Thomas Nast's Cartoon Analysis

In a time, in 1865, Reconstruction was ending. The Compromise of 1877 led the Republicans to end their fight for racial equality. This led to Rutherford B. Hayes, the President of the United States, to pull out troops from the South causing the Republican Party to dismiss. The end of Reconstruction brought America to imperialism. Imperialism allowed for America to gain more power by taking over territories aggressively. In the Gilded Age from 1865 to 1900, farmers and industrial workers responded significantly to industrialization by forming alliances and movements.

By the mid 1800’s More and more things were made by machines. Clothes, shoes, Watches. These machines had to have operators. Work Conditions in the 1800’s were worse than bad. A regular work day was 11.4 hours for Men women and children. Many factories had rapidly moving pieces of machinery. Those machines where very dangerous to work around. These machines being fast moving belts to crushers that wouldn't stop on a dime. The factories they worked in were sometimes in poor condition. Somethings would fall from the roof injuring little kids or even adults.

They had horrible working hours and usually had to work six days a week or maybe even seven. In some cases, laborers had to work from 3am till 7pm. The Government took notice and addressed this issue in the International Labor Congress in which representatives demand a reduction on working hours (6). Another issue that was addressed was the fact that workers had no health insurance if they suffered from any injuries while doing their jobs. The representatives called for factories to treat the lives and limbs of their workers as sacred and help pay for the injuries (6). This provided better working hours and safe conditions for the factory workers. People argue that the factory owners sent thugs to interrupt labor unions and government did little to protect the laborers. However, when the Antitrusts Acts were passed, it stated that nothing contained in the Antitrust Laws shall be constructed to forbid the existence and operation of labor organizations (7). This proves that the Federal Government tried to intervene and help the laborers. Sooner or later, factory workers got what they wanted with the help of the reforms during the Progressive Era.

The time period of 1865 to 1900 was an era called the Gilded Age. The citizens of America saw a change in the way the country operated. The country started to become more industrialized based, while the agriculture industry decreased. Due to these changes in the economy, industrial workers and farmers struggled. In the face of power of big business and the face of the federal government, the laboring-class Americans attempted to better their lives. The laboring-class did that by improving work conditions, decreasing poverty, and trying to get increased government interactions.

As the rate of industrialization in America grew during the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, child labor became more and more common. The rapid growth of the economy and the vast amounts of poor immigrants during the Industrial Age in America justified the work of children as young as the age of three. By 1900, over two million children were employed. However, the risks of involving child labor greatly outweighed the positives; child labor was inhumane, cruel, and caused physical deformities among children. Children typically worked in coal mines, mills, and factories which contained many life-threatening hazards. For instance, “Francis Lance, 5 years old, 41 inches high” shows a five year old boy risking his

During the years 1880-1920 there were many issues because of urbanization and industrialization. The industrial revolution brought many new job opportunities with low wages making companies focus on women and children. These opportunities were available but at a cost, they were paid less and they were forced to work up to ten hours. The industrial giants made labor a tough and unfair lifestyle. They wanted more riches, but they were making people suffer in order to obtain the money. The progressives wanted to help relieve all these problems through a philosophy called progressivism. They managed to achieve some of their aims but not all of them.

Working conditions in the late nineteenth century improved with the introduction of labor activists. Labor activists tried for better conditions in multiple ways, the most common being the formation of unions. There were two primary types of workers in unions: the more-radicalized strikers, and the passive mediators. Samuel Gompers, an American labor activist, was an example of the latter. Samuel talked about corporate change in his letter Letter to the Hon. Peter Grosscup. He wrote “ Ask these whether the conqueror (monopoly) cares whether his trophy (the laborers) is destroyed or preserved. Ascertain from employers whether the laborer is not regarded the same as a machine, thrown out as soon as all the work possible has been squeezed out of him.” Once a worker would lose his maximum efficiency, he would be replaced by the influx of immigrants entering the United States. There was no idea of tenure, only a merit concept. Furthermore, in order to grow fiscally, it was best for corporations to avoid paying for or adhering to safety precautions. For example, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of New York City in March 25, 1911, was a fire in which one hundred forty-six people died. The massive death count came from the lack of security precautions. For the company to keep a maximum amount of efficiency, workers wouldn’t be allowed breaks. To enforce this no-breaks rules, most doors in the building were locked, which trapped and killed most workers during the fire. In an newspaper interview Fire Chief Edward Croker said “Well, from what we could find—what was left of that place up there—I don’t think there was any doubt there was a partition inside of the doorway leading out into the Green Street side of that building, and from the indication of the number of people we found where that partition was, that door was locked, and the door that

