Period 6
1865-1898
Updated August 2023
ChatGPT-Enhanced Version
ppaccone@smusd.us
Eighteen (18) Forty-Five Minute Class Periods
This slideshow has been produced by San Marino High School AP US History teacher Peter Paccone primarily for the benefit of AP US History teachers wanting to present this slideshow in class.
This slideshow may however also prove of benefit for AP US History teachers wanting to flip the learning AND for members of the general public wanting to learn more about the history of the U.S. from 1866-1898.
1865 = the end of the Civil War
1898 = the Spanish American War
This slideshow is organized along the lines of what College Board calls the AP US History Key Concepts and it uses media that are in the public domain. As photographs of actual objects and events are often not available, various images found online (including works of art) are used to support and/or illustrate the claims made in the Key Concepts. No graphic violence is shown. No political agenda is intended. Works of art may lack historical accuracy. Any/all AP US History teachers - feel free to make a copy of this slideshow and edit as you wish.
1865-1898
The end of the Civil War . . . the Spanish American War. In essence, P6 covers what is called the Gilded Age (1870-1900)
The Gilded Age (1870’s-1900)
Topic 6.2
Westward Expansion: Economic Development
6.1 - Section II (B)
Many farmers responded to the increasing consolidation in agricultural markets and their dependence on the evolving railroad system by creating local and regional cooperative organizations
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6.1 - Section II (A)
Improvements in mechanization helped agricultural production increase substantially and contributed to declines in food prices
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Farmers Alliance (1875)
The Colored Farmers Alliance
TheoB
1:46
KC 6.1 - Section I (A)
Following the Civil War, government subsidies for transportation and communication systems helped open new markets in North America.
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First TransAtlantic Cable
The Pacific Railway Act
KC 6.1 - Section I (B)
The building of the transcontinental railroad, the discovery of mineral resources, and government policies promoted economic growth and created new communities and centers of commercial activity.
Cowtowns
Dodge City
Queen of the
Cow Towns
Insights in History
7:06
History of Chicago and the Meat Packing Industry
I Am Angus
Part 1
2:15
History of Chicago and the Meat Packing Industry
I Am Angus
Part 2
2:15
The Trail That Changed Texas
Texas Historical Commision
Student-Produced Video
3:10
Barbed Wire
The Simple Invention That Ended the West
Texas Historical Commision
4:26
Boomtowns
Examples of famous boomtown 1860’s-1900
Boom Towns
Cole Harriman
Student-Produced Video
3:05
Topic 6.3
Westward Expansion: Social and Cultural Development
KC 6.2 - Section II (B)�In hopes of achieving ideals of self-sufficiency and independence, migrants moved to both rural and boomtown areas of the West for opportunities, such as building the railroads, mining, farming, and ranching.
Jews and their Migration Westward
Just like their non Jewish counterparts, Jewish men and women were lured to western boomtowns, traveling by buckboard, stagecoach, horseback, and prairie schooner through Indian country to new settlements in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the deserts of the Southwest, and the gold fields of California with the hope of striking it rich, or at the very least, the possibility of a new life for themselves and their families. One western “boomtown” that Jews moved to in particular - San Francisco. Also Wichita, Kansas
Italians and their Migration Westward
The destinations of many Italian immigrants were not only the large cities of the East Coast, but also more remote regions of the country, such as Arkansas and California. The Italian laborers who went to these areas were in many cases later joined by wives and children, which resulted in the establishment of permanent Italian American settlements in diverse parts of the country. Tontitown, Arkansas, for example, was founded by Italian settlers in 1898.
Japanese Immigration to the US in the Late 1800’s
Justin Chan
Joshua Hom
Neven Husson
Student-Produced
Adam Norris Knock-Off Video
4:00
KC 6.2 - Section II (C)�As migrant populations increased in number and the American bison population was decimated, competition for land and resources in the West among white settlers, American Indians, and Mexican Americans led to an increase in violent conflict
The Railroad, Westward Movement and the Native American
Adam Norris
4:55
The Decimation of the Buffalo
Pre-European Contact�Central to Life: Before European contact, Native American tribes across the Great Plains and other regions relied heavily on the buffalo. It was a cornerstone of their existence, providing food, clothing, shelter, and tools. The buffalo's importance transcended physical use; it was deeply woven into the spiritual and cultural fabric of these societies.
