Chapter 16
Unit 5
Wade Hampton and the Bourbons
The Populists
Benjamin Tillman and Clemson
University
Textile Mills
Population Migration
Spanish-American War
1
1. How did Gov. Wade Hampton’s
supporters earn the following
nickname:
Redeemers
Bourbons
2
Wade Hampton & the Bourbons
The election of 1876
•Governor Wade Hampton III in
power
•His supporters were known as…
The Redeemers
Because they “redeemed” the
state from the Republicans, and
placed the antebellum elite back
in political power
The Bourbons
From the French royal family that
was restored to the throne after
the French Revolution.
Governor Wade Hampton III
3
2.What was the goal of Gov. Wade
Hampton & the Bourbons?
3. What was happening to the plantations
during this time?
4
Wade Hampton & the Bourbons
Plantations were abandoned &
replaced by small farms
The Bourbons wanted
To restore South Carolina’s
government and society
As close as possible to its
prewar state
With white elite in control and
with limited taxes
During this time, the plantations
of South Carolina disappeared
and were replaced by small
farms worked by sharecroppers
or tenant farmers.
5
4.The elite who were back in power did
nothing to help the struggling poor
farmers. How can this be seen in the
crop lien law?
6
Wade Hampton & the Bourbons
Small farm at the
turn of the century
•Even though the white elite were back in power, they did
nothing to help white small farmers during the continuing
economic crisis.
•Cotton prices were decreasing and farmers couldn’t pay
their debts. (What they owed – bills)
The Bourbons passed a crop lien law that allowed
creditors to have first claim on a farmer’s crop.
This practice kept the farmers in continual debt.
7
5. Governor Wade Hampton’s belief
about the rights of SC’s African
Americans:
Other Democrats’ belief about the
rights of SC’s African Americans:
8
Wade Hampton & the Bourbons
Governor Wade Hampton III
Was willing to respect the
race relations established
during Reconstruction
Such as the rights of African
Americans to vote and hold
office
A Harper’s Weekly drawing showing white
citizens attempting to intimidate black voters
Other members of the
Democratic Party didn’t agree
with him & soon moved to
disfranchise (remove the right to
vote) the African American
voter.
9
6. How did the Democrats try to remove
the right of African Americans to vote
with the 8 box law?
7. How did the Democrats try to remove
the right of African Americans to vote
with the Poll tax?
8. What groups of people were affected
by these voting laws?
10
Wade Hampton & the Bourbons
The Bourbons prevented freedmen
from voting by using the
Eight Box Law
Required a freedmen to be able to
read in order to put the ballot in the
right box
The poll tax
Required them to have money to pay
the tax
These laws kept poor and illiterate
whites from voting as well
But the Conservative elite didn’t really
care
11
What law was created to help poor,
illiterate white voters?
12
Wade Hampton & the Bourbons
“grandfather clause”
Legislation was passed in order to
allow the poor, illiterate white
voters a chance to vote
This clause allowed males to
vote if their grandfathers had
been able to vote in 1860,
before the Civil War.
Small illiterate farmers were the ones
that were most affected by the
grandfather clause.
This law did not include African
Americans since they were not
allowed to vote prior to the Civil
War
13
10. What was South Carolina trying to do
by redrawing Congressional district
lines?
14
Wade Hampton & the Bourbons
The South Carolina legislature also adopted a plan by
which Congressional districts were redrawn. Why?
So that only 1 district had an African American
majority
Limiting the number of African Americans elected to
the US Congress
South Carolina Congressional
voting districts
15
11. While the rest of the US was profiting
from oil and steel industries, what
industries were helping South
Carolina?
12. How did South Carolina encourage
Northern industries to come to the
South?
16
South Carolina Economy
The Conservative Democrats
were more interested in
restoring the state to pre-war
times & did little to encourage
the growth of industrial
development.
While the rest of the country
was benefiting from the oil and
steel industries, the textile
industry that had begun prior
to the Civil War eventually
became very important to
South Carolina.
