1. Parties, Patronage and Public Interest
Gilded Age Politics
Parties, Patronage and Public Interest

2. Why was party identity so strong in the Gilded Age?
Republicans & Democrats not far apart on many issues, but..
Regional loyalty
South staunchly Democrat (anti-Republican)
Ethnicity/Religion
Democrats appeal to immigrants and Catholics

4. Presidential Politics
Republicans dominate presidency in post-Civil War period
“Compromise of 1877”
Rutherford B. Hayes (R) awarded presidency
Reconstruction ends

5. How did the Republican Party evolve during the Gilded Age?
“Stalwarts”
Favored machine patronage
“Half Breeds”
Favored some reform (but not really)

6. How did the Republican Party evolve during the Gilded Age?
James Garfield assassinated 1881
Paul Guiteau, disgruntled office seeker
Civil service reform (Pendleton Act)

7. Election of 1884 “Mugwumps”
Republicans who voted Democrat because they were fed up with patronage
Grover Cleveland (D) reform NY Governor becomes President
Tarriff issue
Lost to Benjamin Harrison 1888

8. Emerging Reform Interstate Commerce Act (1888)
Federal oversight of railroad industry
Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
Outlawed “combinations” in restraint of trade
In first decade targeted labor unions

10. Election of 1892 McKinley Tariff (1890)
Increased import duties to highest levels
Angers farmers and consumers
People’s Party runs national campaign
Cleveland defeats Harrison
Only president to serve two non-consecutive terms