�European Arrival and Westward Expansion
Initially, European settlers and Native Americans coexisted, with some tribes engaging in trade that occasionally included buffalo hides and meat.
hanging Dynamics: As more settlers arrived and moved westward, the dynamics began to change. The demand for buffalo hides and meat increased, and with the introduction of more efficient hunting methods, including firearms, the rate of buffalo hunting began to escalate.�
19th Century: Era of Devastation
The industrial-scale hunting of buffalo, particularly in the late 19th century, led to their near extinction. This was not only due to commercial hunting (for hides and meat) but also as a strategic move by the U.S. government to weaken Native American tribes, particularly those on the Plains, by cutting off their primary food source and way of life.
The decimation of buffalo herds had a catastrophic impact on Native American
tribes. It led to starvation, economic hardship, and a profound cultural loss. The nomadic lifestyle following the herds became impossible for many, forcing tribes onto reservations and fundamentally altering their way of life.
Violent Attacks in the West
Between 1865 and 1898, the American West was a region of intense conflict and violence, often involving Native American tribes and white settlers, miners, and government forces. This period, following the Civil War, was marked by westward expansion as settlers moved into territories traditionally inhabited by Native American tribes. Here are three notable and violent conflicts from this era:
The Sand Creek Massacre (1864)�While this event occurred slightly before your specified timeframe, it's a critical incident in the context of Native American and white relations during this era.
Background: Tensions and violence were escalating between Native American tribes and white settlers in Colorado Territory. The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes were pushed into a corner due to broken treaties and encroaching settlers.
Event: On November 29, 1864, a Colorado Territory militia, led by Colonel John Chivington, attacked a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho at Sand Creek. Despite the tribes' efforts to signal their peaceful intentions, the militia launched a brutal and unprovoked attack.
Aftermath: Approximately 150 Native Americans, mostly women, children, and the elderly, were killed. The Sand Creek Massacre intensified Native American resistance and became a symbol of the treacherous and violent treatment of Native Americans by the U.S. government and settlers.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876)�Also known as Custer's Last Stand, this is one of the most famous conflicts between Native American tribes and the U.S. Army.
Background: The discovery of gold in the Black Hills, a region sacred to the Lakota Sioux, led to an influx of miners, violating previous treaty agreements. The U.S. government ordered all Native Americans to relocate to reservations, a demand that many tribes resisted.
Event: On June 25, 1876, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer led the 7th Cavalry Regiment against a coalition of Native American tribes, including the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho, near the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory. The Native American forces, led by leaders like Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, overwhelmed and defeated Custer's troops.
Aftermath: The U.S. public was shocked by the defeat, and the battle led to a strong military response. Within a year, many of the Native American leaders had surrendered, and their people were forced onto reservations.
The Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)�This event is often cited as the end of the Indian Wars and symbolizes the tragic culmination of the conflict between Native Americans and the U.S. government.
Background: The Ghost Dance movement, a spiritual movement that emerged among Native American tribes, promised the restoration of the Native way of life and the disappearance of white people. The U.S. government viewed this movement as a threat.
Event: On December 29, 1890, the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry Regiment
surrounded a Lakota camp near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. A shot was fired under unclear circumstances, leading to a chaotic and violent engagement. The soldiers opened fire with heavy weaponry, killing over 150 of the Lakota, many of whom were women and children.
Aftermath: The Wounded Knee Massacre was widely condemned, but also marked a significant decline in armed Native American resistance. It symbolized the crushing defeat and subjugation of Native American tribes during this period of American history.
These events are remembered as dark and tragic chapters in American history, reflecting the complex and often violent interactions between Native American tribes and the expanding United States. They represent the culmination of years of broken treaties, cultural misunderstandings, and conflicts over land and resources.
KC 6.2 - Section II (D)�The U.S. government violated treaties with American Indians and responded to resistance with military force, eventually confining American Indians to reservations and denying tribal sovereignty.
The Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
An agreement between the United States and the Lakota Sioiux, following the failure of the first Fort Laramie treaty, signed in 1851.