17
South Carolina Economy
The state’s economy did
benefit from the production of
•cottonseed oil
•phosphates for fertilizers
•lumber
The production of these items
all increased after
Reconstruction
Mainly due to the states’
ability to lure northern mills
south by offering a source of
cheap and non-union labor.
Phosphates and Cottonseed Oil
18
13. Instead of using mechanization, what
did South Carolina use to increase crop
production?
19
South Carolina Economy
South Carolina farmers
picked cotton by hand well
into the 20th century.
Other regions of the U S
were increasing crop
production through
mechanization (using
tractors and harvesters)
South Carolina used
phosphate fertilizers to
Demonstration of the first cotton picking
machine near Selma, Alabama
increase cotton yields.
20
14. Why did the price of cotton fall?
21
South Carolina Economy
After the war
•Farmers planted more and
more land in cotton in an
effort to make a profit.
•This, along with using
phosphate fertilizer, created
a surplus (extra amount) of
cotton in the state.
•The cotton prices fell when
the supply of the cotton
exceeded (was more than) the
demand for it
Cotton bales
22
15. European buyers affected cotton’s
ability to be a profitable cash crop
because…
16. The Crop Lien Law affected cotton’s
ability to be a profitable cash crop
because…
17. Other problems that affected cotton’s
ability to be a profitable cash crop…
23
South Carolina Economy
Cotton bales
Even though cotton was still the
main crop, it did not bring the
state wealth the way it once had.
European buyers had found new
sources of supply during the war
years, lowering the demand.
Farmers were unable to make
payments on the loans that they
had taken out to purchase land
and equipment
Farmers were stuck in debt by the
Bourbon’s crop lien law
24
South Carolina Economy
In addition to falling prices of
cotton South Carolina farmers
felt the impact of …
•Bank foreclosures
•Losing their land for non
payment of taxes
•Drought
and
•Pests such as the army worm
and the boll weevil that led to
periodic crop failures.
Armyworm
and Boll
Weevil
25
18. Why was the Grange organized?
19. What replaced the Grange?
26
Populists
Farmer’s Alliance
poster
A political movement started in the
South & the Midwest as a result of
the worsening economic conditions
The Populist movement started as
an organization known as the
Grange.
1.Originally a social organization
designed to ease the isolation of
farm life
In the Midwest it evolved into a
political organization
2. The Grange was later replaced by
Farmers’ Alliances
27
20. Why did the Farmer’s Alliance push
for a change in the money supply?
21. How did the Farmers Alliance reflect
the social views of the time?
28
In SC, the farmers did not yet have
political power,
Populists
–Power remained in the hands of the elite
Conservatives
Farmers did organize regional
Farmers’ Alliances in the 1880s that
pushed for a change in the money
supply
1. Allowing for silver to be coined to
help increase the supply of money to
help with economic problems.
The state’s Farmers’ Alliance were
2. segregated into a white Farmers’
Alliance and a Colored Farmers’
Alliance.
Farmer’s Alliance
poster
29
22. Farmers Alliances around the nation
united to form what political party?
23. Describe the political beliefs (4) of
this party.
30
Populists
In the 1890s, Farmers Alliances
around the country united to form the
Populist Party poster
Populist Party
1. Supported the regulation
of railroads & banking
2. The free & unlimited
coinage of silver
3. A system of federal farm
loans
4. Democratic reforms such
as the popular election of
Senators, the secret ballot, &
a graduated income tax. 31
24. How did farmers try to unite with
industry workers?
25. Who was one of the people that the
Populist Party was successful in
getting elected?
32
Populists
The farmers attempted to ally
with industrial workers by
encouraging an eight-hour
day, and restrictions on
immigration.
The Populist Party was
successful in electing
senators, governors and state
legislators in the South &
West.
One of whom was Ben Tillman.
Populist Party poster
33
Chapter 16B
34
1. The Populist Party got Ben Tillman
elected, but what was his real political
goal?
35
Ben Tillman
Benjamin Ryan Tillman
Benjamin Ryan Tillman
appealed to the farmers
because of his great speaking &
political skills.
He supported the Populists’
because he appealed to the
values and needs of the
common people against the
Conservative Bourbon elite.
