16.2 Gilded Age Politics

8/3/2019 16.2 Gilded Age Politics

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Gilded

AgePolitics


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1. A Two-Party

Stalemate


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Two-Party Balance


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2. Intense

VoterLoyalty

to theTwo Major

Political


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3. Well-Defined Voting

BlocsDemocraticBloc

Republican

Bloc

Whitesoutherners(preservationofwhitesupremacy)

Catholics

Recentimmigrants(esp. Jews)

Urban workingpoor (pro-

Northern whites(pro-business)

AfricanAmericans

Northern

Protestants Old WASPs

(supportfor anti-immigrant

laws) Most of the


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4. Very Laissez Faire

Federal Govt. From 1870-1900 Govt. did

verylittle domestically.

Main duties of the federal govt.:

Deliver the mail.

Maintain a national military.

Collect taxes & tariffs.

Conduct a foreign policy.

Exception administer theannual

Civil War veterans pension.


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5. The Presidency as a

Symbolic Office Party bosses ruled. Presidents should

avoid offending any

factions within theirown party.

The President justdoled out federal jobs.

1865 53,000 people worked for the federalgovt.

1890 166,000

Senator Roscoe

Conkling


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1880 Presidential Election:

RepublicansHalfBreeds StalwartsSen. James G. Blaine Sen. RoscoeConkling

(Maine) (New York)

James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur(VP)

compromise


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1880 Presidential Election:

Democrats


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Inspecting the Democratic

Curiosity Shop


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1880 Presidential

Election


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1881: Garfield

Assassinated!

Charles Guiteau:I Am a Stalwart, and Arthur isPresident now!


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Chester A. Arthur:

The Fox in the Chicken Coop?


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Pendleton Act (1883)

Civil Service Act.

The Magna Carta of

civil service reform.

1883 14,000 out of117,000 federal govt.jobs became civilservice exam

positions. 1900 100,000 out

of200,000 civil servicefederal govt. jobs.


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Republican Mugwumps Reformers who wouldnt re-

nominateChester A. Arthur.

Reform to them create adisinterested, impartial govt. run byan educated elite like themselves.

Social Darwinists.

Laissez faire government to them:

Favoritism & the spoils systemseen asgovt. intervention in society.

Their target was political

corruption,


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The

MugwumpsMen may

come and menmay go, butthe work ofreform shall

go on forever. Will support

Cleveland inthe

1884 election.


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1884 Presidential

Election

Grover Cleveland James

Blaine * DEM REP


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1884 Presidential

Election


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Clevelands First Term

The Veto Governor from NewYork.

First Democratic elected since1856.

A public office is a public trust! His laissez-faire presidency:

Opposed bills to assist the poor

aswell as the rich.

Vetoed over 200 special pensionbills

for Civil War veterans!


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Bravo, Seor Clevelando!


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The Tariff Issue

After the Civil War, Congress raisedtariffs to protect new US industries.

Big business wanted to continuethis;

consumers did not. 1885 tariffs earned the US $100

mil.in surplus!

Mugwumps opposed it WHY??? President Clevelands view on

tariffs????

Tariffs became a major issue in the1888


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Filing the Rough

Edges

Tariff of 1888


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1888 Presidential Election

Grover Cleveland Benjamin

Harrison*


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Coming Out for Harrison


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The Smallest Specimen

Yet


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Corruption on a National Level

Political cartoonists likeThomas Nast, broughtthe corruption of the

National Government tothe fore through theirhumorous portrayals ofimportant politicalfigures.


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The Cartoons of Thomas Nast


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The Cartoons of

Thomas Nast


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1888 Presidential

Election


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Disposing the

Surplus


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Changing Public

Opinion Americans wanted the federal govt. to

dealwith growing soc. & eco. problems & tocurbthe power of the trusts:

Interstate Commerce Act 1887 Sherman Antitrust Act 1890

McKinley Tariff 1890

Based on the theory that prosperityflowed directly from protectionism.

Increased already high rates another4%!

Rep. Party suffered big losses in 1890(even


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1892 Presidential Election

Grover Cleveland Benjamin

Harrison*


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1892 Presidential

Election


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Cleveland Loses Support

Fast! The only President to serve two

non-consecutive terms.

Blamed for the 1893 Panic.

Defended the gold standard. Used federal troops in the 1894

Pullman strike.

Refused to sign the Wilson-GormanTariff of 1894.

Repealed the Sherman Silver

P h A t

16.2 Gilded Age Politics

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