The treaty is divided into 17 articles. It established the Great Sioux Reservation including ownership of the Black Hills, and set aside additional lands as "unceded Indian territory" in the areas of South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska, and possibly Montana.
Animosities over the agreement arose quickly, with neither side fully honoring the terms. Open war again broke out in 1876, and the US government unilaterally annexed native land protected under the treaty in 1877.
The treaty formed the basis of the 1980 Supreme Court case, United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, in which the court ruled that tribal lands covered under the treaty had been taken illegally by the US government, and the tribe was owed compensation plus interest. As of 2018 this amounted to more than $1 billion. The Sioux refused the payment, having demanded instead the return of their land which wouldn't be possible to contest if the monetary compensation was accepted.
The Great Sioux War
The Black Hills
South Dakota
Bighorn
Montana
Sioux
Reservation
The Black Hills
of South Dakota
South Dakota Tourism
3:13
The Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876)
The Black Hills, South Dakota
1876
The Battle of
Little Bighorn
History
4:08
1876
The Battle of
Little Bighorn
Allain Phung
Enzo Repetto
Student-Produced Lego Stop
Animation Video
4:39
1876
Custer’s Last Stand
CBS Sunday Morning
7:44
1890
THe Wounded Knee Massacre
Native American History
7:39
2011
Why the Sioux
Are Refusing
$1.3 Billion
PBS NewsHour
7:39
6.1 - Section II (D)
Many American Indians preserved their cultures and tribal identities despite government policies promoting assimilation, and they attempted to develop self-sustaining economic practices.
Topic 6.4
The New South
6.1 - Section II (D)
Despite the industrialization of some segments of the Southern economy — a change promoted by Southern leaders who called for a “New South” — agriculture based on sharecropping and tenant farming continued to be the primary economic activity in the South
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New South
KC 6.3 - Section II (C)�The Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson that upheld racial segregation helped to mark the end of most of the political gains African Americans made during Reconstruction. Facing increased violence, discrimination, and scientific theories of race, African American reformers continued to fight for political and social equality.
Blacks During Reconstruction
CBS News
6:40
The First Vote
The First Black
Senator and Representatives
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Jim Crow Laws
The 14th Amendment EPC
[No] state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws".
1896
Plessy v. Ferguson
Sound Smart
2:06
“Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law…The law regards man as man, and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved. It is therefore to be regretted that this high tribunal…has reached the conclusion that it is competent for a State to regulate the enjoyment by citizens of their civil rights solely upon the basis of race.”
Topic 6.5
Technological Innovation
KC 6.1 - Section I (B)
Businesses made use of technological innovations and greater access to natural resources to dramatically increase the production of goods.
Between 1865 and 1898, businesses leveraged technological innovations and greater access to natural resources to dramatically increase the production of goods. Advancements such as
Topic 6.6
The Rise of Industrial Capitalism
KC 6.1 - Section I�Large-scale industrial production— accompanied by massive technological change, expanding international communication networks, and pro-growth government policies—generated rapid economic development and business consolidation (aka America’s 2nd Industrial Revolution)
The Second Industrial Revolution: 1865-1914�
In the United States the industrial revolution came in two waves. The First Industrial Revolution first saw the rise of factories and mechanized production in the late 1700s and early 1800s and included steam-powered spinning and weaving machines, the cotton gin, steamboats, interchangeable parts, locomotives, and the telegraph. The Second Industrial Revolution took off following the Civil War with the introduction of assembly-line production, new technologies, including the telephone, automobile, electrification of homes and businesses, and more.
The Rise of Industrial Capitalism
The word capitalism refers to an economic and social system in which trade, industry and capital are privately controlled and operated for a profit. This is the dominant economic system in the United States and the developed world. AKA an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit.
The word industrial relates to or is characterized by industry. An industry is an economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories.
KC 6.1 - Section I (B)
Businesses made use of redesigned financial and management structures, advances in marketing, and a growing labor force to dramatically increase the production of goods.
1893
The Sears Mail Order Catalogue
Olivia Kuhn
Student Produced
Tom Richey Knock-Off Video
4:42
Macy’s
KC 6.1 - Section I (D)
Many business leaders sought increased profits by consolidating corporations into large trusts and holding companies, which further concentrated wealth
Consolidation
In business, consolidation refers to the merger and acquisition of many smaller companies into a few much larger ones.
