Politics in the Gilded Age, 1870-1900
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FIGURE 20.1 L. Frank Baum 's story of a K ansas girl and the magical land o f Oz has bec ome a clas sic o f both filmand scr een, but it ma y ha ve originat ed in par t as an al legory of late ninet eenth-c entur y politics and the rise o f thePopulis t mo vement.
INTR ODUC TIONCHAP TER OUTLINE20.1 Political Corrup tion in P ostbellum America20.2 The K ey Political Is sues: P atronag e, Tariffs , and Gold20.3 Farmers R evolt in the P opulis t Era20.4 Social and L abor Unr est in the 1890s
L. Frank Ba um w as a journalis t who rose to prominenc e at the end o f the nineteenth c entur y.
Baum's mos t famous s tory,The W izard o f Oz (Figure 20.1 ), was publishe d in 1900, but “ Oz” firs t came intobeing y ears e arlier , when he told a s tory to a group o f scho olchildren visiting his new spaper o ffice in SouthDak ota. He made up a tale o f a w onder ful land , and , searching f or a name , he alleg edly glanc ed do wn a t his filecabinet , where the b ottom dra wer w as la beled “O-Z.” Thus w as b orn the w orld o f Oz, where a girl fromstruggling K ansas hop ed to g et help from a “ wonder ful wizard ” who pro ved to b e a fra ud. Sinc e then , man y
have sp ecula ted tha t the s tory reflecte d Ba um's politic al symp athies f or the P opulis t Party, which g alvaniz edmidw estern and southern farmers ' demands f or federal ref orm . Whether he intende d the s tory to act as analleg ory for the plight o f farmers and w orkers in la te nineteenth-c entur y Americ a, or whether he simplywante d to write an “ Americ an fair y tale ” set in the he artland , Populis ts lo oked for ans wers much lik e Doroth ydid. And the g overnment in W ashington pro ved to b e meek ra ther than ma gical.20Politics in the Gilded Age,
1870 -190020.1 Political Corruption in P ostbellum AmericaLEARNING OBJEC TIVESBy the end o f this section, y ou wil l be able t o:
•Discus s the national political sc ene during the Gilded Ag e•Anal yze wh y man y critics c onsider ed the Gilded Ag e a period o f ineff ectiv e national leadershipFIGURE 20.2The challeng es Americ ans fac ed in the p ost-Civil W ar era e xtende d far b eyond the is sue o f Reconstruction andthe challeng e of an ec onom y without sla very. Politic al and so cial rep air o f the na tion w as p aramount , as w as
the c orrela tive ques tion o f rac e rela tions in the w ake of sla very. In addition , farmers fac ed the task o fcultiv ating arid w estern soils and selling crops in an incre asingly glob al commo dities mark et, while w orkers inurban indus tries suff ered long hours and hazardous c onditions a t stagnant w ages.
Farmers , who s till c omp osed the larg est percenta ge of the U .S. p opula tion , fac ed mounting debts asagricultural pric es spirale d do wnward. These lo wer pric es w ere due in larg e part to the cultiv ation o f moreacre age using more pro ductiv e farming to ols and machiner y, glob al mark et comp etition , as w ell as pric emanipula tion b y commo dity traders , exorbitant railro ad freight ra tes, and c ostly lo ans up on which farmersdep ende d. For man y, their hard w ork resulte d merely in a c ontinuing decline in pric es and ev en gre ater debt .
These farmers , and others who sought le aders to he al the w ounds left from the Civil W ar, org aniz ed in diff erentstates, and ev entually into a na tional third-p arty challeng e, only to find tha t, with the end o f Reconstruction ,federal p olitic al power w as s tuck in a p ermanent p artisan s talema te, and c orruption w as widespre ad a t boththe s tate and f ederal lev els.
As the Gilde d Ag eunfolde d, presidents had v ery little p ower, due in larg e part to highly c ontes ted elections inwhich rela tive popular majorities w ere raz or-thin . Tw o presidents w on the Electoral C olleg e without a p opularmajority . Further undermining their effic acy w as a C ongres s comprising mos tly p oliticians op erating on theprinciple o f politic al patrona ge. Eventually , frustrated by the lack o f leadership in W ashington , someAmeric ans b egan to dev elop their o wn solutions , including the es tablishment o f new p olitic al parties and
organiza tions to directly addres s the problems the y fac ed. Out o f the fr ustration wrought b y war andpresidential p olitic al imp otenc e, as w ell as an o verwhelming p ace of indus trial chang e, farmers and w orkersforme d a new gras sroots ref orm mo vement tha t, at the end o f the c entur y, was eclipse d by an ev en larg er,522 20 • P olitics in the Gilded Ag e, 1870-1900Access for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
mos tly middle -clas s, Progres sive mo vement . These ref orm eff orts did bring a bout chang e—but not without afight .
THE GILDED A GEMark Tw ain c oine d the phrase “ Gilde d Ag e” in a b ook he c o-authore d with Charles Dudle y Warner in 1873, TheGilde d Ag e: A T ale o f Today. The b ook sa tiriz ed the c orruption o f post-Civil W ar so ciety and p olitics . Indee d,popular e xcitement o ver na tional gro wth and indus trializa tion only thinly glos sed over the s tark ec onomicinequalities and v arious degrees o f corruption o f the era ( Figure 20.3 ). Politicians o f the time larg ely c atere d to
busines s interes ts in e xchang e for p olitic al supp ort and w ealth . Man y particip ated in gra ft and brib ery, oftenjustifying their actions with the e xcuse tha t corruption w as to o widespre ad for a suc cessful p olitician to resis t.
The machine p olitics o f the cities , specific ally T amman y Hall in N ew Y ork, illus trate the kind o f corrupt, buteffectiv e, local and na tional p olitics tha t domina ted the era.
FIGURE 20.3 Pages fr om Mark T wain’sThe Gilded Ag e, published in 1873. The il lustrations in this chap ter revealthe c ost of doing busines s in W ashingt on in this ne w ag e of mat erialism and c orrup tion, with the c ost of obtaining afemale lobb yist’s suppor t set at $10,000, while that o f a male lobb yist or a “high mor al” senat or can be had f or$3,000.
Nationally , between 1872 and 1896, the lack o f cle ar p opular manda tes made presidents reluctant to v enturebeyond the interes ts of their traditional supp orters . As a result , for ne arly a quar ter o f a c entur y, presidentshad a w eak hold on p ower, and legisla tors w ere reluctant to tie their p olitic al agendas to such w eak le aders . Onthe c ontrar y, weakened presidents w ere more susc eptible to supp ort various legisla tors’ and lobb yists’agendas , as the y owed tremendous fa vors to their p olitic al parties, as w ell as to k ey financial c ontributors , who
help ed them g arner jus t enough v otes to sque ak into o ffice through the Electoral C olleg e. As a result o f thisrela tionship , the rare piec es o f legisla tion p assed were larg ely resp onses to the desires o f busines smen andindus trialis ts whose supp ort help ed build p oliticians’ c areers .
Wha t was the result o f this p olitic al malaise? N ot surprisingly , almos t nothing w as ac complishe d on the f ederallevel. Ho wever, problems as sociated with the tremendous ec onomic gro wth during this time c ontinue d tomount . More Americ ans w ere mo ving to urb an c enters , which w ere una ble to ac commo date the mas sive20.1 • P olitical Corrup tion in P ostbel lum America 523numb ers o f working p oor. Tenement houses with inade qua te sanita tion le d to widespre ad illnes s. In r uralparts of the c ountr y, people fare d no b etter. Farmers w ere una ble to c ope with the challeng es o f low pric es for
their crops and e xorbitant c osts for ev eryday goods. All around the c ountr y, Americ ans in nee d of solutionsturne d fur ther a way from the f ederal g overnment f or help , leading to the rise o f fracture d and c orrupt p olitic algroups .
Mark T wain and the Gilded AgeMark T wain ( Figure 20.4 ) wroteThe Gilded Ag e: A T ale o f Todaywith his neighbor , Charles Dudle y Warner , as asatir e about the c orrup t politics and lus t for po wer that he f elt char acterized American society at the time . Thebook, the onl y no vel Twain e ver co-author ed, t ells of the char acters’ desir e to sel l their land t o the f eder algovernment and bec ome rich. It tak es aim at both the g overnment in W ashingt on and those Americans , in the
South and else wher e, whose lus t for mone y and s tatus among the ne wly rich in the nation ’s capital leads them t ocorrup t and f oolish choic es.
FIGURE 20.4 Mark T wain w as a not ed humoris t, recogniz ed b y mos t Americans as the gr eatest writ er of his da y.
He c o-wrote the no velThe Gilded Ag e: A T ale o f Todaywith Charles Dudle y Warner in 1873.
In the f ollowing c onversation fr om Chap ter Fifty -One o f the book, Colonel Sel lers ins tructs y oung W ashingt onHawkins on the r outine pr actic es o f Congr ess:
““Now let ’s fig ure up a lit tle on, the pr eliminaries . I think Congr ess always tries t o do as near right as it can,according t o its lights . A man can ’t ask an y fair er than that. The firs t preliminar y it al ways starts out on, is t o cleanitself , so t o speak. It wil l arr aign tw o or thr ee do zen o f its members , or ma ybe f our or fiv e do zen, f or taking bribesto vote for this and that and the other bil l las t wint er.”“It g oes up int o the do zens, does it? ”
“Well, yes; in a fr ee c ountr y likes ours , wher e an y man can run f or Congr ess and an ybody can v ote for him, y oucan’t expect immor tal purity al l the time —it ain ’t in natur e. Sixty or eighty or a hundr ed and fifty people ar e boundto get in who ar e not ang els in dis guise , as y oung Hick s the c orrespondent sa ys; but s till it is a v ery good a verage;very good indeed. . . . W ell, after the y ha ve finished the briber y cases , the y wil l tak e up cases o f members whohave bought their seats with mone y. That wil l tak e another f our w eeks.”
“Very good; g o on. Y ou ha ve ac count ed for tw o-thir ds o f the ses sion. ”DEFINING AMERICAN524 20 • P olitics in the Gilded Ag e, 1870-1900Access for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
“Next the y wil l try each other f or various smal ler irr egularities , like the sale o f appointments t o West Pointcadetships , and that sor t of thing— . . . ”“How long does it tak e to disinf ect itself o f these minor impurities? ”“Well, about tw o weeks, gener ally.”“So Congr ess always lies helples s in quar antine t en w eeks of a ses sion. That ’s enc ouraging .””
