8 America in the Industrial Age Working Women in Industrial America In 1870 only about 13 percent of all women in America had jobs outside the home Those who did worked mainly as domestics such as maids cleaning women and cooks The hours were long and the pay was low Most of these women were very unhappy with their work When new industries began to develop after 1870 however growing numbers of women left their jobs in and out of the home for work in factories principally in the food-processing and clothing industries These jobs paid slightly more than domestic work did and were considered to be more respectable Women joined the workforce during these years for a number of reasons Farm women for example sought work in the factories because agriculture was undergoing change and because their families often needed the extra income Immigrant women were eager for most any job regardless of what it paid Because of the intense demand for jobs by women factory owners were able to pay extremely low wages A woman working in a clothing factory in the late 1800s for example rarely made more than 5 a week Despite the low wages many women enjoyed the independence that their jobs in industry brought them Although they used their income to help support their families some had a little money left over to spend on themselves In the 1870s two new inventions came into practical use that would forever alter the way women worked the typewriter and the telephone Women with high school educations and typing skills could move into secretarial and clerical jobs which up until that point had been held mainly by men Secretarial work was a major breakthrough for women in the workforce It was safe and clean and it paid better than factory jobs did Women experienced continued exclusion from management positions because most people still felt that a woman’s place was in the home cooking cleaning raising children and caring for her husband In spite of this more and more women entered the workforce By 1900 twenty percent of women in the United States worked outside the home Factory workers making rifle cartridges in the 1870s
America in the Industrial Age 9 With the end of Reconstruction the South once again became a Democratic stronghold White southern voters supported the Democratic Party almost unanimously as they felt the Republicans were synonymous with the war and with the military Reconstruction governments The Democratic Party therefore consisted of an unusual alliance of northern immigrants and southern whites The Democrats had a difficult time capturing the presidency during this period The Presidency 1877 1889 A total of four men occupied the White House during this period of enormous change in American history Rutherford B Hayes James Garfield Chester Arthur and Grover Cleveland With the exception of Cleveland all were Republicans In many ways these men differed very little from one another People often commented that they even looked alike In general the four were responsible and honest men They shared similar beliefs about the role of government and their duties as president Not one of them believed that government should play a big role in the economy or in people’s lives The best kind of government they thought was local government The men who served as president during this period are not especially well known today Americans easily recognize the name Abraham Lincoln but not as many remember a lot of information about Rutherford Hayes or Chester Arthur This book will examine their contributions to American history These presidents played an important part in the development of American politics and culture during the crucial decades following the Civil War OUR COUNTRY'S CHOICE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEES Democrats hoped that associating Cleveland and Hendricks with the great leaders Jefferson Washington and Jackson would help them win the presidential election
10 Rutherford B Hayes Rutherford B Hayes Rutherford B Hayes Born October 4 1822 Delaware OH Rutherford B Hayes became president after one of the most disputed elections in American history In fact Hayes lost the popular vote in 1876 to Democrat Samuel Tilden But despite receiving 250 807 fewer votes than Tilden he was awarded all of the disputed electoral votes by a special electoral commission He thus became president by only one electoral vote The impeachment of Andrew Johnson in 1868 weakened the office of the presidency and it was weakened even further by the corruption and incompetence of the Ulysses S Grant administration after that Hayes however surprised both his critics and fellow Republicans by being honest and sincere and by supporting new reforms aimed at ending some of the worst corruption in politics Ohio Delaware Term March 4 1877 March 4 1881 Party Republican First Lady Lucy Ware Webb Hayes Vice President William A Wheeler Died January 17 1893 Fremont OH Vice President William A Wheeler
Rutherford B Hayes 19th President of the United States
