Stalemate in Washington Chapter 11 Section 1 Stalemate in Washington

Why It Matters During this period, political parties often focused on competition rather than on important issues --little was accomplished Government corruption and the “spoils system” were the focus of critics Rural Americans were suffering economically, and they began to organize to obtain relief

The Impact Today To ensure fair hiring for government jobs, a federal civil service system was created. A new federal agency was created to regulate commerce that still exists

A Campaign to Clean Up Politics Under the “spoils system”, or patronage, government jobs went to supporters of the winning party in an election By the late 1870s, many Americans believed that patronage corrupted those who worked for the government President Rutherford B. Hayes attacked the practice of patronage, and a movement to reform the hiring system began

The “Stalwarts”–a group of Republican machine politicians who strongly opposed civil service reform– accused Hayes of backing civil service reform to create openings for his own supporters. Civil service reformers were called “Halfbreeds.” The Republican candidate in the presidential election of 1880 was a Halfbreed, James Garfield. A Stalwart, Chester Arthur, was on the ticket for vice president. They won the election.

President Garfield was assassinated a few months into his presidency https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u4zOjtM4OU He was killed by a Stalwart who wanted a civil service job through the spoils system VP Chester A. Arthur then became POTUS, and surprisingly, supported reform 1883 Congress passed the Pendleton Act

Pendleton Act This civil service reform act allowed the president to decide which federal jobs would be filled according to rules set up by a bipartisan Civil Service Commission Candidates competed for those federal jobs through examinations, in what became know as the Merit System Once appointed to a job, a civil service official could not be removed for political reasons

Two Parties, Neck and Neck

Two Parties, Neck and Neck A major reason that few new policies were introduced in the 1870s and 1880s was because the Democrats had control of the House of Representatives and the Republicans had the control of the Senate Both the Republicans and the Democrats were well organized in the late 1800s The presidential elections were won with narrow margins between 1876 and 1896 Two Parties, Neck and Neck

In 1876 and 1888, the presidential candidate lost the popular vote but won the electoral vote and the election The Republicans won four of the six presidential elections between 1876 and 1896 The Democrats controlled the House of Representatives, however, and the Senate was controlled by Republicans who did not necessarily agree with the president on issues.

Democrats Reclaim the White House In the presidential election of 1884, Republicans remained divided over reform Democrats nominated Governor Grover Cleveland of New York, a reformer who opposed Tammany Hall Republicans nominated James G. Blaine, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives who was popular among Republican Party workers

A major issue in the campaign was corruption in American government. Voters focused on the morals of each candidate. Some Republican reformers, called “Mugwumps,” disliked Blaine so much that they left the party to support the Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland. The Mugwumps did not like Blaine’s connection with the Crédit Mobilier scandal.

Cleveland admitted to having fathered a child outside of marriage ten years earlier, but retained the support of the Mugwumps for his honesty. Blaine tried to persuade Roman Catholics to vote Republican because his mother was an Irish Catholic. His tactic failed, and Cleveland was elected president.

A President Plagued by Problems Many supporters of President Grover Cleveland sought patronage jobs after his election to office. Many strikes occurred during Cleveland’s administration. Police and paid guards sometimes attacked the strikers, leading to a period of violence punctuated by the Haymarket bombing.

Small businesses and farmers became angry at railroads because they paid high rates for shipping goods, but large corporations were given rebates, or partial refunds, and lower rates for shipping goods Both Democrats and Republicans believed that government should not interfere with corporations’ property rights

Wabash v. Illinois, 1886 Supreme Court ruled that the state of Illinois could not restrict the rates that the Wabash Railroad charged for traffic between states because only the federal government could regulate interstate commerce. In response, the Interstate Commerce Act was signed in 1887 creating the Interstate Commerce Commission This act was the first law to regulate interstate commerce. It limited railroad freight prices between states to what was “reasonable and just.” The ICC wasn’t very effective at regulating the RR industry

Election of 1888 Tariff reduction became a major issue in the 1888 election. Many Americans wanted Congress to cut tariffs because these import taxes caused an increase in the purchase price of goods, and they felt that large American companies could compete internationally without them. President Cleveland proposed lowering tariffs, but Congress was deadlocked over the issue

Election of 1888

Republicans Regain Power The Republican candidate in the 1888 election was Benjamin Harrison, whose campaign was given large contributions by industrialists who wanted tariff protection Democratic candidate was Cleveland, who was against high tariff rates Harrison won the election by winning the electoral vote, but not the popular vote

As a result of the election, Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress and the White House, ending gridlock The Republicans were able to pass legislation on issues of national concern The McKinley Tariff cut tariff rates on some goods (tobacco, sugar), but increased the rates of others (textiles) It lowered federal revenue and left the nation with a budget deficit

A new pension law passed in 1890 for veterans furthered worsened the federal deficit The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 made trusts illegal. Although the courts did little to enforce the law, it was important for establishing a precedent in the regulation of big business

Two-Party System Broken? Some Americans became convinces that our two-party system was incapable of solving the nation’s problems. Farmers felt exploited by banks and railroads, and neglected by the government. The didn’t believe either Democrats or Republicans would respond to their concerns. The stage is set for the rise of a new political party-the People’s Party