POLITICS: LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL

1
POLITICS LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL

• Political Strategy and Tactics
• major parties normally avoid taking stands on
  controversial issues, but that tendency reached
  abnormal proportions in the late nineteenth
  century
• a delicate balance of power between the parties
  as well as new and difficult issues, to which no
  answers were readily available, contributed to
  the parties reluctance to adopt firm positions

2
Voting Along Ethnic and Religious Lines

• more often than not, a voters ethnic origins,
  religious ties, perception of the Civil War, and
  whether he lived in a rural or urban setting
  influenced his decision to vote Republican or
  Democrat

3
City Bosses

• stresses of rapid urban growth, strain on
  infrastructures, and exodus of upper and middle
  classes all led to a crisis in city government
• this turmoil gave rise to urban political bosses
• these bosses provided social services in exchange
  for political support
• money for these services (and to enrich
  themselves) came from kickbacks and bribes

4
Boss Tweed

• In April 1870, Tweed secured the passage of a
  city charter putting the control of the city into
  the hands of the mayor, the comptroller, and the
  commissioners of parks and public works. He then
  set about to plunder the city. The total amount
  of money stolen was never known, but was
  estimated at between 30 and 200 million. Over a
  period of two years and eight months, New York
  City's debts increased by 81 million, with
  little to show for the debt.

5
Bosses

• despite their welfare work and popularity, most
  bosses were essentially thieves
• the system survived because most comfortable
  urban dwellers cared little if at all for the
  fate of the poor
• many reformers resented the boss system mainly
  because it gave political power to people who
  were not gentlemen

6
Party Politics

• Sidestepping the Issue
• the South was solidly Democratic
• New England and the Trans-Mississippi West were
  staunchly Republican
• New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, Indiana,
  and Illinois usually determined the outcome of
  elections
• only three presidential candidates between 1868
  and 1900 did not come from New York, Indiana,
  Illinois, or Ohio and all three lost partisan
  politics was intense in swing states

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Lackluster Leaders

• Americas presidents of the day demonstrated
  little interest in dealing with the urgent issues
  confronting the nation
• Rutherford B. Hayes, 1877 to 1881,
• Hayes favored tariff reduction, civil service
  reform, and better treatment for blacks in South
• however, he made little progress in any of these
  areas

8
Lackluster Leaders

• Republican party split in 1880 between
  Stalwarts and Half-Breeds, and James A.
  Garfield
• emerged as a
• compromise candidate
• Garfield was
• assassinated

President Garfield's assassination depicted in
engraving from 1881 newspaper.
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1881 Garfield Assassinated!
Charles GuiteauI Am a Stalwart, and Arthur is
President now!
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Lackluster Leaders

• his successor, Chester A. Arthur, defended of the
  spoils system
• as president, however, Arthur conducted himself
  with dignity, handled patronage matters with
  restraint, and gave nominal support to civil
  service reform

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Pendleton Act (1883)

• Civil Service Act.
• The Magna Carta of civil service reform.
• 1883 ? 14,000 out of117,000 federal govt.jobs
  became civilservice exam positions.
• 1900 ? 100,000 out of 200,000 civil service
  federal govt. jobs.

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Republican Mugwumps

• Reformers who wouldnt re-nominateChester A.
  Arthur.
• Reform to them ? create a disinterested,
  impartial govt. run by an educated elite like
  themselves.
• Social Darwinists.
• Laissez faire government to them
• Their target was political corruption, not
  social or economic reform!

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TheMugwumps
Men may come and men may go, but the work of
reform shall go on forever.

• Will support the Democrat Cleveland in the1884
  election.

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Lackluster Leaders

• Arthur also favored regulation of the railroads
  and tariff reductions
• nevertheless, he was a political failure the
  Stalwarts would not forgive Arthur for his
  desertion, and the reformers would not forget
  his past
• his party denied him its nomination in 1884
• the election of 1884 revolved around personal
  issues and was characterized by mudslinging on
  both sides
• Grover Cleveland, former Democratic governor of
  New York, defeated James G. Blaine by fewer than
  25,000 votes Ma Ma, Wheres my Pa? Gone to the
  White House, Ha Ha Ha!

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1884 Presidential Election
Grover Cleveland James Blaine
(DEM) (REP)
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A Dirty Campaign
Ma, Mawheres my pa?Hes going to the White
House, ha ha ha!
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Lackluster Leaders

• Clevelands was an honest, if unimaginative,
  administration
• his emphasis on the strict separation of powers
  prevented his placing effective pressure on the
  Congress, and thus he failed to confront the
  issues of the day
• in 1888, Benjamin Harrison, a Republican from
  Indiana, defeated Cleveland. Harrisons election
  elevated a human iceberg and fiscal
  conservative to the presidency

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1888 Presidential Election
Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison
(DEM) (REP)
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Lackluster Leaders

• during Harrisons term, Congress raised the
  tariff to an all-time high, passed the Sherman
  Antitrust Act and the Silver Purchase Act, and
  enacted a force bill to protect the voting
  rights of southern blacks
• Cleveland reclaimed the presidency from Harrison
  in 1892 (22nd and 24th President)
• by the standards of the late nineteenth century,
  Clevelands margin of victory was substantial

20
1892 Presidential Election
Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison again!
(DEM) (REP)
21
Crops and Complaints

• the economic and social status of farmers
  declined throughout the late 19th century and
  their discontent forced American politics to
  confront the problems of the era
• American farmers suffered from low commodity
  prices, restrictive tariff and fiscal policies,
  competition from abroad, and drought.