However, Tillman was not a
true Populist.
2. Worked to gain control of the
Democratic Party in South
Carolina.
36
2. Why didn’t Ben Tillman like the attempt
to get African American votes?
37
Ben Tillman
African-American farmers
suffered as much, if not more,
from the hard economic
conditions than the white farmers.
Tillman did not support the
Southern Populists effort to earn
African American votes because
he was racist.
This Populist effort to earn votes
led to increased…
•violence and lynching
•opposition to the Populist Party in
many parts of the South
Harper’s Weekly illustration showing the
violence towards African American voters
38
3. Who did Ben Tillman and the other
Populists blame for their economic
problems?
39
Ben Tillman
Tillman and his followers
blamed the Conservatives
(Bourbons) for the small
farmers economic problems.
He pushed to create
colleges to educate farmers
in the techniques of farming
Opposed the elitism of the
University of South Carolina
This push led to the
establishment of Clemson as
an agricultural college.
Top: Tillman Hall
Bottom: Sikes Hall
40
4. What type of education did Tillman
want for small farmers?
5. Who was Thomas G. Clemson?
6. What did Clemson do to support a
college for small farmers?
41
Ben Tillman
1. Tillman wanted schools for
farmers to teach them better
crop management and to
develop new crops to increase
their economic prosperity.
Thomas G Clemson
2. son-in-law of John C. Calhoun
3. Upon his death he left the
land to help create such a
school
•Later became
Clemson Agricultural and
Mechanical School
Top: John C Calhoun Mansion
Bottom: Barracks at Clemson A&M College
42
7. Clemson was created as a land grant
college, what does this mean?
43
Ben Tillman
Clemson was a land grant
college
The federal Morrill Act
used money gained from
the sale of lands in the
west to support
agricultural improvements
in each of the established
states.
44
8. Why did Tillman oppose the
Conservative Bourbons?
A.
B.
45
Ben Tillman
Tillman opposed the
Conservative Bourbons
A.They had done little or
nothing to address the
needs of the states’
farmers
B.Despite the Eight Box
Law & the poll tax, they
generally accepted the
rights of some African
Americans to vote and
hold office
Ben Tillman in serious recline
46
Ben Tillman
The fight between the
Tillmanites & the Conservatives
(Bourbons) had a devastating
impact on the rights of African
Americans.
Although African American and
white farmers shared the same
problems…
Tillman and many of his
followers were racists and
supported the white farmers
only.
A small farming family
47
9. When Tillman ran for governor, what
was his platform?
10. To what did his bigotry and racist
speeches lead?
48
Ben Tillman
Tillman ran for governor on
a platform of white
superiority
Later led the movement to
further disenfranchise the
African-American voter.
His bigotry and racist
rhetoric led to increased
violence and lynchings
African Americans who dared
to protest were intimidated
into silence.
Ben Tillman earned the nickname “Pitchfork
Ben Tillman” when he threatened to stab the
president with a pitchfork.
49
11. During the governor’s election
against Tillman, what did a
Conservative opponent cause white
voters to do?
50
Ben Tillman
Tillman & the Conservative Bourbon
faction of the Democratic Party
competed for the nomination for
governor in 1890.
Tillman won the Democratic
nomination and was almost assured
of victory since very few people
supported the Republican Party after
the Reconstruction era.
Ben Tillman intimidating the
cameraman
However, a Conservative opponent
ran as an independent & openly
sought the support of the
remaining black voters.
51
What did Tillman do in 1890 when he won
the SC governorship?
12. Railroads:
13. Textile work week:
14. Prohibition Act:
Next 3 slides
52
Ben Tillman
Whites united against any chance of
African-Americans regaining political
power
Tillman won the governorship in 1890
& again in 1892
As governor, Tillman did little to enact
the platform of the Populist Party.
His government did…
1.Establish a railroad commission to
regulate rates
2.Limited the hours for textile workers
to 66 hours and 6 days a week
Ben Tillman was blind in
one eye
53
Ben Tillman
Although the Populist Party
was no longer effective in
South Carolina after Tillman’s
election in 1892, farmers still
had an impact in state
government.
