POLITICS IN THE GILDED AGE,

 Grant was immensely popular after the war  Nation was weary after war, and eager for a fresh face.  Republicans, nevertheless, enthusiastically nominate Grant  Grant is singularly unequipped to be President.

 Democrats divided between eastern and western democrats.  Nominate Horatio Seymour  Republicans wave the “Bloody Shirt”  Republican Platform  Democrats divided over redemption of Bonds.  Grants wins easily in the electoral college, but by only 300,000 votes.  Impact of Black vote.

 Civil War bred corruption and graft.  Causes  RR corruption  Jim Fisk and Jay Gould scheme to corner the gold market.  Boss Tweed/Tammany Hall.  Samuel Tilden.

 Grant’s administration was riddled with corrupt officials.  Credit Mobilier scandal.  Exposed in  Members of congress censured.  Vice President implicated.  Whiskey Tax scandal.

 Liberal republicans were tired of corruption  Liberal Republican party.  Nominate Horace Greeley  Democrats endorse him, too. Why?  Campaign very ugly

 Grant wins easily, , because:  Grant is perceived to be the lesser of two evils  Democrats are still stained with fault for the Civil War.  Did lead the Republicans to clean their own house.  General amnesty Act,  lowered tariffs  Mild civil-service reform

 1873 severe recession hits  Causes  15,000 businesses went under.  Debtors advocate inflationary policies.  Call for more Greenbacks.  Federal government had removed one-fourth from circulation. Why?  Grant sides with conservatives and signs Resumption Act of 1875

 Debtors advocated the coinage of silver dollars.  Why?  Congress had formally dropped silver money in  Reasons  Grant rejects call to mint Silver.  Consequences of Grant’s policy

 Balance of two political parties during the Gilded Age from  Majority in Congress flipped back and forth six times in the 11 terms between  Few controversial stands  Few dramatic policy differences between parties.  Voter turnout /voter loyalty.  Political machines and patronage

 Republicans:  Embodied the old Puritanical ideals.  Strict moral codes and belief that government should be an instrument in regulating economic and moral affairs of the community.  Strong in Midwest and in rural and small-town New England.  Got most of votes from Freedman and from Union Civil War Vets.

 Democrats  More Roman Catholic and Lutheran.  South and northern industrial cities  Large immigrant base and strong Dem. machines.

 Republicans had two rival factions  Stalwarts (Conklingites)  led by NY Sen. Roscoe Conkling.  Big believers in patronage.  Half-Breeds.  Led by James Blaine.  Flirted with civil service.  Consequences of this division

 Republicans dissuade Grant from running again.  Rutherford B. Hayes.  Hayes largely unknown, but a civil war officer  Also, importantly, former three-term governor of Ohio.

 Samuel Tildon.  Platform.  Attacks against Republicans.  Electoral College dispute  Reasons  Attempts to resolve  Electoral Count Act  Further compromise

 Compromise was the end of reconstruction.  Literacy tests and poll taxes  Civil Rights Cases  Crop-Lien System/Share Cropping  Jim Crow Laws  Plessy v. Ferguson

Sharecropping

Tenancy & the Crop Lien System Furnishing MerchantTenant FarmerLandowner  Loan tools and seed up to 60% interest to tenant farmer to plant spring crop.  Farmer also secures food, clothing, and other necessities on credit from merchant until the harvest.  Merchant holds “lien” {mortgage} on part of tenant’s future crops as repayment of debt.  Plants crop, harvests in autumn.  Turns over up to ½ of crop to land owner as payment of rent.  Tenant gives remainder of crop to merchant in payment of debt.  Rents land to tenant in exchange for ¼ to ½ of tenant farmer’s future crop.

 Strikes in the 1870s  Who wins?  Why?  Chinese in California  Dennis Kearney/Kearneyites  Chinese Exclusion Act

 Hayes administration was not very noteworthy. Did not accomplish much beyond end to reconstruction.  “Old 8-7” and “His Fraudulency.”  He did not run for reelection and wouldn’t have been renominated had he tried.

