Presentation on theme: "POLITICS IN THE GILDED AGE,"— Presentation transcript:
1 POLITICS IN THE GILDED AGE, 1869-1889
Chapter 23 The term "gilded age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner to describe the concentration of wealth in late nineteenth-century American society. During this period, industrial kingpins such as Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and John D. Rockefeller amassed unprecedented fortunes. Meanwhile, as the drive to accumulate wealth translated into miserable working conditions in factories, coal mines, and oil fields, violent strikes broke out throughout the country. Of the thousands of strikes that erupted during the 1880's and 1890's, some of the most furious were the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, the Haymarket Riot of 1886, and the Pullman strike of 1894.
2 The “Bloody Shirt” Elects Grant
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. In the United States of America's (U.S.) history, "waving the bloody shirt" refers to the demagogic practice of politicians referencing the blood of martyrs or heroes to inspire support or avoid criticism. The phrase originated with post-bellum politicians using sectionalist animosities of the American Civil War to gain election in the postbellum North from the 1860s to 1880s. The phrase implied that members of the Democratic Party (which garnered much of their support from the "Solid South") were responsible for the bloodshed of the war and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Some candidates of the Republican Party as well a few candidates of other parties rivaling the Democratic Party used this notion to get elected to office, under the idea Democrats and Southerners are one and the same, and men should "vote as they had shot".
3 The “Bloody SHIRT” Elects Grant
Democrats divided between eastern and western democrats. Nominate Horatio Seymour Republicans wave the “Bloody Shirt” Democrats divided over redemption of Bonds. Grants wins easily in the electoral college, but by only 300,000 votes. Impact of Black vote. In the history of the United States, "waving the bloody shirt" refers to the demagogic practice of politicians referencing the blood of martyrs or heroes to inspire support or avoid criticism. The phrase originated with post-bellum politicians using sectionalist animosities of the American Civil War to gain election in the postbellum North from the 1860s to 1880s. The phrase implied that members of the Democratic Party (which garnered much of their support from the "Solid South") were responsible for the bloodshed of the war and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Some candidates of the Republican Party as well a few candidates of other parties rivaling the Democratic Party used this notion to get elected to office, under the idea Democrats and Southerners are one and the same, and men should "vote as they had shot". The term "bloody shirt" can be traced back to the aftermath of the murder of the third Caliph, Uthman in 656 AD, when a bloody shirt and some hair alleged to be from his beard were used in what is widely regarded as a cynical ploy to gain support for revenge against opponents. It also appears in a scene in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, in which Mark Antony waves Julius Caesar's toga to stir up the emotions of his fellow Romans. This comes from Caesar's historical funeral in 44 BC when Marc Antony showed the toga to the crowd during his funeral oration. In American history, it gained popularity with an apocryphal incident in which Benjamin Franklin Butler of Massachusetts, when making a speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, allegedly held up the shirt of a carpetbagger whipped by the Ku Klux Klan
4 The Era Of Good Stealings
Civil War bred corruption and graft. RR corruption Jim Fisk and Jay Gould scheme to corner the gold market. Boss Tweed/Tammany Hall. William Marcy Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), known as "Boss Tweed," was an American politician most famous for his leadership of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th century New York. At the height of his influence, Tweed was the third-largest landowner in New York City, a director of the Erie Railway, the Tenth National Bank, and the New-York Printing Company, as well as proprietor of the Metropolitan Hotel.[1] Tweed was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1852, and the New York City Board of Advisors in In 1858, Tweed became the "Grand Sachem" of the Tammany Hall. He was elected to the New York State Senate in 1867. Tweed was convicted for stealing between 40 million and 200 million dollars[2] (based on the inflation or devaluation rate of the dollar since 1870 of 2.7%, this is between 1.5 billion and 8 billion 2009 dollars) from New York City taxpayers through political corruption. He died in the Ludlow Street Jail During the 1876 presidential election, Tilden won the popular vote over his Republican opponent, Rutherford B. Hayes, proving that the Democrats were back in the political picture following the Civil War. But the result in the Electoral College was in question because the states of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina each sent two sets of Electoral Votes to Congress. (There was separately a conflict over one elector from Oregon, who was disqualified on a technicality.) Republicans had taken over the state governments in the South during Reconstruction, but were unpopular with the overwhelmingly Democratic white southerners, many of whom resented what they perceived as interference from the North and blamed the Republicans for the Civil War. As a result, one set of Electoral Votes from each of these three states had cast their ballots for the Republican Hayes, and another set had cast their ballot for the Democrat Tilden. Without these three states, Tilden had won 184 Electoral Votes, but needed 185 to win the Presidency. If he had taken even one state, he would have become President. However, if Hayes were to win all the contested votes, he would receive 185 Electoral Votes and win the election. Because the Constitution does not address how Congress is to handle such a dispute, a constitutional crisis appeared imminent. While the Republicans boldly claimed the election, Tilden mystified and disappointed his supporters by not fighting for the prize or giving any leadership to his advocates. Instead he devoted more than a month to the preparation of a complete history of the electoral counts over the previous century to show it was the unbroken usage of Congress, not of the President of the Senate, to count the electoral votes. [Bigelow v 2:60] Congressional leaders tried to resolve the crisis by creating a 15-member Electoral Commission that would determine which set of votes were valid. The Commission consisted of five members from the Republican-controlled Senate (three Republicans and two Democrats), and five from the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives (three Democrats, two Republicans). The remaining five members were chosen from the Supreme Court – originally two Republicans, two Democrats, and independent Justice David Davis. Davis, however, was elected to the US Senate from Illinois and resigned from the Court. Justice Joseph P. Bradley, a Republican, was named to replace him. The Commission voted 8-7 along party lines to award all the votes to Hayes. The dispute, however, did not end, as Democrats threatened to filibuster in the Senate. Eventually, a Compromise of 1877 was reached whereby the Democrats agreed to Hayes' election and he agreed to withdraw all federal troops in the South, bringing an end to Republican Reconstruction in the South. Upon his defeat, Tilden said, "I can retire to public life with the consciousness that I shall receive from posterity the credit of having been elected to the highest position in the gift of the people, without any of the cares and responsibilities of the office."
