The Forgettable Presidents Politics in the Gilded Age

Gilded not Golden Term coined by Mark Twain An era with income inequality Why? Corruption and Greed What will be the result Era of the Forgettable Presidents Partisan politics with little differentiation

Grant: 1868-1878 Republican Inept Grantism Scandals Credit Mobilier Whiskey Ring Gold and Gould Corrupt Cabinet Growth of the Political Machine Tweed and Tammany Hall

Split in the Republican Party Stalwarts – keep things the way they are Roscoe Conkling Half breeds – civil service reformers Jim Blaine

Election of 1876 Republicans nominate Rutherford B Hayes (Ohio) Federal control of the south, reform civil service, rising fear of immigrants Democrats nominate Sam Tilden End military reconstructions, restrict oriental immigration, end of land grants Compromise of 1877 Composition of the two parties?

Rutherford B. Hayes Alienated Stalwart Republicans by his cabinet choices Allow women lawyers to argue in front of Supreme Court Desert Land Act Hard money advocate Sides with business in labor dispute Use of Federal troops Unsuccessful veto of Chinese Exclusion Act

James Garfield Compromise candidate from Ohio Stalwarts wanted Grant, Half-Breeds wanted Blaine Chester Arthur (Stalwart) as VP Once in office, angered Sen. Conkling by supporting civil service reform Assassinated by Guiteau, a deranged Stalwart

Chester Arthur Stalwart, turned independent Passed Pendleton Act Require civil service examination for some government positions Unsuccessfully attempted to lower tariffs to eliminate Treasury surplus

Election of 1884 Republicans nominate Jim Blaine Democrats nominate Grover Cleveland Campaign focused on public or private misdeeds Mulligan Letters – rum, Romanism and rebellion Mugwumps – Liberal Republicans who voted Democrat

Cleveland (I) Replaced Republicans with Democrats in government Increased number of classified government positions Suspicious of government support (federal aid) Vetoed private pension bills to Civil War veterans Investigated railroad land grants Signed the Interstate Commerce Act Proposed labor arbitration legislation

Benjamin Harrison Republican Harrison ran a polite campaign that captured an electoral college victory from Cleveland in 1888 Protectionist – McKinley Tariff of 1890 had the highest import duties in history Passed Sherman Silver Purchase Act – silver used in federal coinage Favored conservation, imperialism Sherman Antitrust Act – used against labor Billion Dollar Congress passed Dependent Pension Act

Election of 1892 Harrison re-nominated by Republicans Democrats re-nominate Cleveland Both parties were split Republican support for Blain and McKinley Democratic interests in the south and west urged support for silver programs Democratic platform urged a revenue only tariff Populist Party nominates Gen. James. Weaver Free coinage of silver and government ownership of railroads

Cleveland (2) The Panic (Depression) of 1893 dominates Worldwide in scope Sherman Silver Purchase Act and McKinley tariff are blamed Gold drain on the Treasury Support of J.P. Morgan

Election of 1896 Depression assures Republican victory Political boss Mark Hanna orchestrates nomination of McKinley Democrats are divided Gold- Democrats for Cleveland Free silver advocates favored William Jennings Bryan McKinley outspends Bryan $5 to $1

McKinley End of depression in 1897 allowed the nation to turn towards foreign policy issues Selection of Theodore Roosevelt as running mate in the 1900 election Ran against Bryan again Free silver issue takes a back seat to looming war with Spain McKinley is assassinated by Leon Czolgosz