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Flashcards in The reaction against laissez-faire Deck (19)
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1
Q

How had attitudes towards laissez-faire changed by the 1880s?

A

Critics of laissez-faire denounced its materialism, its uncontrolled speculation, its corruption, and its tendency to trample over the ‘little man’.

2
Q

What aroused this criticism to laissez-faire?

A

The rising power of the railroads and other big business monopolises. Critics demanded state regulation.

3
Q

Why were several state governments pushed into passing regulatory legislation?

A

Due to pressures from small farmers, especially the Granger movement, and by the emerging trade unions representing industrial workers, above all the Knights of Labor.

4
Q

Describe the outcome of the legislation.

A

It was rarely effective, and was undermined in 1886 by a conservative judgement by the Supreme Court in favour of the railroad companies.

5
Q

Describe the federal government stance towards big business.

A

They did little to disturb the dominance of big business, and Congressmen were widely seen as ‘in the pocket’ of the ‘robber barons’ and open to bribery and corruption.

6
Q

Where did protests against laissez-faire attract a lot of support from?

A

From small farmers in the South and West. The Granger movement had gained 850,000 members by 1885 as local Granges were organised.

7
Q

What did pressure from the Granges result in?

A

Increased regulation of railroads and firms controlling the storage and distribution of corn and wheat.

8
Q

What did lobbying the Granger movement result in?

A

It brought about a favourable Supreme Court ruling against the State of Illinois in 1877, though this was later nullified by a pro-business Supreme Court ruling in 1886.

9
Q

Describe the protest from the Knights of Labor.

A

The leader, Terrence Powderly, campaigned hard for the 8-hour day and for other restrictions on employers.

10
Q

How was the Knights of Labor a prominent force?

A

By the mid 1880s it had more than 100,000 members.

11
Q

What was the growing strength of labour unions shown by?

A

The formation of the American Federation of Labour in 1886.

12
Q

Which books had considerable influence on political and public opinion against laissez-faire?

A
  • Mark Twain - The Gilded Age - 1874

- Henry George - Progress and Poverty (proposed the abolition of private land ownership, sold 2 million copies) - 1879

13
Q

Describe Henry Carter Adams’ article for the AEA.

A

In 1887, he wrote an article entitled The Limits of Laissez-faire.

14
Q

How did satirists and cartoonists also shape opinion?

A

Artists such as Thomas Keppler in Puck magazine produced a stream of vivid and hard-hitting cartoons that lampooned the high-and-mighty bosses and caught the popular imagination.

15
Q

Describe the situation by the late 1880s.

A

The weight of attacks on the excesses of laissez-faire was beginning to push reluctant politicians to take some action.

16
Q

What did 27 states do during the 1880s?

A

(Mostly in the South and West) They passed laws aimed at curbing cartels and trusts.

17
Q

When was the Interstate Commerce Act passed and what did it do?

A

1887 - passed to outlaw restrictive monopolies, and an Interstate Commerce Commission was set up to investigate and regulate railroad companies.

18
Q

What did the Sherman Antitrust Act demonstrate? When was it passed?

A

That both Republicans and Democrats committed themselves to take action against the trust. Passed in 1890.

19
Q

How were the battles against laissez-faire by no means over?

A

From the 1890s there were even stronger protests against the evils of big business, from Populists, Socialists and Progressives.

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