  Neither party takes a controversial stand  Despite this, there is strong party affiliation  Republicans – Protestants, New Englanders, morality, nativism, black votes  Democrats – Southern, immigrant, Catholics, Jews, freethinkers Partisan Politics

  Minority presidents, mostly Republican  No strong presidents  National platforms differ little, & people identify more with local/state politics Political Stalemate

  Rutherford B. Hayes lost support as a result of the Compromise of 1877  The Republicans had been split since the Grant administration between Stalwarts & Half-Breeds  Discontent with corruption in government, opposed the “spoils” system  Conservative in dealing with labor and monetary supply Hayes

  James A. Garfield was shot by a Stalwart who wanted to see a continuation of the “spoils”  Chester A. Arthur emerged as a reform President who attempted to clean up government fraud & supported civil service reform  Pendleton Civil Service Act made some government jobs filled by competitive exams Garfield & Arthur

  Republican nominee James G. Blaine’s corrupt past distanced some Republican  Mugwumps opposed tariffs & favored civil service reform  Democrat Grover Cleveland won by a narrow margin Election of 1894

  Believed in a strictly limited role of government  Wabash v. Illinios led him to request federal regulation of railroads  Interstate Commerce Commission (1887) empowered to investigate railroads & prosecute violations  Argued for tariff reform Cleveland

  Dependent Pension Plan  Sherman Anti-Trust Act  Admission of 6 new states  Sherman Silver Purchase Act  McKinley Tariff  Expenditures rose and revenues dropped  Voters divided over prohibition and federal support for parochial schools Benjamin Harrison

  Debts rising as crop prices fell, largely the result of overproduction & international competition  Resented tariffs, discriminatory freight rates, & banks Plight of the Farmers

  Promoted farm cooperatives  Favored railroad regulation & fair pricing of warehouse facilities  Resulting “Granger laws” were challenged and upheld in cases like Munn v. Illinois The Grange

  Like the Grange, the National Farmers’ Alliance and Industrial Union had social & political goals – but it drew less prosperous farmers and blacks  Sponsored newspapers & lecturers to spread information  After the failure of “farmers’ exchanges,” the Alliance favored a new “subtreasury system” with government intervention on farmers’ behalf Farmers’ Alliances

  Farm, labor, & reform forces created a 3 rd national party that advocated:  Subtreasury system  Unlimited coinage of silver  Increased money supply  Graduated income tax  Savings banks  Nationalization of railroads, telephone & telegraph  8 hour workday  Restricted immigration The Populist Party

  Money in circulation decreased, causing banks to raise interest rates  Monetary system based on gold standard before greater availability of silver  Bland-Allison Act & Sherman Silver Purchase did little to help the situation The Silver Solution

  Railroads, banks, & businesses failed  High unemployment, foreclosures, & homelessness  Strikes (including Pullman & Homestead) were the result  Jacob Coxey led 400 protesters to Washington to protest government inaction Depression of 1893

  Cleveland oversaw the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893, which led to greater outcries from pro-silver forces  Republicans nominate William McKinley on gold standard platform  Democrats (& Populists) run William Jennings Bryan  Pro-gold Democrats nominate John M. Palmer Election of 1896

  Bryan advocated government intervention to help the common American  Well-financed McKinley’s campaign portrayed Bryan as a radical – and won  Dingley Tariff (1897) was highest ever  Gold standard confirmed in 1900  Populists declined as Democrats took on reform Election of 1896 (cont.)