1. Gilded Age IV: Politics (1870-1890)

2. Learning Targets I can analyze the role of political machines and patronage in Gilded Age politics. I can evaluate the climax and collapse of the Third Party System during the Gilded Age.

3. A Two-Party Stalemate

4. Two-Party “Balance” Both parties roughly equal in strength Elections focused on personalities and patronage, not issues Politics as “spectator sport”

5. Very Laissez Faire Federal Govt.  From 1870-1900  Govt. did very little domestically.  Main duties of the federal govt.:  Deliver the mail.  Maintain a national military.  Collect taxes & tariffs.  Conduct a foreign policy.  Exception  administer the annual Civil War veterans’ pension.

6. Well-Defined Voting Blocs Democratic Bloc Republican Bloc  White southerners (preservation of white supremacy)  Catholics  Recent immigrants (esp. Jews)  Urban working poor (pro-labor)  Most farmers  Northern whites (pro-business)  African Americans  Northern Protestants  Old WASPs (support for anti-immigrant laws)  Most of the middle class

7. The Presidency as a Symbolic Office  Party bosses ruled.  Presidents should avoid offending any factions within their own party.  The President just doled out federal jobs.  1865  53,000 people worked for the federal govt.  1890  166,000 “ “ “ “ “ “ Senator Roscoe Conkling

8. The Grant Administration Scandal-ridden; seen as one of the most corrupt in history Use of the spoils system

9. The Grant Administration 1872 – Credit Mobilier: stock given to key members of Congress to avoid a bribery investigation; vice-president Colfax and future president Garfield implicated

10. The Grant Administration 1876 – the Whiskey Ring: excise tax money embezzled by members of Grant’s administration, including personal secretary 1869- 1877: widespread theft/embezzlement of government funds; i.e. Indian Affairs

11. Corruption in the Cities The rise of “political machines” – organization that traded favors and services for votes Provided immigrants with basic services; embezzled or stole millions of $$$ from state and local governments Most notorious: Tammany Hall of NYC

12. Boss Tweed William Marcy “Boss” Tweed: ran Tammany Hall until 1872 Convicted of embezzlement of govt. $$$ Impact of cartoons by Thomas Nast

13. 1880 Presidential Election: Republicans Half BreedsStalwarts Sen. James G. Blaine Sen. Roscoe Conkling (Maine) (New York) James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur (VP) compromise

14. 1880 Presidential Election: Democrats nominate Winfield Scott Hancock

15. 1880 Presidential Election

16. 1881: Garfield Assassinated! Charles Guiteau: I Am a Stalwart, and Arthur is President now!

17. Chester A. Arthur: The Fox in the Chicken Coup?

18. Pendleton Act (1883)  Civil Service Act.  The “Magna Carta” of civil service reform.  1883  14,000 out of 117,000 federal govt. jobs became civil service exam positions.  1900  100,000 out of 200,000 civil service federal govt. jobs. Chester Arthur

19. 1884 Presidential Election Grover Cleveland James Blaine * (DEM) (REP)

20. Republican “Mugwumps” Reform minded Republicans who supported Democrat Grover Cleveland and opposed Conkling and Blaine Cleveland James Blaine

21. A Dirty Campaign Ma, Ma…where’s my pa? He’s going to the White House, ha… ha… ha…!

22. Rum, Romanism & Rebellion!  Led a delegation of ministers to Blaine in NYC.  Reference to the Democratic Party.  Blaine was slow to repudiate the remark.  Narrow victory for Cleveland [he wins NY by only 1149 votes!]. Dr. Samuel Burchard

23. 1884 Presidential Election

24. Cleveland’s First Term  The “Veto Governor” from New York.  First Democratic elected since 1856.  A public office is a public trust!  His laissez-faire presidency:  Opposed bills to assist the poor as well as the rich.  Vetoed over 200 special pension bills for Civil War veterans!

25. The Tariff Issue  After the Civil War, Congress raised tariffs to protect new US industries.  Big business wanted to continue this; consumers did not.  1885  tariffs earned the US $100 mil. in surplus!