 Stymied by Stallwart-Halfbreed rivalry and take 35 ballots to settle on a candidate.  Chose James Garfield. Dark-Horse.  Chester Arthur, was chosen VP. Why?  Platform is for higher tariffs and (weakly) for civil service reform

 Democrats chose Winfield Hancock  Civil War General, but popular in south  Why?.  Both parties shun substantive political issues.  Garfield wins by only 40,000, but in electoral college.  He was besieged by office seekers.  Made Blain Sec. of State  Battle raging politically between Stalwarts and Half- Breeds.

1881: Garfield Assassinated! Charles Guiteau: I Am a Stalwart, and Arthur is President now!

 Not many expected much from Arthur. Why?  Displayed surprising integrity, intelligence and independence.  Arthur threw his support behind reform of spoils system.  Pendleton Act of 1883  Details  Unintended consequences?

 Rep. nominate Blain  Tainted with numerous rumors of scandals.  The “tattooed man”  “Mulligan letters”  Mugwumps.

 Democrats nominate Grover Cleveland.  Reputation for reform and honesty.  Cleveland’s Bastard.  One of the ugliest campaigns in American history  New York the key state  Rum, Romanism and Rebellion

 First Dem. president since Buchanan  Issues raised by this?  Cleveland’s political philosophy  Last Jeffersonian Democrat?  Named two former confederates to his cabinet, helping to heal the north-south divide

 Cleveland and office seekers—fires 2/3 of federal employees  Military Pension issue  Tariffs  Country was running at a surplus because of high tariffs.  Republicans had little motivation to reduce these tariffs.  Cleveland’s two choices?  He favored reducing tariffs. Why?  Cleveland makes tariff reduction his number-one issue.  Created a real political difference between the parties just in time for the election of 1888.

 Dems renominate Cleveland.  Rep. turn to Benjamin Harrison, grandson of William Henry Harrison.  Primary issue?  Republicans use fear of British against Cleveland.  Republicans raise a huge war chest. How?  Harrison wins electoral vote but loses the popular vote.

1888 Presidential Election

 Cleveland the first sitting president to be voted out of office since Van Buren in (Others: J. Adams, J.Q. Adams, Harrison, Hoover, Carter, Bush)  Cleveland last to win popular vote and lose electoral college until Gore.  Cleveland only president to have two non- consecutive terms.

 Benj. Harrison in the White House.  Republicans eager for patronage.  Blaine is Secretary of State.  Teddy Roosevelt Civil Service Commission.  Republican quorum problem in the House  Speaker Thomas Reed

 Billion Dollar Congress  Pension Act of 1890  Sherman Anti-Trust Act  Tariffs and Silver  Easterners wanted a higher tariff  Westerners and farmers wanted more silver minted

 Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890  McKinley Tariff Bill  raised tariff rates to their highest peace-time level—48%  Farmers hated the new tariff. Why?  Republicans punished in 1890 congressional election.  Lose nearly 60 seats and Dems have a huge majority in Congress

1892 Presidential Election Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison again! * (DEM) (REP)

 Populists emerge as a potent third party.  Officially the People’s Party  Nominate James B. Weaver  Populist Agenda:  free and unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio of sixteen to one  graduated income tax  Gov’t ownership of telephone, telegraph and RR  direct election of US senators  one-term limit on presidency  use of the initiative and referendum to allow citizens to propose and review legislation.  Shorter work day-to appeal to labor  restriction on immigration—to appeal to labor

 Labor is mad and are ripe for wooing by Populists.  Homestead strike  Populists poll over one-million votes and become one of the few third parties to win electoral votes  Populists problems with Blacks  Grandfather Clause

 Depression of 1893  Causes:  Over-building and over-speculation  labor unrest  agricultural depression from low commodity prices  reduction of US credit abroad because of Silver Purchase Act  Problems with overseas banks, which were forced to call in US loans.  Cleveland does next to nothing— laissez faire

 Treasury was running a deficit because of the Silver Purchase Act. Reasons  Cleveland saw no choice but to repeal the Silver Purchase Act.  William Jennings Bryan  Cleveland forced to issue bonds to raise money in order to buy gold  J.P. Morgan deal  Public reaction

 McKinley Tariff causes deficit  Democrats propose bill to reduce tariff but add income tax  Senate tacks on lots of provisions to help special interests.  Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act of  Cleveland refused to sign it, but can’t veto.  Supreme Court throws out income tax  Public opinion hates the bill and blame Dems.  Democrats hammered in 1894 mid-term election.