Presidents: Grant – Cleveland

Presidential Election of 1868 Democrats Horatio Seymour – former NY Governor Denounced military reconstruction Won 80 Electoral votes to Grant’s 214 –the popular vote was close (300,000) Republicans Ulysses S. Grant He had no political experience main job was to hand out patronage “Let us have Peace” “vote as you Shoot” “Waving the Bloody Shirt”

The “Bloody Shirt” Elects Grant

Scandals Under Grant Credit Mobilier Scandal 1872 Union Pacific RR leaders created the company Hired themselves at a 348% profit Distributed stock to key congressmen & the VP of US.

Whiskey Ring: Robbed the government of millions in whiskey tax revenue Included Grant’s own private secretary (who he protected)

Depression, Deflation & Inflation Panic of 1873 Over-building of Railroads, mines, factories & farms Bad loans – no profits and no payments, led to foreclosures Hard vs. Cheap money Cheap $: agrarian & debtor groups want greenbacks (Civil War $) to be re-issued Hard money: Creditors wanted to be paid back with gold and silver coins Grant vetoed a bill to make more greenbacks Congress passed the Resumption Act of 1875 Buy back greenbacks in gold at face value by 1879

Presidential Election, 1876 Democrats Samuel J. Tilden 1 vote short (184 needs 185) led in the popular vote Deadlock was to be settled by an electoral commission 8 Republicans 7 Democrats… Republicans: Rutherford B. Hayes 3-time Governor of Ohio 20 disputed votes Louisiana, S. Carolina & Florida Both Parties sent delegates to the Electoral College

Compromise of 1877 & the End of Reconstruction Electoral Commission Voted along political lines--electing Hayes Almost a second Civil War Create a compromise to prevent Troops leave South Democrats will gain some patronage Consequences of compromise: Black equality is abandoned in the South

Compromise of 1877 & the End of Reconstruction For example…. Civil Rights Act 1875 Blacks should have equal public accommodations & equality in jury selection Not enforced Civil Rights Cases 1883 14th Amendment only meant Government violations of Civil Rights

The Birth of Jim Crow in the Post Reconstruction South Sharecropping and tenant farming “Crop lien” system Kept Blacks in poverty in the South Jim Crow Laws State-level segregation laws Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 “Separate but Equal” facilities Lynching: Blacks lynched for the “crime” of asserting themselves as equals

Election of 1880 Republicans win election 214-155 Democrats Winfield Scott Hancock Republicans James Garfield --“Dark Horse” Chester A. Arthur—Vice president From NY and a Stalwart Republicans win election 214-155 Garfield assassinated, July 2, 1881 By Charles J. Guiteau Disappointed because he did not receive patronage Pendleton Act of 1883 Chester Arthur supports Civil Service reform Jobs based upon a competitive exam Placed the Civil Service Commission in charge of appointments

Election of 1884 Wins narrow election Republicans James G. Blaine “Rum, Romanism, Rebellion” = loses NY Mugwumps left to support Democratic Party in order to support reform Democrats Grover Cleveland Very honest “a public office is a public trust” Wins narrow election Election over personalities NOT policy

“Old Grover” takes over Vetoed a bill that would have provided seed for drought-ravaged Texas farmers “Though the people must support the government, the government should not support the people”. Named 2 former Confederates to his cabinet Helped sooth North and South relations “Caved-in” to spoils system Military pensions: Widespread $ given to Civil War Veterans Cleveland reads each and vetoes 100’s

Cleveland Battles for a Lower Tariff Tariff had been high since the Civil War The Treasury had a surplus of $145 million Cleveland felt a lower tariff meant lower prices for consumers & less protection for monopolies Cleveland runs for the Democrats Republicans nominate Benjamin Harrison (grandson of William Henry) Harrison will win the electoral college 233-168 but lose the popular

The Billion-Dollar Congress Republicans have a thin lead in the House Thomas “Czar” Reed becomes Speaker of the House and pushes legislation through Pensions to Civil War Veterans Government purchases of silver (Sherman Silver Purchase Act 1890) McKinley Tariff = 48.4 % highest peacetime level In the mid-term elections, Republicans lost dropping to 88 seats vs 235 Democrats also 9 members of the Farmers Alliance, a militant organization

Cleveland and the Depression Only president elected after his defeat Depression of 1893 (may have been worse than Great Depression) Railroad over-building & over-speculation, labor disorders, agricultural depression – free-silver hurt the international market & European banking houses demanded repayments in gold lowering the gold reserve 8,000 business collapsed in 6 months, railroads went under Soup kitchens and hoboes common, local charities hard-pressed Federal Government “let nature take its course” philosophy William Jennings Bryan makes a plea for silver-Cleveland breaks the filibuster and alienates “free silver” faction of the Democrat party Cleveland finally has to go to JP Morgan for $65 million in gold

Cleveland Breeds a Backlash Cleveland is blamed for “selling” out to JP Morgan and business interests (Morgan had made $7million on the gold loan to the government) Wilson-Gorman Tariff 1894 (not much % drop over McKinley Tariff) 2% tax on incomes over $4,000) Cleveland allows the bill to become law without his signature Mid-term elections, Republicans won back lost majority in congress Cleveland blamed for their rebound

“Forgettable” Presidents The word lilliputian has come into common usage, meaning "very small sized". Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Harrison and Cleveland are all considered “forgettable” presidents largely because they did so little and they were controlled by Congress