Lesson 4

1
Lesson 4

• Democracy and Empire
• 1870-1900

2
A Growing Government

• Prior to the Civil War governments depended upon
  private companies to provide services.
• After the War this began to change as cities
  began operating their own fire departments,
  libraries, schools, roads, etc.
• State governments also started growing.
• Began overseeing banking, transportation, major
  construction within the states.

3
A Growing Government

• The federal government grew during this period.
• The demand for resources and supplies during the
  War required growth.
• The federal government continued to grow after
  the War.
• During this period, many of the modern
  departments, bureaus, and cabinets took shape.

4
A Growing Government

• The Department of Interior.
• The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
• U.S. Geological Survey.
• Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).
• Prohibited discriminatory rates by railroads.
• Set precedent for future regulation of trade and
  the establishment of rules for businesses that
  superseded state laws.

5
The Machinery of Politics

• The Republicans continued to run on Civil War
  record.
• The Democrats sought ways to reduce the influence
  of the federal government and protect states
  rights.
• Neither party would enjoy a clear majority until
  the close of the 19th century.

6
The Machinery of Politics

• Most Presidents during this period yielded power
  to Congress and state legislatures.
• Democrats controlled the House of
  Representatives.
• Republicans controlled the Senate.
• Congress passed little meaningful legislation
  before 1890.

7
The Machinery of Politics

• The issue of the tariff divided the parties.
• Tariff a tax levied by the government on
  imported goods (customs duty).
• Manufacturing regions (N.E.) supported the
  tariffs.
• Southern/Western agricultural regions opposed the
  tariffs (claimed that the tariff were unfair on
  famers (etc) who needed to import necessities).
• Democrats argued for reductions in tariffs to
  save the agrarian way of life.

8
The Machinery of Politics

• Republicans raised tariffs during the War and
  retained high tariffs as long as they held power.
• Republicans/Democrats mainly operated on the
  local level.
• By 1870s, partisan politics was a full-time job.
  Local officials running for office every two
  years.

9
The Machinery of Politics

• Voter turn out was high despite gridlock in D.C.
• Partisans embraced the donkey or elephant as
  symbols of their party.
• Powerful bosses, who operated at the local level,
  and political machines begin to dominate both
  parties.
• On the Federal level, jobs changed hands each
  time the Presidency passed from one party to
  another.

10
The Spoils System and Civil Service Reform

• 1865 Thomas Jenckes (R RI) proposed a bill for
  civil service reform. It was defeated.
• Group of professors, newspaper editors, lawyers,
  and ministers organized The Civil Service Reform
  Association.
• George Pendleton (D OH).
• January 1883 bipartisan majority passed the
  Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act.

11
The Spoils System and Civil Service Reform

• The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
• Prohibited government workers from making
  political contributions.
• Created the Civil Service Commission which
  established a system of standards for federal
  jobs.
• Instituted open, competitive examinations for
  testing the fitness of applicants for public
  service.
• Barred political candidates from funding their
  campaigns by assessing a tax on the salaries of
  holders of party-sponsored government jobs.

12
The Spoils System and Civil Service Reform

• Patronage did not disappear.
• Many federal departments took on a professional
  character.
• Circuit Courts of Appeals Act of 1891
• Congress granted the U.S. Supreme Court the right
  to review all cases at will.
• Still, many observers viewed government as
  corrupt.

13
The Grange and the Farmers Alliance

• 1867 Patrons of Husbandry
• Formed by white farmers in the Midwest.
• For their own social, intellectual, and moral
  improvement.
• Formed as a national organization of farm owners.
• Also known as Grangers.
• Launched an assault on the corrupt railroad
  corporations.

14
The Grange and the Farmers Alliance

• Railroads bribed state legislators.
• They received discriminatory rate policy.
• Charged farmers more to ship their crops short
  distances than over long distances.
• 1874 Granger Laws
• Established maximum shipping rates.
• Grangers also complained about the price-fixing
  policies of grain wholesalers and operators of
  grain elevators.
• 1873 Illinois legislature passed the Warehouse
  Act
• Established maximum rates for storing grain.
• In other states, Grangers ran banks as well as
  fraternal life and fire insurance companies.

15
The Grange and the Farmers Alliance

• Mid-1880s The Supreme Court overturns most of
  the key legislation regulating railroads.
• The idea of an activist government would remain
  at the heart of the farmer-worker protest
  movements.
• Anger moved South.
• Falling price of cotton caused the farmers to
  turn their anger into loyalty to the one
  organization pledged to improve their situation
  The Southern Farmers Alliance.

16
The Grange and the Farmers Alliance

• The Southern Farmers Alliance
• Formed to advance the interests of small farmers.
• For a period of time it was the alternative to
  the capitalist marketplace.
• Winter blizzards 1886/1887.
• Summer droughts 1886/1887.
• Reduced wheat harvests by one-third on the Great
  Plains.
• Wheat prices fell sharply.