In the 1890s, many socially
conservative farmers
supported prohibition
–making the production and
sale of alcohol illegal
Voters approved a referendum
in favor of prohibition
Officials disposing of alcohol
54
Ben Tillman
The state legislature
passed a prohibition bill
3. But Governor Tillman
amended it
Substituted the State
Dispensary system
The state would control
the distribution of alcohol
This worked for awhile,
but eventually became
corrupt.
Alcohol bottles from the state
dispensary
55
15. Why did Tillman want a new
constitution when he became a US
Senator?
56
Ben Tillman
In 1894 Tillman was elected to
the U.S. Senate from SC.
He urged his followers to call
for a new state constitution to
replace the Reconstruction
constitution of 1868
Sketch by E. R. Johnson of the Philadelphia Press,
January 11, 1909. Theodore Roosevelt with
Benjamin "Pitchfork Ben" Tillman (1847-1918),
Senator from South Carolina.
–To cement his control of the
Democratic Party
He wanted to be sure that
the black majority did not
provide political support to
his Conservative
opposition.
57
What did the new 1895 South Carolina
constitution do for….
16. schools?
17. Voting rights?
18. Jim Crow Laws
58
Ben Tillman
The new 1895 state constitution
1.Required that there be
separate schools for black and
white children.
2.Effectively kept blacks from
voting by making voters pay a
poll tax six months before the
election
Established a literacy test for
voting
–
A segregated schoolhouse in the mid
1900s
Requiring that voters be
able to read & interpret the
US Constitution
59
Jim Crow Laws
"Jump Jim Crow", a song-and-dance
caricature of African Americans
performed by white actor Thomas D.
Rice in blackface.
SC further limited the social
opportunities of African Americans
by passing a series of laws, called
Jim Crow Laws
3. Set social segregation into law,
not just practice
•In 1896, the US Supreme Court
ruled that such laws were
constitutional.
•The Court ruled that separate-butequal facilities satisfied the 14th
Amendment’s requirement for
equal protection under the law in
the case of Plessy v Ferguson.
60
19. What happened to African Americans when
they protested these new restrictions?
61
Jim Crow Laws
The Jim Crow laws impacted,
both directly & indirectly, every
aspect of the African-American
experience for most of the next
sixty years until the civil rights
movement of the 1960s.
Violence, intimidation &
lynchings by white terrorists
effectively silenced SC
African-Americans who
protested their exclusion from
public life
Poster for the Jim Crow
performance
62
20. What is women’s suffrage?
21. What happened to women’s suffrage in
South Carolina in 1920?
63
Women’s Suffrage
Women echoed the voting
limitations of African Americans
The women’s suffrage movement
continued in South Carolina.
Women’s Suffrage =
1. Women’s Right to Vote
The few women’s organizations that
formed in SC to support women’s
suffrage were disappointed when in
1920 the state of 2. SC refused to
Women petitioning for votes
ratify the 19th amendment to the
US Constitution that allowed
women to vote.
64
Natural Disasters
1886 Charleston Earthquake
•The city was already
suffering from economic
decline, urban blight and a
category 3 hurricane that
damaged 90% of the homes
in the city the previous year.
•Measuring 6.6 on the
Richter scale, it was the
largest earthquake in the U S
at that time & was felt by 2/3
of all Americans.
Damage from the Charleston
earthquake
65
22. What happened to the buildings in
Charleston when the 6.6 Richter scale
earthquake hit Charleston in 1886?
66
Natural Disasters
Damage from the Charleston
earthquake caused by a sandspout
The initial earthquake was felt as
far away as Toronto & Cuba
Strong aftershocks experienced
for days & lesser ones for months
Because of building construction
that relied on masonry rather than
wood frames, which would move
better with the earth, over 2,000
buildings were destroyed
¼ of the assets of the city and 5
to 6 million dollars in property
damage
$100.5-121.2 million in 2006
dollars
67
Natural Disasters
Although racism prevented an
accurate count of the number of
people who were killed, some
estimates place the number as high
as 500.