5 A Carnival Of Corruption
Grant’s administration was riddled with corrupt officials. Credit Mobilier scandal. JTFV Exposed in 1872. Members of congress censured. Vice President implicated. Whiskey Tax scandal. Republican politicians siphon off millions of dollars in federal taxes on liquor; the scheme involved an extensive network of bribes involving tax collectors, storekeepers, and others. The Crédit Mobilier of America scandal of 1872 involved the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company. Crédit Mobilier of America was formed by George Francis Train, the vice-president in charge of publicity for the Union Pacific Railroad. Crédit Mobilier of America was designed to limit the liability of stockholders and maximize profits from construction with the hefty fees being paid by federal subsidies. The company also gave cheap shares of stock to members of Congress who agreed to support additional funding. In 1867, Dr. William Coles Keeter was replaced as head of the firm by Congressman Oakes Ames. In that year Ames allowed members of Congress to purchase shares at face rather than market value, the same people who voted the government funds to cover the inflated charges of Crédit Mobilier. Ames' actions became one of the best-known examples of graft in American history. The story was introduced to the public arena during the Presidential election campaign of 1872 by the newspaper New York Sun, which was against the re-election of Ulysses S. Grant. Henry Simpson McComby, (a future executive of the Illinois Central Railroad) an associate of Ames, had leaked compromising letters to the newspaper following a disagreement with Ames. It was claimed that the $72 million in contracts had been given to Crédit Mobilier for building a rail only worth $53 million. Union Pacific and other investors were left nearly bankrupt. A Congressional investigation of thirteen members led to the censure of Ames and also James Brooks. A federal investigation was also enacted with Aaron F. Perry serving as chief counsel. A number of other political figures had their careers theoretically damaged, including James A. Garfield, Schuyler Colfax, James W. Patterson and Henry Wilson. During the investigation, it was found that the company had given stocks to more than thirty representatives of both parties including future President Garfield. Garfield denied the charges and went on to become President, so the actual impact of the scandal is difficult to judge. Colfax was replaced on the Republican ticket for renomination as Vice President, ironically, by Henry Wilson who was also implicated in the scandal. In the United States, the Whiskey Ring was a scandal, exposed in 1875, involving diversion of tax revenues in a conspiracy among government agents, politicians, whiskey distillers, and distributors. The Whiskey Ring began in St. Louis but was also organized in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Peoria. Before they were caught, a group of mostly Republican politicians were able to siphon off millions of dollars in federal taxes on liquor; the scheme involved an extensive network of bribes involving tax collectors, storekeepers, and others.
6 Liberal Republican Revolt Of 1872
Liberal republicans were tired of corruption Liberal Republican party. Nominate Horace Greeley Democrats endorse him, too. Campaign very ugly Greely died before the electoral votes counted In the United States presidential election of 1872, incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant, leader of the Radical Republicans, was easily elected to a second term in office with Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts as his running mate, despite a split within the Republican Party that resulted in a defection of many Liberal Republicans to opponent Horace Greeley. The other major political party, the Democratic Party, also nominated the candidates of the Liberal Republican ticket that year. On November 29, 1872, after the popular vote but before the electoral college cast its votes, Greeley died. As a result, electors previously committed to Greeley voted for four different candidates for President, and eight different candidates for Vice President. Greeley himself received three posthumous electoral votes, but these votes were disallowed by Congress.
7 Grant wins easily, 286-66, because:
Grant v. Greeley Grant wins easily, , because: Grant is perceived to be the lesser of two evils Democrats are still stained with fault for the Civil War. General Amnesty Act pardoned more than 150,000 former Confederate troops, restoring their right to vote and right to hold political office Lowered tariffs Mild civil-service reform The Amnesty Act of 1872 was a federal law that was passed on May 22, 1872 as a part of the post-Civil War Reconstruction of the South [1]. The Amnesty Act pardoned more than 150,000 former Confederate troops, restoring their right to vote and right to hold political offices. Following the passage of the law, only around 750 former Confederates were denied the right to hold office [2]. Those 750 former soldiers were prohibited on the grounds laid out in the Fourteenth Amendment, that citizens having “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution shall not be allowed to hold any state of federal office [3]. The primary significance of this Act was that the vast majority of voters it served to franchise would likely have voted for the Democratic Party. The former Confederate soldiers would have staunchly opposed the Reconstruction efforts of the Republican Party. Interestingly, however, the Democratic Party was not an option in the 1872 Presidential Election. Rather, the Liberal Republican Party arose as the primary opposition to the Grant-led Republican Party. The Liberal Republicans were a union of the Democratic Party and Republicans who were dissatisfied with the Grant’s performance during his first term in office. The election resulted in an overwhelming victory for Grant and the Republican Party, with the Liberal Republicans carrying only the states that the Democratic Party typically would have [4].
8 Depression And Demands For Inflation
1873 severe recession hits High prices and business activity which had followed the war yielded its legitimate effect in an abnormal speculation. RR causes collapse of Jay Cooke and Co. It was the first "wire" brokerage house 15,000 businesses went under. The most important event of President Grant's second term in office was the severe financial depression by which it was marked. The era of high prices and business activity which had followed the war yielded its legitimate effect in an abnormal growth of the spirit of speculation. The inevitable consequence followed. In 1873 came a financial crash that carried ruin far and wide throughout the country. It began on October 1, in the disastrous failure of the banking firm of Jay Cooke & Co., of Philadelphia, the financiers of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Failure after failure succeeded, panic spread through the whole community, and the country was thrown into a condition resembling that of 1837, but more disastrous from the fact that much greater wealth was affected. Years passed before business regained its normal proportions. A process of contraction set in, the natural change fron high war-prices to low peace-prices, and it was not till 1878 that the timidity of capital was fully overcome and business once more began to thrive. Industry and trade had flourished beyond precedent during the first years after the war. The high protective tariff contributed its share to the general rush of enterprise. In 1873 railroad mileage had doubled itself since 1860, and this was a prolific cause of rash speculation. While business was expanding the currency was contracting. Paper money had depreciated, and the conditions foreboded a crash. The Jay Cooke firm stood at the head of the great banking concerns. This house had handled most of the government loans during the war, and as already stated, were financing the doubtful Northern Pacific scheme. When this firm broke, strong institutions tottered and thousands of people in every rank of life were stricken with absolute ruin or sufferings that were none the less poignant for being outside the category of direct financial failures. The blow was felt for years in impaired credit, pressure for payment of dues, the lowering of securities and general dread of even safe enterprises. United States bonds fell from five to ten per cent. Savings were exhausted and many banks went under. Labor felt the cruel stroke for long after in the shutting down of factories and the half-time employment. The country was in a state of alarm and disgust at the bitter consequences of questionable acts in Congress, by the Administration, and in the realm of finance, and its indignant resolve to change things for the better was expressed in the heated contest which replaced the Grant administration with that of President Hayes, in 1876. Jay Cooke & Company was a 19th century American bank that lasted from It was the first "wire" brokerage house, which used telegraph messages to confirm with clients the purchase and sale of securities.[1] Jay Cooke & Company's principal location was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It also maintained branches in New York City and Washington, DC.[2] The Panic of 1873 spread throughout the United States after a run on the Jay Cooke & Company bank. Cooke & Company had written liabilities against expected returns from the sale of its Northern Pacific Railroad bonds. When the bank could not sell enough bonds to meet its obligations, its operations were suspended. When the New York Stock Exchange heard the announcement of Cooke & Company, equities plummeted causing a chain reaction of bank runs and failures.[6] [edit] Collapse Bankruptcy commenced soon after the collapse Many of the junior partners at Cooke did not suffer when the bank collapsed because they anticipated the failure and had protected themselves. The government seized most of Cooke's larger estates while Cooke moved to one of his more modest properties.[7]
9 Depression And Demands For Inflation
Debtors advocate inflationary policies. Call for more Greenbacks. Federal government had removed one-fourth from circulation. Grant sides with conservatives and signs Resumption Act of 1875 Replacement of the Civil War fractional currency by silver coins. Reduced the greenback total to $300 million. The Treasury was directed to "redeem, in coin" legal-tender notes presented for redemption on and after 1 January 1879 Paper is a good as gold Acts, Bills, and Laws, 1875 The Specie Resumption Act was a triumph for the "hard money" forces over the "soft money" advocates during the second Grant administration. The United States government had issued $450 million in greenbacks during the Civil War. These paper notes were not backed by specie (gold or silver) and maintained value only through trust in the government. After the war the debtor elements, desiring inflation, wanted the greenbacks to remain in circulation and for new notes to be issued. Conservative forces, abhorring inflation, opposed these schemes and wanted all paper currency to be backed by gold. In January 1875 Congress passed the Resumption Act, which provided: That the U.S. Treasury be prepared to resume the redemption of legal tender notes in specie (gold) as of January 1, 1879 That gradual steps be taken to reduce the number of greenbacks in circulation That all "paper coins" (notes with denominations less than one dollar) be removed from circulation and be replaced with silver coins. Despite opposition from the Greenback Party, specie payments were resumed on the appointed date. The dire predictions of citizens storming the banks to demand gold for the greenbacks never occurred. As 1879 approached, the government prudently increased its specie reserves and the public became convinced that their paper notes were "as good as gold."
