Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age 1869-1896 Period of Corruption & Political Stagnation of Forgotten Presidents
Gilded Age appears to be something it is not Mark Twain named era Seemed glorious but riddled with corruption/scandal 1877-1900 Era of Industrialization Railroads, steel, oil Political Corruption Policies favored business Forgettable Presidents Hayes, Garfield, Cleveland & Harrison
Election of 1868 Grant v. Seymour Waving the bloody shirt 500,000 freedmen made difference
Era of Good Stealing 1869 Gould & Fisk Boss Tweed 1871, Thomas Nast 1872 Credit Mobilier Railway graft 1874-75 Whiskey Ring Excise tax
Election of 1872 Grant v. Greeley Republican Split Liberal Republican Party End to military reconstruction Purification of White House Nominated Greeley & Dems supported
Panic of 1873 Overspeculation Greenbacks v. Gold Tight v. loose Resumption Act of 1875 Reduce greenbacks Redemption in gold by 1879 Contraction = no redemption
Parties Republican Puritan Regulate economy Regulate morals MW & rural NE Union vets Democrat Catholic/Lutheran Immigrants Tolerance of differences South &cities
Election of 1876 Hayes v. Tilden Compromise of 1877 w/draw troops from LA/SC TX/Pacific Railway Basically sacrificed freedmen Abandoned commitment to racial equality Reconstruction over!! w/drawl of troops Redeemers Sharecropping Jim Crow Laws
Rail Strike (1877) 1877 rail companies cut wages by 10% Hayes sent in federal troops/work stoppages Weakness of labor movement Exposed problems Racial Ethnic Irish & Chinese» Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)» US vs. Ark (1898)» 14 th Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship
1880 Presidential Election Garfield/Arthur v. Hancock Dark horse & Stalwart (patronage) Waving Bloody Shirt 1881 assassinated by Guiteau Insanity defense used for 1 st time Shocked into reforming patronage system Patronage & Merit Pendleton Act (1883) Compulsory campaign contributions illegal Civil Service Commission Drove politicians into pockets of Big Business Arthur dropped by Republicans in 1884
James Garfield Chester Arthur
Election of 1884 Blaine (R) v. Cleveland (D) Personalities not principles Mulligan Letters Mugwumps Rep. who went to Dem. due to Blaine s nomination Rum, Romanism, Rebellion Rep. clergyman insulted Irish NY swing state
President Cleveland Laissez-faire People should support government, government should not support the people Problems Military pensions Grand Army of the Republic Vetoed hundreds who did not deserve Tariff (1887) Surplus treasury Lower barriers = lower prices = less protection for monopolies
Harrison (R) v. Cleveland (D) Tariff main issue Billion Dollar Congress 1 st to appropriate that much $$ Thomas czar Reed Speaker of the House McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 Woes to farmers Election of 1888 Buy high priced American goods, sell grain low in unprotected world markets 1890 Farmers Alliance: 9 in Congress
Populists 1892 People s Party Rooted in Farmer s Alliance Omaha Platform Inflation thru coinage of silver Graduated income tax Government ownership of rail, telegraph, telephone Direct election of Senators 1 term limit of President Allow citizens to shape legislation Shorter workday Restrict immigration Nominated General James B. Weaver Few 3 rd parties to break into electoral #
Populists South would not join Why? RACE Reminded of black voting strength Led to harsher laws literacy, poll tax, grandfather clause, Jim Crow After 1896, RACIST party Advocated black disenfranchisement
President Cleveland Depression of 1893 (lasted 4 years) Overbuilding/speculation Labor disorder Agriculture depression Free Silver Damaged credit Called in loans No Government Help Let nature take its course Treasury Drained of Gold Repeal of Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 William Jennings Bryan JP Morgan lent government gold Wilson-Gorman Tariff (1894) Special interests so tariffs were really no lower