The city didn’t get state and federal
assistance, but the people of
Charleston were able to form the
most rapid, humane and financially
responsible recovery from the
destruction of a large scale disaster
in American history up to that time.
Charlestonians were back to work
repairing their city in a week and
had rebuilt the city in 14 months.
Damage from the Charleston
earthquake
68
23. How did the way that Charleston rebuilt
itself affect the way the nation viewed South
Carolina?
24. What was the scientific significance of the
Charleston earthquake?
69
Natural Disasters
St Michael’s Episcopal church is
one of the oldest in Charleston and
is a popular tourist attraction today.
Outpourings of sympathy and
assistance came from all over the
country that had recently been
divided by the Civil War.
As a result of the area’s hard work…
1.The people of Charleston won
the respect & admiration of much
of the rest of the country and the
city was again seen as one that
should be visited.
2.Much of what is generally now
known about earthquakes was a
result of the scientific study of the
Charleston quake.
70
25. When the hurricane of 1893 hit South
Carolina, what happened to the state’s cash
crops?
71
Natural Disasters
The Hurricane of 1893 was one of a series of
7 that struck the SC coast in a 20 year
period.
•Rice fields were wiped out & competition
from the Far East brought an end to the
production of ‘Carolina Gold.’
Low Country farmers turned to truck
gardening to supply local markets.
•Tobacco was introduced as a cash crop
to the Pee Dee but could not be grown in
other parts of the Low Country.
•Some Upstate farmers started planting
peach trees
Cotton continued to dominate SC
Hurricane hitting South Carolina.
2
72
26. Describe the migration patterns during this
time period.
(Prior to the Civil War, why were Southerners
moving west? )
73
Population Migration
Ariel view of Pickens Mill village
Much of the white population
was pulled from rural areas to
urban areas in SC with the
establishment of mill villages
Prior to the Civil War,
Southerners were moving west
In search of new land as their
cotton crops depleted
(removed nutrients from) the
soil
After the Civil War, many
people moved west from other
areas in the US, and from
overseas.
74
After the Civil War, what brought people to the
west?
1.
2.
3.
75
Population Migration
Settlers were drawn to the West
by
1.Free land (the Homestead
Act)
2.The transcontinental
railroad’s aggressive
advertising & land sales
3.Access to new markets for
farming
New towns grew along its routes,
and older towns were able to
specialize in particular products.
An advertisement for
the transcontinental
railroad.
76
Population Migration
While other people were
encouraged to move west by the
federal Homestead Act which
promised free land
South Carolina’s AfricanAmerican freedmen & poor
whites lacked the money to
make such a move.
Instead they concentrated on
making use of the available land
and economic opportunity in
their own state.
Woman in South Carolina standing near
a bee hive circa 1900.
77
31. Why did African Americans leave South
Carolina?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
78
Population Migration
Some African Americans
were
1. Drawn to opportunities
for jobs in factories that
were not open to them in
the mills of SC
–such as weaving or dying
fabric
•Moved from rural areas
in SC to urban areas in
the Northeast and the
Midwest.
Many African Americans moved to Northern cities
such as this family who were headed to Chicago.
79
Population Migration
Exodusters in Kansas
African Americans were also
pushed out of the state by
2. The continued agricultural
depression
3. The ravages of the boll
weevil
4. Social discrimination of Jim
Crow laws
5. Increasing violence
Some African Americans
moved to towns in the West
such as the Exodusters who
moved to Kansas.
80
• Why were immigrants not needed to work in
South Carolina textile mills?
81
Population Migration
Large numbers of immigrants
stayed away from SC because
of the depressed economic
conditions in agriculture, the
lack of available land, and the
lack of industrial jobs.
The mills had plenty of
transplanted farmers from the
rural areas of the state & had
little need for immigrant labor.
Immigration had a much
greater impact on the cities of
the Northeast and Midwest.
Factory workers in New York
82
Population Migration
The immigrants who did come
to the state made significant
cultural and economic
contributions to South
Carolina.
Many immigrants established
businesses
Including the founder &
editor of The State newspaper
Who was an immigrant from
Cuba
Ambrose Gonzales and his brother,
William, were the founders and editors of
The State newspaper.
