R. Period 6 1865 - 1898 Amsco Note Taking Guide (Ch. 19) PDF

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Period 6: 1865 - 1898 Chapter 19: Politics of the Gilded Age, 1877-1900 [380 - 391] Due Date:TUESDAY, JANUARY 30

Politics in the Gilded Age - Gilded Age: superficial glitter of the new wealth displayed late 1800s; criticism of politics; era of “forgettable” presidents and politicians who largely ignored arising problems from growth of industry and cities -

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Causes of Stalemate - Complacency and conservatism caused by: the prevailing political ideology of the time, campaign tactics of the two parties, and party patronage - Belief in Limited Government - Idea of “do-little” gov in line w/ ideas of laissez-faire economics and Social Darwinism - Limited impact of few regulatory laws passed by congress on gov’s powers to regulate business in federal courts - Campaign Strategy - Closeness of elections 1876-1892 one reason that Republicans and Democrats avoided taking strong positions on issues - Democrats controlled the House of Reps after 8/10 general elections - Divided gov in Washington (except for years of Harrison 1889-1891 when Republicans in control of presidency and both houses of congress) - W/ evenly matched elections goal to not alienate voters on issues to win the vote - Election campaigns used advertising and people-pleasing techniques (buttons, flags…) - Republicans strong organizations on state level; Democrats in cities - ~80% voter turnout - High turnout b/c strong party identification and loyalty plus regional, religious, and ethnic ties of voters - Republicans - Wove the “bloody shirt” during campaign remembering civil war that Democrats caused - Party of Lincoln kept votes of reformers and Af Ams - Men in business; middle-class, Anglo-Saxon Protestants - Supported pro-business economic program of high protective tariffs - Supported temperance or prohibition - Democrats - South solidly Democratic until mid-1900s - In North, strength came from big-city political machines and the immigrant vote - Catholics, Lutherans, and Jews who objected to temperance and prohibition crusades by Protestant groups - States’ rights and limiting powers for the federal gov - Party Patronage - Politics chiefly game of winning elections, holding office, and providing gov jobs - No active legislative agenda - Conkling and supporters known as Stalwarts; rivals were the Half Breeds led by James G. Blaine; patronage jobs within party more important issue than policies - Republicans not in the patronage gaim ridiculed as the Mugwumps for sitting on fence - Considered low point in US politics Presidential Politics

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Rutherford B. Hayes - Disputed election of 1876 - Ended reconstruction by withdrawing last federal troops from the south - Attempted to re-establish honest gov after corrupt Grant administration - Cut off flow of liquor in the white house - Vetoed efforts to restrict Chinese immigration - James Garfield - Republican; election of 1880 - Garfield-Arthur ticket defeated democratic war hero Winfield S. Hancock by close popular vote - Garfield’s choice of Half Breeds for most offices provoked bitter contest w/ Senator Conkling and his Stalwarts - Assassinated by a Stalwart in 1881 and preceded by Chester A. Arthur - Chester A. Arthur - Distanced himself from the Stalwarts, supported a bill for reforming the civil service - Bill expanded number of gov employees hired based on their qualifications rather than political connections - Approved development of modern US navy and questioned high protective tariff - Denial of renomination by Republican party in 1884 Congressional Leaders - Lawmakers of Gilded Age typically had long but un-distinguished terms - John Sherman in Congress 1855-1898 but only attached name to few things including Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 - Thomas “Czar” Reed from Maine Speaker of House in 1890 w/ autocratic rule over house - James G. Blaine helped reshaped Republicans from antislavery party into business-oriented party; reputation tarnished w/ RR scandals and corrupt dealings The Election of 1884 - Blaine (R) vs. Grover Cleveland (D) - Dirty campaign, Democrats labeled parts of “Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion” - Catholic voters helped ensure Cleveland’s victory as first Democrat since Buchanan in 1856 Cleveland’s First Term - Frugal and limited gov - Implemented new civil service system and detailed hundreds of private pension bills for those falsely claiming to have served or been injured in the Civil War - Signed into law the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 (federal gov’s first effort to regulate business) and the Dawes Act (hope to benefit American Indians) - Retrieved 81 million acres of gov land from cattle ranchers and RRs Issues: Civil Service, Currency, and Tariffs - Federal gov chiefly concerned w/ patronage, the money supply, and the tariff issue during 1870s and 1880s - Left state/local govs to deal w/ problems of cities and industrialization - Civil Service Reform - Public outrage over assassination of President Garfield pushed Congress to remove certain gov jobs from control of party patronage - Pendleton Act of 1881: set up the Civil Service Commission and created system by which applicants for classified federal jobs would be selected on basis of scores on competitive examination - Prohibited civil servants from making political contributions - At first only applied to 10% of federal employees, but expanded until most federal

