Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Presentation is loading. Please wait.

 Issues of the late 1800s/early 1900s  Expansion of large corporations  Settlement of the trans-Mississippi West  Surge in urban growth  The political.

Similar presentations


Presentation on theme: " Issues of the late 1800s/early 1900s  Expansion of large corporations  Settlement of the trans-Mississippi West  Surge in urban growth  The political."— Presentation transcript:

1  Issues of the late 1800s/early 1900s  Expansion of large corporations  Settlement of the trans-Mississippi West  Surge in urban growth  The political strain from all three  What would be the governments proper role?  How do we assimilate all the immigrants?  What about access to new markets?

2  From 1877 to 1884 political struggles were intense: Pres. Elections were close; House changed five times; seven new states admitted  Democrats control the South  Republicans consolidate their coalition in 1896  Elections during this time had high voter turnout (80%)  Navigating unsure economic times  Influx of immigrants  Growth of cities  However, DC ignored most problems generated by industrialization

3 Contested political visions  Republicans became the party supporting expansion of the railroad, tariff protection, land subsidies for farmers, preserver of the family  Democrats viewed emancipation as a threat to patriarchy  Neither party thought the govt. should regulate corporations or protect the social welfare of workers  Laissez-faire was the rule  People looked more towards local authorities  Women were pulled into politics because both parties linked economic prosperity to family values

4 Patterns of Party Strength  Republicans and Democrats then are not the same as today  In the late 1800s  Republicans ruled rural and small town New England, PA, and upper Midwest; they ran military leaders and “waved the bloody shirt”  Democrats ruled the South and northern cities; southerners campaigned for minimal govt., opposed tariff increases, and attacked govt. interference in the economy  Especially in the North they opposed prohibition and English language requirements

5  The role of governmental authority shaped the general political debate, but family tradition, ethnic ties, religious affiliation, and local issues determined an individual’s vote  Catholics (esp. Irish) and Germans voted Dem.  Old-stock northerners (75% of Methodists and Congregationalists; 65% of Baptists; 60% of Presbyterians) voted Rep.  British-born Protestants and 80% of Swedish and Norwegian Lutherans voted Rep.  African Am. Voted Rep.  Social issues were key: prohibition, prostitution, gambling, Sabbath observance

6 Regulating Money Supply  How to create a money supply adequate for a growing economy without producing inflation  Americans revered gold and silver  Bankers, creditors, business leaders, politicians, economists favored sound money  Southerners and westerners favored expanded money  The first question was Greenbacks  Greenback Party forms in 1877 and wins congressional seats  The next question was silver

7  Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890: the Treasury was to purchase 4.5 million ounces of silver monthly

8 The Spoils System  The push for civil service reform  Hayes launches an investigation of New York City customs offices: Future president Arthur is one of the spoils issuers  Garfield wins the election of 1880  Garfield is assassinated by a begrudged civil service workers that expected patronage  Arthur, the poster child for corruption, takes over  For the fallen president, the Pendleton Civil Service Act is passed  Competitive exams; standards of merit; political candidates can’t solicit from government workers (initially only 12%)

9 1884: Cleveland Victories  Republicans nominate a young James Blaine  Supposed to be different from Grantism  Democrats nominate Grover Cleveland (many Republicans bolted to him – Mugwumps)  However had fathered an illegitimate child; “Ma, Ma, where’s my pa?”  Cleveland was also opposed by Tammany Hall  Democrats were denounced as the party of “Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion”

10 Tariffs and Pensions  Tariff issue  Which products, commodities, or raw materials?  the high tariffs of the 1880s had created a budget surplus; was this bad?  Cleveland found it a corrupting influence because of pork-barrel projects (a paternalistic govt.)  Pension issue  Cleveland also took on the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) over costly pensions  He vetoed a bill which would have pensioned all disabled veterans

11 1888: Big Business and the GAR strike back  Nominating Benjamin Harrison (weak)  Hit the tariff issue, focusing on the importance of having a high protective tariff  Ensured prosperity,  Provided decent wages, and a  Healthy home market for farmers  They got around the Pendleton Civil Service Act and received money from corporations ($4 million)  Cleveland won the popular; Harrison won the College

12  Pension rolls ballooned from 676,000 to about 1,000,000 (America’s first public welfare program)  1890 the Rep. passed the McKinley Tariff

13 The Grange  Abundant harvests undercut prices  Beginning in 1867 farmers begin to form cooperatives  Oliver Kelley and the Grange (Patrons of Husbandry)  Offered information, emotional support, and fellowship  By less and produce more  Set up cash-only cooperatives

14  The also attacked the railroads, who always charged less for large producers and bribed legislators  The lobbied state legislatures  Munn v. Illinois (1877) – court upheld the law to set a maximum rate, however...  Wabash v. Illinois (1886) – court held that states can’t regulate interstate railroad rates  Congress passes the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 – federal authority; est. the ICC (all it did was est. the feds role)

15  The railroads may have lost at the national level, but the won at the state’s by lobbying state govts.  Most state repealed regulation laws by 1878  The Grange ultimately collapses under the weight of the “necessity” – borrowing money  After the crop was grown all else was out of the farmers control: Farmers were at the mercy of local merchants and farm equipment dealers, railroads form transportation

16 Alliance Movement  Centered in the South and West (Grange was the Plains)  Begin in Texas in the 1870s but became the National Farmers’ Alliance and Industrial Union (or Southern Alliance); a parallel black org., the National Colored Farmers’ Alliance emerge in Arkansas  Same ideas as the Grange  3 million in the Southern; 1.2 million in the NCFA  These farmers were the most geographically isolated, poorest, and relied on one crop  The Alliance was to give them knowledge and opportunity

17  It eventually spread to the Plains, but weather destroyed hopes in the mid-to-late 1880s  “In God we trusted, in Kansas we busted”  The Southern Alliance led by Tom Watson and Leonidas Polk urged blacks and whites to work together  Women also joined the struggle  Mary E Lease: “raise less corn and more hell”  The National Women’s Alliance in 1891

18  Unified political action in 1890 with a litmus test for politicians  Tariff reduction  Graduated income tax  Public ownership of the railroads  Federal funding for irrigation research  Ban on land ownership by aliens  Free and unlimited coinage of silver

19  Success  Four governorships and control of eight legislatures in the South  On the Plains alliance endorsed candidates secured control in NE leg. And balance in MN and SD

20  Problem  Northern Alliance sought a 3 rd party to fight for their issues  Southern Alliance didn’t want any challenges to the Democratic Party because it was the party of white supremacy  However, in 1892 alliance leaders organized the People’s Party of the United States; James B. Weaver is the nominee

21  Party platform  Traditional goals of the alliance  Direct election of senators  Govt. warehouses for surplus storage, receive low interest loans using crops as collateral, sell stored commodities when market prices rose

22 African Americans in Reconstruction  Redeemer coalition in the South  Large landowners  Merchants  New South industrialist  None cared for blacks in the South beyond insuring they behaved or voted their way  They were scared of Negro Rule  Convict lease program

23 Notes Quiz  1. Why was election turnout so high during this time period?  2. What did Republicans support during this time period? Identify four.  3. What were two provisions of the Pendleton Civil Service Act?  4. What was Wabash v. Illinois?  5. Why did the Grange collapse?  6. What were four political ideas on the People’s Party’s platform?


Download ppt " Issues of the late 1800s/early 1900s  Expansion of large corporations  Settlement of the trans-Mississippi West  Surge in urban growth  The political."

Similar presentations


Ads by Google