83
• Why did immigrants establish ethnic
communities?
84
Population Migration
•Some immigrants moved to the
plains & established farms
•Many immigrants were too poor to
move beyond the port cities where
they landed.
•Ethnic neighborhoods grew as
immigrants looked for the
familiar in a strange new land
•Churches, schools, businesses
and newspapers reflected the
ethnicity of Little Italy, Greektown
or Polonia.
•South Carolina city neighborhoods
were divided by race into black and
white sections, not by nationality
Little Italy, Manhattan NY
85
27. How did African American communities
reflect those of the immigrants?
86
Population Migration
Just as the immigrant communities helped each other…
The African American community in South Carolina
developed organizations and churches that supported
them as they attempted to protect themselves against the
white political machine.
Reflecting the pre-Civil War hostilities against the
Germans and Irish of the Up Country, racial hostility led
to restrictions on immigration.
Graph of immigrants’ country of origin by
population.
87
• How did politicians use immigrants to get
votes?
88
Population Migration
Some people who helped immigrants
had hidden agenda in politics.
Immigrants voted for those who
found them jobs & helped them
through hard times
They gave their votes to
neighborhood & ward bosses in
gratitude for the help they had
received, not as a result of any direct
bribery
Although many political bosses were
corrupt & routinely used bribery in
awarding city contracts, they also
served an important role in helping
new immigrants to adapt to their new
country.
Immigrants’ first sight of America.
89
Population Migration
Even though some bosses
used their power to solve
important urban problems,
abuses still occurred
–Such as New York’s Boss
Tweed.
The political machine in
SC’s Tillmanites were also
involved in
A Harper’s Weekly illustration in which Boss
Tweed challenges people to oppose him.
–Corruption and graft and
controlled the votes of the
people through
disfranchisement of the
African American voter and
racist rhetoric.
90
Population Migration
Northern resentment against the
immigrants from Southern and
Eastern Europe
–Such as the Italians, Poles,
Russians and Eastern European
Jews
Can be seen as a Northern
reflection of the anti-African
American prejudices in SC.
In an attempt to restrict immigration,
literacy tests for immigrants were
proposed in Congress in the 1890s
–Immigration restrictions in the
form of a quota system passed
in the 1920s
An anti-immigration political cartoon
showing a hardworking American’s food
being stolen by an immigrant gypsy.
91
30. Describe the white attitude of Social
Darwinism that supported racism.
92
Population Migration
Whites felt that their race was better than all the others, so they
had a right to rule over the other races.
They tried to establish their superiority and felt that
competition between races was a form of Social Darwinism
(survival of the fittest) & gave them an excuse for white
supremacy.
This political cartoon
depicts the prejudices of
wealthy Americans
against poor immigrants.
The shadows of the
wealthy men reflect their
poor immigrant origins.
93
Spanish American War
“The Battle of Desmayo - The Cuban Balaklava”
by William A Rogers
94
• What were the causes of the Spanish
American War? (4 reasons)
95
Spanish American War
Reasons for the US to declare war on Spain
1. Pressures from domestic tensions
- including the rise of the Populist movement
2. Economic depression and labor unrest
3. Expanding trade business pushed Americans to
find new markets
4. The US’s desire to support the rights of Cubans
against an oppressive Spanish regime
96
• What did the victory in Cuba do for the US?
97
Spanish American War
Yellow journalism-propaganda,
exacerbated by the explosion
of the U.S.S. Maine in
Havana’s harbor, led to a
public outcry for American
involvement.
President McKinley asked
Congress for a declaration of
war in response to all of
these pressures.
Victory in Cuba came
quickly and established the
United States as a world
power.
The New York Journal reported the
destruction of the USS Maine.
98
Spanish American War
The war allowed the United States to expand in the South
Pacific with the annexation of Hawaii and the capture of
Manila harbor in the Philippines.
Anti- Imperialists argued against annexation of the Philippines
on the grounds that the Filipinos could never be incorporated
into the union.
McKinley argued that it was an American responsibility to
govern the Filipinos who were incapable of governing
99
themselves.