The book w as a suc cess, in par t because it amused people e ven as it e xcoriat ed the politics o f the da y. For thishumor , as w ell as its as tute anal ysis, Twain and W arner ’s book s till offers ent ertainment and insight t oday.
CLICK AND EXPL OREVisit the PBS Scrap Bo ok( inf orma tion on Mark Tw ain’s life and marria ge at thetime he wrote The Gilde d Ag e: A T ale o f Today.
THE ELEC TION OF 1876 SETS THE T ONEIn man y ways, the presidential election o f 1876 f oreshado wed the p olitics o f the era, in tha t it resulte d in one o fthe mos t contro versial results in all o f presidential his tory. The c ountr y was in the middle o f the ec onomicdownturn c aused by the P anic o f 1873, a do wnturn tha t would ultima tely las t until 1879, all but as suring tha tRepublic an incumb ent Uly sses S. Grant w ould not b e reelecte d. Ins tead, the R epublic an P arty nomina ted a
three -time g overnor from Ohio , Ruther ford B . Ha yes. Ha yes w as a p opular c andida te who adv ocated for b oth“hard mone y”—an ec onom y based up on g old currency transactions —to protect a gains t infla tionar y pres suresand civil ser vicereform , tha t is, recr uitment b ased up on merit and qualific ations , which w as to replac e thepractic e of handing out g overnment jobs as “ spoils.” Mos t imp ortantly , he had no signific ant p olitic al sc andalsin his p ast, unlik e his pre decessor Grant , who suff ered through the Crédit Mobilier o f Americ a sc andal . In this
mos t notorious e xample o f Gilde d Ag e corruption , sev eral c ongres smen ac cepte d cash and s tock brib es inreturn f or appropria ting infla ted federal funds f or the c onstruction o f the transc ontinental railro ad.
The Demo crats lik ewise sought a c andida te who c ould champion ref orm a gains t gro wing p olitic al corruption .
The y found their man in Samuel J . Tilden , governor o f New Y ork and a self -made millionaire , who had made asuccessful p olitic al career fighting c orruption in N ew Y ork City , including sp earhe ading the prosecutionagains t Tamman y Hall Bos s William Tw eed, who w as la ter jaile d. Both p arties tapp ed into the p opular mo od ofthe da y, each claiming to champion ref orm and promising an end to the c orruption tha t had b ecome ramp antin W ashington ( Figure 20.5 ). Lik ewise , both p arties promise d an end to p ost-Civil W ar R econstruction .20.1 • P olitical Corrup tion in P ostbel lum America 525
FIGURE 20.5 These campaign pos ters f or Ruther ford B. Hayes (a) and Samuel Tilden (b) undersc ore the tactics o feach par ty, which r emained lar gely unchang ed, r egardles s of the candidat es. The R epublican placar d highlights theparty’s role in pr eser ving “liber ty and union ” in the w ake of the Civil W ar, hoping t o tap int o the nor thern v oters’pride in vict ory over sec ession. The Democr atic pos ter addr esses the ec onomic turmoil and c orrup tion o f the da y,specifical ly that o f the Gr ant adminis tration, pr omising “hones ty, reform, and pr osperity ” for al l.
The c amp aign w as a typic al one f or the era: Demo crats shone a sp otlight on e arlier R epublic an sc andals , suchas the C rédit Mobilier a ffair , and R epublic ans relie d up on the bloody shir t camp aign , reminding the na tion o fthe terrible human toll o f the w ar a gains t southern c onfedera tes who no w re app eared in na tional p oliticsunder the mantle o f the Demo cratic P arty. President Grant previously had gre at suc cess with the “blo ody shir t”strategy in the 1868 election , when R epublic an supp orters a ttack ed Demo cratic c andida te Hora tio Se ymour
for his s ymp athy with N ew Y ork City dra ft rioters during the w ar. In 1876, tr ue to the c amp aign s tyle o f the da y,neither Tilden nor Ha yes activ ely c amp aigne d for o ffice, ins tead relying up on supp orters and other groups topromote their c auses .
Fearing a signific ant Afric an Americ an and White R epublic an v oter turnout in the South , particularly in thewake of the Civil Rights A ct of 1875, which fur ther emp owered Afric an Americ ans with protection in terms o fpublic ac commo dations , Demo crats relie d up on White supremacis t terror org aniza tions to intimida te Blackpeople and R epublic ans. Tactics include d ph ysically as saulting man y while the y attempte d to v ote. TheRedshir ts, based in Mis sissippi and the C arolinas , and the White Le ague in Louisiana, relie d up on intimida tion
tactics similar to the K u Klux Klan but op erated in a more op en and org aniz ed fashion with the sole g oal ofrestoring Demo crats to p olitic al pre dominanc e in the South . In sev eral ins tanc es, Redshir ts w ould a ttackfree dmen who a ttempte d to v ote, whipping them op enly in the s treets while simultaneously hos ting b arbecuesto attract Demo cratic v oters to the p olls. Women throughout South C arolina b egan to sew re d flannel shir ts forthe men to w ear as a sign o f their p olitic al view s; w omen themselv es b egan w earing re d ribb ons in their hair
and b ows about their w aists.
The result o f the presidential election , ultima tely, was close . Tilden w on the p opular v ote b y ne arly 300,000votes; ho wever, he had only 184 electoral v otes , with 185 nee ded to pro claim f ormal victor y. Three s tates,Florida, Louisiana, and South C arolina, w ere in dispute due to widespre ad charg es o f voter fra ud andmisc ounting . Ques tions reg arding the v alidity o f one o f the three electors in Oreg on c ast fur ther doubt on thefinal v ote; ho wever, tha t state subse quently presente d evidenc e to C ongres s confirming all three electoral v otes
for Ha yes.526 20 • P olitics in the Gilded Ag e, 1870-1900Access for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
As a result o f the dispute d election , the House o f Representa tives es tablishe d a sp ecial electoral c ommis sion todetermine which c andida te w on the challeng ed electoral v otes o f these three s tates. In wha t later b ecamekno wn as the C ompromise o f 1877, R epublic an P arty le aders o ffered southern Demo crats an enticing de al.
The o ffer w as tha t if the c ommis sion f ound in fa vor o f a Ha yes victor y, Ha yes w ould order the withdra wal of theremaining U .S. tro ops from those three southern s tates, thus allo wing the c ollapse o f the radic alReconstruction g overnments o f the imme diate p ost-Civil W ar era. This mo ve would p ermit southernDemo crats to end f ederal inter vention and c ontrol their o wn s tates’ fa tes in the w ake of the end o f sla very(Figure 20.6 ).
FIGURE 20.6 Titled “ A Truce not a Compr omise ,” this car toon sug gests the lack o f consensus aft er the election o f1876 c ould ha ve ended in another civil w ar.
After w eeks o f delib eration , the electoral c ommis sion v oted eight to sev en along s traight p arty lines , declaringHayes the victor in e ach o f the three dispute d states. As a result , Ha yes def eated Tilden in the electoral v ote b ya count o f 185–184 and b ecame the ne xt president . By April o f tha t year, radic al Reconstruction ende d aspromise d, with the remo val of federal tro ops from the final tw o Reconstruction s tates, South C arolina andLouisiana. W ithin a y ear, Redeemers —larg ely Southern Demo crats—had reg aine d control o f the p olitic al and
social fa bric o f the South .
Although unp opular among the v oting electora te, esp ecially among Afric an Americ ans who ref erre d to it as“The Gre at Betra yal,” the c ompromise e xposed the willingnes s of the tw o major p olitic al parties to a void a“stand-o ff” via a southern Demo crat filibus ter, which w ould ha ve gre atly prolong ed the final decision reg ardingthe election . Demo crats w ere larg ely sa tisfied to end R econstruction and maintain “home r ule” in the South inexchang e for c ontrol o ver the White House . Lik ewise , mos t realized tha t Ha yes w ould lik ely b e a one -term
president a t best and pro ve to b e as ineff ectual as his pre -Civil W ar pre decessors .
Perhaps mos t surprising w as the lack o f even gre ater public outra ge over such a transp arent c ompromise ,indic ative of the lit tle tha t Americ ans e xpecte d of their na tional g overnment . In an era where v oter turnoutremaine d rela tively high , the tw o major p olitic al parties remaine d larg ely indis tinguisha ble in their a gendas aswell as their prop ensity f or ques tiona ble tactics and b ackro om de als. Lik ewise , a gro wing b elief in lais sez-faireprinciples as opp osed to ref orms and g overnment inter vention ( which man y Americ ans b eliev ed contribute d
to the outbre ak o f the Civil W ar) le d ev en more Americ ans to ac cept the na ture o f an inactiv e federalgovernment ( Figure 20.7 ).20.1 • P olitical Corrup tion in P ostbel lum America 527FIGURE 20.7 Powerful R epublican P arty leader R oscoe Conkling is sho wn her e as the de vil. Hayes w alks off withthe priz e of the 1876 election, the South, personified as a w oman. The car toon, dr awn b y Joseph K eppler , has acaption that quot es Goethe: “Unt o that P ower he doth belong Which onl y doeth Right while e ver wil ling W rong.”
20.2 The K ey P olitical Issues: P atronage, T ariffs, and GoldLEARNING OBJEC TIVESBy the end o f this section, y ou wil l be able t o:
•Explain the diff erence betw een the spoils s ystem and civil ser vice, and discus s the impor tanc e of this is sue inthe period fr om 1872 t o 1896•Recogniz e the w ays in which the is sue o f tariffs impact ed diff erent sect ors o f the ec onom y in lat e ninet eenth-centur y America•Explain wh y Americans w ere split on the is sue o f a national g old s tandar d versus fr ee c oinag e of silver
•Explain wh y political patr onag e was a k ey issue f or political par ties in the lat e ninet eenth c entur yAlthough Ha yes’ ques tiona ble asc endancy to the presidency did not cre ate p olitic al corruption in the na tion ’scapital , it did set the s tage for p olitic ally motiv ated agendas and widespre ad inefficiency in the White House f orthe ne xt tw enty -four y ears. Weak president a fter w eak president to ok o ffice, and , as mentione d above, not oneincumb ent w as reelecte d. The p opulac e, it seeme d, pref erre d the devil the ydidn ’tkno w to the one the y did .