The period between 1865 to 1900, also known as the Gilded Age, was an era of rapid industrialization, immigration, and capitalization in America. After the civil war, previously used factories remained and flourished as manufacturing started to replace farming; which was possible due to vast immigration from Southern and Eastern part of Europe. With an available cheap labor source, businesses rose to great heights, and competition thrived. While companies thrived, working laborers and citizens suffered. Because industrial statesman expanded wealth and created opportunities, but also exploited workers, disrupted competition, and manipulated factors of production, it is justified to characterize the industrial leaders of the Gilded age as both

M.E. Cohen’s cartoon focuses on persuading parents and teachers to guide children to make the right decisions about health. Cohen illustrates the problem adults have caused on the matter of children’s health due to the adults inability to listen to their own advice. Cohen believes that failing to make good decisions about nutrition may negatively impact students; however, adults are also responsible in helping children to make the right choices.

In a time when industrialization was booming, immigrants were racing towards the “American Dream”, and cities were growing towards the sky, the United States was thriving. As a country, the United States went from rural, to mostly urban, which made America “the world’s largest industrial power” as stated by John Green. Since the U.S. had become mostly urban, this left the very few rural workers (farmers), and even some of the industrial workers unhappy. This period of industrialization is called the Gilded Age than spans from 1865 to 1900.The farmers and industrial workers responded to the Gilded Age in significantly negative ways including unions against their authority, strikes and political

Between two wars The Civil War and World War I was called the Glided Age. The Gilded Age grew a accelerated industrialization of factory based steel mills, also a country based on railroad for transporation,blooming cities and in science. The Gilded Age also grew in social chage and economic growth, creating new opportunites for entrpreners. The effects of the industrialization on American 's were work labor which lead to the orgin of The Kinghts of Labor. In addition with such the rising of industrial the citites grew which lead to immigiration and also the creation of the hull house.

Working in the 1800’s was hard and was very dangerous, by the mid 1800’s America was using machines to produce most things such as clothing, shoes, watches, , guns, and farming machines. The workers would work an average of 11.4 hours a day. The workers were very tired. The factories were very rugged and dangerous, there were fast rapidly moving parts exposed and that cuased many accidents with adults and children. The factories were also not heated or cooled so the workers would get very hot or very cold. Back then there were no laws to protect the lives of the workers and most of the time the factory owners cared meore about the making of money than the employies which also didn’t help with the saftey issues. There were

The time period from when the Second Industrial Revolution was beginning, up until President McKinley’s assassination in 1901, is known as the Gilded Age. After the Civil War, many people headed out West to pursue agriculture, and many immigrants moved to urban areas to acquire jobs in industrial factories. It is in this context that farmers and industrial workers had to respond to industrialization. Two significant ways farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age, were creating the Populist Party and the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

2015: A promising year, full of opportunities, though less than 3 months away from coming to a close. Not more than 100 years ago, things were not the same as they exist now. Major problems were faced in eras such as the Progressive Era. Such problems that people faced back then were women’s suffrage, child labor, and deforestation. If I was born in the generation where I had where to choose where to place $1,000,000 to certain cause, I would give it to the three things I have stated.

Thomas Nast, 1840-1902, was a political cartoonist who is known by some historians as “the father of modern political American political cartooning” (Simpson, ANBO). This is due in part because Nast was the individual who created the donkey symbol to represent the Democratic Party and elephant symbol to represent the Republican Party. Another reason why he earned this title and therefore should be studied is that he changed the way cartoonists delivered their context. Before the Civil War cartoonist relied on dialogue rather than imagery to get the message across, However; Nast used pictures to convey the message of his cartoons (Simpson, ANBO). Since his cartoons did not need words to convey the message he was able to reach the illiterate community more effectively than other cartoonists of his time. Those viewing his cartoons not only would have been educated about the social and political events unfolding around them, but also would have picked up on Nast’s political opinions related to these events. Nast’s cartoons were one of the means in which the illiterate community gained information they would use to influence the political sphere. A large portion of the illiterate community were male ex-slaves who gained rights including the right to vote through the Reconstruction Amendments which would prove the difference in the 1868 presidential elections.