1. William Jennings Bryan (D, Pop)
ELECTION OF 1896
William Jennings Bryan (D, Pop)
William McKinley (R)
155 ELECTORAL VOTES
292
ELECTORAL VOTES
MCKINLEY WINS!
Populists Fail Again

2. What does the story of the Election of 1896 illustrate about the POLITICS, LEADERSHIP, and GOVERNMENT of the Gilded Age?
Brainstorm a list of inferences based on the story.

3. POLITICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Voter turnout was incredibly high (80-95%).
Elections were usually very close.
The parties focused on winning elections, not governing the country.
The ideologies of both parties were very similar with differences on just a few issues (i.e. the tariff).
Many blacks and almost all women could not vote.
The government largely ignored the social consequences of industrialization.
DEMOCRATS: “Solid South”, Major Northern cities with large immigrant populations.
REPUBLICANS: Small towns and rural areas in the North and Midwest; native middle class, businessmen, white collar workers in Northern cities; Grand Army of the Republic.
Dirty Tactics: “Waving the Bloody Shirt”, “329”, The Illegitimate Son, “Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion”, Murchison Letter, War Chests

4. LEADERSHIP
Many candidates were veterans of the Civil War, from the Midwest, and not very dynamic or colorful.
Few candidates campaigned.
Many were touched by scandal though they were presented as “honest”.
Laissez-faire was the dominant style regardless of party.
Handouts were only given to veterans of the Civil War in the form of generous pensions.
Decisive action was only taken on matters of internal security (i.e. suppressing strikes) as presidents usually deferred to Congress.

5. CIVIL SERVICE REFORM THE ISSUES Spoils System Patronage vs. Merit?
NYC Customs House
Roscoe Conkling
*Chester Arthur
Half-Breeds vs. Stalwarts
Assassination of
James A. Garfield
“I am a Stalwart and Arthur will be President.”
Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)

6. MONEY SUPPLY THE ISSUES Limit or Expand? Bland-Allison Act (1878)
Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1890)
Coxey’s Army (1894)
Free Silver!
William Jennings Bryan and the “Cross of Gold”
Currency Act (1900)

7. TARIFFS HIGH LOW THE ISSUES
The main source of revenue for the federal government. (No income tax until 1916).
DEMOCRATS: Low
REPUBLICANS: High
Why???
HIGH
LOW
Protection
Freer Trade

8. ICC CORPORATE REGULATION? THE ISSUES
Interstate Commerce Act and the ICC (1887)
Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)
The influence of big business on politics.
ICC

9. FORGOTTEN OR IGNORED… THE ISSUES Women (The Vote, Lemonade Lucy)
Farmers (No Handouts, The Alliance Movement, The Populist Party)
Blacks (Sharecropping, Jim Crow Laws, Plessy v. Ferguson)
The Poor (Local Efforts, Intellectuals: Henry George, Edward Bellamy)
Immigrants (Chinese Exclusion Act)
Labor
The Environment