A Standstill in Washington Chapter 16 Section 1

Cleaning up Politics Patronage (spoils system) – govt. jobs went to the supporters of the winning party in an election Believed to corrupt govt. Rutherford B. Hayes (Rep.) Elected 1877 Doesn’t use spoils system Infuriates Republican political machine bosses Republicans don’t like Hayes b/c he abandoned Reconstruction and did not use patronage

Politics Stalwarts Name given to local New York Republican political machine bosses Halfbreeds Republican reformers Did not use the spoils system Allowed the Democrats to regain control of the South after the Civil War Rutherford B. Hayes is a Halfbreed

Assassination Election of 1880 Republican presidential candidate James Garfield (halfbreed) Vice President candidate Chester A. Arthur (stalwart) Republican mixed ticket wins A few months later Garfield is assassinated Garfield’s assassination made people more against the spoils system

Pendleton Act Congress responded to the assassination with the Pendleton Act The Pendleton Act President decides which federal jobs will be filled according to rules laid down by a bipartisan Civil Service Commission Candidates compete for these jobs by taking exams and only those who take the exams were allowed to be appointed to the position Once appointed to the position, a civil service official could not be removed for political reasons

Election of 1884 Candidates Democrats nominate Grover Cleveland He was against the corrupt Tammany Hall Democratic political machine in NYC Republicans nominate James G. Blaine Former speaker of the House of Rep. Many voters b/l corruption was the main problem in the US govt. They focused their attention on the personal morals of the candidates

Switching Parties Some Republican reformers were so unhappy w/ Blaine that they left their party and supported Cleveland Mugwumps – left the Republican party and voted for Democratic candidate Cleveland Thought of themselves as moral leaders who were more concerned w/ helping the nation than w/ helping a particular political party They b/l that Blaine was too involved in the old corrupt system of govt. to support reform issues Cleveland Wins!

The Interstate Commerce Commission 1887 – Cleveland signed the Interstate Commerce Act Created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) Regulate interstate commerce (trade) Limited railroad rates to what was “reasonable and just” Forbid rebates to high volume users Illegal to charge higher rates for shorter hauls This was not effective b/c it had to rely on the courts to enforce its rulings

Republicans Back in Control Election of 1888 Cleveland for Democrats Campaigned against high tariff rates Benjamin Harrison for Republicans Campaigned for tariff protection Supported by industrialists – gave lots of money to his campaign Harrison wins – Rep. get control of… The White House and both houses of Congress

The McKinley Tariff William McKinley – Rep. from Ohio Pushed through a tariff bill to cut tobacco taxes and tariff rates on raw sugar, but… Greatly increased rates on other goods to discourage people from buying those imports The McKinley Tariff Lowered federal revenue Transformed the nation’s budget surplus into a deficit

Sherman Antitrust Act Trust – large combinations of companies that dominated certain markets Senator John Sherman of Ohio Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 Declared illegal any combination in the form of a trust Not successful b/c it relied on the courts to enforce it