see how much this would change the election.
4.)The life of the working class during the gilded age was very harsh working conditions like sweat shops, heavy industrys like factories, and railroads.
1. The populist party was one that wanted to reform America's politics. It was first called the people's party before it was known as the populist party becasue of it's favor towards the average people in the country and not just the elite people. They wanted government to be more responsive to what the normal people had to say and wanted elections to be more people's votes and not just by the state legislatures. Around this time more money was being produced and people could charge more for what they were selling. The populists were mad because of this because only the wealthy were benefitting from the country's troubles. Populists felt that even the Sepreme Court sided with the rich. they especially felt this when income taxes were said to be unconstitutional, therefore the wealthy still woundn't be paying more to run the government. The populists later tried to join with the democrats in an election, but they did not think their ideas through all the way, ending in a loss for them. When the populists lost this election their confidence and support went way down, causeing their paty to fail.
ReplyDelete2. There were many differences between the poplulists and the progressives. One main difference was that populism drew their strength mainly from rural areas and the progressives usually centered in cities. another large difference was that populists were generally poor and uneducated. progressives on the other hand were generally middle class and well educated. The populists sided mostly with the radicals, where the progressives followed the political mainstream. Probably the most important difference between these two groups was that the progressives succeeded and the populists did not.
3. The Gilded Age had many impacts on the politics in the United States. Of course during this time money was a huge issue. People in different parties had very different ideas of how this situation should be handled, so therefore there was much controversy in elections. The candidates all had their own views and reasons for the money issues, so the votes that they received were largely based on those opinions. During this time parties were always trying to pass new laws and acts, so the government had to constantly make decisions. Also during all of this growth n the cities, more and more people needed to be elected to manage everything.
4. The working class did not really benefit in any way from the Gilded Age. Because the government favored the rich and the populist party fell, the working class had very little support. When money started to be printed more, the rich could charge more for the products they were selling. The buyers had no choice but to get all of the things that were essential. When they were being charged more but payed the same amount, they began to fall even farther. Normal people could no longer afford the things in life like food, doctors, land and homes, and they couldn't afford to stay with their old jobs. People became desperate for money, which made it easier for people to pay them even less since the demand was so high. A great example of this happening was things called sweatshops. Sweatshops were factories or working areas that were in extremely poor conditions and were very uncomfortable. The workers there worked long hours and got paid very little. They had no choice but to keep working in these places because some money at all was better than none.
- Jaimie Soderling
1. There ideas were very radical, most people went with progressives more mainstream ideas.
ReplyDelete2. Populism drew strength from rural areas, they were poor and uneducated, they also had radical ideas and failed. Progressivism were centered in cities, middle-class and educated, they had mainstream political ideas and succeeded.
3. Political corruption caused the rich to have all the money and leaving the rest of the country with very little. This also caused owners of factories to pay very little and have poor working conditions on the account that they knew workers could be replaced easily if they quit.
4. Working class had it very tough, they were payed very little. They worked in sweat houses, which were work houses that were hot with very poor conditions.
Trestin Benson
#2 Progressive is political attitude favoring government solutions to problems opposed to free society problem solving. Populism is common people verse the elite.
ReplyDelete#3)Political corruption during the gilded age was bought. Politicians bought votes by providing services to the people in there towns. They would help immigrants off their boats and find homes. They expected those immigrants votes. George Washington acted with a honest graft, he bought a parcel of land he knew the city was going to buy for a project, and then sell it to them at a huge profit.
#4) people in the working class during the gilded age had it rough. There work areas were very terrible. They had no plumbing which gave it a bad stench. The work areas had no electricity so it was very dark and if you weren't paying full attention you might lose a finger or something. And plus if there was an emergency they only had one way out and no fire escapes. After a while they wrote books and stories that told of these horrific places they had to work in and they made a difference.
Stevi Johnson
1) The populists were trying to get the government to be more responsive to the people. They gathered farmers and other lower class men to march to the capital to get make the government listen. But Congress wouldn’t listen to uneducated poor men. The police had stopped them.
ReplyDelete2) Populists and Progressives wanted the same thing. They wanted the government to be responsive to the people. But the progressives were more successful. They were educated and had money. They knew about politics and drew their strength from the cities.