Onc e electe d, presidents had b arely enough p ower to rep ay the p olitic al fa vors the y owed to the individualswho ensure d their narro w victories in cities and regions around the c ountr y. Their f our y ears in o ffice werespent rep aying fa vors and mana ging the p owerful rela tionships tha t put them in the White House . EverydayAmeric ans w ere larg ely left on their o wn. Among the f ew p olitic al is sues tha t presidents routinely addres sedduring this era w ere ones o f patrona ge, tariffs , and the na tion ’s monetar y system .
PATRONA GE: THE SPOILS S YSTEM VS CIVIL SER VICEAt the he art of each president ’s adminis tration w as the protection o f the sp oils s ystem , tha t is, the p ower o f thepresident to practic e widespre ad p olitic al patrona ge. Patrona ge, in this c ase, took the f orm o f the presidentnaming his friends and supp orters to v arious p olitic al posts. Giv en the close c alls in presidential electionsduring the era, the maintenanc e of politic al machiner y and rep aying fa vors with p atrona ge was imp ortant to
all presidents , reg ardles s of party affilia tion . This had b een the c ase sinc e the adv ent o f a tw o-party p olitic alsystem and univ ersal male suffra ge in the J acksonian era. F or e xample , up on as suming o ffice in March 1829,President J ackson imme diately s wept emplo yees from o ver nine hundre d politic al offices, amounting to 10percent o f all f ederal app ointments . Among the hardes t-hit w as the U .S. P ostal Ser vice, which sa w Jackson528 20 • P olitics in the Gilded Ag e, 1870-1900Access for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
app oint his supp orters and closes t friends to o ver four hundre d positions in the ser vice (Figure 20.8 ).
FIGURE 20.8 This political car toon sho ws Andr ew Jack son riding a pig , which is w alking o ver “fraud, ” “briber y,” and“spoils ,” and f eeding on “ plunder .”As c an b e seen in the ta ble b elow (Table 20.1 ), ev ery single president electe d from 1876 through 1892 w ondespite rec eiving les s than 50 p ercent o f the p opular v ote. This es tablishe d a rep etitiv e cy cle o f rela tively w eakpresidents who o wed man y politic al fa vors, which c ould b e rep aid through one prerog ative power: p atrona ge.
As a result , the sp oils s ystem allo wed those with p olitic al influenc e to asc end to p owerful p ositions within thegovernment , reg ardles s of their lev el of experienc e or skill , thus c omp ounding b oth the inefficiency o fgovernment as w ell as enhancing the opp ortunities f or c orruption .
Year Candida tes Popular V ote Percentag e Elect oral Vote1876 Ruther ford B. Hayes 4,034,132 47.9% 185Samuel Tilden 4,286,808 50.9% 184Others 97,709 1.2% 01880 James Gar field 4,453,337 48.3% 214
Winfield Hanc ock 4,444,267 48.2% 155Others 319,806 3.5% 01884 Grover Cle veland 4,914,482 48.8% 219James Blaine 4,856,903 48.3% 182Others 288,660 2.9% 0
TABLE 20.1 U.S. P residential Election R esul ts (1876–1896)20.2 • The K ey Political I ssues: P atronag e, Tariffs, and Gold 529Year Candida tes Popular V ote Percentag e Elect oral Vote1888 Benjamin Harrison 5,443,663 47.8% 233Grover Cle veland 5,538,163 48.6% 168Others 407,050 3.6% 0
1892 Grover Cle veland 5,553,898 46.0% 277Benjamin Harrison 5,190,799 43.0% 145Others 1,323,330 11.0% 221896 William McKinle y 7,112,138 51.0% 271William Jennings Br yan 6,510,807 46.7% 176
Others 315,729 2.3% 0TABLE 20.1 U.S. P residential Election R esul ts (1876–1896)At the same time , a mo vement emerg ed in supp ort of ref orming the practic e of politic al app ointments . As e arlyas 1872, civil ser vice ref ormers g athere d to cre ate the Lib eral R epublic an P arty in an eff ort to unse atincumb ent P resident Grant . Led by sev eral midw estern R epublic an le aders and new spaper e ditors , this p arty
provide d the imp etus f or other ref orm-minde d Republic ans to bre ak free from the p arty and actually join theDemo cratic P arty ranks . With new spaper e ditor Horac e Greele y as their c andida te, the p arty called for a“thorough ref orm o f the civil ser vice as one the mos t pres sing nec essities” facing the na tion . Although e asilydefeated in the election tha t followed, the w ork o f the Lib eral R epublic an P arty set the s tage for an ev enstrong er push f or p atrona ge ref orm .
Clearly o wing fa vors to his R epublic an handlers f or his surprise c ompromise victor y by the slimmes t ofmargins in 1876, P resident Ha yes w as ill-prep ared to hee d those cries f or ref orm , despite his o wn s tatedpref erenc e for a new civil ser vice system . In fact , he ac complishe d lit tle during his f our y ears in o ffice otherthan granting fa vors, as dicta ted by Republic an P arty handlers . Tw o powerful R epublic an le aders a ttempte d tocontrol the president . The firs t was R oscoe Conkling , Republic an sena tor from N ew Y ork and le ader o f the
Stal warts, a group tha t strongly supp orted continua tion o f the current sp oils s ystem ( Figure 20.9 ). Longsupp orting f ormer P resident Grant , Conkling had no s ymp athy for some o f Ha yes’ e arly app eals f or civilservice ref orm . The other w as James G . Blaine , Republic an sena tor from Maine and le ader o f the Half -Bree ds.
The Half -Bree ds, who rec eived their derog atory nickname from Stalw art supp orters who c onsidere d Blaine ’sgroup to b e only “half -Republic an,” adv ocated for some me asure o f civil ser vice ref orm .530 20 • P olitics in the Gilded Ag e, 1870-1900Access for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
FIGURE 20.9 This car toon sho ws Roscoe Conkling pla ying a popular puzzle g ame o f the da y with the heads o fpotential R epublican pr esidential candidat es, illustrating his c ontr ol over the pick s of the par ty.
With his eff orts to wards ensuring Afric an Americ an civil rights s tymie d by a Demo cratic C ongres s, and hisdecision to halt the c oina ge of silv er merely adding to the pres sures o f the ec onomic Panic o f 1873 , Ha yesfaile d to achiev e an y signific ant legisla tion during his presidency . Ho wever, he did mak e a f ew o verturestowards civil ser vice ref orm . First, he adopte d a new p atrona ge rule, which held tha t a p erson app ointe d to anoffice could b e dismis sed only in the interes t of efficient g overnment op eration but not f or o vertly p olitic al
reasons . Sec ond , he declare d tha t party le aders c ould ha ve no o fficial sa y in p olitic al app ointments , althoughConkling sought to c ontinue his influenc e. Finally , he decide d tha t government app ointees w ere ineligible tomana ge camp aign elections . Although not s weeping ref orms , these w ere s teps in a civil ser vice direction .
Hayes’ firs t targ et in his me ager ref orm eff ort was to remo ve Ches ter A . Arthur , a s trong C onkling man , fromhis p ost as he ad o f the N ew Y ork City Cus toms House . Arthur had b een notorious f or using his p ost as cus tomscollector to g ain p olitic al fa vors f or C onkling . When Ha yes forcibly remo ved him from the p osition , even Half -Bree ds ques tione d the wisdom o f the mo ve and b egan to dis tanc e themselv es from Ha yes. The los s of hismeager public supp ort due to the C ompromise o f 1877 and the declining C ongres sional faction tog ether se aled
Hayes fa te and made his reelection imp ossible .
AN ASSASSIN’S BULLET SETS THE ST AGE FOR CIVIL SER VICE REFORMIn the w ake of President Ha yes’ failure , Republic ans b egan to b attle o ver a suc cessor f or the 1880 presidentialelection . Initially , Stalw arts fa vored Grant ’s return to the White House , while Half -Bree ds promote d theirleader , James Blaine . Following an e xpecte d convention de adlo ck, both factions a gree d to a c ompromisepresidential c andida te, Sena tor J ames A . Garfield o f Ohio , with Ches ter Ar thur as his vic e-presidential r unning
mate. The Demo cratic P arty turne d to W infield Sc ott Hanc ock, a former Union c ommander who w as a hero o fthe Ba ttle o f Get tysburg , as their c andida te.
Garfield w on a narro w victor y over Hanc ock b y forty thousand v otes , although he s till did not win a majority o fthe p opular v ote. But les s than f our months into his presidency , events pushe d civil ser vice ref orm on the fas ttrack . On J uly 2, 1881, Charles Guite au shot and kille d Garfield ( Figure 20.10 ), alleg edly ut tering a t the time , “Iam a Stalw art of Stalw arts!” Guite au himself had w ante d to b e rew arde d for his p olitic al supp ort—he hadwrit ten a sp eech f or the G arfield c amp aign—with an amb assadorship to F ranc e. His actions a t the time w ere
larg ely blame d on the sp oils s ystem , prompting more urg ent cries f or chang e.20.2 • The K ey Political I ssues: P atronag e, Tariffs, and Gold 531FIGURE 20.10 Garfield’ s shooting and the subsequent cap ture of the as sassin, Charles Guit eau, ar e depict ed in thisillustration f or a ne wspaper o f the da y. The pr esident clung t o life for another tw o months aft er the as sassination.
The Assassination of a Pr esident“I execut edthe Divine c ommand.
And Gar field did r emo ve,To sa ve my par ty,and m y countr yFrom the bit ter fat e of War.
—Charles Guit eau”Charles Guit eau w as a la wyer and suppor ter of the R epublican P arty, although not par ticularl y well kno wn ineither ar ea. But he g ave a f ew speeches , to modes t crowds, in suppor t of the R epublican nominee JamesGarfield, and ul timat ely deluded himself that his speeches influenc ed the c ountr y enough t o cause Gar field’ svictory. Aft er the election, Guit eau immediat ely beg an pr essuring the ne w pr esident, r eques ting a pos t as
ambas sador . When his queries w ent unans wered, Guit eau, out o f mone y and angr y that his supposed help hadbeen ignor ed, planned t o kil l the pr esident.
