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