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jobs were classified - Politicians adapted to reform by spending less on armies of party workers and more on the rich to fund their campaigns Money Question - Most debated question of Gilded Age: How to expand the money supply? - Economy needed more money in circulation to grow soundly - Tension between the “haves” and the “have-nots” - Debtors, farmers, and start-up businesses wanted more “easy” or “soft” money in circulation - Would help them to borrow money at lower interest rates and pay off their loans more easily with inflated dollars - After panic of 1873, many Americans blamed the gold standard for restricting the money supply and causing the depression - Easy-money advocates campaigned for more paper money (greenbacks) and then for unlimited mint in gold and silver coins - Bankers, creditors, investors, and established businesses wanted “sound” or “hard” money - currency backed by gold stored in gov vaults - Argued that dollars backed by gold would hold value against inflation - Dollar increased in value by 300% 1865-1895 as population and US economy grew faster than number of gold-backed dollars Greenback Party - Paper money not backed by gold or silver issued by federal gov in 1860s as emergency measure to finance CIvil War - Northern farmers prospered from use of “greenbacks” - Creditors & investors attacked use of unbacked paper money as violation of natural law - 1875: Congress sided w/ creditors and passed the Specie Resumption Act - Withdrew all greenbacks from circulation - Greenback party formed from supporters of paper money - 1878: 14 Greenback candidates elected to Congress including James B. Weaver - After hard times of 1870s ended, Greenback party died out; goal of increasing amount of money in circulation didn’t Demands for Silver Money - Congress in 1870s stopped the coining of silver; action called “the Crime of 1873” - Silver discoveries in Nevada revived demands for sue of silver to expand money supply - Bland-Allison Act: compromise law passed over Hayes’ veto in 1878 - Allowed only limited coinage of $2-4 million in silver each month at standard silver to gold ratio of 16:1 - Farmers, debtors, and western miners pressed for unlimited coinage of silver Tariff Issue - 1890s: tariffs provided more than half of federal revenue - Disagreement between western farmers and eastern capitalists over whether tariff rates on foreign imports should be high or low - Civil War- Republican Congress raised tariffs to protect US industry and fund Union gov - After war, S and some N Democrats objected to high tariffs b/c raised prices on consumer goods; also caused other countries to place taxes on US farm products - Surplus of corn and wheat after some farmers lost overseas sales; lower farm prices and profits - Farmer’s POV: industry growing rich at expense of rural US

The Growth of Discontent, 1888 - 1896

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Discontent over gov corruption, money issue, tariffs, RR, and trusts growing Politicians began to take small steps to respond to public concerns Populist party and major depression in 1893 caused more action w/ political parties Harrison and the Billion-Dollar Congress - Cleveland challenged high protective tariff by proposing that Congress set lower tariff rates b/c surplus in federal treasury and gov didn’t need added tax revenue; caused political storm - The Election of 1888 - Tariff issue first in year that divided Dems and Repubs - D. campaign for Cleveland and lower tariff; R. for Benjamin Harrison and high tariff - R argued that lower tariff would wreck business prosperity; funds from big businesses and allied workers in N whose jobs depended on success of US industry; attacked Cleveland’s vetoes of pension bills to get veteran vote - Close election; Cleveland more popular votes than Harrison; C lost election b/c Harrison more N votes in electoral college - Billion-dollar Congress - Next two years Repubs controlled presidency and both houses on congress - Passed first billion-dollar budget in US history; most active in years - McKinley Tariff of 1890: raised tax on foreign products to high >48% - Increases in monthly pensions to Civil War vets, widows, and children - Sherman Antitrust Act: outlawed “combinations in the restraint of trade” - Bill to protect voting rights of Af Ams, passed by house, not senate - Return of the Democrats - Congressional elections of 1890: voters especially in midwest replaced many R w/ Dems - Reacting to unpopular measures passed by Republican state legislatures: prohibition of alcohol and laws requiring business to close on Sundays Rise of the Populists - Growing agrarian discontent in S and W factor in Republican setbacks of 1890 - Members of Farmers’ Alliances elected senators and representatives, governors of several states, and majorities in four state legislatures in West - Omaha Platform - Alliance movement provided foundation of the new Populist Party - Delegates met in Omaha NE in 1892 to draft political platform and nominate candidates for pres and VP - Wanted to do something ab concentration economic power w/ trusts and bankers - Omaha platform called for political and economic reforms - Politically: increase in power of common voters through direct popular election of US senators (instead of indirect by state legislatures) and use of initiatives and referendums (citizen direct vote on proposed laws) - Economically: unlimited coinage of silver to increase the money supply; a graduated income tax; public ownership of RR by gov; telegraph and telephone systems owned and operated by the gov; loans and federal warehouses for farmers to enable stabilization of crop prices; and an 8-hr day for industrial workers - Revolutionary for attack on laissez-faire capitalism and attempt to form political alliance between poor whites and blacks - Thomas Watson GA appealed to poor farmers of both races by joining party - The Election of 1892 - James Weaver P candidate won >1 million votes and 22 electoral votes; made him one of few 3rd party candidates to win votes in electoral college - Populist ticked lost baly in S and didn’t attract urban workers in N