He spent significant time planning his at tack and c onsider ed w eapons as div erse as dynamit e and a s tilettobefore deciding on a g un, s tating , “I w anted it done in an American manner .” He f ollowed the pr esident ar oundthe Capit ol and let se veral oppor tunities pas s, unwilling t o kil l Gar field in fr ont o f his wif e or son. F rustrated withhimself , Guit eau r ecommit ted to the plan and wr ote a let ter to the Whit e House , explaining ho w this act w ould“unit e the R epublican P arty and sa ve the R epublic. ”
Guit eau shot the pr esident fr om behind and c ontinued t o shoot until polic e grabbed him and hauled him a way.
He w ent t o jail , and, the f ollowing No vember aft er Gar field had died, he s tood trial f or mur der. His poor mentalheal th, which had been e vident f or some time , led t o ec centric c ourtroom beha vior that the ne wspapers eag erlyrepor ted and the public lo ved. He def ended his case with a poem that used r eligious imag ery and sug gested thatGod had or dered him t o commit the mur der. He def ended himself in c ourt by saying , “The doct ors kil led Gar field,I jus t shot him. ” While this in fact w as true , it did not sa ve him. Guit eau w as convicted and hang ed in the summer
of 1882.
CLICK AND EXPL ORETake a lo ok a tAmeric a’s Stor y( au)from the Librar y of Congres s, which highlightsDEFINING AMERICAN532 20 • P olitics in the Gilded Ag e, 1870-1900Access for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
the fact tha t Guite au in fact did not kill the president , but ra ther inf ection from his me dical tre atment did .
Surprising b oth his p arty and the Demo crats when he as sume d the o ffice of president , Ches ter Ar thurimme diately dis tanc ed himself from the Stalw arts. Although previously a lo yal party man , Arthur unders toodthat he o wed his current p osition to no p articular faction or fa vor. He w as in the unique p osition to usher in awave a civil ser vice ref orm unlik e an y other p olitic al candida te, and he chose to do jus t tha t. In 1883, he signe dinto la w the P endleton Civil Ser vice Act, the firs t signific ant piec e of antip atrona ge legisla tion . This la w cre ated
the Civil Ser vice Commis sion , which lis ted all g overnment p atrona ge jobs and then set aside appro xima tely 10percent o f the lis t as app ointments to b e determine d through a c omp etitiv e civil ser vice examina tion pro cess.
Furthermore , to prev ent future presidents from undoing this ref orm , the la w declare d tha t future presidentscould enlarg e the lis t but c ould nev er shrink it b y mo ving a civil ser vice job b ack into the p atrona ge column .
TARIFFS IN THE GILDED A GEIn addition to civil ser vice, President Ar thur also c arrie d the ref ormis t spirit into the re alm o f tariffs , or tax eson interna tional imp orts to the Unite d Sta tes. Tariffs had long b een a c ontro versial topic in the Unite d Sta tes,especially as the nineteenth c entur y came to a close . Legisla tors app eared to b e bending to the will o f bigbusines smen who desire d higher tariffs in order to f orce Americ ans to buy their domes tically pro duced goods
rather than higher -pric ed imp orts. Lower tariffs , on the other hand , would re duce pric es and lo wer the a verageAmeric an’s cost of living , and w ere theref ore fa vored by man y working-clas s families and farmers , to theextent tha t an y of them fully unders tood such ec onomic f orces b eyond the pric es the y paid a t stores . Out o fgrowing c oncern f or the la tter group , Arthur cre ated the U .S. T ariff C ommis sion in 1882 to in vestigate thepropriety o f incre asingly high tariffs . Despite his c oncern, along with the c ommis sion ’s rec ommenda tion f or a
25 p ercent rollb ack in mos t tariffs , the mos t Arthur c ould ac complish w as the “Mongrel T ariff ” of 1883, whichlowered tariff ra tes b y barely 5 p ercent.
Such b old a ttempts a t ref orm fur ther c onvinc ed Republic an P arty le aders , as the 1884 election appro ache d,that Arthur w as not their b est option to c ontinue in the White House . Arthur quickly f ound himself a manwithout a p arty. As the 1884 election ne ared, the R epublic an P arty again se arche d their ranks f or a c andida tewho c ould res tore some semblanc e of the sp oils s ystem while maintaining a ref ormis t ima ge. Una ble to findsuch a man , the pre dominant Half -Bree ds a gain turne d to their o wn le ader , Sena tor Blaine . Ho wever, when
new s of his man y personal c orrupt b argains b egan to sur face, a signific ant p ortion o f the p arty chose to bre akfrom the traditional Stalw arts-versus -Half -Bree ds deb ate and f orm their o wn faction , the Mugwumps , a nametaken from the A lgonquin phrase f or “great chief. ”Anxious to c apitaliz e on the disarra y within the R epublic an P arty, as w ell as to return to the White House f orthe firs t time in ne arly thir ty years, the Demo cratic P arty chose to c ourt the Mug wump v ote b y nomina ting
Grover Clev eland , the ref orm g overnor from N ew Y ork who had built a reputa tion b y attacking machine p oliticsin N ew Y ork City . Despite sev eral p ersonal charg es a gains t him f or ha ving fa there d a child out o f wedlock,Clev eland mana ged to hold on f or a close victor y with a margin o f les s than thir ty thousand v otes .
Clev eland ’s rec ord on civil ser vice ref orm adde d lit tle to the initial blo ws struck b y President Ar thur . Afterelecting the firs t Demo cratic president sinc e 1856, the Demo crats could actually mak e gre at use o f the sp oilssystem . Clev eland w as, however, a nota ble ref orm president in terms o f busines s regula tion and tariffs . Whenthe U .S. Supreme C ourt ruled in 1886 tha t individual s tates c ould not regula te inters tate transp ortation ,Clev eland urg ed Congres s to p ass the Inters tate C ommerc e Act of 1887. Among sev eral other p owers, this la w
created the Inters tate C ommerc e Commis sion (IC C) to o versee railro ad pric es and ensure tha t the y remaine dreasona ble to all cus tomers . This w as an imp ortant shift . In the p ast, railro ads had grante d sp ecial reb ates tobig busines ses, such as J ohn D . Rockefeller ’s Standard Oil , while charging small farmers with lit tle ec onomicmuscle e xorbitant ra tes. Although the act ev entually pro vide d for re al regula tion o f the railro ad indus try, initialprogres s was slo w due to the lack o f enf orcement p ower held b y the IC C. Despite its e arly eff orts to regula te
railro ad ra tes, the U .S. Supreme C ourt undermine d the c ommis sion in Inters tate C ommerc e Commis sion v .20.2 • The K ey Political I ssues: P atronag e, Tariffs, and Gold 533Cincinna ti, New Orle ans, and T exas P acific Railw ay Cos.in 1897. Ra te regula tions w ere limits on pro fits tha t, inthe opinion o f a majority o f the jus tices, viola ted the F ourteenth Amendment protection a gains t deprivingpersons o f their prop erty without due pro cess of the la w.
As f or tariff ref orm , Clev eland a gree d with Ar thur ’s position tha t tariffs remaine d far to o high and w ere cle arlydesigne d to protect big domes tic indus tries a t the e xpense o f average consumers who c ould b enefit frominterna tional c omp etition . While the g eneral public appla ude d Clev eland ’s eff orts at both civil ser vice andtariff ref orm , influential busines smen and indus trialis ts remaine d adamant tha t the ne xt president mus trestore the protectiv e tariffs a t all c osts.
To counter the Demo crats’ re -nomina tion o f Clev eland , the R epublic an P arty turne d to Benjamin Harrison ,grandson o f former president W illiam Henr y Harrison . Although Clev eland narro wly w on the o verall p opularvote, Harrison ro de the influential c oattails o f sev eral busines smen and p arty bosses to win the k ey electoralstates o f New Y ork and N ew J erse y, where p arty officials s tres sed Harrison ’s supp ort for a higher tariff, andthus secure the White House . Not surprisingly , after Harrison ’s victor y, the Unite d Sta tes witnes sed a brief
return to higher tariffs and a s trengthening o f the sp oils s ystem . In fact , the McKinle y Tariff raise d some ra tesas much as 50 p ercent, which w as the highes t tariff in Americ an his tory to da te.
Some o f Harrison ’s policies w ere intende d to o ffer relief to a verage Americ ans s truggling with high c osts andlow w ages, but remaine d larg ely ineff ectiv e. First, the Sherman Anti-T rust Act of 1890 sought to prohibitbusines s monop olies as “ conspiracies in res traint o f trade ,” but it w as seldom enf orced during the firs t dec adeof its e xistenc e. Sec ond , the Sherman Silv er Purchase A ct of the same y ear re quire d the U .S. T reasur y to mintover four million ounc es o f silv er into c oins e ach month to circula te more c ash into the ec onom y, raise pric es
for farm g oods, and help farmers p ay their w ay out o f debt . But the me asure c ould not undo the previous “hardmone y” policies tha t had defla ted pric es and pulle d farmers into w ell-entrenche d cy cles o f debt . Othermeasures prop osed by Harrison intende d to supp ort Afric an Americ ans, including a F orce Bill to protectvoters in the South , as w ell as an E ducation Bill designe d to supp ort public e duc ation and impro ve literacyrates among Afric an Americ ans, also met with def eat.
MONET ARY POLICIES AND THE ISSUE OF GOLD VS SIL VERAlthough p olitic al corruption , the sp oils s ystem , and the ques tion o f tariff ra tes w ere p opular discus sions o fthe da y, none w ere more relev ant to w orking-clas s Americ ans and farmers than the is sue o f the na tion ’smonetar y policy and the ong oing deb ate of gold v ersus silv er (Figure 20.11 ). There had b een fre quent a ttemptsto es tablish a bimetallic s tandard , which in turn w ould ha ve cre ated infla tionar y pres sures and plac ed more
mone y into circula tion tha t could ha ve subse quently b enefit ted farmers . But the g overnment remaine dcommit ted to the g old s tandard , including the o fficial demonetizing o f silv er altog ether in 1873. Such a s tanc egreatly b enefit ted prominent busines smen eng aged in f oreign trade while f orcing more farmers and w orking-clas s Americ ans into gre ater debt .534 20 • P olitics in the Gilded Ag e, 1870-1900Access for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
FIGURE 20.11 This car toon il lustrates the pot ential benefits o f a bimetal s ystem, but the benefits did not actual lyextend t o big busines s, which pr eferred the g old s tandar d and w orked to keep it.
