History 340 Critical Periods in United States History
The 1890s
Roger Wiliams University
CAS 123
M-W-F 12:00-12:55
For Monday, January 28
Read,
in Chambers,
Chapter I, Crisis of the 1890s,
pp. 1- 24
in Fink,
#1, Andrew Carnegie Hails the Triumph of Capitalism
18-20 #2, Henry George Dissects the Paradox of Economic Growth
20-22
#3, The Reverend Alexander Lewis Offers an Ode to Upward Mobility
23
The first chapter in Chambers provides an overview of the economic changes which swept across America. The Civil was provided a great stimulus to industrialize, starting a process which accellerated in the 1880s and became overwhelming in the 1890s. No matter who one was, indistrialization effected his or her life, sometimes for good, sometimes for ill.
You should think about how your 1890s persona was effected. In what ways did you gain? In what ways lose? Perhaps the new Industrial America provided you with your reason for being here in the first place.
Andrew Carnegie and Henry George look at the economic machine from widely differing perspectives. Interestingly, both men rose from very humble origins to positions of fame and prominence. In Carnegie's case, one can add wealth to the list of his triumphs. George, on the other hand became a public icon for those who greeted the new economy with suspicion. Alexander Lewis's short poem is the kind of thing which teachers at the turn of the century might encourage their students to memorize. (I won't force that on any of you... but if you have invented an appropriate character you may want to learn this "by heart." How does one become rich? Lewis provides what becomes the standard American answer for a century or more.
For Wednesday, January 30
Read, in Fink,
The Machine as Deity and Demon (Trachtenberg) 27 - 34
As Trachtenberg's title suggests, some Americans worshipped the machine age while others saw it as threatening core values. I'm sure there were some Americans which held both of these views simultaneously. Trachtenberg looks at the way intellectuals (including Henry George, whom you met on Monday) analyzed the emerging machine culture. Some of them, like Frederick Taylor, created a "cult of efficiency," while others pondered the human costs.
For Friday, February 1
Read, in Fink,
Class Consciousness American Style (Fink)
34 - 45
As capital became more concentrated and as fortunes reached ever greater sums, the social distance between rich and poor became greater and greater. Carnegie and Lewis espoused a belief than anyone could better himself or herself through dilligence, sacrifice, and hard work. The growing power of the "Captains of Industry" seemed likely to overwhelm individual working men and women, however. How could any of them compete successfully with Carnegie and his like? One possible response was labor organization, and this one of the themes of Fink's essay. American Labor behaves differently from European Labor, however, and Fink wants us to consider why American "working classes" respond to industrial change and social crisis in a way different from their European counterparts.
Always remember to consider how your 1890s alter-ego would react to the events, persons, and ideas described..
Frederick W. Taylor applied engineering princples to industrial production and corporate organization in the name of increased efficiency and highter profits. He also was obsessed with the game of golf. Some of his golfing accomplishments are recorded at a website which can be accessed by clicking on the image at the left.
Puck Magazine satirizes a Knights of Labor Parade, c. 1886. Click on the image to access other labor cartoons and posters from the late 19th and early 20th century.
