Political Paralysis of the Gilded Age AP Chapter 23

What were the patterns of party strength?  Elections were close  Voter participation very high – 80 to 95%  Family tradition, ethnic ties, religious affiliation often determined how one voted

What were the issues?  Tariff  Nature of the nation’s money supply  Pensions awarded to Civil War veterans  “waving the bloody shirt”  Lackluster presidents

Greenbacks and Silver  Create a money supply adequate for a growing and diverse economy  Gold and silver – trustworthy  Bankers and creditors wanted gold  Farmers and debtors wanted an expanded money supply backed by gold and silver – even greenbacks

The Spoils System  Since the Jacksonian era  Reward supporters and contributors with government jobs – maintain party loyalty  Unqualified and incompetent often received jobs  Office holders had to contribute to future campaigns  Battle for reform in the GOP – Stalwarts vs. Half-breeds –Stalwarts led by Conkling and were pro- patronage –Half-Breeds led by Blaine and were for reform

Election of 1868  Republican  “Bloody Shirt” campaign  Inexperienced in politics  Inept in choosing assistants  Deferred to Congress

Era of Good Stealings  Corruption – Railroads, Stock- market, judges and legislators for hire  Political machines and bosses – Tweed Ring of NYC cheated the city of $200 million  Scandals in the presidency

The Fisk – Gould Scheme  Jim Fisk and Jay Gould – wealthy businessmen  Attempted to corner the gold market  Bribed government officials to stop selling gold  Sept. 24, 1869 – began to bid up the price of gold - Treasury released more gold

Tweed Ring - NYC  Tammany Hall – NYC democratic headquarters  Political machine politics  Graft, bribery, fraudulent elections  Bilked the city of almost $200 million  Brought down by the cartoonist Thomas Nast

Grant Scandals  Credit Mobilier - VP received stock not to investigate fraud by a RR construction company  Whiskey Ring – Grant’s private secretary took bribes not to collect taxes from distillers –  Sec. of War accepted bribes from agents on Indian reservations

Election of 1872  Liberal Republicans – fed up with corruption and graft – nominated Horace Greeley –Editor of NY Tribune  Democrats – nominated Greeley  Republicans – Grant  Mud – spattered campaign  Both were unqualified

Depression of 1873  First major economic depression in U.S. history  Result of rapid economic expansion after the Civil War  Boom – bust  Overextended economy + risky loans  The Crime of ’73 – de-monitized silver  Millions out of work

Resumption Act of 1875  Debtors and farmers sought the reissue of greenbacks  “soft money” vs. “hard money”  “hard money” won – redemption of all paper money in gold beginning 1879  Contraction – decrease in nation’s money supply –deflation –stabilized greenbacks  “soft money” began demanding free coinage of silver

Bland – Allison Act  The U.S. Treasury purchase between $2 and $4 million in silver each month from the western mines  The silver was to be purchased at market rates, not at a pre-determined ratio of 16 to 1  The metal was to be minted into silver dollars as legal tender  Government purchased a minimal amt. of silver – little effect

Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890  Gov’t required to 4.5 million ounces of silver each month  Issue redeemable in gold and silver  Surplus of silver – drove down value  People preferred to redeem issue for gold and not silver  drain on gold reserves  Panic of 1893

Who voted Republican during the Gilded Age?  Region?  Religion?  Blue laws?  Tariffs?  Money issues?  Union pensions?

Who voted Democratic during the Gilded Age?  Region?  Religion?  Blue laws?  Tariffs?  Money issues?  Union pensions?

The Election of 1876 – The End of Reconstruction  Rutherford B. Hayes vs. Samuel Tilden  Tilden (D) won 184 votes out of the needed 185 to win the Electoral College  Votes in Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida in dispute ( 2 sets of results)  Commission of 15 (8 republicans and 7 democrats) counted the disputed votes

Compromise of 1877  Hayes (R) would get the votes and become president  Federal troop withdrawn from Louisiana and S. Carolina – ending Reconstruction –Repubs abandon commitment to racial equality  Bill to subsidize the Texas Pacific Rail - line

The Great RR Strike of 1877  Wild-cat strike – 1 st national strike  Baltimore and Ohio RR  10% wage cut  Spread from the East to Mid-west  2/3 RR idle – property burned  Hayes called in federal troops – 100 dead  Exposed weakness of labor movt

