Ch. 23 PPT

Politics in the Gilded Age 1869

Gilded Age Term from Mark Twain: gilded - something covered

with gold. Actually: corruption in politics and businesses ,

but appearance of civility Marked by: bank failures, labor disputes,

underhanded business deals, currency controversy, and corruption on large scale

Gilded Age starts in 1869 with Pres Grant Election of 1876: one of the worse elections ever Political system refused to deal with monetary and

agricultural reform, labor race, and economic issues

Compromise of 1877 Unwritten deal settling the disputed

1876 Presidential election, (2nd “Corrupt Bargain“), Ended Congressional "Radical" Reconstruction. Republican Rutherford B. Hayes awarded presidency

over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden IF Hayes removed federal troops that were propping up Republican state governments in South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana.

When troops left, many Republicans also left (or became Democrats) and the "Redeemer" Democrats took control.

Legislation to help industrialize the South, plus construction of another transcontinental railroad

TMWK CH 231. Map pg 510 Which presidential

candidate did most Northerners vote for? And the South?

2. Pg 511 Chart Which political party had an advantage in the Electoral Commission?

Compromise of 1877 Officially marked end of Reconstruction and Civil

War era White Democrats regained political power in South Slavery becomes “sharecropping” Caused South to plummet economically It made the South “win the Civil War”

TMWK3. Pg 512 Diagram Describe 3 differences

between a Southern plantation pre-Civil War and post-Civil War.

4. Pg 513 Picture Describe what is happening in the picture.

5. Pg 513 Chart Share & write down two trends or patterns that you see in the chart.

African Americans: Post Reconstruction Experienced unemployment, eviction, physical harm. Many forced into sharecropping and tenant farming

– former masters became their landlords and creditors.

Crop Lien system: storekeepers gave credit to small farmers for food/supplies in exchange for a lien on their harvests.

South enacted literacy requirements, voter registration laws, and poll taxes (tax to vote) to ensure Blacks couldn’t vote = disfranchisement.

1890 N. Carolina Sharecropped Farms

1896 Plessy v. Ferguson Case Jim Crow Laws: Legal codes of segregation

(separation) Supreme Court validated South’s segregationist

ways: “Separate, but equal facilities” were constitutional under “equal protection” clause of 14th Amendment.

But the facilities were not equal. Segregation: schools, railroad cars, buses, theaters,

restrooms, drinking fountains, restaurants, hotels, etc.

Credit Mobilier Scandal 1872 Credit Mobilier Scandal: involved Union Pacific

Railroad and Crédit Mobilier, a construction company in building of 1st Transcontinental Railroad.

Crédit Mobilier would use these checks to buy stock and bonds in the Union Pacific at par value (face value), then sell them on the open market to make huge profits.

Distribution of Crédit Mobilier shares of stock by Congressman Ames along with cash bribes to congressmen took place in 1868 (Andrew Johnson’s presidency) . The uncovering of the congressmen who received cash bribes or shares in Crédit Mobilier took place in 1872 (Pres. Grant’s administration).

The Union Pacific made contracts with Crédit Mobilier, paid by check, to build the Union Pacific railway. Crédit Mobilier would use these checks to buy stock and bonds in the Union Pacific at par value (face value), and then sell them on the open market to make huge profits. These construction contracts brought huge profits to the Crédit Mobilier, which was owned by Durant and the other directors and principal stock holders of the Union Pacific. The Crédit Mobilier would split these huge profits with the stockholders.

Whiskey Ring 1875 Whiskey Ring: scandal involving diversion of

tax revenues in conspiracy among govt agents, politicians, whiskey distillers, and distributors. Whiskey Ring began in St. Louis but was also in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, New Orleans,Peoria.

Before caught, group of Republican politicians siphoned millions of $$ in federal taxes on liquor; scheme involved extensive network of bribes involving distillers, rectifiers, gaugers, storekeepers, and internal revenue agents.

110 convictions were made; over $3 million in taxes recovered.

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley: American newspaper editor,

founder of Liberal Republican Party, reformer, politician, outspoken opponent of slavery.

Crusading against corruption of Grant's Republican administration, he was the new Liberal Republican Party's candidate in 1872 U.S. pres election

Only presidential candidate to die prior to counting of electoral votes. (his wife died, shortly after -he did also)

Panic of 1873 Collapse of banks and businesses