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Fear of Populists uniting blacks and whites made D to use techniques to disenfranchise Af Ams - Harrison vs. Cleveland; Cleveland won solid victory in popular and electoral vote - Won b/c of unpopularity of high-tax McKinley Tariff - Cleveland first and only former pres to return to White House after leaving it Depression Politics - Panic of 1893 - Stock market crashed b/c of overspeculation and dozens of RR went into bankruptcy as result of overbuilding - Four years long - Farm foreclosures reached new highs and unemployed reached 20% - Soup kitchens and riding the rails as hoboes - Cleveland dealt w/ crisis by championing the gold standard and adopting a hands-off policy toward the economy - Gold Reserve and Tariff - Decline in silver prices led investors to trade silver dollars for gold dollars - Gold reserve fell to low level and Cleveland repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890; failed to stop gold drain - Borrowed $65 million from Wall Street banker J. P. Morgan in gold to support the dollar and gold standard - Gov in Washington only a “tool” of rich eastern bankers - Cleveland wsed court injunctions and federal troops to crust the Pullman Strike in 1894; workers further disenchanted - Congress passed the Wilson-Gorman Tariff in 1894 - Provided a moderate reduction in tariff rates and included a 2% income tax on incomes of more than $2000 - Within a year Supreme Court declared an income tax unconstitutional - Jobless on the March - Conservatives feared class war between capital and labor as depression worsened - March to WA in 1894 by thousands unemployed led by Populist Jacob A. Coxey OH - “Coxey’s Army” demanded that federal gov spend $500 million on public works programs to create jobs - Coxey and others arrested for trespassing and marchers returned home - 1894: William H. Harvey published book presenting lessons in economics seemingly offering easy answers for ending the depression; used cartoons - Coin’s Financial School taught millions that troubles caused by conspiracy of rich bankers and that prosperity would return in gov coined silver in unlimited quantities

Turning Point in American Politics: 1896 -

Discreditation of conservative leadership of Democratic party Democrats buried in congressional elections of 1894 Populists continued to gain both votes and legislative seats The Election of 1896 - Marked beginning of new era in American politics; one of most emotional - Bryan, Democrats, and Populists - Democrats divided in 1896 between “gold” D loyal to Cleveland and prosilver D looking for leader - National convention in Chicago in 1896 dominated by prosilver forces - William Jennings Bryan NE “Cross of Gold” speech made him D nominee for pres - Democrats favored unlimited coinage of silver at 16:1; taken over leading issue of

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Populist platform - Populist convention in 1896 also elected Bryan and conducted “fused” campaign for “free silver” - Conservative fraction of “Gold Bug” Democrats including Cleveland formed separate National Democratic party or voted Republican - McKinley, Hanna, and Republicans - Republicans nominated William McKinley OH; supported high protective tariff but friend of labor - Marcus Hanna financial power behind McKinley’s nomination and presidential campaign - Blamed Democrats for Panic of 1893 and offered promise of strong industrial nation - Repubs proposed high tariff to protect industry and upheld gold standard against unlimited coinage of silver - The Campaign - “Gold Bug” Democratic defection over silver issue gave Repubs early advantage - Bryan turned Democratic-Populist campaign into nationwide crusade - Covered 18,000 miles and gave 600 speeches - Convinced many farmers and debtors that unlimited coinage of silver = salvation - Mark Hanna did most of campaigning for McKinley - Raised millions of dollars from business leaders who feared that “silver lunacy” would lead to runaway inflation - Mass media advertising; McKinley conducted safe, front-porch campaign greeting delegations of supporters - Bryan hurt by rise in wheat farmers which made farmers less desperate and employers telling their workers that factories would shut down if Bryan was elected - McKinley decisive victory over Bryan in popular and electoral vote McKinley’s Presidency - Gold discovered in AK in 1897 increased money supply under gold standard and led to inflation that silverites had wanted - Farm prices rose, factory production increased, and stock market climbed - Repubs honored platform by enacting the Dingley Tariff of 1897 - Increased tariff to >46% - 1900: made gold the official standard of US currency - McKinley helped make US world power during leader during war w/ Spain in 1898 Significance of the Election of 1896 - Marked the end of stalemate and stagnation during Gilded Age - Defeat of Bryan and Populist free-silver movement initiated era of Republican dominance of presidency and both houses of congress - Transitioned from party of “free soil, free labor, and free men” to party of business and industry while continuing to advocate for strong national gov - Democrats defeated as sectional party of South and host of Populist sentiment - Populist Demise - Populist party declined after 1896 and ceased to be national party - Thomas Watson and other Populist leader in S gave up trying to unite poor whites and blacks - Discovered that racism stronger than common economic interests - Much of Populist reform agenda, such as graduated income tax and popular election of senators, adopted by Democrats and Republicans during reform-minded Progressive era (1900-1917) - Urban Dominance - Election of 1896 clear victory for big businesses, urban centers, conservative

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economics, and moderate middle-class values - Last hope of rural US to reclaim former dominance in US politics - Election marked triumph of values of modern industrial and urban US over rural ideals of America of Jefferson and Jackson Beginning of Modern Politics - McKinley first modern president; active leader who took US from being relatively isolated to becoming major player in international affairs - Mark Hanna created model for organizing and financing a successful campaign - Model focused on winning favorable publicity in mass media (in his case newspapers)

Historical Perspectives: Who were the Populists?...