Politics in the Gilded Age

Gilded Age 1865-1900 -Dates are not formal. The Gilded Age is usually considered to be from the end of the Civil War to the turn of the century -1900 usually marks the beginning of the Progressive Era -The developments that defined the Gilded Age continued after 1900

The name came from the title of a book by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner: The Gilded Age, published in 1873

Gilded Age Politics Republican dominance of the Presidency All Republican presidents (except Cleveland) Southern state governments became Democratic Corruption at all levels Voter turnout was very high- close to 80% of eligible voters in presidential elections

Election of 1868 Ulysses S. Grant (R) v. Horatio Seymour (D) Grant won 214-80 Popular vote was much closer (votes of newly enfranchised African Americans make the difference) Waving the “Bloody Shirt”- reviving memories of the Civil War to gain political support

Scandals Crédit Mobilier Insiders gave stock to members of Congress to avoid investigation of the huge profits they were making from government subsidies for building the transcontinental railroad “Jubilee Jim” Fisk and Jay Gould tried to corner the gold market Whiskey Ring Federal revenue agents conspired with the liquor industry to defraud the government of millions in taxes Belknap scandal Secretary of War Belknap was impeached for accepting bribes from companies that had licenses to trade on Native American reservations. He resigned.

Boss Tweed William Tweed was boss of the Democratic Party in NY City The Tammany Hall machine controlled city politics The Tweed Ring swindled $200 million from New York taxpayers before Tweed was exposed by The New York Times and Thomas Nast Tweed was imprisoned. Samuel Tilden helped bring Tweed down. Consider connection of immigrants to NYC and the political machine

Graft- the acquisition of gain (as money) in dishonest or questionable ways (Merriam-Webster)

Thomas Nast Immigrant from Germany Cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly Popularizes the donkey and the elephant as the symbols for the Democratic and Republican parties Introduces the modern image of Santa Claus

Can the Law Reach Him? 1872 Cartoonist Thomas Nast attacked “Boss” Tweed in a series of cartoons like this one that appeared in Harper’s Weekly in 1872. Here Nast depicts the corrupt Tweed as a powerful giant, towering over a puny law force. p490

“Let Us Prey”

The Bosses of the Senate Joseph Kepler in Puck 1889 https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/artifact/Ga_Cartoon/Ga_cartoon_38_00392.htm

The Election of 1872 Liberal Republicans nominated Horace Greeley (editor of the New York Tribune) Democrats endorsed Greeley Greeley blamed the South and Democrats for the Civil War but accepted the Democratic nomination Republicans nominated Grant Grant won 286-66 The Republicans reacted to the Liberal Republican threat by passing a general amnesty act (removing political restrictions on some former Confederates, reducing high Civil War tariffs, and passing some civil service reform

Can Greeley and the Democrats “Swallow” Each Other? 1872 This cartoon by Thomas Nast is a Republican gibe at the forced alliance between these former foes. General William Tecumseh Sherman wrote from Paris to his brother, “I feel amazed to see the turn things have taken. Grant who never was a Republican is your candidate; and Greeley who never was a Democrat, but quite the reverse, is the Democratic candidate.” p491

Pallid Politics in the Gilded Age Presidential elections were close Between 1869 and 1891 the majority party in the House switched six times Republicans and Democrats generally agreed on most issues (tariff, civil-service reform, and currency) Ethnic and cultural differences divided the parties

Two parties were highly competitive They were both well organized with fiercely loyal members- partisanship was very high Straight ticket voting was common Election day was like a social event with parades, marching bands, food Patronage was used to maintain party loyalty

VEP- Voter Eligible Population http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/07/24/voter-turnout-always-drops-off-for-midterm-elections-but-why/

Republicans Core of Republican strength came from men in business and the middle class; most were Anglo-Saxon Protestants Beliefs can be traced back to Puritanism Stressed personal morality and believed gov’t should play a role in regulating the economy and moral affairs of society Political base was in the Midwest and rural and small-town Northeast Supported pro-business economic program of high tariffs

Republicans 1870s- leadership of the Republicans moved away from the previous reformers to those who played the patronage game Stalwarts Led by Roscoe Conkling (U.S. Senator from NY) Half-Breeds Led by James G. Blaine (Congressman from Maine)

Democrats Immigrant Lutherans and Catholics played an important role in their strength Generally believed in more religious toleration and did not believe that government should impose a single moral standard on society Electoral base was in the South and in the cities

Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats had a strong legislative agenda. Politics in this era has been characterized by patronage and the objective of winning elections in order to provide jobs to the party faithful At the local level, issues such as prohibition and education were important

The Political Legacy of the Civil War Union veterans of the Civil War supported Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876. The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), the Union veterans’ organization, voted heavily for the G.O.P. (Grand Old Party) in the post-civil war years. p493

The Election of 1876 Rutherford B. Hayes (R) vs. Samuel Tilden (D) Tilden received 184 electoral votes of the 185 needed Four states- Oregon, Louisiana, SC and Florida- were in dispute The Constitution simply said that the electoral returns from each state shall be sent to Congress. It didn’t say who should count the returns.

Compromise of 1877 An electoral commission was established consisting of fifteen members selected from the Senate, the House and the Supreme Court to count the votes As part of the compromise, it was agreed that Hayes could take office in return for withdrawing federal troops from Louisiana and South Carolina (the two states in which the troops remained)

Map 23.1 Hayes-Tilden Disputed Election of 1876 (with electoral vote by state) Nineteen of the twenty disputed votes composed the total electoral count of Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida. T he twentieth was one of Oregon’s three votes, cast by an elector who turned out to be ineligible because he was a federal officeholder (a postmaster), contrary to the Constitution (see Art. II, Sec. I, para. 2). Map 23-1 p494

The Election of 1880 James A. Garfield (R) vs. Winfield Scott Hancock (D) Garfield won 214-155

Chester A. Arthur (a Stalwart) became President 1881 Garfield was assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau (who declared himself a Stalwart) Chester A. Arthur (a Stalwart) became President Ended up being more reformist than expected

The Office Makes the Man, 1881 Besieged by his former New York cronies, Arthur tries to assert the dignity of his new presidential office. p499

Figure 23.1 Civil-Service Employment The proportion of federal jobs that are classified, or subject to rigid civil-service laws and competitive requirements, has greatly increased since Arthur’s presidency. The total number of civil service jobs has remained relatively stable since the 1950s, even as the government has expanded in size and budget. The decline in classified civil-service jobs in recent decades reflects the changes mandated by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1971, which moved U.S. Postal Service employees from competitive to excepted service. Excepted jobs are not subject to rigid civil-service laws passed by Congress. (Sources: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Federal Civilian Workforce Statistics—Employment and Trends, http://www.opm.gov/feddata; and unpublished data.) Figure 23-1 p502

Pendleton Act 1883 Garfield’s assassination helped push politicians to reform the civil-service system Compulsory campaign contributions from federal employees were made illegal The Civil Service Commission was established to make appointments to federal jobs on the basis of competitive examinations

Civil-service reform and the decline of patronage resulted in politicians looking to big business for campaign contributions Mobilization of voters by party bosses gave way to raising money from manufacturers and lobbyists

The Election of 1884 James G. Blaine (R) vs. Grover Cleveland (D) “Mugwumps”- reformers who did not want Blaine because he was tainted with corruption bolted the party Cleveland won 219-182 (NY proved to be the difference) Neither Blaine nor Cleveland had served in the war A NY supporter of Blaine described the Democrats as the party of “rum, Romanism, and rebellion.” Blaine doesn’t disavow this slur and it hurts him in NY

“I Want My Pa!” Malicious anti-Cleveland cartoon.

“Old Grover” Takes Over Uses patronage Signs a tariff law that expands the tariff Signs the Interstate Commerce Act

The Election of 1888 Grover Cleveland (D) vs. Benjamin Harrison (R) (Grandson of William Henry Harrison) The tariff issue divided the two parties- Democrats want to lower it while Republicans wanted to keep it Republicans raised $3 million Harrison won 233-168 Cleveland won the popular vote

Pro-business policies Signs Sherman Antitrust Act First “Billion dollar Congress”

The Election of 1892 Cleveland (D) vs. Harrison (R) vs. Weaver (Populist) Cleveland won (the only President reelected after being defeated)

Map 23.3 Presidential Election of 1892 (showing vote by county) Note the concentration of Populist strength in the semiarid farming regions of the western half of the country. (Compare this with Map 26.4, showing average annual precipitation with major agricultural products as of 1900, on p. 589.) Map 23-3 p507

Cleveland signs Dawes Act drastically changing the legal status of Native Americans Makes Native Americans individual land holders on reservation lands The Panic of 1893 turns into a long depression The Pullman Strike is ended with use of the U.S. Army

p511