The Gilded Age 1869 - 1896

Immigration With the Civil War over, immigrants once again pour into the U.S. The U.S. had become the 3rd largest Western nation by 1870. Most people had looked forward to peaceful prosperity, but got corruption and waste. The Gilded Age was not that it seemed.

Election of 1868 Republicans nominated Grant b/c he could win. Waving the “bloody shirt” was a winning tactic. Grant won in a landslide despite losing a majority of the white votes. Some states didn’t count!

Scandals Abound Fisk – Gould - Gold scandal Indian Ring Scandal Credit Mobilier Scandal Whiskey Ring Scandal

Political Machines Boss Tweed was the notorious head of Tammany Hall. Political machines twisted arms and were the real gov’t. Stole as much as $200 million from New York City. Finally brought down by Thomas Nast – political cartoonist – for the illiterate!

Election of 1872 Horace Greeley Ulysses S. Grant

Monetary Policy With the Panic of 1873, people searched for stable money. Businesses closed as did banks. There was a call for hard money. Greenbacks were inflationary and taken out of circulation. Gold would once again become the monetary metal of choice. Debtors were outta luck.

Greenback Labor Party With hard money now being our standard, Westerners sought more silver. This was just another way to cause inflation to help those in debt – especially out West. Grant didn’t budge and money deflated – there was less of it. The Greenback Labor Party was formed and won some Congressional seats.

Politics of the Gilded Age There were few economic differences between Democrats and Republicans at this time. They still fought for seats in Congress and called each other names. The majority party in the House changed repeatedly. The parties broke along ethnic and cultural lines.

Hayes-Tilden Affair

The Standoff Tilden won by nearly ¼ million votes, but lacked one electoral vote to secure victory. Both Dem. and Rep. sent emissaries to FL, S.C., and LA to figure out who had won. Guess what they determined? The Compromise of 1877 settled the dispute (sort of) by sending the votes to Hayes in return for… The removal of federal troops from the remaining southern states. Reconstruction over!

Turbulence Railroad Strike of 1877. Four major RR companies decided to cut salaries by 10% Strike was violent and Hayes sent in the military. That caused more work stoppages as people sided w/ the workers. Labor had not yet organized.

Chinamen Chinamen flooded California in search of gold. When gold was no longer found, they took lowly jobs. As economy worsened, they were singled out and persecuted Eventually, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Only time a single group was singled out and denied access.

Election of 1880 James Garfield - Rep Winfield Scott Hancock - Dem

Win and Lose Garfield won a close election, but for what? Republicans were split-Stalwarts vs. Half-breeds Garfield was assassinated by a Stalwart (and nut) He died 3 months later. Chester Arthur would become President.

Death = Reform The death of the president forced Rep. to reform. Half-breeds and Stalwarts argued over jobs – not policy. President Arthur took the lead to reform D.C. The Pendleton Act of 1883 made many gov’t jobs merit-based.

Election of 1884 James G. Blaine – Rep. Grover Cleveland – Dem.

Nasty Politics Blaine and Cleveland ran a dirty campaign. Blaine was dirty and Cleveland had skeletons. Cleveland was accused of fathering child. (no wife) He admitted that and proved he supported her. Cleveland won the election!