Unit 4: Concern for Human
Rights
I. Problems of the Industrial Era
A.
Industrial Problems
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Ohio became primarily a farming state after the Civil War.
The population began to explode in Ohio cities.
Many new residents could not afford to buy farmland so they
stayed in the cities where they worked for wages.
Factory owners kept costs down by keeping wages low & and
not being concerned with things such as workplace safety or
cleanliness.
This was the era of BIG BUSINESS
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Big corporations, stockholders, trusts, monopolies, etc
II. Reforms in Federal Legislation
A.
Problems of the Federal Government
* Spoils System – Handing out of government jobs to political helpers.
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This system led to unqualified people working in important
government jobs.
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These people often did not care about the Constitution or taxpayers.
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George H. Pendleton – Ohio Senator who sponsored a bill to end
the spoils system.
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Pendleton Civil Service Act – Called for tests to be taken by prospective
government employees to determine if they were qualified. Workers were
chosen based on their scores on the tests.
Ohio Rep Samuel Cox worked hard to pass this through the House of
Representatives.
B.
Antitrust Legislation
* Benjamin Harrison, a President from Ohio promised to look at
the issues of trusts by businesses.
* Standard Oil Trust – Formed by John D. Rockefeller in
Cleveland. Was the largest trust in the U.S.
* John Sherman, a U.S. Senator from Ohio, pushed for
legislation to outlaw trusts that formed a monopoly. – Sherman
Anti-Trust Act.
* Ohio had become an industrial center in the U.S. and many
trusts existed in Ohio..so this was a huge change in Ohio.
* By the 1880’s Cincinnati was the largest city in Ohio with over
300,000 citizens.
Cincinnati Industry in late 1800’s &
Beyond
• Steamboat manufacture and repair
• Meatpacking led to the nickname “Porkopolis”.
• Called the flavor capital of the world with the many flavor making
companies here
• Queen City Forging – Manufactured carriage hardware..still here
today.
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Over 30 beer breweries were run
in Over the Rhine, the primary
area of Cincinnatians of German
ancestry. Christian Moerlein &
Hudepohl-Shoenling were the
most notable.
– Was a central part of the culture
and economy of the area.
– Over 1.2 million in payroll paid to
brewery workers each year.
– The beer industry supported
farmers as far away as West
Chester. Restaurants, beer
gardens, and shipping companies
also profited from the beer
industry.
• Proctor and Gamble (1837) Got their start manufacturing & selling
STAR candles. Became a national name with the creation of IVORY
soap..the only soap that floats.
• http://www.pg.com/en_US/company/heritage.shtml (7:21)
• The Kroger Company – Started off as a bakery company that
eventually morphed into the major supermarket chain that we know
today.
• http://www.thekrogerco.com/corpnews/corpnewsinfo_tim
eline.htm
Playing Cards – The U.S. Playing Card Company
(Bicycle cards)
1867
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The Ace of Spades served a famous purpose in the war in Vietnam.
In February, 1966, two lieutenants of Company "C," Second
Battalion, 35th Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, wrote The United
States Playing Card Company and requested decks containing
nothing but the Bicycle® Ace of Spades. The cards were useful in
psychological warfare. The Viet Cong were very superstitious and
highly frightened by this Ace. The French previously had occupied
Indo-China, and in French fortunetelling with cards, the Spades
predicted death and suffering. The Viet Cong even regarded lady
liberty as a goddess of death. USPC shipped thousands of the
requested decks gratis to our troops in Vietnam. These decks were
housed in plain white tuckcases, inscribed "Bicycle® Secret
Weapon." The cards were deliberately scattered in the jungle and in
hostile villages during raids. The very sight of the Bicycle® Ace was
said to cause many Viet Cong to flee.
III. Better Government for Ohio
Cities
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In the 1880’s most cities in the
U.S. were run by political
machines – small groups of
leaders who controlled the political
activity in their party and the city.
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Cincinnati – Ruled by George B.
Cox, otherwise known as Boss
Cox.
Boss Cox
• Son of British Immigrants, forced to help support the family when his
father passed away when he was 8.
• Became a saloon operator in notorious area of Cincinnati called
“Dead Man’s Corner” known as such because of the high rate of
unsolved murders there.
• Tired of his bar’s illegal gambling operation being raided by the popo…he ran for city council.
• He then started running the political activities of Cincinnati and was
labeled a political superpower.
• Used his influence to win over voters and control elections.
• Paved roads and cleaned up the city..he felt that Cincinnati’s
government under his control, was the best system in the U.S.
• Reform era leaders felt the exact opposite…that Boss Cox was one
of the most crooked politicians in the U.S.
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The Cincinnati subway system
was begun under his leadership,
but after his death the project fell
apart.
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Boss Cox is buried in Spring
Grove Cemetery which is also
“home” to other famous
Cincinnatians such as Salmon P.
Chase, William Proctor, & Powell
Crosley Jr.
IV. Progress in State Government
A.
Workers Rights
* Industrial towns were not always peaceful..as many labor strikes took
place when workers felt they were not treated well.
* Knights of Labor – National labor rights group that fought for shorter
hours. Many Ohio factory workers were members.
* American Federation of Labor – Labor union started in Columbus,
Ohio 1886.
>Many new laws passed in Ohio regarding the rights of
workers.
> Ohio gained worldwide acclaim for it’s progressive ideals
regarding workers rights.
* American Federation of Labor –
Labor union started in Columbus,
Ohio 1886.
>Many new laws passed in Ohio
regarding the rights of workers.
> Ohio gained worldwide acclaim
for it’s progressive ideals
regarding workers rights.
B. Women’s Rights
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Ohio WAS slow in coming around
to women’s rights in general.
1850 – Women’s Rights
convention held in Salem, Ohio
1852 – Ohio Women’s Rights
Association formed.
1852 – Ohio General Assembly
voted to limit women working
hours to 10 hrs per day.
1887 – Married women given the
right to own property.
1919 – Ohio ratified the 19th
amendment giving universal
women’s suffrage.
C. Children’s Rights
• Ohio was one of the 1st states to limit the number of hours children
could work each day.
• 1905 – boys under 15 and girls under 16 not allowed to work during
the school year.
• Bing Law of 1921 required children in Ohio to attend school until
age 18. Also set min. ages for certain types of jobs.
D. Black’s Rights
• Slavery was never legal in Ohio
• The General Assembly DID pass laws that limited the freedom of
blacks.
• Black Laws
– Main purpose of the laws was to dissuade free blacks and fugitive
slaves from settling in Ohio.
– Did not really serve it’s purpose as many slaves fled to Ohio on the
Underground RR on their way to Canada..or even settling in Ohio once
they learned they would not be sent back to slavery by local law
enforcement.
• 1965 Ohio passed the Fair Housing Law – forbid racial
discrimination in the sale or rental of housing.
• High unemployment rates for African Americans in many U.S. cities
such as Cincinnati, Cleveland, & Toledo.
• President Lyndon Johnson pushed for an end to racial segregation
in jobs, education, and housing.
• By 1969 racial desegrgation – or an end to separating people apart
had become a major issue in Ohio.
V. Later Progress in Ohio
A.
Conservation