17
The Grange and the Farmers Alliance

• 1889 Regional organizations joined forces
• The National Farmers Alliance and Industrial
  Union.
• Entered electoral races. By 1890, had won several
  local and state elections.
• Gained control of the Nebraska legislature. Held
  the balance of power in Minnesota and South
  Dakota.
• Worked to lower tariffs, to restrict land
  ownership to citizens, and easier access to
  money through the free and unlimited coinage of
  silver.

18
Labor Parties and Womens Alliances

• Workers launched labor parties in industrial
  towns and cities.
• By the late 1880s, labor parties won seats on
  many city councils and state legislatures.
• Victories caught the attention of farmers.
• New party lost.
• Local successes nurtured hopes for a viable
  political alliance of the producing classes,
  both rural and urban.

19
Labor Parties and Womens Alliances

• Women activists helped build the labor and
  agrarian protest movements.
• Women in the Knights of Labor and the Farmers
  Alliance looked to Frances E. Willard as their
  leader.
• From 1878 until 1897, Willard presided over the
  Womans Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).
• Dedicated to abstinence from the consumption of
  alcohol.
• Members visited schools, prisons, and mens
  meetings, teaching about the evils of alcohol.

20
Labor Parties and Womens Alliances

• Willard understood that for women to participate
  in politics they needed the right to vote.
• The WCTU became a major force for womens
  suffrage. Far surpassing its two rival
  organizations
• American Woman Suffrage Association
• National Woman Suffrage Association
• 1890 Merged to form The National American Woman
  Suffrage Association.

21
Populism

• Political philosophy supporting the rights and
  power of the people in their struggle against the
  privileged elite.
• During the 1890s, mass movement that formed on
  the basis of the Southern Farmers Alliance and
  other reform organizations.

22
Populism

• December 1890
• Farmers Alliance called a meeting at Ocala,
  Florida.
• Press for the creation of a third party (Peoples
  Party).
• Risky since the organization had hoped to control
  the Democratic Party. Many farmers were
  Republicans.
• Established its own parties in some areas.
• Presented candidates for local elections.
• Won majorities in state legislatures.
• Sent a representative to Congress.

23
Populism

• The Peoples Party
• Government ownership of railroads, banks, and
  telegraph lines.
• Prohibition of large landholding companies.
• Graduated income tax.
• Eight-hour workday.
• Restriction of immigration.
• Most ambitious plan called for the federal
  government to build local warehouses where
  farmers could store crops until prices reached
  more acceptable levels.

24
Populism

• A universal suffrage proposal failed to pass.
• July 1892
• Met in Omaha.
• Nominated James Baird Weaver (Iowa) for President
  and Confederate veteran James G. Field (Virginia)
  for Vice President.
• Populists Supporters of the Peoples Party.
  Became a major force in American politics.
• Party won numerous local elections.

25
Financial Crisis 1890s

• Several events in the late 19th century shook any
  confidence people had in the government.
• The most serious was the economic depression of
  1893.
• European depression caused markets for American
  goods to shrink.
• Financial panic spread and British investors sold
  their stock to get cash.

26
Financial Crisis 1890s

• Helped bring about the collapse of the U.S.
  economy
• Tight credit
• Falling agricultural prices
• Weak banking system
• Overexpansion in railroad construction
• May/June 1893 Stock market crash. American
  economy came to a halt.

27
Financial Crisis 1890s

• Unemployment reach 25 in many areas.
• Millions suffered unable to purchase food,
  clothes, or household items.
• Families learned to get by on little.
• Public anger grew.
• Coxeys Army
• Miners Union bomb mine
• The Pullman Strike

28
Financial Crisis 1890s

• Eugene Debs, leader of the Pullman Strike,
  believed socialism was Christianity in action.
• Many clergy shared his views.
• Social Gospel leaders
• Called upon the American government to be more
  responsible for its most impoverished and
  unprotected citizens.
• Petitioned the government to regulate
  corporations and place limits on profits.

29
Financial Crisis 1890s

• Social Gospel movement was guided by women.
• Women raised money to establish inexpensive
  residential hotels for working women.
• YWCA (Young Womens Christian Association)
• Sponsored services for needy protestant women,
  elderly, and unwed mothers.
• Provided vocational training.

30
Financial Crisis 1890s

• Catholic nuns and lay women served the poor women
  of their faith.
• Operated schools, hospitals, and orphanages.
• African-American women (Baptist)
• Sponsored self-help programs.
• Emphasized the importance of education
• Organized their own YWCA chapters.
• Formed nurseries, orphanages, hospitals, and
  nursing homes.

31
Political Reforms

• Economic crisis brought about crisis in two-party
  system.
• Election of 1896.
• Displayed the American peoples desire for a
  stronger and more involved federal government.
• Brought to office national political who
• Saw a link between domestic problems and the
  growth of overseas markets.
• Were willing to put their vision into action.
• Events that led up to the election of 96.

