nineteenth Century Essay, Research Paper

Thesis: Although the American Government failed to take effectual actions to work out the major concerns of the late nineteenth century, many efforts were taken to work out such controversal struggles. The immature divided state that had merely reconstructed itself from the debts of a civil war now stood as a whole to cover with even more domestic issues. Problems refering civil service, ordinance of railraods, Native Americans, enlargement and overgrowing of large concerns, and in-migration were the issues that grouped American persons seperately harmonizing to their positions on each issue.

Although the American Government failed to take effectual actions to work out the major

concerns of the late nineteenth century, many efforts were taken to work out such controversal struggles. The immature divided state that had merely reconstructed itself from the debts of a civil war now stood as a whole to cover with even more domestic issues. Problems refering civil service, ordinance of railraods, Native Americans, enlargement and overgrowing of large concerns, and in-migration were the issues that grouped American persons seperately harmonizing to their positions on each issue.

In 1881, shortly after President Garfield & # 8217 ; s startup, a derange office seekser shooting a fatal slug in the President & # 8217 ; s back. This event one time once more shocked the Americans, who were one time horrified by the assasination of former President Lincoln in1865. Following this event, acrimonious Americans coerced the federal authorities to reform its policy of engaging governmental functionaries. In respond to the public & # 8217 ; s indignation over the cause of this assasination, Congress was pushed to take certain authorities occupations from the control of party backing. They passed the new act known as the Pendleton Act of 1881, which set up the Civil Service Commission declaring that federal employees were to be hired on footing of virtue. This new jurisprudence was applied to 10 % of federal employees at that clip ; soon it effected more than 90 % of governmental employees. When Harrison was elected President a few old ages after the Pendelton Act, he followed Congress & # 8217 ; s earlier tradition of reforming the civil service system to gain his chap citizens & # 8217 ; support. On covering with the issues of veterans, he passed the Pension Act of 1890, which provided that all widows of veterans, and veterans incapable of manual labour may have a pension. This was a reformation of former President Cleveland & # 8217 ; s policy that merely veterans straight wounded in conflict may have a pension. Although these new Acts granted more democracy towards portion of the working category, it failed to subject to the bulk of the on the job category. As the depression worsened and the figure of idle people grew, the state feared category war between capital and labour. They were particularly alarmed by Coxey & # 8217 ; s Army, a March to Washington by 1000s of the unemployed led by Populist Joacod A. Coxey. Coxey demanded that the authorities spend half a billion dollars on public plants plans to make occupations. Coxey himself and other protest leaders were arrested, while the remainder of the & # 8220 ; army & # 8221 ; had to go forth for place. The apprehension of Coxey proved that the authorities is non at all sympathetic towards the bulk of the unemployed on the job category. The figure of idle Americans grew more mundane, for infinite available for occupations could non fit the mass figure of immigrants pouring into America every hr.

The population of the United states more than tripled in the last half of the nineteenth century, ensuing in 76.2 million people by the clip the new century arrived. Out of these, 16.2 million belonged to the category of the unemployed immigrants. the twelvemonth 1882 shocked the Americans when it was calculated that over 2000 Europeans immigrants were received by the united provinces per twenty-four hours. In an effort to diminish the mass in-migration figure, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1892, forbiding immigrants from China. Even so, immigrants from European states continued to roll up. The General Immigration Act was another effort to modulate the assorted immigrants. This act garbage to acknowledge to the United States cocottes, alkies, and insanes. However, Amer

ica was unable to set this act into consequence, for it was difficult to find what disguises those Europeans had taken. As a consequence of the government’s failure to curtail its ain population, 1000000s of immigrants were granted occupations that otherwise would’ve been offerred to its native dwellers. This in add-on to the government’s failure to modulate large concerns result in more than 1000s of unemployed citizens.

As a consequence of the mass enlargement of railwaies, communicating became really effectual, which in bend helped companies enormously in transporting its goods, pass oning with each other, and publicizing its merchandises. The edifice of railwaies required steel and coal, therefore these two industries besides flourished. Immediately wining these profitable companies were crude oil, oil, sugar, leather, and much much more. Large companies work together to form pools and trusts, both were some facet of private promises to maintain the same monetary value so that both companies could boom. Trusts and pools of large concerns limit competition, which so resulted in laughably high monetary values for the consumers. In an effort to command large concerns, authorities passed the Sherman Act in 1890 that prohibit combinations of companies that restrict competition. This act was non at all effectual due to authorities & # 8217 ; s failure to implement it. The factor that worsened the state of affairs was authorities & # 8217 ; s reading of the 14th Amendment in the Constitution. In respond to public & # 8217 ; s indignation of companies & # 8217 ; trusts, they defined legal guardians as corporate individuals who can non be discriminated against life, autonomy, and belongings. Therefore monetary values were still being manipulated by large companies, and the bulk of United States & # 8217 ; s population sufferred.

The success of large concerns owed itself to the success of railway production. The building of railwaies was induced by the increasing figure of people who urgently needed it for transit to their work topographic points, nevertheless far it may be. At its height American length of railraod was more than all of Europe combined. Government showed its support in railway building when it granted 170 million estates of land for railwaies. This huge land could hold been granted as homesteads for United States & # 8217 ; s hapless households, but authorities had shown its favour in concern. When monetary values in rural, non-competitive countries were laughably high, adequate husbandmans complained for the authorities to go through the Interstate Railroad Act, which required railway rates to be sensible, and denied the power of single provinces to modulate interstate commercialism. This Act proved to be a failure in the instance of Munn versus Illinois when Supreme Court upheld the right of provinces to modulate concern.

Much of the land available for railway building was seized from native Americans. In add-on to that, the Gold Rush in California caused 1000s of Americans to seek land in western land, an country inhabited greatly by native Americans at that clip. Even though 2/3 of western tribal groups lived on the Great Plains, the Homestead Act promised land to American colony right on these lands. In the adjacent district of Oklahoma, 1000s of Whites continued to pour into the rich land. US took action under the US Census Bureau to declare the shutting of the frontier, but at that clip most of the land had already been seized by land speculators who had been waiting urgently for a opportunity. Ferocious native Americans attempted to defy US domination and drive the Whites from their lands in the Battle of Wounded Knee, in which over 200 native Americans were killed. This catastrophe proved authorities & # 8217 ; s failure to cover with the Indian matter.

The US, through many Acts of the Apostless, was clearly seen to hold been seeking to modulate railwaies, large concerns, in-migration, native American jobs, and the issue of civil service reform. Its attempts were appreciative and benevolent, but the effects were non every bit successful as everyone had hoped. Laws such as the Interstate Railroad Act the General Immigration Act, and the Sherman Act that would hold been a redress to jobs of railway, in-migration and concern ordinance were non eforced purely plenty to bring around the maturing state.