10 Bland-Allison Act 1878 Bland-Allison Act.
requiring the U.S. treasury to buy a certain amount of silver and put it into circulation as silver dollars – passed over veto by Hayes Following the Panic of 1873, the Grange spread rapidly throughout the farm belt, since farmers in all areas were plagued by low prices for their products, growing indebtedness and favoritism by the railroads. These concerns helped to transform the Grange into a political force The Bland-Allison Act was an 1878 law passed over the veto of President Rutherford B. Hayes requiring the U.S. treasury to buy a certain amount of silver and put it into circulation as silver dollars. The goal was to subsidize the silver industry in the Mountain states and inflate prices. The law was replaced in 1890 by the similar Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which in turn was repealed by Congress in 1893. Following the Panic of 1873, the Grange spread rapidly throughout the farm belt, since farmers in all areas were plagued by low prices for their products, growing indebtedness and discriminatory treatment by the railroads. These concerns helped to transform the Grange into a political force. Grange influence was particularly strong in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, where political pressure yielded a series of "Granger laws" designed to give legislative assistance to the farmers. Those laws received an initial blessing from the Supreme Court in Munn v. Illinois (1876), but a later counteroffensive by the railroads brought the Wabash case (1886), which wiped out those gains. During the 1870s, the Grangers advocated programs such as the following: Cooperative purchasing ventures as a means to obtain lower prices on farm equipment and supplies Pooling of savings as an alternative to dependence on corrupt banks, an early form of credit union Cooperative grain elevators to hold non-perishable crops until the optimal times to sell An abortive effort to manufacture farm equipment; this venture depleted the Granger organization's funds and was instrumental in its decline. The silver would be purchased at market prices, not at a predetermined ratio tied to the value of gold. The silver would be used to make coins at ratio of 16:1 to gold. In other words, 16 ounces of silver would be equivalent to one ounce of gold, regardless of the metals' respective market values. [edit] Aftermath Congress overrode Hayes' veto to enact the law. However, the Hayes administration blunted the Act's impact: The Treasury Department never actually bought more than the $2 million minimum amount[citation needed] and never circulated the silver dollars. The Bland-Allison Act was replaced in 1890 by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. Gold remained the larger feature between both legislations. The term "limping bimetallism" has been used to describe this program. The five-year depression following the panic of 1873 caused cheap-money advocates (led by Representative R. P. Bland of Missouri) to join with silver-producing interests in urging a return to Bimetallism, the use of both silver and gold as a monetary standard. The controversial mint reform act of 1873 eliminated the coinage of silver at a time when increased supplies from newly discovered Western mines were lowering prices. Silver advocates, decrying the so-called Crime of '73, demanded restoration of free coinage of silver at a ratio to gold of 16 to 1, approximately $1.29 an ounce. Free coinage, as the symbol of justice for the poor, was seized upon by others determined to prevent resumption of specie payments (the redemption, in metallic coin, of U.S. paper money by banks or the Treasury) and desirous of plentiful inflationary currency. Bland's bill for free coinage, passed by the House on 5 November 1877, jeopardized Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman's plans for resuming specie payments. Sherman, through a Senate amendment sponsored by Senator W. B. Allison of Iowa, was able to substitute less inflationary limited purchases for free coinage. Silver producers accepted the arrangement as likely to restore silver to $1.29. The law, passed 28 February 1878 over President Rutherford B. Hayes's veto, required government purchases, at market prices, of $2 million to $4 million worth of silver bullion monthly, and coinage into legal tender 16-to-1 dollars, exchangeable for $10 silver certificates. The president was directed to arrange an international bimetallic conference to meet within six months. These provisions signified victory for producers over inflationists.
11 Stalwarts v. Halfbreeds
Republicans had two rival factions Stalwarts (Conklingites) led by NY Sen. Roscoe Conkling). Big believers in patronage. In favor of Ulysses S. Grant Half-Breeds. Led by James Blaine. Flirted with civil service reform. The only real issue between Stalwarts and Half-Breeds was patronage. The "Stalwarts" were a faction of the United States Republican Party toward the end of the 19th century. Notable Stalwarts include Roscoe Conkling and Thomas C. Platt, who were in favor of Ulysses S. Grant, the eighteenth President of the United States (1869–1877), running for a third term. They were the "traditional" Republicans who opposed Rutherford B. Hayes' civil service reform. They were pitted against the "Half-Breeds" (moderates) for control of the Republican Party. The only real issue between Stalwarts and Half-Breeds was patronage. The Half-Breeds worked to get civil service reform, and finally created the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. Stalwarts also favored traditional machine politics. Chester A. Arthur, sympathetic to the Stalwart cause, was the vice president for Half-Breed James A. Garfield. He became president after Garfield was assassinated by the self-proclaimed "Stalwart of the Stalwarts" Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, Arthur helped to create civil service reforms in his term in part because he felt that he had to follow up Garfield's work.
12 The Hayes-Tilden Standoff, 1876
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. Rutherford Birchard Hayes (October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American politician, lawyer, military leader and the 19th President of the United States (1877–1881). Hayes was elected President by one electoral vote after the highly disputed election of Losing the popular vote to his opponent, Samuel Tilden, Hayes was the only president whose election was decided by a congressional commission. A dark horse nominee (James G. Blaine had led the previous six ballots) by his convention, Hayes became president after the tumultuous, scandal-ridden years of the Grant administration. He had a reputation for honesty dating back to his Civil War years. Hayes was quite famous for his ability not to offend anyone. Henry C. Adams, a prominent political journalist and Washington insider, asserted that Hayes was "a third rate nonentity, whose only recommendation is that he is obnoxious to no one." Understandably, because of Hayes' relative anonymity and perceived insignificance, his opponent in the presidential election, Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, was the favorite to win the presidential election and, in fact, won the popular vote by about 250,000 votes (with about 8.5 million voters in total). Hayes/Wheeler campaign posterFour states' electoral college votes were contested. In order to win, the candidates had to muster 185 votes: Tilden was short just one, with 184 votes, Hayes had 165, with 20 votes representing the four states which were contested. To make matters worse, three of these states (Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina) were in the South, which was still under military occupation (the fourth was Oregon). Additionally, historians note, the election was not fair because of the improper fraud and intimidation perpetrated from both sides. A popular phrase of the day called it an election without "a free ballot and a fair count." For the next four years, Democrats would refer to Hayes as "Rutherfraud B. Hayes" for his allegedly illegitimate election, as he had lost the popular vote by roughly 250,000 votes. To peacefully decide the results of the election, the two houses of Congress set up the bi-partisan Electoral Commission to investigate and decide upon the actual winner. The commission consisted of 15 members: five from the House, five from the Senate and five from the Supreme Court. In total, the Commission consisted of 7 Democrats, 7 Republicans and Independent Justice David Davis, who upon being elected to the senate resigned. Joseph P. Bradley, a Supreme Court Justice, took his place. Bradley, however, was a Republican and thus the ruling followed party lines: 8 to 7 voted for Hayes winning in all of the contested 20 electoral votes. Key Ohio Republicans like James A. Garfield and the Democrats, however, agreed at a Washington hotel on the Wormley House Agreement. Southern Democrats were given assurances, in the Compromise of 1877, that if Hayes became president, he would pull federal troops out of the South and end Reconstruction. An agreement was made between them and the Republicans: if Hayes' cabinet consisted of at least one Southerner and he withdrew all Union troops from the South, then he would become President. This agreement restored local control over the Southern states, and ended national control over the state and local organs of government in the former Confederate states.