As farmers and w orking-clas s Americ ans sought the me ans b y which to p ay their bills and other livingexpenses , esp ecially in the w ake of incre ased tariffs as the c entur y came to a close , man y sa w adherenc e to astrict g old s tandard as their mos t pres sing problem . With limite d gold reser ves, the mone y supply remaine dconstraine d. At a minimum , a return to a bimetallic p olicy tha t would include the pro duction o f silv er dollarswould pro vide some relief. Ho wever, the a forementione d Sherman Silv er Purchase A ct w as larg ely ineff ectiv e
to comb at the gro wing debts tha t man y Americ ans fac ed. Under the la w, the f ederal g overnment purchase d 4.5million ounc es o f silv er on a monthly b asis in order to mint silv er dollars . Ho wever, man y investors e xchang edthe b ank notes with which the g overnment purchase d the silv er for g old, thus sev erely depleting the na tion ’sgold reser ve. Fearing the la tter, President Gro ver Clev eland signe d the act ’s rep eal in 1893. This lack o fmeaningful monetar y me asures from the f ederal g overnment w ould le ad one group in p articular who re quire d
such as sistanc e—Americ an farmers —to a ttempt to tak e control o ver the p olitic al pro cess itself.
20.3 Farmers R evolt in the P opulist Er aLEARNING OBJEC TIVESBy the end o f this section, y ou wil l be able t o:
•Unders tand ho w the ec onomic and political climat e of the da y promot ed the f ormation o f the farmers’ pr otestmovement in the lat ter half o f the ninet eenth c entur y•Explain ho w the farmers’ r evolt mo ved fr om pr otest to politicsThe challeng es tha t man y Americ an farmers fac ed in the las t quar ter o f the nineteenth c entur y weresignific ant. The y contende d with ec onomic hardships b orn out o f rapidly declining farm pric es, prohibitiv ely
high tariffs on items the y nee ded to purchase , and f oreign c omp etition . One o f the larg est challeng es the yfaced was o verpro duction , where the glut o f their pro ducts in the mark etplac e dro ve the pric e lower and lo wer.
Overpro duction o f crops o ccurre d in p art due to the w estward e xpansion o f homes tead farms and in p artbecause indus trializa tion le d to new farm to ols tha t drama tically incre ased crop yields . As farmers f ell deep erinto debt , whether it b e to the lo cal stores where the y bought supplies or to the railro ads tha t shipp ed theirproduce, their resp onse w as to incre ase crop pro duction e ach y ear in the hop e of earning more mone y withwhich to p ay back their debt . The more the y pro duced, the lo wer pric es dropp ed. To a hard-w orking farmer ,
the notion tha t their o wn o verpro duction w as the gre atest contributing factor to their debt w as a c ompletelyforeign c oncept ( Figure 20.12 ).20.3 • F armers R evolt in the P opulis t Era535FIGURE 20.12 This Nor th Dak ota sod hut, buil t by a homes teading farmer f or his famil y, was phot ographed in 1898,two years aft er it w as buil t. While the c ountr y was quickl y indus trializing , man y farmers s till lived in r ough, rur alconditions .
In addition to the cy cle o f overpro duction , tariffs w ere a serious problem f or farmers . Rising tariffs onindus trial pro ducts made purchase d items more e xpensiv e, yet tariffs w ere not being use d to k eep farm pric esartificially high as w ell. Theref ore, farmers w ere p aying infla ted pric es but not rec eiving them . Finally , theissue o f gold v ersus silv er as the b asis o f U.S. currency w as a v ery re al problem to man y farmers . Farmersneeded more mone y in circula tion , whether it w as p aper or silv er, in order to cre ate infla tionar y pres sure .
Infla tionar y pres sure w ould allo w farm pric es to incre ase, thus allo wing them to e arn more mone y tha t the ycould then sp end on the higher -pric ed goods in s tores . Ho wever, in 1878, f ederal la w set the amount o f papermone y in circula tion , and , as mentione d above, Harrison ’s Sherman Silv er A ct, intende d to incre ase theamount o f silv er coina ge, was to o mo dest to do an y re al good, esp ecially in light o f the unintende dconse quenc e of depleting the na tion ’s gold reser ve. In shor t, farmers had a big s tack o f bills and w ante d a big
stack o f mone y—be it p aper or silv er—to p ay them . Neither w as forthcoming from a g overnment tha t caredmore a bout is sues o f patrona ge and ho w to s tay in the White House f or more than f our y ears a t a time .
FARMERS BEGIN T O OR GANIZEThe initial resp onse b y incre asingly fr ustrated and angr y farmers w as to org aniz e into groups tha t weresimilar to e arly la bor unions . Taking note o f ho w the indus trial la bor mo vement had unf olde d in the las tquar ter o f the c entur y, farmers b egan to unders tand tha t a c ollectiv e voice could cre ate signific ant pres sureamong p olitic al le aders and pro duce subs tantiv e chang e. While farmers had their o wn challeng es, including
that of geograph y and div erse nee ds among diff erent typ es o f farmers , the y believ ed this mo del to b e useful totheir c ause.
One o f the firs t eff orts to org aniz e farmers c ame in 1867 with Oliv er Hudson K elly’s cre ation o f the P atrons o fHusb andr y, more p opularly kno wn as the Grang e. In the w ake of the Civil W ar, the Grang ers quickly grew toover 1.5 million memb ers in les s than a dec ade ( Figure 20.13 ). Kelly b eliev ed tha t farmers c ould b est helpthemselv es b y cre ating farmers’ c ooperatives in which the y could p ool resourc es and obtain b etter shippingrates, as w ell as pric es on see ds, fertiliz er, machiner y, and other nec essary inputs . These c ooperatives, he
believ ed, would let them self -regula te pro duction as w ell as c ollectiv ely obtain b etter ra tes from railro adcomp anies and other busines ses.536 20 • P olitics in the Gilded Ag e, 1870-1900Access for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
FIGURE 20.13 This print fr om the earl y 1870s , with sc enes o f farm lif e, was a pr omotional pos ter for the Gr angers,one o f the earlies t farmer r eform gr oups .
At the s tate lev el, specific ally in W isconsin , Minnesota, Illinois , and Io wa, the P atrons o f Husb andr y did brieflysucceed in urging the p assage of Grang er La ws, which regula ted some railro ad ra tes along with the pric escharg ed by grain elev ator op erators . The mo vement also cre ated a p olitic al party—the Greenb ack P arty, soname d for its supp ort of print currency (or “ greenb acks”) not b ased up on a g old s tandard—which sa w briefsuccess with the election o f fifteen c ongres smen . Ho wever, such suc cesses w ere shor t-lived and had lit tle
imp act on the liv es o f everyday farmers . In the W abash c ase o f 1886, brought b y the W abash, St. Louis , andPacific Railro ad C omp any, the U .S. Supreme C ourt ruled agains t the Sta te of Illinois f or p assing Grang er La wscontrolling railro ad ra tes; the c ourt found such la ws to b e unc onstitutional . Their argument held tha t states didnot ha ve the a uthority to c ontrol inters tate commerc e. As f or the Greenb ack P arty, when only sev en deleg atesapp eared at an 1888 na tional c onvention o f the group , the p arty fade d from e xistenc e.
CLICK AND EXPL OREExplore Rural Lif e in the La te Nineteenth C entur y( e)to study photographs ,firsthand rep orts, and other inf orma tion a bout ho w farmers liv ed and s truggle d at the end o f the nineteenthcentur y.
The Farmers’ Allianc e, a c onglomera tion o f three regional allianc es forme d in the mid-1880s , took ro ot in thewake of the Grang e mo vement . In 1890, Dr . Charles Macune , who le d the Southern A llianc e, which w as b asedin T exas and had o ver 100,000 memb ers b y 1886, urg ed the cre ation o f a na tional allianc e between hisorganiza tion , the N orthwest Allianc e, and the C olore d Allianc e, the larg est Afric an Americ an org aniza tion inthe Unite d Sta tes. Led by Tom W atson , the C olore d Allianc e, which w as founde d in T exas but quickly spre ad
throughout the Old South , counte d over one million memb ers. Although the y originally adv ocated for self -help ,Afric an Americ ans in the group so on unders tood the b enefits o f politic al org aniza tion and a unifie d voice toimpro ve their plight , reg ardles s of rac e. While racism k ept the allianc e splintere d among the three c omp onentbranches , the y still mana ged to cra ft a na tional a genda tha t app ealed to their larg e memb ership . All told , theFarmers’ A llianc e brought tog ether o ver 2.5 million memb ers, 1.5 million White and 1 million Black ( Figure
20.14 ).20.3 • F armers R evolt in the P opulis t Era537FIGURE 20.14 The F armers’ Al lianc e flag displa ys the mot to: “The mos t good f or the mos t PEOPLE, ” clearl y asentiment the y hoped that others w ould belie ve.
The allianc e mo vement , and the subse quent p olitic al party tha t emerg ed from it , also f eature d prominent rolesfor w omen . Nearly 250,000 w omen joine d the mo vement due to their share d interes t in the farmers’worsening situa tion as w ell as the promise o f being a full p artner with p olitic al rights within the group , whichthey sa w as an imp ortant s tep to wards adv ocacy f or w omen ’s suffra ge on a na tional lev el. The a bility to v oteand s tand f or o ffice within the org aniza tion enc oura ged man y women who sought similar rights on the larg er
Americ an p olitic al sc ene. Prominent allianc e sp okeswoman , Mar y Eliza beth Le ase o f Kansas , often sp oke ofmemb ership in the F armers’ A llianc e as an opp ortunity to “raise les s corn and more hell!”CLICK AND EXPL OREThe Conner P rairie Interactiv e His tory Park ( omen) discus ses the role o f women inrural Americ a and ho w it chang ed throughout the end o f the nineteenth c entur y.