There are three forms of consolidation (only the first two needing to be known for APUSH)
Used by
John D. Rockefeller
Trusts and Holding Companies
control production and prices to their mutual benefit (a monopoly, which is illegal). Instances included John D. Rockefeller`s oil trust, the barbed wire trust, the cash register rust, and the sugar trust, among others.
How John D. Rockefeller Built the Standard Oil Company
Business Casual
9:06
How Did Andrew Carnegie Become the Richest Man in the World
Business Casual
9:06
6.1 - Section I (E)
Businesses increasingly looked outside U.S. borders in an effort to gain greater influence and control over markets and natural resources in the Pacific Rim, Asia, and Latin America
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1867
The Purchase of Alaska
Smithsonian
2.32
Topic 6.7
Labor in the Gilded Age
KC 6.1 - Section II�As the price of many goods decreased, workers’ real wages increased, providing new access to a variety of goods and services; many Americans’ standards of living improved, while the gap between rich and poor grew.
6.1 - Section II (C)
Labor and management battled over wages and working conditions, with local workers organizing local and national unions and/or directly confronting business leaders.
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The Homestead Strike (1892)
The Homestead Strike
History Channel
5:36
The Pullman Strike (1894)
.
The Pullman Company Town
cityofcicagotv
4:08
6.1 - Section II (B)
The industrial workforce expanded and child labor increased
Child Labor in the Industrial
Revolution
History
4:08
Topic 6.8
Immigration and Migration the Gilded Age
6.1 - Section II (B)
The industrial workforce expanded and became more diverse through internal and international migration
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Exodusters (1879)
The Exodusters and their 1879 Migration to Kansas
Carolyn Holt / Lillianne Fisher
Student-Produced TED-Ed Lesson
2:50
New Immigrants
New Immigrants
Adam Norris
7:52
Ellis Island Immigrant Inspection Station
Ellis Island
History Channel
4:27
Italian Immigrants Arrive at Ellis Island
As Depicted in the Movie the Godfather
Hola Soy Jay
3:45
Jewish Immigration to America 1880-1945
Jourdan Marquez
Olivia Marquez�Lucy Liao�Student-Produced
Adam Norris Knock-Off Video
5:56
The Chinese Immigrants
The first Chinese in any real numbers arrived as miners in 1848. The port of entry - San Francisco, California. By then, the Chinese already had an established pattern of leaving China to work in other parts of the world. High taxes after the Opium Wars had forced many peasants and farmers off their land. Several years of floods and droughts led to economic desperation. Then merchant vessels brought news of Gam Saan, or gold mountain.
The majority of Chinese men who sailed to California were illiterate, but dreamed of new possibilities.
One-fifth of the Population�Chinese miners tended to live in groups and work claims the Americans had abandoned. Initially, Americans found the newcomers -- with their wide hats and chopsticks -- peculiar and would visit Chinese camps for amusement. Then, in 1852, a year of serious crop failure in southern China, 20,026 Chinese flooded the San Francisco customs house. The previous year only 2,716 had arrived. By the end of the 1850s, Chinese immigrants made up one-fifth of the population of the four counties that constituted the Southern Mines.
Racism�One Yankee miner complained, "Chinamen are getting to be altogether too plentiful in this country."
Governor John Bigler voiced public sentiment when he suggested stemming the tide of Chinese immigration. A Chinese man responded with a letter to the Alta California, writing "The effects of your late message has been thus far to prejudice the public mind against my people, to enable those who wait the opportunity to hunt them down, and rob them of the rewards of their toil."
Robberies and Murders�In May 1852 the state imposed a Foreign Miners Tax, the second such tax on non-Americans in two years. This time, a levy of $3 per month was explicitly directed at the Chinese miners. And, as predicted, violence increased. The Alta California reported that 200 Chinese miners had been robbed and four murdered at Rich Gulch.
When miner Alfred Doten's camp was robbed, he blamed some convenient Chinese. "We visited our camp on the gulch and found it had been broken into so we went in and kicked up a row with the Chinese and told them we would shoot them if they stole any more."
