Gilded Age IV: Politics (1870-1890). Learning Targets I can analyze the role of political machines...
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Transcript of Gilded Age IV: Politics (1870-1890). Learning Targets I can analyze the role of political machines...
Gilded Age IV:Politics (1870-1890)
Learning Targets
• I can analyze the role of political machines and patronage in Gilded Age politics.
• I can evaluate the climax and collapse of the Third Party System during the Gilded Age.
A Two-Party StalemateA Two-Party StalemateA Two-Party StalemateA Two-Party Stalemate
Two-Party “Balance”Two-Party “Balance”Two-Party “Balance”Two-Party “Balance”
Both parties roughly equal in strength
Elections focused on personalities and patronage, not issues
Politics as “spectator sport”
Very Laissez Faire Federal Govt.Very Laissez Faire Federal Govt.Very Laissez Faire Federal Govt.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 the annual Civil War veterans’ pension.
Well-Defined Voting BlocsWell-Defined Voting BlocsWell-Defined Voting BlocsWell-Defined Voting Blocs
DemocraticBloc
DemocraticBloc
RepublicanBloc
RepublicanBloc
White southerners(preservation ofwhite supremacy)
Catholics
Recent immigrants(esp. Jews)
Urban working poor (pro-labor)
Most farmers
Northern whites(pro-business)
African Americans
Northern Protestants
Old WASPs (supportfor anti-immigrant laws)
Most of the middleclass
The Presidency as a Symbolic The Presidency as a Symbolic OfficeOffice
The Presidency as a Symbolic The Presidency as a Symbolic OfficeOffice
Party bosses ruled.
Presidents should avoid offending anyfactions within theirown party.
The President justdoled out federal jobs.
1865 53,000 people worked for the federal govt.
1890 166,000 “ “ “ “ “ “
Senator Roscoe Conkling
The Grant AdministrationScandal-ridden; seen as
one of the most corrupt in history
Use of the spoils system
The Grant Administration1872 – Credit Mobilier: stock
given to key members of Congress to avoid a bribery investigation; vice-president Colfax and future president Garfield implicated
The Grant Administration
1876 – the Whiskey Ring: excise tax money embezzled by members of Grant’s administration, including personal secretary
1869- 1877: widespread theft/embezzlement of government funds; i.e. Indian Affairs
Corruption in the CitiesThe rise of “political machines” –
organization that traded favors and services for votes
Provided immigrants with basic services; embezzled or stole millions of $$$ from state and local governments
Most notorious: Tammany Hall of NYC
Boss TweedWilliam Marcy
“Boss” Tweed: ran Tammany Hall until 1872
Convicted of embezzlement of govt. $$$
Impact of cartoons by Thomas Nast
1880 Presidential Election: 1880 Presidential Election: RepublicansRepublicans
1880 Presidential Election: 1880 Presidential Election: RepublicansRepublicans
Half BreedsHalf Breeds StalwartsStalwarts
Sen. James G. Blaine Sen. Roscoe Conkling (Maine) (New York)
James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur (VP)
compromise
1880 1880 Presidential Presidential
Election: Election: Democrats Democrats nominate nominate Winfield Winfield
Scott Scott HancockHancock
1880 1880 Presidential Presidential
Election: Election: Democrats Democrats nominate nominate Winfield Winfield
Scott Scott HancockHancock
1880 Presidential 1880 Presidential ElectionElection
1880 Presidential 1880 Presidential ElectionElection
1881: Garfield 1881: Garfield Assassinated!Assassinated!1881: Garfield 1881: Garfield Assassinated!Assassinated!
Charles Guiteau:I Am a Stalwart, and Arthur is President now!
Chester A. Arthur:Chester A. Arthur:The Fox in the Chicken The Fox in the Chicken
Coup?Coup?
Chester A. Arthur:Chester A. Arthur:The Fox in the Chicken The Fox in the Chicken
Coup?Coup?
Pendleton Act Pendleton Act (1883)(1883)
Pendleton Act Pendleton Act (1883)(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 of 200,000 civil service federal govt. jobs.
Chester Arthur
1884 Presidential 1884 Presidential ElectionElection
1884 Presidential 1884 Presidential ElectionElection
Grover Cleveland James Blaine * (DEM) (REP)
Republican “Mugwumps”Republican “Mugwumps”Reform minded Republicans who supported
Democrat Grover Cleveland and opposed Conkling and Blaine
Cleveland
James Blaine
A Dirty CampaignA Dirty CampaignA Dirty CampaignA Dirty Campaign
Ma, Ma…where’s my pa?He’s going to the White House, ha… ha… ha…!
Rum, Romanism & Rum, Romanism & Rebellion!Rebellion!
Rum, Romanism & Rum, Romanism & Rebellion!Rebellion! Led a delegation of
ministers to Blaine inNYC.
Reference to the Democratic Party.
Blaine was slow torepudiate the remark.
Narrow victory forCleveland [he wins NYby only 1149 votes!].Dr. Samuel
Burchard
1884 Presidential 1884 Presidential ElectionElection
1884 Presidential 1884 Presidential ElectionElection
Cleveland’s First TermCleveland’s First TermCleveland’s First TermCleveland’s First Term The “Veto Governor” from
New York.
First Democratic elected since 1856.
A public office is a public trust!
His laissez-faire presidency:
Opposed bills to assist the poor as well as the rich.
Vetoed over 200 special pension bills for Civil War veterans!