The allianc e mo vement had sev eral g oals similar to those o f the original Grang e, including gre ater regula tionof railro ad pric es and the cre ation o f an infla tionar y na tional monetar y policy . Ho wever, mos t cre ative amongthe solutions promote d by the F armers’ A llianc e was the c all for a subtre asur y plan . Under this plan , thefederal g overnment w ould s tore farmers’ crops in g overnment w arehouses f or a brief p erio d of time , duringwhich the g overnment w ould pro vide lo ans to farmers w orth 80 p ercent o f the current crop pric es. Thus ,
farmers w ould ha ve imme diate cash on hand with which to set tle debts and purchase g oods, while their cropssat in w arehouses and farm pric es incre ased due to this c ontrol o ver supply a t the mark et. When mark et pric esrose sufficiently high enough , the farmer c ould withdra w his crops , sell a t the higher pric e, rep ay thegovernment lo an, and s till ha ve pro fit remaining .
Economis ts of the da y thought the plan had some merit; in fact , a gre atly altere d version w ould subse quentlybe adopte d during the Gre at Depres sion o f the 1930s , in the f orm o f the Agricultural A djus tment A ct. Ho wever,the f ederal g overnment nev er seriously c onsidere d the plan , as c ongres smen ques tione d the propriety o f thegovernment ser ving as a r ural cre ditor making lo ans to farmers with no as suranc e tha t pro duction c ontrolswould result in higher c ommo dity pric es. The g overnment ’s refusal to act on the prop osal left man y farmers
wondering wha t it w ould tak e to find solutions to their gro wing indebte dnes s.
FROM OR GANIZA TION T O POLITICAL P ARTYAngr y at the f ederal g overnment ’s continue d un willingnes s to subs tantiv ely addres s the plight o f the a veragefarmer , Charles Macune and the F armers’ A llianc e chose to cre ate a p olitic al party whose representa tives—ifelecte d—could enact re al chang e. Put simply , if the g overnment w ould not addres s the problem , then it w as538 20 • P olitics in the Gilded Ag e, 1870-1900Access for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
time to chang e those electe d to p ower.
In 1891, the allianc e forme d the Populis t Party, or P eople ’s Party, as it w as more widely kno wn. Beginningwith nonpresidential-y ear elections , the P opulis t Party had mo dest suc cess, particularly in K ansas , Nebraska,and the Dak otas , where the y suc ceeded in electing sev eral s tate legisla tors , one g overnor , and a handful o fcongres smen . As the 1892 presidential election appro ache d, the P opulis ts chose to mo del themselv es a fter theDemo cratic and R epublic an P arties in the hop e tha t the y could sho ck the c ountr y with a “ third-p arty” victor y.
At their na tional c onvention tha t summer in Omaha, N ebraska, the y wrote the Omaha Pla tform to more fullyexplain to all Americ ans the g oals o f the new p arty (Figure 20.15 ). W ritten b y Igna tius Donnelly , the pla tformstatement vilifie d railro ad o wners , bank ers, and big busines smen as all b eing p art of a widespre ad c onspiracyto control farmers . As f or p olicy chang es, the pla tform c alled for adoption o f the subtre asur y plan , governmentcontrol o ver railro ads, an end to the na tional b ank s ystem , the cre ation o f a federal inc ome tax , the direct
election o f U.S. sena tors , and sev eral other me asures , all o f which aime d at a more pro activ e federalgovernment tha t would supp ort the ec onomic and so cial w elfare o f all Americ ans. At the close o f theconvention , the p arty nomina ted James B . Weaver as its presidential c andida te.
FIGURE 20.15 The P eople ’s Party gather ed for its nominating c onvention in Nebr aska, wher e the y wr ote the OmahaPlatform t o state their c oncerns and g oals .
In a rema tch o f the 1888 election , the Demo crats again nomina ted Gro ver Clev eland , while R epublic ans w entwith Benjamin Harrison . Despite the presenc e of a third-p arty challeng er, Clev eland w on another closepopular v ote to b ecome the firs t U.S. president to b e electe d to nonc onsecutiv e terms . Although he finishe d adistant third , Populis t candida te W eaver p olled a resp ecta ble one million v otes . Rather than b eingdisapp ointe d, sev eral P opulis ts appla ude d their sho wing— especially f or a third p arty with b arely tw o years o f
national p olitic al experienc e under its b elt. The y anxiously a waite d the 1896 election , believing tha t if the res tof the c ountr y, in p articular indus trial w orkers, experienc ed hardships similar to those tha t farmers alre adyfaced, a p owerful allianc e among the tw o groups c ould c arry the P opulis ts to victor y.
20.4 Social and Labor Unr est in the 1890sLEARNING OBJEC TIVESBy the end o f this section, y ou wil l be able t o:
•Explain ho w the Depr ession o f 1893 helped the P opulis t Party to grow in popularity in the 1890s•Unders tand the f orces that c ontribut ed to the P opulis t Party’s decline f ollowing the 1896 pr esidential electionInso far as farmers w ante d the res t of the c ountr y to share their plight , the y got their wish . Soon a fterClev eland ’s election , the na tion c atapulte d into the w orst economic depres sion in its his tory to da te. As thegovernment c ontinue d to fail in its eff orts to addres s the gro wing problems , more and more Americ ans sought20.4 • Social and L abor Unr est in the 1890s 539
relief outside o f the traditional tw o-party system . To man y indus trial w orkers, the P opulis t Party began to seemlike a via ble solution .
FROM F ARMERS’ HARDSHIPS T O A NA TIONAL DEPRESSIONThe la te 1880s and e arly 1890s sa w the Americ an ec onom y slide precipitously . As mentione d above, farmerswere alre ady s truggling with ec onomic w oes, and the res t of the c ountr y followed quickly . Following a briefrebound from the sp ecula tion-induc ed Panic o f 1873, in which b ank in vestments in railro ad b onds spre ad thenation ’s financial resourc es to o thin—a reb ound due in larg e part to the protectiv e tariffs o f the 1880s —a
greater ec onomic c atastrophe hit the na tion , as the dec ade o f the 1890s b egan to unf old.
The c auses o f the Depres sion o f 1893 were manif old, but one major element w as the sp ecula tion in railro adsover the previous dec ades . The rapid prolif eration o f railro ad lines cre ated a false impres sion o f gro wth f or theeconom y as a whole . Banks and in vestors f ed the gro wth o f the railro ads with fas t-paced in vestment inindus try and rela ted busines ses, not re alizing tha t the gro wth the y were f ollowing w as built on a bubble . Whenthe railro ads b egan to fail due to e xpenses outp acing returns on their c onstruction , the supp orting busines ses,
from b anks to s teel mills , faile d also .
Beginning with the closure o f the Philadelphia & R eading Railro ad C omp any in 1893, sev eral railro ads c easedtheir op erations as a result o f investors c ashing in their b onds , thus cre ating a ripple eff ect throughout theeconom y. In a single y ear, from 1893 to 1894, unemplo yment es tima tes incre ased from 3 p ercent to ne arly 19percent o f all w orking-clas s Americ ans. In some s tates, the unemplo yment ra te so ared ev en higher: o ver 35percent in N ew Y ork Sta te and 43 p ercent in Michig an. At the height o f this depres sion , over three million
Americ an w orkers w ere unemplo yed. By 1895, Americ ans living in cities grew ac custome d to seeing thehomeles s on the s treets or lining up a t soup kitchens .
Imme diately f ollowing the ec onomic do wnturn , people sought relief through their electe d federal g overnment .
Just as quickly , the y learne d wha t farmers had b een ta ught in the prec eding dec ades: A w eak, inefficientgovernment interes ted solely in p atrona ge and the sp oils s ystem in order to maintain its p ower w as in noposition to help the Americ an p eople fac e this challeng e. The f ederal g overnment had lit tle in plac e to supp ortthose lo oking f or w ork or to pro vide direct aid to those in nee d. Of c ourse , to b e fair , the g overnment hadseldom fac ed these ques tions b efore. Americ ans had to lo ok elsewhere .
A nota ble e xample o f the g overnment ’s failure to act w as the s tory ofCoxey’s Arm y. In the spring o f 1894,busines sman J acob C oxey led a march o f unemplo yed Ohio ans from Cincinna ti to W ashington , DC, whereleaders o f the group urg ed Congres s to p ass public w orks legisla tion f or the f ederal g overnment to hireunemplo yed workers to build ro ads and other public projects . From the original one hundre d protes ters , themarch grew fiv e hundre d strong as others joine d along the route to the na tion ’s capital . Up on their arriv al, not
only w ere their cries f or federal relief ignore d, but C oxey and sev eral other marchers w ere arres ted fortresp assing on the gras s outside the U .S. C apitol . Frustration o ver the ev ent le d man y angr y workers toconsider supp orting the P opulis t Party in subse quent elections .
L. Fr ank Baum: Did Co xey’s Army inspir e Dor othy and the Wiz ard of Oz?
Scholars , his torians , and ec onomis ts ha ve long ar gued inc onclusiv ely that L . Frank Baum int ended the s tory ofThe Wizar d of Oz as an al legory for the politics o f the da y. Whether that actual ly was Baum ’s int ention is up f ordebat e, but c ertainl y the s tory could be r ead as suppor t for the P opulis t Party’s crusade on behalf o f Americanfarmers . In 1894, Baum witnes sed Co xey’s Arm y’s mar ch firs thand, and some f eel it ma y ha ve influenc ed thestory (Figure 20.16 ).AMERICAN A540 20 • P olitics in the Gilded Ag e, 1870-1900
Access for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
FIGURE 20.16 This imag e of Coxey’s Arm y mar ching on W ashingt on to ask f or jobs ma y ha ve helped inspir e L.
Frank Baum ’s story of Dor othy and her friends seeking help fr om the Wizar d of Oz.
According t o this theor y, the Scar ecrow represents the American farmer , the Tin W oodman is the indus trialworker, and the Co wardly Lion is Wil liam Jennings Br yan, a pr ominent “ Silverite” (strong suppor ters o f thePopulis t Party who adv ocat ed for the fr ee c oinag e of silver) who , in 1900 when the book w as published, w aslargely criticiz ed b y the R epublicans as being c owardly and indecisiv e. In the s tory, the char acters mar ch towardsOz, much as Co xey’s Arm y mar ched t o Washingt on. Lik e Dor othy and her c ompanions , Coxey’s Arm y gets in
trouble , bef ore being turned a way with no help .