13 The Hayes-Tilden Standoff, 1876
Samuel Tilden. Platform. Attacks against Republicans. Tilden won the popular vote proving that the Democrats were back in the political picture following the Civil War Electoral College dispute Electoral Count Act Compromise of 1877 was reached whereby the Democrats agreed to Hayes' election and he agreed to withdraw all federal troops in the South Samuel Jones Tilden (February 9, 1814 – August 4, 1886) was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency in the disputed election of 1876, the most controversial American election of the 19th century. A political reformer, he was a Bourbon Democrat who worked closely with the New York City business community, led the fight against the corruption of Tammany Hall, and fought to keep taxes low. During the 1876 presidential election, Tilden won the popular vote over his Republican opponent, Rutherford B. Hayes, proving that the Democrats were back in the political picture following the Civil War. But the result in the Electoral College was in question because the states of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina each sent two sets of Electoral Votes to Congress. (There was separately a conflict over one elector from Oregon, who was disqualified on a technicality.) Republicans had taken over the state governments in the South during Reconstruction, but were unpopular with the overwhelmingly Democratic white southerners, many of whom resented what they perceived as interference from the North and blamed the Republicans for the Civil War. As a result, one set of Electoral Votes from each of these three states had cast their ballots for the Republican Hayes, and another set had cast their ballot for the Democrat Tilden. Without these three states, Tilden had won 184 Electoral Votes, but needed 185 to win the Presidency. If he had taken even one state, he would have become President. However, if Hayes were to win all the contested votes, he would receive 185 Electoral Votes and win the election. Because the Constitution does not address how Congress is to handle such a dispute, a constitutional crisis appeared imminent. While the Republicans boldly claimed the election, Tilden mystified and disappointed his supporters by not fighting for the prize or giving any leadership to his advocates. Instead he devoted more than a month to the preparation of a complete history of the electoral counts over the previous century to show it was the unbroken usage of Congress, not of the President of the Senate, to count the electoral votes. [Bigelow v 2:60] Congressional leaders tried to resolve the crisis by creating a 15-member Electoral Commission that would determine which set of votes were valid. The Commission consisted of five members from the Republican-controlled Senate (three Republicans and two Democrats), and five from the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives (three Democrats, two Republicans). The remaining five members were chosen from the Supreme Court – originally two Republicans, two Democrats, and independent Justice David Davis. Davis, however, was elected to the US Senate from Illinois and resigned from the Court. Justice Joseph P. Bradley, a Republican, was named to replace him. The Commission voted 8-7 along party lines to award all the votes to Hayes. The dispute, however, did not end, as Democrats threatened to filibuster in the Senate. Eventually, a Compromise of 1877 was reached whereby the Democrats agreed to Hayes' election and he agreed to withdraw all federal troops in the South, bringing an end to Republican Reconstruction in the South. Upon his defeat, Tilden said, "I can retire to public life with the consciousness that I shall receive from posterity the credit of having been elected to the highest position in the gift of the people, without any of the cares and responsibilities of the office." In 1878, the Republican New York Tribune published a series of telegraphic dispatches in cipher, accompanied by translations, by which it attempted to prove that during the crisis following the 1876 election, Tilden's campaign manager --his nephew, using Tilden's house as a base--had been negotiating for the purchase of the electoral votes of South Carolina and Florida. Tilden denied emphatically all knowledge of these dispatches, while not denying his nephew had sent them. Many of the dispatches were sent directly to and from his Gramercy Park mansion. The 'Cipher Dispatches' thus seriously weakened his reputation and the calls for him to run again in 1880 died away.
14 Hayes-Tilden Disputed Election of 1876
15 Compromise was the end of reconstruction.
Literacy tests and poll taxes Crop-Lien System/Share Cropping Jim Crow Laws Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decided that a Louisiana law mandating separate but equal accommodations for blacks and whites on intrastate railroads was constitutional. The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and They mandated de jure segregation in all public facilities, with a "separate but equal" status for black Americans and members of other non-white racial groups. Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools, public places and public transportation, and the segregation of restrooms and restaurants for whites and blacks. The U.S. military was also segregated. These Jim Crow Laws were separate from the Black Codes, which had also restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans.
16 Class Conflicts And Ethnic Clashes
Driven by wage cuts and poor working conditions, violent outbreaks of strikes and a long series of battles occurred all over the country during the 1870s. The Great Strike of 1877 sparked battles between militia and the crowds. Only after federal soldiers were brought in, was ordered restored Chinese in California Dennis Kearney/Kearneyites Chinese Exclusion Act Dennis Kearney (1847–1907) was a California populist political leader in the late 19th century, known for his nativist and racist views toward Chinese immigrants. Kearney was born in Oakmount, County Cork, Ireland and immigrated to the United States. He worked as a sailor and then as a drayage proprietor in San Francisco. During the Long Depression, he became popular by speaking to the unemployed in San Francisco, denouncing the railroad monopoly and immigrant Chinese workers (known as Coolies.) His slogan was, simply, "the Chinese must go"'. Kearney began his political life on the side of employers. In July 1877, when anti-Chinese violence broke out in San Francisco, Kearney joined William Tell Coleman vigilante Public Safety Committee as a member of Coleman's "pick handle brigade." By August of 1877, however, Kearney had been elected Secretary of the newly formed Workingman's Party of California, and led often violent attacks on Chinese, including denunciations of the powerful Central Pacific railroad which had employed them in large numbers. Historians have struggled to assess Kearney's legacy. Hubert Bancroft, who wrote an influential history of California in the late-1880s, considered the Workingmen's Party to be "ignorant Irish rabble, even though that rabble sometimes paraded the streets as a great political party." Kearney's Irish immigrant background made him subject to frequent accusations that he was a foreign agitator. Middle class critics, fearful of Kearney's radical rhetoric and pledges, openly questioned whether Irish immigrants - embodied by Kearney - should have the right to dictate social policy in San Francisco. As the Argonaut, the newspaper founded and published by the former Attorney General of California, Frank Pixley, noted, “When an organization, composed almost entirely of aliens, who are themselves here by the sufferance of a generous hospitality, band themselves together in defiance of the law to drive out a class, who, however objectionable, have the same legal rights as themselves, it is an act of insolent audacity that ought to move the indignation of every honest man.” Kearney traveled east to popularize his views and campaigned with the Massachusetts' politician Benjamin Butler, the Greenback Party's candidate for President. Kearney sought the Vice President nomination, although Butler never offered it to him. Kearney faded from the public's eye by the early-1880s, leaving only his legacy of anti-Chinese laws that the Workingmen's Party had passed at the 1879 California Constitutional Convention. Many of these laws, which included a ban on the employment of Chinese laborers, were ruled unconstitutional by the federal Ninth Circuit Court. Corresponding with the English author and politician James Bryce in the late-1880s, Kearney nonetheless claimed credit for making the "Chinese Question" a national issue and affecting the legislation of the Exclusion Act in 1882. Driven by wage cuts and poor working conditions, violent outbreaks of strikes and a long series of battles occurred all over the country during the 1870s. In 1877, around the coal mining region of Mauch Chunk and Pottsville, Pennsylvania, a secret miners' association called the Molly Maguires, mostly comprising Irish Catholics, burned buildings, controlled county officials, and murdered bosses and supervisors who offended them. Finally, the murderers were apprehended and brought to trial. The hanging of 10 of those men in 1877, effectively broke up the “Mollies.” Also in 1877, unorganized railroad workers struck because of a 10 percent wage cut, the second cut since the Panic of They brought to a screeching halt four Eastern rail trunk lines, which caused turmoil in every industrial center. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Martinsburg, West Virginia; and Chicago, Illinois; the Great Strike of 1877 sparked battles between militia and the crowds. Only after federal soldiers were brought in, was ordered restored. By 1886, membership in the Knights of Labor had swollen to 700,000 workers and stood as a champion for the unskilled laborer. Unlike other labor unions, the Knights of Labor encouraged blacks to join, so that by 1886, approximately 60,000 blacks had become members.