The Election of 1880 and the Patronage Issue  Republican convention split between Half-Breeds and Stalwarts  James A. Garfield – Half-Breed nominated for president  Chester Arthur – Stalwart – VP nominee  Garfield beat Winfield Hancock by 40,000 out of 9.2 million votes  1881 Garfield assassinated by Charles Guiteau – a stalwart  Arthur became president  Shocked nation into reforming spoils system

Pendleton Act  Created an independent civil service outside of party politics  Civil Service Commission to classify government jobs and administer an examination – est. standards of merit  Gov’t employees could not be forced to contribute to political campaigns and could not be fired for political reasons

Consequences of the Pendleton Act?  Stopped the most blatant abuses  Politicians forced to look elsewhere for money  Turned to businesses and lobbyists

Election of 1884  Republican candidate – James G. Blaine of Maine – not know for his honesty  Mugwumps – Republicans who refused to support Blaine  Democrats – Grover Cleveland – had a reputation for integrity  Mud – slinging again – Democrats labeled the party of “Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion”

Grover Cleveland  1 st democratic president since Civil War  “public office is a public trust”

President Cleveland  Laissez – faire  business happy  Expanded the merit system – but also appointed many democrats to positions  Surplus - $145 million/year  Issue  military pensions – vetoed special pension bills for Civil War vets  Fought for lower tariffs –Lower prices and end to surplus  Compelled return of 80 million acres of public land held illegally by lumber and railroad companies

Election of 1888  Democrats  Cleveland  Republicans  Benjamin Harrison  Harrison supported high tariffs and so the industrialists supported him  Cleveland won popular vote – Harrison won the electoral vote

The First Billion Dollar Congress  Harrison did not assert presidential authority – deferred to party leaders  Congress – led by “Czar” Reed (R) –Raised tariffs and reduced imports, thus reducing federal revenues (McKinley Tariff) –Voted “pork barrel” public expenditures –Authorized generous pensions previously vetoed by Cleveland –Wiped out surplus

There’s Trouble Down on the Farm!  Harsh conditions – drought and harsh winters –  Railroad abuses  Falling agriculture prices  Tight money  McKinley Tariff  Voted for Democrats in 1890  Formed Farmers’ Alliances and the Grange

1892 – A year of discontent  Homestead Strike –Strike against A. Carnegie’s Homestead steel plant –300 armed Pinkerton’s called in –Ten people killed –Federal troops called in to break strike  Strike at Coeur d’Alene silver mine broken by state and federal troops

Populist (Omaha) Platform  Inflation – free coinage of silver  Graduated income tax  Government ownership of the railroads, telegraph, and telephone  Direct election of U.S. senators  One-term limit on the presidency  Initiative and referendum  8 hour day  Immigration restriction

Election of 1892  Populists nominated General James B. Weaver –22 electoral votes –Cut into republican strength in Midwest  Republicans – Harrison  Democrats – Cleveland (winner)

Panic of 1893  Economic collapse of the railroads –Overbuilding and over- speculation  Depletion of gold reserves  Government debt – veterans benefits and high tariff  Stock prices dropped

Depression  200 railroads failed  percent unemployment  Recent immigrants faced disaster  Harsh winters  Farm prices down 20%  More people joined the Populist Movement  Jacob Coxey went to see the President

What about the gold standard?  Defended by Cleveland  Gold reserve fell below $100 million  Repeal of Sherman Silver Purchase Act  Gold reserve sank to $40 million  Floated 2 Treasury bond issues of over $100 million  Turned to J.P. Morgan for help

What did Morgan do?  Banker and head of a Wall Street syndicate  Agreed to lend gov’t $65 million in gold  Charged $7 million fee  Saved the gold standard and restore confidence in nation’s finances

Backlash?  People resented cooperation with Morgan  Resented preservation of gold standard  Wilson – Gorman Tariff passed –Lower but not enough –Income tax – but declared unconstitutional  Coxey’s Army ignored  Used troops and an injunction against the Pullman Strike

Congressional Election of 1894  Democrats suffered heavy losses  Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives  Populists increased their base