Following this r eading , the seemingl y po werful but ul timat ely impot ent Wizar d of Oz is a r epresentation o f thepresident, and Dor othy onl y finds happines s by wearing the sil ver slippers —the y onl y became rub y slippers in thelater mo vie v ersion—along the Y ellow Brick R oad, a r eference to the need f or the c ountr y to mo ve from the g oldstandar d to a tw o-metal sil ver and g old plan. While no lit erary theoris ts or his torians ha ve proven this c onnectionto be true , it is pos sible that Co xey’s Arm y inspir ed Baum t o create Dor othy’s journe y on the y ellow brick r oad.
Several s trikes also punctua ted the gro wing depres sion , including a numb er o f violent uprisings in the c oalregions o f Ohio and P enns ylvania. B ut the infamous Pullman Strik e of 1894 w as mos t nota ble f or itsnation wide imp act, as it all but shut do wn the na tion ’s railro ad s ystem in the middle o f the depres sion . Thestrike began imme diately on the heels o f the C oxey’s Arm y march when , in the summer o f 1894, c omp anyowner Georg e Pullman fire d over tw o thousand emplo yees a t Pullman C o.—which made railro ad c ars, such as
Pullman sleep er cars—and re duced the w ages o f the remaining three thousand w orkers. Sinc e the factor yoperated in the c omp any town o f Pullman , Illinois , where w orkers rente d homes from Georg e Pullman andshopp ed at the c omp any store o wne d by him as w ell, unemplo yment also me ant eviction . Facing such harshtreatment , all o f the Pullman w orkers w ent on s trike to protes t the decisions . Eug ene V . Debs , head o f theAmeric an Railw ay Union , led the s trike.
In order to bring the plight o f Pullman , Illinois , to Americ ans all around the c ountr y, Debs adopte d the s trikestrategy of ordering all Americ an Railro ad Union memb ers to refuse to handle an y train tha t had Pullman c arson it . Sinc e vir tually ev ery train in the Unite d Sta tes op erated with Pullman c ars, the s trike truly brought the20.4 • Social and L abor Unr est in the 1890s 541transp ortation indus try to its knees . Fearful o f his a bility to end the ec onomic depres sion with such a vitalpiec e of the ec onom y at a s tands till, President Clev eland turne d to his a ttorne y general f or the ans wer. The
attorne y general prop osed a solution: use f ederal tro ops to op erate the trains under the pretense o f protectingthe deliv ery of the U .S. mail tha t was typic ally f ound on all trains . When Debs and the Americ an Railw ay Unionrefuse d to ob ey the c ourt injunction prohibiting inter ferenc e with the mail , the tro ops b egan op erating thetrains , and the s trike quickly ende d. Debs himself w as arres ted, trie d, convicte d, and sentenc ed to six monthsin prison f or disob eying the c ourt injunction . The Americ an Railw ay Union w as des troyed, leaving w orkers
even les s emp owered than b efore, and Debs w as in prison , contempla ting alterna tives to a c apitalis t-basednational ec onom y. The Depres sion o f 1893 left the c ountr y limping to wards the ne xt presidential election withfew solutions in sight .
THE ELEC TION OF 1896As the final presidential election o f the nineteenth c entur y unf olde d, all signs p ointe d to a p ossible P opulis tvictor y. Not only had the ong oing ec onomic depres sion c onvinc ed man y Americ ans—farmers and factor yworkers alik e—of the ina bility o f either major p olitic al party to addres s the situa tion , but also the P opulis tParty, sinc e the las t election , benefite d from f our more y ears o f experienc e and numerous lo cal victories . As
they prep ared for their c onvention in St . Louis tha t summer , the P opulis ts w atche d with k een interes t as theRepublic ans and Demo crats hos ted their o wn c onventions .
The R epublic ans remaine d steadfas t in their def ense o f a g old-b ased standard f or the Americ an ec onom y, aswell as high protectiv e tariffs . The y turne d to W illiam McKinle y, former c ongres sman and current g overnor o fOhio , as their c andida te. At their c onvention , the Demo crats turne d to W illiam J ennings Br yan—a c ongres smanfrom N ebraska. Br yan def ende d the imp ortanc e of a silv er-based monetar y system and urg ed the g overnmentto coin more silv er. Furthermore , being from farm c ountr y, he w as v ery familiar with the farmers’ plight and
saw some merit in the subtre asur y system prop osal . In shor t, Bryan c ould ha ve been the ide al Populis tcandida te, but the Demo crats got to him firs t. The P opulis t Party subse quently endorse d Br yan as w ell, withtheir p arty’s nomina tion three w eeks la ter ( Figure 20.17 ).
FIGURE 20.17 Republicans por trayed pr esidential candidat e Br yan as a gr asping politician whose P opulis t leaningscould s wallow the Democr atic P arty. Bryan w as in fact not a P opulis t at al l, but a Democr at whose vie ws aligned withthe P opulis ts on some is sues . He w as formal ly nominat ed b y the Democr atic P arty, the P opulis t Party, and the Sil verRepublican P arty for the 1896 pr esidential election.
CLICK AND EXPL OREBrowse through the c artoons and c ommentar y at1896 ( at Vassar C olleg e, asite tha t contains a w ealth o f inf orma tion a bout the major pla yers and themes o f the presidential election o f1896.542 20 • P olitics in the Gilded Ag e, 1870-1900Access for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
As the P opulis t convention unf olde d, the deleg ates had an imp ortant decision to mak e: either lo cate anothercandida te, even though Br yan w ould ha ve been an e xcellent choic e, or join the Demo crats and supp ort Bryanas the b est candida te but risk losing their identity as a third p olitic al party as a result . The P opulis t Party chosethe la tter and endorse d Br yan’s candidacy . Ho wever, the y also nomina ted their o wn vic e-presidentialcandida te, Georgia Sena tor T om W atson , as opp osed to the Demo cratic nominee , Arthur Sew all, presuma bly in
an a ttempt to maintain some semblanc e of a sep arate identity .
The rac e was a he ated one , with McKinle y running a typic al nineteenth-c entur y style “front p orch ” camp aign ,during which he esp ouse d the long-held R epublic an P arty principles to visitors who w ould c all on him a t hisOhio home . Bryan, to the c ontrar y, deliv ered sp eeches all throughout the c ountr y, bringing his mes sage to thepeople tha t Republic ans “ shall not cr ucif y mankind on a cros s of gold.”William Jennings Bry an and the “Cr oss of Gold”
William Jennings Br yan w as a politician and speechmak er in the lat e ninet eenth c entur y, and he w as par ticularl ywell kno wn f or his impas sioned ar gument that the c ountr y mo ve to a bimetal or sil ver standar d. He r eceived theDemocr atic pr esidential nomination in 1896, and, at the nominating c onvention, he g ave his mos t famousspeech. He sought t o argue ag ains t Republicans who s tated that the g old s tandar d was the onl y way to ensur estability and pr osperity f or American busines ses. In the speech he said:
“We sa y to you that y ou ha ve made the definition o f a busines s man t oo limit ed in its application. The man who isemplo yed for w ages is as much a busines s man as his emplo yer; the at torne y in a c ountr y town is as much abusines s man as the c orpor ation c ounsel in a gr eat metr opolis; the mer chant at the cr oss-roads s tore is as mucha busines s man as the mer chant o f Ne w York; the farmer who g oes f orth in the morning and t oils al l day, whobegins in spring and t oils al l summer , and who b y the application o f brain and muscle t o the natur al resour ces o f
the c ountr y creates w ealth, is as much a busines s man as the man who g oes upon the Boar d of Trade and betsupon the pric e of grain; . . . W e come t o speak o f this br oader clas s of busines s men. ”This def ense o f working Americans as critical t o the pr osperity o f the c ountr y resonat ed with his lis teners , as didhis pas sionat e ending when he s tated, “Ha ving behind us the pr oducing mas ses o f this nation and the w orld,suppor ted b y the c ommer cial int erests, the laboring int erests, and the t oilers e verywher e, we wil l ans wer their
demand f or a g old s tandar d by saying t o them: ‘ You shal l not pr ess do wn upon the br ow of labor this cr own o fthorns; y ou shal l not crucif y mankind upon a cr oss of gold.’”The speech w as an enormous suc cess and pla yed a r ole in c onvincing the P opulis t Party that he w as thecandidat e for them.
The result w as a close election tha t finally sa w a U .S. president win a majority o f the p opular v ote f or the firs ttime in tw enty -four y ears. McKinle y def eated Br yan b y a p opular v ote o f 7.1 million to 6.5 million . Bryan’sshowing w as impres sive by an y standard , as his p opular v ote total e xceeded tha t of an y other presidentialcandida te in Americ an his tory to tha t date—winner or loser . He p olled ne arly one million more v otes than didthe previous Demo cratic victor , Gro ver Clev eland; ho wever, his c amp aign also ser ved to split the Demo cratic
vote, as some p arty memb ers remaine d convinc ed of the propriety o f the g old s tandard and supp ortedMcKinle y in the election .
Amid a gro wing na tional depres sion where Americ ans tr uly rec ogniz ed the imp ortanc e of a s trong le ader withsound ec onomic p olicies , McKinle y garnere d ne arly tw o million more v otes than his R epublic an pre decessorBenjamin Harrison . Put simply , the Americ an electora te w as energiz ed to elect a s trong c andida te who c ouldadequa tely addres s the c ountr y’s ec onomic w oes. Voter turnout w as the larg est in Americ an his tory to tha tdate; while b oth c andida tes b enefit ted, McKinle y did more so than Br yan ( Figure 20.18 ).DEFINING AMERICAN20.4 • Social and L abor Unr est in the 1890s 543
FIGURE 20.18 The elect oral vote map o f the 1896 election il lustrates the s tark divide in the c ountr y betw een theindus try-rich c oasts and the rur al middle .
In the a fterma th, it is e asy to sa y tha t it w as Br yan’s def eat tha t all but ende d the rise o f the P opulis t Party.
