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Difficulty: HardLabor Movements and Gilded Age Conflict

"The strong arm of the national government may be put forth to brush away all obstructions to the freedom of interstate commerce or the transportation of the mails. If the emergency arises, the army of the Nation, and all its militia, are at the service of the Nation to compel obedience to its laws."
— Supreme Court Justice David J. Brewer, *In re Debs*, 1895

The judicial assertion in the excerpt most directly challenged which of the following ideas about the late nineteenth-century United States economy?

  1. A
    The argument that the Populist movement was the only major faction advocating for the federal regulation of industrial corporations.
  2. The belief that the federal government adhered to a policy of strict laissez-faire neutrality in economic disputes.Answer
  3. C
    The idea that the Market Revolution had permanently resolved the division of labor between skilled artisans and unskilled factory workers.
  4. D
    The belief that the Fourteenth Amendment protected the collective bargaining rights of industrial laborers from state and federal interference.

Answer

The belief that the federal government adhered to a policy of strict laissez-faire neutrality in economic disputes.
The correct answer is correct because the federal government's intervention in the Pullman Strike (and the Supreme Court's subsequent ruling in *In re Debs*) clearly demonstrated that the state was not a neutral observer in economic conflicts. By issuing injunctions and deploying federal troops to break the strike, the government actively supported the interests of railroad corporations, thereby directly challenging the prevailing Gilded Age belief in strict laissez-faire capitalism.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus context and the court's ruling.
The excerpt is from the Supreme Court decision *In re Debs* (1895), which upheld the government's use of an injunction to break the Pullman Strike, confirming the federal government's authority to use the military to ensure the flow of interstate commerce and the mail.
Understanding the historical context of the Pullman Strike and the federal government's role in labor conflicts is essential to evaluating its impact on contemporary economic beliefs.
2
Evaluate the concept of laissez-faire during the Gilded Age.
While the Gilded Age is often characterized as a period of laissez-faire capitalism, the federal government frequently intervened in the economy. However, this intervention was not neutral; it consistently favored industrial corporations and employers over organized labor.
This step reveals the contradiction between the idealized notion of a hands-off government and the reality of state-sponsored strike-breaking.
3
Assess the options to find the economic belief challenged by this intervention.
The active use of federal power to suppress a strike directly refutes the idea of strict laissez-faire neutrality. The other options either reference incorrect historical periods (Market Revolution), conflate distinct Gilded Age reform movements (Populists), or misinterpret the Gilded Age application of Reconstruction amendments.
Selecting the correct option requires identifying the primary economic myth that is debunked by federal action in Gilded Age labor disputes.

Key Concept

The active role of the federal government in supporting business interests and suppressing labor unrest during the Gilded Age, which contradicted the ideology of pure laissez-faire capitalism.
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Topics

Labor Movements and Gilded Age Conflict

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