1. Politics & Government

2. Main Points Structure & Style of Politics Limits of Government Sources of Discontent Reform and Reaction

3. Structure & Style Campaigns & Elections National Pastime Entertainment Mass voting Partisanship Parties controlled voting Corruption Class, ethnicity, religion, region

4. 1892 Election: anti-Cleveland

6. B. Harrison vs. G. Cleveland

7. Structure & Style Third Parties Issue Oriented Extremes of spectrum Short-term Populist Party Bull Moose Ross Perot Green Party

8. Limits of Government A mixed bag Declining business regulations Increasing use of government power against unions American military & Native People Weak Presidency Expanding, but inept Congress Questions of national regulation & capitalism

9. Sources of Discontent Pro-business Anti-regulation Corruption Spoils system National corporations dominated life Low wages, working conditions, banking system, anti-union

10. “Machine Politics” Corruption & cooperation between government, business, labor, police & crime bosses Bosses pay off police & public officials to NOT arrest them, and in return deliver votes of the poor, immigrant groups in cities Unions voted for politicians that helped them, sometimes assisted crime bosses

11. Corruption, continued Boss Tweed and Tamany Hall Chicago, San Fran, El Paso, etc

13. “You have the liberty of voting in any way you please, but we have the liberty of counting in any way we please…”

14. Limited Reform Pendleton Civil Service Act, 1883 Prohibited federal workers from soliciting or accepting political contributions from government workers (bribes) & created the Civil Service Commission Interstate Commerce Commission, 1887 Federal government could regulate interstate commerce (ICC) Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890 Weak attempt to stop monopolies or trusts that prohibit competition

15. Populism 1866 National Labor Union 1869 Knights of Labor 1870s Farmers Alliance 1880s-1890s Populists/Peoples Party Declining prices, corporate competition Lost farms, high debt Governors, legislatures, William Jennings Bryant

16. Populist “Radicals”

17. Nebraska Populists

18. Populist Cartoons

19. William McKinley Populists remain a third party or merge with the Democrats? Merged, & accepted McKinley as their candidate for 1896 presidency McKinley lost

20. Labor Movement Government support for capital Refusal to regulate business Capitalist exploitation of labor Workplace conditions Wages & hours Meaning & control of labor Culture & Community

21. Labor and Unions Great Railroad Strike 1877 Knights of Labor Haymarket Square Bombing of 1886 American Federation of Labor Gompers 

22. Regional Politics The Santa Fe Ring Republican politicians City government Developers gave land to politicians who approved laws or ignored laws/taxes to the benefit of land developers Approved illegal sales of territorial/federal lands Stole/sold Pueblo and Apache lands

23. Conclusions National, state, city government Question of corruption & regulation Abuses of power and discontent Early Reactions and Reform