32
Political Reform

• Free Silver Issue
• President Glover Cleveland (D) 1892 victory
  owed to
• The predictable votes of Southern Democrats.
• Unanticipated support of some Northern states
  (whose German born voters turned against nativist
  Republicans).
• Financial collapse put pressure on Democrats.
• President Cleveland called for a special session
  of Congress to reform the nations currency.
• Background
• Many sought soft currency.
• Federal Govt created national currency
  (greenbacks).

33
Political Reform

• Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890
• Directed Treasury to increase the amount of
  currency coined from silver.
• Permitted the U.S. to print paper currency back
  by silver.
• President Cleveland tried to repeal Act.
• Supported the gold standard to bring the nation
  out of economic ruin.
• President Cleveland had the Act repealed
  October 1893.
• Ruined his chances for re-nomination.

34
Political Reform

• Silver Democrats looked to the Populist who
  favored free silver.
• 1894 (mid-term elections) brought about the
  largest shift in congressional power in American
  History.
• William Jennings Bryan (D Populist)
• Champion of free silver.
• Democratic nominee for 1896 election.
• Populist Party nominated Bryan for President and
  Tom Watson for V.P.
• Bryan/Sewall ignored the Populist nomination.

35
Political Reform

• Presidential Election of 1896
• Democrats
• William Jennings Bryan and Arthur Sewall.
• Republicans
• William McKinley and Garret Hobart.
• Republicans avoided the silver issue.
• McKinley defeated Bryan.
• The Populist movement faded away.
• Bryans defeat ended the popular challenge to the
  nations growing system.

36
Political Reform

• President McKinley
• Strengthened the Presidency.
• Promoted pro-business and expansionist measures.
• By the close of the 19th century, the nation was
  seeing a return of prosperity.
• McKinley won re-election in 1900.
• Assassinated September 5, 1901.
• Leon Frank Czolgosz

37
Nativism and Jim Crow

• Bryan nor McKinley dealt with the issue of racism
  and Nativism.
• Close of 19th century
• Many began to note that the nations patriotic
  fever took on a nationalistic and antiforeigner
  tone.
• Many blamed the nations problems on foreigners.
• Southern States placed racist and nativist views
  into law by passing discriminatory and
  segregationist legislation.
• Jim Crow Laws.

38
Nativism and Jim Crow

• Jim Crow Laws had a major impact on
  African-Americans.
• White southerners imposed firm standards of
  segregation and domination to prevent any
  appearance of equality between the races.
• Southern states enacted new laws to cover
  facilities such as public transportation,
  restaurants, and drinking fountains.

39
Nativism and Jim Crow

• Jim Crow Laws were upheld by the U.S. Supreme
  Court when it
• Overturned the Civil Rights Act of 1875.
• Ruled that Louisiana could segregate railroad
  passenger cars (Plessy v. Ferguson).
• Political equality and Social equality separate
  things.
• Basis for segregation.
• Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education.
• Separate schools.

40
Nativism and Jim Crow

• Southern states enacted literacy tests and
  property qualifications for voting.
• Louisiana used Grandfather Clauses to prevent
  African-Americans from voting.
• Rise in racial violence
• Race riots.
• Wilmington, N.C.
• The Wilmington Massacre
• Lynching were very common.
• Became public (and family) events.

41
Nativism and Jim Crow

• Ida B. Wells
• Launched an anti-lynching movement.
• Her cause was taken up by the National
  Association of Colored Women.
• Few southerners stepped up to defend
  African-Americans.
• Many believed their future depended upon white
  supremacy.

42
Spanish-American War

• Prior to the Civil War, Southerners pushed for
  the acquisition of Spanish Cuba.
• Wanted to expand slavery into its sugar mills,
  tobacco plantations, and mines.
• United States failed to purchase the island.
• Settled for status quo and agreed to protect
  Spains sovereignty over Cuba.
• Mid-1860s
• Independence movement began in Cuba.
• Response to high taxes.

43
Spanish-American War

• The Independence Party
• Suffered a series of defeats.
• Rallied under the leadership of Jose Marti.
• Marti killed in 1895.
• 1896 Spain appointed General Valeriano Weyler as
  governor giving him full authority to crush the
  rebels.
• Forced civilians into concentration camps.
• February 1898 USS Maine destroyed.

44
Spanish-American War

• April 11, 1898
• President McKinley asked Congress for a
  declaration of war against Spain.
• August 12, 1898
• United States secured Cubas independence from
  Spain.
• Platt Amendment
• Cuba required to
• Provide land for American bases.
• Devote national revenues to pay back debts to
  U.S.
• Sign no treaty that would be detrimental to
  American interests.
• To acknowledge the right of the U.S. to intervene
  at any time to protect interests in Cuba.

45
Spanish-American War

• Some were not happy with Americas actions in
  Cuba and in the Philippines (see textbook).
• No mass movement to stop U.S. expansion.