Populis ts had thro wn their supp ort to the Demo crats who share d similar ide as for the ec onomic reb ound o f thecountr y and los t. In cho osing principle o ver dis tinct p arty identity , the P opulis ts aligne d themselv es to thegrowing tw o-party Americ an p olitic al system and w ould ha ve difficulty maintaining p arty autonom yafterwards . Future eff orts to es tablish a sep arate p arty identity w ould b e met with ridicule b y critics who w ouldsay tha t Populis ts w ere merely “Demo crats in sheep ’s clothing .”
But other factors also c ontribute d to the decline o f Populism a t the close o f the c entur y. First, the disc overy ofvast gold dep osits in A laska during the Klondik e Gold R ush o f 1896–1899 (also kno wn as the “ Yukon GoldRush”) shore d up the na tion ’s weakening ec onom y and made it p ossible to thriv e on a g old s tandard . Sec ond ,the imp ending S panish-Americ an W ar, which b egan in 1898, fur ther fuele d the ec onom y and incre aseddemand f or Americ an farm pro ducts . Still , the P opulis t spirit remaine d, although it los t some momentum a t
the close o f the nineteenth c entur y. As will b e seen in a subse quent chapter , the ref ormis t zeal to ok on newforms as the tw entieth c entur y unf olde d.544 20 • P olitics in the Gilded Ag e, 1870-1900Access for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
Key T ermsbloody shir t camp aign the s trategy of Republic an c andida tes to s tres s the sacrific es tha t the na tion had toendure in its Civil W ar a gains t Demo cratic southern sec essionis tscivil ser vice the c ontras t to the sp oils s ystem , where p olitic al app ointments w ere b ased on merit , notfavoritism
Coxey’s Arm y an 1894 protes t, led by busines sman J acob C oxey, to adv ocate for public w orks jobs f or theunemplo yed by marching on W ashington , DCFarmers’ Allianc e a na tional c onglomera tion o f diff erent regional farmers’ allianc es tha t joine d tog ether in1890 with the g oal of fur thering farmers’ c oncerns in p oliticsGilde d Ag e the p erio d in Americ an his tory during which ma terialism , a ques t for p ersonal g ain, and
corruption domina ted both p olitics and so cietyGrang e a farmers’ org aniza tion , launche d in 1867, which grew to o ver 1.5 million memb ers in les s than adecadeHalf -Bree ds the group o f Republic ans le d by James G . Blaine , name d because the y supp orted somemeasure o f civil ser vice ref orm and w ere thus c onsidere d to b e only “half R epublic an”
Mugwumps a portion o f the R epublic an P arty tha t brok e away from the Stalw art-versus -Half -Bree d deb atedue to dis gust with their c andida te’s corruptionPopulis t Party a politic al party forme d in 1890 tha t sought to represent the rights o f primarily farmers buteventually all w orkers in regional and f ederal electionsStal warts the group o f Republic ans le d by Roscoe Conkling who s trongly supp orted the c ontinua tion o f the
patrona ge systemsubtre asur y plan a plan tha t called for storing crops in g overnment w arehouses f or a brief p erio d of time ,during which the f ederal g overnment w ould pro vide lo ans to farmers w orth 80 p ercent o f the current croppric es, rele asing the crops f or sale when pric es roseSummary
20.1 Political Corruption in P ostbellum AmericaIn the y ears f ollowing the Civil W ar, Americ an p olitics w ere disjointe d, corrupt, and , at the f ederal lev el, larg elyineff ectiv e in terms o f addres sing the challeng es tha t Americ ans fac ed. Local and regional p olitics , and thebosses who ran the p olitic al machines , domina ted through s ystema tic gra ft and brib ery. Americ ans around thecountr y rec ogniz ed tha t solutions to the mounting problems the y fac ed would not c ome from W ashington , DC,
but from their lo cal politic al le aders . Thus , the cy cle o f federal ineff ectiv enes s and machine p olitics c ontinue dthrough the remainder o f the c entur y rela tively una bated.
Meanwhile , in the C ompromise o f 1877, an electoral c ommis sion declare d Ruther ford B . Ha yes the winner o fthe c ontes ted presidential election in e xchang e for the withdra wal of federal tro ops from South C arolina,Louisiana, and Florida. As a result , Southern Demo crats w ere a ble to rees tablish c ontrol o ver their homegovernments , which w ould ha ve a tremendous imp act on the direction o f southern p olitics and so ciety in thedecades to c ome .
20.2 The K ey P olitical Issues: P atronage, T ariffs, and GoldAll told , from 1872 through 1892, Gilde d Ag e politics w ere lit tle more than p olitic al sho wmanship . The p olitic alissues o f the da y, including the sp oils s ystem v ersus civil ser vice ref orm , high tariffs v ersus lo w, and busines sregula tion , all influenc ed politicians more than the c ountr y at larg e. Very few me asures o ffered directassistanc e to Americ ans who c ontinue d to s truggle with the trans forma tion into an indus trial so ciety; the
inefficiency o f a p atrona ge-driv en f ederal g overnment , combine d with a gro wing lais sez-faire a ttitude amongthe Americ an public , made the p assage of eff ectiv e legisla tion difficult . Some o f Harrison ’s policies , such as theSherman Anti-T rust Act and the Sherman Silv er Purchase A ct, aime d to pro vide relief but remaine d larg elyineff ectiv e.20 • K ey Terms 54520.3 Farmers R evolt in the P opulist Er a
Factors such as o verpro duction and high tariffs left the c ountr y’s farmers in incre asingly desp erate straits , andthe f ederal g overnment ’s ina bility to addres s their c oncerns left them disillusione d and w orrie d. Unev enresp onses from s tate governments had man y farmers seeking an alterna tive solution to their problems . Takingnote o f the la bor mo vements gro wing in indus trial cities around the c ountr y, farmers b egan to org aniz e intoallianc es similar to w orkers’ unions; these w ere mo dels o f cooperation where larg er numb ers c ould o ffer more
bargaining p ower with major pla yers such as railro ads. Ultima tely, the allianc es w ere una ble to initia tewidespre ad chang e for their b enefit . Still , dra wing from the c ohesion o f purp ose, farmers sought to cre atechang e from the inside: through p olitics . The y hop ed the cre ation o f the P opulis t Party in 1891 w ould le ad to apresident who put the p eople —and in p articular the farmers —first.
20.4 Social and Labor Unr est in the 1890sAs the ec onom y worsene d, more Americ ans suff ered; as the f ederal g overnment c ontinue d to o ffer fewsolutions , the P opulis t mo vement b egan to gro w. Populis t groups appro ache d the 1896 election anticip atingthat the mas s of struggling Americ ans w ould supp ort their mo vement f or chang e. When Demo crats choseWilliam J ennings Br yan f or their c andida te, however, the y chose a p olitician who larg ely fit the mold o f the
Populis t pla tform— from his bir thplac e of Nebraska to his adv ocacy o f the silv er standard tha t mos t farmersdesire d. Thro wing their supp ort behind Br yan as w ell, Populis ts hop ed to see a c andida te in the White Housewho w ould emb ody the P opulis t goals, if not the p arty name . When Br yan los t to R epublic an W illiam McKinle y,the P opulis t Party los t much o f its momentum . As the c ountr y climb ed out o f the depres sion , the interes t in athird p arty fade d away, although the ref ormis t mo vement remaine d intact .
Review Questions1.Mark Tw ain’sGilde d Ag eis a ref erenc e to .
A.conditions in the South in the pre -Civil W ar eraB.the c orrupt p olitics o f the p ost-Civil W ar eraC.the p opulis t mo vementD.the R epublic an P arty2.How did the Gre at Compromise o f 1877 influenc e the election?
A.It allo wed a bila teral g overnment a greement .
B.It gave new p ower to nor thern R epublic ans.
C.It enc oura ged southern s tates to supp ort Ha yes.
D.It gave the f ederal g overnment new p owers.
3.Wha t accounte d for the rela tive weaknes s of the f ederal g overnment during this era?
4.A Mug wump is .
A.a supp orter o f the sp oils s ystemB.a lib eral Demo cratC.a former memb er o f the R epublic an P artyD.a mo dera te Stalw art5.Which president made signific ant s teps to wards civil ser vice ref orm?
A.Ches ter A . ArthurB.Benjamin HarrisonC.Grover Clev elandD.Roscoe Conkling546 20 • R eview Ques tionsAccess for fr ee a t opens tax. org.
6.Why were U .S. presidents ( with f ew e xceptions) so adamant a bout protecting the sp oils s ystem o f patrona geduring the la te nineteenth c entur y?
7.Which o f the f ollowing w asnot a vehicle f or the farmers’ protes t?
A.the Mug wumpsB.the Grang eC.the F armers’ A llianc eD.the P eople ’s Party8.Which o f the f ollowing c ontribute d directly to the plight o f farmers?
A.machine p oliticsB.labor unionsC.overpro ductionD.inade qua te supply9.Wha t were w omen ’s roles within the F armer ’s Allianc e?
10.How w ere memb ers o f Coxey’s Arm y rec eived when the y arriv ed in W ashington?
A.The y were giv en an a udienc e with the president .
B.The y were giv en an a udienc e with memb ers o f Congres s.
C.The y were ignore d.
D.The y were arres ted.
11.Which o f the f ollowing do esnot represent one o f the w ays in which W illiam J ennings Br yan app ealed toPopulis ts?
A.He c ame from farm c ountr y.
B.He supp orted free silv er.
C.He supp orted the subtre asur y system .
D.He adv ocated for higher tariffs .
Critical Thinking Questions12.How do es the term “ Gilde d Ag e” characteriz e Americ an so ciety in the la te nineteenth c entur y? In wha tways is this characteriza tion ac cura te or inac cura te?
13.With farmers s till representing a signific ant segment o f Americ an so ciety , wh y did g overnmentofficials —Demo crats and R epublic ans alik e—pro ve un willing to help find solutions to farmers’ problems?
14.Upon reflection , did the P opulis t Party mak e a wise decision in cho osing to supp ort the Demo cratic P arty’scandida te in the 1896 presidential election? Wh y or wh y not?
15.Despite its rela tive weaknes s during this p erio d, the f ederal g overnment made sev eral eff orts to pro vide ameasure o f relief f or struggling Americ ans. Wha t were these initia tives? In wha t ways were the y more orless suc cessful?20 • Critical Thinking Ques tions 547548 20 • Critical Thinking Ques tionsAccess for fr ee a t opens tax. org.