1. Chapter 20 Political Realignments in the 1890s
Summary:
Panic of 1893
Four year depression
Realignment of American politics

2. Politics of Stalemate The Party Deadlock Experiments in the States
Electorate after Civil War divided evenly (Rep/De)
Gov’t in Wash less important
State/Local more imp.
Experiments in the States
Interstate Commerce Commission
Reestablishing Presidential Power
Hayes-ended reconstruction
Garfield-asserted leadership before his assassination
Chester Arthur-pushed for a strong navy & civil service reform
Grover Cleveland-return to laissez-faire
1888-Cleveland won popular vote but lost the presidency to Benjamin Harrison, who won the electoral college

3. Republicans in Power: The Billion-Dollar Congress
1888-Republicans control the White House
Passed the McKinley tariff in 1890
Granted pensions to veterans and their survivors
Passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act 1890
Passed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act 1890

4. Elections of 1890 & 1892 Alienation caused loss of House in 1890
1892-Republicans lost the White House
Panic of 1893
May, 1893-stock market hit a record low
2 million ppl out of work
1894-drought destroyed corn crops

5. Coxey’s Army & the Pullman Strike
Led by Jacob Coxey-1894
Marched on Washington demanding relief
“armies” of jobless persons
Pullman Strike
Led by Eugene Debs
Protested wage cuts and layoffs
Pres. Cleveland-used federal troops to bring down the strike

6. The Miners of the Midwest
Panic also felt in midwestern coal mines
Composed of small, family mines
Worked by english and irish mines
Worked for lower
wages
United Mine workers called a strike in 1894
Quickly turned violent

7. A Beleaguered President
President Cleveland
Sherman Silver Purchase Act
Created the depression
Caused gold to flow out of the public treasury
Repealed the act in 1893
Did not make a difference
He also failed to lower tariff rates as promised

8. Breaking the Party Deadlock
Cleveland’s failure to end the depression reduced the Democratic Party
Republicans became the overwhelming majority
Swept the 1894 congressional elections
People endorsed the Republican doctrine of government