3)The politicians would help the immigrants off their boats and help them settle into their homes. They thought by helping them they would vote.
4) The working class had a very very hard life. They worked in sweatshops with dangerous machines and unsanitary working areas. Employees would work very long days make only $2 to $3 a day. Others who lived in tenements worked long hours as well. In poorly lit and ventilated rooms they labor away. These places were a breeding ground for disease. Many that got sick would die.
1. The populist party (or people’s party) had a difficult time succeeding their objectives because they didn’t have enough fiscal, popular, and governmental support. The party consisted of poor people who lived in a rural environment, therefore, they had no money to support their party. Additionally, the populists were running against bigger, stronger parties. In the election of 1896, the populists lost to the Republican candidate by a considerable amount of votes, which created and upset they would not recover from. The populists wanted the government to expand currency and the railroad to be controlled by the state. Their ideas were too specific and not thoroughly thought through, so the government opposed them, and that is why the Populist party was short-lived.
ReplyDelete2. The populist party contained rural-living poor people, and the progressive party contained urban-living middle class people. In other words, the progressives were mainstream and the Populists were very radical.
3. The Gilded Age had positive impact on the workforce. New laws were passed about the terms and conditions of a job and workplace. The Condition of a workplace was greatly improved and many legal changes were made as well. The maximum work time was set to 8 hours and agreements of minimum wage and workman’s compensation were introduced. The population of cities were rapidly increasing so new means of transportation were developed, such as bus systems and subways.
4. Life was very dismal and, in fact, dangerous for the working class. Working conditions were almost always unbearable. The workplace was usually too crowded, dark and hot for proper labor. The living conditions weren’t any better. Families would cram into tenements that did not provide sufficient space and the plumbing was often unsanitary and in bad shape.
1. The populist party had a hard time succeeding their objectives because they got their power from the poor and from underpopulated areas, and they marched to the capital to protest, but the police stopped them and they didn't succeed because they didn't have that much money and weren't very educated with politics.
ReplyDelete2. The populists and the progressives wanted the government to listen to them. The government listened to the progressives but not the populists because they got the muckrakers to write things in newspapers and magazines so that people could see what the government really needs to do. The government listened to them because they had money and the populists didn't have a way to reach the government.
3. The politicians helped the immigrants because they thought that if they helped them then they would vote for them.
4. Life for the working class was extremely difficult. They weren't payed a lot and they worked for many hours. They had to live in small apartments that were the size of regular rooms. They shared sinks and showers, the lighting was low, and the air wasn't clean. Disease spread, and the poor worked in sweatshops which weren't clean and crowded.
1.The populists were uneducated and were very poor. This meant they didn’t have any resources and everybody thought they were poor and they didn’t matter.
ReplyDelete2. Progressive- A political attitude favoring changes or reform through governmental action or simply government solutions to problems opposed to a free society problem solving.
Populism- Is virtually the common people versus the elite. They can be the same but often they are opposing forces.
3. The impact of the politics in this age was that politcians would buy their votes. This would greatly effect the election because of who would have money or not.
4.A lot of them worked in very bad conditions. Such as sweatshops and had to work as much as they could for not very much money.
Colton Henrie
1. The populists were trying to get the government to be more responsive to the people. They gathered farmers and other lower class men to march to the capital to get make the government listen. But Congress wouldn't listen to uneducated poor men. The police had stopped them.
ReplyDelete2. There were many differences between the poplulists and the progressives. One main difference was that populism drew their strength mainly from rural areas and the progressives usually centered in cities. another large difference was that populists were generally poor and uneducated. progressives on the other hand were generally middle class and well educated. The populists sided mostly with the radicals, where the progressives followed the political mainstream. Probably the most important difference between these two groups was that the progressives succeeded and the populists did not.
3. Political corruption caused the rich to have all the money and leaving the rest of the country with very little. This also caused owners of factories to pay very little and have poor working conditions on the account that they knew workers could be replaced easily if they quit.
4. Life for the working class was extremely difficult. They weren't payed a lot and they worked for many hours. They had to live in small apartments that were the size of regular rooms. They shared sinks and showers, the lighting was low, and the air wasn't clean. Disease spread, and the poor worked in sweatshops which weren't clean and crowded.
-Tenise Kakuk