No Longer Allowed to Testify�In 1854, in the case of People v. Hall, the California Supreme Court reversed the conviction of George Hall and two other white men who had murdered a Chinese man. Hall and his companions had been convicted based on testimony of some Chinese witnesses. In its reversal the court extended the California law that African Americans and Native Americans could not testify in court to include the Chinese. The reversal made it impossible to prosecute violence against Chinese immigrants.
Business and Servitude�Chinese men moved into other occupations, including the laundry business, domestic service and later railroad building. Only a few Chinese women came to the U.S. before 1880, but many of those who did served as prostitutes.
Rose-colored Glasses�When Chinese miners sent their gold home, their families quickly assumed a prominent new place. Women married to successful miners were called "gold mountain wives." As they built new houses, they were subject to gossip and envy. Rarely did stories about the hard work and the daily discrimination faced by Chinese in America find their way across the Pacific.
Significant Contributions�By 1870 there were 63,000 Chinese in U.S., 77% of whom were in California. That year, Chinese miners contributed more than $5 million to state's coffers through the Foreign Miners Tax, almost one quarter of state's revenue.
Anti-Chinese Sentiment�(see images on following slide)
KC 6.2 - Section I (A)�As cities became areas of economic growth featuring new factories and businesses, they attracted immigrants from Asia and from southern and eastern Europe, as well as African American migrants within and out of the South. Many migrants moved to escape poverty, religious persecution, and limited opportunities for social mobility in their home countries or regions�
Growth, Cities, and Immigration
Crash Course
12:44
KC 6.2 - Section I (B)�Urban neighborhoods based on particular ethnicities, races, and classes provided new cultural opportunities for city dwellers
Little Italys Across America
Chinatowns Across America
(with the New York City Chinatowns in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn on Long Island representing a stark exception to this trend, fueled by continuing robust levels of large-scale immigration from mainland China.
San Francisco’s Chinatown as it Looked Over a Century Ago
Michael Rogge
12:44
Topic 6.9
Responses to Immigration in the Gilded Age
KC 6.2 - Section I (C)�Increasing public debates over assimilation and Americanization accompanied the growth of international migration. Many immigrants negotiated compromises between the cultures they brought and the culture they found in the United States.
Americanization and Assimilation
KC 6.3 - Section I (A)�Social commentators advocated theories later described as Social Darwinism to justify the success of those at the top of the socioeconomic structure as both appropriate and inevitable.
Social Darwinism
Herbert Spencer and the Survival of the Fittest
Kourosh Hassibi
Grace Carter
Student-Produced
Adam Norris Knock-Off Video
4:18
KC 6.3 - Section II (B)�Many women sought greater equality with men, often joining voluntary organizations, going to college, promoting social and political reform, and, like Jane Addams, working in settlement houses to help immigrants adapt to U.S. language and customs.�
The Settlement Movement (1880’s-1920’s)
Topic 6.10
Jane Adams and the Settlement Movement
NBC Learn
4:15
Hull
House
Herbert Spencer and the Survival of the Fittest
Kourosh Hassibi
Grace Carter
Student-Produced
Adam Norris Knock-Off Video
4:18
Topic 6.10
Development of the Middle Class
KC 6.2 - Section I (E)�Corporations’ need for managers and for male and female clerical workers as well as increased access to educational institutions, fostered the growth of a distinctive middle class. A growing amount of leisure time also helped expand consumer culture
The Need for Managers and Clerical Workers
. . .and leisure activities.
Increased Access to Educational Institutions
The Rise of Leisure Time Activities
The Barnum and Bailey Circus
Nicole Chen
Isabella Chou
Karina Lee
Student Produced
Powtoon Video
4:42
The Birth of Professional Baseball (1876)
Vaudeville
Vaudeville Acts
1890-1910
gallopingalligator
Part I
9:54
KC 6.3 - Section I�New cultural and intellectual movements both buttressed and challenged the social order of the Gilded Age.�
KC 6.3 - Section I (B)� Some business leaders argued that the wealthy had a moral obligation to help the less fortunate and improve society, as articulated in the idea known as the Gospel of Wealth, and they made philanthropic contributions that enhanced educational opportunities and urban environments
The Gospel of Wealth (1889)
Topic 6.11
Reform in the Gilded Age
Topic 6.11
Reforms in the Gilded Age
Heimler
6.15
KC 6.3 - Section II�A number of artists and critics, including agrarians, utopians, socialists, and advocates of the Social Gospel, championed alternative visions for the economy and U.S. society.
