American Civilization 9.12.11

Exam : short answers, matching, blanks, essays.

After the civil war, there was a reconstruction era. It ended by 1877 ( from 1874). If we go at North, some people are very close to the civil war era, in the south some still talk about Yankees. Everything was changed : Culture, Economy. South was really turned upside down. A lot of slaves were feeling a great joy because they were free. A lot took off after the civil war. Many went west but a lot of them migrated at North. There was a lot of competition at north ( for a job for example). After a few months, the ex slaves realized that it was difficult to have jobs ( no education, job, clothing, supporting). So, many saves turned back south and asked to start again to be a slave. Slaves suffered, the white southerners suffered too as the northern government was strong ( new laws...). Black people suffered too because they were considered as pons ( pions). In the North, people were not interested in the conditions of Black people, they just wanted to gain some power. There were also massive debts, Government said states had to pay their own debts. Most cities in the south were able to reorganize themselves, not all states were governed by northerners. Rights after the war, in 1868, Ulysses S Grant was elected President for 2 terms ( scandals during the second term). After the civil war, the Southerners took back the power in the south little by little. Then, the reconstruction Era ended. 1876 : Ruther Ford B Hayes : was a former Governer of Ohio, he had modern viws on the south and ideas towards reconstruction. This election of 1776 was the first time in which electoral college was used. Samuel Tildon received a lot of popular votes but lost in the electoral college vote. Southern democrats to let Hayes become President but there were conditions. By mid 1777, people were happy about the end of the reconstruction. In 1870's, Aericans went through the reconstruction and then put their energy in new programmes ( new projects). Second half inf the 19^th century : West had experiment a lot of changes too. A lot of people abandoned army, took their family and brought them out west ( gold).

Indian removal

In the 1880's-1890's : cowboys

In the two decades that arrived after reconstruction, there were events and people crreating the American myth, cowboys were part of these people. By 1869, there was the transcontnental railroad ( from the east going west) ( manifest destiny). With the expansion of the transports, there were more movements. The legend of the cowboys developed more and more. During the civil war, in 1862, Lincoln passed a law The Homestead Act : Peoplegoing out west had a hyge percentage of free land. Lincoln did this to grow the USA. It was also a way to get rid of the Indian Americans. Some government rules were only dedicated to Indians. They were dependent from the government. Over the nest 30 year after the civil car, Oin 1860, Indian reservations were huge, they were pushed away ( sizes of the reservations were reduced so White people could settle as the fields were fertile).

The Indians were deprived of their tradition : hunting etc...To controle them better, Buffalos were killed also. In 1865, 15 000 000 buffalos. 1890: Less than 1000. Native American Indians were in hostage : no source of food anymore ! They were forced to ask a government financial aid. There were after thirty years on and on during there were 2 battles that stick the American history :

1876 : Sioux tribe : They were revolting at West because a lot of settlers were crossing into their territories ( gold). Settlers were destroying minin for them and killing nature. George A Custer and Chief Sitting Bull, Chief Crazy Horse are important characters. Between the 2 chives, there were battles. Monument : Little Big Horn River. Custer's last stand : During the Little Big Horn Rivr Battle. Government wanted to get back on this event. December 29, 1890 : Wounded knee : Federal troops opened fire on unarmed men, women and children , it was a massacre. The Indians were forced to live on smaller and smaller reservations to leave rooms to settlers. Myth of cowboy : Cattle drive ( drive cows from a place to another). The American media helped the image young and wealthy american man ( fearless...). Invention : barbed wire : Business and commerce reached th west thanks to the railroad. Business replaced the cowboys, something replaced this ERA. The, there is the post reconstruction era and then again there is the GILDED AGE ( something gilded is glittered for example, on the surface it looks good but it is not actually). From 1880 to 1900, it was an age where vulgar, gawdy, cheap... Politics and business were rough, there was corruption. America developed a lot with the immigrants. This era was a destructive era anyway. Business and Capitalism turnes Americans' heads from the cowboys'time to a greedier era. Gilded age means also development of industry. By the end of the 19^th century, USA was producing more goods than Germany, England and France all together. With the building of business, there were drawbacks ( workers were poor and dying because of the hard conditions of work in the north in the industry fiels). At this time, there was a lot of money to be made ( like always after a war, example : Gulf war). Economic boom, spread of the factory system, development of technology, pressure for competition, new energy sources ( electricity), unskilled cheap labour : All of this changed the country.