POLITICS%20IN%20THE%20GILDED%20AGE

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• POLITICS IN THE GILDED AGE

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the government that governs best governs
least??Status Quo Politics in the Gilded Age

• Five Presidents between 1877-1893
• Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881) - Republican
• James Garfield (1881) Republican -assassinated
• Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885) -Republican
• Grover Cleveland (1885-1889) -Democrat
• Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) -Republican
• Government lacked direction an agenda
• Division in politics took place within the
  parties not between them
• Leadership of the country essentially lied in the
  hands of Congress
• This Congressional Government was not prepared
  to run a country
• Ship without a captain syndrome

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Origins of the Populist Movement
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The Crisis in American PoliticsThe Birth of the
Populist Movement

• Economics of the late 1880s 1890s
• Farm foreclosures
• Railroad bankruptcies
• Stock market drop
• Unemployment up
• Farmers suffering in profits
• Country and Government seemed to be looking out
  for the big business
• Government lacked direction an agenda
• Division in politics took place within the
  parties not between them
• Leadership of the country essentially lied in the
  hands of Congress
• This Congressional Government was not prepared
  to run a country
• Ship without a captain syndrome
• Farmers needed organization representation

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Populist Ideology

• There are but two sides, on the one side are the
  allied hosts of monopolies, the money power,
  great trusts, and railroad corporationsOn the
  other are the farmers laborers, merchants, and
  all the people who produce wealth Between these
  two there is no middle ground.
• the irrepressible conflict between capital
  labor
• We believe that the power of government - in
  other words, of the people should be expanded
  as rapidly and as far as the good sense of an
  intelligent people and the teachings of
  experience shall justify, to the end that
  oppression, injustice and poverty should
  eventually cease in the land
• Overall Impact Able to unite some of the
  division in the labor
• movement

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What were some of the major problems
facing farmers during the Gilded Age ??
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The Silver Issue

• Crime of 73 ? demonetization ofsilver (govt.
  stopped coining silver).
• Bland-Allison Act (1878) ? limitedsilver coinage
  to 2-4 mil. per mo.(based on the 161 ratio of
  silver togold).
• Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1890)
• The US Treasury must purchase4.5 mil. oz. of
  silver a month.
• Govt. deposited most silver in theUS Treasury
  rather than circulation.

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Roots of the Populist

• Originally Farmers needed to organize for a
  variety of reasons
• a) isolationism b) provide economic services
• The Grange Movement Farmers Alliances
• Farmers Alliance of the Northwest
• National Farmers Alliance
• Alliances were designed to
• Unite farmers who had common problems
• Remind farmers they are in this together
• Stand against the abuses of the big business (RR)
  the corruption of the wealth and power
• Eventually grew stronger and more impatient.
• Peoples (Populist) Party ran a presidential
  candidate in 1892 and carried 4 states
• The agrarian protest challenged the traditional 2
  party system

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Populism An Agrarian Revolt
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Giftfor theGrangers The FarmerPays for All!
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Price Indexes for Consumer Farm Products
1865-1913
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Founder of the National Grange of the Patrons of
Husbandry (1867)
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United We Stand, Divided We Fall

• In 1889 both the Northern andSouthern
  Alliancesmerged into onethe Farmers Alliance.

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The Populist (Peoples) Party

• Founded by James B. Weaverand Tom Watson.
• Omaha, NE Convention in July,1892.
• Got almost 1 million popularvotes.
• Several Congressional seatswon.

James B. Weaver, Presidential Candidate James
G. Field, VP
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The Populist Platform in 1892Omaha, Nebraska

• FINANCES
• We demand a national currency that is safe,
  sound, and flexible issued by the general
  government
• Proposals
• A graduated income tax- more you make the more
  you pay
• More money in circulation that the money should
  be kept more in the hands of the people.
• That the needs of the many outweigh the needs
  of the few
• Free unlimited coinage of silver at a ratio of
  16 to 1 bimetallism

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Omaha Platform of 1892

1. System of sub-treasuries.
2. Abolition of the National Bank.
3. Direct election of Senators.
4. Govt. ownership of RRs, telephone telegraph
   companies.
5. Government-operated postal savings banks.
6. Restriction of undesirable immigration.
7. 8-hour work day for government employees.
8. Abolition of the Pinkerton detective agency.
9. Australian secret ballot.
10. Re-monitization of silver.
11. A single term for President Vice President.

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1892 Election
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• ELECTION
• OF
• 1892

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The Panic of 1893
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Bi-Metallism Issue
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Money PoliticsBrief History

• US had traditionally always used a bimetal
  system.
• Pre-Civil War nations money supply came from
  free-wheeling state banks.
• Result was value of money issued was unstable
  amount in circulation/supply demand
• 1863 US Banking Act ends this and attempts to
  create more economic stability by only producing
  and accepting money that was backed by the US
  Gov.
• Meanwhile Civil War breaks out, Lincoln issues
  and pays with greenbacks federal money backed
  by nothing more than good faith
• 1875 this ends and the amount of currency in
  circulation is limited in the amount of specie
  (gold and silver) to back it
• 1873 Silver supply tightened and thus it became
  more valuable as a metal than as money and so
  silver was dropped as specie.

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Causes of the 1893 Panic

• Begun 10 days after Cleveland took office.
• Several major corps. went bankrupt.
• Over 16,000 businesses disappeared.
• Triggered a stock market crash.
• Over-extended investments.
• Bank failures followed causing a contractionof
  credit nearly 500 banks closed.
• By 1895, unemployment reached 3 million.
• Americans cried out for relief, but the
  Govt.continued its laissez faire policies!!