The vast differences of wealth in the Gilded Age led contemporaries to wonder: was it possible to have a modern, industrial society without social inequality?
The Social Gospel Movement
KC 6.3 - Section II�Many women sought greater equality with men, often joining voluntary organizations, going to college, and promoting social and political reform
The Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
The Act required that railroad rates be "reasonable and just," but did not empower the government to fix specific rates
It also prohibited special rates or rebates for individual shippers; prohibited "preference" in rates for any particular localities, shippers, or products; forbade long-haul/short-haul discrimination; prohibited pooling of traffic or markets; and most important, established a five-member Interstate Commerce Commission.
The Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
Authorized federal action against any combination in the form of trusts or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade.
Coxey’s Army March (1893)
1893
Coxeys Army March
For the first twelve years of its existence, the Sherman Act was a paper tiger.
United States courts routinely sided with business when any enforcement of the Act was attempted.
For example, the American Sugar Refining Company controlled 98 percent of the sugar industry. Despite this virtual monopoly, the Supreme Court refused to dissolve the corporation in an 1895 ruling. The only time an organization was deemed in restraint of trade was when the court ruled against a labor union
United States courts routinely sided with business when any enforcement of the Act was attempted.
1890
Jacob Riis
How The
Other Half Lives
(1890)
1890
Jacob Riis
How The
Other Half Lives
(1890)
Topic 6.12
Controversies over the Role of Government in the Gilded Age
KC 6.1 - Section II (A)
Some argued that laissez-faire policies and competition promoted economic growth in the long run, and they opposed government intervention during economic downturns.
Laissez-faire
Social Darwinism
6.1 - Section I (E)
Foreign policymakers increasingly looked outside U.S. borders in an effort to gain greater influence and control over markets and natural resources in the Pacific Rim, Asia, and Latin America
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Controversies Over the Role of Government
Heimler
4:23
Topic 6.13
Politics in the Gilded Age
6.1 - Section II (C)
Economic instability inspired agrarian activists to create the People’s (Populist) Party, which called for a stronger governmental role in regulating the American economic system
The Populist Party (late 19th Century)
Graduated income tax: One that imposes a higher tax rate the higher your income. For example, the first $10,000 that you earn might be taxed at a rate of 5 percent, the next $15,000 at 15 percent and any income above $25,000 would be taxed at 30 percent
Direct election of senators: Where voters elect their senators in the privacy of the voting booth as opposed to state legislatures, which was what the framers believed and which is how senators were elected at the time..
Postal savings system: Provided depositors who do not have access to banks a safe and convenient method to save money.
Shorter workweek; Eight hours per day, five days a week
The Birth of the Populist Party
Mr. Bacalles
2:22
The Populist Party
Adam Norris
8:42
The Populist Party
TheoB
1:46
What is Populism
History
7:08
KC 6.3 - Section II (A)�The major political parties appealed to lingering divisions from the Civil War and contended over tariffs and currency issues, even as reformers argued that economic greed and self-interest had corrupted all levels of government.
KC 6.2 - Section I (D)�In an urban atmosphere where the access to power was unequally distributed, political machines thrived, in part by providing immigrants and the poor with social services.
Political Machine
Patronage: The support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another.
The spoils system: A practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government civil service jobs to its supporters, friends, and relatives as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party—as opposed to a merit system, where offices are awarded on the basis of some measure of merit, independent of political activity. Also known as a patronage system.
Used in politics of the United States, where the federal government operated on a spoils system until the Pendleton Act was passed in 1883 due to a civil service reform movement. Largely replaced by a merit system.
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Boss Tweed
The Story of
Boss Tweed
BRI’s Homework
4:24
Boss Tweed
Thomas Nast
Jim Keefe
9:17
Political Machines
NBC Learn
1:54
Politics in the Middle Age
Heimler
7:17