Spanish American War
Social Darwinism, the
“white man’s burden”
ideology and racial
prejudices played a role in
both the Anti-Imperialists’
and McKinley’s arguments
and echoed the passage of
the Jim Crow laws.
The treaty ending the war
recognized United States’
ownership of the
Philippines, Guam, Puerto
Rico and United States’
control of Cuba.
Map showing the territories of America
after the Spanish American War.
100
• Although the war had little direct impact on
SC, describe its impact on the following:
Trade Markets
Democratic Party:
Patriotism:
Economy:
SC Citizens:
101
Spanish American War
The war had little direct impact on our
state
The 2 regiments of soldiers organized
in South Carolina never even saw
battle.
It did create unity in the state
Opened up greater worldwide
trade and markets for SC goods
Map of Cuba and surrounding
islands
The SC Democratic Party that had
been split into the Tillmanites & the
Conservatives reconciled
Revived a sense of national
patriotism, as Americans united
against a common enemy
102
Spanish American War
South Carolinians also began to
understand that
Military installations, such as
Camp Jackson, could have a
dramatic impact on the
economic health of the state
The war also made it evident
that many South Carolinians
suffered from poor health and
illiteracy
Almost 1 out of 3 South
Carolina volunteers were found
to be medically unfit for military
service, a trend echoed across
the country in World War I
Camp Jackson
103
Textile Mill Advertisement Project
104
Textile Mills
Cotton ready to be shipped to market.
The surplus of cotton in South
Carolina drove the prices
down, but led to the growth of
the textile industry in the
Upcountry.
Prior to the Civil War and in
the immediate postwar period,
the planter elite looked down
on the development of
industry as a less noble
calling than their antebellum
agricultural society.
105
1. When the textile mill industry developed
because of the cotton surplus, why were
they located near rivers?
1. Why were textile mills attractive to poor
farmers?
106
Textile Mills
Local investors soon provided
most of the capital ($) for the
building of textile mill
1.Located close to the cotton
fields & along rivers that
would supply power.
SC also had a ready supply of
workers.
2. Poor farmers who could no
longer make a living from the
land were attracted to mill
villages that provided homes,
schools, churches, and
stores in addition to jobs.
Water powered textile machines
107
Textile Mills
Above: Textile mills would use the
latest technology.
Below: Housing was provided by
the factories to keep their workers
close by.
Although the first mills were
started in the Upstate, within 15
years there were mills in the
Midlands and the Low Country.
By 1895, technology created a
boom (rapid growth) of mills.
They were modeled after New
England mills, and produced
finished cloth on their many
spindles.
By 1910, South Carolina was the
2nd largest textile producing
state in the nation.
108
Schools for
children:
Hours:
Pay:
Disease:
Unions:
109
Textile Mills
Life for mill workers was not ideal.
The conditions in the mill village
depended upon the generosity of the
mill owners & the economic
conditions of the times.
When depression struck, workers
were laid off.
Some children were able to go to
school
Many others worked in the mill
where their small fingers made
them better able to retie broken
threads
Their youth made them more
susceptible to workplace accidents.
Children would sometimes become
seriously injured when a body part
would get caught in the moving parts
of the machinery.
110
Textile Mills
Girls at Bibbs Mill in Georgia with lint in
their hair and covering their clothes.
Men, women & children
worked long hours for low pay
Were often looked down
upon as “lint heads.”
•Workers in SC earned less
than half of what mill workers
in other parts of the US earned
Women & children were paid
even less than men.
They worked 6 am until 6 pm
Until Governor Tillman’s law
reduced hours to 66 per week
111
Textile Mills
Workers often suffered from
diseases of the lung including
tuberculosis from breathing in
the cotton fiber & from the
crowded conditions of their
workplace.
Workplace accidents that could
end a worker’s career were also
an ever-present possibility.
Workers were unable to
organize to improve their lot as
union organizers were
immediately fired & the organized
labor movement consistently
crushed by the mill owners.
Many mill
workers
contracted
the lung
disease,
tuberculosis.
112
Work Conditions in early 1900’s
113