26. 1888 Presidential Election

27. Coming Out for Harrison

28. The Harrison Administration President Benjamin Harrison the “Billion Dollar Congress: first time govt. budget over $1billion; gives most money to Civil War veterans The McKinley Tariff – raises tariff to highest levels yet; causes much unrest in the South and Midwest

29. Labor Violence The Homestead Strike (1892) – steel workers strike at Carnegie’s Homestead plant Pinkertons and strikers clash Many wounded or killed Pinkertons defeated Eventually put down by PA state militia and US military Carnegie tainted permanently as anti- labor

30. The Farmers Problems of the farmer: #1 enemy – the railroads and “pools”; higher rates than for other customers Real problem: overproduction, leading to lower prices Also higher prices caused by the tariff and the trusts Jay Gould

31. The Farmers Unite Formation of the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry "We propose meeting together, talking together, working together, buying together, selling together, and, in general, acting together for our mutual protection and advancement, as occasion may require." -- 1874 Declaration of Purposes of the National Grange Oliver Kelley Original purpose: social and educational events; soon began political activity, focusing on the money supply and the railroads

32. The Issue Over Money “Hard” money (specie) vs. “Soft” money (issued by the government) – farmers wanted to increase money supply to cause inflation Higher prices makes it easier to pay debts

33. The Issue Over Money Inflation causes farm prices to rise; deflation causes a fall; money supply based on amount of gold in economy More money in the economy causes inflation Proposed solution: add silver to the economy to increase money supply First proposed by William “Coin” Harvey

34. The Farmers Unite The Grange emerges as political force in the Midwest The Greenback-Labor Party: first party that represented labor in elections Candidate James B. Weaver

35. “Granger Laws” The “Granger States” – farmers take over state governments in the Midwest in the 1880s i.e. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota Targeted railroads for rate controls Thrown out by Supreme Court in Wabash v. Illinois

36. The Beginning of the People’s (Populist) Party Wabash case destroys the Grange, replaced by the Farmers’ Alliances Foundation of the People’s Party, called by most the Populist Party

37. Growth of Populism Populism: a political viewpoint that places the “common man” over corporations and special interests Made up of mostly farmers, with labor and reformers, as well

38. The Birth of the Populist Party 1890 – Ocala, Florida: made up of three groups Organized labor Farmers Social reformers “Raise less corn and more H-E- double toothpicks!” – Mary E. Lease Tom Watson William Peffer

39. Early Success 1890 - Populists win state legislatures in several Midwestern states, sends five Senators and 12 members to the House 1892 – James B. Weaver wins over 1 million votes and 22 electoral votes

40. The Omaha Platform Platform adopted by Populist Party for 1892 election; source for many reforms to come into the future Proposals: 8 hour working day govt. ownership of RRs term limits on politicians popular election of senators income tax No. 1 demand: silver in the money supply at a 16:1 ratio to gold

41. The Depression of 1893 Second worst in American history Causes: overproduction of manufactured goods repeal of limited silver in the money supply loss of gold reserves, causing deflation Growing unemployment and farm foreclosures

42. The Depression of 1893 – 98 1894 – Pullman Strike: wages cut by 10%, but rent and prices stay the same in company town of Pullman, IL Strike turns violent RRs workers strike in support; most rail traffic stopped

43. The Depression of 1893 – 98 Cleveland ends strike by sending US military Labor leaders arrested Eugene V. Debs

44. The Depression of 1893 – 98 President Cleveland pursues laissez- faire approach; violence and protests increase 1894 – Jacob Coxey leads a march on DC; thousands join in demands for jobs

45. The Depression of 1893 – 98 1895 - J. P. Morgan and partners lend the government $65 million in gold reserves to stabilize money supply Weakens Cleveland politically

46. The Election of 1896 Republicans nominate William McKinley Considered safe, reliable Democrats enter convention with no clear frontrunner Cleveland rejected by Democratic Party for 3 rd term

47. The Election of 1896 William Jennings Bryan and the “Cross of Gold” speech “You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”

48. The Election of 1896 1/3 Populists and 2/3 Democrats merged (“fused”) to recreate the Democratic Party More populist in ideology; endorsed Omaha Platform Remainder of Populist Party eventually dissolved by 1908

49. The Election of 1896: The Candidates: Democrat – Bryan Republican – McKinley Gold Democrats: John Palmer Prohibition: Joshua Levering

50. William Jennings Bryan 3 term House member from Nebraska Youngest man to run for president (36) Populist in ideology, supporter of 16:1 Nominated on 5 th ballot; unknown outside NE Changed politics by campaigning personally

51. The Election of 1896 Republican advantages: More money raised by Mark Hanna Support from newspapers and big business Opposition from conservative Democrats

52. The Election of 1896 The media depicts Bryan as a dangerous lunatic, or foolish dreamer; workers threatened if they vote for Bryan

53. The Election of 1896 Results – McKinley wins; Bryan makes it close