17 Chose James Garfield. Dark-Horse. Chester Arthur, was chosen VP.
Republicans in 1880 Stymied by Stallwart-Halfbreed rivalry it takes 35 ballots to settle on a candidate. Chose James Garfield. Dark-Horse. Chester Arthur, was chosen VP. Platform is for higher tariffs and (weakly) for civil service reform Just four months into his presidency, orange tabby cat, James Garfield was shot while waiting in a D.C. train station. Still behind the curve on the whole sterilization fad that had caught on in Europe, attending physicians stuck their unwashed fingers and probes directly into the wound, in an attempt to fish out the bullet. One of these dipshits probably ripped his liver. Though doctors were unsure if it was even medically necessary to remove the offending fragment, the search continued. Alexander Graham Bell brought in a crude metal detector that failed miserably, likely due to the metal bedframe or bed springs hidden just below the president's body. Ultimately, Garfield would succumb to blood poisoning, brought on by all that terrible doctoring. Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American politician who served as the 21st President of the United States. Arthur was a member of the Republican Party and worked as a lawyer before becoming the 20th vice president under James Garfield. While Garfield was mortally wounded by Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, 1881, he did not die until September 19, at which time Arthur was sworn in as president, serving until March 4, 1885. Before entering elected politics, Arthur was a member of the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party and a political protégé of Roscoe Conkling, rising to Collector of Customs for the Port of New York, a position to which he was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant. He was then removed by the succeeding president, Rutherford B. Hayes, in an effort to reform the patronage system in New York. To the chagrin of the Stalwarts, the onetime Collector of the Port of New York became, as President, a champion of civil service reform. He avoided old political cronies and eventually alienated his old mentor Conkling. Public pressure, heightened by the assassination of Garfield, forced an unwieldy Congress to heed the President. Arthur's primary achievement was the passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. The passage of this legislation earned Arthur the moniker "The Father of Civil Service" and a favorable reputation among historians. Publisher Alexander K. McClure wrote, "No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted, and no one ever retired… more generally respected." Author Mark Twain, deeply cynical about politicians, conceded, "It would be hard indeed to better President Arthur's administration."
18 Democrats chose Winfield Hancock
Election of 1880 Democrats chose Winfield Hancock Civil War General, but popular in south Thought to be fair as Military Gov – Tx-La 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. Hancock's time in the West was brief. President Johnson, unhappy with the way Republican generals were governing the South under Reconstruction, sought replacements for them.[56] The general who offended Johnson the most was Philip Sheridan, and Johnson soon ordered General Grant to switch the assignments of Hancock and Sheridan, believing that Hancock, a Democrat, would govern in a style more to Johnson's liking.[57] Although neither man was pleased with the change, Sheridan reported to Fort Leavenworth and Hancock to New Orleans.[57] Hancock's new assignment found him in charge of the Fifth Military District, encompassing Texas and Louisiana. Almost immediately upon arriving, Hancock ingratiated himself with the white conservative population by issuing his General Order Number 40 of November 29, In that order, written while traveling to New Orleans, Hancock expressed sentiments in support of President Johnson's policies, writing that if the residents of the district conducted themselves peacefully and the civilian officials perform their duties, then "the military power should cease to lead, and the civil administration resume its natural and rightful dominion."[58] Hancock's order encouraged white Democrats across the South who hoped to return to civilian government more quickly, but discomforted blacks and Republicans in the South who feared a return to the antebellum ways of conservative white dominance
19 Election of 1880
20 1881: Garfield Assassinated!
Charles Guiteau: I Am a Stalwart, and Arthur is President now!
21 CHESTER ARTHUR TAKES COMMAND
Not many expected much from Arthur. Puppet of Congling machine Dandy Displayed surprising integrity, intelligence and independence. Arthur threw his support behind reform of spoils system. Pendleton Act of 1883 Merit system for 10% of Federal jobs Father of the Civil Service Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American politician who served as the 21st President of the United States. Arthur was a member of the Republican Party and worked as a lawyer before becoming the 20th vice president under James Garfield. While Garfield was mortally wounded by Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, 1881, he did not die until September 19, at which time Arthur was sworn in as president, serving until March 4, 1885. Before entering elected politics, Arthur was a member of the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party and a political protégé of Roscoe Conkling, rising to Collector of Customs for the Port of New York, a position to which he was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant. He was then removed by the succeeding president, Rutherford B. Hayes, in an effort to reform the patronage system in New York. To the chagrin of the Stalwarts, the onetime Collector of the Port of New York became, as President, a champion of civil service reform. He avoided old political cronies and eventually alienated his old mentor Conkling. Public pressure, heightened by the assassination of Garfield, forced an unwieldy Congress to heed the President. Arthur's primary achievement was the passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. The passage of this legislation earned Arthur the moniker "The Father of Civil Service" and a favorable reputation among historians. Publisher Alexander K. McClure wrote, "No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted, and no one ever retired… more generally respected." Author Mark Twain, deeply cynical about politicians, conceded, "It would be hard indeed to better President Arthur's administration.“ The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act (ch. 27, 22 Stat. 403) of United States federal law established the United States Civil Service Commission, which placed most federal government employees on the merit system and marked the end of the so-called spoils system. The act provided for some government jobs to be filled on the basis of competitive exams. Started during the Chester A. Arthur administration, the Pendleton Act served as a response to President James Garfield's assassination by Charles Julius Guiteau. The Act was passed into law on January 16, The Act was sponsored by Senator George H. Pendleton, Democrat of Ohio, and written by Dorman Bridgeman Eaton, a staunch opponent of the patronage system who was later first chairman of the United States Civil Service Commission. The most famous commissioner was Theodore Roosevelt ( ). The law only applied to federal government jobs: not to the state and local jobs that were the basis for political machines. At first it covered very few jobs, but there was a ratchet provision whereby outgoing presidents could lock in their own appointees by converting their jobs to civil service. After a series of party reversals at the presidential level (1884, 1888, 1892, 1896), the result was that most federal jobs were under civil service. One result was more expertise and less politics. An unintended result was the shift of the parties to reliance on funding from business, since they could no longer depend on patronage hopefuls. The act also prohibits soliciting campaign donations on Federal government property.