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Here Lies Prosperity
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The Silver Issue

• Result is deflation a reduction in available
  money and credit.
• A) Prices fall
• B) value of money increases
• C) less money in circulation
• However, westward expansion and mining brought a
  flood of silver and thus the price of silver fell
  hard and fast.
• Soon Silverites wanted 161 ratio (cheap money)
  to put more money in circulation. (refer back to
  Populist quotes)
• Country now becomes divided on the monetary issue
  of specie.

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Pick a Side

• GOLDBUGS
• bankers and businessmen
• Supported tight money -gold only standard thus
  less in circulation
• ----------------------------------------
• Effects deflation
• a) falling prices
• b) value of money increases
• c) fewer people have money

• SILVERITES
• Farmers and laborers
• Supported cheap money bimetallism more
  money in circulation
• -----------------------------------------
• Effects Inflation
• a) prices rise
• b) value of money decreases
• c) more people have more money

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Result of 1894 Mid-term Elections

• Populist voteincreased by40 in the
  bi-election year,1894.
• Democratic party losses in the West
  werecatastrophic!
• But, Republicanswon control of the House.

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The 1896 Election
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Gold / Silver Bug Campaign Pins
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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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Bryan The Farmers Friend(The Mint Ratio)
18,000 miles of campaign whistle stops.
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A Giant Straddle Suggestion for a McKinley
Political Poster
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Election of 1896

• William Jennings Bryan (D)
• supported bimetallism
• Was supported by Populism
• Delivered cross of gold speech
• Rep. called him radical, revolutionary, and
  anarchistic

• William McKinley (R)
• Gold bug
• Front-porch campaign Mark Hanna
• Called upon big business and raised a lot of
  money
• Won election, but the door was open for reform
  and eventual Progressivism

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1896 Election Results
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Why Did Bryan Loose?

• His focus on silver underminedefforts to build
  bridges to urbanvoters.
• He did not form alliances withother groups.
• McKinleys campaign was well-organized and
  highly funded.

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Gold Triumphs Over Silver

• 1900 ? GoldStandard Act
• confirmed thenations commitment tothe gold
  standard.
• A victory for the forces ofconservatism.
• Republican Party becomes the party of prosperity.

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The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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Populism and The Wizard of Oz
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Background Information

• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was not intended to be
  an innocent fairy tale. Author, Frank Baum, a
  reform-minded Democrat who supported William
  Jennings Bryan's pro-silver candidacy, wrote the
  book as a parable of the Populists, an allegory
  of their failed efforts to reform the nation in
  1896. However, Frank Baum never allowed the
  consistency of the allegory to take precedence
  over the theme of youthful entertainment.

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Parable of the Populists?

• Uncle Henry Auntie Em?
• Dorothy ? ?
• Wicked Witch of theEast ? ?
• Tin Woodsman ? ?
• Scarecrow ? ?
• Cowardly Lion ? ?
• Yellow Brick Road ? ?

• Silver Slippers ? ?
• Emerald City ? ?
• The Wizard ? ?
• Munchkins ? ?
• Wicked Witch of the West ? ?
• Flying Monkeys ? ?

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Populism The Wizard of Oz

• Uncle Henry Auntie Em
• Lonely independent Homesteaders
• Hard working, little reward, everything is grey

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KANSAS IN THE LATE 1800s

• Farmer discontent and Populist politics were
• concentrated in Kansas
• Suffering from a droughtmany farmers
• going through hard times
• Farmers wanted the free coinage of silver to
• help them out of debt

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• Common people
• From a Kansas farm
• Does not see the power of slippers
• at first

• Dorothy wants out Somewhere Over the Rainbow

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• Silver is measured in ounces

• Bright and colorful

• Oz ounce

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Populism The Wizard of Oz

• The Wicked Witch of the East represented eastern
  industrialists and bankers who controlled the
  people (the Munchkins).

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Populism The Wizard of Oz

• Munchkins- Factory slaves to the big business-
  remember the Wicked Witch of the East had cast a
  spell on them making the Munchkins her subjects.

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Populism The Wizard of Oz

• The Scarecrow represented the wise but naive
  western farmer.
• Wants a brain from the wizard - represents the
  image of simple minded folks, but as the story
  goes on we realize the scarecrow always had a
  brain to think
• and decide things for himself

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Populism The Wizard of Oz

• The Tin Woodman represented the dehumanized
  industrial worker.
• Wants a heart lost it when the factories took
  away their independence and love or their
  craft/trade

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Populism The Wizard of Oz

• The Cowardly Lion was William Jennings Bryan,
  Populist presidential candidate in 1896.

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Populism The Wizard of Oz

• The Wizard represents William McKinley who tried
  to be all things to everyone, but turned out to
  be a fake.

President William McKinley
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Populism The Wizard of Oz

• The Yellow Brick Road, with all its dangers,
  represented the gold standard.

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Populism The Wizard of Oz

• The Wicked Witch of The West represents the
  railroads and the control they had over the
  populist supporters.

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Populism The Wizard of Oz

• Dorothy's silver slippers (Judy Garland's were
  ruby red, but Baum originally made them silver)
  represented the Populists' solution to the
  nation's economic woes ("the free and unlimited
  coinage of silver")

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Populism The Wizard of Oz

• Emerald City represents Washington DC, where
  leaders reside and people look for significant
  change in their life.

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Populism The Wizard of Oz

• Flying Monkeys Plains Indians

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Significance of thePopulist Movement

• McKinleys win victory of urban/eastern
  interests over agrarian concerns.
• The Democrats embraced the populist vote in the
  future.
• Republicans would dominate politics for the next
  30 years.
• The reform spirit of the Populists would be
  embraced by the more urban, middle-class
  Progressives in the early 20th century.