The Tariff The Tariff IssueIssue
The Tariff The Tariff IssueIssue After the Civil War,
Congress raisedtariffs to protect new US industries.
Big business wanted to continue this;consumers did not.
1885 tariffs earned the US $100 mil.in surplus!
1888 Presidential 1888 Presidential ElectionElection
1888 Presidential 1888 Presidential ElectionElection
Coming Out for HarrisonComing Out for HarrisonComing Out for HarrisonComing Out for Harrison
The Harrison AdministrationPresident Benjamin Harrison
the “Billion Dollar Congress: first time govt. budget over $1billion; gives most money to Civil War veterans
The McKinley Tariff – raises tariff to highest levels yet; causes much unrest in the South and Midwest
Labor Violence
The Homestead Strike (1892) – steel workers strike at Carnegie’s Homestead plant
Pinkertons and strikers clash
Many wounded or killedPinkertons defeated
Eventually put down by PA state militia and US military
Carnegie tainted permanently as anti-labor
The FarmersProblems of the farmer:#1 enemy – the railroads
and “pools”; higher rates than for other customers
Real problem: overproduction, leading to lower prices
Also higher prices caused by the tariff and the trusts
JayGould
The Farmers Unite
Formation of the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry
"We propose meeting together, talking together, working together, buying together, selling together, and, in general, acting together for our mutual
protection and advancement, as occasion may require."-- 1874 Declaration of Purposes of the National Grange
Oliver Kelley
Original purpose: social and educational events; soon began political activity, focusing on the money supply and the railroads
The Issue Over Money“Hard” money (specie) vs. “Soft” money (issued
by the government) – farmers wanted to increase money supply to cause inflation
Higher prices makes it easier to pay debts
The Issue Over MoneyInflation causes farm prices
to rise; deflation causes a fall; money supply based on amount of gold in economy
More money in the economy causes inflation
Proposed solution: add silver to the economy to increase money supply
First proposed by William “Coin” Harvey
The Farmers UniteThe Grange emerges as
political force in the MidwestThe Greenback-Labor Party:
first party that represented labor in elections
Candidate James B. Weaver
“Granger Laws”The “Granger States” – farmers take over state
governments in the Midwest in the 1880s
i.e. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota
Targeted railroads for rate controls
Thrown out by Supreme Court in Wabash v. Illinois
The Beginning of the People’s (Populist) Party
Wabash case destroys the Grange, replaced by the Farmers’ Alliances
Foundation of the People’s Party, called by most the Populist Party
Growth of Populism
Populism: a political viewpoint that places the “common man” over corporations and special interests
Made up of mostly farmers, with labor and reformers, as well
The Birth of the Populist Party
1890 – Ocala, Florida: made up of three groups
Organized labor
Farmers
Social reformers
“Raise less corn and more H-E-double toothpicks!” – Mary E. Lease
Tom WatsonWilliamPeffer
Early Success1890 - Populists win state legislatures in
several Midwestern states, sends five Senators and 12 members to the House
1892 – James B. Weaver wins over 1 million votes and 22 electoral votes
The Omaha PlatformPlatform adopted by
Populist Party for 1892 election; source for many reforms to come into the future
Proposals:
8 hour working day
govt. ownership of RRs
term limits on politicians
popular election of senators
income tax
No. 1 demand:
silver in the money supply at a 16:1 ratio to gold
The Depression of 1893Second worst in American history
Causes:
overproduction of manufactured goods
repeal of limited silver in the money supply
loss of gold reserves, causing deflation
Growing unemployment and farm foreclosures
The Depression of 1893 – 981894 – Pullman Strike: wages cut by 10%, but
rent and prices stay the same in company town of Pullman, IL
Strike turns violent
RRs workers strike in support; most rail traffic stopped
The Depression of 1893 – 98
Cleveland ends strike by sending US military
Labor leaders arrested
Eugene V. Debs
The Depression of 1893 – 98 President
Cleveland pursues laissez-faire approach; violence and protests increase
1894 – Jacob Coxey leads a march on DC; thousands join in demands for jobs
The Depression of 1893 – 981895 - J. P. Morgan and partners lend the
government $65 million in gold reserves to stabilize money supply
Weakens Cleveland politically
The Election of 1896Republicans nominate
William McKinley
Considered safe, reliable
Democrats enter convention with no clear frontrunner
Cleveland rejected by Democratic Party for 3rd term
The Election of 1896William Jennings Bryan and the “Cross of
Gold” speech
“You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”
The Election of 1896
1/3 Populists and 2/3 Democrats merged (“fused”) to recreate the Democratic Party
More populist in ideology; endorsed Omaha Platform
Remainder of Populist Party eventually dissolved by 1908
The Election of 1896: The Candidates:
Democrat – Bryan Republican – McKinley
Gold Democrats:John Palmer
Prohibition:Joshua Levering
William Jennings Bryan3 term House member from Nebraska
Youngest man to run for president (36)
Populist in ideology, supporter of 16:1
Nominated on 5th ballot; unknown outside NE
Changed politics by campaigning personally
The Election of 1896Republican advantages:
More money
raised by Mark Hanna
Support from newspapers and big business
Opposition from conservative Democrats
The Election of 1896The media depicts Bryan as a dangerous
lunatic, or foolish dreamer; workers threatened if they vote for Bryan
The Election of 1896
Results – McKinley wins; Bryan makes it close