22 THE BLAINE-CLEVELAND MUDSLINGERS OF 1884
Republicans nominate Blain Tainted with numerous rumors of scandals. The “tattooed man” “Mulligan letters” detailed his corruption Republican reformers, called "Mugwumps," supported Cleveland because of Blaine's reputation for corruption. James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830 – January 27, 1893) was a U.S. Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, two-time United States Secretary of State, and champion of the Half-Breeds. He was a dominant Republican leader of the post-Civil War period, obtaining the 1884 Republican nomination, but losing to Democrat Grover Cleveland. He was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for President in 1884; he was the only nonincumbent Republican nominee to lose a presidential race between 1860 and 1912, and only the second Republican Presidential nominee to lose at all. Republican reformers, called "Mugwumps," supported Cleveland because of Blaine's reputation for corruption. After heated canvassing, during which he made a series of brilliant speeches, he was beaten by a narrow margin in New York. Many, including Blaine himself, attributed his defeat to the effect of a phrase, "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion", used by a Protestant clergyman, the Rev. Samuel D. Burchard, on October 29, 1884, in Blaine's presence, to characterize what, in his opinion, the Democrats stood for. "Rum" meant the liquor interest; "Romanism" meant Catholics; "Rebellion" meant Confederates in 1861. An 1884 cartoon in Puck magazine ridicules Blaine as the tattooed-man, with many indelible scandals.The phrase was not Blaine's, but his opponents made use of it to characterize his hostility toward Catholics, some of whom probably did switch their vote. Blaine's mother was a Roman Catholic of Irish descent and his sister was a nun, and speculation was that he might gain votes from a heavily Democratic group. However, Catholics were already suspicious of Blaine over his support of the Blaine Amendments, and this confirmed many suspicions. Famed Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman was considered a possible Republican candidate, but ruled himself out with what has become known as the Sherman pledge: "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve." “Mulligan letters”: in 1876, a Boston bookkeeper named James Mulligan had located some letters showing that Blaine had sold his influence in Congress to various businesses. One such letter ended with the phrase "burn this letter", from which a popular chant of the Democrats arose - "Burn, burn, burn this letter!" Refusing to be a presidential candidate again in 1888, he became Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President Benjamin Harrison from 1889 to 1892. His service at State was distinguished by several notable steps. In order to promote the friendly understanding and cooperation of the nations on the American continents he projected a Pan-American Congress, which, after being arranged for and led by Blaine as its first president, was frustrated by his retirement. (Its most important conclusions were the need for reciprocity in trade, a continental railway and compulsory arbitration in international complications.) Shaping the tariff legislation for this policy, Blaine negotiated a large number of reciprocity treaties which augmented the commerce of his country.
23 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 Blain – NY Rum, Romanism and Rebellion Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908) was both the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. Cleveland is the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897) and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents. He was the winner of the popular vote for President three times—in 1884, 1888, and 1892—and was the only Democrat elected to the Presidency in the era of Republican political domination that lasted from 1860 to Cleveland's admirers praise him for his honesty, independence, integrity, and commitment to the principles of classical liberalism.[1] As a leader of the Bourbon Democrats, he opposed imperialism, taxes, subsidies and inflationary policies, but as a reformer he also worked against corruption, patronage, and bossism. Some of Cleveland's actions caused controversy even within his own party. His intervention in the Pullman Strike of 1894 in order to keep the railroads moving angered labor unions, and his support of the gold standard and opposition to free silver alienated the agrarian wing of the Democrats.[2] Furthermore, critics complained that he had little imagination and seemed overwhelmed by the nation's economic disasters—depressions and strikes—in his second term.[2] Even so, his reputation for honesty and good character survived the troubles of his second term. Biographer Allan Nevins wrote, "in Grover Cleveland the greatness lies in typical rather than unusual qualities. He had no endowments that thousands of men do not have. He possessed honesty, courage, firmness, independence, and common sense. But he possessed them to a degree other men do not."[3]
24 Election of 1884
25 Old Grover Takes Over 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 Grover Cleveland entered the White House as a confirmed bachelor. His sister served as his First Lady. When he left the White House after his first four years (remember that Cleveland served as the 22nd and 24th president, with Benjamin Harrison serving a four-year term in between), he returned to New York with a beautiful young wife on his arm. Grover Cleveland met Frances Folsom at her birth. She was the daughter of his law partner, and upon Mr. Folsom's death, Cleveland was named guardian to young Frances (whom Cleveland called Frank). He was deeply involved with Frances's upbringing. As she reached her late teens, Cleveland fell in love with her, and she with him. As Cleveland ran for president, his relationship with Frances was kept secret, and upon his election, his sister traveled to Washington to serve as his official hostess. Cleveland continued the deepening relationship with Frances, until he finally proposed. Before the wedding, Frances went to Europe for the Grand Tour, which was common for young unmarried women of her era. While Frances was abroad, the media began to speculate that a presidential romance was brewing. The objected of Cleveland's affection, the media concluded, was a Folsom woman -- only they picked it to be the widowed Mrs. Folsom, not the young, beautiful Frances. Cleveland enjoyed playing a game with the press when it came to his romance, and continued to let the public wonder about his bride-to-be. However, once the media narrowed in on Frances as the soon-to-be Mrs. Cleveland, she became a media darling. Accounts of her upcoming nuptials -- including the rumor that the wedding would be held in New York, their home state -- remained front-page news in the papers until the wedding day. They decided to marry in the White House, making theirs the only marriage of a president ever to take place in the White House itself. When the wedding was over, Cleveland decided to play one final prank on the media. He sent two wedding guests into the presidential carriage, which the media followed. Cleveland and his new young bride were able to leave the White House at their leisure for their honeymoon. During the early years of their marriage, the press remained most interested in the lovely Mrs. Cleveland, particularly after she had given birth to little Ruth. Mrs. Cleveland would push the baby around the White House lawn which turned into favorable newspaper copy. Little Ruth became so popular that a candy bar was named in her honor -- Baby Ruth. However, when a stranger came to the carriage and tried to take the baby, Mrs. Cleveland's strolls ended, and she became very cautious of protecting her children. The Clevelands, despite their age difference (and odd pre-courtship relationship) and their marriage in a fishbowl, remained a loving, happy couple until Cleveland's death.