Using all the farm for crops planting corn up
to the front door. Custer County, Nebraska, 1888.
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The Populist (Granger) Movement

• the agricultural depression triggered an outburst
  of political radicalism, the Alliance movement
• the Farmers Alliance spread throughout the South
  and into the Midwest
• the farm groups entered politics in the elections
  of 1890
• in 1892, these farm groups combined with
  representatives of the Knights of Labor and
  various professional reformers to organize the
  Peoples, or Populist, party

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Platform of Lunacy
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The Populist Movement

• the convention adopted a sweeping platform
  calling for a graduated income tax the
  nationalization of rail, telegraph, and telephone
  systems, and the unlimited coinage of silver
• the party also called for the adoption of the
  initiative and referendum, popular election of
  United States senators, an eight-hour workday,
  and immigration restrictions

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The Populist Movement

• the Populist candidate, James B. Weaver,
  attracted over a million votes,
• opponents of the Populists in the South played on
  racial fears, and the Populists failed to attract
  the support of urban workers

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Showdown on Silver

• by early 1890s, discussion of federal monetary
  policy revolved around the coinage of silver
• traditionally, the United States issued gold and
  silver coins
• established ratio of roughly 151 undervalued
  silver, so no one took silver to the Mint
• when silver mines of Nevada and Colorado flooded
  market with metal and depressed the price of
  silver, it became profitable to coin bullion but
  miners found that the Coinage Act of 1873 had
  demonetized the metal

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Showdown on Silver

• Silver miners and inflationist demanded a return
  to bimetallism conservatives resisted
• the result was a series of compromises
• the Bland-Allison Act (1878) authorized the
  purchase of 2 million to 4 million of silver a
  month at the market price
• this had little inflationary impact because the
  government consistently bought the minimum
• the Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1890) required
  the government to buy 4.5 million ounces of
  silver monthly
• however, increasing supplies drove the price of
  silver still lower

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The Depression of 1893

• Cleveland believed that the controversy over
  silver caused the depression by shaking the
  confidence of the business community
• he summoned a special session of Congress and
  forced a repeal of Sherman Silver Purchase Act
• the southern and western wings of the Democratic
  party deserted over this issue. Clevelands
  handling of Coxeys Army and the Pullman strike
  further eroded public confidence in him, and the
  public was outraged when it took a syndicate of
  bankers headed by J. P. Morgan to avert a run on
  the Treasury

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The Depression of 1893-The 1896 Election

• with the silver issue looming ever larger and the
  Populists demanding unlimited coinage of silver
  at 161, the major parties could no longer avoid
  the money question in 1896
• the Republicans nominated William McKinley and
  endorsed the gold standard
• the Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan
  and ran on a platform of free silver
• although concerned over the loss of their
  distinctive party identity, the Populists
  nominated Bryan as well

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BryantsCross of Gold Speech
You shall not press down upon the brow of labor
this crown of thorns you shall not crucify
mankind upon a cross of gold!
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William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925)
The Great Commoner
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Bi-Metallism Issue
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The Election of 1896

• the election of 1896, fueled by emotional debates
  over the silver issue, split party ranks across
  the nation
• pro-silver Republicans swung behind Bryan, while
  pro-gold Democrats, called gold bugs or
  National Democrats, nominated their own
  candidateJohn M. Palmer
• the Republican aspirant, William McKinley,
  relied upon his experience, his reputation for
  honesty and good judgment, his partys wealth,
  and the skillful management of Mark Hanna

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The Election of 1896

• moreover, the depression worked to the advantage
  of the party out of power
• Bryan, a powerful orator, was handicapped by his
  youth, his relative inexperience, and the
  defection of the gold Democrats
• he nevertheless conducted a vigorous campaign,
  traveling over eighteen thousand miles and
  delivering over six hundred speeches
• on election day, McKinley decisively defeated
  Bryan

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The Meaning of the Election

• far from representing a triumph for the status
  quo, the election marked the coming of age of
  modern America
• McKinleys approach was national Bryans was
  basically parochial
• workers and capitalists supported McKinley, and
  the farm vote split
• the battle over gold and silver had little real
  significance new gold discoveries led to an
  expansion of the money supply

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The Meaning of the Election

• Bryans vision of America, and that of the
  political Populists who supported him, was one
  steeped in the past
• McKinley, for all his innate conservatism, was
  capable of looking ahead toward the new century

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A Giant Straddle Suggestion for a McKinley
Political Poster
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William McKinley (1843-1901)
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The Seasoned Politician vs. The Young Newcomer
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Into Which Box Will the Voterof 96 Place His
Ballot?
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1896 Election Results
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Gold Triumphs Over Silver

• 1900 ? GoldStandard Act
• confirmed thenations commitment tothe gold
  standard.
• A victory for the forces ofconservatism.

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The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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Parable of the Populists?