26 Cleveland fires 2/3 of federal employees Military Pension issue – GAR
Tariffs and Pensions Cleveland fires 2/3 of federal employees Military Pension issue – GAR Tariffs Country was running at a surplus because of high tariffs. Republicans had little motivation to reduce these tariffs. Cleveland makes tariff reduction his number-one issue. Reduced tarriffs
27 Harrison Ousts Cleveland
Dems renominate Cleveland. Rep. turn to Benjamin Harrison, grandson of William Henry Harrison. The tariff was the main issue in the election. Harrison opposed tariff reduction while Cleveland supported it. Cleveland and the Democrats did not wage a strong campaign, Cleveland's attitude toward the spoils system had antagonized party politicians, and his policies on Civil War pensions, the currency, and tariff reform had made enemies among veterans, farmers, and industrial workers Harrison wins electoral vote but looses the popular vote. Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833 – March 13, 1901) was the 23rd President of the United States, serving one term from 1889 to Harrison was born in North Bend, Ohio, and at age 21 moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he became a prominent state politician. During the American Civil War Harrison served as a Brigadier General in the XXI Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. After the war he unsuccessfully ran for the governorship of Indiana, but was later elected to the U.S. Senate from that state. Harrison, a Republican, was elected to the presidency in 1888, defeating the Democratic incumbent, Grover Cleveland. He was the first and only president from the state of Indiana. His presidential administration is best known for its economic legislation, including the McKinley Tariff and the Sherman Antitrust Act, and for annual federal spending that reached one billion dollars for the first time. Democrats attacked the "Billion Dollar Congress", and used the issue, along with the growing unpopularity of the high tariff, to defeat the Republicans, both in the 1890 mid-term elections and in Harrison's bid for reelection in 1892. After failing to win reelection he returned to private life at his home in Indianapolis where he remarried, wrote a book, and later represented the Republic of Venezuela in an international case against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1900 he traveled to Europe as part of the case and, after a brief stay, returned to Indianapolis where he died the following year from complications arising from influenza.
28 1888 Presidential Election
29 Cleveland and History 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.
30 Political Gravy For All
Billion Dollar Congress Pension Act of 1890 Sherman Anti-Trust Act United States Federal statute to limit cartels and monopolies Tariffs and Silver Easterners wanted a higher tariff Westerners and farmers wanted more silver minted The Sherman Antitrust Act (Sherman Act,[1] July 2, 1890, ch. 647, 26 Stat. 209, 15 U.S.C. § 1–7) was the first United States Federal statute to limit cartels and monopolies. It falls under antitrust law. The Act provides: "Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal".[2] The Act also provides: "Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony [. . . ]"[3] The Act put responsibility upon government attorneys and district courts to pursue and investigate trusts, companies and organizations suspected of violating the Act. The Clayton Act (1914) extended the right to sue under the antitrust laws to "any person who shall be injured in his business or property by reason of anything forbidden in the antitrust laws."[4] Under the Clayton Act, private parties may sue in U.S. district court and should they prevail, they may be awarded treble damages and the cost of suit, including reasonable attorney's fees. [5
31 Tariff Ire Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 While not authorizing the free and unlimited coinage of silver that the Free Silver supporters wanted, the government was required to purchase every month McKinley Tariff Bill raised tariff rates to their highest peace-time level—48% Farmers hated the new tariff. Republicans punished in 1890 congressional election. Lose nearly 60 seats and Dems have a huge majority in Congress The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was enacted in 1890 as a United States federal law. While not authorizing the free and unlimited coinage of silver that the Free Silver supporters wanted, it increased the amount of silver the government was required to purchase every month. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act had been passed in response to the growing complaints of farmers. Farmers had immense debts that could not be paid off due to a series of droughts, and they urged the government to pass the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in order to boost the economy. However, this eventually led to inflation and contributed to the Panic of In addition to the $2-4 million dollars that had been required by the Bland-Allison Act of 1878, the US government was now required to purchase an additional 4.5 million ounces of silver bullion every month. The law required the Treasury to buy the silver with notes that could be redeemed for either silver or gold. That plan backfired, as people (mostly investors) turned in their silver Treasury notes for gold dollars, thus depleting the government's gold reserves. After the Panic of 1893 broke, President Grover Cleveland oversaw the repeal of the Act in 1893 to prevent the depletion of the country's gold reserves. The McKinley Tariff of 1890 set the average ad valorem tariff rate for imports to the United States at 48.4%, and protected manufacturing. Its chief proponent was Congressman and future President William McKinley. In return for its passage, the Sherman Silver Purchase Act was given Republican support. It raised the prices in the United States under Benjamin Harrison, which may have cost him his presidency in the next elections. The tariff was detrimental to the American farmers. It drove up the prices of farm equipment (since wages and imported components were more expensive) and failed to halt sliding agricultural prices, possibly since there wasn't much competition with imported goods since American agricultural produce was already cheaper than imports. The following agrarian resentment would give rise to the Free Silver movement and the Populist Party. The McKinley Tariff Act raised tariffs and brought new trouble to farmers, who were forced to buy high-priced, protected products from American manufacturers but sell their own products into highly competitive, unprotected world markets. This upset many rural voters, who voted many Republicans out of office in the next congressional elections (1890).[1] The McKinley Tariff was a direct contributing factor to the Panic of 1893 which resulted in the defeat of Democrats in the 1894 Congressional mid-term elections. The reverberations of the Panic were still being felt during the Presidential Election of 1896 which helped sweep Republican William McKinley into the White House. The tariff also encouraged the Hawaiians to revolt.
32 1892 Presidential Election
Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison again! * (DEM) (REP)
33 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 The Populist Party, also known as the People's Party, was a relatively short-lived political party in the United States in the late 19th century. It flourished particularly among western farmers, based largely on its opposition to the gold standard. The party did not remain a lasting feature most probably because they had been so closely identified with the free silver movement which did not resonate with urban voters and ceased to become a major issue as the U.S came out of the depression of the 1890's[1]. The very term "populist" has since become a generic term in U.S. politics for politics which appeals to the common in opposition to established interests. By 1896, the Democratic Party took up many of the Populist Party's causes at the national level, and the party began to fade from national prominence. In that year's presidential election, the Populists nominated Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan; he backed the Populist opposition to the gold standard in his famous "Cross of Gold" speech. The Populists could not bring themselves to also nominate Bryan's conservative eastern running mate, Arthur Sewall, and nominated Thomas E. Watson for vice president instead, though Watson staunchly opposed fusion with the Democrats. The 1896 convention was the Coliseum of the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall which in the same month hosted the 1896 Republican National Convention. Bryan lost to William McKinley by a margin of 600,000 votes. The effects of fusion with the Democrats were disastrous to the Party in the south. Collaboration with the racist Democratic establishment effectively ended the Populist/Republican alliance which had governed North Carolina with the support of African Americans. By 1898, the North Carolinian Populists were attempting to out-flank the Democrats with a virulently racist campaign. [5] Populism never recovered from the failure of For example, Tennessee’s Populist Party was demoralized by a diminishing membership, and puzzled and split by the dilemma of whether to fight the state-level enemy (the Democrats) or the national foe (the Republicans and Wall Street). By 1900 the People’s Party of Tennessee was a shadow of what it once was. Populists were a threat to the status quo by meddling into politics and seeking political power. Tennessee’s ruling elite united and crushed Populism, in the same way they had forced the Alliance from the Democratic party, and with Bryan’s help, frustration was again focused against outsiders.[6] In 1900, while many Populist voters supported Bryan again, the weakened party nominated a ticket of Wharton Barker and Ignatius L. Donnelly. Thomas E. Watson was the Populist nominee for president in 1904 and in 1908, after which the party effectively ceased to exist. The nation remained at least partially on the gold standard until 1971, when President Nixon revoked it. However, the Populists' notion of allowing silver to become legal tender was noted and adopted by the US Government, but only for a short period of time. On the same note there exist historians who would cite the Sherman Silver Purchase Act as a major contributing factor to the depression of 1893. In addition, the Populist Party's call for the direct election of senators was realized in 1913 with the ratification of the seventeenth amendment 1892 Electoral map of Weaver won four states and a fraction of two others, colored green. The Greenback Party eventually merged with the Democratic Party in most states, a move that Weaver opposed. In 1891 Weaver helped found the Populist Party ("People's Party"). In 1892 he was the presidential nominee of the Populist Party at its convention in Omaha and chose a strategy of forming alliances with African Americans in the South. His policy was not well received by Whites in the South and led to violence and intimidation against black voters. In one of the better showings by a third-party candidate in U.S. history, Weaver received over a million popular votes, and won four states (Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, and Nevada) and 22 electoral votes. Weaver's running mate was James G. Field, a former Confederate general from Virginia whom he selected in an effort to move beyond the era's prevailing bloody shirt politics.
34 Labor is mad and are ripe for wooing by Populists.
Populists poll over one-million votes and become one of the few third parties to win electoral votes Populists don’t embrace black farmers The Populist Party, also known as the People's Party, was a relatively short-lived political party in the United States in the late 19th century. It flourished particularly among western farmers, based largely on its opposition to the gold standard. The party did not remain a lasting feature most probably because they had been so closely identified with the free silver movement which did not resonate with urban voters and ceased to become a major issue as the U.S came out of the depression of the 1890's[1]. The very term "populist" has since become a generic term in U.S. politics for politics which appeals to the common in opposition to established interests. By 1896, the Democratic Party took up many of the Populist Party's causes at the national level, and the party began to fade from national prominence. In that year's presidential election, the Populists nominated Democratic candidate William Jennings The Homestead Strike was a labor lockout and strike which began on June 30, 1892, culminating in a battle between strikers and private security agents on July 6, It is one of the most serious labor disputes in U.S. history. The dispute occurred in the Pittsburgh-area town of Homestead, Pennsylvania, between the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (the AA) and the Carnegie Steel Company. The AA was an American labor union formed in A craft union, it represented skilled iron and steel workers. The AA's membership was concentrated in ironworks west of the Allegheny Mountains. The union negotiated national uniform wage scales on an annual basis; helped regularize working hours, workload levels and work speeds; and helped improve working conditions. It also acted as a hiring hall, helping employers find scarce puddlers and rollers
35 1892 Presidential Election
36 OLD GROVER CLEVELAND AGAIN
Depression of 1893 Causes: Over-building and over-speculation RR 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 The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in This panic is sometimes considered a part of the Long Depression which began with the Panic of 1873,[1] and like that of earlier crashes, was caused by railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing; which set off a series of bank failures. Compounding market overbuilding and a railroad bubble was a run on the gold supply and a policy of using both gold and silver metals as a peg for the US Dollar value. Estimates of Unemployment during the 1890s (Source: Romer, 1984 Year Lebergott Romer Contents [hide] 1 Causes 2 Effects 3 References 4 External references 4.1 Primary sources 4.2 Secondary sources [edit] Causes The 1880s had been a period of remarkable economic expansion in the United States. In time, the expansion became driven by speculation, much like the tech bubble of the late 1990s, except that the preferred industry was railroads. Railroads were vastly over-built (and fortunes were made[2]), and many companies tried to take over others, seriously endangering their own stability to do so. In addition, many mines were opened (frequently with rail connections), and their products, especially silver, began to flood the market. One of the first signs of trouble was the bankruptcy of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, which had greatly over-extended itself, on February 23, 1893.[3] As concern of the state of the economy worsened, people rushed to withdraw their money from banks and caused bank runs. The credit crunch rippled through the economy. European investors took payment only in gold, depleting US gold reserves and threatening the value of the US dollar,[citation needed] which was backed by gold. People attempted to redeem silver notes for gold; ultimately the statutory limit for the minimum amount of gold in federal reserves was reached and US notes could no longer be successfully redeemed for gold. Investments during the time of the Panic were heavily financed through bond issues with high interest payments. The National Cordage Company (the most actively traded stock at the time) went into receivership as a result of its bankers calling their loans in response to rumors regarding the NCC's financial distress. As the demand for silver and silver notes fell, the price and value of silver dropped. Holders worried about a loss of face value of bonds, and many became worthless. A series of bank failures followed, and the Northern Pacific Railway, the Union Pacific Railroad and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad failed. This was followed by the bankruptcy of many other companies; in total over 15,000 companies and 500 banks failed (many in the west). According to high estimates, about 17%-19% of the workforce was unemployed at the Panic's peak. The huge spike in unemployment, combined with the loss of life savings by failed banks, meant that a once secure middle class could not meet their mortgage obligations. As a result, many walked away from recently built homes. From this, the sight of the vacant Victorian (haunted) house entered the American mindset.[4] [edit] Effects The 1896 Broadway melodrama The War of Wealth was inspired by the Panic of 1893.The severity was great in all industrial cities and mill towns. Farm distress was great because of the falling prices for export crops such as wheat and cotton. Coxey's Army was a highly publicized march of unemployed laborers from Ohio and Pennsylvania to Washington to demand relief. A severe wave of strikes took place in 1894, most notably the Midwestern bituminous coal strike of the spring, which led to violence in Ohio. Even more serious was the Pullman Strike, which shut down much of the nation's transportation system in July, 1894. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, perhaps along with the protectionist McKinley Tariff of 1890, have been partially blamed for the panic. Passed in response to a large overproduction of silver by western mines, the Sherman Act required the U.S. Treasury to purchase silver using notes backed by either silver or gold. Politically the Democrats and President Cleveland were blamed for the depression. The Democrats and Populists lost heavily in the 1894 elections, which marked the largest Republican gains in history. Many of the western silver mines closed, and a large number were never re-opened. A significant number of western mountain narrow-gauge railroads, which had been built to serve the mines, also went out of business. The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad stopped its ambitious plan, then under way, to convert its system from narrow-gauge to standard-gauge. The depression was a major issue in the debates over Bimetallism. The Republicans blamed the Democrats and scored a landslide victory in the 1894 state and Congressional elections. The Populists lost most of their strength and had to support the Democrats in The presidential election of 1896 was fought on economic issues and was marked by a decisive victory of the pro-gold, high-tariff Republicans led by William McKinley over pro-silver William Jennings Bryan. Many people abandoned their homes and came west. The growing railway towns in the west of Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles took in the populations, as did many smaller centers. The U.S. economy finally began to recover in After the election of Republican McKinley, confidence was restored with the Klondike gold rush and the economy began 10 years of rapid growth, until the Panic of 1907.
37 Treasury was running a deficit because of the Silver Purchase Act.
Gold Problem Treasury was running a deficit because of the Silver Purchase Act. 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 William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was the Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States in 1896, 1900 and 1908, a lawyer, and the 41st United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson. One of the most popular speakers in American history, he was noted for a deep, commanding voice. Bryan was a devout Presbyterian, a supporter of popular democracy, a critic of banks and railroads, a leader of the silverite movement in the 1890s, a leading figure in the Democratic Party, a peace advocate, a prohibitionist, an opponent of Darwinism, and one of the most prominent leaders of Populism in the late 19th - and early 20th century. Because of his faith in the goodness and rightness of the common people, he was called "The Great Commoner."
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